Healthy Snacks To Keep You Warm This Winter
Double Blueberry Chia Pudding
Easy, nutritious, delicious. We all need a delicious and quick healthy snack that keeps us full till dinner time! This is the most fun and yummy solution!
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WHAT’S SPECIAL ABOUT THIS RECIPE?
The combination of the textures and flavours from the jelly-like chia pudding, the softened blueberries, the creamy yogurt and the crispy granola. Not only the different textures work in great harmony together but all of the flavours are amazing when combined together. Moreover, we are not using your regular granola from the oven, but a very simple one, that is made on the stove top. Ready in 10 minutes, super crispy and super delicious.
ARE THEY HEALTHY?
Yes, yes and yes! Loaded with nutrients! The chia pudding is a great way to have a super nutritious breakfast! Chia Seeds are loaded with fibre, protein and Omega-3 fats. Plus a bunch of minerals! The fibre really supports your digestive system and will keep you full for longer.
The blueberries, too, are loaded with fibre and vitamins, as any fruit is. The plant-based yogurt has a healthy amount of carbs and probiotics in them too. And the granola, adds a great mix of carbs from the oats, fats from the almonds and some delicious sweetness (and even some nutrients) from the honey.
WHEN AND HOW TO HAVE IT
It is best to prepare everything the night before. So you make the chia pudding and make the granola ahead of time. Keep the jars in the fridge overnight and store the granola extra in an air-tight container outside of the fridge. In the morning just grab the jars, top with the granola and enjoy! A delicious way to make your snacks a bit more nutritious!
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What you will need
For the Chia Layer
30g Chia Seeds
150ml Plant-Based Milk
100g frozen Blueberries
1 tbsp Honey
For the other layers
300g Plant-Based Yogurt
200g frozen Blueberries
Fresh Blueberries for garnish
For the super quick granola
1 tbsp Vegan butter or Coconut Oil
1 tbsp Honey
3 tbsp Rolled Oats
2 tbsp Chopped Walnuts
1 tbsp Coconut Flakes
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
A Sprinkle of Sea Salt
How to do it
Mix all of the ingredients for the chia pudding and let it sit in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight.
Layer the jars with the chia pudding, on top the frozen blueberries and on top the plant-based yogurt.
For the granola, melt the vegan butter and honey in a pan until it is hot and it starts to bubble. Add the chopped nuts, oats, coconut flakes, cinnamon and coconut shreds and keep on medium high heat for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
When golden brown, take off the heat and add it to a bowl. Let it cool (the cooling will make it crispy).
Once cooled add on top of the chia puddings along with some blueberries! Serve and enjoy!
DOUBLE CHOCOLATE GRANOLA
It's like having hot chocolate in form of granola. Easy and healthy. All you need this winter!
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WHAT’S SPECIAL ABOUT THIS DISH?
Not that it is a chocolate granola – no – it is a double chocolate granola. Chocolate before baking and chocolate after baking. Because who could have enough chocolate? Plus, it is really easy to make, and you can really top off anything with it. Or you could, as we do, eat it straight from the jar. And it works perfect for this long and cold winter time but to be honest it is delicious at any time of the year!
IS IT HEALTHY?
It definitely is. Oats are a great source of carbohydrates and protein, nuts provide essential fats and protein too. The cacao powder is extremely high in antioxidants and has shown to have several health benefits. But as any dessert or sweet dish, we need something to sweeten it up and make it delicious! In this case, we are using maple syrup or honey. Yes, these both still contain sugar but they also come along with other nutrients and therefore, are a bit more beneficial for our bodies than refined white sugar. And since we are not using tremendous amounts of it, it will not harm anyone.
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What you will need
200g Rolled Oats
30g Almonds
30g Hazelnuts
30g Walnuts
5 tbsp Cacao Powder
2 tbsp Oil
4 tbsp Maple Syrup
1 tsp Cinnamon
A pinch Sea Salt
80g Dark Chocolate
3 tbsp Cranberries
How to DO IT
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Roughly chop up the nuts. In a bowl, combine them with the oats.
In the meantime heat up the oil, maple, cinnamon, salt and cacao powder until everything is well combined. Toss the oats and the nuts in the mixture.
Lay on a baking tray with parchment paper and bake for about 10-12 minutes till crispy.
In the meantime, chop up the chocolate in small chunks (about 0.5cm) and toss them into the baked granola. Let them cool completely and then toss in the cranberries.
