One of my favorite blogs to read is Kitchen Stewardship.  (‘Though I’m never current; I always have a “pile” of posts sitting in my feed reader waiting to be read!)  Katie has really done us a service with her newest project, an ebook called Healthy Snacks to Go. It sells for $6.95, and it’s worth every penny.

No Food in the House — Just Ingredients!

I will never forget having read about a fellow blogger’s son who, upon looking into the pantry, lamented that, “there isn’t any food here, just ingredients!”  That’s what it’s like at our house most of the time, too – and probably at yours, if you eat primarily whole foods.  That’s where Katie’s book comes in, showing us how to turn those ingredients into easy, and mostly quick, foods that we and our little ones can munch on.

Healthy Snacks to Go — Content

Healthy Snacks to Go contains twenty-one recipes, not including variations.  There is so much more to the book than that, though!  I was totally impressed by how much information Katie packed into this ebook.

To begin with, several tips are offered for tricking the tongue into thinking a treat contains more sweetener than it actually does.  Then there’s a section with a key to the special symbols located throughout the book.  It was at this point that I really became amazed at all that is in this ebook.  All of the following things are indicated by symbols throughout the book: sugar-free, gluten-free, casein-free, no added sweetener, grain-free, nut-free, raw food, soaked option, slight indulgence, frugal snack, pricey but less than processed, diaper bag/backpack-friendly, and some refrigeration required.  That tells you a lot about the sorts of snacks that are in the book!

All are made with things that I consider real foods – no white (or brown) sugar, etc.  Real foods that I can be comfortable serving my children all day long.  We don’t have any food allergies, but the ___________-free labels will be helpful when looking for recipes to serve for visiting friends who do.

But that’s not all.  Several other symbols are used to indicate special sections in each recipe.  First, each recipe indicates whether it’s “easy,” “medium,” or “hard.”  (But even “hard” isn’t really all that difficult.  I think a beginner could handle any recipe in the book.  “Hard” just takes more preparation than the average snack.) Each recipe also includes time-saving tips, added bonus facts, healthy upgrades, and frequently-asked questions.  Every recipe really is packed with information; they aren’t just lists of ingredients and basic instructions.

The final element I found helpful was the section about “basic snacks for the absent-minded reader.”  This is just a list of snacks for which recipes aren’t necessary.  The things we all know we can eat, but can never seem to think of when we (or the kids) are hungry.  Maybe you don’t have that problem, but I can’t ever seem to think of anything decent to eat, so this list was really helpful for me!

A Few Examples of the Recipes Included

I would have bought this book just for the granola bar recipe, since I have been completely unsuccessful in finding a recipe that doesn’t use brown sugar.  (The only sweetener in Katie’s granola bars is honey.)  But there’s also a “power bar” recipe in here (with a “zillion” variations), along with granola, a soaked granola bar option, a couple different muffins, spelt biscuits, wheat thin-type crackers, peanut butter kisses, stovetop popcorn, fruit rolls, applesauce, a couple other bars, “tater skin crispies,” veggie dip, potato salad, balsamic-n-spelt salad, rice pudding, and a group of ideas for using yogurt.  Many of these have variations with them.  All have a ton of helpful information.  The cost is given for each one, as well.

Hungry yet?  Click here to buy your own copy. 🙂