snack Archives - A Calculated Whisk

Oatmeal Cookie Energy Bites

February 24, 2020 By Becky Leave a Comment

These cashew butter oatmeal energy bites are quick to make and taste like chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. They’re the perfect gluten-free, dairy-free snack for nursing mamas and anyone else who’s hungry!

I’m popping in on this dreary February day to share a recipe that I’ve been making for over a year now: oatmeal cookie energy bites. These little balls taste like oatmeal cookie dough and are one of the first things I made when I started cooking again after taking time off for Madeline’s birth–although for these, no actual cooking is required!

Vanilla Chai Nut Butter (Guest Post on Cook It Up Paleo)

January 21, 2016 By Becky 2 Comments

Roasted almonds and cashews with vanilla and chai spices make for an irresistible nut butter that’s vegan, paleo, and Whole30 compliant. You won’t miss the sugar that most flavored nut butters have!

This vanilla chai nut butter is my new favorite snack. It’s creamy, naturally sweet without any added sweeteners, and perfumed with the irresistible combination of vanilla and cardamom. It’s basically the vegan, Whole30-compliant, no sugar added, not-a-cookie version of my grain-free spiced shortbread. (Okay, maybe they’re not that similar after all! They do have the same enticing aroma and toasty vanilla and spice flavors, though.)

It’s amazing on dates, apple slices, carrot sticks, and spoons. Life is good and possibilities are endless when you have a jar of this stuff in the fridge!

I’m sharing the recipe for this vanilla chai nut butter over on Cook It Up Paleo this week. Heather of Cook It Up Paleo is an eighteen-year-old who develops all kinds of scrumptious and inventive recipes that make my teenage self look like such a slacker in retrospect. If you haven’t already visited her site, go right now! There is a chicken broccoli alfredo pizza on there that will be haunting my dreams until I make it the second my Whole30 is over…

Get the vanilla chai nut butter recipe right here!

Bacon-Wrapped Potato Wedges

September 28, 2015 By Becky 39 Comments

You only need two ingredients to make these bacon-wrapped potato wedges, and they’re perfect paleo football food!

It’s football season! Are you into it? I have no idea what’s going on, but my fiancé Ben is a big Broncos fan and is also in a fantasy football league. It’s my job to complain about how much the TV is on and to make delicious snacks, like these bacon-wrapped potato wedges.

We moved this past weekend–we’d been staying with Ben’s sister and her family, and now we’re renting a little guest house from some friends of ours while we look for a house to buy. The guest house is just two rooms plus a bathroom, but it’s really cute. The kitchen and living area are in one room, but it’s a pretty good size and I’m really happy with the kitchen area. Unfortunately, the TV is right nearby, so I have to listen to football while I cook.

Since things have been pretty hectic with our move from Boston to Chattanooga last month and our mini move into the guest house more recently, I’ve been on the lookout for easy recipes. I was assigned Rebekah’s blog, Making Miracles, for this month’s Secret Recipe Club, and found so many great possibilities in her recipe index. Her blog is full of fast, easy, family-friendly recipes, and I highly recommend you check it out!

I was planning to make her baked paleo chicken tenders, since I loved chicken fingers as a kid and haven’t yet tried making a paleo version. In fact, I’m still planning to make them–I have all the ingredients and everything–but once I saw these bacon-wrapped potato wedges, they jumped to the top of my list. I had to have them right away.

Creamy Whipped Feta

June 2, 2015 By Becky 14 Comments

This post is sponsored by Nikos Feta.

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Creamy Whipped Feta made with Nikos | Get more feta recipes & enter to win a trip to Hawaii here: https://ooh.li/1cd7e02 #sp

Have you ever whipped feta cheese?

If the answer is no, buckle your seat belt and get out your food processor. You are in for quite a ride (or at least, your food processor is in for a quite a workout).

This recipe is super simple, but totally changes the character of feta. The rich and tangy flavor that’s usually packaged in chewy little crumbles infuses this smooth, creamy, and versatile dip. I enjoyed this whipped feta with fresh asparagus spears, carrot sticks, and my favorite gluten-free crackers, but the possibilities are limitless. (It MAY have crossed my mind to use this instead of tomato sauce on a pizza, maybe with roasted red peppers and fresh mozzarella balls, too. Doesn’t that sound amazing?)

