Last year, my grandma ended up in the hospital in critical condition. She’s doing better now (thank goodness!), but because of the results of her lab tests and the doctors’ grave prognoses, we immediately flew to Arizona to see her as soon as we heard the news.
Always an extrovert, Grandma noticeably perked up when we walked into the room, and at least one of us stayed beside her, chatting with her when she woke up from her naps and speaking to the doctors and nurses that consistently popped in to check on her, from sunrise until well after the stars came out at night. Within just a few hours, most of us had the hospital floor plan memorized… Or at least the nearest restrooms!
Although we briefly went grocery shopping on our first night to grab a few things for breakfasts and lunches, we didn’t know how long we’d be in town, so we didn’t buy quite enough snacks to last our entire trip. As a result, we often stopped by the vending machines and snack station in the hospital when our stomachs started growling in between meals.
The intensive care staff must have grown used to families doing the same thing because they always kept their snack station shelves crammed full of food, along with gigantic dispensers of black coffee, decaf coffee, and hot water for tea. They even stocked a mini fridge with juice and sodas, and they encouraged us to take as much as we needed whenever we wanted.
By the second day, we knew all the snack station’s offerings: bags of black and green tea, packets of sweeteners, packages of saltines and mini graham crackers, single-serving tubs of peanut butter and jam, Cup O’Noodles, cups of chocolate pudding… And plastic forks, spoons, and knives for enjoying them.
Because of the chilly winter weather, most of us brewed multiple small styrofoam cups of tea to slowly sip as we sat next to Grandma’s hospital bed. Then with our sweet and salty preferences, we usually reached for the peanut butter, saltines, and graham crackers when we needed a snack.
Most of us loved the smaller size of the graham crackers in those packets compared to the standard large sheets that you’d find at the grocery store… But we all agreed that those particular off-brand honey graham crackers tasted fairly bland. At least a schmear of peanut butter helped!
Since my parents recently visited my grandparents and shared updates on how they were doing, those hospital memories floated through my mind after our phone call… And I started wondering if I could bake my own graham crackers at home — ones that tasted lots better than those off-brand ones we ate last year.
The result? These amazing Healthy Homemade Mini Cinnamon Graham Crackers! They’re bursting with rich and cozy spice flavor, and they have the perfect amount of sweetness to balance it out. They don’t taste one bit bland — SO much better than those other ones!
These healthy homemade cinnamon graham crackers are also really simple to make! You just need 1 bowl and 4 ingredients (plus salt and water!)… But no eggs, butter, dairy, refined flour or sugar. And each serving is 100 calories!
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