Snack Rut

[ceeveg]

Any suggestions for good snacks? I've been eating lots of fruit, nuts/seeds, etc., but feel in a bit of a rut. I tend to overdo hummus/veg if I have any in the house Any wonderful suggestions? You guys always have such amazing ideas!

[I-Love-Alaska]

My kids like roasted chickpeas and fresh fruit- esp apples this season- watermelon/strawberry season can't get here fast enought!!

[mumkimum]

I've been meaning to try out this edamame dip.

We love homemade popcorn with all kinds of toppings (butter w/cinnamon sugar, italian seasoning & parmesan, or simply spike seasoning).

Garbanzo-bean "tuna salad" is good as a snack too.

I also love fruit tabouleh, maybe with yogurt on the side or just plain (soak bulgur wheat in an equal amount of juice overnight - add a touch of honey or cinnamon if you like to that, toss with chopped fruits, and dried fruits or mint - best with all, fine with any by themself too).

[425lisamarie]

I tend to make a lot of dips and cold salads.

I made a curried red lentil dip with raisins i can give you the recipe if you want. It's great with fruit or veggie sticks

Right now in my fridge I have a salad of quinoa/black beans with an asian type dressing with radishes, green onions, carrots, broccoli, red peppers

And one with chopped apples, almonds, finely shredded cabbage, celery, red onion, and a mayo based creamy lemon dressing.

I also make meal bars with fruit, nuts, spinach, cooked quinoa and a little oats and cinnamon

[ceeveg]

Ooh! All great ideas. I would love your curried red lentil dip recipe, 425lisamarie, and do you follow any specific recipes for your meal bars?

The fruit tabouleh sounds delicious, mumkimum, and I can't believe I didn't think of popcorn. I need to get some spike!

I am going to make roasted chickpeas this weekend, I-Love-Alaska -- and we're eagerly awaiting watermelon and strawberries here, too!!

[425lisamarie]

Here is the basic recipe. I dont' cook with exact measurements so this may be approximate.

7 ounce lentils (I always weigh legumes, and figure 7 ounces is 1 cup)
2 1/4 cups water
1 onion
1 big apple or a couple smaller ones, diced
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup raisins
tsp of combination of curry powder, garam masala, or cumin/coriander/cinnamon, whatever you'd normally love for curry flavor.
coconut milk, 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup
juice of a lemon
salt to taste, maybe 1/2-1 tsp

Saute the onions in a little oil until golden, add apple, saute a few minutes, add spices and garlic saute 30 seconds, then add the water, coconut milk, raisins, lentils and simmer 20 minutes until very soft (covered). Puree everything in a blender or FP. SO good wtih chips, pita chips, veggies, etc. If it's thicker it is a fabulous spread for wraps.

[ambereva]

Originally Posted by 425lisamarie

I tend to make a lot of dips and cold salads.

I made a curried red lentil dip with raisins i can give you the recipe if you want. It's great with fruit or veggie sticks

Right now in my fridge I have a salad of quinoa/black beans with an asian type dressing with radishes, green onions, carrots, broccoli, red peppers

And one with chopped apples, almonds, finely shredded cabbage, celery, red onion, and a mayo based creamy lemon dressing.

I also make meal bars with fruit, nuts, spinach, cooked quinoa and a little oats and cinnamon

I would like ALL these recipes please!

[caiesmommy]

Snacks we do

-homemade fruit/seed/veg muffins
-rice cakes w nut butters
-apples w nut butters
-baba ganoush/pita/veg
-salsa/chips
-hardboiled eggs
-coleslaw
-pickles lol

[425lisamarie]

Originally Posted by ambereva

I would like ALL these recipes please!

can we be in real life friends . My natural tendency is heavy on the vegan side, and I will not go in to un-vegan foods here but now that I started eating more lentils and some quinoa, I feel so much better. I tried doing heavy primal, and I felt really really really miserable. I think the high animal fat just doesn't work for me. I don't think it was the grains i was missing at all, I think I have just always been used to eating more carbs from lentils and some beans like chickpeas.

I tend to throw things together and not measure, but for the asian salad, I like to do either brown rice or cooked quinoa and those adzuki beans, but black beans are good too. I have a vitamix and what I do is cut a knob of ginger, through one clove garlic, and then probably quarter cup olive oil and tblsp sesame oil. I just peel a chunk of the orange peel, then juice goes right in and turn blender on. This is much easier to me than chopping garlic/ginger. Salt and pepper to taste. I just chop whatever I have on hand. My favorite is napa cabbage, radishes, green onions, carrots, red onion. Just toss it all together and it keeps for a week!

Fruit/nut/cabbage "slaw" type thing is another favorite. You can either dice the apple, or shred it with the cabbage and it kind of becomes part of the dressing to sweeten which is what I normally do. So i use the food processor, first shred the cabbage, I shred tons at a time and I would say a good few cups of cabbage, then shred a big apple. Chop some nuts, either walnuts or almonds or both are best IMO, then some dried fruit like cranberries. You can leave it like that or add a little diced red onion or shallot, and diced celery. Zest and juice a lemon and them mix in whatever mayo you use. I make homemade with egg, but a vegan mayo would be fine. Salt and pepper to taste.

I make like a million different cold salads. And curried lentils. i could live on salad and lentils!