What About Me Wednesday: My Go-To Snacks

We're at the hump! I for one cannot wait for this weekend to hurry up and get here. I am super sleepy and sore from last night's zumba and pilates classes, but luckily, Shaun made a fantastic dinner of whole wheat pizza dough, tangy sauce and fresh mozzarella, which will also be my lunch today.

He's a keeper, that one.

So for today's What About Me Wednesday, I thought I'd address something very important that affects me everyday. My favorite snacks. It's the only way I get from meal to meal and so I'm always trying to change it up. But I must admit...a lot of times, I end up with the same go-to, old faithful eats. And of course, these outline the snacks I reach for when there are not full batches of cupcakes on my countertop. Just sayin'.

Chobani. This is a new one for me and I can't even say that I'm crazy about yogurt. But Chobani has great flavors and is just filling enough to get me over the bridge between lunch and dinner. My favorite flavor? Pineapple!

 

Babybel cheese. I usually enjoy this for a mid-morning snack, or when I first arrive at the office. Though not super filling, who can turn down a wedge of cheese? Not this girl.

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Fruit. I always have a full bowl of fruit at home. My go-tos are bananas, apples and pears, which are currently in season. I also love clementines, berries, cherries and grapes if you can get 'em on the cheap. Typically, I try to eat a minimum of 2 pieces of fruit each day. And when I don't, I feel it.

 

Peanut butter. On a spoon. Pretty self-explanatory and gets the job done, every time.

Sliced apple with peanut butter. It doesn't get better than a 3rd grade favorite. This is for when I really need something in my tum and a mere apple just isn't cutting it.

Granola bars. I like the homemade variety.

Nuts. I love a handful of nuts, be it almonds, pistachios, cashews, peanuts. The key for me is salt though, however unhealthy it may be. Give me plain almonds and I will NOT be a happy camper.

Laughing Cow on a Sandwich Thin. Toast up an Arnold's sandwich thin. Spread with Laughing Cow Blue Cheese. Drizzle with honey. Tell me you hate it.

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Crackers & hummus and/or cheese. I have severe problems with this because I could eat it all.the.time. No joke. Sometimes, if Shaun isn't home for dinner, I will simply have this as my dinner. My go-to crackers is Keebler Club Multi-Grain. These are the best crackers I've found to date and I've been known to go overboard on them.

I think that just about covers it all. While most of these snacks are pretty healthy, please don't judge me for my cracker obsession :) It's my little splurge! What are your go-to snacks? From the unhealthy to the healthy?

Oat Bars: Peanut Butter Chocolate + Almond Cherry Coconut

Happy Friday! Thanks to everyone who entered this week's giveaway! Your outpouring of support for our blogoversary had me perma-smiling all week long :) I wish I could give a cookbook away to all of you, but stay tuned for more giveaways coming up! For the Rocco Now Eat This! giveaway, the winner is: Stephanie! Stephanie, please email me at theavidappetite@gmail.com with your address so I can get your goodies out to you!

This week completely flew by, but I'm not complaining! Meatless week is still going strong. Last night, I made a mushroom pizza and a peanut butter banana mousse that I can't wait to share with you - it's a chilled, pudding-like dessert that's actually healthy and delish. Sound good?

Meanwhile, in our quest to keep eating healthy and use up this ginormous canister of oats that Shaun brought home from the store for me (I love me some morning oats),

I decided to whip up some homemade granola bars.

Those Quaker ones just don't cut it in my book. They aren't nearly hearty enough and are so tiny that immediately after I inhale one, I'm still hungry. Not my favorite. So on Sunday, I whipped up two separate batches of oat bars, chocolate peanut butter and cherry almond coconut. And because they are so similar and super easy, I'm sharing 2 recipes with you today? Are you cool with that?

Almond Cherry Coconut Oat Bars
2 C oats
2 tbsp Splenda brown sugar blend
1/2 C dried cherries, chopped
1/4 C slivered almonds, chopped up
1/2C sweetened coconut
1/4 C honey
1 egg white

Preheat oven to 350 and line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper, with the sides hanging over so that you can pull the bars out after baking. In a mixing bowl, combine the oats, splenda, cherries, almonds and coconut.

Pour in the honey and egg white and mix until entire mixture is thoroughly coated. Press into parchment-lined baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes or until edges start to brown. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack. This is where the excess parchment comes in handy - simply (and v. carefully) lift bars out of pan and onto wire rack to cool. Once completely cool, cut into bars.

Though these are a bit crumbly and the edges may fall apart, they are so delicious! A perfect breakfast on the go or mid-afternoon snack to get the juices flowing.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Oat Bars
2 C oats
1/3 C creamy peanut butter (I like Smart Balance)
1/2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 C honey

Preheat oven to 350 and line pan as above. Melt the pb in the microwave. Mix ingredients altogether until completely combined...

Press into pan...

bake for 20 minutes, let cool and cut into bars.

So there you have it. 2 super simple recipes that Shaun and I both love. The best thing about these is that you can get totally creative and add any chocolate chips, nuts or dried fruit you want! What do you think? Have you ever tried making your own unprocessed snacks? What's your favorite on-the-go snack?

*Note, our giveaway winner was chosen at random by random.org. I also wasn't perked for the Rocco book, I just really, truly love it and want to share the wealth with my fantastic readers and friends!