Tag: nuts

Quick Whole Food Snacks To Have On Hand:

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Whole fruits and fruit salad

Raw Vegetable sticks or sliced, in separate containers ready to go.

Thinly sliced root vegetables, tossed with aminos or a little olive or coconut oil spray, baked until crispy chips

Dates stuffed with a whole almond or pecan or nut butter and kept frozen. This is like caramel candy.

Trail mix– combine nut and seeds mixture with chopped dried fruits, cacao nibs and coconut flakes, optionally season with spices, cayenne and salt

Kale chips– Tear leaves off the stem, massage with olive oil or aminos and sprinkle with herbs/spices, salt and toss. Or for a sweet salty chip toss with a teaspoon of coconut sugar and salt. Bake at 300 for 15 minutes, turn and bake another 5-10 checking so they don’t burn. If you have a dehydrator, dry overnight.

Popcorn – toss with 1 T each of coconut oil and maple syrup, sprinkle with cinnamon

Popcorn – toss with coconut aminos and nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavor

Spiced nuts/seeds – toss choice of nuts/seeds with coconut aminos, garlic powder and cayenne or a little maple syrup and water, sprinkled with cinnamon, cardamom, turmeric and pepper, bake at 325 until dry and crisp.

 Fruit Sorbet – 1 frozen banana, 1 cup frozen cherries or berries, ¼ cup dairy free milk blended together on high speed until smooth, thick and creamy soft serve texture. Use a food processor if you don’t have a high speed blender.

Stuffed Greens

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There are so many creative fillings that can be used to stuff greens or make green wraps. Here’s a few ideas:

  • Hummus – store bought or make your own veggie style with this recipe
  • Spiced nut / seed butters – see this recipe and layer on the chopped veggies
  • Cashew Macadamia Cheese – Here, add sliced peppers and cucumber
  • Equal parts, chopped avocado and mango, sprinkled with a little rice vinegar
  • Any leftover grain salads

That’s just to get you started. Create your own and make a wrap using lettuce, cabbage, collards and Swiss chard. Each one has its own nutritional profile, so to get the best overall nutrition, its good to have variety with the greens and fillings.

Spiced Seed / Nut Butter

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For this you can use any seed butter or nut butter you like best. Each one will bring its own unique flavor and nutritional profile.  Sunflower seed butter tends to be on the slightly bitter side, with sesame butter (tahini) even more bitter.  Cashew and Macadamia nuts are on the sweet side.  Almonds are pretty neutral. You can definitely blend butters to get a unique flavor.  I tend to stay away from peanut butter because it is often laden with mold and aflatoxin causing allergic response and inflammation.

To one cup of nut / seed butter add:

  • For an Asian flavor profile:
  • 2 Tbs ginger
  • 2 Tbs coconut aminos or tamari
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne
  • For a Mediterranean flavor:
  • 1 Tbs Cumin
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • pinch of salt (pink or grey)
  • a little water or lime juice to get things to mix

Cherry Fudge Balls

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These would make a festive healthy treat for the upcoming Christmas holiday and also a special valentines treat. They are easy to throw together if you have some dried fruit and soaked nuts.  Soaking can be done a couple days ahead, as drained fruit and nuts will keep in the fridge for about five days in a sealed container. That can save time on the day you want to make everything.

The balls will also keep for several days in the fridge or much longer if frozen. Different fruit and nuts can be substituted to change the flavor profile. Also including a little cinnamon, ginger and cardamom would add a nice Chai flavor.

  • 2 cups walnuts, soaked for 4 hours, rinsed and drained
  • 1/2 cup tart dry cherries, soaked for 15 minutes until soft
  • 3 dates, pitted and soaked with cherries
  • 6 Tbs. of cacao powder
  • 2 Tbs coconut sugar, ground fine
  • pinch of fresh ground black pepper (optional)

Put 2 Tbs of cacao powder and 1 Tbs of the coconut sugar in a small bowl, add the pepper, stir to mix  and set aside. Add the walnuts to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. add remaining ingredients and process until a dough is formed and the mixture is pretty smooth.  If you choose not to soak the nuts, the dough may be dry, so I recommend adding a tablespoon of water to make it more like fudge. Using a tablespoon or scoop, make small balls rolling in your palm and then placing in the powdered cacao, sugar, pepper mixture. Coat each ball with the powder and set in a serving bowl or on a plate. Take a bite, close your eyes and taste deeply!