Snacks – BeginWithin Nutrition (2024)

We had a green kind of day…

Green smoothies for breakfast, Noah said “green” for the first time 🙂 and this deliciousness for lunch…

Rosemary cauliflower flatbread topped with edamame hummus and…

avocados…

If you’re looking for a low-carb, gluten-free, vegan flatbread recipe…this is for you! Not quite like traditional flatbread, but equally yummy in its own right! Crisp on the outside, doughy in the middle and completely kid friendly! Almost a whole head of cauliflower is used as the base of this recipe making it a great way to sneak in veggies!

Topping options are limitless…

pesto and arugula

white bean spread and sun-dried tomatoes

tomato sauce and roasted veggies

Rosemary Cauliflower Flatbread

1 head of cauliflower (3 cups of cauliflower “rice”)

3/4 cups oat flour, coconut flour, almond flour or flour of your choice

(I made oat flour by pulsing old-fashioned oats in a food processor until a light flour was formed)

3 flax “eggs” (3 tablespoons flax seed meal + 9 tablespoons water)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon rosemary or herb of your choice such as dried basil, oregano or thyme

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

-Mix together flax seed meal and water in a small bowl, set aside.

-Make “cauliflower rice” by adding cauliflower florets to a food processor and pulsing until rice-like.

(depending on the size of your food processor you may need to do this step in small batches.)

-In a large bowl, mix together 3 packed cups of cauliflower rice, flax “eggs,” oat flour, salt, olive oil and rosemary.

-Place dough on parchment paper and use hands to flatten to 1/2 inch thick.

-Place in oven and cook for 40-45 minutes or until golden and crispy.

Note: Cooking time will vary depending on thickness of flatbread, keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn!

-Remove from oven, add toppings of your choice and enjoy!

(if adding toppings that should be served warm, return to oven for 5-7 minutes or until warmed through)

Helpful Hint: If you have left-over cauliflower “rice,” save and use in place of rice for another meal. Simply steam in a few inches of water until tender and serve warm. A great low-carb, grain-free alternative to rice!

Tags: cauliflower pizza crust, dairy free, egg free, flatbread, gluten free, healthy, kid friendly, low carb, vegan

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• CategoriesKid Food, Main Meal, Snacks

Need a lift?

You’ll be buzzing around like a busy bee after drinking this smoothie!

I found another research study proving that coffee is good for us! Studies show coffee is packed with antioxidants and may prevent against diseases such as type 2 diabetes, but what about instant coffee? I have always been skeptical of using instant coffee grinds and still am however, this articleby the Molecular Nutrition and Food Research got me thinking! The process of making coffee “instant” actually increases the antioxidant content! The study showed that instant coffee drinkers had less biomarkers of oxidative stress, which means less inflammation in the body, and ultimately less risk of chronic disease!

Yay coffee!

Shall we brew another pot? Ok, I won’t go that far…everything in moderation, right!But, a little buzz here and there may be a good thing!

I combined my love of coffee and chocolate in one delicious smoothie!

Bee pollen was added for a little superfood action! Some say bee pollen is “nature’s perfect food” because it is a complete protein and contains B vitamins, vitamin C, minerals and flavonoids. It’s used to treat allergies and menopausal symptoms, but is most commonly used as an energy enhancer and for antioxidant support. Bee pollen can be found at most health food stores and should be refrigerated to maintain freshness. Note: Those who have bee allergies should refrain from using bee pollen!

The Buzzed Bee Smoothie

2 cups milk of your choice (I used soy milk)

1/2 cup old fashioned oats

2 frozen bananas

1 tablespoon cacao powder or high quality cocoa powder

1 tablespoon bee pollen

3 dates

1 tablespoon instant coffee grinds

(I used Starbucks VIA however, I’m sure regular coffee grinds would taste good too!)

~Blend and Enjoy~

As always, feel free to throw in some baby spinach, hemp seeds, chia seeds or coconut oil!

Top with extra bee pollen and cacao nibs for fun!

Warning: If you are someone who is sensitive to caffeine this may not be the smoothie for you! Try using decaf grinds and decreasing the amount of cacao to lessen the buzz 🙂

A good friend brought this to my attention: A vegan that uses bee pollen is considered a “Beegan!” So, technically this isn’t a pure vegan recipe, it’s a Beegan recipe 🙂

Tags: benefits of bee pollen, benefits of instant coffee, cacao, coffee smoothie, dairy free, gluten free, green smoothie, instant coffee, smoothie recipe, vegetarian

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• CategoriesBreakfast, Dessert, Nutrition, Smoothies, Snacks

Oven baked sweet potatoes and beets are a more nutritious substitution for the classic baked white potato! They make a healthy appetizer in place of potato chips too!

Serving brightly colored, baked vegetables with dipping sauce also entices little ones to taste different foods!

