10 Snacks for When Your Pantry/Fridge is "Empty"

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Apple Harvest Green Smoothie

Looking for a quick delicious way to ingest loads of essential vitamins and nutrients? Look no further.

Let's be honest...I regret absolutely NONE of the buttery, sugary choices I made during the 2014 holidays...I thoroughly enjoyed every calorie-packed bite.

However, I do believe I could benefit significantly from some more health-conscious food choices during 2015...starting now. :)

This green smoothie is loaded with protein, antioxidants, iron and vitamin C (not to mention countless other nutrients), but also satisfies a sweet tooth, especially for those tangy and nutty flavors of the season.

My toddler helped me with a few spoonfuls, and this tasty treat was gone in less than five minutes!

Apple Harvest Green Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 1/2 large Gala apples, roughly chopped
2 cups, packed, baby spinach leaves
1/2 chopped pecans
1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp. honey

Instructions:

Place all ingredients in a large blender and blend on high for about one minute, or until totally pureed.

The smoothie has almost a gazpacho texture, thick and chunky. If you like it more smooth, simply add more juice and blend longer.

As Bundle would say, "All gone!" 

Enjoy with life!  <3

Good Morning Muffins

My sweet Bundle is sick this morning. There's almost nothing worse than watching your sweet child suffer from illness without being able to help much.

Especially after looking outside and seeing this!

Even though it's a bummer to miss a beautiful day playing outside and enjoying fall's generous plethora of activities, it's still the perfect day to make the best of things -- to throw open the windows, drink warm tea, and bake up a delicious feel-better plate of muffins.

After using the 27th tissue, applying the vapor rub, and administering various medications, I asked Bundle if she wanted breakfast. Bananas are her favorite, and she ate almost an entire banana (progress!). Since eating is tough for anyone with a terrible cold, I thought I'd incorporate her favorite, easy-to-digest food in the form of a kid-friendly muffin.

These banana muffins are naturally sweet, nutritious and satisfying. Perfect for any fall day, even a sick one. :)

 Good Morning Muffins

Ingredients:
   (Makes 1 1/2 dozen)

3 ripe bananas
1 c. oats
1 c. flour
1/4 packed cup brown sugar
1/8 c. honey
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 egg
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. melted butter


Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

With an electric mixer, blend bananas, honey, brown sugar, egg, melted butter and milk.

Add the oats, flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon and mix again until all ingredients create a thick, creamy consistency.

When oven reaches 350 degrees, turn in down to 325 degrees.

Pour batter evenly into 12 muffin cups. You may have to leftover batter. I always bake a couple extra muffins up if I have extra batter at the end. Bake for 17-20 minutes.

Remove from muffin tin immediately and allow at least ten minutes to cool.

They're like the moistest, sweetest, banana bread in muffin form!

We will likely be spending the rest of the day like this, soaking in the autumn rays from indoors. :)

Enjoy with life!  <3

Quiet Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yikes! Today I made the delightful mistake of napping while my one-year-old was napping. It was heavenly, but I still had tons to do when I awoke a ghastly two hours way too many minutes later! I had no idea how much naptime I had left to finish chores, baking, blogging, and working out, so I was determined to bake and blog first, as quietly as possible.

This is a blender-less, electric mixer-less recipe for oatmeal chocolate chips cookies. They are fluffy and soft, and almost have a cake-like texture. Perfect for those rare and hallowed moments of alone-time!

...or of course, snack time, when everyone wakes up...


Quiet Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/4 c. flour
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. quick oats
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2/3 c. plain Greek yogurt
1 c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix all ingredients together with a large metal mixing spoon in a large plastic, rubber-bottomed bowl, folding the chocolate chips in last. No loud scraping! 

Spray a ice cream scoop with cooking spray. If you aren't using a silicone tray cover, spray the baking tray as well.

Using the ice cream scoop, arrange twelve even scoops of cookie dough onto the baking tray.

These are huge scoops, so you may have to adjust your baking time based on what your scoop looks like. :)

Bake at 350 degrees for twelve to thirteen minutes. Be sure to watch the clock at this step, instead of setting a loud timer. :)

Remove the cookies from the baking tray using a silicone or rubber spatula to cool.

Enjoy with cold brewed coffee (wouldn't want to use that microwave or burbling coffee maker!), and the serene quiet that accompanies naptime.

<3

No Bake Energy Bites

Lately, Baby Y has been soaking up all my energy! My doctor says that eating small amounts protein-rich foods throughout the day can really help. I've seen these on Pinterest and decided to give them a shot.

I did make a few changes. I don't usually have flaxseed or coconut flakes on hand, so I substituted with 1/2 a cup of gluten free rice crispies and 1/2 a cup more of oats. Also, the honey I had didn't quite make it to 1/3 cup, so I used light Karo syrup for the rest. Since Karo Syrup has vanilla in it, I eliminated the vanilla altogether.

Here's my recipe! :)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. oats
1/2 c. gluten free rice crispies
1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. Karo syrup

Mix together well and chill for an hour. Roll into 1 1/2 in. balls and enjoy! Make sure you refrigerate to store.

Again, if you want to check out the original recipe by Smashed Peas and Carrots, here it is!

Enjoy with life.

Amish Baked Oatmeal

Most of the time, I try really hard to cook healthy meals and snacks for my family. But after a long month and a half of eating not-so-healthy foods though, it's difficult to get back into the swing of things. Tonight we had chicken lettuce wraps with jasmine rice. It tasted fantastic, especially knowing that I was putting something nutritious in my body!

After dinner, though, always come the cravings. I have such a sweet-tooth! I guess some might consider this a post of shame, a total cuisine cave.

