The Gourmet Cupboard

By Laura Gregory

When you want a snack, remember what food you try to eat? Chips and candy? What if you are trying to be healthy? Finding snacks that are hearty and that taste great can be a big challenge, especially if your go-to snacks are those that are rich in salt or sugar. Keep reading to learn how to make snacks that are nutritious and that gratify your cravings. All of the snacks discussed in this article are snacks you can eat even when you watch your weight and diet. Sound unbelievable? Check this out!

Dipped Pretzels are a delectable and healthy snack that you can consume that won’t make you feel like you are restricting yourself in taste or calories. Microwave a half a cup’s worth of semi sweet chocolate until it has reached the melting point. It takes two minutes to melt the chocolate and see to it that you stir it up really well before you try to use it. Try dipping low-sodium pretzels in the chocolate until they are coated and then lay them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet in a single layer. Allow the pretzels to cool at room temperature or put them in the fridge for roughly twenty minutes.

Tasty Tortilla Chips are a snack that you can whip all by yourself at home…really! When you get tortilla chips at the store, the chips are pretty much coated in salt and are really unhealthy. For this snack, you make the chips yourself with corn tortillas. Take at least ten corn tortillas and slice them into sixths. Put all of those pieces on to a baking sheet and then spritz them with a spray made from canola oil, chili powder, cumin and table salt. See to it that every piece is coated with the mixture and then bake the tortilla chips at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Give the chips time to cool off before consuming them.

Try fixing yummy caramel corn! You probably think that there is no way that caramel corn can be great for you since it is rich in sugar and calories. Check out this (much better) recipe instead. In a big stock pot, melt two tablespoons of butter and mix in two tablespoons of brown sugar, a quarter teaspoon of kosher salt, and a tablespoon of water. Whip it all together and then mix in seven cups of air popped popcorn. If you enjoy lightly salted peanuts, feel free to add an about an ounce of those also. Blend everything together until the popcorn (and nuts if they’re added) are well coated and then let the whole lot cool before you eat it.

If you are fine conducting a little research, you can find many snack recipes that are low on unhealthy ingredients, have fewer calories but that still taste really really good. There are numerous fantastic tasting alternatives for snacks that are both hearty and tasty. You’ll have to be patient so that you can find those healthy and yummy recipes and then prepare them yourself. It doesn’t have to be hard to be healthy. It’s in your power to do it!

Want to find out more about liver cleansing foods, then visit Dr. Laura Gregory’s site for a liver cleansing diet.

Going to a Halloween party soon and you were asked to take something to eat, right? You want to make something everyone will like but you don’t want to take anything boring, correct? How ’bout taking something homemade, something delicious to eat and that looks cool?

These Halloween Rice Crispy Treats covered in chocolate are easy to make and both look and taste great. These are the “tricked out” version, a much improved recipe and decorating technique to the normal squares you normally make for your kids. Learn how to make them into shapes of ghoulish ghosts, creepy bats or laughing jack ‘o lanterns. Make them into suckers by adding a lollipop stick or simply wrap them in cellophane bags. Create some homemade stickers with Halloween images on them or print some humorous gift messages on them instead. Or print off small greeting cards on your home computer along with the gift messages inside. Making greeting cards or stickers with gift messages is optionally. Only elect this extra step if you’ve got the time, but considerate it highly if you do have time. It will greatly increase the overall experience and affect..

You will need a small list of ingredients and supplies to make these delectable treats such as crisped rice cereal, chocolate coating wafers, marshmallows, Halloween cookie cutters and I have a unique and easy chocolate decorating technique I use to cover the treats. The chocolate isn’t the only thing that will have their taste buds jumping.. You could add extra taste with candy flavoring and also blend in some of your favorite fruity or chocolate candies. The candies will not only add extra flavor both a mixture of textures, the softness of the rice cereal and the hardness of the candies. You cannot find these in stores they are truly unique. I’ve seen some that are similar but not nearly as tasty or attractive.

Make pumpkin treats orange, bat treats black, ghost treats white or even create purple tombstones. Go nuts and decorate your ghosts orange or purple. Add extra design and flavor by integrating hard shelled candies both fruity and chocolate to create facial features or borders.. If you’d like to save some decorating time just choose one shape, like ghosts and make the same design over and over instead of creating multiple Halloween shapes..

Making these treats is fun and my decorating technique makes it much easier too. You should make some extras because you taste them yourself you may not be able to stop. I like to take them to work to make new friends and make the old ones happy. There are even some that ask me when I’m making them again. These unique Halloween Rice Crispy Treats party favors will be the talk of any party or take them to someone as a gift this holiday season. Consider making some for your kids’ teachers, grandma or grandpa or even your neighbors. A token of appreciation goes a long way, especially in the holiday season.