Enjoy with yogurt, milk, oatmeal, ice cream, nice cream or just snack it straight form the jar!
HEALTHIER AND INCREDIBLY SIMPLE 4-INGREDIENT BOUNTY BARS
At least as good as the original and much healthier. Plus, they are soso easy to make. A bit fluffy and coconuty batter on the inside and crispy chocolate on the outside. Everything your tummy will crave for a snack.
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Bounty. The bar we all love. Who can resist to some sweet coconut covered in crunchy chocolate. That bite into it is like a bite of heaven. But unfortunately they are not very nutritious and good for us. But that will not stop us from eating them, right?! That’s why we are making an incredibly easy and healthier version of them that tastes at least as delicious!
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WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT THIS DISH?
Healthier bounty bars. That is very special. Plus, they are incredibly easy to make, so anyone can make them! You really just need 4 ingredients to make them and you do not even need a blender. It is easier to make them by using one, but it also possible to do them without using one!
ARE THEY HEALTHY?
Definitely healthier than regular bounty bars. Why? Because regular ones are loaded with refined sugar, preservatives and flavour enhancers, which are all not healthy for our gut, teeth and overall health.
HOW TO MAKE THEm
This is incredibly simple. You just need to mix the shredded coconut, coconut milk and sweetener. This can be done with a mixer or a blender, which definitely is quicker and easier, and if you do not have one, you can also mix and knead it by hand. Once this is combined, we press everthing onto a tray, a casserole dish or into a baking tin and we let it cool in the fridge or freezer for at least 1 hour or, even better, overnight.
The next morning, or a few hours later, we melt the chocolate. Remember not to add coconut oil because then the chocolate will not cover the bars as good. The pressed and chilled mass now, will be taken out of the fridge and cut into bar-sized pieces. Once this step is done, we dip our bars into the chocolate cream and let them chill in the fridge again for around 30 minutes.
Serve and enjoy!
Healthy Vegan Half Baked Cheesecake with Silken Tofu
A delicious and healthy twsit onto your regular cheesecake. The silken tofu makes the consistency amazing and it tastes incredible too!
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WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT THIS DISH?
Vegan Cheesecake! Isn’t that special itself? And the ingredients are really wholesome and nutrient dense too! And of course our special ingredient: silken tofu! No, it will not taste like tofu in the end, and yes it works really well.
WHY USING SILKEN TOFU IN A DESSERT RECIPE?
Silken Tofu is a super soft tofu, almost a yogurt consistency. This is great for creams, puddings or as in our case, for a vegan cheesecake. It also has a very mild flavour and when blending, it becomes really smooth. When baking, it helps to keep everything stuck together while keeping that cheesecake consistency!
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN CHEESECAKE
Here we have two different things to make because we have 2 different layers. The first layer is the crust. Here we do not do a regular cookie layer but more like a baked energy ball one and it tastes like heaven. Basically it comes down to blending up oats, almonds and dates.
For the actual “cheesecake“ layer it is really not more difficult! You just need to add soaked cashews, silken tofu, maple syrup, oil, fig preserves and cornstarch to a blender and blend until it is creamy and smooth! If you have a high speed blender you do not need to soak the cashews but if your mixer is not very powerful, we would recommend to soak them.
When the first layer is done you need to press it into a cake pan and then pour over the blended, “cheesecake“ filling. To finish off just top with sliced up figs and bake in the oven!
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What you will need
For the base:
100g Rolled Oats
30g Almonds
200g Dates
A pinch of Sea Salt
For the "cheesecake" filling
250g Silken Tofu
40g Cashews soaked overnight
100g Coconut Cream (just the firm part of the coconut milk! This is best seperated when putting the can in the fridge for about 2 hours)
100g Maple Syrup
2 tbsp Oil
1 tbsp Fig Preserves
2 tbsp Cornstarch
4-5 Figs sliced up
How to DO IT
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Add all of the ingredients for the base and blend until it forms a sticky paste. When too dry, add more dates or some oil, when too sticky, add more oats.
Line a 20x20cm cake pan (or a springform pan) with parchment paper. Add the blended mixture and press to the bottom so that it forms a flat layer.
Add the ingredients for the cheesecake layer into your food processor and blend everything until you obtain a very creamy texture. Pour over the first layer.
Top with the sliced figs and bake for about 45-55 minutes until the top gets golden brown.
Take it out of the oven. The cake will get firmer the longer you let it sit. Store in the fridge and take it out at least 20 minutes before eating for the best flavour!