This is a recipe for delicious, comforting Amish Baked Oatmeal from Taste of Home's Contest Winning Annual Recipes (2005). Does it have sugar? Yes. Margarine? You bet. Did I cave? Absolutely. Honestly, the sugar and margarine are the only "bad" ingredients, and there isn't an obscene amount of either. Topping this dish with fresh fruit would be a great choice. I'm thinking I'll go with sliced apples.

So maybe I caved a little in the snack department tonight, but you gotta fight one battle at a time, right?

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 egg
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:

Combine all dry ingredients in medium bowl.

Add milk, melted margarine and egg. Mix with a large spoon until all ingredients are well-combined. I actually stirred in a few dashes of cinnamon for extra flavor.

Grease four ramekins (or one large 9x13 in. pan). Pour batter evenly into each ramekin (or into the pan).

Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.

Top with whatever you like! As aforementioned, apples are my top choice tonight. They pair so well with cinnamon. Try strawberries, blueberries, warm milk, or brown sugar.

Enjoy with all situations of life--even the setbacks.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

I am SO thankful for days off.

Days off often = baking. So...today I wanted to make oatmeal peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.

I checked my trusty 1950 Betty Crocker's Picture Cookbook. I found it amusing that they have a section of cookies entitled "Beau-Catchers (and husband keepers!)" There was a key recipe for "His Mother's Oatmeal Cookies" that I used as the base for this recipe. I substituted 1 cup peanut butter for 1/2 cup butter and added chocolate chips. 

This was the outcome!

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

3 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup cold margarine

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 tsp. baking soda

1/3 cup milk (sweet or sour)

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

4 oz. (1/2 a bag) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix flour, salt and oats together in large bowl. 

Cut in margarine until mixture is well-blended.

Dissolve the baking soda in the milk. Add milk, peanut butter and brown sugar to the bowl. 

Mix on a low setting until all ingredients are thoroughly combined. 

 Fold in chocolate chips.

Chill dough for at least 30 minutes. It helps the cookies stick together better before baking.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet and small melon-baller. Scoop out cookies with melon-baller and place two inches apart on baking tray. Bake for 10-12 minutes per tray.

Cool on a wire cooling rack and enjoy!

Perfect afternoon snack. Enjoy with life.

Monday Night Snack Mix

Since four days ago, (the first day of autumn!), I've been psyched for all fall-related things: marshmallow roasting, walks just to see the first signs of leaves falling, and of course, seasonal foods. 

I am not 100% sure that trail mix falls under this "autumn" category, but I did find it in my October edition of Taste of Home magazine! Does that count?? 

Anyway, I was in the mood for something both sweet and salty and crunchy last night. It was also late in the evening...the essential red light for me to stop attempting to cook. My recipe suits my family's taste (and also our budget....note the off-brand cheddar sharks), so feel free to make this yours by changing up what you throw in! :)

Happy Fall!

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups mini pretzels

2 cups goldfish or other cheese crackers (or in my case, cheddar sharks)

3 cups oyster crackers

2 cups dry roasted peanuts

1 1/2 cups cashews (I like using lightly salted or unsalted)

4 1/2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 Tbsp. Lemon juice

1 Tbsp. garlic salt

1/2 Tbsp. Mrs. Dash Original

1 Tbsp. Kettle Corn Seasoning

Method:

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Combine all dry ingredients (minus the spices) in a large bowl. Mix well with spatula. 

Sprinkle mix with Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice and coat mix thoroughly with spatula. Sprinkle again with garlic salt, Mrs. Dash, and Kettle Corn seasoning, turning with spatula to coat evenly. 

Pour mix onto a large, greased baking pan. 

Bake for fifteen minutes, turning every five minutes. Upon bringing the mix out of the oven, sprinkle again with your favorite spice. I sprinkle with the Kettle Corn seasoning again. :)

Watch out...this may not last very long!

Back to School Mini Frittatas

This small town's only elementary school sits diagonally from our front porch. Since we moved here in May, the parking lots and playgrounds have been empty, soaking up their much deserved summer siesta. I noticed this week, however, that cars are beginning to slowly creep their way into the parking spots...vehicles of teachers, administrators, maintenance workers beginning to prepare for another year. As an educator myself, I couldn't be more excited for the school year to blast off! I love the smell of fresh school supplies, the excitement of a new routine, and especially searching the web for great school lunch ideas. 

I stumbled across a "Back to School" page on www.myrecipes.com. If you're struggling with converting a child's monotonous brown bag lunch, this is definitely the place to go. In the delightful process of browsing this site, I found a recipe for mini frittatas with ham and cheese. I wasted no time in checking my fridge and getting to work on my own protein packed version of this perfect before, during or after-school snack!

Ingredients:

8 eggs

1/3 cup skim milk

1/2 cup (packed) fresh spinach leaves

6 slices deli-style smoked ham

1/4 cup Swiss cheese

3/4 cup mild cheddar cheese

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

2 whole artichoke hearts

How To:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Crack the eight eggs into a large bowl. Add milk and whisk until well mixed. 

Add the cheeses and garlic salt and whisk again, just until ingredients are combined. Chop the sliced ham into small 1/2 in. x 1/2 in. cubes and add to the mixture. 

Coarsely chop the spinach leaves, and add them too. 

Finally, finely chop the artichoke hearts and toss them in as well. Whisk again until all ingredients have been thoroughly coated with the egg/milk mixture. 

Grease a large 24-mini muffin cup pan. Fill a large ice cream scooper or melon baller about half-way full with the frittata mixture and pour into one of the mini muffin cups. Repeat process until all cups are filled. 

Bake for twenty minutes exactly. The frittatas should puff up about ten minutes into the baking process and be light, fluffy, and golden on top when finished. Allow at least ten minutes to cool before packing, storing or eating right on the spot! :)

Enjoy with all the life that comes with preparing for the new school year!