Healthy Snacks

Last night was a cooking kinda’ night. I wanted to make some things that I could snack on for the week that were healthy and tasty so I opted for some homemade popcorn (if you can call popcorn homemade) and LaraBars (definitely homemade).

Easy popcorn to snack on for the week

Homemade LaraBars Balls

For the popcorn, I just popped the kernels in canola oil over the stove and added garlic salt, pepper, and grated Parmesan cheese. I’ll snack on this for a few days but the only problem is that after the first day, the popcorn gets a little soft but it’s still good. (Low budget, low standards for me!)

The Larabars were a little bit more of a challenge because I have a very small and weak food processor so you could say I got a workout in during this cooking session. 😉 These balls are just 2 cups of dates combined with 1 cup of peanuts. (I accidentally started with a 1 to 1 ratio and had to add a few more dates and raisins to balance out the texture- oops!) After combining it with a food processor 1,000 times you roll the dough together and form little balls. I added some pumpkin and cinnamon to a few of mine.

And there we have some snacks for the week- success!

It’s crazy how easy it is to use up the foods in the pantry. I am definitely well over due a grocery shop but I can still get by just by using what I’ve got. I do plan on going shopping this evening to get produce and such.

I had some vegetable soup leftovers for dinner last night that I made on Sunday evening.

What’s your flavor, soup?

I used frozen broccoli, frozen carrots, 1 onion  lots of red pepper flakes, pepper, sriracha, chicken broth, and coconut milk. Next time, I’ll add less chicken broth and more coconut milk to make the soup a little thicker.

Chicken vegetable soup for the soul

Lots of good eats on a low budget from a kitchen noob.

After the cooking sesh, I headed over to the gym for a second workout of the day. I double blasted as my Mom would say. 🙂 My Hawaii trip is just around the corner and I’ve got to get beach body ready. I completed 30 minutes on the elliptical followed by an upper body workout. It was later in the evening and I didn’t finish my workout until 9:00 pm, definitely a little late for me, and I felt sleepy this morning. Hope everyone is off to a good week.

Have a good Tuesday!

Question of the day: What are your favorite homemade (or store bought) healthy snacks?

‘As you walk and eat and travel, be where you are. Otherwise you will miss most of your life.’ ~Buddha