Snack Time!!


Why spend all your $$ on snacks that can easily be made at home & with OUT all the ingredients that you can not pronounce... Give these recipes a try. I promise your whole family will love them.

Here are a few baking tips before we begin. 

  For substituting eggs for Flax Meal, it is super easy & for the most part it is on the package/box you are using. 
1 EGG= 1 TBSP Flax Meal + 3 TBSP Water
 Then let sit for 5-10 minutes. Then you have a textured mix resembling eggs.


  Now on to sugar.....








Zulka... found in Walmart, of all places. Also it is CHEAPER then regular white sugar. Pure Cane Sugar AND Non-GMO
(GMO- Genetically Modified) verified..doesn't get better.




Grape Seed oil..






This is wonderful & ALSO Non-GMO verified. Found in local supermarket. I would price check stores, this can range from $5-$8 but well worth it.





For Almond Milk I only buy Blue Diamond (Non-Gmo)
'Silk' has only recently (March 2013) become Non-Gmo, but there are questionable circumstances on how they got their verification. For cooking I always get Original Unsweetened. The vanilla kind is reserved for hot tea.





For butter I only use
Earth Balance Soy FREE butter. I only buy organic soy... yes it makes a HUGE difference. Over 90% of soy products out there are GMO.


Pizza Dough Seasoning (multi-purpose)

8 TBSP  Cheddar cheese powder (you can use either white/yellow)
1 TBSP  Garlic powder
1 TBSP  Onion powder
1 heaping Tablespoon of Italian seasoning



Cheese Crackers
These are the most awesome cheese crackers EVER... They are the exact same as a popular name brand crackers but with OUT all of the nasty ingredients in them.. look on the box..


1 ½ C (6oz) Grated Ex-Sharp Cheddar Cheese (Cabot is rBst/rgbh free)
4   TBSP Unsalted softened butter (Earth Balance soy FREE)
½   tsb Salt
½   tsb Pizza Seasoning (homemade)
1    TBSP Milk (I use Original Unsweetened Almond milk)
¾    C Flour (more for dusting)

Pre-heat oven to 350 F-
Put everything EXCEPT milk in food processor, pulse 5 seconds 5 or 6 times, until coarse crumbs.
Add milk and process until dough gathers in a ball.
Roll dough on floured board & roll out into 1/8 inch think, 8X10 square (its OK if not a perfect square, I surly can't do it) I usually have to section the dough & I work with it in small flatten sections.

Cut into 1” squares (a PIZZA CUTTER works best & put flour on the blade so it wont stick), use the flat end of a skewer to poke hole into center of each square.
Place crackers ¼” apart on parchment paper
Bake 12-15 minutes, will keep 1-2 days in air tight container.
These never last long, they are my hubby's favorite  

The Next Best...


Homemade Wheat Thins


1 1/4 C      whole wheat flour
1 1/2 TBSP sugar
1 tsp        salt, plus extra for topping
1/4 tsp     paprika
4 TBSP     cubed unsalted butter(Earth Balance soy-FREE butter)
1/4 C        water
1/4 tsp     vanilla

Heat oven to 400.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 

  In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment(I typically do this by hand but you can do either way), stir together flour, sugar, salt and paprika. Add butter and toss with a fork to coat with the flour mixture. Mix on med-low speed until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal(again, you can really do this with your hands), with the butter pieces no larger than small peas. Add water & vanilla and mix on low just until dough pulls together. (If dough is still pretty dry, add a little more water until it comes together.) 

  Divide dough into 4 equal pieces, and cover with a towel so they don’t dry out. Working one piece at a time, on a lightly floured work surface, roll one of the dough pieces into a large rectangle, 1/16" thick. Using a pizza cutter, cut the rectangle into squares about 1-1 1/2" wide.  Transfer dough squares to prepared baking sheets. You don’t need to leave much space in between the crackers-they don’t spread at all in the oven. 

  Sprinkle lightly with salt and cover with a towel. Repeat rolling & cutting process with remaining 3 pieces of dough. Save all of your scraps under the towel and re-roll them all at once to create a final batch of crackers.  Bake crackers, one sheet at a time, until crisp and browned, about 5-10 min. I put them almost touching on the parchment paper, they do not rise &/or spread out so there is no need to waste space on the pan)

  Check crackers after 5 min. to remove some of the thinner ones that are browning too quickly and return the remaining crackers to the oven to finish baking. Transfer crackers to a wire rack and allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.






Pretzels:              (The best/easiest recipe ever)

1 1/2 C    warm water
2 TBSP     sugar
1 pkg       active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
3oz(1/3C)  unsalted butter,melted
2 1/2 tsp  kosher salt
4 1/2 to 5 C  all-purpose flour
   Grape Seed oil
3 quarts     water
3/4 C         baking soda
1 whole   egg beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water:     You could also use EVOO or Almond Milk, this will be for brushing the tops of the pretzels just before baking for salt.
Coarse sea salt

Directions:

  Combine the water, sugar, yeast, and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with the dough hook until combined. Let sit for 5 minutes.
  
