Category Archives: Snacks

Polenta Squares

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Takes a lit bit but it is easy.

Polenta Squares
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Recipe type: Side Dish
Cook time: 2 hours 45 mins
Total time: 2 hours 45 mins
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 6 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 2½ cups yellow cornmeal
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil or oregano
  • teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
  1. Heat water to boiling in a large saucepan. Add salt. Reduce heat to bring water to a simmer; slowly pour cornmeal in a thin stream into the saucepan. Stir constantly with a whisk to prevent clumping. After adding all the cornmeal, stir with a wooden spoon until the polenta is thick and pulls away from the sides of the pan; this may take 15 – 20 minutes. For best results, stir constantly until the polenta has reached this consistency.
  2. Wet a paper towel, and rub the bottom and sides of a 9 by 13-inch casserole dish with water to prevent sticking. Once polenta has cooked, transfer it to the dish. With a rubber spatula, press polenta until it is well packed. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 2 hours or until completely cooled.
  3. Preheat oven to broil setting. Using a paper towel, rub a large 11 by 17-inch baking sheet with olive oil and set aside. Remove casserole dish from refrigerator and cut polenta into 2½-inch squares. Place squares on prepared baking sheet, and place 3 – 4 inches under broiler. Bake 15 minutes, flip, and bake 15 minutes more. Both sides should be crispy before serving.
Notes

Recipe from: Feola, Kristen (2010-12-14). The Ultimate Guide to the Daniel Fast (Kindle Locations 1669-1686). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

 

Confetti Hummus

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This was a little runny when I first made it, but after a day in the fridge it was the perfect consistency.

Confetti Hummus
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Recipe type: Appetizer, Lunch
Prep time: 5 mins
Total time: 5 mins
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • cup chopped canned artichokes, drained
  • chopped jarred roasted red bell peppers, drained
  • cup tahini ¼ cup water
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • cup fresh parsley, packed
  • teaspoon salt
  • teaspoon ground cumin
Instructions
  1. Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Process, scraping sides of bowl often, until mixture is a smooth paste. Refrigerate, or serve immediately.
  2. Serve as a dip for fresh vegetables. Use as a filling for Romaine Wraps or Whole Grain Tortillas. Spread on top of fresh tomato slices. Use as the main ingredient in Hummus Casserole.
Notes

Recipe from: Feola, Kristen (2010-12-14). The Ultimate Guide to the Daniel Fast (Kindle Locations 1703-1715). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

 

Black Bean Dip

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This dip is absolutely delicious! It may not look like much, but it is filling, fairly quick to make, and goes with any cracker/veggie scoops you have on hand.

Black Bean Dip
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Recipe type: Appetizer
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Total time: 25 mins
Serves: 3 cups/6 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup diced onion
  • 1 cup diced red bell peppers (about 1 large pepper)
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • cup water
  • 2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley or 1½ teaspoons dried parsley
  • teaspoon dried crushed rosemary
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
  1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and red peppers, and cook until onions are soft and translucent. Stir in garlic, and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly so garlic doesn’t burn.
  2. Place water and 2 cups of beans in food processor or blender; process until smooth.
  3. Pour the pureed beans into skillet and stir. Add the remaining beans, parsley, rosemary, salt, and pepper.
  4. Reduce heat to low and cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a serving dish and serve warm.
Notes

Recipe source: Feola, Kristen (2010-12-14). The Ultimate Guide to the Daniel Fast (Kindle Locations 1649-1663). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

 

Granola

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I make homemade granola for use in several different meals.  It goes great in yogurt as breakfast, as cereal, with apples for dessert, or alone as a snack.  I don’t always have all the ingredients so I just make it up as I go.  Here is one of the base recipes I use:

Granola
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Recipe type: Snack
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 75 mins
Total time: 1 hour 20 mins
Ingredients
  • 3 1/2 cups rolled oats (if you want bars use steel cut oats so it will stick together better)
  • 1 cup raw sliced almonds
  • 1 cup raw cashew pieces (or walnuts or pecans)
  • 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (I could only find unsweetened at Earth Fare, which is similar to Whole Foods)
  • 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
  • 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon grated or ground nutmeg
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • parchment paper
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Cover a rectangular baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Mix the dry oats, almonds, cashews, coconut, seeds and spices together in a large mixing bowl.
  3. Heat the butter and honey together in a small saucepan over low heat. Once the butter melts stir in the vanilla.
  4. Pour the hot liquids over the dry ingredients and stir together with a rubber spatula until evenly coated.
  5. Spread mixture onto prepared pan in one even layer. Bake for 75 minutes.
  6. The granola will become crisp as it cools at which point you can break into pieces (if making bars) or break it up into small chunks by pounding it in a zip lock bag (if making cereal). Store in air tight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
Notes

