Easy Kid-Friendly Snacks for Busy Moms & Dads

The Holiday season is already upon us, and many of my wonderful fans and followers on Facebook and Twitter have been asking for simple tips and recipes for kids during the holidays that busy moms and dads can use to both entertain and inspire healthful snacking. Below I have included both a short list of quick and easy snack ideas that can also both be fun and healthy for parents and kids alike.  I have also included a delightful recipe from my forthcoming "Cooking with Quinoa for Dummies" book, set to be released early next month, for amazing Quinoa Breakfast Bars, full of fiber and flavor that are sure to impress.

Air popped popcorn – you can even string them up and use as a Christmas tree decoration!Ants on a log – spread low fat cream cheese or peanut butter on a celery stalk and sprinkle on some raisins or dried cranberries, blueberries or cherries.Fresh fruit kabobs – use what’s in season such as apples, and pears, bananas. Apple smiles – slice up an apple and spread peanut butter on them and arrange on plate as smiley faces. Fresh fruit smoothies – even using fresh frozen fruit for this fun treat is healthy. Add kefir or low fat yogurt with milk to boost the nutritional value and calcium for strong bones.Yogurt and fruit layered parfaits – spruce up non-fat or low fat plain yogurt with cinnamon, a touch of agave nectar to add sweetness and a spoonful of granola for crunch. Snowflakes – take a whole-wheat tortilla and spread a thin layer of low fat cream cheese over the surface. Then sprinkle with cinnamon. Fold tortilla in half and then in half again. After a few bites, you can open it up to seethe pretty snowflake pattern you made!Quinoa Breakfast Bars [1]

Yield 24 bars

Ingredients

Cooking oil spray

2 ½ cups gluten-free old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick)

½ cup quinoa flour

½ cup nonfat dry milk powder

½ cup unsweetened coconut

½ cup sliced almonds or chopped pecans

½ cup chopped dried apples or other dried fruit or berries

½ cup currants or raisins

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup dark honey

½ cup natural almond butter or peanut butter

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions

1 Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly coat a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with cooking oil spray.

2 In a large mixing bowl, measure the rolled oats, quinoa flour, milk powder, coconut, almonds, dried apples, currants, and salt. Stir well to combine and set aside.

3 In a small saucepan, warm the honey and nut butter over low heat, stirring occasionally until blended. Do not boil. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.

4 Add the warm honey mixture to the dry ingredients and quickly stir the mixture until it’s well combined. The mixture will be sticky but not wet.

5 Pat the mixture into the prepared baking pan and press firmly with your hands to remove any air pockets.

6 Bake the bars until they just begin to brown on the edges, about 25 minutes.

7 Cool for 10 minutes then cut into 24 bars, each about 11/2 x 21/4 inches.

8 When the bars are just cool enough to handle, remove them from the pan to a cooling rack. When they are completely cool, store them in an airtight container. Keep them in the refrigerator for optimal freshness.

Per serving: Calories 161 (From Fat 56); Fat 6g (Saturated 2g); Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 61mg; Carbohydrate 25g, Dietary Fiber 2g, Protein 4g

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Ask Roni: Movie Snacks, Paleo, Finding Time, Maintenance, My Inspiration.

Podcast time! I’m trying. Sorry for my babbles. :)

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

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Easy Kid-Friendly Snacks for Busy Moms & Dads

The Holiday season is already upon us, and many of my wonderful fans and followers on Facebook and Twitter have been asking for simple tips and recipes for kids during the holidays that busy moms and dads can use to both entertain and inspire healthful snacking. Below I have included both a short list of quick and easy snack ideas that can also both be fun and healthy for parents and kids alike.  I have also included a delightful recipe from my forthcoming "Cooking with Quinoa for Dummies" book, set to be released early next month, for amazing Quinoa Breakfast Bars, full of fiber and flavor that are sure to impress.

