Tasty Tuesday

Today we're going to focus on snack foods and foods we like to give our kids...granola bars, fruit leather and popsicles.  Here are 3 recipes to revamp the store-bought, full-of-sugar and other yucky ingredients.  Make these at home and feel good about giving them to your kids and eating them yourself!

No Bake Energy Bites

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (dry) oatmeal (I used old-fashioned oats)
• 2/3 cup toasted coconut flakes
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (natural or any nut-butter)
• 1/2 cup ground flaxseed or wheat germ
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Method:
Stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl until thoroughly mixed.  Let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour.  Once chilled, roll into balls of whatever size you would like.  (Mine were about 1″ in diameter.)  Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.
Makes about 20-25 balls.
Tips:
Substitution ideas can abound for just about any of these ingredients!  Feel free to substitute in your favorite nut butter (almond butter, sunflower seed butter, etc.) for the peanut butter.  And you could also add in some wheat germ in place of some or all of the flaxseed.  I would caution, though, against substituting agave nectar for the honey, as the honey’s thickness helps hold things together.
Some other fun substitutions for the chocolate chips (or an addition to them) could include:

• chopped dried fruit (apricots, dates, raisins, etc.)
• dried berries (cranberries, cherries, etc.)
• chopped almonds, pecans, walnuts, or sunflower seeds
• other chips (butterscotch, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, M&Ms, etc.)
• other grains (different kinds of oatmeal, rice cereal, etc.)



Fruit Leather

Ingredients4–5 large peaches (5½ cups chopped)
2½ cups fresh cherries
1 cup water
Sugar or agave, to taste
DirectionsStep 1: Wash and dry the fruit.Step 2: Slice the peaches in half, starting at the stem, and cut through till you reach the pit. Cut all the way around the peach. Then, twist the two halves to separate them. Remove and discard the pit. Slice and chop the peaches.Step 3: Using a cherry pitter, remove the stems and pits from the cherries. Discard the pits and stems. Step 4: Combine the peaches and cherries in a medium-sized sauce pan. Add the water. Place over medium heat on the stove. Bring to a boil, cover,and cook for 15 minutes.Step 5: Remove the lid and mash the fruit usinga potato masher.Step 6: Taste for sweetness and add sugar or agave according to your personal tastes. You may not need to add any if your fruit is very sweet. Start with no more than 1 tablespoon of sweetener at a time and adjust until you’ve reached your perfect sweetness.Step 7: Add mixture to a food processor and puree until very smooth.Step 8: Line a rimmed baking sheet(s) with parchment paper. You may need more than one sheet depending on its size. I used two 15½"×10" baking sheets. Pour the puree onto the lined baking sheet until the mixture is ¼" thick. For fruit roll-up-likethinness, use two 15½"×10" baking sheets and pourat a thickness of 1". For a thicker, fruit leather style, use one pan and pour at a thickness of ¼".Step 9: Bake the sheets in a preheated oven at 150 degrees (or lowest your oven will go) for 8–10 hours, or until the puree is dry and leather-like. When ready, the puree will no longer be sticky and will have a smooth surface.Step 10: After the fruit leather has dried, it is easily peeled away from the parchment paper. Store itrolled in the parchment in an airtight container inthe refrigerator
Feel free to substitute your favorite fruits!

Berry Yogurt Popsicles

Ingredients:

For the purple:

• 1 cup blueberries
• 1/2 cup blackberries
• 6 oz fat free blueberry yogurt
• 1 cup crushed ice

For the white:

• 14 oz fat free vanilla yogurt
• 2 tbsp agave or sugar
• 1 cup crushed ice

For the pink:

• 3/4 cup raspberries
• 3/4 cup strawberries
• 6 oz fat free strawberry yogurt
• 1 cup crushed ice

Directions:

Blend

each color smoothie separately in a blender and

set aside

.

 

Pour the first color into a popsicle mold 1/3rd of the way and freeze for 30 minutes. Remove from the freezer and insert the sticks, then freeze one hour.

Add the white yogurt into each popsicle mold 1/3 of the way and freeze an additional hour. Add the purple smoothie and fill it to the top of the mold and freeze until ready to eat.