snacks Archives — Thrifty Mommas Tips

Easy White Chocolate Pretzels with Peanut Butter

Paula — Tue, 26 Jan 2021 16:11:00 +0000

This white chocolate pretzels with peanut butter recipe will hit the sweet tooth just right! Post contains affiliate links as a service to readers. I make a small commission off of purchases made via qualifying links. Are you a peanut butter flavoured treats fan? How about white chocolate? White Chocolate For the Win I love white chocolate treats and cookies and even chocolate bars or pretzels. One of my favourite things to buy at Bulk Barn, a local baking supplies and snacks store, is Everything Pretzels. They taste delicious and are loaded with sprinkles, chocolate chips and more. In fact, their pretzels are loaded so full of sprinkles and chocolate and dipped yogurt that half of the toppings fall off in the bag on the way home. We have these Betty Crocker Cookie Sheets and we use them often. Buy them Now – > https://amzn.to/39dTSiz Expensive to Buy in a Store Every single time that I buy these Everything Pretzels which look like Everything But the Kitchen Sink Pretzels, I have buyer’s remorse. Don’t get me wrong. They are CRAZY delicious and they are also big pretzels but when you are charged by weight as this store does the pretzels end up being about $1 a piece!!! Yikes. So, I kind of feel lazy and only buy a couple at a time…I know…I know…why bother? Well, the taste is just that good. I need to have their loaded chocolate pretzels when I am there. Another Kitchen Item We Rely On Don’t Be Without Parchment Paper. We use parchment so much! It is just less mess to cleanup. Easy to Make at Home For months I have been saying we should make these at home. These look simple, we could definitely make them. Well, recently I put my money where my mouth is…not literally. But, now that we are on lockdown again I told my teenagers that we should make some white chocolate pretzels at home. In fact, I think I said this looks super easy and I was right. It is one of the easiest recipes that you will find anywhere and it is so delicious. You don’t need many ingredients or much time either. Just know that these white chocolate pretzels will be gone fast so make enough to share. Here’s the Easy Recipe: Get the Ingredients Here – > White chocolate melts Milk Chocolate chips Peanut Butter candy bits Try These Tasty Treats Trust me this recipe is tasty and so simple. Now, I crave white chocolate pretzels all over again reliving the recipe. Enjoy!

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How to Make Soft Pretzels in the Bread Machine

Paula — Thu, 23 Jul 2020 14:38:00 +0000

Soft Pretzels in the bread machine? Sure, why not? But the question is how…I mean how do you make pretzels in the bread machine? Homemade Pretzels for the Win Most bread makers do a superb job with fresh dough, so use the bread maker for that portion of the recipe and then turn the oven on for the final baking piece. Easy, peasy and so good. Enjoying Recreating Travel Memories with Food Since we are all grounded right now and we can’t even consider travel, we are striving to recreate some occasional travel memories with recipes we make at home. I think that’s a common theme, with many families right now. Might as well eat well, right? Food Memories are Powerful There’s something about the smell and taste of food, sometimes even the feel of it that draws you back to a specific time and place. Food conjures up memories. It’s an emotional catalyst. Travel Back in Time That’s how we landed on these soft pretzels made in our bread maker. A few years ago, my daughter Payton took a trip to New York City with her theatre troupe and she fell hard for the soft pretzels that are sold on the street corners. She’s been considering those ever since and thinking about when and how to make them. Finally, we had time and the occasion to do this together. It took us a couple of tries to get the size right. But you won’t have that issue, because I took notes. This post will show you the right way to make soft pretzels in a bread maker. Ever since the pandemic began, my one daughter has been baking everything under the sun. She has been using our bread maker here for so many recipes requiring fresh dough. Late last year, we got a Hamilton Beach bread machine and it is my favourite small appliance. The bread maker has earned it’s keep and then some. Bread Machine Love Story In the last four months, we have made handmade pizza dough, about 10 different types of bread here, pretzel buns (a happy little accident), jam in the Hamilton Beach bread maker and so much more. This week, she figured out how to make soft pretzels in the bread maker. Now, I am not even a bread eating kind of gal or a carb craving kind of person. I need sweets and meat and all the protein, plus vegetables, of course. But bread and pretzels are rarely things that I seek out. However, that has all changed because my daughter Payton makes the most amazing and scrumptious breads, perfect pizza crust and soft pretzels. Enjoy these Easy and Fun Soft Pretzels Soft pretzels are a treat. This is a treat that can remind you of whatever place you last had soft pretzels. For my daughter, that’s New York. Where did you last have these?

