Written by Liz of Bits n Bites.

'With festivities ringing out the “oughties” behind us, it is time to take a deep breath and look ahead to a new decade. If the holiday season proved to be indulgent times, as is often the case, now is the time to plan for a healthy start. The world has shrunk in the past 10 years. We have access to a global bounty of ingredients and recipes. Healthy doesn’t mean bland and boring anymore. Tired of celery sticks and carrots? Don’t know where to turn to kick-start your imagination for healthy snacks? Here are a few suggestions. (Three green bud' by ckaroli via Flickr. Image is licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike)

Websites: Healthy snacks

iFood TV
eHow
Whole Living
Eating Well

Some recipes

Kale Krispies

When you crave potato chips, but know better…

Ingredients

• 1 bunch fresh kale
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• sea salt

Directions

• wash and dry kale and rip into 2" pieces, discarding ribs;
• place kale pieces in a bowl and toss with the olive (or vegetable) oil;
• place a cookie cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet, and lay one layer of the oiled kale on the cooling rack;
• season lightly with sea salt;
• place in 225F oven for 20-25 min or until crisp yet bright green;
• remove from oven and cool for a couple of minutes.

(Purple Pink Kale' by Randy Son Of Robert (via Flickr). CC BY licence.)

Steamed edamame

Easy to cook and fun to eat.

Ingredients

• 1 bag of frozen edamame in the shell
• pot of boiling water
• steamer basket
• sea salt

Directions

• Steam pods in the basket for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and sprinkle with sea salt.
• To eat, pop warm beans into mouth. Beans are also very nice in a salad.

('枝豆 (edamame)' by yomi955 (via Flickr). CC BY licence.)

Hummus

A wonderful dip for vegetables and pita or tortilla chips, but also makes a nice spread for sandwiches.

Ingredients

• 1 can of pureed chickpeas (hummus)
• 1 to 2 cloves of crushed garlic) to taste
• juice of one lemon
• drizzle of olive oil
• sprinkle of cayenne pepper or smoked paprika (optional)

Directions

Mix all together and store in fridge.

(P1030711' by stu_spivack (via Flickr). CC BY-SA licence.)

Banana “Ice Cream”

Recipe by Rachel Ray

Ingredients

• 3 ripe bananas, peeled and cut into chunks, frozen
• 1/4 cup milk

Directions

Purée the frozen banana in a food processor until whipped (using the milk in small increments as needed to loosen up the banana), about 2 minutes. Serve immediately, with your favorite (low-fat) topping.

('Have you ever really looked at a ban...' by Zyada (via Flickr). CC BY licence.)