Original recipe found at: 100 Days of Real Food

 

Greek Yogurt

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I’ve been on an unprocessed food kick the last few months.  One of my favorite snacks is yogurt; however, it’s expensive and the store brand often adds “stuff” to it.  I’ve learned to make my own and it tastes better, lasts longer, and has infinite options for sprucing it up.  It sounds much more difficult to make then it really is!

Greek Yogurt
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Recipe type: Snack
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 12 hours
Total time: 12 hours 5 mins
Serves: 1 qt
Ingredients
  • 2 qts of milk
  • 1 single serve natural Greek yogurt (live cultures, no sugar added)
  • Things you’ll need:
  • Food thermometer
  • 2 qt Pyrex container (microwave safe)
  • Dish towel
  • FINE mesh strainer, paper towels, or cheesecloth
Instructions
When making Greek yogurt, 2 quarts of milk will result in 1 quart of yogurt.
Microwave start:
  1. Microwave 2 quarts of milk in the Pyrex container until it measures over 180 degrees. (The temp on this is important. The milk has to reach at least 180 to cool correctly. There is a science behind it but don’t ask me to explain it.) I typically microwave 6 minutes, stir and scrape off any coating on top, and then repeat until it’s done.
  2. Remove the Pyrex from the microwave and set on the counter. Cover with a dish towel and let sit until it is 118 degrees. I have a thermostat that alarms when it reaches a certain temperature but you may have to just check it periodically. 118 is an arbitrary number. It needs to be less than 120 but more than 110.
  3. Once the milk measures 118, scrape any skin off the top and stir in 1-2 tsp of the bought Greek yogurt. It will act as your starter to create more yogurt.
Oven/Heat Source:
  1. Turn your oven for a minute or so then turn the oven back off. Turn on and leave on the oven light. Sit the covered Pyrex in the oven for 6-8 hours. I typically make yogurt at night right before I go to bed and then just take it out in the morning. The temperature needs to stay between 100 and 105 or so for the yogurt to do it’s thing.
Make It Thicker:
  1. Once you take it out of the oven, the yogurt is finished if you want regular runnier yogurt. I prefer thicker Greek-style yogurt. To do that, you’ll need to strain some whey out of it.
  2. I am cheap, so I use a regular strainer lined with paper towels. Set the strainer over a bowl to catch the whey. Fold over the paper towels and place something “fairly heavy”, like a bowl or plate, on top of the yogurt.
  3. Place in refrigerator for a few hours until you reach the thickness you like. I typically replace the paper towels every hour or so, otherwise it seems to take forever to strain out the whey. You can keep the whey for cooking but I just throw it away.
Storage/Mixing
  1. Store in an airtight container and enjoy! It will last for several weeks this way.
  2. I mix in flavors as I serve it so that I can “mix it up”. Frozen fruit, granola (and chocolate chips), and honey are all great mix ins.

 

Kale Chips

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Kale Chips
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Recipe type: snack
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Total time: 15 mins
Ingredients
  • a bunch of kale
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1-2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
  1. Cut the stalks out of the kale and then cut or tear the kale in to 2-3 inch pieces.
  2. Put the kale, salt, and olive oil in a large bowl and stir until coated evenly.
  3. Place kale in a single layer on a cookie sheet.
  4. In a 350 degree oven, bake kale for 10-15 minutes. Time varies so you just have to watch them. It only takes about 30 seconds for the kale to go from soggy to burnt.
  5. Repeat until you’ve cooked all of your kale.
Notes

You can use any type of seasoning you want: garlic salt, seasoned salt, salt and pepper, red wine vinegar and no salt – whatever you want. Be creative!

In our quest to eat healthier, we have been experimenting with quite a few recipes.  This one was a recipe I hoped my kids would eat.  It’s super easy to make but it does take some time to cook all the pieces since you need to lay them out in a single layer on a cookie sheet.

UPDATE: My husband thinks these taste like I picked hay from the field and cooked it.  My daughter ate a few when they were hot.  My son wouldn’t even try them.  I ended up eating them all myself.  I like them when they are hot out of the oven and they are slightly salty.  They do taste more “grassy” once they cool and sit.