Light snacks?

[Susan]

Hello Fellow CLers~
Can anyone share their full proof recipes for light, easily preparable snacks that adults and children would enjoy? Thanks!

~~Susan~~

[Susan]

Great idea, Kim! Please do post the recipe. I have a bread machine too that I could use for it.

~~Susan~~

[SandyDee]

Banana Pops were always big with my nieces when they came to stay. There are many variations that I have tried over the years but this one is good and quick and easy.

2 medium bananas, peeled and halved crosswise
1/4 cup crisp rice cereal
1 tablespoon toasted chopped coconut
1 tablespoon finely chopped peanuts
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon or apple pie spice.
2 teaspoons maple-flavored syrup

Insert a wooden stick* into the cut end of each banana half. Place on a baking sheet. Freeze 1 hour or till bananas are firm

Meanwhile, in a shallow dish mix cereal, coconut, peanuts and nutmeg. Brush frozen bananas with syrup, then roll in cereal mixture to coat.

Wrap each pop individually in plastic wrap; return to freezer. freeze 2 hours more or till completely frozen. Serves 4.

*Note: if desired, substitute plastic forks or knives for wooden sticks.

93 calories; fat 2 g; protein 1g; carbohydrates 19 g; cholesterol 0 mg; sodium 23 mg, potassium 266 mg.

[DJFan88]

Susan, how about the Peanut-Butter Chocolate Chip bars in the june issue? Everywhere I bring them (allover the place and at home) people love them.

[RunnerKim]

This is from the first in the series of The Bread Machine Cookbooks by Donna German - you know those short long ones.

Dough:
2 1/2 ts Yeast
4 c Flour
2/3 ts Salt
1 1/3 tb Sugar
2 1/2 tb Margarine or butter
1 1/3 c Water

Bath:
4 c water; at a simmer
5 ts Baking soda

Place dough ingredients in bread machine and set on manual/dough cycle.

FORMING: Cut dough into short strips, roll into ropes and shape into pretzels. Cover with a tea towel and let rise for 45 minutes. (I found it faster to actually punch a hole in the middle of a flattish ball and work on making it a into a "bracelet" and then either just twisting it into an infinity symbol or breaking the ring and making the pretzel shape - of course I quickly discovered with my young nephew and neice to just let them do what they could with the dough. However, they do poof up quite a bit so don't make them too fat).

BATH: In a cast iron or OTHER NONALUMINUM pan, bring almost to a boil 4 cups of water and 5 teaspoons of baking soda. Gently place (by hand or using slotted spoon) the pretzels into the water for approximately
15 seconds on each side turning once. Do NOT let water come to a boil. Remove pretzels and place on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with coarse salt (kosher). Bake at 475 for 10-12 minutes. (As the kids we're helping me this last time it wasn't exactly gentle - I had them use spatula's and I know it took longer than 15 sec. so don't feel too confined by these directions)

Happy pretzel making!

Kim

[RunnerKim]

I don't know how much time you want to invest in the making of the snacks, but I just had my young neice and nephew visiting and we made pretzels. A big hit (especially if you don't get hung up and making the pretzel "shape"). Most of ours were bagel shaped (or bracelets) or snakes. Low fat and fun to make. I used my bread machine but you could do it by hand. I don't have my recipe with me right now but if you want it, I can post it later.

Kim

[Kelly]

There is always the old reliable stanby of Rice Krispie squares (marshmallows, butter, rice cereal). They are not light in the calorie sense though. They always disappear first at our cookouts; I think the adults each as much of them as the kids do.

[Beth]

Not really a project sort of thing, but something different in the frewsh fruit category: try freezing grapes. They are cool and refreshing. I haven't done it in a long time, but think my 4-yr old ice eater would like them. Thanks for reminding me!

[Mamasue]

Like Beth I freeze grapes and also cherries. Right now the cherries are priced low at 99 cents a pound from almost $2.00. This is when I buy them by the pounds and fast freeze them then bag them up. They are wonderful frozen...taste like sorbet and also great to pop in the mouth on a hot day!

