Power Up!

I'm so excited to share this recipe with you, I'm seriously about to burst. We're talking Energy Balls, friends--and darn good ones at that.

These little treats may be smaller than a golfball, but they sure pack a powerful punch. Forget your Lara Bars. Toss that granola out the window. Today's recipe will give new meaning to your mid-morning snack.

I discovered these little gems on Kat's blog--a mere week after I tested (and devoured) her Peanut Butter Cups. I call 'em Energy Balls because they're the perfect post-workout fuel and they definitely give you the energy needed to power through work until your lunch break.

Best of all, with only 1 tablespoon of honey, they're short on added sugar. Yet, miraculously, they also satiate my sweet tooth. Bonus points!

Enough talk. You need some energy, and I've got just the solution...

Energy Balls

(recipe adapted from Kat's at Keep n' the Faith)

These bite-size energy treats will give you just the pre- or post-workout fuel you need. They also serve as the perfect after-work snack...or crumbled on top of banana soft serve.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, toasted (unsalted)
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped
• 1/3 cup cooked quinoa
• 2 - 3 TBSP ground flaxseed
• 1/2 cup almond or peanut butter (I actually used 1/4 cup almond butter and 1/4 cup peanut butter)
• 1 TBSP honey
• splash of vanilla extract

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together. Add more dry or wet ingredients if needed to reach your desired consistency. Roll into balls and eat up :)

The Savory-to-Sweet Switch

Converting a savory food to a sweeter variation is something my brain has a hard time with.

For example, onions have no place in a dessert.

Marshmallows do not belong in a dinner salad.

And for heavens' sake, please keep the chocolate off my pizza.

For these reasons, among many others, I was skeptical of dessert hummus. You want me to add sugar to my....beans?

Friends, after making a batch of dessert hummus earlier this week, I now recognize myself as its #1 fan. Seriously. I gobbled up a bowl-ful of this sweet, beany dip with a sliced apple and a bowl of banana soft serve for my Thursday night dinner. It was truly like eating dessert for dinner.

The creator of dessert hummus--Evan Thomas--suggests using it as a dip for graham crackers, fruit, animal crackers, or a sandwich spread.

Or, you can simply eat it by the spoon-ful (which I may or may not have been doing at my desk at work this week. What can I say? This girl needs bean-powered fuel to get through the day).

I'm now a savory-to-sweet believer. Just don't ask me to pour hot fudge on my garlic bread.

Cinnamon Dessert Hummus

(recipe adapted from The Wannabe Chef)

The original recipe calls for 1/4 cup pure maple syrup. I eliminated most of this because, well, I did make my dessert hummus for dinner. But by all means, if you don't mind the sweetness and you're looking for a truly desssert-y dip, go all out with the maple syrup!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups butter beans
• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 2 TBSP brown sugar
• a drizzle of pure maple syrup (the recipe called for 1/4 cup, but I used far less)
• 1 - 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• For dipping: apple slices, banana soft serve, graham crackers, and a big ol' hungry spoon

Directions:

Process ingredients in a food processor until desired taste and consistency have been reached. Go crazy with your dipping items :)

Nuts for Sugared Pecans

Forget sugar plums.

It's all about the sugared pecans.

Warning: This is quite possibly one of the most addictive holiday snacks out there. I generally eat my weight in them during the month of December. No worries though: January was designed to make up for all of the December indiscretions.

Your stomach may cry out for you to stop the overload of cookies and fudge, but it will never turn away the satisfying crunch and sweet n' salty balance of a sugar-coated pecan.

As you're making your list of what to bake for who this season, consider these thoughts on sugared pecans:

• They're the perfect gift for someone with gluten-intolerance. It's easy for folks with Celiac Disease to feel left out of the seasonal fun, what with all the flour-heavy baked treats. Sugared pecans will surely bring a smile to their face.
• Consider adding these crunchy little gems to a gift for the gourmet beer-lover in your life. Fill an empty basket from the attic with select beers, a bag of sugared pecans, and a bag of homemade snack mix.
• They're also packaged beautifully in clean, empty jam or nut butter jars.
• They make a great stocking stuffer--just wrap them in a clear cellophane bag with some ribbon and raffia.

Can you tell I'm just nutty for this snack?

Sugared Pecans

(adapted from this recipe at Allrecipes.com)

Whether you're making these as a gift, or just for your awesome self, I promise you won't regret it. Promise.

Ingredients:

• 2 egg whites
• 1 TBSP vanilla
• 1 pound pecan halves (I actually mixed a handful of whole almonds into this batch as well)
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

2) In a large bowl, whip the egg whites and vanilla until frothy. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, salt, and cinnamon.