Have as much fun making them as you will eating them!

I remember as a child, my mother spreading thick, fudgy frosting between two layers of graham crackers. I fell in love with those graham cracker sandwiches. I’m still in love with them. But my horizon has broadened.

When our kids were young and we headed out on a trip, Merri Ann often grabbed a box of graham crackers and a tub of frosting—no need to make the sandwiches ahead of time. Now Debbie, our daughter, is grown and she does the same thing with her kids though she grabs a tub of cream cheese frosting instead of fudge.

But you don’t have to use frosting. A tub of spreadable strawberry cream cheese, the kind you often spread on bagels, makes for fine graham cracker sandwiches. But so does marshmallow cream. And if you like, you can make your own marshmallow cream. In fact, you can make your own graham crackers. We’ll give you the recipe for each. More recipes—like chocolate graham crackers and cherry marshmallow cream—are available on our web site.

Cinnamon Graham Crackers

You’ll feel good about serving these graham crackers. Not only is there no hydrogenated oil, but they have a high fiber content from the coarse-ground graham flour. These are not as sweet as cookies and much of the sweetness comes from honey. Because crackers are drier than cookies, milk is the perfect complement.

If you would like to serve something sweeter, sandwich two of these crackers with frosting.

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/4 cups graham flour

1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoons cinnamon

3/4 cup butter

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

For the sugar and cinnamon topping:

2 tablespoons butter, melted

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions

1.Mix the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.

2.With the paddle attachment of your electric mixer, beat the cold butter until it is soft. Add the sugars and continue beating. Then add the honey, extract and egg and beat until combined.

3.Add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl and beat until fairly firm dough is made. Wrap the dough in plastic and place it in the refrigerator to chill.

4.When the dough is firm enough to roll, lightly dust a countertop and a rolling pin and roll the dough to a scant 1/4-inch thick. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

5.Use a ruler to mark 3-inch squares. Cut into squares with a sharp knife using the ruler as a straightedge. Use a thin metal spatula to scrape the crackers from the counter. Place them on a well-greased baking sheet with a margin of space to allow for spreading. Use a fork to pierce the crackers as shown.

6.For the topping, mix the cinnamon and sugar together in a bowl. Brush the tops of the crackers with melted butter. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture over the buttered tops.

7.Bake the crackers for ten minutes or until the edges just start to brown. Remove them to a wire rack to cool.

Baker’s note: Graham flour is a whole wheat flour with lots of fiber from the wheat hull left in. You can substitute your favorite whole wheat flour if you prefer. Different wheat flours will lend a little different texture to the crackers.

Homemade Marshmallow Cream

3 large egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/3 cup water

3/4 cup light corn syrup

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

1.In a very clean glass or metal bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until light and foamy. With the mixer still running, sprinkle in the two tablespoons of sugar. Continue beating until soft peaks form. Set aside.

2.In a small saucepan, mix the water, corn syrup, and granulated sugar together. Cook over medium heat until it boils and comes to the firm ball stage (246 degrees). Do not overcook.

3. Drizzle the hot syrup into the egg whites with the mixer running on low. Turn the mixer to high and beat for five or six minutes or until the sauce is very fluffy and the consistency of marshmallow cream. Beat in the extract.

Note: This cream is of the consistency that it can be piped as you would frosting.

The Wisconsin Cheeseman's Facility

The Wisconsin Cheeseman® is one of the leading mail order gift food companies operating within the United States. The attractively landscaped headquarters and primary production facility is located along Highway 151 in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. Featuring an Old Swiss Chalet exterior, the charm and warmth of the European countryside is ever present.

Founding owners Garvin and Helen Cremer first conceived the idea for mail order food gifts while Christmas shopping for Garvin’s relatives in 1946. Familiar with cheese and sausage gift packs sold locally in Wisconsin, the Cremers’ developed the concept of promoting similar gift packages for distribution to customers through the mail.

They produced their first catalog, a small mail order flyer featuring three gift items, in 1947 mailing it to businesses and individuals. The catalog has now grown to over 50 colorful pages of festive, high quality gift packs of cheese, sausages, hams, jams & jellies, chocolate candies, fruit cakes, dietetic & sugar-free, and other delicacies. Great gift ideas for all ages and occasions!

We now make most of the chocolates, cheese spreads, logs & balls, jams, jellies & preserves that are featured in our gift selections catalog right here in our Wisconsin kitchens. Many of our chocolates and cheeses have received awards at both the state and national level.

Literally millions of people, including celebrities, dignitaries, service men and women from all 50 states share an annual tradition…placing a holiday order or receiving gifts from the family-run Wisconsin Cheeseman.

Gourmet Food Gifts can be found at the Wisconsin Cheeseman’s Website.

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