Air popped popcorn – you can even string them up and use as a Christmas tree decoration!Ants on a log – spread low fat cream cheese or peanut butter on a celery stalk and sprinkle on some raisins or dried cranberries, blueberries or cherries.Fresh fruit kabobs – use what’s in season such as apples, and pears, bananas. Apple smiles – slice up an apple and spread peanut butter on them and arrange on plate as smiley faces. Fresh fruit smoothies – even using fresh frozen fruit for this fun treat is healthy. Add kefir or low fat yogurt with milk to boost the nutritional value and calcium for strong bones.Yogurt and fruit layered parfaits – spruce up non-fat or low fat plain yogurt with cinnamon, a touch of agave nectar to add sweetness and a spoonful of granola for crunch. Snowflakes – take a whole-wheat tortilla and spread a thin layer of low fat cream cheese over the surface. Then sprinkle with cinnamon. Fold tortilla in half and then in half again. After a few bites, you can open it up to seethe pretty snowflake pattern you made!Quinoa Breakfast Bars [1]

Yield 24 bars

Ingredients

Cooking oil spray

2 ½ cups gluten-free old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick)

½ cup quinoa flour

½ cup nonfat dry milk powder

½ cup unsweetened coconut

½ cup sliced almonds or chopped pecans

½ cup chopped dried apples or other dried fruit or berries

½ cup currants or raisins

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup dark honey

½ cup natural almond butter or peanut butter

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions

1 Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly coat a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with cooking oil spray.

2 In a large mixing bowl, measure the rolled oats, quinoa flour, milk powder, coconut, almonds, dried apples, currants, and salt. Stir well to combine and set aside.

3 In a small saucepan, warm the honey and nut butter over low heat, stirring occasionally until blended. Do not boil. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.

4 Add the warm honey mixture to the dry ingredients and quickly stir the mixture until it’s well combined. The mixture will be sticky but not wet.

5 Pat the mixture into the prepared baking pan and press firmly with your hands to remove any air pockets.

6 Bake the bars until they just begin to brown on the edges, about 25 minutes.

7 Cool for 10 minutes then cut into 24 bars, each about 11/2 x 21/4 inches.

8 When the bars are just cool enough to handle, remove them from the pan to a cooling rack. When they are completely cool, store them in an airtight container. Keep them in the refrigerator for optimal freshness.

Per serving: Calories 161 (From Fat 56); Fat 6g (Saturated 2g); Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 61mg; Carbohydrate 25g, Dietary Fiber 2g, Protein 4g

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What are Your Favorite Grab-and-Go Snacks?

I’ve been trying to gain a little control over my snacking habits lately. Feeling uninspired and unmotivated has resulted in grabbing all of the husband’s junky treats.

So I gave myself a good talking to and Laura brought up a great idea in the comments…

Hey Roni… your example grocery lists are some of my favorite things (like the Trader Joe’s one). Would it be possible for you to maybe give us a quick rundown of a few quick-grab-and-go snacks that you pick up at the store? For some reason I feel at a loss lately… pretty much the only quick-grab snacks I buy are the Stretch Island fruit leathers, which I LOVE, but I need more suggestions. Like, what kind of nuts do you get? Are they salted?

Well Laura, as I said, lately I’ve been out of my groove, but normally I buy carrots, sugar snap peas, Triscuits Thin Crisps, popcorn, Cocoa Roast Almonds, light yogurt cups, pistachios, and of course, fresh fruit.

For some reason I haven’t been choosing these things though, so maybe it is time to change things up a little. Let’s get a good list going of everyone’s favorite snacks. Hopefully it will inspire us to stay away from the junk and try something new!

So… What are Your Favorite Grab-and-Go Snacks?

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Tasting! Annnie Chun’s Seaweed Snacks (WTH?)

Go on and call me the uncooperative sea hag, but I have my limits. My gag reflex just won’t allow it. I was extremely optimistic about Annie Chun’s Seaweed Snacks, especially after my temptation to chew on some free seaweed straight off the beach. Yet my food curiosities have officially gone too far.

The Annie’s seaweed package uses fancy words like savory, bursting with flavor and chock full of vitamins to make you forget that you’re actually about to eat seaweed. I was almost sold on the propaganda. Then I opened the package and got a huge, involuntary whiff of the stench. The sea odor assaults the nose holes, causing your nostril hairs to shrivel while immediately vaporizing any boogies from the “stale seawater” scent. It’s very strong and can be quite an embarrassing odor if someone doesn’t realize you have seaweed in the room.

But I have to go through with this, right?

