Snacks

Vanilla Chia Pudding with Honeyed Strawberries

By in Creamy, GF Sweets, Snacks, Sweets 4 Comments Tags: , , , ,

vanilla chia pudding

Are you familiar with chia? Besides the pet. ;) I’ve been seeing a lot of chia puddings out there these days, and for good reason. These little seeds boast so many healthful properties – tons of protein, fibre, Omega 3′s, antioxidants and much, much more.  I’ve tried a couple different versions, even chocolate ones, but this was the first chia pudding that turned out just right for me and that we actually found crave worthy. It’s delicious on it’s own but the addition of in-season strawberries doesn’t hurt one bit.

These little seeds get a gel coating that expands as they soak up the liquid, turning milk into the thickness of pudding. The end result is very reminiscent of tapioca pudding except that the chia seeds retain their crunch. Keep in mind that while they are perfectly fine to eat without soaking them first, they can potentially dehydrate you, because of their eagerness to soak up surrounding liquids. But, this shouldn’t be a problem as long as you make sure you’re drinking lot’s of water, which you should be anyways!

Growing up, my mom used to chop up our fresh hauls of strawberries and toss them in sugar. I’d eagerly wait for them to soften and release their juices so we could start spooning them onto ice cream, pancakes, or anything we could get our grubby little hands on. Going with the healthier theme of this dessert I decided to toss them in honey just to give them that little bit of extra oomph they need to become soft and saucy. This is also one of our favourite topping for homemade yogurt.

With all the warm days ahead this is a refreshing, energizing and healthful treat to help power you through your day.

P.S. I buy my chia seeds from Costco. You should also be able to find them at your local health food store.

Vanilla Chia Pudding with Honeyed Strawberries

Chia Pudding
  • 2 cups milk (or almond milk)
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1/2 cup chia seeds

In a medium sized bowl or tupperware container, whisk honey and vanilla into milk until honey is dissolved. Gradually whisk in chia seeds. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours, whisking to break up clumps after one hour.

Honeyed Strawberries
  • 1 cup diced strawberries
  • 1 tablespoon honey

Mix together strawberries and honey in a small bowl. Let sit five minutes, stirring occasionally, until strawberries have softened and release their juices. Spoon over pudding to serve.

Makes: 4 servings

Pudding adapted from Weelicious.

No-Bake Maple Walnut Granola Clusters

By in Breakfast, Snacks 8 Comments Tags: , , , ,

Maple Walnut Crunch

This recipe came about as kind of a mistake. I was attempting to make a new granola bar recipe using unprocessed sugars and the results were one crumbly, crispy granola bar that ended up basically just turning into granola. So we crumbled some up and made parfaits with unsweetened yogurt and fruit. Oh my goodness was it ever delicious!

It’s more nut heavy then a traditional granola, giving it that much more staying power and making it a great breakfast or snack to help power you through your day. It helps to sweeten and balance the tanginess of plain yogurt while also giving that much desired granola crunch. I now make it specifically for granola and yogurt parfaits. Since it’s no bake, it takes no time to throw together which makes it easy to whip up a batch any time I need. It’s especially convenient if I just don’t have the time to whip up a batch of homemade granola.

With all the berries coming into season soon, I’m looking forward to making this many times over the spring and summer months. Especially because I won’t have to turn on the oven and heat up my house to do so!

Maple Walnut Granola Clusters

For a sweeter taste, swap out 1/2 cup raisins (or other dried fruit) for 1/2 cup of the chopped walnuts. Stir in the raisins after toasting the oats and walnuts.

  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 2 cups roughly chopped walnuts
  • pinch salt
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup

Place the oats and walnuts in a non-stick skillet set over medium heat. Allow to toast, stirring often, just until fragrant. Remove from heat and sprinkle with salt.

Place maple syrup in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; let boil for 2 minutes, or until large bubbles begin to form. Remove from heat and pour over oats and walnuts, stirring to evenly combine. Spread evenly onto a sheet of parchment paper. Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Enjoy in yogurt with fruit.

Makes: 4 cups

Grapefruit Honey Curd

By in Condiments, Snacks 6 Comments Tags: , ,

grapefruit honey curd

This week I’m busy packing up my house. We’re moving! Again. You guys must be so sick of hearing that. This time we’re at least staying in the same country, even the same province! ;) Max was so surprised and excited that we actually get to keep all our stuff! The poor guy’s so used to leaving everything behind. But don’t worry, there shouldn’t be any lag on the blog because I made sure to work ahead. I didn’t want to miss out on bringing you yummy Easter treats!