  Add the salt and flour and mix on low speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the side of the bowl, about 3 to 4 minutes. If the dough appears too wet add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.

  Remove the dough from the bowl, place on a flat surface and knead into a ball with your hands.
Oil a bowl with grape seed oil, add the dough and turn to coat with the oil.

  Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size. About 1 hour.
  
  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

  Bring the water to a boil in a small roasting pan over high heat and add the baking soda SLOWLY it makes a slight reaction... very cool to watch.
  Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a flat surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, about 4 1/4 to 4 1/2 ounces each.

 Roll each piece into a long rope and shape into the lengths or shapes that you want (sticks are easy and tasty). 
Can easily be converted into buns/rolls
  Boil the pretzels in the water solution in batches. Boil for about 30 seconds. Remove with a large slotted spoon.
  Place pretzels on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Make sure they are not touching.
  Brush the tops with the egg wash and season liberally with the salt. I must say I have tried brushing with EVOO & it worked just as well. I do try to make most things vegan. 
  Place into the oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes until golden brown.
  Add additional toppings immediately after they come out of the oven.

UPDATE (5/16/2013): I think I have found an easier/quicker way to make these pretzels. Using a dough scraper (or whatever you have) I pressed the dough down & cut it into 3 sections. Then each section was sliced 5-6 times, then those were cut in 1/2 again to make smaller bite size pieces. The pretzels sticks are great don't get me wrong, but it does take a bit to roll them out. This is what I ended up with. After I boiled them in the baking soda bath, I scoped them into a large metal bowl where I had placed some milk (to sub for the egg wash) & salt. Then I mixed them around & poured them onto my parchment paper lined, baking sheet & I moved them around until they were no longer touching.



The Yield for this recipe is 2-3 times what is shown here. It made a ton.







How about some Fruit Snacks?
I like this one because it is very flexible . You can really use whatever you have on hand. I do tend to stick to strawberries.

Homemade Fruit Snacks



1 C    mixed berries

1/4 C water

1/2 C applesauce (Organic)

1/2 C fruit juice (apple, cranberry, blueberry, whatever)

2 envelopes gelatin (1 envelope = 2 1/2 tsp)


In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the berries and water. Bring to a boil and cook until berries are soft, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a blender or use an immersion blender to puree berries until smooth. Return to pot. Add applesauce and return to a boil, then remove from heat, cover and set aside.   In a large bowl, sprinkle gelatin over fruit juice and let stand one minute. Add hot fruit mixture and stir until gelatin completely dissolves, 3-5 min.   Pour into 8 x 8 inch glass or ceramic baking dish (or into molds, if you want to go that route). Refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours. Cut into blocks or shapes.




PB&J Muffins



2  Cup       AP-Flour
1-1/2  tsp  Salt
1  TBSP     Baking Soda
1  Cup       Milk  (Original Unsweetened Almond)
2              Eggs (used a Flax Meal substitute)
2/3 Cup     Sugar
1   Cup      Peanut Butter
1/3 Cup     Grape-seed Oil/Extra Virgin Olive Oil

For Filling : Jam or Preserves (I always used Homemade strawberry jam)

Directions:  Oven- 375
  Stir together flour, salt & baking powder in large bowl.

 Add milk, eggs, sugar, peanut butter & oil to bowl: combine JUST until moistened. Do NOT over mix.


 Fill oiled OR lined pan ½ way with mix.

  Place 2 tsp of jam/preserves in center on each muffin. Then fill with the rest of batter.


I actually filled 6 with Jam & 6 with chocolate chips (just to mix things up a bit), then put 2-3 chips on top to know which is which.


Bake for 18-20 minutes. Let cool in pan or carefully remove.  I took these out of the pan to cool on a wire rack.



Another wonderful snack is my famous 

Protein Balls

1   Cup
Oatmeal (I do ½ C quick oats & ½ C steel cut oats)
1/2 Cup 
1/3 Cup  
1/2 Cup
1/2 Cup
1    tsp
1    Cup
Peanut Butter
Honey
Ground Flax
Chocolate Chips
Vanilla
Flakes (cheerios, cornflakes, fiber one flakes, coconut flakes whatever is on hand. I crush them up)

Directions:

For the steal cut oats I have to soak mine for 20-30 minutes to re-hydrate them.

Mix all the wet ingredients first. Then add in the oatmeal & the flakes. Put in fridge for about 20-30 minutes to chill. 

Roll into balls (best to work with wet hands) & store in air tight container for up to a week.







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