How 'bout them apples?

I had this idea that I just had to try... My kids love peanut butter and apples... my kids love peanut butter and honey on apples... but what would happen if, let's say, we took the apples and the honey and peanut butter and dipped them in the granola? I was going for a sort of a candied apple treat that had no candy and was somewhat healthy... So I had to test out my idea... as a lover of crunchy apples and all things peanut butter and all things granola I have to say that this was one WOW of an afternoon snack!

Ingredients per medium sized apple:

2 tbs of peanut butter, regular or chunky
1-2 tsp honey
1/2 cup of granola -- you will not use it all

Directions:

Wash and slice apples
In a bowl place peanut butter and honey and place in microwave for about 35 seconds
Using a fork blend the peanut butter and honey mixture
Using a knife spread some of the mixture onto the apple
Either dip the apple into the granola or using a spoon sprinkle a very generous amount of granola over the apple slice... you may need to repeat another time or so.
Repeat until all the apple slices have been covered.

We ate this as our afternoon snack but this would be fabulous for breakfast...

It would also be great over bananas!

One chicken: Many Salads

Image courtesy JD Foods

I adore chicken salad. My family adores it as well. I often cook extra chicken so that we can turn it into chicken salad for leftovers. It makes for a great afternoon snack with a few crackers, a nice hearty sandwich for lunch or dinner. I can also toss it into a salad. It's really the perfect food and the fact that it's protein-packed means that it will really satisfy an appetite and not leave you feeling hungry shortly thereafter.

There are so many variations but let's start off with a basic chicken salad.

Ingredients:

4 - 8 skinless chicken breasts (or more) cleaned and trimmed
1/4 onion finely chopped
*Light mayonnaise (I use about 2 tablespoon per breast)
2 stalks of celery, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Tarragon to taste

In a large pot bring water to a ** boil.
Add chicken breasts and cook for about 20 minutes
Remove from water and let cool.
Cut into bite sized pieces. In a large bowl toss in with mayo, onion, celery, salt, pepper and tarragon. Adjust seasonings to taste if necessary.

Serve with a green salad, French bread or as a sandwich on rye, sourdough, country hearth, or whole wheat sandwich bread.

* Regular mayonnaise has 100 calories per tablespoon and light mayonnaise has just 40 calories per tablespoon. If you haven't already make the switch!

** If you live in an area where you can grill year-round or where your grill is not covered with a foot of snow, grilled chicken makes a wonderful chicken salad and adds wonderful flavors and textures. You simply need to season your chicken with salt, pepper and olive oil. BBQ'd chicken makes a wonderful chicken salad as well!

Other variations:

* Instead of the tarragon  you could add some Herbes de Provence or Italian Seasonings. I just love to use the Herbes de Provence in mine!
* My son loves to add some BBQ sauce to his.
* I have added feta, olives, peppers and oregano to give it a Greek twist
* Add a little bit of Dijon mustard
* Sprinkle a little bit of Gorgonzola, and toasted pine nuts to give it an Italian flair
* Some people like grapes or cashews or dried cranberries
* Toss in some pesto with a squeeze of extra lemon
* You can do the same with a chimichuri sauce or a cilantro sauce. I just love the flavors these add.
* Rosemary and lemon add a nice fresh almost summery flavor
* Substitute regular salt for something like Lawry's Seasoned Salt for an intense flavor
* Add an olive tapenade (good quality, store bought is fine)
* Add sun dried tomatoes
* Dill and the juice and zest of a lemon
(Use fresh herbs when in season. Dried herbs are fine as well.)

I bet with all these suggestions you'll have a lot of chicken salad from here on in as well!

Snack Ideas for your car, work and when you are on the run...

Image from Going-Well.com

Snacking is my weakness... my downfall. I would easily trade a  meal for a couple of snacks. And sometimes I do. Sometimes it is not plausible for me to sit and eat a proper breakfast or lunch. And when I don't I get hungry. Ah, let's face it, even when I do I still get hungry. I could just eat all day long! And because of this I need to make sure that healthy snacks are within my reach at all times -- at home, at work and in the car. We covered the home part yesterday. I'll share some ideas for work and car.

In the summertime I keep a small Igloo cooler in the back of the SUV. I place a new ice pack in it every morning and fill it with waters, juices for the kids, and occasionally a Diet Coke for me! I also keep fresh fruit in it.

During the winter I do not need a cooler and since the kids are not spending much time outdoors I don't really keep snacks for them in the car... just a few water bottles. I, however, live in my car year round and spend more time in it than I'd care to... I take the kids to school, hop over to the gym, go to work or run errands or have an interview/story/article to cover... have to pick the kids up from school and run errands and take them to their activities and doctor's appointments and play dates... and well, you get the idea. So, I need snacks in the car. I need healthy snacks in my car. And I always make sure that I have something at hand.

Yes, I hit Starbucks more often than I should. My too-sweet and flavored coffees have been replaced by my newest obsession, Chai Lattes. When ordered with skim milk it's a sweet, delicious low fat treat! Other than that waters and snacks are in the car.

Snacks for the Car
Bottled waters
Low cal sports drinks
Sugar Free iced teas
Apples, sometimes whole, sometimes sliced, in a Ziplock bags.
Grapes are the perfect car snack!
Clementines
Nuts, pre-portioned in Ziplock bags
Granola, pre-portioned in Ziplock bags
Pretzels
Wheat Thins
Granola/Power/Protein bars
Trail mix, pre-portioned in Ziplock bags
Animal crackers are a perfect treat for when you must have something sweet. The small boxes are fun and portion controlled.

