Dehydrator Snacks

HEALTHY SNACKS 

Dried Mango Chips

I don't put anything on my mango slices when I dehydrate them. They are a really sweet fruit to begin with and I think they turn out perfectly with nothing added to them. The toughest part is cutting them!

These are so easy to pack and carry anywhere.

I make fruit leathers fairly often because Gabe loves them, and I can take them to work or pack them for any outing. I never use a recipe for mine either. I usually try something a little different every time. 

 The one above contains blueberries, strawberries, ground flax seeds, hemp seeds, and banana. The red one below contains strawberries, mango, banana, and chia seeds. I used to never add any of the seeds, but it's a great way to add them to your diet! You can even add protein powder if you want!! Go figure! You can't buy these versions at the grocery store!!

Keep it Simple!

Keep it Simple!

I wanted to post these two pictures just to show that raw food consumption doesn't have to be complicated! I had this veggie plate for dinner the other night. I had some red pepper hummus, which wasn't raw, but it's still healthy and better than many alternatives! There are plenty of recipes out there for raw hummus, but if you don't have time to make your own this is a great option. If you can see, I have raw asparagus on the plate, which is a new venture for me. I absolutely love asparagus, but didn't think I could do it raw. Well, I did and it's not too bad.

This is how I normally eat asparagus: Either steamed for about 4-5 min or placed in boiling water for about 3. It's stays crunchy this way and doesn't overcook it. I like it with fresh lemon juice, a touch of olive oil, and S&P. I eat large plates of it like this very often!!

This is a salad that I made with avocado, tomato, green pepper, asparagus, sunflower sprouts and pea shoots, mixed greens, s&p, and my favorite dressing: lemon and apple cider vinegar!

So, go eat something simple and raw!

Banana Chips

Banana Chips

 Place sliced bananas on dehydrator sheets and dehydrate at about 90 degrees for 3-4 hours. Great little snack to have on hand. I made this batch plain, but in the past have sprinkled them with cinnamon or a mixture of agave and cacao.

If you want, you can spray your bananas with ascorbic acid (vitamin C) to prevent them from turning the darker brownish color.


MAKE SURE TO READ NEXT WEEK IF YOU WANT TO GET IN ON A CHANCE FOR A GREAT GIVEAWAY!

Something different

Have you ever tried a passion fruit? I had my first one this past summer. It's not something that you find at your normal grocery store very often, if at all. Whole Foods, Willy Street Coop, and any health food market should carry them. They are pink on the outside with a seedy yellow filling. Once you cut the passion fruit in half, you just scoop out the middle and eat it, seeds and all. Once you scoop out the middle, it kind of becomes liquid. It's a bit tart, but I love that. If you're up for something different, give them a try!

Passion fruit is a great source of dietary fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium, and the minerals, iron, copper, magnesium, and phosphorus.

Apple chips

Dehydrated apple chips

These little apple chips are one of my favorite dehydrated snacks. They have such a great flavor. Here's what you will need:

apples (I prefer more sour apples)

raw agave nectar

cinnamon

I core my apple and then run it through the food processor to get even cuts supper fast. This helps them to dry evenly. I dried mine on 90 degrees for about 4 hours. 

 Drizzle agave nectar over sliced apples and then sprinkle on some cinnamon. Mix them all up and place onto dehydrator sheets.

As I mentioned on Monday, I started a new job this week! I left the emergency department to take a job doing pediatric critical care transports. We pick up sick children from birth to 18ish and transport them back to a hospital where they can get a higher level of care. I never thought I would I would specialize in pediatric critical care, but I absolutely love it! It's an amazing feeling to help an innocent little child. Such a difference between kids and adults! Anyway, on Monday we did back to back calls that lasted from 1015 until about 6pm. No time for lunch breaks when you are rushing to and from hospitals trying to get a kid stabilized and in a place where they can get the best care possible. So, these apple chips, along with the snack bars that I shared with you yesterday were shoved in my pockets for snacking in between transports. Life savers for me, so I can help be a life saver for a little one:)

Delicious!

Raw Snack Bar.

Just thought I'd share another raw snack bar that I really really like. This one is by RAW REVOLUTION. The flavor above is Chocolate & Coconut. It's amazing to me that I used to not really care for coconut. I love it now. So, it you're looking to have some "on the go snacks", this is a good choice. I wouldn't go overboard, but it's a nice treat!!

This is spirulina cashew, which wasn't quite as good in my opinion.

Raw Snack Bar.

Do you ever carry food and snacks in your purse or bag in case you get hungry during the day? I do. I used to get low blood sugars years ago and have made it a habit ever since. Now, it's just a good idea so I have something healthy if I'm hungry. I've been sampling a few raw food bars lately, and this is one of my favorites.

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 This label is hard to read, but you can easily see it says, gluten-free, raw, vegan! I've also tried a couple of their other flavors, and they are all good. This one just happens to be my favorite. The blueberry is probably my second favorite. Here's a link to the website for some additional information!

http://thepurebar.com/pure-products/pure-organic/chocolate/

Raw Non-dairy Blueberry Yogurt

Yogurt seems to be a favorite of so many people. I received an email a while back with a raw non-diary yogurt recipe, so I thought I'd try a couple of recipes since it is such a popular snack. Here are the two I tried.

Version #1

1 cup soaked cashews

1 cup blueberries

2-4 soaked dates (depending on how big they are and how sweet you want it)

 After soaking for 3-4 hours, drain the water and blend all ingredients together.

