Clean Snacking: Salty & Sweet Edition

"Man it smells like Christmas but it looks like someone took a dump in the crockpot!"*

-the BF's reaction to crockpot cinnamon-sugar almonds. I know it's not pretty, but it is so tasty.

*This was followed by 30 minutes of giggling  over the term "Christmas nuts"

Look I love Christmas food, even red and green M&M's taste better to me than regular M&Ms. So this year I am determined to curb the cravings. Here were two big hit snacks I brought to parties over the weekend, which took about as much work as opening a bag of Christmas candy and binge eating it.

#1: Cinnamon Sugar Christmas Nuts (I know LOL LOL. But they're good and clean and sweet)
Servings: 10
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours (in the crockpot. you don't have to do anything)

Ingredients:

• 3 Cups Almonds (I bought a 5 lb bag for $6 and used some for almond crusted green bean casserole)
• 1.5 Cup Stevia ($2.00)
• 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup ($.50)
• 3 Tablespoons Cinnamon
• 1 Egg White ($.10)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/4 cup water

Stir the egg white and vanilla in a large bowl until it's frothy/bubbly. Now dump the almonds in the bowl and mix together until they are coated in the eggy mixture. In a separate bowl mix together the Stevia and cinnamon. Add the sugar/cinnamon to the coated almonds. Put this into the crock pot, add the honey/syrup and stir well. Heat on low for 3 hours, stirring every 20 minutes (it's about to smell SO GOOD, even though it looks like someone "took a dump in the crockpot"). After 3 hours add the water and stir it well. Continue cooking for another 45 minutes, still stirring every 20 minutes. Once they are all cooked, spread them out over a cookie sheet in a single layer and allow to cool, then enjoy the sweet treat!

 Christmassy Peppers with Hummus
(This is laughably easy, and REAL cute. Everyone was like "what a great snack where did you get this!" ha.)
Servings: (as many peppers as you want to use- 1 pepper = 8 slices)
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 0

Ingredients:

• Bell Peppers (red and green if it's a Christmas party..presh)
• Clean Hummus (Trader Joe's and Whole Foods have lots of options or you can make your own. I haven't ventured there yet.)

Slice each pepper into 8 slices, lengthwise. Scoop hummus onto each slice and serve.

photographic evidence of the "dump in the crockpot"

make sure they cool in a single layer