Afternoon Snack

Remember when you used to come home from school and rifle through the cabinets and refrigerator for the perfect afternoon snack? My favorites used to be anything salty or sweet. Really anything I could get my grubby little elementary-schooler hands on. In our pre-teen years, my sister and I would start our homework, plant ourselves in front of the television and watch TRL or play card games with the kids we babysat.

There was even this time when I was very young and I was walking home from school and my aunt drove by. This was pre-pre-teen. Testing my knowledge of what to do when approached by a stranger, she asked me from the shade of her car if I wanted any candy. Instead of running away and screaming, I asked her what kind. My family still won't let me live this one down.

I still get the afternoon snack attack and have been searching for a healthful idea that I won't feel guilty about, will give me the energy to finish a busy afternoon of work, but not fill me up so much that I pass on dinner.

I rode the cracker kick for a while. Crackers, fig spread, and a smidge of Brie felt decadent and quite satisfying. But I grew tired of this, and found a recipe for Carrot Cashew Miso Spread in Terry Walter's Clean Start cookbook.

I typically don't have miso and was not about to spend the fortune it costs at my local grocer, so I made some substitutions. This simple spread harmoniously blends veggies, nuts and the flavors of fall.

A mouthful of autumn, really.

And please slather it on crisp apple slices. While it's good on crackers, it's rather superb on apples.

Cinnamony Carrot Cashew Spread
(inspired and adapted from Terry Walter's Carrot Cashew Miso Spread in Clean Start)


5 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
3/4 cup raw cashews
1 cup vegetable stock + 1 cup water
1/8 tsp cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp sesame seeds (optional)

In a small pot of boiling vegetable stock, boil carrots and cashews for 10 minutes. Remove and put into a food processor with 1 cup of the vegetable stock/water mixture and pulse. Add cumin, cinnamon and salt and blend until smooth.

Question of the Day: What do you snack on in the afternoons?