Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Snack Ideas for Spring!



Quick Snack Ideas!

You glance around. Your eyes fall on the Costco sized bag of chocolate chips you promised would be set aside for baking. After a few moments of pondering you reach a decision. Either bake something (which is actually healthier than quaffing gratuitous amounts of chocolate chips) or find a quick slightly healthier snack. Here is a list of small snacks that can be made in under 5 minutes:

Apple Pie innards:
Craving apple pie but have no time to make the crust? Easy! Just make the middle. Grab an apple and slice it as thin as you can. Arrange said apple on a plate or pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Top with 2 pats of butter. Either toast for 2-5 minutes or microwave. Enjoy!

Quesadilla:
They’re quick, light, and crunchy! Could turn into dinner also! Alternatively, just fry up the tortilla in butter (for flour) or oil (for corn) add a pinch of salt, and eat plain!

Cocoa:
Don’t underestimate the power of cocoa, it’s more filling than tea, and perfect for a little pick-me-up. Add some melted chocolate chips, or a candy cane, or grated orange peel to spice it up. For an exotic taste, and the smallest hint of cinnamon and chili powder (yes, I just watched chocolate, and yes, it was a great movie).

Chocolate covered…?
Put a small handful of chocolate chips into a bowl, and add about 1-3 teaspoons of Crisco or shortening. Microwave for 15 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until melted. Stir with spoon, and dip random things into it. Gummi bears, oranges, bananas, pinecones, etc.

Pancakes:
Although these seem time consuming, I’ve made them in about 5-10 minutes with instant pancake mix. Stir a small bowl up, add some toppings (either the aforementioned chocolate chips, or butter). The trick to quick, light snacking is to make sand-dollar sized pancakes, and make them really thin. This way they don’t fill you up too much before/after dinner.

Cheese Stick:
Often times, I’m not really hungry per say, but just want to play with food. A cheese stick is the perfect solution. You can nibble away on it while sipping tea and reading a book.

10 comments:

Unknown said...

I get munchy when I'm at work, so what I do is I take one of my numerous empty salsa jars ('cause I love me some salsa) and fill it with home-made trail mix. Generally:
2 parts peanuts
1 part raisins
1 part almonds
1 part chocolate chips
and a dash of sweet granola, just for funsies

It really helps the mix if the peanuts are salted - unsalted peanuts mean the mix relies on the raisins and chocolate chips for flavor, and that can be dangerous (for me). I end up with half a jar of plain nuts and no sweet things left.

Scamper said...

Just want to 'nibble' food? Sigh, I know the *Hiccup* feeling. Before lunch I snacked on crackers. After lunch I snacked on trailmix because I bit my cheek and blood and chololate is terrible. swigs apple juice.

You know, the before and after meal snacks can be a killer. If you are going to make a snack, I suggest you get up, walk to the kitchen, and either get a glass of water, or make a full large healthy snack. So much better than eating an entire tube of ritz crackers *hiccup* right before dinner.

Carrot sticks, hummus, lettuce, celery and peanut butter, all good options!

The best option is chocolate chips though, gobs of them. But if you are allergic, you might get the *hiccups*.

Scamper said...

Thanks Eleanor! That's a good sounding mostly healthy mix! I shall try that!

PS, I am not a robot.
PSS, apparently, that muffin is a pancake.

Scamper said...

Sheep dog, as you can see, (since you just posted this), the natives are bored since we all commented like, 4 minutes after you posted this!

Sheepdog said...

Aw, I'm sorry natives! *pats heads all around* I do agree, homemade trail mix is super delicious. Carrot sticks and hummus too, especially for the bunnies.

Scamper said...

No problems! Scamper the penguin is off to his 3rd school this afternoon. But while I was visiting with the associate principal, I enjoyed reading!

Unknown said...

I'm always somewhat afraid of buying carrot sticks, because I stick them in the crisper and then forget they exist.
I suppose the fix would be for me to store the carrot sticks in a clear container that's not in the crisper, so I can see and remember them.

Scamper said...

How about making a sign on your fridge that says
"Eat Carrot sticks you bunny!"

with apicture of a lop eared bunny munching a carrot.

Sheepdog said...

Ah, carrots! Yes, I run into this issue as well, most often I just place them on a shelf. they are less crisp i supposed, but that way I remember to eat them. *chomp*

Scamper said...

Slightly unrelated, I saw Zootopia for tightwad tuesday (5 dolla tickets)!

And who do you think I saw? Well, for a penguin, I was pleased. For I saw none other than Gloria's great grandma (Gloria the penguin from Happy Feet of course). In the third world, deep in the artic zone of zootopia, Linda Ronstald played a minor role in drinking coffee in the background.

Who is Linda you say? Ahh, let me tell you. Linda sang 'Somewhere Out there' in 'An American Tale' in the 80s! Noted pop star and folk singer, Linda the penguin went from unkown in the 60s to top folk singer in the 80s. I hear she recently retired as the first penguin ever to have contracted parkinson's disease. Sad shame really. Well, happy Wednesday!