Friday, July 29, 2016

Healthy Homemade Snacks For When The Urge For Sugar Is Strong ♥


Between the early nights, the interrupted sleep and the never-ending demand for attention, it’s no surprise that we all experience the odd craving (or 2…3…you get my point). By now, we all know the dangerous effect that sugar can have on our bodies and that so many of the ‘healthy’ snacks that are pre-packaged are so full of artificial sweeteners, additives and preservatives that they are usually far from any resembling healthy!

When you are running a family, or having rings run around YOU by your family you need to have some pretty exceptional energy levels to keep up! So creating some simple homemade snacks that will give you the sweet hit you need without the unavoidable guilt afterwards. It also gives you peace of mind that they aren’t going to result in a hyper child - if you are gracious enough to share them with your little love of course!
Talking to children about the foods that they are eating and creating an awareness about fresh and wholesome food will set them up to make smarter choices as they grow older and start to make choices for themselves. You don’t have to be the next Ella Woodward (aka Deliously Ella) to create these nutritional snacks, just a bit of time and some simple fresh ingredients; and perhaps a little human for the all-important taste test!

Sweet Potato Crisps
Even though they are cooked in oil and smothered in salt, the UK consumes over 6 billion packets of crisps each year! This snack is not one that is contusive to long term health or even short term satisfaction and its hold almost no nutritional value.
On the other hand, the sweet potato is rich in vitamin A and super high in fibre. Thanks to its unique tastes, it lends itself to both sweet and savoury dishes, and while this recipe is savoury, you could certainly have a play with sweet flavours too.

• 2 Large (organic if possible) Sweet Potatoes
• 1-2 tablespoons coconut oil
• Teaspoon Paprika
1. Preheat the oven to 250
2. Using a vegetable peeler, thinly slice the potatoes
3. Mix all of the ingredients together with your hands (one for the children!) and makes sure all of the potato slices are covered with the oil and seasoning.
4. Lay the slices on a baking tray, lined with greaseproof paper in a single layer and bake for 90-120 minutes, turning half way through for even cooking.

There are other vegetables that you can bake in the same way – take a look at this Good Food tutorial for some inspiration.

Covered Fruit
Although it presents many benefits, fruit can be as high in sugar as some sweets, and when it comes to our 5 a day – fruit should only be 1 or 2 of the portions, the others made up by vegetables.
To make a little portion go a long way in terms of hunger stakes, you could add a coating of Greek Yoghurt. Greek Yoghurt with honey is an absolute all time favourite in our household! The positive being that it’s much lower in sugar that most adult or children’s brands (a Petit Filous has 12.1 grams of sugar per 100g!) it’s also high in protein – keeping us fuller for longer!

• Soft Fruit of your choice (strawberries, raspberries and grapes work well)
• Greek Yoghurt/Greek Yoghurt with Honey
1. I find the best way is to empty both the yoghurt and the fruit into a bowl to ensure everything is covered
2. Spoon the fruit out onto a tray lined with greaseproof paper
3. Pop into the fridge or freezer for 30 minutes to set

If you want to explore different flavours; there is always the dark chocolate classic or you could opt for a variety of nut butters such as these – why stop at peanut butter??

Flapjacks
Soft, oaty, chewy deliciousness – I challenge anyone to resist a flapjack! Filled with oats, they are high in fibre and protein as well as Vitamin b1 and Magnesium they will certainly give your energy levels a boost!
They are perfect for making with the little ones as there is no baking required. If you wanted to make the recipe even higher in the nutritional stakes then you could swap out some of the oats for puffed brown rice, puffed quinoa, pumpkin seeds or even a little chopped dried fruit. Many flapjack recipes are filled with lashings of golden syrup, treacle and butter wiping out any of the good stuff from the oats, however with a few adjustments you can create something that Jamie Oliver would be proud to serve in a school dinner!

• 2 cups of Oats
• 1-2 tablespoons coconut oil
• ¼ -1/2 cup honey (depending on consistency)
1. Line a baking dish with greaseproof paper
2. Mix all ingredients together so everything is coated in that glorious honey
3. Spoon into the dish and press down firmly with your hands so that everything is nice and compact
4. Pop into the fridge to set before slicing into bars

If you wanted to add a little extra ‘treat’ to your healthy flapjacks, you could always pick an indulgent topping to drizzle over the top!

And there you have it! Some nutritious snacks that will break neither the monetary or time bank and will leave you feeling satisfied and guilt free! Enjoy!

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