Snack week continues with roasted cantaloupe salad and cantaloupe smoothies.
Cantaloupe doesn't stand a chance in my house. It's one of my favorite fruits and sometimes disappears before it reaches the fridge. This week I practiced restraint all in the name of food blogging. Let's roast!
Roasted Cantaloupe Salad
2 cups bite-sized pieces of cantaloupe
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/4 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup coconut flakes
- Heat oven to 350 degrees and cube cantaloupe.
- Place cantaloupe on baking sheet and roast until it begins to caramelize, roughly 35 minutes.
- Allow to cool.
- Toss cooled cantaloupe, chopped nuts, Greek yogurt and coconut flakes. Makes about 1 cup.
- Hint: if you want to serve this to folks, set aside a few of the prettiest pieces of roasted cantaloupe, a spoonful of nuts and some coconut flakes. Sprinkle each over the top of the salad. Looks matter.
- Eat!
Cantaloupe Smoothies
2 cups cubed cantaloupe
1 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1/2 cup reduced fat organic milk
2 tbsp agave nectar
- Throw all ingredients in a food processor. Process until desired texture is reached. I let mine run about 1-1.5 minutes for a smoothie with no chunks . Makes a pint and a half.
Snack week continues with fruit & nut squares! Which coincidentally was my nickname in high school. Let's do this.
Gather:
1.5 cups mixed nuts
3 cups dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, pineapple, papaya, coconut)
1 tbsp honey
Additional 1/2 cup dried fruit for topping
- Pulse mixed nuts in food processor until finely chopped. Set aside.
- Process dried fruit and honey until it forms a paste.
- Add nuts back to mixture and pulse until combined.
- Roll "dough" out on baking sheet and cut into squares.
- Sprinkle remaining dried fruit over squares and press into top.
- Refrigerate for one or more hours prior to serving. (Squares will taste great if you skip this step but will hold up much better after spending some time in the fridge.)
Makes roughly 15 1 inch x 1 inch squares. Store in air tight container in refrigerator.
Snack week continues with black-eyed pea hummus!
I have yet to meet a hummus that I do not like. I usually eat chickpea based hummus, but black-eye based is a delicious departure from the norm.
Grab the vegetable chips we made yesterday and get cookin'.
Gather:
1 can black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
1 head roasted garlic*
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tbsp cajun seasoning 1 tsp
1/2 cup tahini 1/3 cup
8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
dash of sea salt
- Place black-eyed peas, roasted garlic, lemon juice, paprika and cajun seasoning in food processor. Process until pureed.
- Add tahini, olive oil and sea salt. Pulse until well combined.
- Garnish with fresh chives, cilantro, a few drips of evoo and a sprinkle of paprika. Serve with baked pita chips or vegetables.
*Don't want to wait for roasted garlic? Cut the top off the head, place it in a microwave-safe dish and drizzle it with evoo. Add a little water around the garlic (about 1/4 as high as garlic) and cover the dish. Microwave for a few minutes at a time, checking to see if the garlic has softened up.
P.S. The owner of my favorite produce market/Asian grocery store questioned my use of black-eyed peas on a recent tahini trip. What's your verdict? Yea or nay?
Snack week continues with vegetable chips!
I generally prefer to eat vegetables raw. Wash and go. It's a texture thing - squash may be the worst offender when it comes to cooked vegetables. I can't stand the squish.
Chips don't squish. Let's make some chips.
Gather:
Vegetables (such as potatoes, carrots, zucchini, kale, beets, fennel, squash, etc)
1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil per vegetable used
1/4 tsp sea salt per vegetable used
1/4 tsp seasoning per vegetable used
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Wash and DRY desired vegetables and thinly slice (I used sweet potatoes, beets, zucchini and kale).
- Toss with olive oil, sea salt, and seasonings (I used Cajun seasoning and dried cilantro) until evenly coated.
- Place in a single layer on baking sheet. Bake until crisp. (10 min for kale; 30 - 40 min for others, flip half-way through)
Your chips should last a few days stored in airtight container. Pop them in a hot oven for a few minutes if they feel a little soft.
The kale chips are definitely my favorite. If you try this recipe, give me a shout - let me know which you like best.
