healthy snack

photo by Lea Kriesberg

This recipe was created because I was experiencing a major oat surplus (I went a little crazy at the bulk bins.) What better thing to do with extra oats than make granola? I wasn’t planning on making granola so I just used ingredients I found around the kitchen. It’s pretty hard to mess up granola– all you need is a good base of oats and some other crunchy things and mix it up with something to bind it all together. For this recipe I used coconut oil and honey. Peanut butter and maple syrup would also be great. I already had some mixed nuts and chia seeds so I threw those in too. I used my other granola recipe as a base and then had the idea of mixing in some cocoa powder to make it chocolatey. Let me tell you– it smelled like I was baking brownies when I put the granola in the oven. So good! I didn’t really measure any of the ingredients (nothing new here) and just tasted the mixture as I went along. It’s easy to make as much or as little granola as you want so the measurements below can just be used as a baseline. This proves that you can make some delicious and healthy granola with just a few ingredients that you probably already have lying around. This makes the perfect snack, topping for smoothies, chia pudding, oats, and yogurt, or by itself with milk!

Time: 25 minutes
Active: 10 minutes
Serves: ~7

Ingredients:

rolled oats (4 cups)
chia seeds (1/4 cup) (optional)
nuts (1 cup)
cinnamon (optional)
vanilla extract (2 tablespoons)
coconut oil (3/4 cup)
honey (1/4 cup)
cocoa powder (3 tablespoons)

Supplies:

large bowl
baking sheet
small pot

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350°
In a large bowl mix together the dry ingredients (oats, seeds, nuts, spices)
In a small pot, heat the liquid ingredients over low heat. Mix until the honey, coconut oil, and vanilla are melted and combined.
Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry mixture. Mix to combined until everything is evenly coated.
Lay the granola out evenly on a baking sheet.
Bake for around 15-20 minutes or until browned and crispy, stirring every few minutes to make sure everything is evenly baked.
Let cool completely before placing it in a container for storage.

photo by Lea Kriesberg

photo by Lea Kriesberg

Using the ingredients from my Mexican taco salad bowl, I wanted to make a simple and healthy snack. You can’t go wrong with chips and dip. Making it at home is healthy, easy, and cheap. When you don’t add extra fat and oil to refried beans, it actually becomes a high-protein, delicious snack that goes with chips, salad, or bowls.

Cook time: 30 mins

Active: 2 mins

Serves: 5

Ingredients:

whole wheat tortillas
beans (1 can, you can use pinto, black, or any kind)
olive oil
cumin
chipotle chili powder
garlic powder
salt and pepper

supplies

baking sheet
small sauce pot

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400°
Cut the tortillas into strips and place on the baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and top with spices. Bake until crispy and brown, around 10 minutes. Flip chips around halfway through.
For the bean dip, heat around two tablespoons of olive oil in a pan. Add the beans, spices, and around a cup of water. Bring the water to a boil and then turn the heat down to let the beans simmer. Simmer for around 30 minutes, stirring occasionally and mashing the beans. Simmer until the water is absorbed. It may look soupy at first but give it time and the water will absorb and the beans

photo by Lea Kriesberg

healthy chocolate granola

easy tortilla chips + bean dip