Easy, Delicious AND Nutritious: 3 Healthy Back to School Snacks

Whether you are worried about the dreaded freshmen fifteen, or you are a health conscious parent these three snacks should help make back to school meal planning a little easier.

1. Apple'n Almond Butter Sandwich. *Warning* with a snack this cute every kid will be trying to steal your lunch... And on the nutrition side of things, with the caloric density of the almond butter this quick snack will keep you feeling full at least until the next recess.




2. Iced Tea(and I don't mean Nestea). Who said tea has to be hot?  Instead of sugary juice boxes try sending a steeped tea. My favorite is passion tea with half a squeezed lemon in it.  The fruity flavor of the tea makes it more appealing to the average juice drinker than plain old water but it won't cause an insulin spike or a concentration crash!



3. LaraBar.While granola bars are quick, easy and relatively cheap they are also comparable to chocolate bars nutritionally. They are jam-packed with sugar and offer zip, zilch, zero in terms of nutrients. Good thing we have another option! LaraBars taste good, have minimal ingredients and are free of additives and preservatives...yep, they are all real food baby!



Have any other snack ideas? Feel free to post in the comment section below.

Creamy Cashew and Avocado Zucchini

Next time you're hankering for a big ol' bowl of fettuccini alfredo give this a try instead. It's the creamy, pasta-y goodness of real pasta without the starch, gluten, gas or bloating.



What you need for 2 servings:

2 large zucchinis, julienned (mandolin slicer, julienne cutter or a large cheese grater will do)
1/4 cup cashews

*add sliced bqq'd chicken breast for a meal-sized portion

For sauce:
1 large avocado
1/4 cup plain greek yogurt -or- if you avoid dairy try 1/4 coconut cream, meat or milk
1/4 cup water (probably won't need this if you used coconut milk)
juice of 1 lemon
sea salt and pepper to taste

Combine all the sauce ingredients into a small blender (i use magic bullet). Blend until smooth.

Spinach Salad with Fresh Cherries and a Creamy Cherry Dressing

This yummy recipe is the genius creation of my sister Lori (with the help of my niece Ella). Enjoy everyone! YUM

Spinach salad with fresh cherries and a creamy cherry dressing

serves 4


1 bundle fresh spinach leaves

2 cups pitted sweet red cherries, reserving any excess juice for the dressing

1/2 cup sliced and chopped red onion

2  green apples sliced thin

4 tbsp of very thinly sliced mint leaves

2 tbsp poppy seeds to sprinkle on top1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Dressing:

5 tablespoons  plain Greek yogurt

2 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

reserve juice of pitted cherries

 salt and fresh ground pepper

Guest Blog Post: The Key to Staying Motivated

Check out my guest post over at ethicalDeal on motivation, health and loving yourself.

BBQ'd Everything Burger!

I love BBQing and have done a fair bit of trial and error when it comes to cooking things on the grill. Two of my favorite discoveries are sweet potatoes/yams and beets. Nothing brings out the flavor in a beet like a healthy flame!

Burgers also happen to be a personal favorite...so here you have it, a combination of all of my favorite BBQ items, and boy oh boy is it tasty.


What you need:
Burger Patty Pasture to plate on Commercial drive (in Vancouver) provided the delicious beef that made this burger, but if you want to make your own here is a recipe.
Avocado
yam
beet
lettuce
a BBQ!

I like it as is all stacked up but if you like BBQ sauce here is a primal onefrom Marksdailyapple.com

What you don't need:
A bun (boring!)


EAT! ENJOY!