Healthy Snacking

Posted in: Recipes, Snacks ♦ Saturday, July 31st, 2010, 2:56 pm ♦ 4 Comments

I recently had the opportunity to spend some time with the amazing kids of the Sackett family. Their kids love to cook and eat just as much as I do, so Angela suggested I come spend a few hours teaching them a few things about nutrition and cooking. So fun!


I decided to make some healthy snacks with the kids, and knowing they have 5 children, tried to think of some things that could be made in different variations for what they each like. We decided upon homemade granola and Lara bars. You’ve probably seen me mention Lara bars (as they are one of the current obsessions of mine), and granola was another obsession a few months back, but still equally loved.

The day ended up being so fun, and I must say, the Sackett kids are truly amazing. Not only do they know a ton about food and can talk major flavors with me, but they showed me some cool new camera skills. I think I just may have learned more from them, than them from me!

By the end of the day, we had cooked up some pretty amazing granola…and conquered raw foods with yummy Lara bars. I’ve turned it to quite the snacker lately, so these healthy options make it easy! Try these recipes, they’re so easy, and oh so good!

Health Benefits

Lara Bars- dates are excellent source of dietary fiber, rich in vitamin B, and high in potassium making these bars a good choice for a raw, whole-food snack.
Granola-- coconut oil provides stress relief, increased immunity, and aids in proper digestion and metabolism. Oats provide good amount of fiber, cancer fighting phyto-chemicals, blood glucose and insulin regulating properties, and help to lower bad cholesterol. Peanut butter? God’s gift to the earth…and is heart-healthy, high in protein and antioxidants.

Homemade Granola

(bear with me, I don’t usually use a recipe for this)
3-4 cups old-fashioned oats
2 tablespoons coconut oil (can swap for vegetable)
2 tablespoons honey
1/4-1/2 cup natural peanut butter (optional)
1/4 cup flax seeds
1/2 cup nuts (optional)
salt to taste
dried fruits, nuts or toppings of your choice

Heat oven to 300°. Place oats in large mixing bowl. Add in remaining ingredients, mixing to combine. Salt to taste. Transfer mixture to a baking sheet and spread evenly over pan. Bake 20-25 minutes. When done, let cool completely and add dried fruit or other toppings as you desire. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Lara Bars

(recipe adapted from Enlightened Cooking, makes 2 bars)
1/4 cup chopped dates
1/4 cup peanuts
pinch of salt

Set out two pieces of plastic wrap for shaping and wrapping the bars. Next, place dates in a food processor and pulse until it becomes a thick paste. Transfer to a bowl, and add nuts to the food processor with a pinch of salt. Pulse until finely chopped. Combine chopped nuts with date paste by kneading the nuts into paste well. Eat right then!…or refrigerate

Many other variations exist for these and you can check them out at Enlightened Cooking For more information about Lara bars, their ingredients and flavors, visit the Lara Bar official site.

Tags: dates, dried fruit, granola, homemade lara bars, honey, nuts, olive oil, snack

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4 Responses to “Healthy Snacking”

1. 
   Posted by: angela

   August 1st, 2010 at 12:04 pm

   what a blessing to our kiddos – it is awesome to have someone so cool in their lives to share your passion with them! we learned a ton and they were so proud the next morning to help themselves to their own custom granola recipes. i giggled when i saw the ziploc bags labeled “jordyn and ethan’s granola” and “jordyn and anna’s granola.” we plan to make these recipes again!

2. Posted by: The Healthy Housewife » Too busy

   August 8th, 2010 at 4:46 pm

   [...] Wheat Pizza DoughTurkey Burgers + StarvationMore from EntreesSidesToo busyEat a salad.SnacksToo busyHealthy SnackingGreen MonsterMore from SnacksDessertFro-yoCookie MonsterPlugin by BlogsessiveTagsAdd new tag agave [...]

3. 
   Posted by: Stephanie

   September 23rd, 2010 at 2:33 pm

   Yay! I just discovered Lara bars and am excited to try this recipe! =)

4. Posted by: The Healthy Housewife » Granola Bars

   August 7th, 2012 at 7:44 pm

   [...] kind is laden with multiple forms of sugar and can actually be rather expensive. So I devised THIS [...]