 Non-Dairy Blueberry Yogurt from Hallelujah Acres

Version #2

Ingredients

1 cup blueberries

1 medium avocado

2 Medjool dates

Set aside 1/8 cup of blueberries. Place all remaining ingredients in a blender and blend, adding enough water to obtain desired consistency. Remove from blender and stir in the left over blueberries. You can add about 1 teaspoon of agave nectar if you desire a sweeter yogurt. A few drops of vanilla extract adds additional flavor as well.

Substitute any other desired fruit you like for a different flavor.

I preferred version #2.

Persimmon and Coconut Cream Parfait

 Persimmon and Coconut Cream Parfait by The Sunny Raw Kitchen

Persimmon Layer

4 very ripe persimmon blended until smooth. (leave the skins on)

Persimmon is a fruit that you may have never heard of or maybe just never tasted. I first tried them myself several months ago. My first impression was that they were very unpretentious and mild. When picking them out at the grocery store, especially if you're going to use them right away, you want to make sure they are very soft. They have the feel of a tomato, but you want them to almost feel as if they will smash in your fingers.

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 Bavarian Cream

2 cups coconut milk

1/2 cup coconut water (add last in case cream isn't thick enough, may omit)

2 tbs orange juice

1/8 tsp Himalayan salt

pinch tumeric for color

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp almond extract

1/4 cup agave nectar or more to taste

1 tbs lecithin

1 tbs coconut butter

Blend until smooth and refrigerate until cool.

Using a spoon, layer in a nice glass. A taller glass will work better. You can change it up and layer them with bavarian cream first and persimmon first. Top with some coconut flakes and goji berries.

 Of course, the truly raw way to have coconut milk is to make it using a coconut, and mix the meat and water together. However, coconuts aren't the easiest to open so you could always do the "almost raw" way and use a can of organic coconut milk. Just remember that it has been processed. Click here to see how to open a coconut.

 Blend all ingredients together until smooth.

 This little fella was my first attempt. I was in a hurry and didn't put my cream in the refrigerator first.

 My 2nd attempt was slightly better, but using a taller glass would make it much prettier!

Persimmons are a low calorie fruit that originated in China, however are now grown all over. They make a great snack and have a very mild flavor. They contain an abundance of healthy nutrients to help fight diseases. They're rich in phytochemicals and cancer fighting betulinic acids.

S&P Lacinato Kale Chips

One of my favorite things, is a big bowl of kale chips. I love the taste, and I can eat as many as I want without feeling guilty about how bad they are for me.  My favorite recipe that I've tried is rather addicting, and I like them so much that it's hard to try other recipes out there. I did however, make my own sea salt and black pepper version for my mom this past weekend. I wasn't sure she'd like my favorites, so I tried some plain ones.

Ingredients

A couple of large bunches of Lacinato Kale (dino kale) . Remove leaves from center stem.

Toss in a bowl with about 1/8-1/4 cup sunflower oil depending on how much kale you make.

Black pepper, a few twists of Himalayan Sea salt, and garlic salt to taste.

Directions

Place in dehydrator at 115 degrees for about 3-4 hours. 

Click here to see the healthy benefits of kale!

Home Made Fruit Roll-Ups.

Have you ever looked at the ingredients on some of the kids snack foods out there? One of my favorites is fruit roll-ups, but the ingredient list is not very healthy, at all! Here's what's in one variety:

Ingredients

Ingredients in Fruit Roll-Ups as listed on the Fruit Roll-Ups Variety Pack box include pears from concentrate, corn syrup, dried corn syrup, sugar and partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil. Fruit Roll-Ups also contain 2 percent or less than 2 percent citric acid, sodium citrate, acetylated monoglycerides, fruit pectin, dextrose, maltic acid, ascorbic acid, natural flavor and the following food coloring: blue 1, red 40 and yellows 5 and 6.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/523619-fruit-roll-up-ingredients/#ixzz1cVJmxqWl

Really? Do you really want to give that to your kids? Why must they add all of the extra "crap" that does no good for a healthy body? And food coloring? There are plenty of raw fruit leather recipes out there, but here's what's in mine:

MANGO BANANA

2 mangos

2 bananas

Puree the above TWO ingredients and place on teflon dehydrator sheets! SO healthy with nothing extra added. This is just as healthy as eating fresh fruit because they are dehydrated at about 95 degrees. They are SO delicious!

 STRAWBERRY BANANA

1 pint stawberries
1 1/2 bananas
1 tbs agave nectar
Purree the above THREE ingredients and place on teflon dehydrator sheets. I have absolutely no problems giving these to my son, and he loves them!

It should peel right off the teflon sheets.

Wrap them in press n seal.

There you have it! Delicious treats for kids and adults without any extras added!

Miso Dip

Miso Dip from Gone Raw

Ingredients: 

Juice from 1 Lemon

3 or 4 spoonfuls of miso ... Aka works best

5 or 6 spoonfuls of tahini (made with olive oil in my case)

Preparation: 

I made the tahini ahead of time using sesame seeds and olive oil in the food processor. I let it go for a long time to get it really mixed together well. Preferred texture is as thick as possible, but I've tried with creamy and it works, but it's harder to scoop. You could try just with just sesame seeds if your food processor can handle it. This mixture will stay good in your fridge for a long time. When I get the munchies I juice 1 lemon, and depending on the size of the lemon, add in the miso and tahini.

Great recipe from Gone Raw! Below is my, Joie's, creation!!

I found this Miso at Whole Foods and picked up the Tahini at Hyvee.

I always keep Miso and Tahini on hand in case I need it. Both of these have an expiration date of two years so they won't go bad! The Tahini I had, happened to be roasted, but if you have the sesame seeds and olive oil, you could make the REAL RAW version;)

 It's great with fresh cut veggies or you could even make some raw crackers. I didn't have time for that today so I settled for veggies!