Sitting at home with nothing to do can inspire people to take up some hobbies or activities that they may not be able to do during the busy school year. One of these hobbies is cooking. However, with quarantine becoming the new normal it may be hard for people to get out and go to the store to pick up the ingredients needed to make fantastical dishes. However, the Paleo Almond Joy Protein bites have a few ingredients that may be sitting in your cabinet right now. All you need are shredded conunct, almond flour (This may be hard to get, but a simple way to make a almond flour is to ground up almonds using a food processor), almond or peanut butter, maple syrup, vanilla, chopped almonds, chocolate chips and a bit of water. Making them is simple too. Simply combine all the above ingredients in a bowl except water and then mix them. The source recipe calls for using your hands to mix, but since this may not be the best idea in today’s climate I’d suggest using a mixer on low to medium speed or using a spoon to mix. Next add water to the dough so that it can come together. After everything is mixed, form them into balls. Again staying with today’s health guidelines I’d recommend using an ice cream scoop or a cookie ball scoop so that you don’t have to touch the dough. Once they’re in balls (or just in the bowl) they are ready to eat. Enjoy! Full ingredient amounts are listed below. The best part about these bites is that they are vegetarian, vegan, paleo, gluten free, and grain free. Anyone can enjoy these yummy treats.
Another recipe I’d like to share is the Mason Jar Spicy Taco Salad. This recipe involves ranch salad dressing, plain yogurt, salt, tomatoes, bell peppers, guacamoles, canned beans, chicken, and romaine lettuce or mixed greens. Of course these ingredients can be left out such as chicken or you can add ingredients like rice. Also by no means do you need to put these ingredients in a mason jar. For the dressing stir together ranch dressing yogurt and salt and then in a jar put in your ingredients anyway you want. Serve in the jar itself or place in a bowl. Full ingredient amounts will be listed below and similar to the recipe above. This recipe can be dairy free if you choose to substitute the dressing and yogurt, vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, etc.
Ingredients for Paleo Bites
⅔ Cup shredded coconut unsweetened
⅔ cup almond flour
½ cup smooth or crunchy almond butter or nut butter of choice
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
½ tsp. Vanilla extract
¼ cup chopped almonds
¼ cup mini chocolate chips
1 tsp. Water (more if needed)
Ingredients for Mason Jar Spicy Taco Salad
2 Tbsp. light fiesta-style ranch salad dressing (or other)
1 Tbsp. plain yogurt (or dairy-free yogurt of your choosing)
⅛ tsp. Salt
⅔ cup of grape tomatoes
½ cup chopped bell peppers
½ cup of guacamole ( or as much as you want)
½ canned black beans
¾ cup cooked chicken (optional)
3 cups of romaine lettuce or mixed green salads
Source: https://therealfoodrds.com/almond-joy-protein-bites/ and Diabetic Living
