Finding healthy snacks can be tricky, and likewise finding time to prepare healthy snacks can be tricky too. Particularly these days when even so-called 'healthy' store-bought snacks are flavoured with artificial flavourings, sugar, or excessive amounts of salt. If they were ever healthy before they went through these commercial processes, they're certainly not healthy afterwards!!!
Thankfully, it's really easy to prepare super healthy and super delicious snacks of seeds and nuts. They are my ultimate favourite snack, satisfying in flavour and crunch. They're wonderfully satiating too, so perfect for weight-loss, or for a light snack to accompany exercise, or to give your children an energy boost (without making them bounce off walls!)
To transform seeds and nuts into truly irresistible snacks, you simply ROAST THEM.
If you don't already eat them, or if you've never tried roasting them...
I challenge you to give them another chance!
Look, here is my 2-year-old son enjoying seeds. Yes, seeds, not sweets!!! And he loves them.
For example, below are un-roasted pumpkin seeds. Dark, hard, stick in your teeth, taste OK but not exactly 'more-ish'...
But roast them under the grill for a few minutes and suddenly they are transformed! Look how roasting brings out the colours - purples, oranges, greens, yellows... They taste and smell amazing, and the texture is now slightly brittle, making them super more-ish for all these reasons!
I simply spread them in an even layer (any kind of seeds, but the bigger ones like pumpkin and sunflower are the most satisfying), and roast them under a medium-hot grill for a few minutes. You will hear them 'popping' so when they do you know they're nearly ready - but careful not to burn them!
Transfer into a small jar and pop them in your handbag, car, lunchbox, or even your toolbox! Keep stashes of seeds everywhere for those occasions when your belly won't shush with its growling.
Little colourful seed pots for the little 'uns to take to school, the park, or wherever!
Nuts are just the same... some of them taste great already like pecans, but others I think taste way nicer roasted, such as cashews, brazils, almonds, hazelnuts. Simply throw into a roasting tray and pop into a medium-hot oven for about 10 minutes, until golden-looking. Easy!
Sprinkle with black pepper (or other seasonings/spices) if desired, but this isn't necessary. Just like the seeds, the now-roasted nuts become softer to munch on, and taste amazing. No longer stick in your teeth or leave that slightly unpleasant almost-bitter after-taste that many nuts have.
Jar up and enjoy munching! They make perfect movie snacks too.
If you have any healthy suggestions or recipes that would make great snacks, please tag your post with #makeithealthy and they will feature in my new curation series "Make It Healthy LUNCHBOX". Let's get our children eating healthy NOW so they don't have to learn how to heal later on in life!
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