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Healthy Satisfying Train Ride or Road Trip Snacks

Paula — Mon, 06 Jul 2020 14:57:00 +0000

When taking long trips, either by road or by train, it can be challenging to keep everyone nourished and rested. Most forms of public transportation, including trains, offer high calorie, heavily processed foods. And as for road trip snacks, even when you take a long ride by car together, you need to plan your stops and road trip snacks or you end up eating poorly and wasting a lot of money. Why Do Healthy Road Trip Snacks Matter? Without a stable arsenal of healthy and hearty options, your family can quickly find themselves tired, hungry, stressed, and lacking money. We take an annual drive to Vermont for a ski break together and we need to keep energy up for the drive. I’ve taken more than my share of train trips too. A few good, and classic options are apples, carrots, bananas, pretzels, cereal bars, beef jerky, and tortilla chips, and dips like hummus or tzatziki. One Snack For The Road If you can bring along a small cooler, or lunch bag you could easily pack it with sandwiches cut into squares before the family leaves home. If you are taking snacks for a road trip then this is no problem at all. A small cooler will fit in most vehicles. Sandwiches can be bagged and stored and ready to go. Be cautious if you are bringing meats or anything containing mayonnaise. You don’t want them to be out of the fridge for too long. The same thing could be done for Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches being mindful of others around you and allergies too. How About By Train? Taking the train for a lengthy train ride? Then, your cooler needs to be portable. A lunch bag for everyone works too if people are independent and the lunch bags are small enough to carry. These are just some standard and common ideas; however there are many other ideas that aren’t so cliche. Following are some details of some other delicious and family friendly healthy snacks. Tasty and Healthy Family Friendly Road Trip Snacks Kettle Brand Baked Potato Chips Kettle Baked chips come in many flavors, including Lightly Salted, Hickory Honey Barbecue, and Aged Cheddar. These chips are thin, crunchy, and are basted in a savory amount of seasoning. Kettle Baked chips are a good choice because they are all natural, have no hydrogenated oils or trans fats, no preservatives, no GMO ingredients, and no glutten. These chips can most definitely be found in a grocer near you. Use the “Store Locator” tab on the Kettle Brand site to find a store in any area. Larabar Granola Bars Larabar offers a range for scrumptious bars that are made of whole foods. One yummy bar made of unsweetened fruits is a new hit here. These bars include fruits, nuts, honey, chocolate, whole-grain rice, and natural spices. JamFrakas Bars are a wonderful option because they have no added sugars, or processed ingredients. You can get these bars in many different flavours, including Chocolate Chip, Banana Chocolate Blastocrisp, Strawberry Crispicrumptious, Peanut Butter, and Apple Crispalicious. Laughing Cow Light Cheese Laughing Cow Cheese comes in boxes of individually wrapped triangles. They sell them in various sizes on Amazon. Each triangle is only 7 calories, with a 1/3 gram fat. Laughing Cow Cheese comes in various flavors, including Garlic Herb. These are wonderful when spread on crackers. I like them just on their own too without the crackers. Keep these in the cooler pack or insulated lunch bag and you will enjoy them. If you are in the US you can easily order from Amazon. If you are in Canada, hit the grocery store in person before you hit the road. Rice Crackers Rice Crackers are tasty and crunchy and even the flavoured ones are decent in terms of calories, fat and more. Spread Laughing Cow Cheese on if you want to make this a pretty healthy option. Low Calorie Whole Grain Cracker Flats Cracker Flats or thins are light crackers that are sometimes made with organic spelt flour. There are many variations and brands that make these. The best cheese to use with these is Laughing Cow spreads. You can buy these crackers in various flavors, including Garlic and Sea Salt. Hummus and Pita Hummus is a wonderfully healthy and delicious dip made from Chickpeas and Thai Spice. Spread Hummus and low fat cheese on Pita bread for an exquisite and filling lunch like snacks. Veggie Straws or Veggie Chips Veggie Straws are a crisp, flavorful, and healthy substitute for chips. This snack comes in a huge bag, full of various vegetable chips. The chips include spinach and tomato, ranch and rosemary basil flavour among others. Veggie Straws are incredible when dipped in Hummus. The added value is that Hummus makes these chips an even more nutrient packed snack. I love these best on their own and I enjoy these all year round as easy lunch bag options and not just roast trip snacks. This road trip snacks Post contains affiliate links as a service to readers. I make a small commission off of qualifying purchases. Mary’s Gone Crackers Organic Crackers These are so good! We only just discovered these in the winter when we were skiing and planning more travel. They make great car, train or road trip snacks. I like the seaweed variation the most. Mary’s Organic Crackers are made of seeds and seaweed and all the good things. They are certified organic and gluten free. Easy Tasty Snacks Can Be Found There are many many options for healthy and delicious road trip snacks for long journeys. These options only scratch the surface of a deep pool. Eat each of these snacks separately or mix and match them for added flavour and nutrients. Happy eating… and happy trails!

