Fruit & Veggie Fun Snacks - A Healthy Way to Enjoy Peanut Butter

I want to share with you some great fruit and veggie snacks that are healthy and look so FUN, you're gonna think,  hey, this stuff can't be good for me?  But it is!

It's important for me to have protein with every snack and I like to turn to peanut butter to fill that roll. And what better way to enjoy it then part of some creative fruit & veggie snack ideas.

Some of you may have grown up with these: Ants on a Log.  I introduced them to my family last week and now they are hooked! 

Celery- the wonderful food that contains less calories than you can expend by chewing it- 1 TBSP of peanut butter, or any nut butter or your choice and some raisins, you could substitute with cranberries or even chopped nuts. It's crunchy, smooth, sweet and salty all at once. Oh, yeah, don't forget- FUN too!

This is another one of my favourite healthy treats to make. I call them Apple Nachos. Gorgeous right? 

All you need to do is thinly slice an apple, melt 1 TBSP of peanut butter, drizzle it on top of your apples with whatever else you like, some melted dark chocolate and dark chocolate chips, chopped nuts, granola.... Whatever you do, you know it will be a hit with that melted peanut butter.

I've said it before... we eat with our eyes.... so when your food looks fun, whimsical and inviting, you can't help but enjoy it, and when it's packed with nutritious ingredients, well, then you are WINNING!

Red is the new Black!

That's right, I am back in love with Red... Red food that is. (and my new red hot air popper). Red foods are just so good for you- red peppers, berries, tomatoes... and yes... I am back to the delightfully amazingly nutritious pomegranate!

I thought I would share with you a healthy alternative to some of the 'too sweet and fat laden' apple crisps out there... Yes, I am talking to you Jamie Oliver- your Apple Cranberry crisp at Sobey's was really delicious but everyone in my family thought it was way too sweet. OMG, what a proud moment for a mom/wife when her family recognizes that something is 'unhealthy'.

 Here are my seeded and drained pomegranates.

Next, peel, core and chop 4 apples, toss them with the juice of half a lemon, a tsp of cinnamon and a tsp of brown sugar. Scoop the apples into 3-4 individual ramekins.  Sprinkles with about 1 Tbsp of pomegranates.

For the topping, I use the 1/3 cup rule. So 1/3 cup of flour, brown sugar and melted butter. Mix that to about 3/4 cup of oatmeal. Add a tsp of cinnamon and a dash of salt.  Mix it all together and sprinkle on top of your ramekins with some chopped pecans and more pomegranates.

Pop them in a 375 degree oven for about 20-30 minutes, depending on how soft you like your baked apples! Amazing desert to share with the ones you love- Happy New Year!

Happy Thanksgiving- Amazing Adventure Apple Picking

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian and ex-pat friends, family and followers!
On this special day of giving THANKS, I wanted to spread some love and say that I am grateful for each and everyone one of you and mention that without all your love and support I would not have come so far on my healthy living journey! Merci, Gracias, Thanks!

On this Fall Festival of the Harvest, I wanted to share some of our own harvesting we recently dig. One of our favourite Fall activities... the Amazing Adventure that is 'Apple Picking' at our  favourite Milton Farm- Williams Orchards.

This time was an adventure of a different kind because it was Stephanie's first time apple picking. Well, first off, she LOVED the cart.

...she loved trying to eat a whole apple for the first time.

...so did Melanie, but it wasn't her first time !

...so did  my Mom! It got pretty warm and we started peeling off our layers onto the wagon.

Mother- daughter picking moment.

... and I love this 'oooooh' face of hers... so cute!

...maybe she'll try another again?

I love my sister!

...my sister loves apples!

So much fun placing the apples gently into the baskets, right Stephanie? LOL, she was pitching them in... so we had to intercept, and for those bruised ones that got by... well I just cut them up right away. I'll show you below.

Stephanie the Farmer sitting on her big tractor. It was a wonderful day and we were blessed with gorgeous weather.

Then I got home and knew I had to do something with this half bushel of apples. I read somewhere that if you cut up the apple in and place them in a large bowl with water and about 1 tablespoon of vinegar and they won't go brown. It worked! I placed these apples on a cookies sheet all separated, and then once they were frozen, I placed them in large freezer bags. So now I have bags full of frozen, sliced apples ready to go any time I have the urge to bake some crisps!

... and of course, I had to make my delicious apple crisp too... you know, quality control. Had to make sure they were good enough to be called McIntosh!

Mini Apple Pies

As promised, here is the recipe I made for Thanksgiving. Mini Apple pies. For me, it's all about portion control, so when you can make them in little muffin tins- you have your perfect little desert.

Apple Pie in a Muffin tin

http://seemichellecook.com/2010/12/05/apple-pie-in-a-muffin-tin/

Apple pie filling

5 granny smith apples peeled and sliced thin

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3  cup cooking stevia, splenda or white sugar

3 tbsp white flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp cloves

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp lemon juice

Topping

1/3 cup large oats

3 tbsp whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

pinch of salt

3 tbsp cold butter

3 tbsp brown sugar

2 sheets of puff pastry

Mix the apple pie filling. Mix the topping using your fingers to rub in the butter until you get a crumble.

Roll out the dough- recommend rolling the dough out thinner than I did so that it doesn’t harden too much on the 2nd day.

Cut circles in the pastry large enough to fit into large muffin tins.    You could also roll out enough pastry to form a circle for a large pie.

Poke some holes in your crust with a fork to prevent the dough from shrinking.  Fill to the top with prepared apple mixture.  Top with about 3 tbsp of crumble and bake at 350 degrees until apples are soft and topping is lightly brown.  I cooked for about 40 min.

While still warm, run a knife around the tarts to release then from the pan.  Place on a wire cooling rack.

Calories 262, carbs 38g, fat, 11g, protein 4g, fibre 4g, 19g sugar

Apple-Raspberry Oatmeal Crisp

Here's another.... 'I promised' recipe. This one was really delicious and a little decadent. Sorry, no nutritional details, but do enjoy and eat in 'moderation'.  It's awesome with the raspberries! And with the lack of apples we have this year, you need to fill up your apple crisp with other fruits this year.

Apple Oatmeal Crisp

Courtesy of : Michael Smith

http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipes/print.html?dishid=12878

Yield : 6-8

Ingredients:

Filling

•unit 6-large or 10-medium apples, un-peeled, cored and chunked

•1 pint raspberries

•1/2 unit lemon, juiced

•1/4 cup flour

•1/2 cup sugar

•1 teaspoon baking spice

Topping

•1 cup flour

•1 cup rolled oats

•1 cup brown sugar

•1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

•1/2 cup melted butter

Directions

Filling

1.Preheat your oven to 375ºF. Turn on your convection fan if you have one. Lightly oil a 9 by 13-inch pan.

2.In a large bowl toss the apples, raspberries, sugar, flour and lemon juice together. Toss in the baking spice of your choice. Transfer to your baking pan.

Topping

1.Whisk the flour, oats, sugar and nutmeg together, then add the melted butter and crumble together with your fingers. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, 45 to 60 minutes.