My friend and Registered Dietitian Isabel De Los Rios, author of “The Diet Solution Program” has been kind enough to share some of her healthy snack options with us today. Try them for yourself and share them with your family.

Sesame Chicken Fingers

4 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast sliced into 4 strips
¼ teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce
¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon water
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 tablespoon toasted black and white sesame seeds

In a small bowl, marinate the chicken with the soy sauce, mustard, water, and turmeric up to 1 hour. Coat the chicken with sesame seeds.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the chicken in a nonstick baking pan.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until chicken strips are cooked through.

Healthy French Toast

mmmmm this is a favorite of mine…

2 Organic eggs beaten
½ cup Organic whole milk
¼ tsp cinnamon
4 slices of Ezekiel Cinnamon Raison Bread
Organic Maple Syrup
Stevia (optional)

Combine eggs, milk, and cinnamon. Pour into a flat glass-baking dish. Place bread into egg mixture. Allow bread to soak on both sides for a few minutes. Lightly grease and heat skillet over medium heat. Place bread on skillet and cook until golden brown about 2 minutes per side. For added sweetness, sprinkle Stevia and/or Organic Maple Syrup over top.

Apricot Oat Bars

These are easy to make and perfect for afternoon snacks or mornings on-the-go. Makes about 12 squares

2 ½ cups roughly chopped dried apricots
1 T. apple cider vinegar
½ cup oat flour
¼ cup oat bran
¼ cup quick oats
2 T. almond meal
¼ t. salt
¼ cup brown sugar
2/3 cups yogurt

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Line an 8” x 8” square cake pan with parchment.

2. In a small saucepan, place the apricots with just enough water to cover. Add the vinegar. Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil. Turn down the heat to a simmer, adding more water as the liquid is absorbed until the apricots are tender and moist, about 10 minutes. (You do not need to drain the apricots; most of the liquid will be absorbed.)

3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the oat bran, oat flour, quick oats, almond meal and salt. Set aside.

4. Over medium-low heat, add the brown sugar and yogurt to the apricots, mixing well to coat. Stirring constantly, add in the dry ingredients, mixing until forming a sticky dough. Press mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

HUMMUS

This is my all-time favorite fast food. It works well with pita bread, vegetable sticks or just a spoon and is great as a topping for baked potatoes.

6-10 SERVINGS

475g/15oz dried chickpeas, sprouted and cooked
2 large garlic cloves
3-4 tbsp sesame tahini
4-6 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Warm filtered water (if necessary)

Place the chickpeas, garlic and 3 tbsp tahini in the bowl of a food processor and process 2 or 3 times. With the food processor running, add 4 tbsp lemon juice and 2 tbsp olive oil, and continue processing until you have a smooth, soft puree. If the puree is very, very thick, leave the food processor running and add enough warm water to make a puree to the consistency you desire. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more tahini and lemon juice if desired.

Transfer to a serving bowl and flatten the hummus except for a slight mount in the middle. Using your finger, trace indentations away from the middle to the outer edge of the bowl. Pour the remaining olive oil in the middle of the hummus and it will run down the indentations, creating a nice pattern. Serve immediately.

DATE OAT WEDGES

If you can’t find oat flour, simply place oats in a food processor and process them until they make a fairly fine flour.

MAKES ONE 23CM/9IN CAKE (UP to 12 WEDGES)

3 whole eggs
1 tsp unsulphured molasses
1 tsp vanilla extract
90g/3oz oat flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp rolled oats
200g/7oz chopped dates
2 tsp grated orange zest

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5. Butter and flour a 23cm/9in cake tin.

In a large bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk the eggs with the molasses and vanilla extract until they are light and fluffy. Mix in the oat flour, baking powder and 2 tbsp of the oats.

Fold in the dates and orange zest and turn the batter into the prepared tin. Sprinkle the remaining oats on top.

Bake in the middle of the on until the cake springs back when touched, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack. Cut into wedges to serve.

CREAMY FRUIT PUDDING

You can stir any fruit you like into this pudding, particularly fresh berries.

4-6 SERVINGS
1 whole banana
1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 litre/1 3/4th pints fruit juice (e.g. apple, strawberry, cherry or grape)
6 tbsp (55g/scant 2 oz) rice flour
Plain yogurt, to garnish (optional)

Peel and dice the banana and place it in the bottom of a 1.5 litre/2 ¾ pint soufflé dish or mould. Pour the lemon juice over the banana to keep it from browning.

Bring the fruit juice to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk the rice flour into the juice, return the mixture to the boil and continue cooking until it has thickened substantially, 8-10 minutes. Remove from the heat, then pour over the banana in the dish. Let cool to room temperature, and serve with yogurt alongside if desired. This may be eaten warm, or chilled in the refrigerator and eaten cold.

TROPICAL FRUIT SALAD

This is the ideal dessert for children – it is colorful, delicious and s good for them. This recipe is just a blueprint experiment with different fruit, according to the season and your child’s tastes. Toss together the following ingredients:

1 mango, peeled, stoned and cut into tiny dice
Flesh from ½ small cantaloupe melon, cut into tiny dice
1 kiwi, peeled and cut into tiny dice
70g/2 ½ oz raspberries
5 dates, stoned and cut into tiny dice
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

Serve immediately.

CHICKEN NIBBLES

The almonds make these a healthier option then the supermarket variety. Leftovers can be frozen.

4-6 SERVINGS
125ml/4fl oz live yogurt
250-375g/8-12oz chicken (preferably dark meat) without skin
150g/5oz raw almonds
75g/2 ½ oz flour
2-3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Place the yogurt in a medium, shallow bowl. Cut the chicken into thin strips, add them to the yogurt and stir so they are coated.

Place the almonds in a food processor and blend until they are finely ground (but not so long that they turn into a paste). Add the flour and blend until the almonds and the flour are evenly mixed.

Preheat the oven to 230 C/ 450F/ Gas 9. Place 2 tbsp of the oil in a large, heavy roasting tin or skillet and place in the hot oven until the oil is hot but not smoking.

Dredge the chicken pieces in the almond and flour mixture so they are completely coated, then place them in one layer in the tin with the hot oil, making sure not to crowd the tin (you may need to cook the chicken in 2 batches, and you may want to add the additional oil). Cook until the chicken is golden on one side, about 3 minutes. Turn and cook until the chicken is cooked through and golden on the other side, an additional 2 minutes.

Repeat with any remaining chicken.

Transfer the chicken to a plate and serve it when it is cool enough to handle, with additional yogurt as a dipping sauce, if desired.

Enjoy these healthy and tasty treats and be on the lookout for more blog posts where I share more healthy snack options with you.

You ROCK! Enjoy the experience,

Scott Tousignant

PS If your diet is where you struggle the most when it comes to fat loss I highly recommend that you grab a copy of Isabel’s book, “The Diet Solution“. It’s full of incredible and practical nutrition tips as well as a large variety of tasty and healthy recipes.