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

Salud! Cooking School at Whole Foods: Part 5: Day 5

Ah,  day 5 was a lot of fun, even if it was the last day of school. We got to invite a friend or family member to come for lunch and eat a lunch that we prepared. On this day we took a trip to France and made several traditional French dishes.

We made a herby salad, fresh tomato tart, quiche, asparagus, garlic knots, and chocolate cremeux. I am not a big fan of quiche, but everyone else said it was delicious. I liked everything else, especially the chocolate dessert!

 

We were taught how to set a table properly and fold napkins into a pretty shape. The we decorated the tables with fancy table clothes and decorations to make it pretty for our guest!

 

Alright, on to the food! :)

We made some really yummy asparagus with lemon zest and butter brushed on them. They were soft and tender, just how I like them! I loved them and will try the recipe very soon!

Then we made a salad filled with all kinds of herbs, lettuce and topped with a shallot vinaigrette. It was spicy, flavorful and very delicious! It was one of my favorite parts of the meal!

Like I said, I don't like quiche, but many people do, so I'll talk about it too! We used a dough to make a crust in some mini muffin tins. Then we filled them with an egg, cheese, bacon and chives mixture.

Next was the tomato tart. Tart Tatin is what it was called. We used a puff pastry crust and topped it with a cream cheese, lemon zest and seasonings. Then we layered tomato slices on top and finished it with salt, pepper, and chives! It was a different and delicious dish! I made to try it very soon, maybe in personal size dishes?...

Finally, for dessert we had chocolate cremeux. It is much like a chocolate pudding, only firmer and much richer! You can see by the small serving container, a little bit is plenty! It was so rich, creamy, chocolate, and amazing! I loved it and so did the rest of my family! We had my Mom, little sister and little brother as our guest for lunch!

 

Well,  that is Day 5 of our cooking school at Whole Foods! This was the last day of the school, and my sister and I can't believe how quickly the time flew by! We learned so much and I have so many different recipes I want to try! I also realized even more how much I want to make a career out of my passion for making(and eating!) delicious and healthy food!

 

Please share this post with a friend and family member! You can follow the blog via email and Google, Twitter @ SpinachisGood and on Pinterest @ Hannah Plunkett.

 

New Post every Monday and Friday!

 

Keep healthy and Safe!

 

H. Banana

Salud! Cooking School at Whole Foods: Part 4: Day 4

Day 4 was my favorite day of all. It was a delicious trip to India! I loved everything we made on this day, and I am planning to make these recipes very soon so my family can enjoy the amazing food as well!

We made a fresh cucumber salad, a delicious rice pilaf, vegetable curry, garlic naan, and a traditional dessert called Halva! Not everyone was a fan of the halva( I enjoyed a small portion at a time!) but everything else was a huge hit!

I only got a picture of everything already on the plate, so no individual pictures (sorry!).

Lets start with the cucumber salad. It was a fresh mix of veggies, seasonings and a light dressing. Delicious, fresh and a perfect addition to the meal!

Next, my personal favorite of the meal, a rice pilaf! We used onions, almonds and raisins to make this dish amazing! I loved it so much and I cannot wait to make it again! We actually cooked it in the oven and added peas when it came out of the oven!

Then we worked on our vegetable curry. We used a variety of veggies: potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, cauliflower and peppers. We cooked it in a coconut milk/curry sauce until the veggies were tender and soft. So amazing and so full of flavor! I loved this dish so much!

We made garlic naan next. As you may know, I make naan at home often, but their method and recipe was a bit different from mine and it was cool to learn something new! We cooking it in the oven and then brushed it with a garlicky butter when it was done! Delicious and a perfect addition to this Indian meal!

For dessert we made halva. It is a sweet cookie-dough like dessert, that takes some getting used to. We cooked it over the stove and then let it cool in the fridge. We scooped it out and topped it with chocolate chips and crushed pistachios. It was very sweet and a little bit went a long way!

Well, that was Day 4 of our Cooking School at Whole Foods! Only one more day left! This day was by far my favorite day( expect for dessert. There I liked the Latin dessert best!)!

Please share this post with a friend and family member! 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

Salud! Cooking School at Whole Foods: Part 3: Day 3

Day 3 of our Cooking School was a trip to Asia! We made a lot of traditional dishes from several different regions and we learned a few tips to making amazing Asian food!

We made Vietnamese Spring Rolls, Chicken Satay, Peanut Sauce, Vegetable Lo Mein, and Almond Cookies. Everything was delicious, and we learned how to use chop sticks! My sister and I were both really proud of ourselves when we finished our meal using only the chop sticks!

 

The first thing we made was the Chicken Satay. We made a quick marinade for the chicken with yogurt, curry powder, garlic and ginger! Then we threaded the chicken on to skewers and grilled them on a grill pan. They smelled amazing and tasted even better!

Then we made Vegetable Lo Mein in a wok. We learned the method of stir frying the right way( quick and hot is the key!) then we added noodles and a soy sauce and the dish was finished! It came together so quick it was almost unbelievable! It was delicious!

 

Then we learned to roll Spring Rolls. The filling was a veggie-pork mix that was made ahead of time. We rolled the filling into some wrappers and the instructors fried them for us. They we really yummy and a great addition to the meal!

 

 

To finish the meal we made some almond cookies. These are a traditional Chinese sweet and they were really yummy. A super simple recipe and method make these cookies a great treat for any time of the day and year!