Seaweed Snacks tastes just like seawater, plus some extra salt thrown in for good measure. I couldn’t get the stuff down my trachea. This is the first Taste Test in Yum Yucky history that literally made me almost vomit every single time I tried to eat it ((serious face on)). I Googled “seaweed benefits” and a whole bunch of glitter & unicorn-ish health benefit info popped up.

But noooo. This is more like Lochness Monstress vs. Mermaid Zombie. Those are some scary b!tches.

SEAWEED NOTES

Price Paid: $1.19 for  30 sheets (3×2-inch sheet size)Serving size: 10 sheetsCalories: 30Fat Calories: 20Total Fat: 2.5gSodium: 70mgCarbs: 1gProtein: 1g

REACTIONS FROM THE TASTE TEST CREW

Health-hater Husband: F*ck no. I know you heard me. F***CK NOOO!

Greedy Kid #2: There’s no way I’m eating that, so stop asking.

Greedy Kid #3: It stinks.

Yum UP! to: Mermaid Zombie. I hope she wins the battle. Who you voting for?

Yuck Down to: Embarrassing seaweed odors.

View the complete Taste Test Directory and Fast Food Cheat Sheets.

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Welch's Fruit Snacks (Island Fruits) Review

I spotted Welch's Island Fruits Fruit Snacks with a "Made with Real Fruit" stamp on the packaging and decided to check it out. I have to say I was skeptical about this claim since my experience with Fruit Snacks is that they are mostly sugars.

NUTRITION FACTS
Serving Size: 1 pouch (25.5 grams)
Calories: 80
Total Fat: 0%
Saturated Fat: 0%
Sodium: 10 mg, < 1%
Carbohydrates: 19 grams
Fiber: 0%
Sugars: 11 grams
Protein: 1 gram

First thing I did was examine the ingredients list. It includes, juice from concentrates (grape, pear, peach, passion fruit and pineapple), corn syrup, sugar, modified corn starch, fruit purees (banana, mango, pineapple and kiwi), gelatin, citric acid, lactic acid, natural and artificial flavors, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), alpha tocopherol acetate (vitamin E), vitamin A palmitate, sodium citrate, coconut oil, carnuba wax, red 40, yellow 5 and blue 1.

With the added fruit purees I suppose this qualifies as "made from real fruit" but it's made from a whole lot of other things as well!

As for the taste - delicious as usual. Welch's Island Fruits Fruit Snacks has the characteristic chewy taste of fruit snacks, but although this is supposed to be a tropical flavor, to me the predominant taste was just ... sweet. I don't know if each fruit snack piece has a distinct flavor - I mean - who eats just one piece of a fruit snack? I dumped them all in my mouth and enjoyed. And each piece is shaped like fruit, pineapple, grape and some other stuff I couldn't really make out.

Each 25.5 gram pouch provides 80 calories, 11 grams of sugars and 1 gram of protein. There is also 100% of the daily value of vitamin C and 25% of vitamin A and E. Welch's Blueberry Fruit 'n Yogurt Snacks have 7 grams more sugars and provides 20 more calories.

I bought a box with 10 pouches of Welch's Island Fruits Fruit Snacks for $2.50. The pouch contents are probably enough of a snack for small kids, but not for an adult. I would much rather eat a real fruit, but if it's a fruit snack I'm after, then I would choose Sunkist Fruit Gummies Review over this.

{Website: Welch's}

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Fruitzio Freeze Dried Fruit Snacks (Peaches) Review

Fruitzio (made by Crispy Green) is a line of freeze-dried fruit snacks made from only the fruit and a "hint" of natural sugar. I received samples of Fruitzio Freeze Dried Peaches to try out and review.

NUTRITION FACTS
Serving Size: 10 grams
Calories: 40
Total Fat: 0%
Saturated Fat: 0%
Sodium: 0%
Carbohydrates: 9 grams
Fiber: 1 gram, 3%
Sugar: 7 grams
Protein: 0 grams

When eating by itself as a stand-alone snack, the flavor is mild at first until it gets a little moist in your mouth, and then the sweetness and peach flavor comes through. I also broke up a few of the bigger pieces and added it to my cereal one morning (at the moment it's Kashi Heart to Heart Warm Cinnamon Oat Cereal). They added such a delightful explosion of peach flavor everytime I had a bite of cereal. Yum .

