Dark Chocolate Drizzled Kettle Corn

A couple of weeks ago we picked up some chocolate drizzled kettle corn from Sprouts, and absolutely loved it! It was totally addictive, but also cost around $2.00 for a small bag. I figured I could recreate this sweet snack for a fraction of the cost. It takes a couple of steps, but makes a nice big bowl of salty sweet chocolatey goodness.

Dark Chocolate Drizzled Kettle Corn

Ingredients:

16 cups air popped popcorn

1/4 cup vegan margarine
1/2 cup natural brown sugar
1/8 cup maple syrup
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup vegan dark chocolate chips
1-2 tbsp non dairy milk (soy works well)

Directions:

Pop your popcorn. Pre-heat your oven to 250 degrees. Spray a large rectangle glass baking dish with cooking spray.

Heat the margarine over low heat in a small saucepan. Add the brown sugar, syrup, and salt. Bring the mixture to a slow boil and let it simmer until the sugar dissolves. Be sure to keep stirring it so that it doesn't burn on the bottom. Once the sugar is incorporated, take the mixture off the heat and add the vanilla and baking soda. Mix these in. It will lighten in color and puff up a bit from the baking soda.

Put half of the air popped popcorn in the prepared baking dish and pour the sugar mixture on top. Stir gently to coat the popcorn evenly.

Bake the popcorn for 45 - 60 minutes, and stir it every 15-20 minutes. It will come out crisp and sweet when it is done.

While half of the popcorn is baking, spread the other half of the popcorn over a non-stick surface (wax paper or a silicone mat work well). Take the 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and add the 1-2 tbsp (just enough so it will melt, start with 1 and then add another if you find you need it after heating) of non-dairy milk in a glass measuring cup or small bowl. Microwave the chocolate chips for 30 seconds at a time and stir in between. Once they have melted and are smooth you pour the chocolate over the second half of popcorn. You can add a few sprinkles of salt at this point too. Let the chocolate drizzled popcorn cool while you are baking the kettle corn.

Once the kettle corn is done and cooled, combine the two types of popcorn and enjoy! It is an irresistible combination. 

Apple Cinnamon Buckwheat Pancakes

I like to make these on the weekend and make a few extra to have on hand during the week. I will eat these cold - just as is with no syrup. They make a great snack that way. But they are, of course, the best warm with some vegan margarine and maple syrup. I find they keep me very full through the morning.

Apple Cinnamon Buckwheat Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup soy milk
1 1/2 tsp vinegar

2 tbsp flax meal
1/3 cup water

3/4 cup buckwheat flour
3/4 cup oat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

3 tbsp coconut oil, melted

1 cup diced apple (1 average sized apple - you can leave the peel on or off we like the apples peeled)

Directions:

Mix the soy milk and the vinegar in a measuring cup and set aside to curdle while you prep the rest of the ingredients.

Whisk the flax meal and the 1/3 cup of water in a small cup or bowl and set aside to let thicken. This mixture is your egg replacer.

Combine the buckwheat flour, oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl. Then add the wet ingredients (the curdled soy milk, the flax mixture, and the melted coconut oil. Mix until you don't see any flour and the ingredients are incorporated. Then fold in the apples.

Finally, heat a non-stick pan on medium high heat and coat lightly with cooking spray. Pour the batter on the pan and heat until bubbles on the top start to pop and leave little circles. Flip and cook on the other side until the pancake is cooked through.

Makes 6 large (4 inch diameter) pancakes.

Whole Grain Sesame Crackers

These little crackers are fun to make and are a great snack to have on hand. The dough is easy to work and totally worth the effort of making your own crackers.

Whole Grain Sesame Crackers

Ingredients:

1 cup oat flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 tbsp ground flax seeds
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp ground thyme
1/4 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp oregano
3 tbsp sesame seeds
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp vegan margarine (cut into small chunks)
1/2 cup cold water (add a little more a tablespoon at a time to make it pull together into a ball of dough)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Put the dry ingredients into a food processor and pulse to combine. This will be the oat flour, whole wheat flour, flax seeds, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, salt, baking powder, thyme, rosemary, and oregano. Next add the sesame seeds, the olive oil, the margarine, and the water then run the food processor on low to mix into a dough. Put the dough onto a floured surface and use your hands to work the dough into a disk. Take half of the dough and roll it out. Then use a small round object to cut out little circles about an inch wide. I used the lid from the olive oil to make the circles. Poke 3 holes in the middle of each of the crackers using a toothpick or chopstick and then put the circles on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 14 minutes, turning the pan halfway through for even baking. Let them cool and store in an airtight container.

