Recipe: Grandma B's Cereal Snacks

Peanut Butter Cereal Snacks (Image Source: Molly Morgan)

This snack mix recipe is a family classic! Our grandma would always make this snack mix for family gatherings, vacations, and the holidays. My aunts and cousins continue to carry on the tradition of making this delicious snack mix for all family gatherings! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as our family does!

Switching It Up Tips:

• Change up the cereals in the recipe to your preference! For example, traditionally Kellogg’s® Crispix® cereal was used although it has become hard to find at the grocery store, so instead, I have been replacing it with Wheat Chex™.

• Switch up the butter for a plant-based alternative if you wish.

• Mix-up the type of peanut butter you use. For example, this year, I used extra delicious Thai Spice peanut butter from Cheryl’s Nut Butter!

  What I love about Cheryl’s Nut Butters is that they all have minimal ingredients and even the traditional peanut butter is absolutely delicious. Plus Cheryl’s has 30ish varieties of Peanut, Almond, Pistachio, Cashew, and Sunflower Butter - including everything from plain to sweet to savory.

  Click here to shop Cheryl’s Nut Butters and use the code MOLLY10 at checkout for 10% off (which can be combined with every day specials posted on the website).

Disclosure: Samples of Cheryl’s Nut Butters were provided to me!

Grandma B’s Cereal Snacks

Yield: 1 Pan (9” x 13”)

Ingredients:
3 cups mini pretzels (Tip: square or round pretzels work great!)
2 cups Cheerios™
2 cups Rice Chex™
2 cups Wheat Chex™
2 cups Kix®
1 cup dry roasted and salted peanuts
1/2 cup butter or butter substitute
8 oz creamy peanut butter (E.g. Cheryl’s Thai Spice Peanut Nut Butter)
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (or liquid aminos)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. In a 9” x 13” pan add the pretzels, Cheerios™, Rice Chex™, Wheat Chex™, Kix®, and peanuts. Gently stir to combine.

3. In a medium saucepan combine the butter (or butter substitute), peanut butter, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce. Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring throughout. Continue until the butter is melted and the mixture is creamy and smooth.

4. Pour the peanut butter sauce mixture over the cereal and gently stir to combine.

5. Bake for one hour. Throughout the baking time at about 20-minute intervals, gently stir the mixture to ensure the cereal mixture is evenly coated with the sauce mixture. Remove from the over, cool and store in air-tight containers.

Product Picks

I'm on a constant quest to try new foods, and products! Here are a couple of recent options that were a hit. 

Cotton Candy Grapes from the Grapery

UNIQUE + DELICIOUS CANDY GRAPES

These Cotton Candy grapes from the Grapery are full of flavor and delicious. They are super sweet and definitely have a cotton candy-like taste. 

In my opinion they are worth putting on your shopping list and can even double as a dessert. 

The Grapery website explains more about the way that these grapes get their unique flavor, its really interesting and worth a read, click here! And don't wait, they are only available for a short period of time, according to their website now through September 20. 

Pressed By KIND Bars

ON-THE-GO FRUIT

Sometimes schedules call for on-the-go options and Pressed by KIND bars are a perfect way to add in fruit on busy days or in lunch boxes! Plus the bars have a simple ingredient list and each has 2 servings of fruit per bar.

For example, the Cherry, Apple, Chia bar ingredient list is literally - cherry, apple, and chia. There is not any added sugar or sweeteners, which is great! Each bar has 130 calories and delivers 3 grams of fiber. 

They are also available in additional flavors including: Mango Apple Chia, Dark Chocolate Strawberry, Dark Chocolate Banana, Strawberry Apple Cherry Chia, and Pineapple Banana Kale Spinach. You can order Pressed by KIND bars direct from KIND Snacks website or look for them in grocery stores, Target, and more.  

Green Giant Riced Veggies 

INNOVATIVE VEGGIES

One of the newest ways to enjoy veggies is 'riced' veggies. The texture of veggies when they are chopped fine is so interesting and especially cauliflower, takes on the texture of almost being rice-like. 

You can make your own riced veggies but these frozen bags are super convenient! Plus they come in great flavor combinations like pictured here, Cauliflower with Lemon and Garlic. 

Once cup of riced veggies has only 30 calories and is a perfect side dish! Or try plain riced cauliflower as a stand-in for rice with stir-fry or even made into a fried 'rice' dish. Look for riced veggies in the freezer section of the grocery store. Click here for more information on Riced Veggies from Green Giant. 

Note: These product picks are not an advertisement, just products that Creative Nutrition Solutions owner and registered dietitian, Molly Morgan loves! 

Holiday Tips: Round-up

Today I'm bringing you a round-up of some of the great tips shared during the #HealthyHolidays Twitter chat last night!

Great quick tips from the chat included (& remember to check out some of these great people on twitter)! 

Healthy snack ideas that were shared to take on road trips included: turkey jerky, whole grain crackers & cheese, yogurt, bananas, Kind Snacks bars, nuts, homemade trail mix, or dried fruit.

@CuseSportsRD shared to check out the @greatlist #holidayfit challenge! Here's a link to the GreatList's web site for more information: http://greatist.com/move/just-do-something-challenge

Both @bxtraining & @JWLevitt shared that trying new yoga places when they travel helps give them more challenging workouts! I have to say I love to try and do this as well.

@Tiffbachusfit shared: Give yourself a break. When the stress of the holidays have you ready to scream, give yourself a much needed timeout

A tip from @EWardRD was to enjoy your food! Here is a link to 20 healthy holiday recipes on Liz's blog, click here.

Above photo from Elizabeth Ward's blog, with permission

Another great post I found on twitter last night was from @Deb_Lowther it was her healthy chips post! Click here to check out Deb's blog post and recipes for healthier chips like: apple cinnamon chips, and more.

Then last but not least, it came up that apple pie is a holiday favorite for some! Here's myBaked Apple Pie Parfait recipe... a healthier twist on apple pie from my book Skinny-Size It!

Baked Apple Pie Parfaits

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients:

2 medium McIntosh, Golden Delicious (or other varieties good for baking) apples, peeled, cored, and sliced

1 tablespoon agave nectar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

6 ounces low fat vanilla yogurt

¼ cup KIND Healthy Grains Maple Walnut Clusters with Chia & Quinoa (or similar granola)

Directions 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. 2. Place the apple slices in a small mixing bowl, add the agave nectar and cinnamon, and toss to coat. Transfer the apples to a baking sheet. 3. Bake the apples for 20 to 25 minutes, or until they are tender. 4. Serve the baked apples over vanilla yogurt and garnish with the granola.

Nutrition Facts (per serving): 230 calories, 1.5 grams fat, 0 grams saturated fat, 0 grams trans fat, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 65 milligrams sodium, 53 grams carbohydrates, 7 grams fiber, 39 grams sugar, 5 grams protein 

Have you sign-up for my #HealthyHolidays challenge? If not, click here to sign-up today!