The Whole Food Diet Challenge: 30 Day Whole Food Cookbook (2016)

Chapter 7. Whole Food Snacks

The recipes that you will find below, are tasty and nutritious, but they don't contain much fat. Enjoy them as part of your whole food diet, once or twice a day.

Raisin and Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients: (Makes 20)

Half a cup of soaked raisins

Half a cup of raisins

1 cup of oats

A quarter of a teaspoon of nutmeg

A quarter of a teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

Half a cup of cashew or peanut butter

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Turn on the oven and set to a temperature of 350 Fahrenheit. Place three-quarters of a cup of oats into a food processor, and pulse until they are finely ground. Now get a bowl and add the cinnamon, baking powder, nutmeg, the oat flour and salt, and whisk.

In the food processor, add the soaked raisins and about a quarter of a cup of the liquid the raisins were soaked in. Now puree the raisins and then add the vanilla, peanut butter and puree them. Take the raisin mix and the un-soaked raisins and the rest of the oats, and add them to the oat mix. Stir to combine, and make sure all of the oaty flour mix has been absorbed.

Take a teaspoon and add 1 teaspoon of the mixture to a baking sheet, and make sure you space the cookies apart. 1 inch apart should do nicely. Using the back of your spoon, flatten the mixture slightly, and cook for up to 12 minutes, or until the base of the cookies have browned a little.

Transfer to a rack and allow to cook. Serve.

A piece of fruit

Enjoy a piece of fruit that you like, but try not to eat the same fruit all the time. The wider the range of fruits that you eat, the more nutrients you'll benefit from.

Fruit can be eaten fresh, frozen or dried, but watch out for any additives, preservatives, salt and sugar. If in doubt, fresh or frozen is always best.

Fruit and Popcorn Mix

Ingredients: (Serves 6)

2 and three-quarter cups of dried fruit

2 cups of unsalted popcorn

Add all of the ingredients to a bowl, and divide into portion sizes. Keep the portions in a container, and take to work with you.

Peanut butter and Pumpkin cookies

Ingredients: (Makes 20)

A quarter of a cup of rolled oats

Half a cup of unsalted peanuts

A pinch of salt

A quarter of a cup of unsweetened cocoa powder

A quarter of a cup of smooth peanut butter

Half a cup of chopped dates

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

An eighth of a cup of pumpkin puree

Preheat your oven to 375 Fahrenheit. Place the oats and peanuts in a bowl and mix. Now pulse until the ingredients have combined to make a coarse mixture. Add the salt and cocoa, and pulse to combine.

Now add the peanut butter and puree to a mixing bowl, and mix until they have combined. Add the dates and vanilla and mix again. Add the dry ingredients, and mix slowly, until a thick dough has formed.

Take a tablespoon of dough and roll it into a ball and place onto a cookie sheet. Repeat until you have used up all the dough, placing the mix about 1 inch apart. Take a fork and press the mixture down. Now place the dough into the oven, and cook for about 10-12 minutes, or until they have dried. Allow to cool, and serve.

A yogurt

A small pot or carton of yogurt can be a very satisfying snack. Make sure you only eat natural yogurt that doesn't have much or any sugar added to it. Add some small fruit pieces to it, for that extra special tough.

Kale Chips

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of olive oil

A quarter of a teaspoon of salt

4 cups of packed kale leaves

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Trim and wash the kale, and then lay them out on a cookie sheet. Now take the olive oil, and sprinkle it over the leaves. Toss the leaves using your hands, so that the oil is evenly distributed. Place the leaves back down onto the cookie sheet in a single layer.

Bake the leaves for approximately 5 minutes, and then turn them over, Now bake them for another 5 minutes, or until the leaves have started to turn brown and brittle. Remove the leaves from the oven, add salt and toss. Serve.