Pumpkin Pie Spiced Quinoa Crunch Almonds

It's October and pumpkin flavored everything has taken over. I was in the store the other day, and I saw a container of Pumpkin Pie flavored almonds from Blue Diamond. My first thought was "what an awesome idea!" and my second though, after reading the ingredient list, was "there is not even pumpkin in there!" Sadly, that is the case with so many "pumpkin-flavored food items," and pumpkin is just too delicious and nutritious for us not to not actually use it.

So I decided to make my own pumpkin pie almonds with real pumpkin. I could be more ambitious and roast my own pumpkin and then puree it, but I have found that the canned or boxed version (Whole Foods now sells it in easy to open cartons!) work well too. I also wanted to add a little extra crunch factor, so I sprinkled in some quinoa because I love the little pop it gives. It took a few attempts to get it just right, but can I just say these craggy little nuts are addicting? They'll make your kitchen smell just like fall. And the best part? They take about 25 minutes to make, and only 5 of that actually involves work.

Pumpkin Pie Spiced Quinoa Crunch Almonds

2 cups raw almonds
1/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted, or other neutral oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon*
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger*
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg*
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves*
generous pinch of salt

**You can also sub 2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice in lieu of these separate ingredients

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat. In a bowl, combine pumpkin puree through salt. Stir in almonds and quinoa until evenly coated. Spread out in a single layer on parchment. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until almonds are toasted and quinoa turns a little golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Some of the pumpkin and quinoa mixture may not adhere completely, but those pieces are just as tasty! Almonds may be kept at room temperature for about a week. Makes about 2 cups.

Adult Snack Time + 3 Healthy Snacks

Summer is just about over. The calendar may not say it quite yet, but it is back to school, back to real life for most. I have always been an after-school/ after-work snacker. Growing up, I had a snack when I got home before I started homework. In high school, it was to fuel before sports and in college, it was to stave off hunger until the dining hall opened.

I have found that as a grad student and as a working adult, the afternoon snack takes on a bit more significance, and because of this, it is an important part of my daily routine. For one, it keeps hunger at bay while dinner can be prepped. Cooking when I am hungry makes me way too impatient and by the time I eat, I am too ravenous to actually enjoy the meal. But more importantly, an afternoon snack acts as a bit of a "pause" in the day, a way to transition from the hectic work day to time at home.

When work is stressful, I find it challenging to leave work's mental and emotional baggage at the door and not allow it to infiltrate home life. A long commute can certainly help you as it physically distances yourself from work and allows time to elapse. My mother once told me that she and my father had the best dinner conversations when they each had an hour commute from work. When they lost their long commutes, she said that they lost some of those good dinner conversations because they were both mentally and emotionally "at work" even when they got home.

Another way to leave work at work is to STOP, sit down, and take a moment to have a snack. Often, our stress is compounded by fatigue and by hunger, and just sitting down to enjoy a bite can help us hit the reset button on both fronts. Then we can go about our day perhaps a little more at peace, whether the evening involves working out, making dinner, spending time with kids or significant others.

It may be tempting to grab one of those energy bars or a handful of packaged nibbles, but I have three snacks that are way too simple to make to not give them a try. AND all three can be made ahead of time! As much as I love Larabars and some of the other fruit and nut bars that contain simple, whole ingredients, they are also pretty pricey. My suggestions here are affordable, nutritious, and easy options in which you have all of the control over the ingredients. There is a sweet treat, a savory treat, and one that is a little bit of both for those days when you cannot decide.

What were your favorite snacks as a kid and what are your favorite snacks now?

