Two Favorite Snacks: Apple Slices with Honey & Cinnamon and Ooey Gooey Banana & Peanut Butter

I love snacking. I typically eat a little bit every 2 to 3 hours during the day, so many of the times I'm eating I would consider what I'm eating to be a "snack" rather than a meal. My lunches are more meal-like, but they tend to be small, and during the week at work you can often find me having a snack about two hours after I've eaten lunch.... And then I also often have a snack when I get home from work...and in the mid-morning I have a snack. So, you see, I snack a lot. ;)

For fun, I thought I'd share with you a couple of my current, favorite snacks. I sometimes go in cycles; I have a particular snack that's my favorite for a few months, and then eventually I change it up and have another favorite go-to snack for a while. Well, currently my two favorites are apple slices with honey and cinnamon and a warmed, mashed banana mixed with peanut butter. Let me explain!

Perhaps some of you enjoy apples like this too. For my sliced apple snack, I simply cut up an apple, drizzle it with a bit of honey and then sprinkle a little cinnamon on top. Delish!! I also love apples plain, but every now and then I'm in a mood to eat them differently, so that's when this apple, honey, and cinnamon snack comes into play. Such a great combo.

And for the past few weeks, at least two or three times a week, I've been having an ooey gooey banana and peanut butter snack. If you love the flavor combo of banana and peanut butter (and let's be serious - who doesn't?!), you'll love this. Generally, I cut up either half a banana or a whole one, depending on how hungry I am, and I put the banana slices in a mug. You could also do this in a bowl but it's more fun in a mug for some reason. Then I add about two teaspoons or so of peanut butter to the mug and pop it in the microwave. The first amount of time I "nuke" it for is usually 30 seconds and depending on the ripeness of the banana, sometimes it needs another nuking of about 15 more seconds or so. Usually after a total of 45 seconds, the banana and peanut butter are plenty warm, and the banana has become mushy and soft. I stir everything together and eat it by the spoonful! Soooo good. I personally think this snack is better with bananas that are on the riper side (i.e., have some brown spots on them). One time last week when I needed a more substantial snack to last me a few hours until I would be eating dinner, I enjoyed the warmed, mashed peanut butter and banana on a toasted 100-calorie whole wheat sandwich thin. Also delicious!! This weekend I had a whole banana with some peanut butter (warmed up and mashed together, of course!) before I went to the gym to take a Turbo Kick class. It was the perfect fuel to get me through a tough workout!

It doesn't look all that appetizing, but trust me, it's delicious. And it's so fun to eat out of a mug!

This was when I spread the deliciousness on a toasted whole wheat sandwich thin.

What are some of your favorite snacks that are on the healthy side and don't take much time to prepare? I'd love to hear them. Perhaps you have an idea that will become my next go-to snack once these two are out of the rotation! :)

Homemade Trail Mix

Trail mix is one of those foods, at least for me, that I could eat and eat and eat and eat... Handful after handful. Can you relate? Fortunately, I have pretty good awareness and self control so I don't actually eat and eat and eat and eat treats such as trail mix. But I know that if I were to let my cravings get the best of me, I would keep eating tasty snacks like this homemade trail mix I made last week!

I actually made this batch of trail mix to give to Mike's brother, Dave (my future brother-in-law!), as part of his birthday gift. Dave is an avid bird watcher (it's an intense hobby if you don't know much about it!), and I thought it would be nice to give him a snack he could bring along with him on his birding trips that sometimes are hours and hours long.

Below I've listed the ingredients and proportions I used for this batch of trail mix, but obviously you can add whatever your favorite ingredients are in whatever proportions you'd like! That's the beauty of a treat like this. Trail mix doesn't require a very precise recipe since there's no baking involved, of course!

Ingredients:

-2 cups mini pretzels

-1 and 1/2 cups Quaker "whole hearts" cereal

-1 cup dried cranberries 

-3/4 cup dark chocolate m & m's

-3/4 cup pretzel m & m's

-2/3 cup whole almonds

-2/3 cup dry roasted peanuts

Instructions:

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. That's it. ;-)

Store in airtight containers or ziploc baggies!

I went a little crazy with the m & m's in this batch. Feel free to tone down the chocolate if you want a healthier version!

This made about 7 cups of trail mix for me. I don't know the nutritional information for this mix, but I'd guess that eating no more than 1/2 cup of it at one time is a safe bet. If you're afraid of overeating a snack such as trail mix, simply proportion the snack ahead of time into appropriate serving sizes. For me, when I take a snack like this to work, I only bring enough for one serving a day. That way there's no temptation for me to keep eating since after I finish that one serving, there's no more!

