Got the Munchies?

Over spring break I went to the library and took out a dozen cookbooks. I finally had a chance to look through them and am happy to report that I found a few recipes that look great.

I tried this one and it proved to be a great snack!

Spiced-Cherry Crunch Mix from Cooking Light Gluten Free Cookbook

I changed it up a bit and am pretty happy about it.  In fact, I am eating the rest of the batch as I type this.  Both sweet and salty; it hits the spot.

I have adapted the recipe and will share with you what I did:

Snack Mix
Adapted from Cooking Light Gluten Free Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 1 large egg white
• 1/4 cup sugar *
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 cups gluten free rice krispies**
• 1/3 cup chopped almonds***
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts (toasted)
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1 tsp grated orange rind****

Directions :

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees
2. Line a cookie sheet with tinfoil and coat with cooking spray
3. In a medium bowl, beat egg white with a mixer until foamy
4. Combine sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg, in a separate bowl.  Add sugar mixture to beaten egg white, 1 tbsp at a time beating until stiff peaks form
5. Fold in cereal as well as next 3 ingredients.  
6. Spread mixture on cookie sheets and bake for 20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes.
7. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack and store in a airtight container.

Notes:
* Next time I am going to try 1/8th cup of sugar or try to omit completely
** Don't want it to be gluten free? just use regular rice krispies or be adventurous and use your favorite cereal.
*** I might try to toast the almonds next time too, I love that taste
**** I learned that I really don't enjoy orange flavor, so I will omit the orange rind.

A Healthy & Easy Snack for the New Year

I am entering into my second week into my Christmas Break.  I would say that first week has been fairly successful.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Let me share some highlights with you:

1. I achieved my goal of baking allergy friendly treats that are really delicious and don't make me sick.
2. With the help of family, specifically my wonderful sister-in-law, Trisha, my blog has a new and improved look and name.
   
3. I have slept in until 8:30am every morning, instead of the usual 6am.
4. I learned to drive a remote control helicopter.
   
5. I discovered a really great place called Golden Ears Cheese Works.  Don't be fooled by the word cheese, it really is a cute country store and cafe that happens to make and sell cheese.  The best part is that their cafe has gluten free treats like muffins and even a dairy, wheat, & gluten free Oreo like cookie cookie. If you are in Maple Ridge, you must check this out!

Now onto week two, let's see what it brings.

So far I am off to a good start.  Tonight I learned to make a healthy snack that I have been avoiding because I thought it was way more complicated.

I have been seeing pins for "make microwave popcorn in a paper bag" all over pinterest for a while.  It is a great idea and I thank whoever first thought of it!

So when my husband shared with me that he really likes popcorn and would opt for this instead of cookies, I wondered why we have never had popcorn in the house and headed right for the store.

This is great if you are like me and don't have a popcorn popper and are too much in 'relaxation mode' to stand at the stove and pop popcorn in a pan.  Using the paper bag was so very easy, so if you are looking for a quick, easy, and healthy and allergy friendly snack, then give this a try.

Microwave Popcornserves 2-3

You will need:

• A brown paper bag & 3 small pieces of masking tape
• 1/3 cup popcorn kernels
• A microwave
• Your favorite topping...I put melted coconut oil and salt on mine.

Steps:

1. Place 1/3 cup of popcorn kernels in paper bag.  Tape shut & microwave for 2 minutes

2. Open carefully, and while it is cooling prepare your favorite topping*

3. Pour on your favorite topping and enjoy!

 *I melted a spoonful of coconut oil in the microwave for 30 seconds the poured it over and topped with salt.


Note:  I bet you have wondered, "what would happen if I put more popcorn in the bag".  I used a 1/2 cup instead of a 1/3.  My results:

By the way, what do you put on your popcorn?