Roasted Sweet Potato with Tahini, Za'atar Roasted Chickpeas, and Sea Salt||  Hard-boiled Egg with Kale and Basil Pesto and Pinenuts||  Stuffed Dates with Toasted Coconut and Almond Butter, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chips, and Almond Butter with Cinnamon

• Sweet: Dates Stuffed with Nut Butter + Little Goodies

• Savory: Hard-Boiled Eggs with Pesto

• A Little Bit of Both: Roasted Sweet Potato with Tahini, Za'atar Spiced Chickpeas, and Sea Salt

Nut Butter Stuffed Dates: Make a lengthwise slit into a medjool or other large, plump date and remove the pit. Fill with your favorite nut butter (like my Toasted Coconut and Almond Butter) and maybe a few extras like toasted nuts, chocolate chips, ground cinnamon, or shredded coconut. Gently squeeze and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Hard-boiled Eggs: Place the eggs in a pot and add water to cover by 2 inches. Bring the water to a boil, cover with a lid, and remove pot from the heat. Allow eggs to sit 9 minutes. Immediately drain and rinse with cold water. Place eggs in a bowl of ice water and allow to cool. Eggs can be stored in refrigerator for up to a week. To use, peel the eggs carefully. I use a spoon to slip under the thin skin just beneath the shell to slide the shell off. Drizzle with a little homemade pesto like my Kale Pesto or sub half kale and half basil in the recipe for an herby, vitamin-rich drizzle.

Baked Sweet Potatoes: Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment to make clean up a bit easier. Scrub small to medium sized sweet potatoes clean. Bake in oven for about 45 minutes to an hour depending on the size of the potatoes. Potatoes will be done when a knife slips easily through skin to center. Make a slit lengthwise and stuff with whatever you choose! Some suggestions: roasted chickpeas (like my Crisped Chickpeas), nut butter, tahini, cheese, toasted nuts, yogurt, sea salt, etc.

Toasted Coconut and Almond Butter

I love almond butter and I love coconut butter, so why not combine the two? This is a super-roasty, toasty nutty spread that you will find an excuse to put on everything: toast, bananas, mixed into oatmeal, scooped into a smoothie, swirled into brownie batter, or just by the spoonful. If you have never made nut butter at home before, it is super simple. Put nuts in a food processor, turn it on, and watch the magic happen. It usually takes about 5-7 minutes and stopping every so often to scrape down the sides, but that is as complicated as it gets.

This is just a little more complicated than your basic nut butter, but the extra few minutes to toast the nuts and coconut really takes this over the top. The only thing you have to be careful about is not burning the almonds or the coconut, especially the coconut. It can burn quickly! Feel free to add a dash of cinnamon to the food processor if you want a little spice, but it is delicious as is.

I had leftover cherries in the fridge, so I slathered some multi-grain bread with the coconut and almond butter, topped it with quartered cherries, and drizzled it with local honey. It was the perfect afternoon snack.

What's your favorite nut butter?

Toasted Coconut and Almond Butter

2 cups raw almonds
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 pinches of sea salt
2 1/2 teaspoons honey, preferably local (or use maple syrup or agave if vegan)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the almonds in a single layer, and toast in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from pan immediately so that they do not continue to toast.

Sprinkle the coconut over the same pan, place in the oven, and toast for about 3 minutes. The coconut will start to toast as soon as it comes into contact with the pan, so watch the coconut carefully. You want it a very light golden color. Remove from the pan immediately when done.

Add the toasted almonds and toasted coconut to a food processor. Add 2 pinches of sea salt, and turn the food processor on. Scrape down the sides every minute or so, but it will take about 5-7 minutes total to get to nut butter consistency. When the desired consistency is reached, add the honey and pulse a few times to incorporate the honey. If you add the honey sooner, the mixture tends to be a bit gluey. Enjoy! Makes about 1 cup nut butter.

Yogurt and Honey Filled Raspberries with Mango

Berries are not the hardiest of fruits, so it is a bit tricky trying to eat them before they get overripe and then turn furry. A nifty trick that I read about and recently tried was plunging my berries in a mix of white vinegar and water. The logic is that the vinegar kills any bacteria or mold spores that linger on the berries' surface. I was skeptical at first, thinking my berries would take on a vinegary taste, but not only do they just taste of sweet summer, they are still mold free after now what is 6 days in the refrigerator. In my mind, the little extra time is worth having berries for days in the fridge, so it will be something I continue to do. Ideally, I would be able to get fresh berries every few days and consume them in time, but that is just not my reality. So for berries that last:

• Fill a bowl with a mixture of 1 part white vinegar to 3 parts cold water
• Plunge whole berries in bowl (if using strawberries, hull first)
• Carefully mix berries around and allow to sit in the mixture for 10 minutes
• Rinse berries with cold water
• Carefully drain berries and spin in a salad spinner basket lined with a paper towel, and spin gently. If you do not have a salad spinner, try to allow berries to dry as much as possible with a paper towel.
• Place berries in a single layer in a paper-towel lined container. You can stack the berries, placing a paper towel layer in between, but be mindful of how much weight is on the bottom layer.
• Store in the fridge and enjoy for days!

