Good Snacks

Let me open this blog by saying that a lot of these nutrition ideas really work well across the board...meaning, they will build the strength of and help combat tumors for someone who is fighting disease, but they also are good for general health and for preventing disease.  I mention this now because EVERYONE likes to snack.  So what better time than to say: This blog is for YOU!

I can't resist posting another image of avocado, with 

celtic sea salt and olive oil. Goodness, goodness, goodness.

Avocados are amazing.  They are an excellent source of monounsaturated fatty acids, as well as potassium, vitamin E, B, and fiber.  They can reduce cholesterol levels because of their oleic acid and linoleic acid content.

I just love crackers and cheese.  Why not take this favorite and make it just a little bit healthier?  This recipe for Almond Curry Biscuits is adapted from Hannah Marcotti over at Hannah's Harvest and from Nourishing Days. They are SO easy and tasty and delicious. Spread them with Boursin cheese and a dab of fig chutney.  Or hummus.  Or raspberry jam at tea time.  What a treat!

Almond Curry Biscuits

2 cups almond meal

1/2 tsp. sea salt

3/4 tsp. curry powder

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 egg

1 TBSP olive oil

-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
-Mix the meal, salt and spices together.

-Make a hole in center and add garlic, egg and oil.

-Scramble egg and mix all together until even.

-Roll tablespoon sized balls in your hand and press down.

-Place on baking sheet lined with oiled parchment paper, and press down until crackers/biscuits are quite flat (thin edges are ok.)

-Bake for 13-15 minutes or golden.

Almonds are packed full of nutrition!  They are an excellent source of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated oils, protein, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, and vitamin E.  They are considered an "anti-cancer" food because they are high in an antioxidant flavonoid called laetrile.

Now onto COCONUTS!  One of my family's favorite foods at the moment.  Coconuts have so many components and adaptations, all which you can eat....coconut milk, coconut flakes, coconut water, coconut oil, coconut crystals, coconut flour.  Try them all out and you will be amazed.  

You can consider this a dessert or, well, a snack. Why not?!

Cardamom Maple Mini Macaroons
from "The Cancer Fighting Kitchen," by Rebecca Katz

2 organic egg whites
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 TBSP brown rice syrup (or honey)
pinch of sea salt
1 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
2 TBSP brown rice flour, or spelt flour, or all-purpose white flour
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
handful of dark chocolate

-preheat oven to 325 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
-combine egg whites, maple syrup, brown rice syrup and salt in saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until just warm, about 1 minute.
-Add the coconut, flour, vanilla, and cardamom and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture just begins to sizzle and is slightly dry, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.
-using a teaspoon and your fingers, form the dough into 24 small mounds on the prepared pan.
-Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool completely.
-Serve as is, or else prepare the chocolate. Simmer hot water in a pan. In a heat-proof bowl, set over the water, melt chocolate, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
-Dip macaroons in melted chocolate and place on plate lined with wax or parchment paper.
-Chill in fridge until chocolate hardens, and enjoy!
-Store in airtight container for 5-7 days.

Coconuts are a great source of manganese, molybdenum, copper, zinc, and selenium.  It is a healthy saturated fat called lauric acid, which is health-promoting and only found as abundantly in human breast milk!  In the body, lauric acid becomes a compound (called monolaurin), which is anti-viral, antibacterial, and destroys a wide variety of disease-causing organisms!