Healthy Snacks 101

I was asked to teach a class about Healthy Snacks for my ward's Relief Society Enrichment Night. I guess they thought my interest in gardening and experimenting in the kitchen qualified me for such a job--but unless Diet Coke counts as healthy snacking, I'm definitely no expert. Expert or no, I do believe healthy snacks are important and if it takes teaching a class for me to learn a few things, then so be it. Here are the links to some of the recipes we discussed:

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Lemon Cilantro Hummus

Almond Butter Balls

Mango Quinoa Salad 

Rice/Lentil Salad

Zucchini Banana FlaxseedMuffins 

Pumpkin Delight 

RefrigeratorOatmeal 
Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Also, here is a list of 50+ Healthy Snacks Ideas:  Basically different combinations of fruit/veggie + dairy/protein + grain/nut
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1.     Unsweetened applesauce sprinkled with cinnamon

2.     Baby carrots, cucumbers & hummus or tzatziki dip

3.     Apple slices & peanut or almond butter

4.     Mozzarella stick & almonds or pistachios

5.     Greek yogurt w/ fruit, granola, or oat bran topping

6.     Ants on a log—celery topped with peanut butter (or lite laughing cow cheese) & raisins

7.     Homemade pumpkin or zucchini muffins

8.     Pita or toasted English muffin pizzas—use pineapple, ham, spinach, bell peppers, etc.

9.     Sugar snap peas, broccoli, bell peppers & hummus

10.  Banana bites—topped with Nutella and strawberries

11.  Brown rice cakes with peanut butter and bananas

12.  Cottage cheese and grape tomatoes

13.  Egg burrito—small tortilla, eggs, salsa

14.  Homemade trail mix—pretzels, almonds, banana or apple chips, craisins, etc

15.  Quick apple crisp—slice apple in bowl, heat in microwave 1 minute, top w/ cinnamon & granola

16.  Old fashioned oatmeal & berries

17.  Air-popped Popcorn with spices, drizzle of olive oil, salt, or parmesan cheese

18.  Fruit smoothie

19.  Lentil or bean soup

20.  Frozen grapes

21.  Edamame sprinkled with sea salt or squeeze of fresh lemon

22.  Triscuits with cashew butter and drizzle of honey

23.  String cheese wrapped in ham/turkey with olives or grapes

24.  ¼ cup dried pineapple or raisins & handful pistachios

25.  Cottage cheese and apple or strawberries

26.  Plain greek yogurt, blueberries, granola & drizzle of honey

27.  Clementine & almonds

28.  Dried cherries, almonds & dark chocolate (dark chocolate covered pomegranate seeds)

29.  Grapes, swiss cheese & whole grain cracker or nuts

30.  Cheddar, wheat thins, & pear

31.  Mini whole grain pita & hummus or guacamole

32.  Fig newton & soy milk

33.  Yogurt smoothie & banana

34.  Apple & skim milk

35.  Whole grain bagel & cream cheese

36.  Cereal (like Oatmeal Squares)—must have more natural fiber than added sugar

37.  Ham, apple & cheese wraps

38.  Cucumber/blueberry smoothie or cucumber/watermelon smoothie

39.  Almond Butter Energy Balls/Peanut Butter Granola Balls

40.  Tuna melts on whole grain bread

41.  Pita with hummus & snap peas/bell peppers

42.  Roast beef roll-ups with lettuce, cream cheese, Dijon mustard

43.  V8 & string cheese

44.  Mango or papaya with squeeze of lime juice

45.  Graham cracker with ricotta cheese & jam

46.  Hard-boiled egg with salt/cumin

47.  Tabbouleh, Quinoa or Lentil/Rice Salad

48.  Apple chips

49.  Jicama sticks marinated in lime juice and chili powder

50.  Rye crisp, cream cheese & tomato slice

51.  Orzo salad with diced cucumbers, bell peppers, red onions & tzatziki dressing

52.  Cucumbers marinated in low-fat balsamic dressing

53.  Roasted asparagus spears or green beans with sea salt & squeeze of lemon

54.  Grilled chicken wrap in whole grain tortilla, veggie cream cheese and bell pepper strips

What are your go-to healthy snacks?
 

