**Favorite Snacks and Sweets**

Pumpkin No Bake Energy Bites
courtesy of www.gimmesomeoven.com

8 oz. (about 1 packed cup) chopped dates
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 Tbsp. chia seeds or flax seeds
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
1 cup old-fashioned oats (dry, not cooked)
1 cup toasted coconut flakes (opt...add more 1/2 cup more oats if emitting)
1 cup toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

 

Method

Combine the dates, honey, pumpkin puree, chia (or flax) seeds, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt in a food processor, and pulse until smooth and combined.

Transfer the mixture to a large bowl, and stir in the oats, coconut flakes and pepitas until evenly combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Once the mixture is cool (and easier to work with), use a spoon or cookie scoop to shape it into your desired size of energy balls. (Mine were about 1-inch in diameter.) Alternately, you can line a small baking pan with parchment paper, and press the mixture evenly into the pan, let it cool, and then cut into bars.

Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. (Storing them in the refrigerator especially helps the energy bites hold their shape.)

Kale Chips

1 bunch of Kale

Olive Oil Spray

Garlic Salt or Sea Salt

Add any spice you would like (paprika; cumin; curry powder; thyme; oregano, etc)

 

Preheat oven to 350˚F with the rack in the middle. Rinse kale & dry it well in a salad spinner or blot with paper towels. Trim leafy parts from stem and tear leaves into bite sized pieces. Spray leafs lightly with olive oil or cooking spray. Season with salt and/or spices according to taste. You will not need as much salt as you might think. Arrange pieces in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for about 10 to 15 minutes or until crisp. Turn a few times with tongs while to ensure an even crispiness on both sides. Your chips should come out crispy and slightly browned on the edges. Once they start browning they burn quickly so be sure watch them carefully. Adjust seasoning if desired. Place in a paper bag.

 



Raw Ice Cream

• 1 cup frozen strawberries  (or other berry)
• 3 ripe frozen bananas
• 2 tablespoons (or more) nuts milk (like rice milk or almond milk...I like vanilla almond milk)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Blend the frozen strawberries with the nuts milk until a sorbet like texture with the S knife. (Or you can use a powerful blender)
2. Add the frozen bananas and blend until it’s all mixed up, creamy & fluffy. The bananas should be very ripe and frozen for at least 12 hours.
3. Serve right away or store in the freezer.

Time for preparation: 5 min. Serves: 4.

Guacamole

3-4 ripe avocados

1/3 Cup your favorite Pico de Gallo

Squirt of lime (to taste)

Smash avocados in bowl and add Pico.

Mix.

Add lime.

Sweet Potato Fries

2-3 yellow or orange sweet potatoes

Grapeseed oil/coconut oil

Favorite seasoning (opt)

Real Salt

Wash and peel potatoes.

 Cut about 1/2" wide and 3-4" long and spread on cookie sheet.

Brush with oil and seasoning.

Cook @350 degrees until tender- About 30-40 minutes

Faux Kettle Corn

Air-pop 3 batches of popcorn (or microwave 2 bags of plain microwave popcorn), then pour it into a paper grocery bag or a very large mixing bowl.

If your coconut oil is solid, place its container in a sink of hot tap water to melt it first. Then put 1/3 C Agave Nectar and 1/3 C coconut oil in a blender and mix well. Then slowly pour the mixture over the popcorn in the bowl or paper bag. Gradually sprinkle with 2 tsp. sea salt while shaking or stirring it well.

No-Cook Chocolate Chia Crispies

(Green Smoothie Girl 12 Steps to Whole Foods)

1 C Almond Butter (or organic peanut butter)

2/3 C raw honey

1/4 C chia seeds

1/4 C raw cacao powder (or unsweetened cocoa, which is less nutritious)

1/3 C coconut oil

1 Tbsp vanilla

1/4 tsp sea salt

6 C crisped brown rice (in a cereal box at the health food store)

Cream together all the wet ingredients in a large bowl by hand. Add the chia seeds, cacao, and salt and then blend well. Add the crisped rice and stir until evenly mixed. Chill the dough for 1-2 hours, then form into balls and refrigerate until serving.

Just a couple of notes:

*Drink water with these, as chia absorbs up to 10 times its own weight in liquid

*I used Carob powder instead of Cacao (found it at Sunflower Market)

*I also found crisped brown rice cereal at Sunflower Market...I only added about 5 1/2 cups

Green Smoothie Popsicles

Handful of spinach (or kale or mixture)

1 Avocado

Juice from 1 Grapefruit

Juice from 1 Lime

1/2 English Cucumber

1/2 Cup (or more) Rice milk/Almond milk/Coconut Milk

1 Tbsp Flaxseed

Blend together and pour into molds and freeze...Walah!

Brown Smoothie Popsicles

(a little more fruit)

Handful Spinach

1/2 Cup Peaches

1/2 Cup Raspberries

1/2 banana

1/2 Lime

1/2 Cup (or more) Rice milk/Almond Milk/Coconut Milk

1 Tbsp flax seed

Blend and pour into molds...Freeze!

Basically, you can add whatever you like in your smoothie minus the ice cubes and freeze! :)

 

Rainy Day Banana Bread

 http://www.greenshakesandgiggles.com/

1/2 cup unsweetened milk alternative of choice (I use almond)

2 tablespoons ground flaxseed (hmmm...I actually didn't grind this up. Still turned out ok)

1 egg or 1/4 cup egg replacement (optional)

2 cups whole grain spelt flour or whole wheat flour (I used spelt flour)

2 tablespoons finely shredded dried coconut

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 cup grapeseed oil

1 dropper full vanilla creme stevia, or 1 teaspoon vanilla

3-4 medium sized very very ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 cups nuts, dried fruit, or other add-ins (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350. Spray a 9x5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl combine the milk alternative and flaxseed and egg and set aside. In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Returning to your mixing bowl, blend in the oil, vanilla stevia, and bananas until well mixed. Stir in the dry ingredients being careful not to over-mix; a few lumps are okay. Gently fold in the coconut and nuts and any other dried fruit you want. Spread the batter into prepared pan, and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the top is browned and resilient to the touch (I always stick a toothpick in to make sure it's done). Cool for 10-15 minutes before removing it from pan and placing on wire rack.

yields 10-12 servings

*I prefer to use 4 full sized bananas. It's more flavorful and moist.

 But using 3 bananas does allow the bread to rise more.