Episode 4 – Easy Nourishing Snacks for Moms

Hi friends! I’m Karyn, and this is the Family Food for Moms podcast. We’re talking about inspiration for family cooking and dining. 

Today we’re going to talk about a few snacks I find that are really helpful to have available in the fridge when I have a crazy day, which is most days. I definitely have a sweet tooth, and often I’m looking for something sweet but healthy to grab when I feel that lull in energy – or when I’m just feeling like I want to eat something.

So I’m going to talk about a few things that are quick and easy both to make, and to grab from the fridge when you’re at home and you’re craving something good. Sometimes as a mom, it’s hard enough to make sure that you’re getting the nourishment you need – forget about sitting down and actually enjoying eating your meals! That’s not easy. We try to have family lunches and most days we manage, but some days are just too busy. As well as that, there’s the time in between meals when you need a snack – a protein snack or just something to keep up your energy. I struggle with these things all the time. 

One thing I know for sure is that if I’m not nourishing myself properly, then a lot of other things are going to start falling apart. If my blood sugar is all over the place, if I’m moody and tired, then things are not good. When my blood sugar is balanced, I feel calm and able to handle my days much better. If I don’t eat enough protein and enough nourishing food, then I feel exhausted. Exhausted, and often overwhelmed and not able to cope with all the conversation that goes on in a busy home plus homeschool. But if I eat good protein and nourishing meals then I’ve got energy and I can give my attention to my kids, to my family and the home as needed. I have energy for cooking for other hard times too. 

So do you have these struggles? Then stick around for some ideas. 

So one of the things I struggle with is healthy snacks, especially during that long stretch between lunch and dinner. I find that having pre-made snacks in the fridge helps a lot. 

First, let’s talk briefly about what not to eat for snacks. Granola bars, especially those from the store, have a lot of bad oils, wheat, and other things that we shouldn’t be ingesting. Bags of very processed things often contain not enough protein and too much junk. So if you can perhaps find things fried in tallow or coconut oil, that’s better, but still there’s not enough protein in that kind of thing. And they’re often moreish – you have some, you want more. Little sweets from the cupboard, chocolate chips, highly sweetened yogurt – these things are not ideal, and shouldn’t be your whole snack. 

So fresh fruit, if you can get it, is amazing. I love to grab a grapefruit and eat the segments. That’s one of my favorites, and I also love papaya and mango, but those things sometimes take a while to chop. Sometimes you just don’t have the time – then just a fresh orange or apple is wonderful. 

Cheese is brilliant. You can get cheese, healthy cheese, and cut it up into snack sized pieces and wrap those for a snack. I hate wrapping cheese in plastic, but I don’t really know what else to use for something in such small bits, so if you have any ideas on that, let me know. 

Carrot sticks or celery sticks that you put in water in a jar, and in the fridge are wonderful. 

Now these are some things that I like to make at the beginning of the week. They’re a little more work, but later on they’re really quick and really good for when you need a snack. 

Number one is Gummies. I’m sure you’ve seen this on the internet, but they are genuinely so amazing, and they’re really an easy way to get some good gelatine in your diet. 

All you need is two cups of juice. I like to use dark grape juice or pineapple and mango juice. I prefer to use organic juice, not from concentrate, but any juice is good that’s got a nice flavor. Then you need six tablespoons of powdered gelatine. Simply pour the grape juice into a saucepan and then sprinkle the gelatine over the top. You don’t even need to wait for it to bloom because it will be heated to dissolve, but you can wait a little if you like to do that. 

Stir this mixture over gentle heat until the gelatine has dissolved completely. Make sure to scrape the bottom and the sides of the saucepan to prevent the mixture from sticking and burning. It should almost come to a boil, but not quite, so that the gelatine will be evenly dissolved, and set properly. Take it off the heat before it actually reaches boiling point, as boiling will weaken the gelatine. 

Then I like to pour it into a flat glass container to cool. I usually put it in a container that has a lid because that’s easy to keep in the refrigerator. So I pour it into the glass container and leave it out to cool for about two to three hours. I leave the lid off at first so that it doesn’t become too moist from the condensation as it cools. 

And then after it’s cooled quite a lot, I put it in the fridge and we keep it there and simply cut a piece whenever we want. We often give our kids this as a snack as well. It’s a really juicy, good gummy to eat. It’s not that rubbery – kind of soft and squishy, but it tastes delicious and is high in protein.  

Number two is homemade granola. If you eat oats, it’s a wonderful snack to have. 

You need a large bowl and you mix the dry ingredients, which are four cups of rolled oats, a teaspoon of salt, and half a teaspoon of cinnamon. 

I’ll let you know where to find these recipes on our blog at the end of the episode, so don’t worry about writing down the details as you go. 

Then you add the wet ingredients, which are half a cup coconut oil, half a cup honey, and one teaspoon of vanilla extract. I use vanilla powder, so I don’t actually put a whole teaspoon, just a sprinkling. If the coconut oil is solid, then you have to melt it gently over a very low heat, then you mix everything together until it’s completely combined with no pockets of dry oats. 

Then you spread the sticky mixture out into a deep baking tray or a casserole dish. Make sure to grease it first – usually using coconut oil – otherwise your granola will stick to it. 

