The Munchies - the Clean Eating Way

Who doesn't get the munchies?  I know I do.  I love potato chips, hot fudge sundaes, and some days, I just want a flaming hot funyun. Hmm, I'm starting to get hungry.  Well, there isn't a lot of clean eating options for a good case of the munchies - or so one would think.  Actually, if you're just a little bit creative you'll be surprised what you can come up with.

What I've created here is a cheat sheet of snack ideas.  Sorry, but since I mostly make snacks for myself, the variety here is limited to my own tastes.

 

Barbeque chips	Kale chips, seasoned with extra virgin olive oil, paprika, garlic powder, sea salt, & coconut sugar.
Flaming hot Cheetos	chickpeas, seasoned with extra virgin olive oil, paprika, garlic powder, sea salt, coconut sugar, and ground red pepper
Reese cups	There is NO SUBSTITUTE for Reese cups!!  However, if you eat clean long enough, you’ll find they taste overly sweet.  So, to get that chocolate & nut fix – try cashews drizzled with very dark chocolate.
Chocolate chip cookies	CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES J  Check out my post with a clean chocolate chip cookie recipe.
French fries	Sweet potato fries – cut up sweet potatoes into matchstick size fries, and season with extra virgin olive oil, chili powder, garlic powder, and sea salt.
Cheese & crackers	Just eat cheese & crackers.  But instead of a buttery club cracker or Ritz, try Kashi 7 grain with a low fat cream cheese.

Chocolate chip cookies

This recipe is moderately low calorie, but full of healthy ingredients. I'm adding some substitute ingredients at the end, so if your pantry isn't stocked the same as mine you can still make this recipe. 

1/2 cup agave nectar

1/4 cup sucanat

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 scoop protein powder (optional)

2 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt
1 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375.

Mix together sucanat, agave nectar, oil, applesauce, vanilla, and egg. In another bowl mix flour, baking soda, & salt. Add dry ingredients to the wet ones and mix well. Add chocolate chips & blend to batter. Form into cookies & bake for 6 minutes.

If you don't have:                                        Use:     

Whole wheat pastry flour                             1/2 whole wheat flour, 1/2 all purpose flour

Agave nectar or sucanat                              Maple syrup, honey, coconut sugar

Applesauce                                                 Olive oil

These are very moist. There is just the tiniest hint of fruitiness from the applesauce, but not enough to taste it as applesauce. The agave & sucanat give it a slightly different flavor - like a warm undertone of maple or brown sugar. It's also much more filling than a regular chocolate chip cookie (the protein powder and whole wheat flour are to thank for that). 

Can't believe I made it all the way to 18 days into the year before eating cookies.  Wow.