Healthy Holiday Snacking!

It’s always a good idea to have some healthy snacks on hand in the holidays – whether it is for you, your kids, or visitors.

Here are some easy to make ideas.  Some of them can also be used as appetizers or desserts.

Frozen pineapple slices – a handy snack on a hot day.

Apple slices – Cut one apple into slices, spread 2 tsp of peanut butter, almond butter (or any other nut butter) on top.

Skewers – Make small skewers of raw vegetables. For example use cherry tomatoes, real mozzarella and basil – and then dip them into olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Fruit skewers are also a refreshing treat.

Vegetable sticks – I know this may seem a bit ho-hum – but it is all in the dips you put with them. Cut sticks of vegetables such as carrot, capsicum, celery and cucumber.  Try adding some tomato salsa, tzatziki, or hummus on the side. You can change-up the hummus by adding puréed cooked beetroot, pumpkin, kumara, spinach, herbs or roasted capsicum. Or mash up avocado and mix in some hummus, or tuna, or cream cheese and lemon.

Boiled eggs – cut in half, spread a little bit of homemade mayo on it such as Annabel Langbein’s ‘Speedy Mayo’ recipe. Sprinkle some herbs on top like dill, parsley or chives.

Kale chips – Pull 3 or 4 big leaves into bite size pieces. Put into bowl, mix in a few tablespoons of olive oil and massage them into the leaves well and then sprinkle with sea salt. Bake in the oven on a tray at 135 C for 30 minutes, or until they are nice and crisp. Watch them closely as they burn easily.

Crunchy chickpeas – Drain a can of chickpeas, toss with salt, olive oil and spices and bake at 200 C for 30 minutes in the oven.

Smoothie – A smoothie always makes a good in-between meals snack. Mix them in a blender or similar. Here are some ideas:

Green smoothie – 1 cup mixed greens (eg. spinach, kale, silver-beet, parsley, lettuce), juice of two oranges, ½ avocado, 1 cup water.

Berry smoothie – ½ cup of berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries…), 2 tbsps of plain yoghurt, ½ banana, ½ cup of water. (Can add 1 tsp. of honey.)

Cherry smoothie – Freeze 250 g of pitted fresh cherries overnight. Blend with ½ cup coconut water and juice of ½ lime (or more), 1 tbsp of shredded coconut and 1 tbsp of chia seeds.

Cherry frozen yoghurt – Blend 500 g of pitted fresh cherries in a food processor until smooth. Add 200 g of Greek yoghurt and 100 ml of coconut cream. Transfer to a freezer proof container and freeze for1 ½ hours. Then process again in a food processor. Freeze for another hour or longer until completely frozen. Allow to soften slightly before serving. This can be enjoyed as a dessert or a snack.

Zippy almonds – Heat ½ tsp of ghee or cold pressed oil in a skillet. Saute 2 cups of almonds on medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add 1 clove of garlic minced, 1 tsp Bragg’s liquid aminos, 1 tsp of chilli flakes and 1 tsp of brown sugar. Toss to coat the almonds. Allow to cool. They store well in an airtight container for weeks.

Chocolate covered strawberries – Easy and low calorie. Melt some dark chocolate and cover the strawberries in it. It’s nice to just dip half of the strawberry in the chocolate, which makes a healthy dessert!

Have a wonderful Holiday!

Be well!

Jamila

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