Barley & Pasta Soup

Ahhh, what's for dinner? Love that question. One of my New Year's resolutions is to get better at meal-planning, but you know...I just really suck at it. I get totally overwhelmed at the idea of planning more than two meals at a time. I mean, a whole week? Talk about brain-overload. Plus, I like to be inspired--see something and think, "oh, that sounds good"--or look at all my leftovers and put together a puzzle in my head of how to recreate them. I've got too much right-brain or something...or is it left-brain?
Anywho, back to dinner. When I asked myself that question today at 4:00, this was the conversation I had in my head:

"Well, I've got two avocados that I need to use asap before they go bad. I've got a little Los Hermanos salsa hanging around, so tortilla soup sounds obvious.
"But I don't have any thawed chicken...and we're a little tortilla-souped-out. But I've got tons of tortillas. Okay, how about enchiladas?
"Still, no chicken. I could use canned chicken (blech!) but I don't have any green chilies. Let forget Mexican. Okay...what else.
"Oh, look! I just happened on this blog with a recipe for Arugula Salad with avocados. perfect. What to go with? No meat, so...soup? I've got tons of veggies I need to use, so yes, soup!
"And I've got 1/4 box of pasta leftover from minestrone. What's this on the back of the box? A recipe for barley & potato soup? Mmmm, I love barley and I haven't used any for a while. Works for me...barley soup, it is!"

Madness, I tell you. But it works (most the time) and tonight was no exception--the salad was perfect (I just used spinach, oranges and avocado--no fennel) and the soup was delish! I tweaked the soup a bit--I didn't use potatoes (sounded too starchy with the barley and pasta) and I added tons of veggies. And Parmesan rind! You'll probably notice me adding Parmesan rind to all my soups these days--I'm a fan. So, if you're still reading after all this rambling, I will reward you with the recipe. Stolen, but modified, from the back of the ditalini pasta box--

Barley and Pasta Soup
1 onion, diced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 quarts vegetable or chicken stock
3/4 cup barley
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 cup ditalini pasta
1 small zucchini, diced
1 small yellow squash, diced
2-3 handfuls fresh spinach, chopped
1 Tbsp Italian parsley, minced
1 Parmesan rind (opt)
salt and pepper to taste.
Parmesan cheese, grated (not opt, :))
Crusty bread (I cubed the leftover baguette from last night, tossed in a little olive oil and toasted under the broiler to make croutons--sooooo good. Do it. Love it.)

1. In large pot, saute and the onions and garlic for a minute in the olive oil. Add the stock and barley. Bring to boil and cook for 30 mins.
2. Add carrots, celery, pasta and rind. Cook for 10 mins. (I add about 1/2 tsp salt at this time)
3. Add the zucchini and yellow squash. Cook for 5 mins.
4. Turn off heat. Add the spinach and parlsey and let sit for about 15 minutes (to let the flavors meld, and puff up the barley).
5. Serve topped with grated Parmesan and crusty bread.

Monday Minestrone

Today was a bone-chilling, windy day and I was needing to make dinner for 3 families--solution: big ole' pot of soup. I thought I would tweak my minestrone recipe a bit and I liked how turned out. The nice thing about minestrone is you can tweak it all you want--throw in a can of this, a can of that, diced up this, diced up that... You can't really go wrong. I even forgot to throw in some diced zucchini (darn!) but the kids were forgiving of that omission. I did love the addition of the Parmesan rind (a Rachael Ray trick)--it added great flavor. You could also add garbanzo beans, white beans, green beans...whatever floats your boat :) This pot fed 8 adults and 4 kiddos, not bad.

Monday Minestrone, revisited
1 lb mild Italian sausage
1 lg onion, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
3-4 carrots, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 Tbsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1 bay leaf
2 cans Italian stewed tomatoes
2 cans chicken stock
2 cans water
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 can kidney beans, rinsed
1 can pork and beans
1/2 box ditalini pasta (or other small pasta)
2-3 handfuls fresh spinach, cut into pieces
Italian parsley, minced
small Parmesan rind
grated Parmesan

1. Brown sausage in large pot. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Put aside.
2. Saute onions, celery and carrots in pot with sausage drippings (add a little olive oil if needed) for a few minutes. Add garlic and saute a minute longer. Add herbs and tomato paste.
3. Add tomatoes, chicken stock, water, bay leaf and rind. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until veggies are cooked.
4. In separate pot, cook pasta al dente. Drain.
5. Add sausage and beans to soup while pasta is cooking.
6. Add pasta, spinach, and parsley to soup. Heat through until spinach is wilted.
7. Top with grated Parmesan and serve with crusty bread.