Snacks at the workplace

You can have any of the above-mentioned at the workplace. In addition, most offices have refrigerators or access to them. If you do have access to such:
yogurt
yogurt drinks
cottage cheese
cheese sticks
applesauce
Veggies/crudites and low fat dip/salad dressing

Keep a bowl of fresh fruit on your desk. It looks pretty and will keep you from wanting to grab something calorie-laden! Certain fruits like apples and clementines last longer on the shelf than some others. Clementines are preferable over oranges as they are easier to peel and less messy.

Do you have any ideas to add?

Healthy Snacks for the Family

Photo from Flickr

I don't know about you, but lately it seems I hear groans when my kids want a snack and I suggest they grab a piece of fruit. Fruit? How drab! How boring! How healthy Mom! "I don't want anything healthy!" That's a funny comment because in this house they're not getting anything that's not... On a rare occasion we'll have hot chocolate with marshmallows or whipped cream, or something homemade and fresh out of the oven. Most days, however, the boring healthy stuff!

Kids are like adults. Food must be appealing. If I have time I'll make up a nice presentation. I also try to get creative and mix things up a bit. We all need variety and kids are no exception.

Fresh fruit in a bowl on the counter might look pretty to a grown-up, but kids need a little more in the wow department...

Snack ideas -- Fruit
My kids love party toothpicks... the more festive the more fun. Serve some of the following with fancy toothpicks!

Blueberries in yogurt
Blueberries in yogurt over lowfat granola
Blueberry Smoothies
Strawberries
Strawberries dipped in yogurt (vanilla) and then dipped in sprinkles
Apples cut up with peanut butter
Apples cut up with peanut butter and drizzled with honey
Apples dipped in *cinnamon sugar
Bananas drizzled with honey
Bananas with peanut butter
Bananas dipped in yogurt and then dipped in sprinkles

Snack ideas -- Non-fruit!
Pita chips and hummus
Pretzels and hummus
Veggies and hummus (not as popular with my kids!)
Pretzels with mustard
Pretzels with Queso dip -- the jarred variety is actually fairly low in fat and calories... just watch serving sizes!
Pretzels with *melted cheese
Pita chips and salsa
Baked tortilla chips and salsa
White corn chips (Syder's is lower in calories and sat fat then regular tortilla chips) and salsa

A slice of toast with peanut butter or peanut butter and honey or peanut butter and banana
An English Muffin with *melted cheese
English muffin with peanut butter/jelly (English muffins are a great choice. 110 calories per muffin!)
A bowl of soup. Soups are (for the most part) low fat and filling!
Mixed nuts -- watch portions!
Trail mix -- *make your own!
Granola -- lowfat or make your own and watch portions!
A plate of cheese, crackers and apple or pear slices
Pudding made with skim or 1% milk
Deviled eggs -- made with lowfat mayonnaise. 1 egg (2 halves) packs a bunch of protein!
Popcorn
Mixed dry fruit (with or without nuts)
Crudites (veggies) and lowfat dip

Finger sandwiches (smaller and leaner than their regular counterparts!):
Using Pepperidge Farm Very Thin bread
   Turkey
   Ham
   Cucumber
   Tuna

Kabobs (Kids love these!)
Fruit kabob -- String together various pieces of fruit on to a bamboo skewer
Veggie kabob -- String together various veggies (cucumbers/cherry tomatoes/peppers) onto a bamboo skewer with a small dish of lowfat dressing to dip into
Fruit and cheese kabob
Veggie and cheese kabob

Breakfast for snack!
2 waffles, pancakes or pieces of French toast cut into strips -- honey or maple syrup for dipping
Cereal
Life -- sweet without an overload of sugar
Cornflakes or Rice Krispies drizzled with honey
A small bowl of oatmeal with raisins or dried cranberries (not the instant please!)
Muffins (homemade are healthier, smaller and contain less fats)
   Blueberry
   Apple
   Banana
   Pumpkin
   Sweet potato
   Oatmeal raisin
(Plenty of recipes in this blog to choose from!)
Fruit breads
Made with very little fat (canola oil) these make a nice snack or breakfast
Strawberry
Apple
Zucchini
Blueberry
Pumpkin
Banana
(Plenty of recipes in this blog to choose from!)

* Pretzels (or Triscuits or pita chips) with melted cheese
Preheat oven to broil (hi)
Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil
Place desired amount of pretzels on cookie sheet
Sprinkle generously with your favorite shredded cheese (cheddar, Mexican, etc)
Place under broiler and watch closely until the cheese starts to bubble and turn a golden brown.
Remove from oven and place on a plate with mustard for dipping, if desired.

* English muffins with melted cheese
My kids (as do I!) love these and they are a much better and healthier substitution to the fat-laden grilled cheese sandwich.
Preheat oven to broil (hi)
Halve your English muffin and place in toaster until lightly toasted
When done place sliced cheese (cheddar, American, etc) on each half
Place aluminum foil on a cookie sheet
Place English muffin with cheese on cookie sheet
Place in oven and watch closely until cheese starts to bubble and turn brown.
I am normally not at all a lover of American cheese, but melted on this it is fantastic!

* Trail Mix
Equal amounts raisins and or dried cranberries and nuts such as dry roasted peanuts mixed with half the amount of chocolate chips. Sometimes I add the Pepperidge Farm pretzel goldfish to this as well. So much more less expensive to make your own!