There are about 2.5 servings in a bag of Fruitzio Freeze-Dried Peaches, and each 10 gram serving provides just 40 calories from 7 grams of sugars and 1 gram of fiber (no protein or fat).

The ingredients are freeze-dried peaches and cane sugar. Fruitzio Freeze-Dried Peaches are vegan plus gluten-, peanut/tree nut and dairy- free. These can be purchased online at Fruitzio for $3.49 each (25 gram bag) or $42 for a case with 12 - a little pricey but a little goes a long way, so you do get value for your money. I will definitely be buying this in the future.

{Website: Fruitzio}

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Fruitzio Freeze Dried Fruit Snacks (Kiwi) Review

Fruitzio is a line of freeze-dried fruit snacks (made by Crispy Green). They are made with only the "finest fruit" and freeze dried with just a hint of natural sugar. I received samples of the Kiwi variety to try and let me tell you, this is was yummy - BUT be prepared for a very TART/ SOUR favor.

NUTRITION FACTS
Serving Size: 10 grams
Calories: 40
Total Fat: 0%
Saturated Fat: 0%
Sodium: 0%
Carbohydrates: 8 grams
Fiber: 1 gram, 3%
Sugar: 3 grams
Protein: 0 grams

I didn't think freeze-dried kiwis would be so tart, but they are. I made that scrunched up "this is SOUR face" as I ate a piece ... and then reached for more. If you don't like extremely sour sometimes, you're not going to like this - but since I do, I had no problems having 1 serving - and just 1. The sourness acts like built in portion-control since all I could handle in 1 sitting was just a few pieces.

There are about 2.5 servings in a bag of Fruitzio Freeze-Dried Kiwi Fruit Snacks, and each 10 gram serving provides just 40 calories from 3 grams of sugars and 1 gram of fiber (no protein or fat).

The ingredients are freeze-dried kiwi and cane sugar. These can be purchased online at Fruitzio for $3.49 each (25 gram bag) or $42 for a case with 12. This is a very unique flavor - I had mine as a stand-alone snack, but you could use Fruitzio Kiwi to jazz up plain yogurt, to cereal and to really make a salad kick! It's a little on the pricey side, but I know I'll be buying this in the future.

{Website: Fruitzio}

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6 Quick and Easy Healthy, High-Protein Snacks

When we are trying to lose weight, the temptation is to eat less, but, in fact, the smart strategy is to eat more -- well, more often, actually. Eating small snacks at regular intervals prevents you from becoming famished at any point during the day. It's when we are "starving" that we are most likely to reach for unhealthy foods and overeat.

The same goes for when we come in from a workout. The temptation is to raid the fridge or cabinets. Snacking at intervals before (and even during) exercise prevents this. Eating regular, small portions keeps your blood sugar stable and helps your body to recognize hunger cues. And of course, no matter how often or infrequently you eat, the name of the game is making the right choices.

I discuss this issue in more detail in my upcoming book, Flavor First, which is also chock full of prepare-ahead snacks and apps that you can make. In the meantime, below are six quick and healthy high-protein snacks that will keep you on the right track. Each has near a 150 calories and provides more than 10 grams of protein.

Good Eggs: "Deviled Eggs" -- 3 hard boiled egg halves, whites only, each half filled with 1 tablespoon hummus (140 calories, 10 grams protein)

Green Gobbling: 2/3 cup edamame in the shell (158 calories, 13 grams protein)

String Theory: 1 low-fat mozzarella cheese stick and 1 large fresh orange (140 calories, 10 grams protein)

Rye Society: 2 Wasa Rye Crackers and 2-1/2 ounces lox (smoked salmon) (150 calories, 14 grams protein)

Gobble, Gobble: Half a turkey sandwich 1 slice whole grain bread with 1 ounce turkey, 1 slice low-fat Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato and 2 teaspoons mustard (150 calories, 14 grams protein)

Greece-y Spoon: 2/3 cup non-fat Greek yogurt plus 1/2 cup blueberries and 1 tablespoon almonds (150 calories, 15 grams protein)

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