LAST MINUTE HEALTHY LIGHT BITES FOR CHRISTMAS

If you do not have time to cook and still want to offer some home made -and healthy - snack to your guests, here is three super easy and super delicious recipe. Preparation time about 10 minutes including tidy-up time.

                                                                                                                   

As I promised - this time I have 3 healthy recipes for you.

I used chocolate at all three recipes, which gives a luxury taste, but as it used only as a thin covering, does not result in very high calories. It is worth to choose very high-quality chocolate though. So these little bites - consumed with a limit - can reduce sweet cravings in the Christmas season if you are on a weight loss diet.

The always winner:

Pecan nuts in white boots

Ingredients:
Pecan nuts halves
White chocolate
Desiccated coconut

Place plain cocktail sticks into the middle of the pecan nuts halves, this makes easier to dip the halves into the chocolate. You can use a tweezer too - but the sticks are the safest option. Scatter the coconut onto a small plate. Place baking paper on a cold surface (like a plate or slate board cooled in the fridge). Melt the chocolate over a pan filled with boiling water. Make sure you do not overheat the chocolate, as soon as it melted remove it from the heat and start dipping the bottom half of the nut halves (holding by the cocktail sticks) into the chocolate then into the coconut and place them on the cooled surface to firm up. Remove the cocktail stickers. And that's it. As soon as the chocolate firm they are ready to consume. These little bites can be made advance a couple of days ahead and kept in an airtight container.

The unexpected:

Almonds in prune nest with chocolate blanket

Ingredients:
Stoned soft prunes
Milk chocolate
Roasted whole almonds

 

I have got home made dried prunes, so I had to use a cocktail stick to keep my "nests" closed, but if you use soft prunes from the supermarket you can just push one almond into each prune and dip them into the melted chocolate. So first step to fill every each prune with one whole almond, then dip half of the prune into the melted chocolate. Playing with the different textures - crunchy  almond and soft prunes - gives a lovely snack. The chocolate not just holds the bites together, but it complements the taste of the dried fruit and the almond too.

And finally my favourite:

Chocolatey Clementine segments

Ingredients:
Clementine skin thoroughly removed and broken into segments
Dark chocolate
To decorate: white chocolate or clementine zest (optional)

Melt the dark chocolate as described in the first recipe. Pinching one end of the clementine segments dip them into the chocolate then place them on a cool surface covered by baking paper to firm up. You can decorate them with white chocolate or clementine zest. Use strictly good quality dark chocolate here, I tried this recipe with milk chocolate too, and it just does not work. However clementine and dark chocolate are the best friends - heaven.These needs to be consumed within a reasonable time as the clementines can dry out quickly.

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I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

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