Healthy snacks for the kids—and you.
It’s almost hard to believe that Labor Day weekend is already upon us—and with it, the signing off of summer and the return of the school season. As any busy parent knows, it can be no easy task to find snacks that satisfies the kid’s taste buds, while also providing nutritional value that satisfies the parents.
As we enter this holiday weekend, I’d like to share a few of my favorite recipes to whip up for hungry children after a long day at school. They’re yummy, easy to make, and the kids will never suspect they’re healthy, too!
Berry Delicious Chia Pudding
Ingredients:
• ½ cup blueberries
• ¼ cup raspberries
• ¼ cup blackberries
• ¼ cup chia seeds
• 1 ½ cups almond milk
• 1 tablespoon almond butter
• 1 scoop Flora-Key or SweetLeaf Stevia to taste
Directions:
Stir together almond milk, Flora-Key, and chia seeds. Add almond butter and stir. Fold in fruit and chill overnight.
Avocado Cream Pie
Ingredients for crust:
• 2 tablespoons grass fed butter
• 1 cup pecans, chopped
• ½ cup unsweetened coconut flakes
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of sea salt
Ingredients for filling:
• 2 ripe avocados
• ½ cup freshly squeezed lime juice (key limes are best, if you can get them)
• 1/3 cup Lakanto Monk Fruit Sweetener
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon lime zest
Directions for crust:
Melt the butter in a skillet over low heat. In a food processor, pulse the pecans, coconut flakes, and sea salt for 90 seconds. Add the melted butter and vanilla, and process the mixture until it sticks together, but retains a crumbly texture. Press the crust into the bottom and side of a pie pan. Chill in the refrigerator.
Directions for filling:
Peel and pit the avocados and put them into a food processor or blender along with the lime juice, sweetener, oil, and lime zest. Blend until smooth and thick. Pour the filling into the chilled crust and freeze for 3 hours or until the center is firm. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill for 2 more hours before serving.
Sneaky Veggie Chocolate Muffins
Ingredients:
• 2 large bananas, mashed
• 3 egg whites
• 2/3 cup organic plain Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons organic unsweetened coconut milk
• ½ cup carrot puree (peel carrots, steam for about 10 minutes, puree for 2 minutes)
• ½ cup spinach puree (steam for about 30 seconds, puree for 2 minutes)
• 2 scoops Flora-Key
• 1 ½ cups tigernut flour (or almond flour)
• 3 scoops chocolate Fat Flush Whey Protein
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• 1/3 cup cacao nibs (optional)
Directions: Combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mash bananas and combine with wet ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until fully blended. If desired, fold in cacao nibs. Coat muffin tin with organic coconut oil and don’t fully fill tins to account for rising. Bake on 350° degrees Fahrenheit for 20-30 minutes.
Carrot Cake Smoothie Bowl
Ingredients:
• ½ cup plain unsweetened almond milk
• 1 medium frozen banana
• ½ cup organic frozen pineapple
• 1 cup steamed carrots
• 3/4 cup organic oatmeal, cooked and cooled
• 1 ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon unsalted walnuts, chopped
• ½ tablespoon sliced almonds
• 1 tablespoon plain organic Greek yogurt
Directions:
Blend the first 6 ingredients until smooth. Top mixture with walnuts, almonds, and Greek yogurt.
Yummy Yogurt Bark
Ingredients:
• 1 large container of organic plain Greek yogurt
•1 tablespoon organic honey or Flora-Key (or half and half of both)
• 1 package of frozen fruit of your choice (blueberries, raspberries, or strawberries are a great choice)
• Handful of nuts of your choice (almonds or walnuts are lovely options)
Directions:
Mix together honey and/or Flora-Key and Greek yogurt in a bowl, stirring gently. Line a flat-bottomed pan with wax paper and spread an even layer (slightly less than a ½ inch thick) of mixture across the entire bottom of the pan. Top with the frozen fruit and/or nuts of your choice. Lightly cover with another sheet of parchment paper and let sit in the freezer until firm (approximately 1 or 2 hours).
Do have a healthy, restorative holiday weekend. And—as Confucius put it, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