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Try My Fun Summer Cooking Challenge Now!

Paula — Mon, 29 Jun 2020 14:59:00 +0000

Okay, so by this part of the pandemic none of us have any original ideas left to do or share, bake or make. We have been cooking and crafting and climbing the walls for months on end, right? So, what’s next? Maybe a summer cooking challenge is exactly what you need. This month, I might try one of those subscription meal delivery services again, just to change out up a bit. The kids like those and frankly sometimes I can inspire them to get involved making the meals with me. Occasionally, we also find a new favourite recipe out of the experience. They can be a bit expensive though and Coronavirus means I am being a but careful with anything packaged. Summer Cooking Should Be Lighthearted In the winter months, I am all about the crock pot dinners and Instapot meals. It’s so incredibly convenient to have that option. Summer is all about the barbecue here. Grilling and chilling. So, thank goodness we have a lot of barbecue meal ideas. Check out my post on 103 Barbecue gifts for your Grill Master. Take My Summer Cooking Challenge Out of creative ideas? Make a recipe with granola, a dessert with fruit or food shaped like an animal. Everyone loves funky fun teddy bear pancakes, or heart shaped red pancakes. Strawberry and fruit kabobs? Side Dishes for Dinner? Try to think outside of the box. A great risotto, noodles, or steamed vegetables with a sprinkling of cheese. Soup maybe even. Check out my Italian Wedding Soup recipe coming up next week. Give Some of These a Try Summer salads your thing? Don’t miss these awesome ideas for something new and healthy tonight. Print this one out if you want to remember it or post it on your calendar so you have these ideas for your reference. What’s your parent’s favourite meal? What’s yours? If you have any great ideas for new and creative things to add to this summer challenge, let me know.

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Easy Cheesy Breaded Cheese Balls Appetizer