Healthy Happy Banana Oatmeal Cookies

These are lightly sweetened gluten free cookies that come out soft and chewy. To make the oat flour, simply grind oats in a food processor or blender and use as you would any other flour. I do the same with flax seeds - grind them up in a spice grinder and then store in the freezer. I actually store my oat flour in the freezer as well and then you have what you need ready to go for baking.

Healthy Happy Banana Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

2 tbsp ground flax seeds
1/3 cup water

1 1/4 cup oat flour
1 cup rolled oats
2 tbsp corn starch
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

2 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup natural sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

Optional: 1/3 cup chocolate chips (you could do walnuts as well if you like)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the ground flax seeds with the 1/3 cup of water. Whisk with a fork to combine and let thicken while you prepare the other ingredients.

Put the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl (oat flour, oats, corn starch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon). Stir to combine. Be sure you don't have any clumps of baking soda.

Combine the wet ingredients, which are the smashed banana, sugar, vanilla, coconut oil and the flax mixture. Stir to combine.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients until just mixed (where you don't see any flour) add the optional chocolate chips and mix them in as well.

Let the dough sit for about 10 minutes so the oats can begin to soak up some of the liquid. Make 12 balls of dough and place them on two lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes, then let cool and enjoy!

Ginger Lemonade

I love to drink this through the cold and flu season. The lemon, ginger and apple cider vinegar have many health benefits with vitamin C, probiotics and inflammatory properties - overall they provide a nice boost to your immune system.

I make a few jars of this at the start of the week and then just grab one a day.

Ginger Lemonade

Ingredients:

3 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp liquid stevia
1 tsp apple cider vinegar (with "the mother" for the probiotics)
1 inch piece of ginger peeled and sliced
32 ounces of water

Directions:

Put all the ingredients in a 32 oz jar and add the water. Let sit in the refrigerator until ready to drink. The ginger flavors permeate the drink more the longer it soaks.

Chocolate Chia Pudding

Having fallen in love with golden milk chia pudding last year, I can't believe I was this slow in trying chocolate chia pudding. Now that I have tried it, I am in love with this version, too. Some folks blend their pudding ingredients, but I like the consistency of the chia seeds as they remind me a bit of tapioca pudding. So I just mix mine up and keep in the fridge for a really good snack, addition to breakfast, or a dessert when you want something a little sweet.

Chocolate Chia Pudding

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups soy milk (or your favorite non-dairy milk)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup maple syrup

3 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 cup chia seeds
pinch of salt
dash of cinnamon (optional)

Directions:

Pour the wet ingredients (soy milk, vanilla, and maple syrup) into a container big enough to hold 3 cups.

Add the cocoa powder, chia seeds, salt and cinnamon and whisk vigorously to completely combine. Let it sit in the refrigerator to set (takes a few hours). Check the pudding a couple of times while it is setting up to give it another stir and then once it has thickened, enjoy!

If you use a large mason jar, you can shake it instead of stirring.

Vegan Cheeze Crackers

We love this recipe from Minimalist Baker and make these crackers all of the time for snacking, adding to soups, etc. I have adapted the recipe just a tad and these come out great every time. They are addictive and really do taste like the cheez-it crackers you can buy at the store. I often double the recipe so they will last a bit longer, as my family tends to eat them up quickly.

It is kind of cool to be able to make your own crackers at home and is a fraction of the cost of buying them prepackaged, which is a win-win.

Vegan Cheeze Crackers

Ingredients:

4 tbsp nutritional yeast
6 tbsp corn meal
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp Earth Balance Spread (or your favorite vegan margarine)
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup cold water (or more; add water a little at a time until a ball of dough forms)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Add the dry ingredients to a food processor and pulse to combine. Then add the vegan margarine, olive oil, and a 1/4 cup of the cold water. Pulse to combine and add more water a little at a time until a ball of dough forms. You don't need to knead the dough, but use your hands to shape it into a disk.

Put the dough on a floured surface and roll it out to 1/4 inch thickness. Use a pizza cutter to cut out small shapes such as triangles or squares. I use a chopstick to make a small indent in the middle of each cracker. Put the crackers on baking sheets and bake for 12 minutes, turning the pan halfway through.