This is a bright little fruit plate that hits sweet, tart, creamy, and a little nutty notes. Hardly a recipe, however, I thought it was worth sharing because it is a beautiful and simple take on a fruit salad. It is sunshine in a bowl. I filled the raspberries with a mix of honey and Greek yogurt, but whipped cream, whipped coconut cream (if vegan), or even a mascarpone or ricotta mix would be delicious. I also love how the green pistachios contrast with the reds and yellows, but almost any nut would do. Vegan and do not use honey? Use maple syrup or agave instead as your sweetener!

To fill the raspberries, I use a plastic sandwich bag and snip the corner off just a bit. Nothing fancy, and it is more than enough to get the job done. If you are making this for a get-together, this step can be done a few hours in advance and the raspberries stored carefully in the refrigerator.

Yogurt and Honey Filled Raspberries with Mango

1 cup of fresh raspberries, washed and dried
1/2 fresh ripe mango, peeled and cut into thin slivers
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (or coconut yogurt, whipped cream, or mascarpone/ ricotta mixture)
2 teaspoons local honey (or maple syrup or agave if vegan)
2 tablespoons roughly chopped shelled pistachios

Mix the yogurt and honey in a small bowl until thoroughly combined. Fill a plastic sandwich bag with yogurt or other filling of choice. Squeeze the yogurt towards one corner. Snip the corner off. Pipe the filling into the raspberries until just beyond the top. You may have leftover filling depending on how large your raspberries are. Arrange the mango slices and raspberries on a plate. Sprinkle raspberries with pistachios and serve. Makes one plate, enough for 1 or 2 people.

Cucumber and Avocado Crisps with Edamame and Goat Cheese Spread

Crispy cucumber and creamy avocado come together on this little crisp for a delightful bite. I love the combination in sushi and grain salads, but wanted another way of enjoying it, especially as a snack or appetizer for a party. The edamame and goat cheese spread does two things for this crisp. One, it helps the cucumber and avocado adhere to the base, and two, it offers a perfect tang and a little touch of protein to make this even more satisfying.

I grate a hard-boiled egg on top because I happen to love avocado and egg, and it leaves a pretty cool color blast, but if you are not in an egg mood, leave it off! I used the mini Persian cucumbers because they are small, crisp, and thin-skinned. If using regular American cucumbers, you may want to peel, halve, and de-seed before thinly slicing, and if using a seedless English cucumber could be halved before thinly slicing. I also used crisp breads that I had on hand, but crackers, crostini, toasted pita or any sturdy, toasted bread would work beautifully. The quantities needed for these will vary by which type of bread you use and how big your vegetables are, but this gives a general idea of what worked for me.

Cucumber and Avocado Crisps with Edamame and Goat Cheese Spread

1-2 Persian (mini) cucumbers, thinly sliced
1/2 avocado, peeled, pitted and thinly sliced
6 long flatbreads, 12 slices baguette toasted, or 12 small-medium size crackers
Edamame and Goat Cheese Spread (recipe here)
salt, for sprinkling
1 hard-boiled egg*, grated, for sprinkling (optional)

Spread the bread or cracker of choice with a layer of the edamame and goat cheese spread. Alternate slices of cucumber and avocado on top. Sprinkle with salt, and grated hard-boiled egg, if using. Enjoy! Makes 6-12 pieces, depending on the bread used.

* To hard-boil eggs: Place eggs in a pot and cover with water. Place over high heat until water just starts to boil. Remove pot from the heat, cover with the lid, and set the timer for 9 minutes. Immediately remove the eggs from the water, and place in a bowl of ice water. Allow to cool before peeling. For an easier way to peel eggs, check out this recipe.