3) Add the pecans to the egg white mixture and stir until coated. Coat the nuts with the sugar mixture until evenly-covered. Place in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake at 250 degrees for approximately one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

4) Package 'em up and send 'em out. But not before you eat a few...handfuls.

Breakfast Intervention

Breakfast is a daily requirement for me.

I simply cannot start my day without it. After an early-AM workout, I desperately need some protein-packed, stick-to-your-bones goodness to hold me over until lunch.

However, breakfast isn't easy for everyone. My buddy Katie--a high school teacher--starts work in the 7 o' clock hour, faced with chaotic hallways, last-minute paper-grading, and groggy-eyed teens. Breakfast, she admits, is the last thing on her mind at that hour.

She needs a Breakfast Intervention.

And who better to solve a breakfast conundrum than Miss Ina Garten herself? I got the idea to make homemade granola bars from Ina's cookbook, Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics. I added some tweaks and touches to make it my own (and to avoid an extra trip to the grocery store), and the result was a sweet, slightly soft breakfast bar.

My only disappointment was that these bars weren't crunchy, which I'll admit I was hoping for. Any suggestions in the crispy granola bar department?

This recipe would make a great holiday gift for the person-on-the-go in your life--a busy mom, a constant traveler, a work-out nut, or an over-stressed college student. Individually package each bar and create your own personalized labels. Place the wrapped bars in a basket or clear canister jar (or ship them off in a shoebox like I did!).

And although these guys do contain some sugar n' butter, I'm still a firm believer that food made fresh in your kitchen has a leg up on the pre-packaged stuff at the store. Move over Quaker Granola Bars, the homemade granola bar train just pulled up. And she's not leaving anytime soon.

Homemade Granola Bars

(recipe adapted from this one by Ina Garten)

The wonderful thing about granola is that you can add and omit ingredients to suit your fancy. Experiment with your own favorite nuts, dried fruits, sweeteners, etc. There is no wrong answer on this test! As noted above, these granola bars turned out soft and slightly crumbly for me. If you have suggestions for making a firmer, crispier bar, please let me know!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups oats
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup chopped pistachios
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup ground flaxseed
• 3 TBSP butter
• 1/3 cup real maple syrup
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup chopped dried apricots
• 1/2 cup chopped dried blueberries or cranberries

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place oats, nuts, and coconut on a baking sheet and toast for about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.

2) In a small saucepan, heat the butter, honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt. Bring to a boil for about one minute and remove from heat. Pour butter mixture over the oat mixture and stir to coat. Add in apricots and dried blueberries.

3) Coat a 7 x 11 (or 8 x 12) inch pan with baking spray. Moisten hands slightly and press granola mixture into the pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown around edges. Allow to cool for about 3 hours before cutting into bars.

The Grill Sergeant

Since childhood, I can recall my dad taking on cooking duty for a few select menu items.

He always wore the same brown apron--it read "Grill Sergeant" across the front--and he moved carefully and methodically through the kitchen, preparing food with a precision I rarely witnessed. (I was more accustomed to watching the cooking style demonstrated by my mom: a fast-moving combo of the Iron Chef and Rachael Ray. Don't mess with the Hungry Spoon Mama in her kitchen. She means business.)

The list of foods my dad has mastered is brief, albeit powerful in the man world:

• Various meats prepared on the grill
• French Toast
• Bacon
• the Thanksgiving turkey
• Stovetop oatmeal
• Chex Snack Mix

I assume that most men would gladly survive on these items alone if given the option.

Today, we'll focus on the Chex Snack Mix. Growing up, this treat was only prepared between the day after Thanksgiving and New Year's Day--it's a strictly holiday food in the Hungry Spoon's household-of-origin. And it's only prepared by my rockin' dad.

With his grill sergeant apron, and his meticulous nature, my dad single-handedly holds the power of signaling the beginning of the holiday season for my family...one pan of Chex Mix at a time.

I stopped by my parents' house yesterday afternoon to take advantage of their fridge full of leftovers, and, much to my delight, a roasting pan full of Chex mix greeted me in the kitchen.

Ah, the holiday season has officially begun.

While there are endless variations to this basic recipe, the traditional version is simple and classic. Set a few bowl-fuls out at your holiday party, or package them up in recycled jars for holiday gifts. Warning: this stuff is addictive. Seriously.

What signals the beginning of the holiday season for you?

Dad's Holiday Chex Mix

(adapted from this Chex Mix recipe)

I placed small bowls of this snack mix throughout our house for our holiday party last year--there was barely a crumb left by the end of the evening.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups corn Chex
• 3 cups rice Chex
• 3 cups wheat Chex
• 3 cups Cheerios
• 1 - 2 cups pretzels
• 1 cup peanuts
• 6 TBSP butter
• 2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
• 1 - 1/2 tsp. seasoning salt
• 1 tsp. garlic powder

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

2) Combine cereals, pretzels, and nuts in a large roasting pan. In a saucepan, heat butter over medium-low heat until melted. Add in seasonings. Pour butter mixture over cereal and stir to coat evenly.