Paula — Wed, 20 May 2020 13:22:00 +0000

OH MY GOSH, this pandemic is turning my one daughter into one amazing chef and baker and crafter. This breaded cheese balls recipe is her latest creation. Ever since the pandemic started here, my oldest has been baking and cooking like mad. The time, she’s turned her hand to creating some scrumptious meals and appetizers lately too. These breaded cheese balls are my favourite snack so far. This breaded cheese balls recipe is super simple too. Basically it’s grated cheese and egg, flour and bread crumbs. I mean, that’s a super simple concept. All you need for this is a frying pan and a bowl and lots of cheese. I may try another variation at some point soon to see if I can perfect them, with her help of course, for the air fryer too. Five Ingredient Gooey Breaded Cheese Balls In my world, when we bake or cook with cheese, we are forever looking for that perfect cheese pull. This was pretty close to a perfect cheese pull with these yummy snacks. It all Starts with Cheese Start with the cheese and get grating it. Oh hey, by the way this week I read something about a cheese issue – as in France has too much good cheese to sell and some may go to waste because of the pandemic and the restaurants that are not yet open. So, grab some of that cheese if you are at the grocery store. I mean, it’s your duty as a cheese lover, right? Begin with Mozzarella See below for the in process shots. These were so good, ooey gooey and the ideal snack food. You can vary the cheese up, if you want, but make sure to start with mozzarella of course. Bread them and make sure to use enough egg and flour. You need to heat up a frying pan. Last week, I posted these air fryer Mozzarella cheese sticks. So tasty and easy to make. Plus, I love my air fryer. It is a great appliance. But, honestly, I love these even more. Here’s a quick cheese balls recipe to make on your own and share with your own family as a treat. Serve With a Side Of… Breaded cheese balls can be served with whatever dip you like, but my favourite is marinara actually. These are tiny and scrumptious. The perfect little appetizer or lunch time snack.

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Tasty and Easy Air Fryer Cheese Sticks

Paula — Wed, 13 May 2020 14:57:00 +0000

I have been wanting to make some air fryer cheese sticks forever. Love my air fryer! Any excuse to make a recipe in there is worth taking time to explore. Stay tuned for more air fryer recipes coming up soon. Post may contain affiliate links as a service to readers. I receive a small commission off of qualifying purchases made via links. Mozzarella sticks and cheese sticks are a favourite of mine. My oldest daughter loves them too. Honestly, what’s not to love about cheese melted in a tiny handy bite-sized snack form? In fact, I used to go out of my way to find a Burger King drive through just to get some quick Mozza Sticks a few years ago. But we moved far away from Burger King and I can’t count on them during a pandemic anyways. So, like a million other people around the world right now cooking and baking their little hearts out, I thought I’d try to make something new here. How to Make Breaded Cheese Sticks in an Air Fryer Air Fryer Cheese Sticks might be a tiny bit messy if you leave them too long, but they sure are delicious! So, follow the mozzarella sticks recipe closely and don’t add time on. I often am guilty of this when I make my potato wedges. Not crunchy enough yet, I think and add 2 to 5 minutes, then they end up too crunchy so resist the urge. Also, another tip: don’t slice too thin! I did that with zucchini chips I tried to make months ago and they became mush basically. Might take another try at those later. Zucchini is pretty watery when you cook with it. Breaded Mozzarella Sticks I thought I’d try to make them in the air fryer for lunch last week. FYI, a lot of these recipes use cheese strings. I didn’t want to do that. Instead, I really wanted to use pieces of actual cheese, so that’s what we did. Don’t miss cheese balls that my daughter made. I will post them next week. They were fantastic! So, here’s the deal….the cheese pull from these was amazing! They melt beautifully and taste fantastic to me. Plus, I feel better about serving them or eating them because I made them in my air fryer. Also, this air fryer cheese sticks snack, or lunch time meal is easy to make and share. A Note on Air Fryers This is the Philips air fryer that I have and I love it. It’s easy to use and affordable. There are newer versions of this same air fryer with more digital features. If you are not as concerned about the cost then get the newer version of my air fryer now. I don’t use salt for any of my recipes and haven’t used any for years. There’s typically enough sodium in things like sauces to make up for it. Also, I try to control high blood pressure with diet and exercise so no salt for me. Air Fryer Love What have you made lately? Do you have an air fryer? Do you love it? In fact, I often says this but my counter space is prime real estate so the appliances need to earn their keep. This one earns its place. Are there other air fryer recipes you’d like to see here? Drop me a line and I will try my hand at something new.

