Giada's Feel Good Food (24 page)

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Spread the pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds on a baking sheet. Bake until lightly toasted, 8 to 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F. Spray a baking sheet with vegetable oil cooking spray.

In a small bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, honey, cranberry juice, and cinnamon. In a medium bowl, mix together the oats, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and salt. Pour the maple mixture over the oat mixture and stir until combined.

Spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Stir in the cranberries and bake until the mixture begins to brown, an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely before serving or storing.

Everybody loves granola bars, but a lot of time we buy expensive sugary ones at the grocery store and throw them in our bag without thinking. This is a homemade take. I love the smell of these as they're baking. Egg whites and dried fruit make them chewy—that's my favorite thing about good granola bars.
makes 16 bars

Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray a 9 × 13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish with vegetable oil cooking spray. Line the bottom and sides of the baking dish with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper with vegetable oil cooking spray, too.

In a large bowl, whisk together the honey, oil, egg whites, and vanilla extract until smooth. In a medium bowl, combine the oats, flaxseed, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Pour the oat mixture into the honey mixture and stir until the ingredients are coated. Stir in the almonds, walnuts, apricots, cranberries, and raisins. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Using a spatula, press the mixture into the pan.

Bake until light golden, about 35 minutes. Put the baking dish on a wire rack to cool for 25 to 30 minutes. Cut into 1-inch-square bars and store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

With a color combination as stunning as this, no one is looking for the fried potato chips. Kale is like popcorn—salty and crunchy and disappears in your mouth. The sweet potatoes are mellow and crunchy.
serves 4

Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Using a mandoline slicer or a sharp knife, slice the potato into ⅛-inch-thick slices. Put in a bowl and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Toss well. Arrange in a single layer (without overlapping) on parchment-lined baking sheets.

Bake for 12 minutes. Turn the slices over and continue to bake, checking every 2 minutes, until brown and crisp, 6 to 8 minutes longer. Season the chips with ½ teaspoon of the salt and ⅛ teaspoon of the pepper.

Remove the thick stem from the kale leaves and discard. Cut the leaves into 2- to 3-inch pieces. Put in a bowl and drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Toss well. Arrange the kale in a single layer on parchment-lined baking sheets.

Bake the kale until crisp and slightly dark on the edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Season with the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon pepper.

Let the chips cool before serving.

These are just amazing. They crackle and then melt in your mouth. You need very thin slices of apple; I recommend buying an inexpensive Japanese mandoline for the job. The slices are baked and then sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. I use super-tart apples, such as Granny Smiths, which are available year-round.
serves 4

Position racks at the top and bottom of the oven and preheat the oven to 300°F. Line 2 large (12 × 18-inch) baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly coat the parchment with vegetable oil cooking spray.

Stir the sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl until blended.

Stand each apple upright on a cutting board. Cut ¼ inch vertically off the right and left sides of each apple. Set a mandoline for cutting
¹
⁄
₁₆
-inch-thick slices. Place 1 apple, a cut side down, on the mandoline. Using the guard, carefully cut slices until you reach the core. Turn the apple over and cut slices off the remaining side until you reach the core again. Arrange the apple slices in a single layer (without overlapping) on a prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the second apple. Sprinkle the apple slices generously with the cinnamon sugar.

Bake the apple slices for 30 minutes. Reverse the sheets from top to bottom in the oven and also rotate them from back to front. Bake until the slices curl at the edges, feel crisp or almost crisp, and are deep golden, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Pull the parchment and apple slices onto a counter and let cool completely, 20 to 30 minutes. The chips will crisp more as they cool.