Balanced and Healthful Snacks

Mar 21

A few weeks ago, I tweeted a picture of a tasty and filling snack I'd whipped up on a whim. I was absolutely blown away by the response to my humble little post.

In fact, it has become one of my most popular tweets of all time.After some thought, I decided that this snack deserves more than 140 characters long description. Here it is.It all starts with an orange. A sumo orange, to be exact. I adore citrus season, and I'm always looking for new ways to enjoy some of my favorite foods. When I saw a pile of sumo oranges, a seedless, low-acid orange varietal from Japan, I knew I had to try some.I peeled off the orange's distinctive topknot and wound my way through the rest of the peel until I was left with a ball of tender fruit. Then I carefully tugged each segment away from the others until I was left with the flower shape you see above. The orange looked like it was positively blooming on the plate.Now, how to make this snack more filling? A single sumo orange wouldn't last through my afternoon of work. What else did I need?

My first thought was some nut. With heart-healthy fats and tons of vital nutrients, nuts have become my favorite way to round out a snack. Since I had a bag of salt-free roasted almonds handy, almonds rounded out my plate.I probably could have stopped there, but I wanted to add a third flavor. I had the sweet orange and the toasty nuts, but I wanted something mellow to take my snack over the top. I've been loving this goat's milk gouda cheese lately, and I knew its creamy richness would be a great counterpoint to the sweet and salty flavors I had on my plate. I grabbed my vegetable peeler and went to work, shaving a few slices onto my plate.

Nutrition Note: Peeling Cheese

Peeling cheese is a great way to get all the flavor of your favorite cheese without accidentally slicing off a hefty piece. Simply slide your vegetable peeler along one side of the cheese and put a few shavings on your plate. Ta-da! You have a healthful and filling snack that is perfectly balanced and easy to eat!

With that, a healthful and filling snack was born.

SnackfruitorangesnutritionrecipeJudy Dohertycooking 101

Judy Doherty, MPS, PCII

Judy Doherty, MPS, PCII discovered her love of cooking at her grandmother's side, stirring raisin oatmeal on a Saturday morning. By 15 she had her first food service job. At 18 she was accepted to the Culinary Institute of America, where she graduated second in her class, then went on to the Fachschule Richemont in Switzerland to study pastry arts and baking. A decade with Hyatt Hotels followed before she founded Food and Health Communications with a single conviction: food that is good for you should taste extraordinary.

Judy holds a Master of Professional Studies in Food Business from the Culinary Institute of America, a Bachelor of Science in Culinary Arts from Johnson and Wales University (Summa Cum Laude), two art certificates from UC Berkeley Extension, and the CIA's Pro Chef II certification. She has earned the American Culinary Federation Bronze Medal, Gold Medal, and ACF Chef of the Year award.

Today she develops every recipe on this site, shoots and styles food through her food photography and motion studio, and publishes nutrition education materials for dietitians, schools, extension offices, and health professionals through nutritioneducationstore.com. She uses the latest nutritional science and Dietary Guidelines to drive her creativity — whether that means a new twist on fajitas or Italian brownies made with toasted nuts and cooked honey. Her mission has never changed: help everyone make food that tastes as good as it is for them.

https://nutritioneducationstore.com

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