Category: Snacks

3 Ingredient Healthy Samoas

A healthy remake of the beloved Girl Scout Cookie. Simple to make with only 3 ingredients and no baking required.

3 Ingredient Healthy Samoas

THE IMPORTANCE OF NUTRITIOUS TREATS

If you’re trying to eat a little healthier these days, here’s a tip that might seem counterintuitive. Don’t banish treats from you diet. Why?  Because giving up things we enjoy eating entirely can lead to feelings of deprivation and eventually weaken our willpower. You’re much better off replacing these indulgences with healthier alternatives rather than giving them up altogether. To do that however, you need an arsenal of nutritious treats at your disposal – treats like these 3 Ingredient Healthy Samoas. These delicious little cookies are a remake of the famous Samoas Girl Scout Cookies (alternatively known as Caramel deLites). They’re made with just 3 simple ingredients, require no baking, and are guaranteed to satisfy your sugar cravings. (more…)

Cassava Greek Yogurt Brownies

Gluten-free, grain-free, brownies with a cake-like texture and rich chocolate flavor.

Cassava Greek Yogurt Brownies - Gluten-free brownies with a cake-like texture and rich chocolate flavor. Made with grain-free cassava flour. | QueenofMyKitchen.com | #brownies #glutenfree #grainfree #healthybaking #cassavaflour

UNUSUAL BROWNIE INGREDIENTS
Cassava Greek Yogurt Brownies are delicious gluten-free brownies with a cake-like texture and rich chocolate flavor. They’re made with two ingredients not commonly found in brownies: grain-free cassava flour and Greek yogurt. At first glance these seem like odd ingredients with which to make brownies, but each serves an important purpose. The cassava flour replaces all-purpose wheat flour in this recipe and is the perfect baking substitute for those who adhere to gluten-free diets or who must avoid grains. The Greek yogurt, in turn, adds moisture – without it the brownies would be too dry because even though cassava flour can usually be substituted 1:1 for all-purpose flour, it’s more absorbent than all-purpose flour, so when baking with it, other ingredient adjustments – in this case, adding a dairy product – are often needed. So, what is cassava flour? Read on. (more…)

Pumpkin Spice Grain-Free Granola

 An addictive grain-free granola that’s chock-full of nuts, seeds, and aromatic spices. Great as a trail mix type snack or on top of yogurt.

Pumpkin Spice Grain-Free Granola - An addictive grain-free granola chock-full nuts, seeds, and aromatic spices. Great as a trail mx type snack or on top of yogurt. | QueenofMyKitchen.com | #trailmix #grainfreegranola #granola #pumpkinseeds #pepitas

WHY GO “GRAIN-FREE”

New terms describing adherence to a particular type of diet seem to come out of nowhere every few years. One dietary term I’m hearing more and more frequently these days is “grain-free”, which, as the term implies, means avoiding the consumption of all grains or products that contain grains.  I’d always thought that “whole” grains in particular were desirable as part of a healthy diet, so I was surprised to learn that consuming grains can sometimes cause:

1. skin conditions,
2. digestive problems, and
3. issues with mental acuity

As you might expect, there’s a lot of skepticism around this topic, but suffice it to say that a small subset of the population simply feels better all-around when they either limit their consumption of grains, or don’t eat them at all.

If you think you might be intolerant to grains, check out this article – 9 Signs Your Body Can’t Tolerate Grains.

Oats, one of the most consumed grains here in the U.S., and the main ingredient in traditionally made granola, are off-limits on a grain-free diet, but, this healthy and wholesome Pumpkin Spice Grain-Free Granola is the perfect replacement for conventionally made granola.

(more…)

Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies

Gluten-free, grain-free, chocolate chip cookies made with nutrient dense chickpeas.  

Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies - Gluten-free, grain-free chocolate chip cookies made with nutrient dense chickpeas. | QueenofMyKitchen.com | #chickpeachocolatecookie #chickpeachocolatecookies #healthychocolatechipcookies

HEALTHY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Looks can be deceiving!  Although these Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies look like your average, run-of-the-mill, chocolate chip cookies, they’re anything but.  They are, quite possibly, the healthiest chocolate chip cookies on the planet – made from whole beans, nuts, seeds, and dark chocolate, and sweetened primarily with maple syrup, a natural, unrefined sugar.  The magic ingredient is these cookies is chickpeas, which stands in for the flour that you’d normally find in most cookie recipes, and that miraculously turns into dough that looks, and bakes ups, exactly like cookie dough.  And because there’s no wheat flour in this recipe, these scrumptious cookies are gluten-free and grain-free too.  They have a clean taste and tender texture and are delicious dipped in milk or served alongside a scoop of vanilla ice cream. (more…)

Almond Hemp Heart Bars

Soft and chewy no-bake snack bars that taste like candy and are packed with nutrients. 

JUMP TO RECIPE

Almond Hemp Heart Bars – Vegan, gluten-free, no-bake snack bars taste that like candy. Packed with nutrients and utterly delicious! | QueenofMyKitchen.com | #snackbar #snackbars #hemp #hemphearts #hempseeds #vegansnack #glutenfreesnack #snack

WHY MAKE YOUR OWN SNACK BARS?

