Sorry Ange - I was being good and working and just now got back here
For treats I make homemade things like cookies and bars but I use recipes that have less sugar and none of the preservative crap that is in the store-bought stuff. Even homemade chocolate chip cookies are better for you than a Chips Ahoy because those have so much crap in them when you look at the ingredient list. If you make them at home you can use oatmeal, whole wheat flour, etc.
Here is a website that I love, and she has a facebook page too:
100 Days of Real Food
I also cook all my beans from dry at home instead of buying canned. They are so much cheaper at the natural food store in bulk. And here's a time saver: COOK THEM IN YOUR CROCK POT!!! No overnight soaking and no watching them like a hawk on the stovetop to make sure they don't overflow or worse run dry and burn to the pot and almost burn your house down (don't ask me how I know this!:thumbdown
Put the dried beans in your crock pot, cover with water 2 inches or so above the beans and put that sucker on high for about 4 hours. Beans done easy peasy. Like Sarah said freeze them in big ziplock bags and use when you need them. I keep black beans for Mexican dishes, chickpeas (garbanzos) for my hummus, and dark red kidney beans for chili and bean salad in the freezer at all times.
Cheese for homemade mac and cheese: Meunster is a great creamy mild cheese. And check the deli at your supermarket to see if they sell the "ends". I get all of my cheese from the ends basket. Sometimes it's not even the ends but a mistake or the customer changed their mind so they toss it in the basket and sell it for 1/2 price - same for meats.:thumbup:
Some of our favorite things to snack on but aren't sweet are:
Homemade salsa and corn chips
Homemade hummus with Kashi crackers or Ak-Mak crackers (check your natural foods aisle at the market)
Popcorn popped in coconut oil with various spices instead of butter
Homemade Granola
SALSA
14-ounce can diced tomatoes (nothing added to the can, just tomatoes - you'd be surprised at what some brands put in with the tomatoes!)
10-ounce can Rotel with Chiles
2 Tbs. onion
1 clove garlic
1/2 jalapeno (take the seeds out if you like it milder, leave the seeds in if you like it hotter)
1/8 tsp. evaporated cane juice (or sugar)
1/8 tsp. sea salt
1/8 tsp. ground cumin
1 Tbs. parsley or cilantro (whichever you like - I personally HATE cilantro!)
juice from 1/2 a lime.
Put all in a food processor and process until consistency you want.
**This is not a chunky salsa but more like the kind they serve at Chili's Restaurant.
ROASTED GARLIC HUMMUS
2 cups cooked chickpeas (canned or cooked from dry)
2 Tbs. Tahini paste
4 Tbs. Olive oil
1/4 cup warm water
1 large head garlic
Juice from 1 lemon
1/4 tsp. sea salt
Heat oven to 350. Cut just the top off a whole head of garlic. Place on piece of aluminum foil and drizzle just a little bit of olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper. Wrap up foil and roast in oven for about an hour.
Once garlic is cooked let cool so you can handle it and squeeze out the garlic cloves. (This is kinda messy and sticky but so yummy!) In food processor add all the ingredients and process until smooth.
**This freezes really well! I make a batch and freeze it in 2 or 3 smaller containers so it stays fresh longer. We go through a cream cheese sized container every couple days and I just pull one out of the freezer when it starts to get low.
GRANOLA
I love this granola because it doesn't use oil to hold everything together but egg whites, which make it nice and crunchy and also adds protein
Heat oven to 275.
2 egg whites
1/3 cup honey or pure maple syrup (or a mix)
1 Tbs. Sucanat (brown sugar if you don't have sucanat)
1/2 tsp. vanilla
pinch salt
cinnamon to taste
2 cups oats (not quick oats)
1/4 cup pecan pieces
1/4 slivered almonds
1/4 cup unsalted raw sunflower seeds (not roasted)
1 Tbs. ground flaxseed
1 Tbs. sesame seeds (raw)
2 Tbs. unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup dried blueberries**
In large bowl whisk egg whites, honey/syrup, sucanat, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon until well blended. Add everything else EXCEPT the dried fruit and coconut.
Spread in single layer on large pan and bake 60 to 70 minutes (until slightly browned). Remove from oven and sprinkle with coconut and dried fruit. Cool and store in air tight container.
**I use blueberries because blueberries are big business in Maine but you can use any dried fruit - cranberries, cherries, apricots (chopped up into small pieces), raisins.
When I have more time this weekend I'll hook you up with some meals that are take about 20 minutes to make and are super yummy - no crock pot needed (however, I use mine a lot too! And I'll hook you up with some of those recipes too)
