Currently Browsing: Snacks
Nov 10, 2009
Posted by Jennifer on Nov 10, 2009 in News, Snacks, vegetables | 5 comments
I made another batch of these last night to bring as a snack for work (also counts as veggie serving!)
It’s so good, I wanted to post the recipe again.
I would suggest using 2 cans of chick peas (garbanzo beans) because the process takes a while and they get eaten fast!
Take 2 cans of chick peas, and rinse them under cold water. Drain on a paper towel. Transfer them to a cookie sheet and add 2 tsp. of olive oil. Then I added a teaspoon of chili powder, a teaspoon of cumin, and a teaspoon of garlic salt. Stir until its all coated.
Bake at around 275-300 for an hour and fifteen minutes.
I would stir them every 15 minutes or so. You will know when they are done because they are crunchy. If they are still soft, put them back in the oven.
To me they taste like roasted soy beans, they are so crunchy and yummy! You can eat them plain, or add them for some crunch to your salad.
You don’t have to refrigerate the leftovers, just keep them in an air tight container.
Enjoy!
Sep 14, 2009
Posted by Jennifer on Sep 14, 2009 in dieting, News, Snacks, special treats | 9 comments
One thing I am trying to do this time around losing weight is to find a different way to do the things I love but in a better way.
What I am talking about people is chips and dip! My husband and I don’t go out much, having 3 kids and all, so our entertainment on weekend nights consist of renting movies, having a few beers and chips. But, as we all know, if you just have a bag in front of you mindlessly eating, the calories add up quickly!!
So instead of having chips, I have been making a veggie tray with some healthy dips. We are still enjoying watching movies, and having a beer, but the calories we are saving eating that instead of scarfing down Dorito’s is huge!
These two dips come from Women’s Health Magazine.
The first one is a spinach dip
Here is what you will need:
1 package frozen, chopped spinach, thawed
1/4 cup non fat mayonnaise
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
2 large scallions, chopped
2 oz. crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill (or omit that if you don’t like dill)
1-2 tsp. horseradish
Blend all until smooth.
Makes 12 servings: Each serving is 30 calories, 1.5 grams of fat and 1 gram of fiber
The next dip is for hummus. I know you can buy that at the store, but its so easy to make!
2 TB. extra virgin olive oil
2-4 TB. fresh lemon juice
2-4 TB. water, depending on how thick you want it
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup non fat plain yogurt
Mix the liquids first, then add the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Add more water and salt to taste.
This also makes 12 servings: Each serving is 75 calories, 5 grams of fat and 1 gram of fiber.
The key to making this work?? PLAN AHEAD! If the veggies aren’t cut up, or I didn’t make a dip, then we will definitely reach for the bag of chips instead. I might do this while making dinner and put it in the fridge for later.
What are your ideas for healthy snacks while staying in for the evening and watching movies??
Sep 4, 2009
Posted by Jennifer on Sep 4, 2009 in Dinner Idea, News, Snacks | 12 comments
I can’t believe the week is almost over!! I have a 4 day weekend this weekend, so I am totally excited about that!
For dinner the other night, I made my mini meatloaves again. It’s such a nice change from burgers or tacos!
I used ground sirloin, cracked an egg, I didn’t have any bread crumbs, so I put 2 slices of wheat bread in my magic bullet, and poured that into the meat. I added grated garlic, salt, pepper, and McCormick Hamburger seasoning.
For mine, I measured 5 ounces of uncooked meat per mini meatloaf. I put them on a cookie rack on top of a cookie sheet and baked at 375 for 15-18 minutes. For the potatoes, I just washed red potatoes, cooked them in the microwave with the skin on. Just add about 1/2 cup of skim milk, a little butter and salt and pepper and mash away!
The best part of this dinner, is I had 3 mini meatloaves left, so I had this for lunch today and it was so good!
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I haven’t made these microwave potato chips in a while. If you’ve never tried it, you have to, it really works! I got the recipe from www.allrecipes.com
This is what you will need:
1 medium russet potato
parchment paper
salt
whatever other seasonings you want; cumin, chili powder, Lawry’s season salt, Old Bay Seasoning, whatever you like! I used a combo of just salt and pepper.
Slice the potatoes as thin as possible. A food processor would work well, or if you have a fancy mandolin slicer, that would work too!
Place the parchment paper in your microwave. Spread the potato slices without them touching. You can put the seasonings on now. Microwave on high for about 4-5 minutes. Don’t walk away! When you start to see brown spots, turn off the microwave and wait 1 minute. Microwave on high again until golden brown. (about another minute or so).
I even saw an idea about making salt and vinegar chips (which one of my son loves) by dipping each potato slice in cider vinegar before putting it on the parchment paper, sprinkle with salt and follow the same procedure mentioned above.
You can eat all the chips for only 60 calories, trace fat and 1 fiber!! (Depending on how big your potato is)!
Snack on my friends!!
Jun 14, 2009
Posted by Jennifer on Jun 14, 2009 in News, party food!, Snacks | 14 comments
My friend Kathy gave me a great cook book for my birthday last year that’s called the “Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook” by Tosca Reno. For those of you who don’t know who Tosca Reno is, she was a yo-yo dieter for years and after changing her eating habits, lost 80 pounds and has kept it off for 8 years. She now has a magazine called Clean Eating Magazine. It also has great tips and recipes.
One of the recipes I made yesterday from her cookbook was guacamole. Until last year I had never made my own guacamole, or eaten avocados on a regular basis, now I love them!
Here’s what you will need:
2 small ripe avocados
5 oz. frozen peas, lightly cooked, rinsed and drained
1.2 cup cilantro, trimmed and chopped
1 ripe plum tomato, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green onion, whites only
juice of one Lime
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until just combined. Transfer to a serving bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate. That’s it! I loved the addition of peas, it tasted awesome!
Makes 6 servings. Each serving is 130 calories, 9 grams fat, 6 grams of fiber, and 2 grams of protein.
Jun 5, 2009
Posted by Jennifer on Jun 5, 2009 in bread, breakfast, dessert, Muffin of the Week, News, Snacks | 15 comments
Someone in my office brought a bunch of bananas to work today that were super ripe. My co-worker and I walked by and saw them, she bakes too, and we said to each other, “banana bread, banana muffins, banana smoothies!”
After about an hour and a half, there were still a bunch of bananas, so my friend and I each took 3 to make something. Her specialty is banana bars which are amazing. I will have to get the recipe from her!
I made this recipe last June as a matter of fact, it is a revised version of muffins my friend Celine made. Notice, there is no butter or eggs in this recipe!
2 ripe bananas
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 small container of applesauce (like the single serve kind)
1/4 cup Canola or safflower oil (I used Canola oil)
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
4 tablespoons of Ovaltine!
1/4 cup chocolate chips
sprinkle of raw sugar on top before baking to make it sweet and crunchy on top!
To my surprise Ovaltine has only 70 calorie for 4 tablespoons, so I decided to throw that in to make it chocolaty. The other thing is the recipe said it made 8 muffins, but since I like huge muffins like you get in the bakery, I decided to make 6 in my Jumbo Muffin Pan.
Each muffin tallies in at 312 calories, 6 fat and 5 fiber.
I really liked them because it was really moist on the inside, it reminded me of cake!
Mix all the ingredients and bake at 350 degrees for 15 -18 minutes. Insert toothpick to make sure it comes out clean before removing from the oven.
Enjoy!
