Category: snack recipes

Banana-Peanut Butter Yogurt Parfait

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Banana-Peanut Butter Yogurt Parfait

This is one of my favorite new recipes to have for breakfast or after an at-home workout session:

Banana-Peanut Butter Yogurt Parfait

1 ripe banana

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon natural peanut butter

1/4 cup low-fat plain Greek-style strained yogurt

1 tablespoon unsalted roasted peanuts

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Slice 1 banana. Place half the slices in a small bowl or jar.

Sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon. Mash with back of fork.

Top with 1 tablespoon peanut butter.

Layer on 1/4 cup yogurt on top.

Add remaining banana slices.

Sprinkle on top 1 tablespoon peanuts.

Pistachio Ice Cream Affogato

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The recipe calls for high-quality pistachio ice cream. I found this in the spring issue of Magnolia Journal. Again this photo is not as pretty as the one in the magazine.

The Van Leeuwen ice cream doesn’t have the chemical additive of natural flavor. In this regard I will buy the product again.

Alas, ice cream of any kind is high in saturated fat and added sugars.

As an every so often treat though I think this recipe can’t be beat.

Use short glasses.

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One scoop premium-quality pistachio ice cream.

Espresso poured on to taste.

Sprinkle pistachios on. Drizzle honey atop if you’d like.

Pesto & White Bean Stuffed Tomato

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1 large tomato

1/4 cup canned white beans rinsed

2 teaspoons pesto

Torn fresh basil for garnish

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Slice tomato horizontally and hollow out each half. Fill with beans and drizzle with pesto.

You can sprinkle salt on the tomato and garnish with basil if you want.

I didn’t use the salt or basil.

This is the ideal quick meal recipe. Tomatoes are in season in the summer and even at the end of the summer.

These tomatoes would be a great snack instead of chips or pretzels.

I buy organic beefsteak tomatoes and Goya organic Cannellini beans to create the recipe.

Sweet Potato Snack #2

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Toast 1/4-inch thick sweet potato slices in oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Raspberry & Cream Cheese:

For each slice:

Add on top after cooking sweet potato:

1 1/2 Tbsp. reduced-fat cream cheese

1 1/2 tsp. mashed thawed frozen raspberries

2 tsp. toasted chopped hazelnuts

1/2 tsp. honey

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Be careful to use the right knife to slice the sweet potato.

Otherwise you could cut your thumb (aloe vera to the rescue!).

Sweet Potato Snack

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The recipe for this snack I took from the Eating Well Eating for Energy magazine. It’s a quick simple and easy healthful alternative to processed food snacks.

To make the sweet potato toast:

Cut 1/4-inch thick slices from the center of the potato. Toast until tender and starting to brown 12 to 15 minutes.

I used the oven and heated 2 potato slices for 30 minutes because it took longer to toast the slices.

Apple & Smoked Gouda

On each slice add:

2 Tbsp. shredded smoked Gouda + 4 apple slices

+ 1 tsp. toasted coconut

+ 1/2 tsp. maple syrup

+1/8 tsp. flaky sea salt

This is the tastiest snack that I had for dinner using 2 slices of sweet potatoes.

It could be the ideal snack post-workout if you exercise in a home gym.

Nectarine Bruschetta

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2 Tbsp white wine vinegar

2 tsp honey

1 nectarine sliced

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 Tbsp very coarsely cracked black pepper

2 large, thick slices country bread

6 Tbsp ricotta cheese divided

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In a bowl, whisk together vinegar and honey to dissolve. Add nectarine slices and toss to coat.

Let marinate 10 minutes. Add oil and pepper and toss to coat.

Grill or toast bread and spread with ricotta. Then spoon nectarines and juices on top.

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Though the recipe is supposed to serve 2 I had the two bruschetta slices on my own.

I used the kind of small peppermill you buy at the supermarket to twist and grind the pepper.

Keep the bottles and ingredients together in one place like on a cutting board in the sink. This will make cleanup easier. I used an ordinary soup bowl to marinate the nectarines in. You can use a small glass mixing bowl.

Chocolate Cornstarch Pudding

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I took this recipe from allrecipes.com. Just say no to boxed instant pudding with food dye. Per serving this had 33g sugar so it’s best reserved for an every-so-often treat.

To its credit the recipe per serving has 6g protein.

The recipe serves 4. Yet I used only 3 crystal bowls filled up near to the top.

For a summertime and year-round treat I say yes to this pudding from scratch.

The chocolate pudding tastes like real chocolate. Not the chemical chocolate taste of the instant boxed kind.

I had a bowl of this chocolate for breakfast. It tastes delish. I recommend steering clear of products in supermarkets. Instead use recipes or create on your own recipes for food like this that you can make from scratch.

Though you were supposed to stir constantly for 20 minutes on medium heat I have a hotter flame. So I stirred the mixture for only 10 minutes.

Here’s the recipe:

Chocolate Cornstarch Pudding

1/2 cup white sugar

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 3/4 cups milk

2 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  1. Stir together sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in a saucepan. Place over medium heat and stir in milk.
  2. Bring to a boil, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a metal spoon.
  3. remove from heat, and stir in butter and vanilla.
  4. Let cool briefly, and serve warm, or chill in the refrigerator until serving.

Tofu Pudding

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This dessert is cool and sweet on a hot summer evening. I found the recipe in Bon Appetit magazine.

I buy the Nasoya organic silken tofu. The recipe calls for a 16 oz. package of silken tofu.

Bring one 1/2 inch piece scrubbed ginger thinly sliced 1 cup packed dark brown sugar and 2 cups water to boil in medium saucepan.

Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until sugar is dissolved.

Strain the ginger syrup into a small jar or airtight container. Discard ginger.

Chill until cold at least 30 minutes. Pour over tofu to taste.

Ginger syrup can be stored in refrigerator up to 3 weeks.

Portable Snacks – Part Two

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The Hope hummus and organic carrot sticks shown are sold on FreshDirect.

I buy this brand because it doesn’t contain natural flavor as an ingredient like other hummus does.

The term natural flavor is a euphenism for chemicals whose real names the government doesn’t require to be listed on the nutrition label.

So rest assured if you’re consuming food and drink products with “natural flavor” you’re loading your body up with chemicals.

At times I do buy and use a product that has natural flavor. Only not as an every week occurrence. Not as an every few weeks occurrence.

FreshDirect sells their own brand of vegetable stock that doesn’t contain natural flavor like every other boxed vegetable stock brand does.

So I buy 2 containers of the FreshDirect vegetable stock as a time.

The combo shown above is the perfect 3:00 p.m. snack when you’re at an office job or other job where you can store things in a refrigerator.

Portable Snacks – Part One

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The first photo is of the box the stainless steel containers with silicon lids were packaged in. The last photo is of the “trail mix” I created in the portable tin.

The cashews, coconut chips, and chocolate chips are sold on FreshDirect.

The mini chips list cane sugar as the first ingredient so should be eaten in moderation.

Otherwise once or twice a week it could be okay to make this trail mix to take on the go.

I’ll post a carnival of portable snacks blog entries today. The next one is a far better option than a candy bar.

The Tavva stainless steel containers are sold on Amazon.

Minus the mini chips cashews and coconut chips are fine on their own.