Bake the granola for around 30 minutes on a low heat – probably about 360 – until the oats are golden brown. Don’t worry if it doesn’t seem crunchy, it’ll harden up as it cools. So when it’s cooled a little bit, I like to mix in some coconut flakes or desiccated coconut and some chocolate chips. It’s amazing when the chocolate chips melt a little bit and spread throughout the oats as you mix it. It’s divine! Once the granola has cooled completely, then you can use a spoon to mix it and break it up. Actually, it’s a good idea to mix it a few times as it cools so it doesn’t stick to the container. You can either leave it quite chunky or break it up finely. Then put it in your jar. There’s no need to refrigerate it. Ours is eaten long before it needs that anyway. 

An amazing way to have it is the traditional way, with yogurt. Fill a bowl with some yummy yogurt. Add a drizzle of honey or maple syrup and a spoonful or two of granola on the side. Our kids love to have this as a snack as well.  Then, to take this to the next level, we use this granola for a nutritious and delicious gluten free cheesecake base. 

In fact, we put it on top as a sprinkle instead of putting it underneath and it works just as well and is a lot easier. So, you take the granola, a spoonful or two, and grind it up in a coffee grinder, and this crumble is amazing to sprinkle on the cheesecake that I’m going to talk about next. 

So, number three is the cheesecake.

To start this, we soften the cream cheese at room temperature and then whisk it with a fork or a whisk until there are no lumps. Then we add heavy cream, and maple syrup for sweetness. Many recipes call for whipped cream, but who wants to spend ages whipping cream when heavy cream will work just as well? This makes the filling slightly less light than whipped cream does, but it’s extra creamy. You’re going to use about one and a half cups of cream cheese, and about a cup of double cream or heavy cream. Then you’re going to add five to six tablespoons of maple syrup depending on how sweet you like it. You also need just under a teaspoon of lemon juice, a little bit of vanilla, and a pinch of salt for flavor. Now mix the whole lot with a fork. This is a good time to taste it.

This recipe is a raw cheesecake, so you don’t need to bake it or anything; you just mix and refrigerate it. See if you like it the way I’ve described. Maybe if you like a bit more flavor then add more salt perhaps, or a little bit more lemon juice, or even a bit more sweetener. Make it however you like. Then spread the cheesecake filling into a glass container and sprinkle some of the magic ground granola on top. 

You can then enjoy some yogurt and granola or some cheesecake or some gummies at any time. It’s so great to know that there are these high protein options. 

Also, I forgot to mention in the granola, you can add in some protein powder before you put it in the oven and that adds to the nutrition as well. 

I’m going to end off with a couple of tips. When you are feeling like a snack, try having a cup of tea, a glass of raw milk or some lemon water. These really help your body to relax and perhaps you’ll realize you don’t need a snack just then. But if you really do want a snack, you should enjoy it. Make and eat things that make you feel fulfilled and nourished. Even your snacks should be nourishing and fulfilling! Look forward to what you’re going to have for your snack. Picture the good things it does to your body and have fun with it. Then prepare ahead for the week, otherwise you will probably find yourself grabbing the undernourishing things or the junk food. Make the good stuff and have it ready for when you need it. 

So, if you want to see the full recipes, just have a look at this particular blog post on familyfoodformoms.com. Also, if you’d like to, you can download our free conversation starters pack with 28 different conversation starters for your family to use at the dinner table to get the conversation going. It contains things for all ages – some serious things, and some interesting and amusing questions, lots of fun to use. To find those, you can go to familyfoodformoms.com/conversation. I’ll see you next time!

 

RECIPES

Gelatine Gummies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups juice, of your favorite flavor
• 6 tbsp gelatine powder

Instructions:

1. Add the juice to a small pot, and sprinkle the gelatine over the top. There’s no need to wait for it to bloom.
2. Place the pot over medium heat, and stir the mixture often. Make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom and burn.
3. When the juice reaches a simmer, take it off the heat and let it cool down slightly.
4. Pour it into a glass container. Let the mixture come to room temperature, then put it into the fridge for a few hours until set completely.
5. Cut into pieces and enjoy! The gummies should be shored in the fridge so they don’t melt.

 

Homemade Granola

Ingredients:

• 4 cups organic rolled oats (use gluten-free oats for gluten-free granola)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt (if you’re using standard table salt, scale back to ¾ teaspoon)
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ cup coconut oil
• ½ cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla or a little vanilla powder
• Optional mix-ins: ½ cup chocolate chips or coconut flakes

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large, deep baking sheet with parchment paper, or grease a large casserole dish.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, salt, vanilla powder and cinnamon.
3. Melt the coconut oil in a saucepan.
4. Combine the warm coconut oil and honey (and vanilla if liquid), so the honey can melt.
5. Pour the granola onto your prepared pan and use a spoon to spread it in an even layer.
6. Bake until lightly golden, about 25 to 30 minutes, stirring halfway (for extra-clumpy granola, press the stirred granola down with your spatula to create a more even layer). The granola will further crisp up as it cools.
7. Let the granola cool completely. Break the granola into pieces with your hands if you want big chunks, or stir it around with a spoon if you don’t want extra-clumpy granola. Store the granola in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 to 2 weeks.

 

No-Bake Cheesecake

Ingredients:

• Homemade granola
• 350g cream cheese (full fat)
• 250g double cream
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract or a pinch of vanilla powder
• 6 tbsp maple syrup
• 3/4 tsp lemon juice
• A pinch of salt

Instructions:

1. Using a fork, soften the cream cheese. Add the cream and the vanilla, maple syrup and lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. Mix together until smooth, then spread it into a glass container.
2. Using a coffee grinder, grind the granola until fine, then use a spoon to sprinkle it over the top of the cheesecake. Store in the refrigerator.