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Easy Turtle Nilla Wafer Sandwiches

Paula — Fri, 31 May 2019 15:03:53 +0000

If you know me at all, then you know my love for caramel is bigger than most food crushes. In fact, caramel and chocolate combined are my favourite indulgence and I can’t ever say no to Turtles. These easy Turtle Nilla Wafer sandwiches are the best thing ever. I keep trying to find more ways to build chocolate and caramel recipes because it makes me ridiculously happy to bake with these ingredients. There’s really no way to mess this up in my opinion. Don’t Miss This Turtle Style Treat! If you like this recipe, then you might also enjoy this scrumptious Rice Krispie Turtles treat recipe. There are about 160 calories per two sandwiches. Worth it. These are a delicious treats and extremely easy to make, as you can tell. So fast! Your teen can easily make this on their own. Fast and Tasty Chocolate Treats These are the perfect bite-sized snacks. Chocolate and caramel and listen let’s be real…when you buy these at the store, you pay a LOT for something very similar that you can make at home. So, basically, you save money by making these. Sweet Treats to Share These turtle nilla wafer sandwiches make such a simple treat fast. Have a bake sale or a party coming up? Grab the ingredients and make these quickly. So very tasty and sweet too. I truly cannot get enough of chocolate and caramel. The crunch of the wafers in the middle of the treats!! SO very perfect! Not able to get to the grocery store to buy the wafers? Here’s the Amazon link to Nilla Wafers by Nabisco. Post contains affiliate links as a service to readers. I receive a small commission via qualifying purchases.

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Sweet Tooth Cookie Dough Bars

Paula — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 10:20:08 +0000

YUMMIEST EVER. That’s right. You know the great parts of Nanaimo bars? Like the rich, sweet, buttery filling and the smooth chocolate? Take all of that and then add cookie dough. That’s Sweet Tooth Cookie Dough Bars. Everyone loves cookie dough. I mean honestly I have teen girls so I know fully the appeal of cookie dough. These sweet tooth cookie dough bars are divine. My girls could eat cookie dough by the spoonful. These sweet tooth cookie dough bars are the best ever. Just look at these pictures. I am salivating remembering them. Time to make more. PLUS, all of the melted chocolate in the middle. Just imagine all of the bowls and spoons you get to lick clean. YUM! There’s a fair bit of layering here, which is time consuming, so make sure you have enough time to complete these. They are more than worth the effort and if you share these your friends will love you even more. Your New Favourite Treats If you have a fun summer event and you need to bring along the treats these Sweet Tooth Cookie Dough bars are just the right thing to make and share. They also work for holiday gatherings, of course. Don’t forget to check out this delicious recipe too – > Smores Cookies. And if you are camping this year please remember to check out this big Camping Recipes post. Everything you need here to make your camping adventure scrumptious.

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Easy Gooey Homemade Smores Cookies

