#HolidayDetox Part 4- Guilt Free Snacks

This week my focus is snacks and I still got my girl Jennifer from Peanut Butter and Peppers on board to provide you with even MORE healthy recipes. Who doesn't love to snack? Myself, I am more of a meal kinda girl. So last week's post was my favorite, I am a dinner girl to the end! But I have come to realize that snacks can be very important. Like that moment in between meals, the moment that you would eat cardboard if you had to because your stomach is stabbing and nagging at you to eat. Well we gotta be prepared for this crisis and even if you don't think you will need them, pack yourself some snacks!

What kinda foods do you think of as snacks? Usually people think of the usual suspects: cookies, chips, candy, pretzels etc. These are common snacks, but the irony is none of these things fill you for long. They are all simple carbs and fats make your energy literally crash and burn. Yup more evidence we are what we eat!

I used to eat these kinds of snacks until I knew better. I wanna share with you some quick easy healthy snack recipes. Snacks that are delicious, easy to prepare, have some great nutrition and will get you to your next meal without the "hanger".

First up- I developed my very own Peanut Butter Spread! Because who doesn't love peanut butter, but who does like all the fat?!

Don't forget to see the bottom of this post for pics of Jennifer's recipes and a direct link to them!

Reduced Fat Peanut Butter Spread

Why is this a Foodgasm?

Peanut Butter is soooo good, but really high in fat. So I usually don't eat it much. You ever hear of Better n' Peanut Butter? It is a low fat peanut butter spread cut with some tapioca so it has a lot less fat. Well I came up with the idea to try and make my own natural peanut butter spread, but cut it with chickpeas. I figure the texture should blend well with it all. So I roasted some peanuts in the oven for a few minutes to make them fragrant and release the natural oil, them put them in a food processor and combined in some chick peas and additional oil as well as some honey for flavor. The texture is not the same as regular peanut butter but it is spreadable and it tastes really good. You can't taste the chickpeas nearly as much as the peanuts.  

Seriously I think sometimes the fact I am not a trained chef can be as much as strength as a weakness. When it comes to low fat recipes you really gotta think outside the box and I am really proud of the ingenuity I used with this one! Seriously, chickpeas and peanut butter, who woulda thought of that?! It is actually good too!! Like I was really enjoying every bite!

What you need

1 1/2 cups unsalted peanuts
1 cup chickpeas
7 tbsp canola oil
4 tsp honey

How to make it

1- Roast peanuts in the oven at 350 for 7 minutes
2- Put all ingredients into a food processor and let it run until mixture is creamy

Nutritional Info 

 All the protein punch of Peanut butter with 30% less fat!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roasted Red Pepper, Basil and Goat Cheese Hummus

Why is this a Foodgasm?

Hummus is something I have really come to love. It is a dip made of ground chickpeas and it's packed with flavor and protein and very low in fat! Of course you don't eat it by itself. I LOVE hummus with baby carrots! So I decided to make my own variation with goat cheese, because I am obsessed with goat cheeese soooo sweet and creamy! Also been loving the combo or roasted red peppers and basil. So I added these flavors together to give you this Mediterranean masterpiece. A trip to Italy for your mouth. If you cannot afford the real thing, if you close your eyes and really concentrate you may see yourself in a villa in Tuscany, but no promises. This is a little sweet, a little spicy and very savory. It would also be amazing with toasted pitas! Why not add it to a sandwich?

What you need

2 cups chickpeas
1 roasted red pepper
2 tsp chopped garlic
1 teaspoon chili Oil
5 basil leaves
2 tbsp goat cheese

 How to make it
1- Combine ALL ingredients until creamy in food processor
2- Top with some extra goat cheese if desired and serve with the dipper of your choice.

Nutritional Info

Lots of vitamins up in here!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Salt and Vinegar Kale Chips

Why is this a Foodgasm?

So I totally jumped on the Kale bandwagon guys, it happened. Mark this day on your calenders, LOL. So I will let you in on the secret, Kale chips are NOT potato chips, don't expect them to be. If you don't expect it to be a potato chip and take it for what it is they are quite tasty.

So every experience we have shape us weather we realize it or not. When making these I didn't realize it, but they were totally inspired by a dish that I had recently and LOVED, Burnt Sprout Leaves! Basically they were crispy leaves from brussels sprouts with salt and vineger reminiscent to that classic potato chip. The flavor of salt and vinegar lended itself really well with the present veggie flavor. So these were definitely inspired by Jackson's Restaurant, thanks Shelby and Harry!

So I made my own version. These are soooo easy to make and pretty addictive to eat, I could have eaten the entire batch! Really delicious!

What you need

1 large bunch of kale, ripped into bite size pieces.
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Splash of Red Wine Vinegar
Salt to your liking
Dash of pepper

How to make it

1- Preheat oven to 300º
2- Toss kale pieces in 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Salt and pepper (if desired)
3- Bake for about 14 minutes
4- Toss in a drizzle of vinegar and a little more Salt.

Nutritional Info

Can't argue with these stats! AMAZING source of Vitamin A and C! Super low in fat and calories too!

Jennifer's Snack Recipes this week!

Awesome yogurt recipes!!!

Peanut Butter and Honey Oat Bars

Seriously I want one NOW! Great job Jennifer!