Easy Vegan White Bean Dip

     I love hummus! Hummus and I have a relationship, and it will always be there for me, but sometimes I like to change it up a bit! Give hummus a break, and try something new! That's when I discovered white bean dips and I just had to make my own! It turned out delicious and I want to share the recipe with you!

Amazing Apple Chips

    Apples are great for so many fall inspired recipes, crafts, and snacks! We ordered two boxes of apples a few weeks ago, and ever since I've been eating apples everyday! We've made apple crisp, cobblers, pancake toppings, and baked apples and they've all been delicious! But, most of those things aren't super healthy, so I wanted to try out a healthy recipe and use some of our apples!

    We have made apple chips in a dehydrator before, but not everyone has a dehydrator, and I wanted to make this recipe easy for everyone! These are super easy, super delicious, and such a perfect snack for just about anytime! We ate them all in about a day and a half, they were that good! 

     What I love about this recipe is how healthy and delicious it is! The chips are still so sweet and apple-y even though you don't add any sugar! Also, this recipe is vegetarian, vegan, and oil free,  so what is not to love about them?

Ingredients:
4 Large Apples
Lemon Juice
Cinnamon ( or any other seasonings you like!)

Preheat you oven to 200 F. Wash and dry your apples.

Using a sharp knife, mandolin slicer, or food processor, slice you apples as thinly as  you can. Be careful if using a knife or mandolin, you don't want to lose any fingers! :)

Then use a small knife, or little cookie cutter to cut out the center part with the seeds. I used some cute fall themed cookie cutters, and I love how they turned out!

 

Aren't they just adorable? I love the different shapes from the cookie cutters!

 

 

    Next, add your apple slices to a bowl and splash on them lemon juice. Make sure to coat each slice. This keeps them fresh-tasting and helps them not turn brown. Then lay the slices on a baking sheets lined with parchment paper or tin-foil. Make sure none of the slices are touching, because they will stick together after baking.  Sprinkle with cinnamon to desired flavor!

     I honestly would be happy eating just this, but lets continue and make these apple slices into apple chips! Place the pans in the oven for 1 hour. Then carefully flip each slice over and bake for another hour. Depending on how thin your slices were, you might need some extra time. I baked mine for a total of 2 hours and 35 minutes, and some of my slices were fairly thick.

   The house smelled so good while these were baking! Let them cool a bit. They will crisp up a bit as they cool too! Place them in an air tight container, if you don't eat them all first! :)

     These are so good! I will be making these again very soon, and I want to experiment with the seasonings a little bit! I am thinking nutmeg, ginger, or even go savory with curry powder or paprika!

     Fall is such a great time to make recipes using apples, and I really hope you try this one out! Apples are such a beautiful fall fruit, and I want to use them as much as possible right now! These apple chips are a perfect healthy snack for on the go, or whenever you want to reach for those oily potato chips!

     I really hope you give this recipe a try, and share it with your friends and family! Please share my blog with your friends and family to spread the love of a healthy lifestyle!

Stay up-to-date on the blog by following via email, Google, Twitter @SpinachisGood, Tumblr @ justrunningforfood, and on Pinterest @ Hannah Plunkett.

New post every Friday!

Keep Healthy and Safe!
H. Banana

Healthy Snack Ideas

 Snacks are something that can be either a healthy, beneficial small meal...or a diet-crashing, nutrient-void and unhealthy choice. Learning the difference and choosing the right snacks can be the difference between a healthy and unhealthy diet!

 

Healthy snacks can seem time-consuming or hard, but once you get a few basics, they can be so easy! I have a few favorites and a few go-to-s and I want to share those with you!

Fruit
This might seem like a no-brainer, but most people don't eat enough fruit! Try to eat at least one piece of fruit a day( an apple of day....) Fruits like apples, bananas and oranges are great for on-the-go snacks. Blueberries, raspberries and strawberries are great snacks too, just no super-portable!

Frozen Fruit
Easy my favorite summer-time snack, frozen fruit is amazing! No, not super-potable, but its a great snack to have at home. My favorites are mangoes( its like eating sorbet!), pineapple, and blueberries!

Nut Butters
Nut butters are a great snack, especially paired with fruit like apples and pears! When choosing a nut butter, make sure the ingredient list is limited to nuts only ( salt is fine as well).  You can even put it in a tiny container and take an apple along with you for a on-the-go snack!

Lara Bars
I love Lara Bars! They are super portable, so they make great snacks! Also, their ingredient list is amazingly sort and healthy! They are made from many fruit and nuts, and come in so many flavors! My favorites are Apple Pie, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, and Cashew Cookie.

Boom Chicka Pop!
Popcorn might not be the first thing you think of for healthy snacks, but it can be a perfectly healthy choice! Boom-Chicka-Pop is a great brand of pre-popped popcorn. The ingredient list is short: Popcorn, Sunflower oil, and sea salt. Also, it only has 35 calories per cup! Put it in a zip-lock or container and take it with you for a great and healthy snack!

