Page 25 - Florida Sentinel 8-19-16 Online Edition

Recipes
Silly Apple Bites
They’re silly. They’re easy to make. And best of all, they’re allergen- free. No nuts, no gluten, no soy...nada. Just green apples, sunflower but- ter, sunflower seeds, a strawberry tongue, and a batch of homemade googly eyes (this is always optional but 100% recommended)
Directions: Cut the middles out of each quarter of the apple to create a mouth. Don't worry about perfection, you are fill- ing this gap with sunbutter anyway so if you cut too deep, you can always just cover it up and no one will know.
Coat the inside of the cut gap with a filling of sunflower butter. Place 4 sunflower seeds on the top of the "mouth" for the
teeth.
Place 1 sliced strawberry inside the mouth for the tongue.
"Glue" each eye above the mouth with a dab of sunbutter to stick.
Serve with a smile.
2 green apples, each quartered sunflower butter
32 sunflower seeds
2-3 strawberries, sliced
1-2 homemade googly eyes per apple bite
Maple Kale Crisps
This salty-sweet snack combination can be a great way to get some nutrient-rich vegetables into your diet. It is a quick after-school snack option for kids."
1 bunch kale - stems re- moved and discarded, leaves torn into even pieces.
1 tablespoon extra light olive oil
2 tablespoons real maple syrup, or to taste
1 teaspoon sea salt. Add all ingredients to list
Directions:Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Blot kale thoroughly dry with paper towels if leaves are damp from washing. Arrange kale pieces onto the prepared baking sheet in a single layer and drizzle with olive oil and maple syrup; sprinkle with sea salt.
Bake in the preheated oven until the edges of the kale begin to brown slightly and the pieces feel crisp to the touch, 10 to 15 minutes. Check often after 10 minutes to prevent burning.
Sweet Potato Soup
This easy Sweet Potato Soup is blended in just a matter of minutes so that you can whip it up in a flash. So if you are in the mood for some cozy soup, but do not feel like spending hours slow-sim- mering some stew, make this! It is made special by serving with some silky cubes of avocado on top. Crumbled jalapeno corn chips too. I season it with my favorite spices and accents like chipotle and citrus. And this healthy blend is loaded with vitamin A!
1 cup mashed sweet potato (from a baked sweet potato - all sticky and sweet)
1/2 cup+ No-Chicken Broth (or substitute vegetable broth) -- add more to thin out to desired consistency
1/2 cup soy milk*, original or plain or unsweetened fla- vors (I used Soy Dream)
*almond milk will work too
Add to taste (what I used):
* orange or satsuma zest (a pinch) * salt (3 pinches)
* chipotle powder (1/2 tsp) Garnish:
1/4 cup diced avocado
2-3 tortilla chips, crushed (I used red, spicy jalapeno chips!)
dash of seasoned chili salt
Optional: nutritional yeast, canned white beans (blended in), cinnamon, black pepper, cayenne, lime juice (lime wedge served on side), parsley or chopped spinach served over top.
Lower sodium note: salt is very important for this recipe! It brings out all the flavors of the sweet potato base! If you need to go light on sodium, however, give lime or apple cider vinegar a try to perk things up..
Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Bake your sweet potato until tender.
3. Remove potato skin, add to blender along with the broth and non-dairy milk. Blend on low until smooth. Taste a drop to see that it is slightly bland at this point. Add the salt and spices to taste. I added the zest last and folded it into the poured soup. 4. Serve with garnish or avocado and crushed chips over top.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 19, 2016 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 13-B