But before we get to Easter, I couldn’t resist sharing one more grapefruit recipe. We’ve been pretty obsessed. This time I decided to turn my grapefruits into a silky smooth curd. Curds are such a versatile ingredient. They can be transformed into tarts, used as fillings for cakes and cupcakes – basically they can be used in any dessert that you can dream up. This time I was aiming beyond desserts. I was going for something that could be swirled into homemade Greek yogurt. Hence the honey. I wanted something a bit more suitable as a healthy snack for my kiddos. Grapefruit yogurt anyone?

I experimented with a couple different versions until I came up with this one. It took a bit of trial an error to get it just right, but I finally got just what I was looking for. It has a nice bright clean flavour that is undeniably grapefruit, with a hint of honey to sweeten it up. And, I’m kind of in love with its creamy colour with the lightest pink tinge.

Use it in a dessert, use it in a snack, the choice is up to you and your imagination.

grapefruit honey curd

Grapefruit Honey Curd

  • 1 cup freshly squeezed ruby red grapefruit juice (2 grapefruits)
  • 6 large egg yolks
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • pinch salt
  • 1/4 cup cold unsalted butter

Place grapefruit juice in a small saucepan set over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Simmer rapidly until reduced by half (1/2 cup). This helps to concentrate the grapefruit flavour.

Meanwhile whisk together yolks, honey and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Set aside. Once grapefruit juice is reduced, pour it into egg yolks in a slow steady stream, whisking to incorporate and temper the eggs. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and set over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and leaves a thick coating on the back of the spatula. Remove from heat. Stir in butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until fully melted.

Set a fine mesh sieve over a bowl. Strain curd through the sieve to remove any cooked egg or grapefruit seeds. Cover the surface of the curd with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cool.

Makes approximately: 1 1/3 cups

Almond Joy Butter

By in Condiments, Snacks 8 Comments Tags: , , , , , , ,

almond joy butterLet me open your mind to a brand new world. Forget nutella. You can now have an Almond Joy in nut butter form. It tastes like dessert, but it’s healthy for you.

My mind is reeling with the possibilities of what to all make with this. But I have to admit one of my favourite ways is to simply enjoy it as it is. When I’ve got a sweet craving, you will find me standing in my pantry with my spoon dipped into one of these jars. It satisfies my sweet tooth while also giving me a shot of protein and nutrients to hold me over until the next meal.

You need to keep this stored at room temperature in order to eat it because it solidifies into rock when refrigerated. I like to place it into two smaller jars, keeping one in the pantry and one in the fridge. That way I don’t have to worry so much about it going bad before we eat it all up. Not that, that is really a problem.

If you’re a fan of coconut, chocolate and almonds, and the ever popular Almond Joy candy bar, you will love this. Trust me.

almond joy butter

Almond Joy Butter

  • 2 cups raw almonds
  • 2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 2 tablespoon virgin coconut oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1.5 oz. dark chocolate, finely chopped

Place almonds on a baking sheet and bake at 350ºF for 10 minutes, or until toasted and fragrant. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, process coconut in food processor until it’s a fine powder (about 10 min), stopping to scrape down the sides and give your processor a break as needed. Add coconut oil and process for another 5 minutes or until the coconut has turned a buttery, pasty consistency. Scrape into a small bowl and set aside.

Once almonds are cool enough to handle, place in the food processor. Process until finely chopped. Add salt and continue processing until a paste like consistency. Pour coconut back into food processor along with vanilla and maple syrup. Process until evenly combined. Add chocolate and stir just once to mix it in slightly (it will start to melt). Pour into storage containers. Store at room temperature for 1-2 weeks and in the fridge up to 1 month.

Makes approximately: 2 cups

Adapted from Minimalist Baker.

Easy Homemade Yogurt (& Greek Yogurt)

By in Gluten Free, Snacks 19 Comments Tags: , , ,

homemade yogurt

Yogurt. Who knew it was so easy to make at home? Not me. Every time I read a recipe for making yogurt it always required special equipment that I didn’t have. Until now. And you know what? It is so easy and yummy. And, so much cheaper (by at least half)! Plus you can make regular or Greek yogurt depending on what you fancy that week.

