Category: Snacks

Low FODMAP, gluten free, dairy free Banana Bread

Recently we have put one of my sons on a low FODMAP diet to help him resolve some GI issues.  I made my usual banana bread today, altering the ingredients to make this low FODMAP and thankfully the kids and my husband loved it!

Ingredients

3.5 ripe bananas

1/3 cup olive oil

3/4 cup cane sugar

1 egg beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

1.5 cups gluten free oat flour

Recipe

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mash the bananas in a bowl.

3. Add the remaining ingredients and mix together well.

4. Spray a loaf pan with a canola, or other oil, spray.

5. Pour prepared mixture into the pan.

6. Bake for 43 minutes, or until the edges look browned and a toothpick or knife comes out clean when you stick it in the bread.

Even Healthier Cookies

Last month I posted about my mom’s healthy cookies.   As I mentioned, my mom would get creative with these and each time I make them I use a different combination of healthy ingredients.  This time I used 4 cups of bran, 2 cups of whole wheat flour, 6 eggs, and half the amount of sugar and olive oil as last time.  I felt these were much healthier and they were 140 calories per cookie instead of 220 calories.  Here’s the new recipe:

In a large bowl, mix together:

4 cups bran

2 cups wheat flour

1/2 cup olive oil

2 individual containers yogurt (plain or vanilla)

3/4 cups sugar

6 eggs (with the 6th egg, only put in egg white & save the egg yolk for later)

After you mix it all together into a dough, roll into small balls and pat down onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.   Dab some of the egg yolk on each one to add a glaze.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes or until the bottom looks golden.

Mini Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I’m obsessed with these silicone mini cupcake trays! I’ve done some research and apparently these are safer than using non-stick trays and don’t leach nasty chemicals into your food.   The size is so fun, having several bite-size treats just makes food more satisfying in my opinion, rather than one big treat.

You may remember I made these peanut butter banana muffins before, but without the honey.  This time, I included the honey and the result was a big hit with the whole family!  And… only about 55 calories per muffin if you make 36!

As a reminder, here is the recipe I used.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/466685580133564592/

Just mix together all the ingredients in a bowl (minus the chocolate chips), pour in the muffin trays and then add the chocolate chips, and then bake for 7 minutes at 350 degrees.  This recipe checks all the boxes – healthy, yummy and easy!

Side note: I learned from my sister-in-law that if you can’t use eggs because of an allergy, or are vegan, or have run out of eggs, that you can mix ground flaxseed with water and use that as a substitute.  AMAZING.  One tablespoon of ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoons of water = 1 egg.

Healthy Cookies

Another one that my mom taught me.  If you’re going to make cookies for the kids, try to pack in as many nutrients as you can!  These have a lot of delicious nutritious ingredients such as eggs, yogurt, and bran!  Also, if you haven’t guessed already – super easy to make!

In a large bowl, mix together:

3 cups bran

4 cups flour (I like to use wheat flour or unbleached flour)

1 cup olive oil

2 individual containers yogurt (plain or vanilla)

1. 5 cups sugar

4 eggs (with the 4th egg, only put in egg white & save the egg yolk for later)

After you mix it all together into a dough, roll into small balls and pat down onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.   Dab some of the egg yolk on each one to add a glaze.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes or until the bottom looks golden.

I’ve also made these with ground flaxseed before too.  I would have added that this time, but we were all out.  Next time I may also try adding something else fun for the kids like raisins or chocolate chips.

 

Spinach, Cheese and Egg Muffins

So easy and each one is only about 70 calories!  My husband and I have decided this is our new favorite snack.  The recipe is so easy:

In a large bowl mix 12 eggs, 1.5 cups shredded Pepper Jack cheese, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 package frozen spinach that you have warmed up on the stove, and 1/2 sauteed onion.  Pour the mix into muffin pans that are sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes and then let cool for a few minutes.  Add more salt on top as desired.

My kids enjoyed these with a little bit of maple syrup drizzled on top!

Granola Bars

Everyone in my household loves granola bars! Especially ones with chocolate chips.  I tried the recipe on this website and it was a big hit!  The only change I made is that I put no brown sugar, and instead I put double the amount of honey.  Also, I blended the chocolate chips in to the mix before spreading it onto the pan.  I didn’t let the granola bars cool long enough before cutting them, so I didn’t get perfectly shaped granola bars – but that didn’t affect the taste!

Sarah’s Miller’s High-Protein Granola Bar Recipe

Heart-Shaped “Goldfish” Crackers

My son asked if he could have pre-packaged goldfish crackers from the store, and I explained to him that I’m trying to move away from snack food made in a factory that is processed and then put in a plastic bag.  He suggested we find a recipe online to make goldfish crackers.  We found this recipe and I have to say it’s so easy and the crackers turned out so yummy!  We didn’t have fish-shaped cookie cutters, so we used heart shaped ones.   If you make 20 hearts, it comes to 87 calories per heart cracker.

Here is the recipe we used:

homemade goldfish crackers

Banana Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins

For this I used the recipe from this website: https://pin.it/ecgorizite6uck

I doubled all the ingredients and used a regular muffin pan instead of a mini-muffin pan.  I also didn’t include the honey.  They turned out fine, but my husband and kids didn’t think it was sweet enough.  Next time I will try making it with the honey!