Category Archives: Healthy Snacks

Honey + Cinnamon Whipped Goat Cheese Dip

7 Replies

On Tuesday, I talked about my love of wine and chocolate. Together, separate, any way is fine.

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Today, I’m going to talk about wine and cheese. Just as I love wine and chocolate, I think wine and cheese are a perfect pair.

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On my 22nd birthday, Greg and I had a very nice little wine and cheese night together. It was so much fun and is one of my very favorite memories.

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I remember the two of us going to the store and choosing different types of cheese and then different types of savory + sweet spreads and then fruits and crackers to put the cheeses and spreads on. We really didn’t know what we were doing — we’re not cheese or wine experts — but we had a lot of fun doing it.

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We took everything home, made it look pretty on the table, poured some wine and started to enjoy our food.

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We tried all different combinations of cheese, fruit, crackers and wine. I remember snacking all throughout the night. It was the perfect birthday dinner.

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This dip was inspired by that night.

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I love goat cheese. And I think it goes great with fruit. Just like in this salad. So I thought, why not make it into a dip for fruit. Why not add some sweet honey and spicy cinnamon!

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To like this dip, you definitely have to like goat cheese. Even with the added sweetness, it still has that tangy goat cheese flavor.

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Served with fruit and crackers, this dip is delicious. Enjoying it with a glass of wine is even better.

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I enjoyed eating it on its own but also garnished with some fruit jam and chopped pecans.

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Honey + Cinnamon Goat Cheese Dip
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Ingredients
  1. 10 ounces goat cheese
  2. 1 tablespoon honey
  3. 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  4. Pinch of salt
  5. 1/4 cup pecans, toasted + chopped
  6. Fruit jam/preserves, if desired, for topping
  7. Crackers + fresh fruit, for serving
Instructions
  1. To toast the pecans, place 1/4 cup pecans in a skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until nuts become fragrant and slightly browned. Remove from heat and chop.
  2. Place the goat cheese in a food processor and process for about 30 seconds, or until almost "whipped." Add the honey, cinnamon and salt and process up to another 30 seconds, until dip is light and fluffy.
  3. Place dip in a bowl and top with fruit jam or preserves and chopped pecans. Serve with fresh fruit and crackers.
  4. Enjoy!
Notes
  1. I prefer this dip topped with both jam and chopped pecans. I like to serve it with honey wheat crackers and fresh strawberries, but use what you prefer.
The Dreaming Foodie https://www.thedreamingfoodie.com/
 

Pumpkin + Cinnamon Muffins

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I still have break brain. And I don’t know what to do.

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I’ve only been back to class a few days since spring break, but I’m having trouble finding my groove.

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These muffins gave me comfort during a week of discomfort. My mind has been all over the place, but at least I had these to enjoy. 🙂

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The smell of these alone was enough to warm me up. The sweet cinnamon scent was incredible. It filled my apartment and made digging in immediately unavoidable.

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These muffins are soft, sweet and full of rich cinnamon flavor. The pumpkin flavor is subtle, but compliments the cinnamon perfectly.

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If you make these muffins, I hope that they bring you as much comfort as they brought  me.

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Method:

Dry:
3/4 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt

Wet:
1 c. pureed pumpkin
1 c. milk (I used almond)
1 egg
1/4 c. butter, melted and cooled
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Cinnamon Filling:
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. butter, melted and cooled

Topping:
1/4 c. chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 400*. Line and grease 12 muffin liners in a muffin pan.

Add dry ingredients to a bowl. Mix with a whisk until well combined.

In a separate bowl, add wet ingredients. Mix with a spoon. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until well combined.

In a third bowl, add cinnamon filling ingredients. Mix until a thick paste forms. Set aside.

Fill each muffin liner with a spoonful of batter. I used a mini ice cream scoop. Then, top with about a teaspoon of cinnamon filling. Add another spoonful of muffin batter on top of the cinnamon layer. Top with additional cinnamon and chopped pecans.

Bake muffins in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Simple Trail Mix

2 Replies

To me, this is just the perfect snack.

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It’s a little salty and a little sweet, a little crunchy and a little chewy. Every bite is different, but every bite is delicious. This snack will fill you up and keep you satisfied.

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This isn’t exactly a recipe, just an idea really. And also a reminder of a simple snack. Because sometimes with so much going on, it’s easy to forget about the simple things.

What I used:

Sesame pretzel rings
Raw sunflower seeds
Golden raisins
Dark chocolate chips
Raw almonds

Put a handful of each item in a bowl and mix together.

It’s as simple as that. If you really like one ingredient (chocolate :)), put some more of that one in.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Chia Seed Jam

5 Replies

Do you love jam?

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I do. I’m in love with jam. And jelly. And marmalade. And preserves. Any thick fruity substance spread over any bread product = love.

And, I love any flavor. Strawberry, raspberry, marionberry, apricot, orange, pineapple. You name it,  I love it.

Except mint jelly. Actually, I never tried mint jelly. I don’t think I’d like it though. I’d try, but I just don’t think so.

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When I was younger, I would spend the night at my grandparents for a week or a weekend at a time. Every single night, like clockwork, my gram and I would have toasted bread with butter and jelly. And let me tell you, my grandparents never had a shortage of jam and jelly to choose from. And they still don’t! Maybe that is where my love came from. I have good memories with jam.

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Now, this jam. This jam is delicious! It is not overly sweet, it tastes just as it should. Like real blueberries.

And chia seeds. These are new to me. But I’m loving them.

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I hope you enjoy this as much as I do. Four simple ingredients, that’s it!

You can find the recipe here — Oh She Glows

Thank you, Oh She Glows, for the great recipe!

Enjoy!

Banana Muffins

4 Replies

A Friday morning, snow falling out your window, a steaming cup of coffee in front of you. What’s missing from this picture?

Muffins

These soft, comforting banana muffins!

Muffins make such a great breakfast, snack or dessert. These muffins are just the right amount of sweet and the crunchy top compliments that soft inside perfectly.

Bananas

It is hard to eat just one!

Muffin

Method

Preheat oven to 400*. Line and grease 12 muffin liners in a muffin pan.

Start with:

3/4 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt

Mix together in a bowl.

Next:

2 ripe bananas
1/3 c. applesauce
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1/3 c. melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix together and then add to dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Scoop batter into muffin liners, about 3/4 full.

Crumb topping:

1/3 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. oats (I used old fashioned)
1/3 c. chopped pecans
1 heaping Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2.5 Tbsp. butter, cubed

Combine ingredients in a bowl, and using the back of a fork or a pastry blender, mix the ingredients until “crumby.” Spoon crumb topping onto each muffin.

Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes.

Recipe adapted from The Fauxmartha 

Enjoy!