Fix Me A Snack

When all else fails, I usually have some almond butter balls in my freezer. These are a little tricky to form into balls. But that’s because they have a fraction of the honey most recipes for peanut butter balls call for and they have glorious crispy rice cereal which makes them crunchy!

Feel free to replace the almond butter with cashew or peanut. I used natural-style almond butter. But this recipe is extremely flexible so feel free to experiment.

3/4 cup powdered milk
1/2 cup crispy brown rice cereal
2 tablespoons wheat germ
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted almond butter
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small mixing bowl, stir the powdered milk, cereal, wheat germ, flaxseed, and salt until combined. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, stir the almond butter, honey, and vanilla extract with a rubber spatula until combined. Add the powdered milk mixture and stir until uniform.

The mixture may be on the crumbly side. To form into balls, take a tablespoon of the mixture and squeeze it with your hands more than roll it. I pass it back and forth between my hands squeezing and rolling gently with my fingers as I pass. This might be tough for kids to master. If the mixture is too crumbly, add more of something gooey such as honey or even a tablespoon of vegetable, coconut, or flax oil.

Serve or store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw for a couple minutes before serving.

Yield: 30 balls
Prep-time: 20 minutes
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I’m on a bit of a back-to-basics kick lately. I hope I’m not putting my dear readers to sleep. Believe me, I’ve been experimenting with crazy “innovative” snacks. But they’ve all been bombs. Sometimes I need to whip up something more predictable so my kids will not mount a rebellion. 

 

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These are otherwise known as Pavlovas. But I can barely say ‘pavlova’, much less my kids. Good tongue twister, bad name for a kid snack.  My kids came up with name while stuffing their faces. There were no leftovers.

Crispy Clouds have a delightful mouthfeel. They remind me of eating a roasted marshmallow, but take away the heat and sugar overload.

3 large egg whites
1 tablespoon agave nectar or sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch salt

3/4 cup whipped cream (give or take)
1 cup fresh raspberries (give or take)

Preheat oven to 200 F.

Place the egg whites, agave, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer. With the whisk attachment, whip the egg white mixture on medium high speed until peaks form. Turn off mixer and detach bowl. Transfer large spoonfuls onto parchment-lined baking sheet. Place the scoops at least an inch apart. Make a well in the center of each scoop with the back of the spoon. They should be approximately 4-inches wide once the wells are created.

Bake on the center rack of the oven for approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes or until the clouds are stiff and willing to detach from the parchment paper.

Allow the clouds to cool for 1-2 minutes on the baking sheet. Gently remove from parchment paper and transfer to serving plate. Garnish each cloud with approximately 1 tablespoon whipped cream and a heaping tablespoon of berries. Serve.

Makes 12 clouds
Prep time: 10 minutes
Bake time: 1 1/2 hours

Note: Raspberries can be replaced by any soft fresh fruit.

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I need to make these again sometime soon because I might have eaten most of them myself and my kids might not have really gotten a chance to taste them. Poor little souls.

4 apples, coarsely grated (approximately 1 1/2 cup lightly packed)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons wheat germ
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch salt

Preheat oven to 250 F.

In a medium bowl mix together the apple, brown sugar, wheat germ, butter, cinnamon, and salt. Place heaping tablespoon-sized scoops of the apple mixture onto parchment lined baking sheets. Make sure the scoops are 2- inches apart. With the back of a spoon, flatten the scoops until they are 1/4-inch thick. Pay careful attention to achieving a uniform thickness as the cookies will require more time in the oven if they are too thick.

Bake for 1 1/2 – 2 hours or until the cookies are dry yet pliable. Allow to cool before serving. Store in an airtight container.

Makes 20 cookies
Prep time: 10 minutes
Baking time: 1 1/2 hours

Note: These “cookies” will cook differently depending how thinly they are spread out on the baking sheets. So after an hour and a half, check in on them every ten minutes or so. They may brown a bit and that’s fine. They dry quite a bit after they cool down so if they’ve been in the oven for two hours and no longer feel squishy, they are most likely done.

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Surely I’m not the first person to have done this. But if you’ve heard of it before, don’t tell me. I’m busy being overly happy about my discovery. Oh, and the kids looovve these.

20 raspberries
20 white chocolate chips

Wash the raspberries by holding them under gently running water or submerging in a bowl of water and agitating gently. Allow the raspberries to air-dry by simply putting them on a towel. Once dry, insert one chip into each berry with flat side of the chip facing you. Serve.

Makes 2 servings.
Prep time: 5 minutes

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1 cup plain greek-style yogurt
1 teaspoon lemon zest, chopped fine
2 teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon juice (approximately 1/2 of a lemon)
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch salt
1 cup fresh blueberries

In a small bowl, mix yogurt, zest, lemon juice, maple syrup, cinnamon and salt. Fold in blueberries. Divide between 4 ramekins or small bowls and top with a few additional blueberries. Serve.

