We're super crazy busy. You're super crazy busy. And that's not even counting the holidays! Let's talk about some quick snacks that can be made ahead and grabbed on the way out the door...
We make sure to sit down and relax for actual meals, but easy snacks that we can eat on the go are what get us through our days. We're huge fans of granola bars and snack bars, and these days we've started making them more at home instead of buying them at the store. This helps to stretch our food budget a little further, plus we can control exactly what goes into them.
Here are a few granola bar and snack bar recipes that we tried and liked:
• Dried Fig and Nut Bars from Chow.com and reviewed here at the Kitchn
• Granola Bars from Alton Brown from the Food Network
• Ginger-Coconut Milk and Cereal Bars from Coconut and Lime
• Crunchy Granola Bars from Help! I Have a Fire in My Kitchen!
• Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars from Newsminer.com (and written by yours truly for an article on after-school snacks for kids!)
Once you settle on a basic recipe that you're happy with, it's easy to modify it depending on your tastes or mood. Any nut or dried fruit can be substituted for another. Add some wheat germ or protein powder for an extra dose of healthiness. Espresso powder, cocoa powder, shredded coconut, and seeds like fennel or caraway also add flavor.
For another on-the-go snack, we turn to whole-grain bread with nuts or dried fruit, like this recipe for Apple Oat Bread from King Arthur Flour. Loaf recipes like this can also be shaped into rolls for even easier grabbing!
Scones, muffins, and quick breads can also be made ahead and will likely be better for you than what you might pick up during a low-blood-sugar moment at a coffee shop. Try our recipes for Cranberry Scones or Parmesan Chive Scones, Peach and Spice Tea Muffins, or Oat, Pear, and Raspberry Loaf.
And if we don't plan ahead to make any of these things, we fall back on whole fruit, bags of pretzels and nuts, and containers of carrots for quick snacks. Also, our recipe for spicy oven-roasted chickpeas make a great on-the-go snack!
What other grab-and-go snacks do you rely on?
Related: What Foods Can You Carry on the Airplane?
(Images: Emma Christensen and Faith Durand for the Kitchn)
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Any ideas on what I could substitute for the honey in some of these recipes? I'm afraid agave nectar would make the bars too sweet (and maybe not stick together too well). Brown rice syrup maybe?
I've been making Alton Brown's Protein Bars as grab-and-go breakfast for nearly a year now. I cut the recipe into 16 bars, and it makes each about nutritionally equivalent to a Clif Bar, but without any preservatives or other junk. (Plus, I get to add whatever spices and fruits I like.) They keep beautifully in the freezer, and thaw quickly when needed. Hooray!
I'll have to try some of these others, though. It's good to get out of a rut!
Meant to post the link, oops:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/protein-bars-recipe/index.html
(If you can handle the behemoth that is the Food Network's website, that is.)
eprewitt, thanks for the link. I'll have to try those. I've been searching for a good snack/energy bar recipe and haven't found one yet that yielded a product that went over well in my household. Now I have a few more options to play with!
The only one I would consider making is the Coconut and Lime recipe, and the chick peas. All the others fail in one huge department: SUGAR. Do you have any "on-the-go" foods without a vast content of sugar (refined, brown, honey or otherwise)?
Herzelaid, I presume your concern is added sugar rather than what would be in the fruit used, etc. On the post where they reviewed the first bar mentioned here, a number of people recommended this recipe -
http://www.wholegraingourmet.com/recipes/57-snack/48-multigrain-energy-bars.html
1/2 c. honey in 12 bars. Lots of fruit.
I Love roasted garbonzos; any suggestions on not eating entire batches at one time??? ;P
eprewitt, I LOVE Alton Brown's protein bars too! I have made them several times over the past two years or so. They always turn out great! I store mine in the fridge and eat them cold, yum!!!
Herzleid - have you tried stevia? Or replacing sugar with applesauce that has been reduced, reduced grape juice etc...
??