Happy Chanukah! Healthy Treats

Happy Chanukah Friends!

This year, I have created some fun and easy recipes to help kids and adults celebrate the festival of lights. Of course, the traditional latkes and sufganiot are delicious, but this year, let's make our menus a bit more exciting!

I am doing a very special hands-on kids cooking class at a Chanukah party this year and am excited to be making some new things. Check out the recipes below.

 

I am making:

- Grilled Homemade Nutella and Banana Dreidel Sandwiches

- Mini Star of David Fruit Skewers with Vanilla Cashew Cream

 

Grilled Homemade Nutella and Banana Dreidel Sandwiches

I adapted this delicious recipe from the blog: http://thedaintypig.com/blog/2014/1/31/macrotreat-fridays-macro-ish-nutella
 

Homemade Nutella

• 1 3/4 cups whole hazelnuts
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 3 - 4 pinches of  sea salt
• 2 Tbsp sunflower or safflower oil of choice
• 5 Tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup almond milk

1. Set the oven to 400F.
2. Place hazelnuts on a parchment lined cookie sheet, and bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown. Shake the pan after about 4 minutes or so, to rotate them. Once roasted, remove the pan from the oven. Let the hazelnuts cool for about 5 minutes.
3. Place the hazelnuts inside a kitchen towel, making a pouch, and then rub the hazelnuts inside the towel to take off the skins.
4. Place the nuts into a food processor or high-speed blender. Add the oil, maple syrup and vanilla. Blend slowly, starting on a low setting then moving higher.
5. Add cocoa powder and salt. Blend again for a few minutes.
6. Add the almond milk slowly, staring with 1/3 cup. Blend. Add more if you desire.

Sandwiches

• 1 ripe banana, peeled and sliced into rounds
• 4 pieces of whole wheat bread
• 2 Tbsps sunflower oil
• 3 inch dreidel cookie cutter

1. Cut dreidel shapes out of the bread. If you are careful, you can probably get 2 dreidels per piece of bread.
2. Spread each dreidel bread with Nutella.
3. Place banana slices on top of Nutella on one piece of dreidel bread. Then top with other piece of dreidel bread with the Nutella side down - on top of the bananas.
4. Heat sunflower oil is a skillet on medium heat and place dreidel sandwiches into the pan. lightly press sandwiches down and flip once they are golden brown and a bit crispy - just like a grilled cheese sandwich. Serve hot.

 

Mini Star of David Fruit Skewers with Vanilla Cashew Cream

Cashew Cream

• 1 cup raw cashews, rinsed and then soaked overnight
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of sea salt

1. Discard soaking water from cashews and place cashews in a high speed blender or food processor. Add enough water to almost cover the cashews. Blend until creamy.
2. Add remaining ingredients and blend until full incorporated and creamy. Spoon into a serving bowl.

Fruit Skewers

• fresh fruit (such as apples, pears, grapes, berries)
• 1/2 lemon
• 6 inch wooden skewers
• mini Star of David cookie cutter

1. Wash and cut fruit into bite sized pieces and use mini Star of David cookie cutter to cut shapes into apples and pears. Squeeze the juice from 1/2 a lemon onto apples and pears so it does not brown.
2. Skewer fruit onto wooden skewers and place onto a serving platter. Serve with cashew cream.

 

Here are a couple of other great ideas to make this Chanukah delicious! I hope you enjoy!!!