Dried Fruits
Dried fruits are another portable snack idea. As long as the dried fruits don't have added sugars and additives/chemicals, they are perfectly healthy for you! Add them to a trail-mix or eat them alone for a great snack! My favorites are raisins, cranberries, pineapple and mangoes!

Nuts
Nuts are great to eat for a energy and protein boost! My favorites are cashews, almonds and pecans! you can add them to a trail-mix or eat them by themselves! Just remember, portion sizes really matters with these, so keep an eye on how much you eat in one sitting!

Seeds
These might seem like a salad topping, add to bread and muffins type of thing, but they make great snacks too! My favorites are sunflower and pumpkin! You can get them roasted, salted or raw, so try a few to find your favorites!

So, those are a few of my favorite healthy snacks! I hope you enjoyed this post and that it was helpful for you! If you liked this post, please share it with a friend and family member to spread the love of healthy living!
You can follow the blog via email, Google, Twitter @ SpinachisGood and on Pinterest @ Hannah Plunkett.

New post every Monday and Friday!

H. Banana

Healthy Honey Graham Crackers

Graham crackers are one of my favorite snack foods ever! My little brother almost always has a stash of them in my mom's bag or in the pantry, and he isn't the only one who eats them! But, most graham crackers aren't the healthiest choice out there and they are full of things you probably don't want to eat. So, that's why I decided to make healthier graham crackers that aren't full of chemicals and additives, refined sugars and flours! These are full of flavor from the honey, whole wheat flour and cinnamon, you'd never guess they were healthy!

 

There are a lot of graham cracker recipes out there, and I am not saying mines the best (you can be the judge of that!) but mine is one of the simpler ones. I wanted a recipe that was both simple, easy to follow and quick as well as healthy, full of flavor and delicious, so I created my own!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/3 cup Honey
1/4 cup Coconut Oil at room temp.
4 tbs Olive Oil
2 tbs Water (You might need more if your dough is a little dry)
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Vanilla

Start my mixing together the dry ingredients. To keep from having clumps of Baking Soda, spoon it into your hand first and get rid of the clumps before adding it to your mix.

Then add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing to combine.

It should come into a dough ball, but if it becomes crumbly, like mine did, add water bit by bit until it forms a dough ball.

 

Make sure you add the water while mixing, so parts of the dough doesn't go soggy.

 

Perfect! Now that the dough has formed a ball, we can move on to the next step.

place dough onto a well floured surface and give it a few squeezes to make sure all the crumbs won't fall off.

 

Roll the dough out fairly thin, but not see-through. Make sure it is even so that the cookies will all be the same thickness.

 

 

Cut you dough into desired shapes. I used a circle shape, but feel free to have fun with the shapes!  Use a fork and knife to make the traditional design, or draw any shape you would like!

Bake at 350 F for 12-15 minutes, or until they have gone a golden brown and the house if filled with a delicious cinnamon aroma! Let them cool before enjoying!

 

And we're done! See how simple homemade graham crackers are to make? And not only are they simple, but healthy and delicious as well!

 

I had fun with mine and drew smiley faces on a few of my cookies! They look cute, smell heavenly and taste just like store-bought( or maybe a little better!).

 

I hope you enjoyed this post! If you did, please share this post with a friend and family member! You can follow the blog via email, Google, Twitter @ SpinachisGood and on Pinterest @ Hannah Plunkett.

 

New post every Monday and Friday!

 

Keep healthy and Safe!

H. Banana

Post Workout Snacks

Eating a healthy and nutritious snack after your workout is a great way to reenergize your body and help it grow and become healthier! It is important that your after-workout snack is healthy, nutritious and full of the things your body needs after your workout!

Water is an important pre, during, and post workout drink. Make sure to drink lots of water!


Peanut Butter(Or any Nut Butter) on Apples. I love this snack, and its a great post workout snack because it replenishes your body with protein, natural sugars and fiber!

Banana Ice Cream. This healthy snack is pretty popular right now, so you won't have a hard time finding a recipe. This is a great snack because bananas have potassium which helps your muscles keep from being sore.

Protein Shake. Having a protein shake or smoothie is a great way to cool down after a workout and get some protein and fiber back into your body!

Trail Mix. Most trial mixes are a great post workout snack. The ones with candy in them, well...not so much, but the others are great! They have nuts, dried fruits and often seeds which gives your body a lot of important nutrients! You can even make your own Trail Mixes to met your preferences!

Oatmeal. Oatmeal is a great source of fiber and protein. Top it with nuts, dried and/or fresh fruit for a great post workout snack or breakfast!

Ham and Cheese on Crackers. This snack is great for a post workout snack because it contains protein, fiber, sugars and fats! Just make sure you are using good quality and healthy meat, cheeses and crackers!

Eating a healthy snack after your workout is a great way to maintain a healthy body!  I hope these snack ideas have given you inspiration for choosing the right post workout snacks!

Please share this post and my blog with your friends and family to spread the love of healthy living! You can follow the blog via email and/or Google, and on Twitter ( @ SpinachisGood) and on Pinterest (@ Hannah Plunkett).

Check for new post every Monday and Friday on everything healthy living!


Keep healthy  and safe!
H.Banana