Healthy Fall Snacks
The fresh berries, savory melons, succulent cherries, juicy peaches, and nectarines will certainly be missed. But the fall months bring us sweet grapes, crisp apples and pears, juicy pomegranates, citrusy oranges, tangelos, and tangerines.
Grapes are a great snack and extremely convenient. Green, red, black, and champagne are just a few of the varieties. A newer variety is the Moondrops by the Grapery- unusual in shape, extremely sweet, and very juicy. Available at most grocers.
Citrus Fruits- oranges, tangelos, tangerines, and grapefruits are delicious, easy to peel, toss into salads, and sprinkle with Pumpkin seeds.
Pomegranates – small red pearls called arils, filled with goodness and sweetness. Cut the Pomegranate in half, hold it in the palm of your hand, and hit the back with a wooden spoon and all the arils will fall out easily. Eat by themselves, sprinkle on salads, and mix with other fruits for a healthy salad.
Apples- the varieties of apples are too numerous to list, but some of our favorites are the Honeycrisp, Winesaps, Ozark Blacks, Envy, and a new apple out this season Snapdragon-delicious. What is your favorite apple? Those of you who live across the pond have the opportunity to experience the Pendragon apple- supposedly one of the most nutritious and delicious out there. Let us know if this is true- to anyone who has tried the Pendragon. Curious minds want to know!
One of our favorite after-dinner snacks, is to cut up an apple and drizzle it with honey and nutmeg for a healthy, easy, and satisfying dessert.
Quince- is like an apple but should not be eaten raw, due to its very hard and bitter taste. Poach the Quince and add a little sweetener of your choice for a healthy evening snack.
Sweet potatoes are in season!
-A great snack utilizing sweet potatoes is to slice a sweet potato into very thin strips
-Toss the sweet potato strips with coconut or pumpkin oil
-Next, sprinkle with Sea or Himalaya salt (for the salty lovers), or sprinkle with cinnamon and a little brown sugar (for those who prefer sweet snacks).
-Spread evenly on a cookie sheet.
-Bake at 400 degrees for 25- 30 minutes a little longer for extra crispy sweet potato chips.
Pumpkin seeds- High in Vitamin E and high in anti-oxidant properties.
-Spread them on a cookie sheet
-Sprinkle with Sea or Himalaya salt
-Toast for about 15-20 minutes at 160-170 degrees
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies (Everyone has a cheat day, right? Here is a healthyish dessert J)
Ingredients
1 cup canned pumpkin
¾ cup sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda & 1 tsp milk
½ tbsp milk
1 tbs vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or add more if you like)
½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Directions
-Preheat oven to 375 F
-Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg.
-In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt.
-Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in.
-Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
-Add vanilla and chocolate chips (and walnuts if using).
-Drop medium spoonfuls onto the cookie sheet
-Bake 11-12 minutes. Place on cooling rack when done.
Take advantage of the fall bounty of what nature has to offer! Happy snacking!