There are a dizzying array of snack/protein bars on the market. A grocery store I was in recently had almost an entire aisle filled with bars, each with a different marketing angle and in flavors so appetizing you would have thought they were candy bars, and indeed, they looked like candy bars! The colorful packages boasted the amount of protein, fiber, and sugar in each bar with, in most cases, ingredient labels a mile long.  There are some good products amidst this crowded field, but for the average person, it’s hard to decipher what’s truly healthy and what’s not. Some weird sounding ingredients are perfectly harmless while others should be avoided, despite any nutrition claims on the package. One day, several years ago, I found myself standing in one of these jam-packed grocery store aisles looking at ingredient labels and googling words like “isomalto-oligosacharides”, “dextrin”, and “carnauba wax”.  That’s when I decided I’d had enough. Since then, I’ve been making my own snack bars and have never looked back. These Almond Hemp Heart Bars are my newest creation. They contain just 5 simple ingredients – ingredients you’ll actually recognize – but the best part is, they’re soft, chewy, and utterly delicious! (more…)

Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cake

An easy-to-make gluten-free, grain-free cake made with canned chickpeas. The perfect clean eating dessert!  JUMP TO RECIPE

Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cake - An easy-to make gluten-free, grain-free cake made with canned chickpeas. The perfect clean eating dessert! | QueenofMyKitchen.com | #chickpeas #garbanzobeans #glutenfree #glutenfreedessert #chocolatechip #healthydessert #grainfree

STOCKING UP ON CANNED FOODS

Stocking up on essential food items has been a popular topic lately as we all deal with the COVID-19 outbreak. We’re supposed to minimize our trips to the grocery store but still keep our families well-fed. What makes this difficult is that we need more food now than before, as we’re all eating at home – no more work/school lunches or dinners out. Sweet treats are important too because let’s face it, we need comfort during this difficult time. One thing that can help you balance these demands is to stock up on canned foods. This might not sound very logical or appealing but it’s actually an excellent strategy as long as you make healthy canned food choices. (Yes, indeed this Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cake is made with a canned food item!) Check out this article – Canned Foods Nutritionists Swear By. (more…)

Spinach Shamrock Crackers

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with these healthy, festive, gluten-free crackers. Delicious dipped in hummus.   JUMP TO RECIPE

March 17th has always been a special holiday in Boston because our city was the site of the first St. Patrick’s Day parade in the 1760’s after an influx of Irish immigrants descended upon our shores. Sadly, for the first time in 260 years, there’ll be no parade tomorrow due to the coronavirus outbreak. The usual festivities will have to wait till next year, but if you’re looking for some small way to celebrate (and something to snack on while you’re hunkered down) then whip up a batch of these healthy and delicious Spinach Shamrock Crackers.  The three leaves of a shamrock are said to stand for faith, hope, and love – something we all need in abundance right now! (more…)

Sweet and Salty Chickpea Brownies

 Health-minded chocoholics will go crazy for these guilt-free brownies made with super clean ingredients!  JUMP TO RECIPE

Health-minded chocoholics will go crazy for these guilt-free brownies made with super clean ingredients! | QueenofMyKitchen.com | #brownies #chickpeas #chickpeabrownies #healthybrownies #healthydesserts

I confess to being a little bit obsessed with brownies – more specifically, healthy brownies. Ever since I discovered that delicious, decadent, authentic tasting brownies can be made with nutritious foods like black beans, avocados, sweet potatoes, tahini, lentils, and bananas, I’ve been on a mission to develop as many of these guilt-free recipes as I can. Sweet and Salty Chickpea Brownies are my most recent creation and they are soooo good! (You can find links to all my other healthy brownie recipes at the end of this post.) (more…)

Baked Cauliflower Gnocchi

These gluten-free, mild flavored gnocchi are a great, healthy alternative to pasta and French fries.  JUMP TO RECIPE

Baked Cauliflower Gnocchi - These gluten-free, mild flavored gnocchi are a great, healthy alternative to pasta and French fries. | QueenofMyKitchen.com | #gnocchi #dumplings #potatognocchi #cauliflower #cauliflowergnocchi #glutenfree

If you’re a Trader Joe’s fan, chances are you’ve heard about their cauliflower gnocchi, a frozen grocery product with a sort of cult-like following. The accolades are well deserved as these vegetables-based dumplings are indeed quite tasty, but to be honest, I’m not crazy about their texture – I find them a little rubbery. So, I set about developing my own version of this product and came up with Baked Cauliflower Gnocchi. These gluten-free, mild flavored gnocchi are crispy on the outside, light and fluffy on the inside, and absolutely delicious! I always double or triple the recipe and keep a huge stash in my freezer for an easy weeknight meal. They make a great snack too as hand-held nibbles, and kids love them! (more…)

Coconut Oil Gingerbread Men

These modern-day gingerbread men are made with coconut oil and have a soft, chewy texture with classic gingerbread flavor.  JUMP TO RECIPE

Coconut Oil Gingerbread Men - These modern-day gingerbread men are made with coconut oil and have a soft, chewy texture with classic gingerbread flavor. | QueenofMyKitchen.com | #gingerbread #christmas #christmascookies #gingerbreadmen #coconutoil

Nothing gets me into the holiday spirit more than making gingerbread cookies. This year I updated my old recipe, one I’ve been using for many years, and came up with Coconut Oil Gingerbread Men. These cookies have a soft texture and classic gingerbread flavor and are so much fun to decorate. My old gingerbread men recipe calls for vegetable shortening, and in the past I used Crisco to make these cookies, but I no longer use partially hydrogenated fats (also known as trans fats) because they’ve been linked to inflammation and heart disease. A great replacement for products like Crisco is coconut oil and it can be used 1:1 so it’s an easy substitute. (more…)

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