Simple snack or appetizer: Snap peas and edamame

This is so fast, easy and nutritious, I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of it sooner! But better late than never. Three simple ingredients: a bag of frozen edamame (soy beans in their pods), a bag of fresh snap peas, and my own dehydrated homegrown tomatoes from this summer.

I simply microwaved the snap peas and edamame according to the instructions on each bag, then plunged the pods into a large bowl of ice water to chill, and to stop the cooking process. This preserves flavor, color and nutrients.

After they cooled, I drained them and then blotted them dry on a kitchen towel. Once arranging them on a platter, I sprinkled them with sea salt, and then scattered my own dried tomatoes. Voila!

Guests really loved this, and what was leftover was just as good as a pre-dinner appetizer the next night. I’m definitely going to keep a couple bags of the edamame and peas in the freezer now. The edamame and peas were pretty cheap, especially considering they can be frozen, so this qualifies as a thrifty idea.

-maven

12 school lunch and snack worthy ideas for healthy kids

Uh, now that I’m a grandma (yikes!) I’ve become interested in seeing that Mr. C gets healthy lunch and snack options. But as I look down over these options, it’s easy to see that they might just work for Mom and Dad at the office, too.

Yesterday at Costco, I noticed parents buying those bags of the mini sweet bell peppers, and I thought kids might just go for those, in addition to the little Armenian cucumbers - they’re much milder tasting than the larger regular cucumber and don’t have the tough bitter skin.Hummus is so easily made at home in a food processor, and your could toss in leftover beans or even chopped raw veggies like sweet bell pepper for additional nutrition.

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A healthy snack for everybody, every night

Now, mind you, I plan to share this with my love, Mr. Maven. And, that’s the key, portion control on top of choosing the right goodies for that late night snack.

Here tonight, three small but very high quality nibbles of dark chocolate, a Minneola Tangelo sliced for two, and some anti-oxident and nutrition packed blueberries. This will be accompanied by some Mighty Leaf Tropical Green Tea.

We all need an occasional nibble of something wonderful to end the day, and it’s all about your choices. Make them the very best you can afford, since you’ll only be having a bite. This way you can nibble and relax knowing you’ve treated yourself to good health.

Keep it fresh with new options. I really like to end the evening with a crisp cold apple sliced up with just a few - really, I mean a few as in three or four - nuts and about one ounce of really great cheese.

Other times, it’s a single slice of whole grain toast and a sliced apple with a glass of lowfat milk that floats our end of the evening snack boat.

And, it’s so much better than digging into a lame tasting bag of stale, calorie laden chips and feeling bad about yourself.

Low Calorie, Healthy Snack That Is Savory and Fast

Can a quick snack be healthy, crispy and packed with flavor all at once?

This may seem like a bit of a stretch for some palettes, but the answer is Peri Peri Banana Rice Cakes.

Everybody trying to keep the weight under control these days has discovered those bland tasting rice cakes, more reminiscent of styrofoam packing peanuts than food. But with a bit of imagination they can serve as a foundation for something fast and pretty darn satisfying.

Take any one of the Quaker (whole grain brown rice) Rice Cakes…Apple Cinnamon, the plain, the Toffee. It’s your choice. Schmear on one tablespoon of MaraNatha Natural Roasted Almond Butter (smooth or crunchy). Then slice half a banana and arrange on top. Okay, here’s the real secrety: Smoked Hawaiian Black Sea Salt (coarse), freshly ground pepper and Mozambique Peri Peri …. a fiery African pepper rub.

So here’s the bottom line: 180 calories, 8 grams healthy fat from almond butter, 5 grams fiber and 5 grams protein.

The Mozambique Peri Peri by Urban Accents is available at quite a few upscale and gourmet markets. I buy it, and the smoked sea salt at the new Butcher Boy in Reno. However, here is their website: http://www.urbanaccents.com/?gclid=CNzHqIvJgZUCFSEbagodaHoMrQ

BTW: The Urban Accents Morrocan Road seasoning and the Tandoori are really nice too.

Enjoy!