Hi, My name is Darby Taylor and I’ve been a Special Olympics Alberta – Calgary athlete for over 14 years. I play floor hockey, bocce, and curling. I’ve taken part in all four of the SOA PEAK programs – a great way to stay in shape during this Covid craziness. I’ve also trained to be a Special Olympics Alberta Health Messenger and I’m very excited to be part of this new healthy athletes initiative! I’m sharing two of my favorite healthy recipes to make: Hummus Hedgehog and Microwave Nachos. I struggle with fine motor skills, so I like these recipes not only because they are healthy and tasty, but also because they are very easy to do! I hope you enjoy them too!
Darby’s Hummus Hedgehog Recipe:
- Hummus (any flavour)
- 10 baby carrots (washed and dried)
- 2 green olives (alternate options: raisins, nuts or seeds)
- Put two scoops of hummus in a bowl and smooth out the hummus into a round shape.
- Poke the baby carrots into the mount of hummus to make the spikes of a hedgehog.
- put the green olives at the front of the mound as the eyes of the hedgehog. (Option: if you don’t like olives, you can use anything you like to make the eyes such as raisins, nuts or seeds.)
- ENJOY!
Darby’s Easy Microwave Nachos Recipe:
- Nacho corn chips
- Grated low-fat cheese
- Salsa
- Optional Toppings: refried beans, black olives, peppers, or any topping you like on your nachos such as full-cooked, roasted chicken
- Pour nacho corn chips into a microwave-safe bowl or plate.
- If you’d like any optional toppings, such as refried beans and fully-cooked chicken pieces, spread the optional toppings over the nacho chips before the next step. It’s important that all of your toppings are safe raw (such as peppers or black olives) or already fully cooked before adding them to the nachos (such as canned, refried beans or roasted chicken).
- Sprinkle grated low-fat cheese over the top of the nacho chips and whatever toppings you may have added – try to spread the cheese around evenly.
- Place the microwave-safe bowl or plate in the microwave and cook on high for 1 minute. Check to see if the cheese has melted after one minute. If it hasn’t melted yet, continue heating for 10-15 seconds at a time until the cheese is fully melted. (If you’ve put lots of optional toppings on the nachos, it may take longer to heat up in the microwave.)
- Carefully remove the bowl or plate from the microwave – it will be hot! You may need oven mitts.
- Pour salsa over the top of the melted cheese and enjoy!