Salted Caramel Chocolate Bar
The best treat you could ever make. Easy, crazily addicting, super delicious and healthy! Simple ingredients, just the best!
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We all need a good treat from time to time. But eating something delicious and sweet does not necessarily have to be unhealthy. Crunchy oat base, creamy date coconut salt caramel layer, and last but not least some crunchy chocolate on the top to give it that finishing touch.
They may sound pretty fancy, and they are but they are super simple to make. 6 ingredients, 1 blender, 20 minutes (max). You can grab one with your coffee or pack it for work.
ARE THEY HEALTHY?
The layer at the very bottom of the bar is made out of oats, dates, and coconut oil. Oats are a great food because they are packed with vitamins, protein and fibre. They are not only great in your oatmeal but also in granola and bars. The coconut oil helps to bind it all together and the dates do so as well. This layer is full of crunch and tastes a bit fresh do to the coconut oil. It gives the base to a super good bar.
The next layer is the best of them. It tastes like salted caramel, just better and it is much healthier. Instead of cream, butter and sugar, we are only using dates and coconut milk. May sound a little bit off but it really is not! We blend the dates until they have a smooth and creamy consistency. At this point the caramel is pretty thick, and this is why we add it to a pot and add some coconut milk. We bring it to a boil, add some sea salt and let it simmer and thicken a bit. It still is a bit runny, and we will add it on top of the oat base.
Lastly, dates are a super healthy food. They contain big amounts of antioxidants, no matter if fresh or dry. Fresh dates are super good but it is really hard to find them, especially in Europe. Yes, dates do contain sugar but the fiber in the fruit helps to control the blood sugar levels, so you do not get that high peak and then feel really crapy after a while. Plus, dates can even help you to reduce your blood pressure because of their high magnesium content and help you with your memory because of their B vitamin content. As already said, they are pretty high in fiber with 10g per 100g, which is pretty much, and helps with digestion.
What you will need
100g Oats
1 tbsp Coconut Oil
1 tbsp Maple Syrup
150g Dates
A pinch of Sea Salt
100ml low fat Coconut Milk
80g Dark Chocolate
How to DO IT
Place the oats in a blender and blend until super fine, flour like consistency.
Remove the oats from the blender and blend them until smooth and thick. Transfer them into a pot and add the coconut milk and the sea salt. Bring it to a boil then reduce to a simmer for about 5 minutes until thickend.
Take one tablespoon from the date mixture and add them to the finely grounded oats along with the coconut oil and the maple syrup. Mix everything until sticky, if it still is crumbly add more of one of the three.
Line a square form with parchment paper. Add the oat mixture to it and press it flat. Add the date caramel on the top and place it in the freezer while melting the chocolate in either the microwave or in a water bath. Once molten, pour it as a final layer on top of the date caramel and keep it in the freezer for at least half an hour.
Take it out and cut it into 9 pieces. Store in the fridge or enjoy right away.
ULTIMATE HUMMUS
Partydip, Bread Spread, Appetizer – you name it, Hummus is perfect for it!
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You only need 4 ingredients to make it; chickpeas, olive oil, tahini and lemon. This is the most basic form of it. We would also recommend to include some salt and some mixed spices. There are ready-to-use spice mixes in supermarkets that take it next level or you can add them yourself.
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WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT THIS DISH?
If plain hummus is too basic for you, then feel free to get creative and make a different flavor. By adding cooked beets, you can make a beetroot hummus, add curry powder for a curry hummus, greens for a green madness hummus, dried tomatoes and basil or pesto for a Mediterranean twist. Honestly, the options are endless, which makes it such a great dish because it is so versatile. You can make the base and then adapt it however you, your family or your friends best like it.
Hummus serves an awesome appetizer too. If you decorate it beautifully in a bowl, garnish it with some fresh herbs such as parsley or mint, some veggies, such as tomatoes, peppers, peas or cucumbers, and maybe some other touch of color, like pickled onions, it immediately looks super appetizing! Serve it with some toasted ciabatta or crackers, drizzle with olive oil, and voilá! A stunning and really simple appetizer is ready to be enjoyed!
What you will need
400g Canned Chickpeas
2 tbsp Olive Oil
3-4 tbsp Tahini
1/2 tbsp Vinegar (white wine vinegar)
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Paprika Powder
2-3 tbsp of the liquid the chickpeas were in
How tO DO IT
Drain the chickpeas from the can. Rinse them with water until there is no foam anymore. This will make the hummus creamier and easier to digest.
