Favorite and Healthy Snack Ideas

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Most of us love to snack in between meals especially when sitting at our desks or watching TV.  Snack is great as long as we follow some simple health snack recipes.   A favorite in our house is just eating plain fruit.  Fruit is best eaten alone and not with other foods especially with complete meals.  You get more health benefits  from the fruit which includes your digestive system.  

When my husband comes home from the grocery store (he does all the shopping as he thinks I spend too much money on impulse items), Frankly the jury is out on that one.  During the summer there is such an abundance of berries, melons and other fruit it is so easy to cut up and put in the fridge for healthy eating.  We can go through at least three melons, a pound of berries and other fruit in a week’s time. Fruit is one of the most healthful foods we can eat.

We both love peanut butter and almond butter.  I am in favor of using almond butter which we have every morning for breakfast.  Almond butter does not possess Omega 3 but is a big alkali food.  If you are purchasing a natural butter there will be an oil settlement at the top.   I pour  out the oil in a small bowl and add enough of each of these to get the spreadable consistency.

*cocoa powder

*cinnamon

*flaxseeds

*pumpkin seeds

*sesame seeds

*sunflower seeds.

Blend these additions into the oil and pour back into the jar. I use a long handled spoon to mix everything together.  If it is too thin  add more of one of these ingredients.  You are adding many vitamins, minerals, fiber and omega 3.

Along with a delicious spread of either peanut butter or almond butter you can scoop a little into cut up celery stalks for a delicious and nutritious healthful food.

I love cheese and it does have many health benefits.  However it is high in fat and calories so I try to limit eating cheese as much as I can.  This cheese recipe can be  saved in your arsenal of healthy snack recipes and yet elegant enough to serve to company.  I like to use fresh mozzarella cheese for this recipe.  This cheese is lower in fat and calories than other types of cheese.  And it is one of my favorite healthy appetizers.

Ingredients:

1 pound of fresh mozzarella cheese

1/3 cup of olive oil

3 Tablespoons of wine vinegar

1 teaspoon each of oregano, basil, thyme

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. blend all ingredients not including the cheese
2. Cut the cheese on 1 inch squares
3. Gently add the cheese to the mixture and put in glass jar with lid
4. Chill for at least one day.
5. Drain any excess oil before serving

*Don’t be afraid to add more oil if necessary

It always seems easy enough to find healthy recipes for soups, salads and main courses but Appetizers and desserts require some experimenting.

Here is the link to my Book   Feel Better Every Day   Lots of good information on staying healthy as you age and tons of recipes