Easy Snack Jars with Gold Dip from "Little Green Kitchen"

These simple snack jars with gold dip are the perfect little bite for adults and kids alike. This recipe features fresh veggies and a peanut butter based dip with fresh ginger, honey and turmeric. Easy and fun snacking at home or on the go.

This recipe is shared with permission from "Little Green Kitchen - Simple Vegetarian Family Recipes" by David Frenkiel & Luise Vindahl of Green Kitchen Stories. 

Helping Kids Make Positive Food Choices

Encouraging little ones to make positive food choices is something I'm passionate about; making nutritious recipes for my family and young ones is something I love to do. 

Yet, even with all my knowledge and background in exercise sciences,  I knew I'd be in for my share of mealtime trials and tribulations once I became a mother. Dealing with picky eaters seems an unavoidable circumstance for most parents.

As you'd expect, our fridge is always packed full of fresh vegetables from our garden or the local grocer, and I do my best to prep meals in advance whenever possible. Luckily, my little guy is a fan of vegetables, (especially green ones). 

However, even my best efforts in the kitchen can be met with crying,  furrowed brows, and indomitably crossed arms. Some days, getting my son to eat good food (or sleep for that matter) just doesn't work. But, that's the nature of life with kids...things don't always go as planned.

Keep Good Snacks on hand

Nevertheless,  I do what I can to make life with an energetic toddler as easy as possible. And when it comes to food, one of the keys to encouraging good eating habits in our home is having fresh, snack-able foods available. Getting my son involved in the process of meal prep as much as possible is helpful, too!

Little Green Kitchen to the Rescue

David Frenkiel and Luise Vindahl are the creators of the very popular Green Kitchen Stories, a blog and cookbook series dedicated to vegetarian and plant-focused recipes.

David and Luise recently published their newest book 'Little Green Kitchen - Simple Vegetarian Family Recipes' which is now on my list of must-have books, especially if you live with little ones!

Why I love the Little Green Kitchen Cookbook

Little Green Kitchen features 70+ vegetarian and plant focused recipes made from whole grains, good fats, fresh fruits, and plenty of vegetables. The recipes cover everything from family meals, party foods, smoothies, fun lunchbox ideas, snacks, desserts, and more.

Along with each recipe are mouthwatering and heartwarming photographs and charming, real-life stories from David and Luise's life with little ones.  Each recipe also includes 'a helping hand' or 'adult upgrade' footnotes to either encourage your kids to participate in the meal prep or make the recipe more parent-friendly.

This book is full of vibrant variety, fun and recipes to help motivate your kids to love eating vegetables. That's what this book is all about and that's why I love it!

Why you'll love this recipe

My son was really keen on making these Snack Jars with Gold Dip from the book. This is a super easy recipe and can be made in advance for munching on-the-go or for quick snacking at home. This recipe is pretty versatile, too-we've swapped out peanut butter for almond butter, and we've also thinned it out to make a super tasty salad dressing. This recipe is:

• Easy and quick to make
• Vegan (if you eat honey)
• Gluten-free
• Delicious and flavourful
• Pack able and portable
• Easy for kids to eat
• Refined sugar-free

What's in the Dip?

The snack jars with gold dip are gluten-free, contain zero refined sugar and are full of ingredients like fresh veggies, ginger and turmeric. If you're not into using honey, you can opt to use maple or agave syrup instead.

What you'll need

The ingredients you will need for these easy snack jars with gold dip are straightforward and easy to source. To make this recipe, you will need:

• natural peanut butter
• honey
• freshly grated ginger root
• ground turmeric
• carrots
• sugar snap peas
• celery stalks
• or any other vegetable of choice

How to make this recipe

Making this recipe couldn't be simpler. These easy snack jars with gold dip come together in a bout 10 minutes total.

First, whisk together the peanut butter, honey and turmeric in a bowl. Add some water to thin the mixture to your desired consistency. Then, grate fresh ginger into the dip. Scoop the dip into 4 mini jars.

Prepare the vegetables into manageable sizes, or as desired, then place the vegetables in the filled jars and munch away.

Substitutions

This recipe is fairly versatile and you can add other ingredients or spices if you like. Here are a few swaps I've tried in this recipe:

• Almond, cashew or seed butter can replace peanut butter in equal measure
• Maple syrup can replace for honey in equal measure
• Turmeric can be left out if you don't like the taste, however, I find it undetectable in this recipe
• Add a ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon
• Use any fresh veggies you like

An important note on allergens

Because this recipe contains honey, peanuts and other possible allergens, I wouldn't recommend this recipe for babies or very small children, or anyone with a nut or bee product allergy. Swaps can be made as per above if there is an allergen concern and always let guests know that there may be an allergen(s) present.

A Thank You!

Signing off with a big thank you to David and Luise and Hardie Grant Books for sending me a copy of Little Green Kitchen and for allowing me to share this awesome little recipe with you all. 

Pick up a copy of Little Green Kitchen today. Dino Burgers or Rainbow Pancakes might be the ticket to your picky eaters heart!

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