Puppy Chow

Hopefully you enjoyed my sister’s guest post! Her bravery and acceptance as she faces a potential diagnosis of gluten-intolerance is inspiring to me. I have been continuing to experiment with gluten-free baked goods and snacks to help my sister find new favorite treats. Here is a classic I made right before leaving for vacation, simple enough for dorm room cooking.

Puppy chow, muddy buddies, chocolate peanut butter Chex… whatever you grew up calling it, most people are familiar with these tasty little temptations! The store-bought version contains dairy, making it not Chelsea-friendly, and the classic way to make these has a whole lot of sugar. Here is a slightly lower sugar (and easier) way to make this a little more Chelsea (and snack) friendly. Even better, this recipe is so simple you can make it in a college dorm room. Instead of melting the peanut butter over a stove top, put it in a microwave safe bowl and microwave at 30 second intervals until smooth and melted. Then pour over the cereal, and follow the steps from there. The only trick with this snack is not eating the whole batch before finding friends to share with!

Puppy Chow (Gluten and Dairy Free)

6 cups Chocolate Chex

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 tbsp honey

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup cocoa powder

In a large pot over medium heat, melt peanut butter and honey together (can alternately be done in a microwave). Stir in rice cereal until it is coated. Transfer to a large tupperware container that contains the mix of powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Shake until well coated. Store in air tight container for up to a week.

Chelsea’s Chex Mix Adventures

This guest post is from my lovely sister Chelsea, sharing a little bit about her adventure to find cereals and snack foods to suit her new, gluten and dairy free diet. Enjoy!

CHELS, INSERT YOUR THOUGHTS HERE AND THEN CLICK UPDATE :)

Snickerdoodle Chex Mix

from the cereal box

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

2 cups cinnamon Chex

2 cups chocolate Chex

4 cups popped popcorn

1/4 cup butter or Earth Balance buttery sticks

In a small bowl, mix together cinnamon and sugar. In a large bowl, mix together the cereal and popcorn. Pout the melted butter over the cereal and popcorn until well covered. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture and toss to coat evenly. Microwave for 30 seconds to ensure even mixing and coating.

Strawberry Kiwi Smoothie – Two Ways

Hopefully I am in Bosnia by now! I am so excited to be reunited with great college friends, and am really looking forward to trying exciting new foods. This post is about smoothies… not exciting or new for most people, but they are for me! Enjoy :)

Another smoothie post! This is a huge step for me. I have been smoothie and milkshake adverse for years, mostly because of the liquid diets I had to adhere to after numerous surgeries in high school. My wonderful family always treated me to McDonald’s chocolate or homemade milkshakes after surgery, but soon I began to associate these frozen treats with pain and recovery. In an effort to let the past be the past, I have been trying out smoothies again! And I am loving them! Babysteppin’ to the elevator (What About Bob, anyone?) The other problem I have had with smoothies is when to eat them. I need to chew at breakfast, and so smoothies often leave me feeling unsatisfied, and yet they tend to be a little too much for a snack. Lately, I have found them as a great post-run treat! I usually have a piece of banana or a handful of raisins before heading out for a run, and am not as hungry as I should be after exercising. Smoothies hit the spot on these days! Below is one recipe made two ways – the same flavor, but one with a green kick. I have seen the concept of a green smoothie floating around some other blogs and was really curious to try it out. The sweetness of the fruit and honey hides the fact that you are getting a whole lotta green goodness from the 2 cups of spinach! Plus, the vitamin C in the strawberries and kiwi help you absorb the iron from the spinach – a one, two nutrition punch.

My sister is still not sold, so if you are in her camp, just leave the spinach out. The smoothie is still delicious and nutrient-packed. Even if you are suspicious, though, try out the greener smoothie. I promise you that it still tastes like an all-fruit smoothie!

Question: Are you a smoothie fan? What is your favorite flavor combo?

Strawberry Kiwi Smoothie

Adapted from GreenLiteBites

2 cups spinach (optional)

2/3 cup frozen strawberries

1/2 banana, frozen and broken into pieces

2 kiwi

1/2 tbsp honey

3/4 cup water

Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until well combined and no chunks remain.

Black Bean and Mango Salsa with Homemade Tortilla Chips

I had a recent craving for mango, which my mom fulfilled with a box from Costco. The only problem with that is now I have a lot of mangos! Not the worst thing though… mango over ice cream for dessert, mango slices for a snack, mango with leftover black beans and rice, and mango salsas! This Black Bean and Mango Salsa is a great combination of sweet and spicy. The jalapeno has an afterkick to it, but is balanced out really well by the sweet mango and tart lime juice. It tastes even better the second day because the flavors have time to meld. Use it just as a salsa with tortilla chips, serve over chicken or fish, or use in shrimp tacos (look forward to tomorrow’s post!)

If you want to get creative, you can even make your own tortilla chips really simply. Just take some corn tortillas (or even flour ones) and cut them into wedges. Spray them with cooking spray and sprinkle with sea salt. Toast in a toaster oven (or regular oven) for about 7-10 minutes until they are slightly crispy. Be careful here though – I caught my toaster oven at school on fire this past winter by forgetting about them one night! Oops… After they are slightly cool, they go great with salsas! This has become my new favorite snack, great when I have a craving but keeps those tempting chip bags out of my house. I could eat half a bag of those hint of lime tortilla chips in one sitting. Maybe I need to experiment with some lime flavor on these chips!

Question: What is your favorite type of salsa?

Black Bean and Mango Salsa

Recipe from About.com

1 1/2 cups black beans (1 can)

1/4 large red onion, chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded and diced

1 mango, diced

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

juice of 1 lime

1/8-1/4 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Adjust seasoning to taste. Allow to sit in the fridge for a few hours before serving to allow flavors to come together.