3) Bake snack mix for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

*Fun gift idea: I like to fill recycled nut butter and salsa jars with snack mix, personalize the lids, and add them to food gift baskets/boxes for neighbors and friends during the holidays.

Apple Crisp Snack

This week's recipes lack the hearty-vegetarian-full-meal quality you may be used to. With Thanksgiving a mere 3 days away, the Hungry Spoon kitchen is relying on safe n' simple dinner options (tonight: Butternut Squash Risotto), so more time can be devoted to Thursday's feast preparation.

And a feast it will be. Expect a Chocolate-Pecan Pie recipe coming your way very, very soon.

In the meantime, I'll keep up with yesterday's snack/healthy dessert trend (Banana Soft Serve anyone?), and provide you with another uber-healthy dessert/snack to munch on: Baked Apples.

I first made a pan of this Apple Crisp look-alike last month during a lasagna celebration with my friend Alli. I quickly discovered that it doubled as an after-work snack (we all know I can't get enough of those), and it triples as a breakfast oatmeal mix-in. I can bake a pan on Sunday, and it lasts all week. Seriously awesome.

How 'bout them apples?

The only downside? I didn't measure a thing. Nope, just went with my foodie instincts and pulled the whole "pinch of this, splash of that" act.

Tonight, trust your own foodie instinct and whip up a solid batch of baked apples to get you through the holiday eating splurge.

Baked Apple Crisp

(A Hungry Spoon unmeasured original)

As with all of my measure-less recipes, feel free to get creative. I imagine dried cranberries would be a great addition, as would pears and maybe even some orange zest?

Ingredients:

• 6 apples, thinly sliced
• a dash of brown sugar (just a dash!)
• Lots o' cinnamon
• Sprinkling of nutmeg
• Oats (about 1/2 cup)
• a little Smart Balance or non-hydrogenated vegan margarine (about 1 - 2 TBSP)
• Optional: fat free frozen vanilla yogurt

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix the apple slices with a the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour into a 9 inch square pan lightly coated with cooking spray. Mix the oats a little Smart Balance, and a dash of brown sugar if you'd like :) Sprinkle over the apples and bake until tender, about 30 minutes or so. If you're looking for a full-out dessert, top with fat free vanilla frozen yogurt.

Soft Serve Surprise

The picture below features my breakfast from this morning. What does it look like to you?

Soft serve chocolate ice cream with a little dollop of peanut butter? Or perhaps chocolate pudding with nut butter garnish? A chocolate smoothie in a bowl?

Mmmmmmm....tasty.

Would you believe that little glass dish contains only three ingredients: Banana, unsweetened cocoa powder, and all-natural roasted peanut butter (only one ingredient in the peanut butter: roasted peanuts!).

I know. It's amazing, isn't it? I first read about "Banana Soft Serve" in the blog world this summer. Everyone raved about the wondrous mystery of placing frozen banana chunks in a food processor, whirring for a minute or two, and opening the lid to find what appeared to be soft serve ice cream.

I was skeptical at first. I mean, come on: Don't frozen bananas thrown into a food processor simply produce...food-processed bananas?

A few weeks ago I put my curiosities to rest and set out to experiment with this recipe. One frozen banana and 1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder went into the processor and, lo and behold! Banana soft serve came out. Garnish with a dollop of roasted nut butter and we're in business.

This delicious dish has served as my dessert many evenings since I discovered it, but, as evidenced this morning, it makes a great breakfast treat, or after-work snack as well. If you're feeling especially decadent, throw in your favorite DQ Blizzard mix-ins--chocolate chips, nuts, coconut, etc. (although, if I'm in the mood for those types of treats, I'd rather just bake a real dessert, you know?)

At any rate, I'm now a Banana Soft Serve Believer. I'm on the bandwagon. It's never felt so good to follow the crowd.

Banana Soft Serve

(recipe from food bloggers everywhere)

This treat is wonderful as a snack, breakfast side, or for dessert when you need a break from all the holiday treats that will soon surround you.

Ingredients:

• 1 banana, cut into chunks and frozen solid
• 1 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder
• Optional: a little nut butter for garnish

Directions:

Place frozen banana chunks in a food processor. Process for at least a minute, whirring until it appears whipped and takes on the consistency of soft-serve ice cream. Add in cocoa powder and process until just combined. Enjoy with a dollop of nut butter if you so choose :)