[Shelly]

My mom used to make these ice cream sandwich things with graham crackers and lowfat frozen yogurt. She used chocolate frozen yogurt in the rectangular box (the only way ice cream used to come!) and she opened the box on the long side and sliced off about 1" thick slices and cut them to fit graham cracker halves. Then you just put them on a sheet pan and freeze for awhile. Store in a freezer bag or container once they are frozen hard. These are really good. You could even add in nuts or coconut to dress it up a little. If you use nonfat frozen yogurt and graham crackers, you could add some extras without making it a high fat snack.

[Beth]

I haven't done pretselz for a while, but sounds like a good summer project. We make popcorn for snacks a lot, and the kids like to make a snack mix with popcorn, pretzel sticks, little cheese crackers (goldfish or others). Sometimes we use 2 or 3 flavors of goldfish crackers, peanuts -- kind of a kitchen sink approach. You can add raisins or other dried fruit as well as marshmallows, but the moisture will make the other things soften, so don't add it to more than you will use at that time. The dry ingredients will store in a sealed container or zipper bag.

[Mamasue]

Beth,

Mom and I went to market again today. We each bought 5 pounds of cherries. I will be preparing at least 3 or 4 pounds of them for the freezer today. They are great to pop in the mouth on a hot day and of course a snack that you don't have to worry about calories. :-)
http://www6.50megs.com/countrylane/images/cherry.gif

[Beth]

I'd have them in the freezer already, but I hit the submit button as my husband was loading our son into the car and I ran out the door to take my son to the emergency room. They didn't find anything, but between the hospital, pharmacy and all, I FORGOT about the cherries! My son's better now, so I'm going to the fridge right now to put some cherries and some red and green grapes in the freezer. Maybe he'll feel up to trying some tomorrow.

(We've been having tummy issues for a while and dr. suspects a possible food allergy since everything comes back clean, but he had a screaming tummy attack with high fever, headache and vomitting. Since I almost lost a niece to B strep menengitis, decided not to monkey around when it continued. Thanks, it's nice to come home and find something normal here, worms and all.)

[Beth]

Mamasue...I sure miss the cherries we had in CA, but they are on sale here for 99 cents too.....my husband just bought some and I'll give it a try....

[Susan]

Thank you everyone for the light snack ideas!

Beth~ Hope your son keeps feeling better and the dr. can determine the cause.

To those of you who freeze grapes and cherries...how long can you keep them in the freezer and how do you store them in there?

~~Susan~~

[Shelly]

Susan, I don't know how long you can keep them for sure, but I've had some frozen grapes for about a month and they seem ok. Some say to freeze them in a single layer on a baking sheet, but I put an entire bunch of grapes in the freezer (after washing them, of course) and then after they were frozen I pulled them off the stem and kept them in a ziploc freezer bag. I've never done cherries before, but I imagine the routine is the same! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[Natasha]

Hi,
The Heavenly Apricot Cobbler Bars from the July issue look very easy and should please everyone. They use apricot preserves and low-fat granola, among other things. Let me know if you would like this posted.
P.S. Oops! Just noticed that you wanted fool-proof recipes, and I can t vouch for this one, because I haven t tried it. Still, it does seem like a fairly sure bet...

Beth - I hope your son is feeling better.

[This message has been edited by Natasha (edited 07-03-2000).]

[Beth]

Thanks everyone...a little fever and started sniffles tonight, but doing MUCH, MUCH better thanks mostly to Advil. Appears we have a summer flu and will have to see if any tummy trouble persists once it clears up.

[Shelly]

Natasha, I would love it if you would post the recipe. I have a big jar of apricot preserves that needs to be used, and since I am the only one who eats the stuff, sounds like this recipe would be a good way to use it up. I don't have the recipe since I am STILL waiting for my July issue........Thanks!

[Natasha]

I will certainly post this for you tonight. Also, if you look under the Hamantaschen post (sometime last week), Paula shared a recipe for Hamantaschen pastries that use apricot preserves. I only have enough preserves to make the Hamantaschen or the cobbler bars - decisions, decisions! Guess I'll have to buy or make more preserves after all...but I'm not complaining, since they'll be put to such good use.

