Archive of ‘Snacks’ category

Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

By | Snacks

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The thing about roasting and pureeing your own pumpkin is that you end up with lots of seeds going in the recycling.  Well I’m hear to tell you it doesn’t have to be that way!  Nope.  You can roast the pumpkin seeds for a delicious and healthy snack, or to use in granola, crumble topping, to sprinkle on top of pumpkin cakes…the possibilities are endless (almost).

Great thing is, it takes no time at all and you can get creative with the spices you use.  Go savoury with chilli, cumin and coriander.  Keep it simple with salt and pepper or cinnamon sugar.  I’ve gone down the pumpkin spice route, with a little twist of ground cardamom to mix things up!  Very tasty. (more…)

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Peanut Butter Snack Bites

By | Chocolate, Healthy, Snacks

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Food cravings.  We all have them.  For me it is always my sweet tooth crying out for something to satisfy it, usually chocolate!  Sometimes in the summer a juicy nectarine or a handful of berries will do the job, then there are times when it simply has to be chocolate.  The occasional savoury craving can also occur.  Salty food is needed, crisps or nuts, or both!  It’s tough when you just want to look all nice and bikini ready but all you wanna do is stuff your face with delicious food especially when you have no will power or indeed a summer holiday booked – I’m definitely just talking about myself now.

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BUT I have an answer!  These little snack bites are a little sweet and a little salty so your mid morning craving should be satiated and the protein from the PB should keep the hunger pangs at bay for another hour.  They really do taste good, which is why I cut them up really small otherwise I could eat far too many and defeat the purpose of the energy ‘bite’!

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You could use any kind of nut butter in the base, whichever flavours you prefer.  Peanut and almond butters are my favourite so I went with them.  Topping the bites with chopped almonds also adds a satisfying crunch and contrasts with the creamy nut layer.  I’m not claiming that these are low in calories but all of the ingredients are natural and good for you in small doses and when combined should pack in more goodness and heartiness than a shop bough cereal bar. (more…)

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Salted Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats

By | Chocolate, Snacks

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Rice Krispie Squares are probably my favourite sweetie (snack?) ever. I love them.  They are my go-to sustenance (it’s true that they are probably providing me with very little actual sustenance) when I drive from Inverness to Glasgow and make my inevitable toilet and tea stop in Perth.  I kid myself into thinking they are good for me because they are probably 70% air however I don’t think this means very much when the other 30% of them is pure sugar!  I don’t care though, they are SO good!

This is not my first attempt at making my own.  The last two attempts were not so much of a success, which is weird because there isn’t at all much to the recipe.  The problem was that I was trying to make peanut butter krispie squares and by melting the butter, marshmallows and PB all at the same time, the marshmallows were getting over cooked which resulted in rock hard squares.  Edible, but not a winner.

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Following my oh-so-brief stint in a professional kitchen I picked up a few tips.  It just goes to show that everything in life is a learning opportunity, even if it doesn’t work out the way you hope. PMA!  Anyways, after my motivational message of the day, the tip was to melt everything in the microwave, but to do it in stages.  Start with the butter, as that takes longest and add the marshmallows once the butter is almost fully melted.  

I like to think that these are the sophisticated cousin of the turquoise wrappered Kellogs version.  In these salted chocolate rice krispie treats, the cereal portion is much less sugary than the shop bough variety but the dulce de leche adds a subtle deep sweetness.  The real treat here is the chocolate topping, the contrasting bitter dark chocolate with the sea salt sprinkles takes these squares in to decadent territory.  Adding the syrup to the chocolate takes a bit of the edge off the strong cocoa flavour but also, along with the butter, stops the chocolate setting rock hard so that when you bite in to one of these the chocolate and marshmallow squares yeild at the same time.  It’s a minor detail but makes the eating experience much more pleasant! (more…)

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