Oven Baked Winter Wedges

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges

2 beets, peeled and cut into wedges

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1/2 teaspoon sea salt, divided

fresh ground pepper

-Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

-In a large bowl, add sweet potatoes and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Toss to coat and transfer onto a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.

-In the same bowl, add beet wedges and toss with remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Toss to coat, transfer onto a cookie sheet and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.

-Place both cookie sheets in the oven and bake uncovered for 30-45 minutes, turning once. Watch carefully, they go from tender crisp to burnt in just a few minutes!

-Serve with cilantro aioli and enjoy!

Cilantro Aioli

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1 lime, juiced and zested (is that a word!?!)

3/4 cup vegenaise

dash sea salt to taste

pinch of chili powder to taste

~place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and pulse until well combined~

Tags: baked beet fries, baked sweet potato fries, gluten free, vegan, vegan aioli recipe, winter root vegetables

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• CategoriesKid Food, Main Meal, side dishes, Snacks, Uncategorized

Sweet and spicy snacking!

I bought a one pound bag of mixed nuts from Trader Joes, tossed them in sugar and spice to create this savory snack!

Nuts make a great snack as they provide essential vitamins, healthy fats and protein. If watching your weight, be mindful of portion size as they are also high in calories. A single serving portion is roughly a small handful.

Here are a few nutritional highlights of a few varieties of nuts:

Almonds: Great source of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated oils, packed with protein, calcium, iron, zinc and vitamin E. Containsamygdalin, a flavonoid which protects against cancer. Lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol and are an excellent source of fiber.

Cashews: Contain minerals such as copper, magnesium, potassium and zinc. Provide a healthy dose biotin, essential for repairing cells, boosting energy and growing strong hair and nails.

Chestnuts: The only “low-fat” nut around, 1 gram per 1 ounce serving! They are also the only nut that contains vitamin C!

Hazelnuts: 1 ounce serving provides 41% of the DRI of copper. Copper has been found to support an antioxidant enzyme calledsuperoxide dimutase,which fights free radicals floating around wrecking havoc in our body. Who knew!

Sweet and Spicy Roasted Nuts

1 pound of mixed nuts

1 egg white

1 tablespoons water

1/4 cup light brown sugar

2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or more if you like the heat!

-Preheat oven to 275 degrees, line a baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

-In a medium bowl, whisk together egg white and water. Add nuts and toss to coat. Pour through a strainer to drain off excess egg white and water.

-In a separate bowl, mix together sugar and spices. Add nuts, toss to coat.

-Spread evenly on the baking dish, place in oven and bake for 30 minutes.

-Stir and lower heat to 200 degrees and bake for an additional 30 minutes.

-Remove from oven and let cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.

-Enjoy!

Although I haven’t tried it yet, I believe you can substitute olive oil for the egg white/water mixture for a vegan version!

Tags: benefits of nuts, gluten free snack, simple roasted nut recipe, sweet and spicy roasted nut recipe

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• CategoriesNutrition, Snacks, Uncategorized

I’ve been wanting to share this recipe with you for a while now, but they don’t stick around long enough to photograph! I’ve made them every week since I found the recipe on Pinterest from the blog http://www.averiecooks.com She has some wonderful recipes for sweet treats, you should check it out!

This recipe is completely grain free, but you would never know because these mini-muffins are so plump and doughy!

Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins

(makes 3 dozen mini-muffins)

2 ripe bananas

2 eggs

1 cup smooth peanut butter

1/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of sea salt

chocolate chips for top

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a mini-muffin tin with cooking spray.

-In a blender, add bananas, eggs, peanut butter, honey, vanilla, baking soda and sea salt. Blend until a smooth batter is formed, around 1-2 minutes depending on the type of blender you use.

-Using a tablespoon, scoop batter into mini-muffin cups, filling to 2/3 full. Top with a few chocolate chips. (I added 3 to each mini-muffin)

-Bake for 8-10 minutes or until tops are set and toothpick inserted comes out clean.

-Let cool for 10 minutes and enjoy!

You can find the original recipe here. Note: I doubled the original recipe and also altered it a little by cutting back on the amount of honey used. She recommends using peanut butter such as JIF. Please don’t do that! Find a smooth all-nautral peanut butter instead!

Tags: banana peanut butter muffins, gluten free muffins, grain free muffins, grain free recipe

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• CategoriesBreakfast, Dessert, Snacks, Uncategorized

Here’s the perfect thing for an afternoon treat! Good for warming up on a cool fall day or for a little pick-me-up!

You can read more about the benefits ofcacaohere!

Hot Cacao

1 cup almond milk

2 tablespoons cacao powder

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1-2 tablespoons organic coconut palm sugar (any sweetener would work)

dash cinnamon

-Gently melt coconut oil and whisk in cacao powder, coconut palm sugar and cinnamon.

