Daniel Fast Snacking: Dried Fruit

Dried fruits were an easy option for snacks during my fast. The problem is finding fruit that doesn't have added sugar. Even at Trader Joe's I found my favorite dried fruits, cherries and cranberries, had extra sugar so I opted for apricots and apples. Fasting doesn't mean you have to be hungry!

Daniel Fast Snacking: Cashews

You know what I've learned in my 4 days of fasting? I love nuts! I know its not exactly the epiphany you might have expected since I'm supposed to be building my relationship with God, but it's true. I am thoroughly enjoying the cashew packs I picked up from Trader Joe's as well as roasted sunflower seeds and almond butter. OMG almond butter! Why didn't anyone tell me how delicious it is? Anyway nuts are rich in protein and super satisfying. Snack on friends!

Snacking: Garlic Kale Chips

Wash and dry a bunch of kale.

Cut into chip size pieces.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment.

Arrange kale on sheet and drizzle or spray with oil.

Sprinkle with garlic salt.

Bake for 10 minutes or until crispy but not brown.

Enjoy!

Jalapeño Popper Dip

I usually have jalapeños on hand because I love spice and I put them in a lot of things. I had a lot of extras and wanted to make something different. I found this recipe on Pinterest and gave it a try. I made it without the bacon because I didn't have any. Because I'm cooking for one I halved the recipe and still ate it for four days. I kept the same amount of jalapeños but they were on the small side, too small for stuffing. Next time I'll probably keep some seeds because it wasn't hot at all but still very tasty.

Ingredients

6-8 slices of bacon, diced and cooked crispy
2 8-oz packages of cream cheese, soft
1 cup of mayonnaise
4-6 jalapeno's, chopped and deseeded. The seeds will make it fiery hot.
1 cup of cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup diced green onion

Topping:

1 cup of crushed crackers (I used Club crackers)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 stick of butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Combine all of the ingredients into a medium bowl. Stir well.

3. Transfer to an oven proof dish. The size of the dish depends on how thick the dip is. The thicker the dip the longer it may need to warm up. I used a glass pie pan. My dip was a little less than an inch thick.

4. Combine the topping ingredients and sprinkle all over the top of the dip.

5. Bake the dip for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly.

No Bake Chewy Granola Bars

Ran across this chewy goodness on another blog (Vittles and Bits). What drew me to the recipe in the first place was the pretzels. Apparently these granola bars are an adaptation of a Rachael Ray recipe but my favorite part about this interpretation is the added peanut butter! If you're not a fan, just leave it out and they still taste great! They're quick, delicious, and of course a great snack. Next time I'll leave out the peanut butter, and add walnuts, almonds, and Craisins. 

No Bake Chewy Peanut Butter Pretzel Granola Bars

1/4 C. butter
1/4 C. honey
1/3 C. packed brown sugar
1/4 C. creamy peanut butter
2 C. quick cooking oats {not to be confused with rolled oats!}
1 C. crispy rice cereal
3/4 C. coarsely crushed pretzels
1/2 t. vanilla
2 T. mini chocolate chips

Line an 8x8 square pan with foil, and grease foil with nonstick spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, stir oats, rice cereal, and pretzels together.  Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter, honey, and brown sugar together over medium high heat until mixture comes to a bubble.  Reduce the heat and add the peanut butter; cook 2 more minutes. Remove saucepan from heat, pour in vanilla and stir. 

Pour peanut butter mixture over dry ingredients, and mix to coat evenly.  Using a spatula, empty contents of bowl into prepared pan, and pack the mixture into the pan very tightly.  You really want to press them down so they stick together.  Sprinkle top of bars with mini chocolate chips and press down lightly (& quickly before they start to melt!) 

Cool to room temperature for two hours, or until the chocolate chips are set.  Lift out of pan using the edges of the foil, and cut into 9 bars.  Stack bars between layers of waxed paper, and store in airtight container at room temperature.

Snacking