Recipes with Helen Austin Health Trash |
© 2011 Helen Austin. All rights reserved.
As I write this it's mid-July – high travel season. And when I'm traveling, I want to snack. Just the idea of being
confined in a plane or car for several hours works on my digestive juices.
The weight loss gurus will tell you it's all right to snack, as long as you snack on something healthful. So when I
was teaching exercise classes at a YMCA in Jackson, Miss., and really conscious of my weight, I started making a
variation on the snack mix popularly called "Trash." Because I put stuff like soybeans it, my friends started calling
it "Helen's Health Trash."
Recently I took some Health Trash on a road trip with a couple of girlfriends. One of them is dieting and she
enjoyed it so much, she asked for the recipe. I told her how I made it, but she said she'd really like to have
something written down.
Health Trash can be made with a variety of ingredients. Try to stay away from high fat nuts like macadamias or
pine nuts. Almonds are lower in fat and walnuts are a source of iron. Soybeans are a source of protein.
Sometimes, especially when I make it during the holiday season to give to friends, I put pumpkin seeds or
pistachios in my Health Trash for color.
confined in a plane or car for several hours works on my digestive juices.
The weight loss gurus will tell you it's all right to snack, as long as you snack on something healthful. So when I
was teaching exercise classes at a YMCA in Jackson, Miss., and really conscious of my weight, I started making a
variation on the snack mix popularly called "Trash." Because I put stuff like soybeans it, my friends started calling
it "Helen's Health Trash."
Recently I took some Health Trash on a road trip with a couple of girlfriends. One of them is dieting and she
enjoyed it so much, she asked for the recipe. I told her how I made it, but she said she'd really like to have
something written down.
Health Trash can be made with a variety of ingredients. Try to stay away from high fat nuts like macadamias or
pine nuts. Almonds are lower in fat and walnuts are a source of iron. Soybeans are a source of protein.
Sometimes, especially when I make it during the holiday season to give to friends, I put pumpkin seeds or
pistachios in my Health Trash for color.
| HELEN'S HEALTH TRASH |
Helen Austin was food editor at the Arkansas Democrat for six years and has since been a
contributor to Active Years and the Arkansas Times. Having no formal education in either
journalism or home economics, she credits any expertise in these fields to a lifelong interest in
food and writing.
Helen's food philosophy consists of getting the best, freshest ingredients available, then cooking
them in the simplest manner possible. She and her husband, Jerry, prepare most of their meals at
home.
contributor to Active Years and the Arkansas Times. Having no formal education in either
journalism or home economics, she credits any expertise in these fields to a lifelong interest in
food and writing.
Helen's food philosophy consists of getting the best, freshest ingredients available, then cooking
them in the simplest manner possible. She and her husband, Jerry, prepare most of their meals at
home.
2 teaspoons butter (approximate)
2 teaspoons cooking oil (approximate; I use canola)
2 to 3 cups Wheat Chex or Bran Chex cereal (see NOTE 1)
2 to 3 cups combination of the nuts and grains of your choice, such as slivered
Almonds, cashew pieces, walnut pieces, toasted soybeans and sesame or spelt sticks
(see NOTE 2)
Salt and pepper or seasoning mix to taste (I use Konriko brand Cajun/Creole seasoning)
2 teaspoons cooking oil (approximate; I use canola)
2 to 3 cups Wheat Chex or Bran Chex cereal (see NOTE 1)
2 to 3 cups combination of the nuts and grains of your choice, such as slivered
Almonds, cashew pieces, walnut pieces, toasted soybeans and sesame or spelt sticks
(see NOTE 2)
Salt and pepper or seasoning mix to taste (I use Konriko brand Cajun/Creole seasoning)
Combine butter and cooking oil in a large, shallow oven-proof pan (I use the broiler pan that came with an old oven,
but a cookie sheet with sides – sometimes called a jellyroll pan – would do). Place in oven and preheat to 250
degrees.
Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients (except for seasoning) in a large bowl.
Remove pan from oven and tilt to distribute butter-oil mixture evenly. Pour in Chex mixture, stirring to coat with butter-
oil mixture. Season to taste.
Bake in upper third of preheated oven about 1 hour, stirring about halfway through. Turn oven off and let mixture sit
until thoroughly cooled before transferring to airtight container(s).
NOTE 1: Any type of Chex cereal may be used, but Rice Chex and Corn Chex are a little puffier than Wheat and
Bran, so they don't incorporate as well with the other ingredients.
NOTE 2: Most of these ingredients are available at supermarkets. Soybeans, spelt sticks and sesame sticks are
available in bulk at Whole Foods.
Photo © Robert Nystrom / Dreamstime.com