-Add almond milk and simmer until warm.

-Enjoy!

I threw mine into the vitamix for a whirl to make it frothy!

http://www.beginwithinnutrition.com

Tags: cacao, coconut oil, healthy, homemade hot chocolate, simple

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• CategoriesSnacks

They’re here…the terrible twos.

The past few weeks we’ve seen glimpses of them, but I think it’s safe to say they are unpacking their bags and moving in. And may I add, a few months too early..fun times, fun times.

After a day of constantly being told “no” and having to deal with the dead weight drop to the floor shenanigans, I needed to end the day on a sweet note. So, I baked cookies.

These are called cookies however, they are mainly sweet potatoes and almond butter, two superfoods in my book! Therefore, I’m considering these medicinal!

Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 sweet potatoes, baked (~2 cups)

(click here for how to bake sweet potatoes)

1/2 cup almond butter

2 eggs (or vegan egg substitute)

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup coconut flour (can be substituted with whole wheat or oat flour)

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon sea salt

2/3 cup chocolate chips

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

-In a food processor, blend sweet potatoes (skins removed), almond butter, eggs and vanilla until fluffy.

-In a large bowl, mix coconut flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

-Combine wet and dry ingredients and gently fold in chocolate chips.

-Use a tablespoon and evenly drop dough onto parchment paper.

-Bake for 30 minutes, cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy!

Happy Friday! Hoping everyone has a great weekend!

http://www.beginwithinnutrition.com

Tags: almond butter, chocolate chips, gluten free, healthy cookies, sweet potato, vegan

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• CategoriesDessert, Snacks

What can I say, i’m into dips lately…

We planted an apple tree last year and despite being completely ignored, it produced beautiful apples this year! Two to be exact, but they tasted like heaven! I’m sure there were more, however this poor tree was so neglected that we forgot to pick them. Sorry little apple tree, we will show you more love from now on!

Apple slices pair very nicely with this no sugar added, vegan, caramel almond butter dip. Perfect for an after-school snack for the little ones 🙂

Salted Caramel and Almond Butter Dip

10 dates, pitted

1/4 cup almond butter

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

almond milk

-In a food processor, blend all ingredients together adding almond milk one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. (I added about 5 tablespoons of almond milk)

-Sprinkle with coarse sea salt.

-Serve with almond slices or celery sticks and enjoy!

http://www.beginwithinnutrition.com

Tags: almond butter, dairy free, dates, healthy, kid friendly dip recipe, no sugar added, simple, vegan

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• CategoriesDessert, Kid Food, Snacks

I love hummus, the beans keep you powered with protein and fiber, and the tahini is an excellent source of calcium. It’s insanely easy to make, it’s cheap and turns a so-so snack of veggie sticks into something wonderful!

I found this chart on pinterest, it is from Shape magazine.

(click on photo, it will bring you to the recipes!)

Trader Joe’s sells an edamame hummus that is SO good and my whole family loves it! This edamame hummus recipe is just as good! Plus, I didn’t have to drive 45 minutes to Trader Joe’s to get it…score! I will definitely be referring to this chart in the future and look forward to trying out all the variations!

Edamame Hummus

1 3/4 cups edamame (cooked and shelled)

1/3 cup tahini

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 garlic clove

~blend and enjoy~

(I added 2 tablespoons of water to give it a “whipped” consistency and a little sea salt for extra flavor!)

http://www.beginwithinnutrition.com

Tags: edamame hummus, gluten free, high fiber, high protein, simple hummus recipe, vegan

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• CategoriesSnacks, Uncategorized

I can’t keep enough chia seed pudding in the house! We’ve been eating it for breakfast, as a snack and as dessert. (yes, it tastes that good!)

It’s so quick to prepare and is packed with nutritious chia seeds!

(you can read about the health benefits of chia seeds here)

There are so many variations of chia seed pudding, but this has become our new family favorite!

Pina Colada Chia Seed Pudding

1 can coconut milk (regular or light)

1 cup crushed pineapple (fresh or canned in juice, not sugar!)

1 banana

1/3 cup chia seeds

1/4 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut

-In a food processor or blender, puree coconut milk, pineapple and banana.

-Pour mixture into a bowl and stir in chia seeds and shredded coconut.

continuously stir for a few minutes to prevent chia seeds from clumping.

-Cover and place in the refrigerator for 2 hours or until chia seeds absorb most of the liquid and has formed a pudding like consistency.

-Top with fresh pineapple, shredded coconut and enjoy!

http://www.beginwithinnutrition.com

Tags: benefits of chia seeds, chia seed pudding, dairy free, gluten free, grain free, simple and healthy snack, vegan

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• CategoriesBreakfast, Dessert, Snacks

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