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Pie is always a lovely idea, but I never seem to find the energy (or bravery) to make one, especially just for a snack! So instead, I’ve done my best to create an extremely quick and  healthy alternative.  I love this crust so much that I created a cookie recipe based that is very similiar.

Crust:
1/3 cup walnut pieces
1/3 cup pecan halves
1/3 cup old fashioned oats
1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar (not packed)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick), cold

Topping:
1 1/2 pints fresh blueberries (approximately 3 cups)
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
whipped cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 F.

For the crusts, put the walnuts, pecans, oats, flour, brown sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse for a 5-10 seconds until the texture is crumb-like. Chop the cold butter into large chunks and add to the food processor bowl. Cut the butter into the nut mixture pulsing for 5-10 seconds until the butter is incorporated and the mixture resembles large rough crumbs. Do not over process. The occasional larger chunk of butter is not a problem.

Divide a heaping 1/4 cup of the crust mixture between 8 ramekins. Press the crust down into the ramekins and up the sides with your fingers starting from the center. Rest assured, any holes or imperfections will be taken care of during baking or covered by the berries.

Bake crusts on the center rack for 10-15 minutes or until edges start to turn brown. Allow the ramekins to cool before serving.

While the crusts are baking, put blueberries, lemon juice, maple syrup and cinnamon in a bowl. With a fork, mash the berries partially so they begin to release their juices.

Once the ramekins are cool, top each crust with a scant 1/3 cup of the mashed blueberries and finish with a dollop of whipped cream if desired. Serve immediately.

Makes 8 “pies”.
Prep time: 20 minutes
Bake time: 10-15 minutes

Note: Can be made ahead of time. Store the crust and berries seperately in the refrigerator. If possible, remove from refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving.

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This is recipe that might not belong among the “healthy” recipes that are supposed to grace the pages of this blog. But, at least it’s fresh and homemade. Much better to indulge with these when your sweet tooth can not be denied.

Some people have asked me if they can replace the rice syrup with honey or corn syrup, to which I resoundingly reply “No!”. I really try not to use unusual ingredients unless I feel they are truly necessary. The bon bons would probably turn out fine with another sweetener, but the rice syrup gives the bon bons an oh-so-lovely carmel-like flavor. It is not to be missed.

1 1/4 cup whole almonds
1/3 cup brown rice syrup
1/4 cup organic almond butter or peanut butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed (optional)
1 cup quality chocolate chips

Grind almonds in a blender until texture resembles a course meal. A few larger chunks are fine. Be sure not to grind too long or you will make almond butter. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, warm syrup and almond butter over low heat until well blended and smooth. Remove from heat and add ground almonds, salt and ground flaxseed. With a sturdy spoon, stir until well combined and mixture sticks together and begins to form a ball.

Make one inch balls by hand and place on wax paper. Your hands will get greasy.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave. If using a microwave, use 20% power for 2 minutes and check. An additional minute at low power may be required. The chips will hold their shape. Stir with fork. If about half of the chips appear to have melted, keep stirring until all of the chips are melted. This may take a couple minutes. By keeping the chocolate’s heat low, the cocoa butter and chocolate solids are much less likely to separate and the chocolate will remain in temper.

If using a double boiler, be very careful not to let any water come into contact with the melting chocolate or it will sieze. Over low heat, stir constantly until 3/4 of the chips are melted. Remove from heat and continue to stir until smooth.

Using a fork, dip the balls in the chocolate one at a time until thoroughly covered. Place in airtight container on wax paper and allow to set for approximately one hour. Serve cold or at room temperature. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container. These taste best when they are very fresh, but will keep for a week or more.

Makes approximately 30 balls.

Note: To learn more about tempering chocolate, read Mark Bittman’s article Chocolate Gets Hot But Holds Its Temper. Bittman makes it look easy in the video. I’ve tried tempering a handful times and was successful once. That’s why I’ve avoided the tempering process in this recipe. But I’m still fascinated by it and will conquer it someday.  Print

I had not heard of banana dogs until recently. My kids love them. We actually eat them as a part of breakfast more often than as a snack. This recipe works just fine with bananas that are ripe or nearing over-ripe. I’d try something else if your banana has more black than yellow on its peel as the banana does need to hold its shape.

2 whole grain hot dog buns
1 ripe banana
2 tablespoons strawberry jam or organic chocolate syrup

Cut banana in half lengthwise. Put each banana half in a bun and top with 1 tablespoon jam or syrup. Serve. Makes 2.

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I’ve seen some extremely “picky” eaters gobble up this pudding. The pudding is very sweet even without the agave nectar. When in doubt, leave it out. Enjoy!

1 lb silken tofu
1 heaping cup quality milk chocolate chips
3 tablespoons agave nectar or maple syrup (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Put all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Stir until chocolate has melted. The tofu will break up into bits and not look terribly appetizing, but have faith. Transfer to blender (or use a hand blender) and process mixture until smooth. Scoop into small bowls or ramkins. Cover and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Serve.

Yield: 5 (1/2 cup) servings

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