Often in the Summer we find ourselves wanting to spend as much time as possible outside. The nice weather leaves us avoiding mundane chores like cleaning, doing paperwork, and cooking. Who wants to stand in front of a hot stove in 80 degree weather for an hour? Luckily, there are quick and delicious snacks that require little to no heat:
Kale Chips: In stores, Kale Chips can be sold for up to $8 for a tiny package. What many people don’t know, is that it’s extremely simple and cost effective to make them yourself, and much healthier than potato chips. All you need is a bunch of Kale, parchment paper, a cookie sheet, olive oil, and your favorite spices.
Line a cooking sheet with parchment paper and scatter pieces of Kale on the sheet. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil over pieces, then season with your favorite spices (cayenne pepper, oregano, lemon juice, and sea salt are delicious options.) Cook for 35 minutes at 300 degrees Fahrenheit, checking every five minutes to see if they’re done. Cooking time varies depending on the oven. When done, chips should be green and crunchy, not brown.
Baked Apple: A delicious variation to Apple Pie, with less calories.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Wash and remove cores from the Apples. Sprinkle cinnamon on top, and wrap tightly in aluminum foil and bake for 30-40 minutes. If you wish, you can stuff the Apples with a mixture of sugar, cinnamon, raisins, and pecans. Then you would just place the apples in a baking pan with boiling water.
Dehydrated Banana: Dehydrating bananas makes for a great healthy snack, minus the oil in banana chips.
To keep the banana from browning in the process, fully emerge the bananas in a bowl of lemon juice and let soak for five minutes. Remove and slice. Use a cooling rack, and place bananas single layer on the cooling rack, on a cookie sheet. Make sure the oven has been preheated to 125, and leave in center of the oven to cook for 18 hours, or until crisp (not brown.) Set the dehydrator to 135 degrees and cook for 8-16 hours.
Banana Nice Cream: Combine 2 frozen bananas, 1 cup unsweetened soy or almond milk, 2 tablespoons of peanut or almond butter in a blender. Puree the mixture until no banana chunks remain. Pour into a bowl and enjoy!
Acai Bowl: First, you will need: Acai berry smoothie packs, bananas, frozen strawberries, soy milk, and granola. You may also add raisins or dates, honey, and any other fruit you might like.
Blend all ingredients (minus the granola) together until rid of any chunks and is smooth. Next pour into a bowl, top with granola and any
other fruit you like!
