Kuo Kitchen - Healthy Road Trip Snacks

HungryDeb

Feb 8, 20193 min read

This weekend, my sister and I are driving to Asheville, NC to watch the Fed Cup! So these serious snackers need some munchies for the car ride. And when I say we are serious about snacking, I mean SERIOUS. But I didn't want to go with our usual grocery store snacks - though I won't lie and say I'm not missing the cheese puffs. So I decided to prepare a baggie full of DIY snacks and healthier options so we feel our best when we reach our destination.

Savory

1. Popcorn - I've heard how easy it is to pop popcorn on the stove but I never really believed it until I tried it this morning! I used my Staub dutch oven - put in about 1-3 tablespoons of cooking oil so that the bottom was just covered. Tossed in 3 kernels, put the lid back on, and set the heat to medium high. Once I heard the first pop, I tossed in 1/2 cup of kernels and put the lid back on, except this time leaving a little space for steam to escape. Shook the pot to let the kernels get coated in the oil.

Then I waited for the popping to start and stop and moved the beautiful popcorn to large bowl! Melted some butter and poured on top of the popcorn (along with a sprinkle of salt). Stirred it up and started digging in! Can't wait to experiment with other flavors.

2. Roasted chickpeas - I've tried roasting chickpeas before, and while they were good and crunchy, they returned to a softer texture pretty quickly. I read that instead of roasting the chickpeas with oil and seasoning, you should dry roast them and then season them afterwards. And it worked! Well, sort of. After one failed batched (burned), I found the right temp and time for my oven - 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 minutes. Honestly, you don't even need seasoning, but I put some salt and garlic powder on the batch after they came out of the oven.

3. Hummus and carrots - I.....will update you later on a good hummus recipe. It's honestly not my favorite snack, but I think it's just because I've eaten the bad prepackaged stuff. I didn't have any tahini, so I just improvised. We'll call what I made a garlicky, hummus-inspired dip, ha!

Sweet

1. Fruits - because what beats some yummy, sweet fruit!

2. Granola balls - I usually make cookies or something, but again, I was trying to be a little healthier this time. So these consisted of one banana, 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1/3 cup honey, 1 cup rolled oats, 1/2 cup ground/crushed almonds and chia seeds, and 1/3 cup chocolate chips. Oh, and some almond extract and cinnamon for more flavor. Just combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. What's nice is you can taste as you're going and adjust the flavors and consistency (particularly if you have a food processor). If you want them chunkier, keep as is, but if you want them smoother, then you can blend the mixture in the food processor. Freeze the mixture for at least 10 minutes and then roll into balls.