Add the chickpeas, along with all of the other ingredients, into the food processor. Blend until smooth. If it is too thick for your preference, add more olive oil or water.
Place everything into a bowl and garnish with some more olive oil, some fresh, cut up vegetables, pickled onions and parsley. Serve with some crackers and enjoy!
EASY AND HEALTHY VEGAN COOKIE DOUGH SANDWICHES WITH FIG ICE CREAM
Perfect snack or dessert and so good!
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WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT THIS DISH?
The cookie dough is made out of simple ingredients. We use dates for sweetness, which are really high in fibre, antioxidants, some almond butter, for some creaminess and healthy fats, vanilla extract, to get that cookie flavour, apple sauce for sweetness and texture, and coconut flour to reach a cookie consistency and flavour but still get some protein and fibre.
The filling is even easier. It’s 4 ingredients. It’s just frozen bananas, coconut yogurt, vanilla extract, and figs. The vanilla extract does make such a difference in it as it turns the ice-cream from average banana tasting nice cream, into vanilla ice-cream which is so good! The fresh figs just give it some freshness but you can substitute them with any other fruit if you do not like figs.
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What you will need
For the cookie dough
9 small Dates
3 tbsp of Almond Butter
140g of Coconut Flour
150g of Apple Sauce
30g of Dark Chocolate
For the Ice cream
3 Bananas sliced up and frozen
1/2 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
80g of Coconut Yogurt
Other
70g of Dark Chocolate or Chocolate Chips
How to do it
The dough
Cut the chocolate into small chunks.
Take out the cores of the dates and place them in a food processor until they create a sticky paste. Then add the almond butter and the apple sauce and blend to combine. Add the coconut flour and the chocolate chips and pulse until well combined.
Take a loaf pan and lay it out with parchment paper. Press half of the cookie dough into the pan to create a flat layer. It should be about 7mm thick. Place it in the freezer and store the remaining cookie dough in an air tight tupper ware in the fridge.
The Ice cream
Place the frozen bananas in the food processor or in a high speed blender (it has to be a really strong one because otherwise it will not break the frozen pieces apart). Add some of the coconut yogurt and lastly add the vanilla extract and blend everything until you obtain a creamy texture.
Take the cookie dough out of the freezer and pour the ice cream on top. Put it back and let it freeze for at least 6 hours or overnight.
To finish
Once frozen, place the remaining cookie dough on top of the ice-cream layer and freeze for another 2-3 hours. Then take them out and cut them into 16 equal slices.
Melt the chocolate and dip the sandwiches in it on one side, then place it back in the freezer. Continue until all of the slices are covered with chocolate on one side.
Store the cookies in the freezer if you wish to enjoy them for a longer time (they last for about a month).
CHOCOLATE ALMOND DATES
A really delicious and healthy snack or dessert! Super simple and super good.
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These dates are the perfect snack to get you motivated for the rest of the day. Chewy dates, rich chocolate, crunchy almond, and fresh coconut. This is the perfect combination to make a super simple 4 ingredient, 10 minute snack. It will get you through a long morning, an afternoon-low, or a pre or post workout as a super delicious dessert.
ARE THEY HEALTHY?
Dates are a super healthy food that contain 7 grams of fibre per 100 grams and help to regulate blood sugar levels. Moreover, dates are really high in antioxidants which protect your cells and reduce the risks of developing diseases such as: diabetes and Alzheimer.
What you will need
16 small Dates
16 Almonds
25g Dark Chocolate
2 tbsp Shredded Coconut
How to DO IT
Cut the dates on one side (do not completely cut them in half). Take out the seed and place an almond in it instead. Do the same with all of the dates.
Stick/ squeeze the part where the date had been cut in together with your fingers, so it sticks together and it closes itself.
Melt the chocolate in a water bath or the microwave. Dip the dates in the molten chocolate as you like. You can completely dip them, you can dip the half horizontally or vertically, or whatever you wish. Then dip it in the coconut flakes. Place them on a plate and store in the fridge.
Notes
If you do not like coconut, do not use it. You can leave it out or substitute is with chia seeds or crushed nuts. The same accounts for the chocolate. You can also go for white chocolate, whole milk chocolate, or whatever you want.
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Recipes provided and created by The Wellness Reporter contributor, Une Petite Cuisinière (plant-based lover and food blogger)