Paula — Mon, 15 Apr 2019 13:27:52 +0000

Homemade Smores cookies are my latest easy family treat. OH MY, is there anything much that is yummier than melted chocolate and ooey gooey marshmallow? I can’t think of much else that is as melt in your mouth tasty as this little chocolate flavour punch. Nothing evokes a camping state of mind faster than a mention of homemade campfire smores. But, let’s be honest it’s not always super simple to set up a campfire and start roasting those smores. So what’s a sweet tooth to do? Well, how about smores cookies? Homemade Smores Cookies What’s your favourite camping memory? We have a few here. Often they revolve around hanging out after dinner sitting by a campfire with family and telling stories or singing silly songs. That’s often when we would get the smores ingredients out and roast them too. Whether you are hardcore campers or wannabes these homemade smores cookies are the perfect treat. I have one word of warning though. I have found these yummy little wafer cookies at Bulk Barn in the past, but they seem to be there only occasionally. If you spy them, pick some up fast to make these. Indoor Smores Cookies for the Win The the kids were small I used to do some fun activities with them in the winter, or even when we were all home sick. Occasionally we set up a small tent and camped out in the living room at home. Later on we built igloos in the backyard and played on the climber even in the winter months because kids need a lot of physical activity. This is a treat that you could easily build into a fun camping day in your home in the middle of January. They are meant to be a simple small treat and not a meal of course. But, if you are having a quiet day at home and the kids are bored perhaps you can get them involved making these small campfire snacks. Other Camping Ideas or Snacks A few years ago I shared this huge roundup of Smores recipes for readers to make and share. Here are some scrumptious options. If you are planning to go camping this year at all then please read this post about keeping skunks away from your camp site. It is a useful post to read before you go. Yummy Smores Treats Are For Sharing Do let me know if you make any of these smores recipes this year. Leave me a comment telling me which one you loved most. Do you have any camping trips coming up? Take a moment to read about Camping Mistakes Beginners Make and then if you fall for camping as hard as we did don’t forget to check this post out – Fall Camping and All The Reasons to Camp Off Season. Don’t Forget to check out Kerrie Mendoza’s Campfire Treats Post. It is one of the most comprehensive camping meals posts out there. Post may contain affiliate links as a service to readers.

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How to Make Easy and Healthy Kale Chips Now

Paula — Wed, 19 Dec 2018 12:18:03 +0000

I woke up this week craving Kale Chips. I know, I know. Who does that? Well, apparently I do, so because I was craving them for a couple of days and kale was on sale I took a break Wednesday morning and made a batch of tasty kale chips. Frankly, there isn’t an easier recipe around. This kale chip recipe takes Kale, Olive Oil, Salt and Pepper. That’s it. Four simple ingredients and they are done. Easy, peasy lemon squeezy. Dozens of Kale Chip Recipes Kale was on sale this week so I grabbed a huge batch of it and washed it up, then patted it dry and decided to flavour these lightly. There are zillions of ways you could flavour homemade baked kale chips. Garlic? Chilli pepper? Red Pepper flakes? Parmesan cheese or lemon, maybe even lime, can also make a wonderful variation. However, for me I like them super simple and crispy. Mine have got to be crispy or no go. So when you wake up craving kale chips and want a tasty healthy snack to share here you go….Don’t forget this recipe. Don’t think that kale is a taste you can acquire? Give it a shot at least once. You may be surprised. In the past I have found sometimes that raw kale can be gritty so you really have to wash and dry these well before baking them. Nobody likes a gritty texture in their vegetables or food. That just reminds you they once grew in dirt. So start by washing and drying extremely well. Originally I had no idea how simple it was to bake these for snacks. But we once received one of those food subscription boxes and the meal itself also contained a side recipe of baked kale chips. They were so much nicer than I ever imagined and light, as in not overly filling. So, after that original effort I was interested in trying other kale chip recipes and making my own. Now, this is my occasional superfood snack and it’s one I feel good about giving my kids. Tips Trim the stems off with a kitchen gadget stem remover or rip them off with your hands. Stems are a bit too fibre-y to be part of this snack and be sure to rip into chip sized bites as well as spread them out on a cookie sheet. Then enjoy! Make sure they don’t overlap. For a big batch use 2 to 3 cookies sheets. They shrivel up a bit as they bake, but you don’t want them overlapping or they will be limp when done and not crispy. These are much better if you eat them all the same day. I have not yet found a way to store them homemade baked kale chips. How to Make this Kale Chips Recipe Tasty easy and healthy - these kale chips make a delicious snack! A Good Source of Minerals These Kale Chips are a wonderful source of minerals and protein as well as potassium. Iron, potassium and vitamin A are all high in kale chips. Kale has a decent amount of fibre in it too. If you buy prepackaged you will not have as much luck with fats and sodium content, so be warned. I like homemade and baked kale chips the best for these reasons. They are simply healthier! Made them? Do Share. [tweetthis]Try this healthy kale chips recipe. It’s so simple to do. [/tweetthis] Don’t forget to leave me a comment if you make these! I’d love to know how you like them or how you made them your own.

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