Sunday, February 28, 2010

Snack Time!

After breakfast comes a snack...


I like to eat about 5 small meals a day and I try and eat them at the same time each day (weekends are a bit tricky because everything is out of sync - so I am not so strict with myself, although I still try and avoid the foods I am allergic to wherever possible because I know that I will not be feeling good for the next four days as it takes that long for the bad for to leave the body.)


So, how it works for me is: I eat breakfast at 8:30am, a snack at 10:30am, lunch at 12:30pm, a snack at 3:30pm and then dinner at about 7pm.


When I first started on this diet, snacks also had me a bit stumped - especially the variety part - but now I have them down pat and get soooo excited when it's snack time!


Some examples of the snacks I enjoy are:
  • Nuts - cashew, almonds (raw, unsalted)
  • Roasted chickpeas
  • Popcorn
  • Vegetable crisps like sweet potato and beetroot with a dip
  • Nachos and a dip
  • Fruit such as pear, apple, plum, nectarine, kiwi fruit
  • Carrot/cucumber sticks and a dip
  • Biltong (be careful to avoid biltong with vinegar if you are allergic to yeast)

Butternut Crisps


Roasted Chickpeas:  (These are a nice alternative to nuts)
    • Rinse chickpeas and dry them
    • Lay them on a tinfoil covered baking tray
    • Coat them lightly in peanut oil and Vital yeast-free soya sauce
    • Add some paprika for a bit of spice and some french herbs
    • Roast in the oven for about 10 minutes to an hour depending on how crunchy you want them (be careful not to burn the chickpeas)
    • Wait for them to cool down and enjoy!

Roasted Chickpeas

Savoury Popcorn:
    • Buy the popcorn kernels and not the microwave popcorn
    • I like to use olive oil for cooking
    • Don't overcook popcorn because it tastes hideous when burnt
    • Sprinkle over flavourings of your choice. I use "Nature's Choice Herbal Salt", which I buy from Dischem
DIPS: My favourite tool in my kitchen is my little hand-held all-in-one blender and chopper. I use it to make all my dips.


Avo Dip:
    • Blend together avo, lemon, salt and pepper until smooth
Hummus: (No Garlic) 
    • Blend together chickpeas, olive oil, tahini paste or sesame seeds, lemon juice, salt and pepper until smooth
    • Add cumin as an additional option
Hummus with Nachos
Sorrel and Tofu Dip:
    • This dip is best made with the creamy tofu from Woolies
    • Blend together grape seed oil, sorrel, tofu, french herbs, lemon juice, salt and pepper until smooth
Butterbean Dip:
    •  Blend together butterbeans, lemon-infused olive oil (Willowcreek), herbal salt, pepper and lime juice until smooth
OR
    • Blend together butterbeans, avo oil, dried rosemary, lemon juice, salt and pepper until smooth
Aubergine Dip:
    • Roast aubergine in the oven with sesame oil, paprika and herbal salt until tender
    • Scoop out of skin and place in blender
    • Add ginger (Woolies - tube), salt and pepper and blend until smooth
I hope that I have helped you see snack time in a different light and that you start to become as excited about it as I am.


Until we chat again, enjoy snacking the healthy way! :)



3 comments:

  1. The Butterbean dip is so smooth and rich, I like to add just that little bit extra of lemon juice to make it slightly more tangy. Definitely one of my favourites!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Roasted Chickpeas - wow I wasnt convinced of how it was going to taste but wow I really liked it. I had it as a snack yesterday and today I was actually craving it - YAY!

    ReplyDelete