I usually do a food gift for the neighbors and friends in town. In the past I’ve made candied pecans. But, this year I did a cleaned up version of the “nut” gift. The rosemary and chipotle flavors marry so well with the maple syrup. These almonds are so yummy, I had to force myself to stop eating them so I had enough to package up for gifts. I’ll be making a few more clean eating food gifts this week.
Snacks
Hard Boiled Eggs
Hard boiled eggs are a simple and healthy snack packed with protein. I eat them almost every day for breakfast or when I need an energy boost during the day. Here is a simple and foolproof recipe for making the perfect hard boiled eggs!
Decadently Dark Chocolate Dipped Apples
So..if you saw Sunday’s post about our little fall outing you will understand why today we are making chocolate dipped apples. In hindsight….we may have gone a little overboard on the apple picking. But who wouldn’t…picking apples is soo much fun, it’s easy to forget that you actually are going to need to figure out something to do with them after! So I apologize in advance if we post a few apple recipes this week. But we have to do something with them I guess! Luckily we all like apples, a lot.
Avocado Chicken Salad
I love this stuff. It is so easy to make and people love it! The very first time I made this recipe I brought it over to a friends house for a picnic. Before the day was over I had 5 people ask me for the recipe. The avocado is so creamy that you don’t even miss the mayo in traditional chicken salad. And bonus…unlike mayo you don’t have to worry about it spoiling on a hot day!
Nut Butter, Apple and Honey Sandwiches; Cheese Stick, Banana
How is it that something so simple can be so good? Cheese and crackers, tea and honey, chocolate and strawberries..are just a couple of simple combinations that are pure bliss. Well now it is time to add something else to that list. Nut Butter, Apple and Honey Sandwiches. When these three ingredients are combined, the entire universe seems to fall into place. Life makes sense, the sun begins to shine, birds start singing…you get the picture. It is delicious, trust me, just try it.
Ants on a Log
Do you remember having this snack when you were a kid? I do. I loved it. It got me to eat celery. I never ate celery. Why is it that if you put something on a piece of celery kids no longer think it is a vegetable? I don’t know why, but it worked for me. So in remembrance of my childhood I decided to do a clean eating version of this childhood favorite. Okay I will admit it is already pretty clean. I mean it is only 3 ingredients and the serving vessel is a plant. But I did switch out the peanut butter for almond butter. Mmmmmmm almond butter. Totally addicted to that stuff.
Almond Butter with Banana and Apple Slices
This simple snack will leave you satisfied until dinner. The almond butter and fruit is a great combination. Simple cut each apple in half then, then into wedges, removing the seeds and core. Each person gets half and apple and a banana.
Trail Mix
Snack time can be a challenge for the clean eater. It is the middle of the day, dinner is still a couple of hours away, and you feel your energy starting to fade. Even worse…it seems like unhealthy shack options are coming at you from every direction! The vending machine in the break room…the muffin at the coffee shop…that gas station you just drove by. It is almost too much! You are so hungry…
Frozen Fruit Skewers
When we were first dreaming up this recipe we were trying to come up with a healthy fun dessert kids would love. We wanted it to be sweet….but we still wanted it to be healthy. In the past both Sara and myself had eaten fruit skewers in various forms…so we thought hey….why not freeze them!…
Kale Chips
This afternoon we decided to try our hand at making kale chips. They are such a healthy alternative to traditional snack food and something we hadn’t tried before!