As Fall arrives, with cooler temperatures and the leaves changing colors, try this delicious and health-conscious trio of treats featuring seasonal ingredients like pumpkin, apples and cranberries!
Autumn Harvest Popcorn Bars
These bars have fun Fall inspired ingredients as “mix-ins” like apples and cranberries and a base made of almond butter plus a touch of honey. The addition of sea salt and vanilla, along with crunchy popcorn, tops the recipe off perfectly! These bars are easy to make, have just the right amount of sweetness and a nice texture. They are great for a snack, dessert or as a fun treat to bring to a party or gathering
Ingredients:
½ cup creamy or crunchy unsalted natural almond butter (or sunflower butter for those with nut allergies)
3 tablespoons honey
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup chopped dried apple rings
¼ cup dried cranberries
2 cups air popped or store-bought light popcorn (plain or lightly salted)
Wax or parchment paper
Directions:
In a medium sized bowl, combine the almond butter, honey, sea salt and vanilla together and mix well. Stir in the chopped apple, cranberries and popcorn. Press mixture into an 8 by 8-inch pan. (Lining the pan with a large rectangular piece of parchment paper, placing the mixture on one side and then folding the paper over to press the mixture down works nicely since the dough is very sticky.) Chill in the freezer for one hour or the fridge for several hours until firm. Cut into 8 squares and serve. Store in the fridge.
Makes 8 bars
Serving size: 1/8th of recipe: Calories 170 Protein 4 g Carb 22 g Fiber 4 g Sugars 16 g Fat 9 g Saturated fat 1 g Sodium 40 mg
Pumpkin Almond Apple Slices
This delicious snack is super quick and easy to prepare and combines just a few simple ingredients. The combination of apples, almonds and just a tad of pumpkin butter adds tasty Fall flavor.
Ingredients:
1 large sized apple
3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon almond butter
2 1/2 teaspoons pre-prepared pumpkin butter
Sea salt
Directions:
Cut apple from top to bottom to make ten 1/4-inch slices. Spread each slice with 1 teaspoon of almond butter and 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin butter. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve immediately.
Makes 2 servings
Serving size: 5 apple slices: Calories 248 Protein 6 g Carb 26 g Fiber 2 g Sugars 18 g Fat 14 g Saturated fat l.5 g Sodium 155 mg
One apple slice: Calories 50 Protein 1 g Carb 5 g Fiber 2 g Sugars 4 g Fat 3 g Saturated fat < 0.5 g Sodium 25 mg
Pumpkin Power Muffins
This muffin has it all- whole grains, lots of protein, fiber, fruits and veggies, plus it tastes great as a Fall breakfast, snack or dessert. You can make them jumbo or regular sized.
Ingredients:
2 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup oat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
6 tablespoons unflavored protein powder
3 medium sized over ripe bananas, mashed
6 tablespoons liquid egg white
6 packed tablespoons brown sugar
½ cup pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
cooking spray
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pie spice, cinnamon and protein powder in a small bowl. In a large bowl, mix together the mashed banana, pumpkin, brown sugar, vanilla and egg whites. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix well. Stir in the oats until well combined. Spoon into 6 jumbo size muffin pan cups (or 12 regular sized) which has been coated with cooking spray and bake on the bottom rack of the oven for about 30-35 minutes, until top is firm, lightly browned and a toothpick comes out mostly clean when inserted into the center.
Makes six jumbo muffins or twelve regular-sized muffins.
Serving size 1 jumbo muffin Calories 290 Protein 13 g Carb 53 g Fiber 6 g Sugars 22 g Fat 3 g Saturated fat 0 g Sodium 190 mg
Serving size 1 regular sized muffin Calories 145 Protein 6.5 g Carb 26 g Fiber 3 g Sugars 11 g Fat 1.5 g Saturated fat 0 g Sodium 95 mg