We go through a lot of yogurt. We enjoy it in fruit bottom yogurt, smoothies, muesli, cooking, baking, desserts, popsicles and parfaits. We especially love Greek yogurt, but it’s so expensive and all they really do is drain out the whey for you. After trying this recipe, I’m converted. It’s so simple, I’m hoping you will be to.

All you do is heat up milk, let it cool a bit, stir in 2 teaspoons of prepared yogurt, tuck it into your oven for night and in the morning you wake up to homemade yogurt. See? Easy peasy. Get on this!

Easy Homemade Yogurt or Greek Yogurt

Greek yogurt is thicker and less tart then regular yogurt, and is made by simply straining out the whey. You can decide which way you like it. 

  • 2 quarts milk (your desired %)
  • 2 teaspoons yogurt (with live cultures)

Warm the milk in a medium-sized saucepan, stirring often, until the temperature reaches between 175-180ºF. Allow milk to cool, stirring occasionally, until the temperature reaches between 100-115ºF. Whisk in the yogurt and pour mixture into a large ceramic or glass bowl, or round casserole dish.

Starting with a cold oven, turn on the heat for one minute just to take the chill off. Cover the bowl of milk/yogurt with plastic wrap or a lid; wrap with a couple kitchen towels and place in the oven, with the oven light on (to keep it warm). Let inoculate for 8-12 hours or until thickened into yogurt. Stir and store in the fridge for regular unsweetened yogurt or strain out the whey for Greek yogurt.

To make Greek yogurt: Line a fine mesh sieve with cheesecloth or a clean dish cloth. Set this over a large bowl. Pour yogurt into the cloth-lined sieve. Allow to strain for about an hour or until the consistency you like (that’s the best part about homemade yogurt, you can make it how you like!). If you are not straining it immediately after you make it, or you will be leaving the house, you can put it in the fridge, it will take a little longer to drain but that’s no biggy. Once drained, pour into a storage container and whisk to smooth it out. Store, covered, in the fridge.

Will keep for at least one week in the fridge.

Good to Know
  1. If your homemade yogurt is fresh enough you can use it as the starter next time. To do this easily, without feeling like you constantly need to be making a fresh batch of yogurt, you can freeze a tablespoon of your fresh homemade yogurt to save as a starter so you can have it on hand to make it when it works best for you.
  2. If you make Greek yogurt you can either discard the whey or put it to use with these smart ideas.

Makes approximately: 7 cups | Greek version makes approximately: 4 cups

I’m avoiding going information heavy in this post because I want you to see just how easy it is to make yogurt. But if you would like to understand more about the process and how it works visit Annie’s Eats and Salad in a Jar, my sources for this yogurt recipe.

Grapefruit Smoothies

By in Beverages, Cold, Snacks 4 Comments Tags: , , ,

grapefruit smoothies

I’m majorly in the mood for spring and flavours that are bright and fresh. And, since grapefruit is in season right now and so much sweeter, me and the kids haven’t been able to stay away from it. It’s a great fruit to bridge the gap before all the wonderful spring fruits and veggies come into season. Which is officially less then a month away. I could not be more excited about this fact!

We’ve been slurping up this gem of a smoothie for a couple of weeks now. I’ve got it all down by memory and can be seen throwing things into the blender on autopilot. It is our new favourite.

For this smoothie we use the real deal – one whole (peeled) grapefruit sliced up and thrown in the blender with plenty of other sweet and creamy things – this means you get the full nutritional value of the grapefruit rather then just drinking the juice. Grapefruit is definitely the dominant flavour but the strawberries and banana help round it out and sweeten it up, while the vanilla and yogurt give it a creamy, rich flavour. The result is a refreshing smoothie that tastes like a grapefruit in creamsicle form. Yum!

Grapefruit Smoothies

If your grapefruit is on the tart side feel free to add more sweetener, to taste.

  • 1 ruby red grapefruit
  • 1 cup frozen strawberries
  • 1 ripe banana, peeled
  • 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon honey

Cut the ends off the grapefruit so you can see the pink flesh. Using that as a guide trim away the skin and the white pith until you have a naked grapefruit (see visual of how to do this here). Slice the grapefruit into thick rounds and remove any seeds. Place the rounds of grapefruit into a blender along with remaining ingredients. Process until smooth.

Makes: 2 large servings or 4 small (about 3 cups total)

 

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