It’s snack time! If you’re like me, you love to snack- whether I’m studying, watching tv, or relaxing with a book, I always have something to munch on. At school, that means I’ve usually found a bag of chips or a slice of pizza, but now that I'm home for the summer, I try to choose healthy options to nourish my mind and body. Here are three of my favorite go-to snacks for summer!

Frozen Fruit Bowls... The Cousin of The Açai Bowl

Ingredients and Equipment:

• 1 large frozen banana
• ½ cup of frozen blueberries and strawberries (or your favorite fruit combinations)
• ½ cup Milk
• ¾ cup yogurt
• Granola
• Nutribullet or blender

Directions: (10 minutes)

• Blend your frozen banana with a ½ cup of milk and add a ½ cup of yogurt.
• After about 30 seconds, or when your banana is almost fully blended, start to slowly add your frozen blueberries and strawberries until blended to your liking.
• Add the rest of your yogurt as you continue blending. You may have to add more milk depending on how thick you want your bowl to be. It can also help to put the bowl in the freezer for 1-2 minutes while you clean up!
• Once your fruits are blended, pour the mixture into a bowl, and sprinkle your granola on top.
• Add any other toppings you like and enjoy a healthy snack that will cool you down on a hot summer day!

Avocado Toast... But Add a Little Bit of Spice

Ingredients and equipment:

• 1 avocado
• 1 slice of whole grain bread (or a bread of your choice)
• 1/3 cup canned corn
• ½ tomato
• Salt
• Pepper flakes
• Toaster

Directions: (10 minutes)

• Mash up 1 avocado in a bowl until you reach a guacamole consistency.
• Put 1 slice of whole grain bread, or your favorite bread, into the toaster to toast while you dice your tomato into small pieces.
• Add your corn and tomato into your avocado bowl and mix it together. Depending on the size of your avocado, add as much or as little corn and tomato as you like!
• Once your bread is toasted, spread the avocado mix on the toast.
• Now for the spice... sprinkle some red pepper flakes and salt on the top for some extra flavor and enjoy!

Looking for something a little bit more filling? Scramble 2 eggs in a pan to put on top of your avocado toast!

Chickpea Chicken Nuggets... Where Vegetables Are Hidden in Plain Sight

Ingredients and equipment:

• 1 can of chickpeas
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup grated carrot
• ¼ cup minced onion
• ½ tbsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp paprika
• Sprinkle of black pepper
• 1 tsp olive or avocado oil + extra for cooking
• ½ cup oat flour
• Food processor
• Spatula and tablespoon

Directions: (20-25 minutes)

1. Prepare your vegetables by grating your carrots and mincing your onion. Make sure you wash your carrots first and drain out any remaining moisture with a towel!
2. Open and drain the can of chickpeas.
   Note: Ask yourself: do I have oat flour? If not, you can substitute uncooked oats that you use to make oatmeal. Just place your oats into your food processor until you have a ½ cup!
3. Next, add your carrots, onions, chickpeas, and the rest of your ingredients into your food processor. Pulse your food processor a couple of times until the ingredients are combined but be careful not to over mix.
4. Moving over to the stove, heat cooking oil in a pan over medium high heat. Once heated, grab a heaping tablespoon to portion the mixture into the pan. Sometimes I even use another spoon to help me form a nugget shape in the pan!
5. Cook each nugget for 3-5 minutes and flip using a spatula. You may have to flatten some of your nuggets before cooking for an additional 3-5 minutes on that side. When the outside of the nugget is slightly golden you know you’re done!
6. Depending on the size of your pan, you can cook more than 1 nugget at a time and leave all finished nuggets to cool or enjoy as you cook!
7. This recipe will yield a LOT of nuggets which you can keep in the refrigerator for 4-5 days and reheat whenever you feel like a fun vegetarian snack. Personally, I like to dip my nuggets in tomato sauce or salsa for some extra flavor!
   

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