Nikos Feta works beautifully in this dip. It’s not as overwhelmingly salty as some fetas are, but still has the wonderfully sharp and distinctive flavor that feta is famous for. It’s sold in a block or in a tub of crumbles, and either one will work for this recipe! I used their traditional feta, but I bet this would also be great with one of their other flavors (tomato basil, perhaps?). You can see all the different flavors here.

Chocolate-Covered Almonds

March 22, 2014 By Becky 2 Comments

Chocolate-covered almonds are my new favorite snack. With a little sea salt added to the mix, they are just phenomenal. Lately I’ve been seeing and buying them everywhere: Starbucks, Tedeschi, and Whole Foods each carry their own versions, all of which are irresistible to hungry grad students. I decided it was time to make my own.

These almonds are roasted, dipped in salted dark chocolate, and tossed with a bit of Dutch-processed cocoa powder. I can’t stop eating them. Although the chocolate coating is not as thick as the almonds I get at the store, which must be triple-dipped, this version still does a great job of satisfying my chocolate cravings. I actually prefer the chocolate-to-almond ratio of this recipe, which allows the nutty flavor of the roasted almonds to come through. If you don’t like your almonds roasted, you can also make this with raw almonds.

While I loved the way these almonds tasted, I wasn’t thrilled with how they looked. It turns out it’s really hard (at least for me) to get nice, smooth chocolate on something that has to be covered on all sides. Since I like everything I post here to be easy on the eyes as well as delicious, I was contemplating not posting this recipe at all; however, when I asked some of my friends on Facebook what they thought, everyone said I should go for it. So, here it is: a four-ingredient recipe for the most addictive snack on earth. I hope you like it!

Lentil & Corn Fritters (plus Lentils & Couscous)

May 23, 2013 By Becky 7 Comments

I made lentils the other day, and was really surprised at how good they were. They were easy to make and flavorful. We served ours on top of pearl couscous, my new favorite grain product. It made a great healthy dinner, and we had tons of lentils left over.

I got the idea to make lentil fritters, and invented the fritter recipe using masarepa
(my other favorite grain product). If you have leftover lentils, these are very easy and quick to make. If not, you should make this first recipe and have it for dinner with rice or couscous. The next day, you can make the fritters with the leftovers.

Ingredients for lentils:

1 pound red lentils, picked over and well washed

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon cumin

4 cups water

1 cube chicken or vegetable bouillon

Salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons red or white wine

2 wedges Laughing Cow creamy Swiss cheese (optional)

Chopped scallions and cilantro for garnish

Cooked rice or couscous for serving

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and cumin and saute until softened, about five minutes.

Raise the heat the medium high. Add the lentils, water, and bouillon. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about twenty minutes. The lentils should be tender and lightened in color, with almost all the liquid absorbed.

Add the wine and salt and pepper to taste. Raise the heat and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Stir in the cheese, if using, and stir until smooth.

Serve over rice or couscous with scallions and cilantro on top.

Ingredients for the fritters:

1 1/2 cups leftover lentils (from above recipe, or any well-cooked red lentils)
1 cups frozen corn kernels (no need to defrost)
3 scallions, sliced
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 cup masarepa

Sea salt
1 cup hot water
Canola oil or olive oil for cooking
Lime wedges for serving

In a large bowl, mix the leftover lentils, corn, scallions, cilantro, masarepa, and a pinch or two of salt. Add the hot water and stir to combine. Let sit for five minutes.

Meanwhile, heat about 1/8 inch of oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot enough, a droplet of water should bounce and skitter across the skillet.

Using your hands, make balls of dough a little larger than golf balls and flatten them slightly to form patties. Fry until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Be gentle when you flip them–you’ll lose a few pieces of corn, but that’s okay.

Drain on paper towels. Serve hot, with sea salt sprinkled on top and lime wedges for squeezing over.

Extra uncooked fritter mixture can be kept for up to three days in the refrigerator.

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