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Week 19

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Yay our stay-at-home order is done in Denver. I am happily ending the Coronavirus miniseries of shelf stable snack ideas, and for week 19, I made Mexican Quinoa bites.

They are so good and super versatile! Next time I’m definitely adding some spicy green chiles!!

Recipe

  • ¾ cups quinoa, cooked
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 can (14.5 ounces) Diced Tomatoes, drained
  • 1 ¾ cups shredded cheese
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray mini muffin tins with cooking spray.
  2. In a large bowl, combine cooled quinoa, eggs, black beans, tomatoes, 1½ cups cheese, garlic, chili powder and cumin.
  3. Put a heaping tablespoonful of quinoa mixture into prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle tops with remaining shredded cheese.
  4. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until edges turn golden brown. Remove from oven, let cool for 5 minutes and then gently remove from pan.
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Week 18

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Happy May Day/Beltane!

Today I made Beltane Bannock with homemade nut butter.

In line with the Coronavirus miniseries of shelf stable snacks, all these items came from my pantry. I substituted coconut oil for butter, which is what a traditional bannock is made out of. My nut butter had almonds, cashews, sunflower kernels, and a secret ingredient.

The bannocks aren’t super delicious, if I try them again next year I think I would add some berries or maybe more seasonings. The base recipe is 1.5 cups oatmeal, 1/8 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. baking soda, 1 tbsp. coconut oil, 1/2 cup hot water.

Week 17

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Ramadan started this week, so in honor of, I made Sfouf (Turmeric Cake) 🥰

Sfouf is a Middle Eastern semolina turmeric cake, made with simple ingredients, no eggs and no butter. It’s vegan-friendly, light and simply delightful!

In line with the Coronavirus miniseries of shelf stable snacks, all these ingredients were in my pantry. I did not have semolina flour, so I substituted flaxseed and rice flour, also reduced the amount of sugar by half👌

Recipe

  • 1 ½ cup coarse semolina or fine, or mixture of both
  • ½ cup all-purpose or cake flour
  • 1 tablespoon turmeric
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ cup canola oil or other neutral oil
  • 1 cups milk
  • 1 cup cane sugar (I used half this amount and they taste great)
  • 1-2 tablespoons tahini to grease the pan can be replaced with oil
  • Handful of pine nuts or almonds
  1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF and grease a 9×9″ baking pan with the tahini sesame oil or other oil.
  2. Mix the dry ingredients (semolina, flour, turmeric and baking powder) together in a large bowl.
  3. Mix the wet ingredients (canola oil, milk and cane sugar) in another small bowl until the sugar is completely dissolved in the mixture.
  4. Combine the dry and wet ingredients until batter is smooth and bright yellow. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and sprinkle the pine nuts all over.
  5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes until the pine nuts are golden.
  6. Cool on a wire rack and cut into 16 squares or diamond shapes.

Notes

Storage: Store any leftovers in an airtight container. They will last about 7 days at room temperature or about 10 days in the fridge.Substitutes: For best results, follow the recipe as is. However here are some common substitutes that would work well in this recipe.

  • For tahini, you can substitute oil or butter
  • For the coarse semolina, you can also use fine semolina, but don’t use flour instead of semolina because it will not yield the right results
  • For the pine nuts, you can use almonds. Silvered almonds work well and make sure they are raw since they will be getting roasted in the oven.

Sourcing: You can find some of the Middle-Eastern specific items like the semolina and tahini at Middle Eastern markets, natural-foods stores or even in large supermarkets, often located with other Middle Eastern ingredients.

Week 16

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Continuing with the Coronavirus miniseries of shelf stable snacks, my sweet tooth decided on Black Bean Brownies.

Yes, I made this for breakfast. No, I don’t regret it.

Black beans are a great source of protein, fiber, and have a low glycemic index, which means they can help stabilize your blood sugar.

Recipe

  • 1 1/2 cups black beans (1 15-oz can, drained and rinsed very well)
  • 2 tbsp cocoa powder 
  • 1/2 cup quick oats 
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup pure maple syrup, honey, or agave
  • 2 tbsp sugar (or omit and increase maple syrup to 1/2 cup)
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips (Not optional. Omit at your own risk)
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  2. Combine all ingredients except chips in a good food processor, and blend until completely smooth. Really blend well.
  3. Stir in the chips, then pour into a greased 8×8 pan.
  4. Cook the black bean brownies 15-18 minutes, then let cool at least 10 minutes before trying to cut. If they still look a bit undercooked, you can place them in the fridge overnight and they will magically firm up! Makes 9-12 brownies.