[Beth]

They probably aren't that light (seems like she uses more butter than I remember in the original recipe), but Martha Stewart has a recipe for Confetti Squares that are a variation on the Rice Krispie Treats. You could use the idea and make other substitutions:

CONFETTI SQUARES
Makes 9

Vegetable spray
9 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt
12 cups (2 1/2 bags) miniature marshmallows
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
6 cups Cap’n Crunch cereal
6 cups Froot Loops cereal

1. Lightly spray a 9-by-9-by-2-inch pan with vegetable spray. Set aside. Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add salt and marshmallows; stir with a wooden spoon until melted. Remove from heat. Add Rice Krispies, Cap’n Crunch, and Froot Loops, and stir until combined.

2. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan. Coat hands with vegetable spray, and press mixture evenly into pan. Let cool, about 30 minutes.

3. Cut into 3-by-3-inch bars. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

[Natasha]

Hi Shelly,
Here you go!

Heavenly Apricot Cobbler Bars (July 2000, p. 103)

5 tablespoons butter or stick margarine, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup apricot preserves
1/2 cup low-fat granola without raisins, crushed (such as Kelloggs Low Fat Granola without Raisins)

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Beat butter at medium speed of a mixer until light and fluffy. Add sugars, salt and extract, beating well. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Gradually add flour to butter mixture, beating until moist. Remove 1/3 cup flour mixture, and set aside.
3. Press remaining flour mixture into bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Gently spread preserves over warm shortbread. Combine 1/3 cup flour mixture with granola; sprinkle over preserves. Bake at 350 for an additional 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool.
Yield: 2 dozen bars (serving size: 1 piece [1 piece is a 2 x 1 1/3-inch bar.])
Per serving: 91 calories; 2.6g fat; 0.9g protein; 16.5g carb

[RunnerKim]

Anne,

Wow! - I'd never thought of making crackers before - what a great idea. Thanks for sharing.

Kim

[Anne]

I'm going to have to try those apricot bars tonight, they really look good. About the crackers - I forgot to add - when the crackers are ready to be baked be sure to poke holes in them. I usually use a fork but I think there are gadgets you can roll across the dough for a more uniform pattern. Also, a word of caution, the first time I made pepper crackers I assumed that my fresh-ground pepper would be about the same strength as the pepper on store-bought crackers and so added a bit extra for more umph. Bad assumption, lots of umph. We like hot food and were able to eat them but not something I would serve company.

[Anne]

We enjoy making crackers and bread-shapes. This is really easy if you have a bread machine, a favorite bread recipe, and a kid or two. Just do the dough cycle, keep half the dough for crackers, and give half to kids to make shapes. I roll out my half on a lightly floured surface till it is about the size of a large pizza pan. You can use cookie or biscuit cutters to shape individual crackers but to save time I transfer flattened dough directly to pan, cut a grid pattern through dough and bake until lightly browned. Cool crackers, break along the gridlines, and enjoy. If you let the crackers rise a bit they come out a little more like a flatbread than a cracker. Let the kids shape their creations, let rise an hour and then bake. Crackers are easily flavored (herbs, seeds, or spices) by adding ingredient of choice to the lightly floured surface before rolling dough.

[shoyski]

Anne, what a great idea!
Shelly, I've tried the Heath-Bar Marmalade Cake with apricot jam before and it's just as delicious!

I highly recommend this cake to all of you. All of my friends ask for the recipe and you can find it in CL's recipe search.

[Beth]

Came here to copy the Apricot Bars recipe and saw the note about crackers. I have a recipe for graham crackers that we've made a couple of times. They have a little peanut butter in them, but if you're interested, I'll try to find it and post it for you.

[Shelly]

Thank you Natasha.........wouldn't you know my issue finally came the day you posted the recipe! I can't wait to try it........it looks delicious!

[Susan]

Beth~
Please do post the graham cracker recipe when you have time. I just love those!

Thanks,
Susan

[Beth]

I

[Beth]

Susan, I tried to post the graham crackers recipes here yesterday, but they got cut off. In case you didn't see it, scroll down. I finally got them to post in a separate note... under graham crackers, take 3. Hope you have fun with them. I may try them with my boys while I have the recipes out. Beth