Well, that was Day 3 of our Cooking School at Whole Foods! Stay tuned for Day 4 of this post-series!

Please share this post with a friend and family member! 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

Salud! Cooking School at Whole Foods: Part 2: Day 2

  So, Day 2 of our cooking school at Whole Foods was Latin food! It was one of my favorite days for many reasons! 1, our family lives off of Mexican Food, 2, lots of fresh veggies and flavors, 3 GUACAMOLE!!!

The Menu
 We made a lot of delicious food on this day, and I loved all of it! We made some guacamole, steak tostados, bean and corn salsa, strawberry limeade, and Alfajores!

 

The guacamole was really yummy! We used something called a tomatillo in the recipe. I have never use one before, but I already knew I liked the taste! It was a great blend of chunky and smooth and spicy! I  make my own guacamole at home, and I was excited to add a new recipe to my stash!

 

The staff had made a marinade for the steak before we arrived, because it needed to sit for a few hours. They grilled it along with some tomato slices and onions! Let me tell you, the smells that filled the kitchen were out of this world!

The corn and bean salsa was really amazing! It was a mix of corn, beans, tomatoes, onions and cilantro! We also added balsamic vinegar to the mix and it really took this dish up a notch!

We made a Tostada Bar and everyone went through the line to make their own tostada. There was our salsas( I didn't get a picture of the tomatoes salsa!)  guacamole, grilled meat and veggies along with cheese, limes and sour cream!

I liked everything! Everything was delicious and I can't wait to recreate the dishes at home for my whole family to enjoy!

 

After this delicious feast, we had some alfajores cookies. These are a traditional Latin sweet, and one bite is enough for you to fall in love!

These cookies are two almond shortbread cookies sandwiched between some Dulce de Leche sauce! They are so amazing!!!!! The perfect balance of buttery, crunching, dry cookie and creamy, smooth, rich and delicious caramel sauce! We took some home for the family to try, and they loved them as well!


Well, that was Day 2 of our cooking experience at the Whole Food's Cooking School! Stay tuned for Day 3 in this post-series!

If you liked this post, please share it with a friend and family member! You can follow the blog via email, Google, Twitter @ SpinachisGood and Pinterest @ Hannah Plunkettt.

New post every Monday and Friday!

Keep healthy and safe!
H. Banana

Salud! Cooking School at Whole Foods: Part 1: Day 1

   This past week my sister, Emma, and I attended a cooking school at the Whole Foods Market near us. The cooking school is called Salud!  and this class focused on different cuisines from around the world. We learned a lot about different cultures, ways to prepare food, and we ate a lot of tasty food! I want to share with you the food we made, the things we learned and how much we enjoyed the class!

The School
Salud Cooking School is the cooking school inside Whole Foods. There are several other Whole Foods that have this same school, so check the one near you. I know the one close to us didn't have one, so we drove to a Whole Foods that did have one. The instructors and staff at the store and school are all very helpful, cheerful and nice! They have classes on all different topics and all different age groups! I encourage you to look into the Whole Foods near you and see what classes their school offers!

Day 1
The first day of class I forgot to bring a camera, so I don't have any pictures (Sorry!) but we did make some delicious food that is worth talking about! This day was Italian Food day, so we traveled to Italy to make some of their classic dishes!

We made homemade pizza dough and topped it with a homemade marinara sauce and cheese. Then we made lasagna with some more of the marinara sauce and a ricotta cheese filling. Next we made a amazing kale Caprese salad with tomatoes and mozzarella cheese!  For dessert we made a teacup tiramisu. Their recipe was a bit different from ours( we use coffee and Kahlua in our recipe and they used chocolate milk---more kid friendly I guess!) but it was still really yummy!


I loved the pizza! It tasted just like the pizza you can buy in the Whole Foods deli(big surprise there!) The crust was a simple dough that we let rest and rise, then we stretched it into personal-sized pizzas. The we topped it with some marinara sauce we had made and then some cheese!

Next was the lasagna. Now, I'm not a huge fan of lasagna, but my sister, Emma, is and she assured me it was delicious! The method was simple enough, we made a ricotta cheese filling and spread it between some lasagna noodles. Then we rolled them up and topped them with the marinara sauce and cheese!

The salad was my favorite dish of the day! It was light and flavorful all at once! We used kale( Quick Tip for working with kale. After you tear it off the stem and into bite sized pieces, massage it for a few minutes with your hands. This softens the leaves up and makes for a better bite! Just make sure you have clean hands!) tomatoes, mozzarella cheese balls,  and pine nuts! Then we made a spicy vinaigrette to dress it with!

Finally, for dessert we made a kid-friendly version of a tiramisu. We made a mascarpone cheese mixture(classic to a tiramisu) and used eggs to make it into a pudding. We chilled that to help it set. Then we soaked lady finger cookies in chocolate milk and placed them in teacups. We topped the cookies with our pudding mix and shaved chocolate on top! I have to say, I like our recipe better, but their take on a tiramisu was interesting and yummy too!

So that was Day 1 of our Cooking School experience! My sister and I had so much fun the first day, that we couldn't wait to go back the next day! Be on the look out for Part 2: Day 2!

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

I post every Monday and Friday, so follow the blog to stay up to date on all things healthy living!

Keep Healthy and Safe!
H. Banana