I had jury duty today, and I brought some of the mix with me to snack on when we got a break. It was perfect! I haven't made trail mix in so long. Making it this time around and remembering how much I love it will hopefully remind me to make it more often...

Oh, and in case you're wondering, I got out of jury duty, thank goodness! There was potential I'd be on a case for 3 weeks... Yikes! 

Some other ideas of ingredients you could interchange or add in addition to the above ingredients include: raisins, dried fruits (apricots, banana chips, etc.), other nuts, sunflower seeds, chocolate chips, soy nuts, and coconut. Oh, and Teddy Grahams! I love Teddy Grahams in trail mix. I didn't happen to add any to this batch because they weren't on sale at the store this week, but they are such a fun addition to trail mix...especially when it's a mix for kids! Or, for adults who are kids at heart. :)

What other ingredients do you enjoy in your trail mix? I'd love to hear about your favorites!

Oh, and stay tuned... I made a second batch of trail mix, and I ended up using some of it to make some pretty darn tasty trail mix cookies. That recipe's up next!!

Oyster Snack Crackers

First of all, I must share this disclaimer: this recipe does not involve baking! There, I said it. :)

Last week I was grocery shopping, and I'm not sure why but I randomly was drawn to oyster crackers! It's like my shopping cart just abruptly stopped when I came to them in the aisle...really. Then I had a very vivid memory of these flavored oyster crackers that my mom used to make. So I picked up a couple bags of oyster crackers with the anticipation of trying to re-create the recipe she used to make! I didn't actually attempt to do so, however, without calling my mom first, of course. :)

Essentially, the recipe just involves shaking up some oyster crackers in a large ziploc bag with some oil and seasoning/spices. That is all! I mean, the clean up couldn't really be any easier...there's not even one dish involved! Well, I suppose if you actually take the time to measure your spices, you might create a dirty dish...but I didn't do that today. I "eyeballed" everything!

The following describes the recipe as I made it today:

I put a 12 oz. bag of oyster crackers in a gallon-size ziplock bag. Next, I added one package of dry Italian seasoning (the kind you use to make salad dressing). I drizzled some extra virgin olive oil in the bag, roughly about two or three tablespoons at first. You could probably also use any vegetable or canola oil as well. I closed the bag tightly and did the ol' shake, shake, shake!

After a close inspection, I decided that the crackers needed both more oil and seasoning... So I added probably a couple more tablespoons of oil and some other random spices, including garlic powder, a bit of chili powder, and another Italian-flavored dry spice mix that I had (probably had rosemary, garlic, etc. in it). I did this a few more times...shook the bag and then added a bit more oil and spices. So, I couldn't actually tell you true measurements for this recipe...sorry!

My mom told me that she used to add a packet of dry dressing mix (Italian or Ranch) as well as a couple tablespoons of dill weed. I didn't have any dill weed, so I did not add that...but I remember that it was very yummy back in the day when my mom used it!

Anyway, although this is not a baking recipe, I hope it's still acceptable to include with my blog. :) It's an incredibly tasty and oh so easy recipe! And who doesn't love a snack like that?!

Nutty Cracker Delights

This recipe immediately reminds me of my mom. :) She used to make these nutty cracker delights quite often when we were younger...but often to give them away as a gift and not always for us! :-( I know why though; they are super easy, only require a few ingredients, and most everyone loves them! If you're looking for a treat that is both sweet and salty, look no further! (By the way, sorry to those of you who are allergic to nuts...) I decided to make them for the same reason my mom often did...to give them away this holiday season! :)

Here are the ingredients and instructions:

-approximately 42 Club crackers

-1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

-1/2 cup sugar

-1 tsp. vanilla extract

-1 cup almonds (sliced or slivered - I prefer the look of slivered almonds, but this time I used sliced)

Line a 13 x 9 pan (or larger) with aluminum foil and place the crackers in a single layer on the foil. It helps to have a pan that has sides, so I would not recommend using a cookie sheet. Preheat oven to 350. In a medium saucepan, melt butter and sugar together over medium heat, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil, and let boil for 2 minutes and then remove from heat. Add vanilla and stir thoroughly. Immediately pour the mixture (be careful - it's hot!) very quickly and evenly over the Club crackers, and then right away sprinkle with the almonds.

Bake at 350 for 10 - 12 minutes or so, until light golden brown. Soon after removing the pan from the oven, remove the crackers from the pan, cutting or breaking the crackers apart as needed (they tend to stick together!). Cool the crackers and store in an airtight container.

As you can see, for fun I also added festive red and green sprinkles to this batch.

I like the fact that these don't look perfect in any way! Each cracker ends up looking very different...but they all taste just the same...yummy! ;-)