One cup (172 grams) of cooked black beans contains roughly:

Calories: 227

Protein: 15.2 grams

Fiber: 15 grams

Folate (vitamin B9): 64% of the RDI

Manganese: 38% of the RDI

Magnesium: 30% of the RDI

Thiamine (vitamin B1): 28% of the RDI

Iron: 20% of the RDI

Week 15

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Continuing with the Coronavirus miniseries of shelf stable snacks, and in honor of Easter I made Chocolate Coconut Eggs.

I have to admit, they taste so better than a Cadbury Creme Egg! You have to eat them quick since the chocolate melts in your hands…..awe shucks

Recipe

  • 75 g shredded coconut
  • 70 g coconut oil melted
  • 3 tbsp. coconut milk
  • 1 tbsp. sugar ( I opted for brown sugar)
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla

  • 60 g coconut oil
  • 6 tsp. cocoa powder
  • 2 tbsp. powdered sugar
  1. Mix shredded coconut, oil, milk, sugar and vanilla.
  2. Refrigerate until solid enough to roll into egg shapes.
  3. Roll small amounts into egg shapes and place in the fridge again to set completely.
  1. Mix coconut oil. cocoa powder, and powdered sugar together in a bowl.
  2. Place 1 Easter egg in the chocolate coating at a time. Using a spoon, turn the egg until completely covered.
  3. Place the chocolate coated eggs on a plate.
  4. Refrigerate until chocolate coating is set.

Week 14

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Continuing with the Coronavirus miniseries of shelf stable snacks, OATMEAL COOKIE SMOOTHIE is the winner this week!

🙏 Thank you past self for freezing a banana 🙏

This was sooo good, I didn’t have raisins so I decided to top with cranberries.

Recipe

  • 1/4 cup old-fashioned oats
  • 1 frozen (peeled) banana
  • 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 1–2 Tbsp. honey (to taste)
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • pinch of salt
  • (optional: 1/4 cup raisins)

  1. Add oats to blender, and pulse until finely ground.  Add remaining ingredients and pulse until blended and smooth.  Serve immediately.

Week 13

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Week 13 healthy snacks!
Continuing with the Coronavirus miniseries of shelf stable snack ideas…I bring you trail mix!!

I made a sweet mix and a spicy mix, check the pics for an idea of the ingredients I chose! Making your own trail mix is super easy, try it out at home!
Here are your base ratios:

  • 1.5 cups nuts
  • 1 cup seeds
  • 1 cup dried fruit
  • Spices
  • Fun stuff!!! Ex. 1/2 cup peanut butter chips or 1 cup popcorn

What kind of fun stuff would you put in your mix?!

Week 12

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Continuing with the Coronavirus miniseries of shelf stable snack ideas…

I bring you crispy roasted chickpeas, that stay crispy (the secret is to remove the skin).

Recipe

  • chickpeas (rinse and remove the skin of at least half but I did all for extra crunch)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 3/4 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Cook at 375°F for 45 to 60 minutes, shaking the pan every 15 minutes. I ended up cooking mine 40 since I took all the skins off, I really love how crunchy they turned out!

My one can of beans divided into 4 servings puts us at
112 calories
5.4 g of Fat
4.6 g of Protein
12.7 g of Carbohydrates
4.2 g of dietary fiber

Also contains Vitamins A, B6, B12 C, and D as well as minerals Iron, Magnesium, Calcium, and Potassium.
Who knew such a little bean could pack so much punch 🙃

The crispy part comes in by shelling the bean, this part was oddly satisfying.

Week 11

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Week 11 Healthy Snacks
Why not make a coronavirus miniseries? Stay tuned for more shelf stable healthy snack ideas 🙃

This week is Cinnamon Toast Breakfast Quinoa, additions are toasted almonds, dried cranberries, coconut flakes, hemp seed and maple syrup for sweetness.

Recipe

  • Heaping 2 tbsp sliced almonds
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons coconut oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling on top
  • Tiny pinch of salt
  • 1 cup pre-cooked quinoa* (either chilled or warm from cooking—both will work)
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup, more if desired

Toppings and optional accompaniments

  • 1 tablespoon chopped dried cherries or dried cranberries
  • Hemp seeds, chia seeds or flax seeds (optional), for serving
  • Milk or yogurt of choice (totally optional), for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. First, toast the almonds before we add the remaining ingredients. To do so, warm the almonds in a small saucepan (use a larger saucepan if you are making multiple servings) over medium heat, shimmying the pan often, until the almonds smell fragrant and toasty, about 2 to 4 minutes.
  2. Add the coconut oil, cinnamon and salt to the pot. While stirring constantly, cook until the cinnamon is fragrant, about 15 seconds.
  3. Add the quinoa to the pot and stir to combine. Cook, while stirring constantly, just until the quinoa is warmed through, about a minute or so. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the maple syrup.
  4. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and top with dried fruit and a hefty sprinkle of hemp seeds, if using. Top with a light sprinkle of cinnamon. Serve promptly, with additional maple syrup and milk or yogurt on the side, if you’d like.