Green Olives & Ham

The weather outside is frightful ...

... and the brownies are so delightful.  And since there's nowhere to go, make some dough, make some dough, make some dough.

In honor of National Brownie Day yesterday, and the pending snow storm today, we made brownies.  We used this recipe and added walnuts.

We also baked a vegan version of this recipe using applesauce instead of butter and ener-g egg replacers.  We had a taste test, and what do you know -- the recipe that used a whole stick of butter was so much tastier!

We do a lot of vegan baking in this house because it's healthier and because my daughter and I were licking the spoons, and having a great time, until we realized this recipe includes raw eggs.  Ya, I think we'll stick with vegan baking.

- Michelle

Berrylicious smoothie

So our last couple of posts were about snow.  You would think after all this talk of snow, we would be curled up with some hot chocolate, but no we're actually curled up with an ice cold smoothie.  I mean it is our letter "S" week.

This smoothie is called "The Brain Booster", and I did not create it or name it.  The recipe is from Eat This Not That! for Kids! and consists of:

1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup raspberries
3/4 cup pineapple orange juice (we used orange juice, not pineapple orange)
1/2 cup low fat vanilla yogurt (we used strawberry)
1 cup ice (about 6 cubes) (we did not use ice because the blueberries and raspberries were frozen)

I did take a picture, but I'm afraid you wouldn't try this scrumptious and so satisfying smoothie because of my picture taking inabilities.  Picture taking may not be one of my strengths, but I sure know my letter S words.

- Michelle

I'm still waiting .... where is this brain boost they speak of?

Today was a pumpkin day

I love to do food posts and seriously if I was any good at cooking or baking, I would do a food blog.  Well, except for the gaining weight part.  But it's funny how November was our Nutrition theme, and we did very little experimenting with food, until today.

First, we made pumpkin butter from Weelicious.  It was (I mean is) so good.  I didn't really like it on bread or crackers, so we decided to make vegan pumpkin cranberry bread.  The bread was sort of an experiment because we used this recipe (also from Weelicious), but made it vegan by substituting Earth Balance butter for the butter, maple syrup instead of Agave, Ener-G Egg Replacers, and we didn't use any pear anything, we just used extra pumpkin.  And to be honest, I wasn't 100% happy with it, but it was edible with the pumpkin butter.

I don't have a picture because I turned my back for one second, and my daughter was digging in to the whole loaf.  She really loved this bread, which is great because pumpkin is a "Super Food".

I always suggest cooking or baking with children.  Because they learn so much, and I think they're more likely to eat it if they've helped prepare it.  But I will also mention that it can sometimes be a bit of a challenge because again I turned my back for one second and the cranberries were in the maple syrup.  And I was very close to ditching the whole project at that point.  But my daughter loves to bake, so we continued with the bread.  And I even gave her a little bowl and let her mix whatever she wanted.  She had a bowl filled with flour and brown sugar (we didn't use brown sugar in the bread, though), and she was loving every minute of it.

Next on our pumpkin to do list is a pumpkin smoothie!

- Michelle

Avocado: It's Not just for Guacamole, anymore

As we begin our lessons in Nutrition (focusing on fruits & vegetables), it occurs to me that I'm going to be eating a lot more than I should.  My daughter is going through a pretty picky eating stage (of course, it appears to be more than a stage, since it has been going on for quite sometime).  But I feel confident that at some point, she's going to be eating the healthiest of foods.

Avocado's are probably one of my favorite things, and I very rarely eat guacamole.  I love adding avocado's to sandwiches and quesadillas.  They are a great addition to turkey, tuna, grilled cheese, or mozzarella and tomato sandwiches, and avocado's are so healthy.  I'm sure you don't need a lesson in Nutrition, but most of the fat in avocado's is monounsaturated fat (a.k.a. good fat).  They have more potassium than bananas.  They are also rich in B vitamins, vitamin E, and Vitamin K, and are a good source of Fiber.

If that isn't a SuperFood, I don't know what is.  So it seems like a good idea to try and get my daughter to eat avocado's.  One way to do that was to make avocado muffins.  And not just avocado muffins, but avocado, banana, and mango muffins.  The recipe can be viewed at Recipezaar.

We followed the recipe pretty closely except that we made these Vegan by using Ener-G Egg Replacements and Earth Balance Vegan Butter.  We used frozen mango's that were thawed and then run through the food processor.  We did add Walnuts, and kept them in the oven for a lot less than 35 minutes.  These muffins were so good and so good for us!

Okay, I say this all the time, but I'm aware of how silly the above photo looks.  I really haven't quite figured out the whole picture taking thing.  But seriously, these are really good!

Next time we make them (which will be soon), we'll try some whole wheat flour and a little less sugar.

My daughter has really taken an interest in baking.  She helped me with these by:  unwrapping the earth balance butter and putting it in the bowl, pouring the flour and sugar into the bowls, and stirring the dry ingredients (which is her favorite part).  Baking or cooking with children can get pretty messy, but I think they learn so much, and as so many "experts" say, when children are involved in the process of cooking/baking, they're more likely to eat the food.  I don't know how sure I am of this idea, but I'm going to keep trying anything to get my daughter to eat healthier foods.

^{- Michelle}

'Tis the Season for Pumpkin Pancakes

Here I go again with another food post. Yes, really I should write a food blog, but I'm no cook.  I just like to eat.  And most childcare centers provide food for the children, so this is on topic. 

Did I ever mention, how I feel that children should bring their own food to daycare?  Don't get me wrong, I think everything that childcare providers do is great, but I also think that childcare providers, especially at home, who are the only adults present are much too busy to be preparing food for breakfast, lunch, and snacks.  Not to mention the cost associated with food.  Okay, I'll move on because I know if children brought their own food to daycare, that would be a whole nother set of issues like children swiping what's on their friend's plate (and yes I did mean to type "nother").

I thought that this morning on this frightfully cold October day that I would share our warm and oh so comforting breakfast:  Pumpkin Pancakes.  Yep, that's it and it was delicious.

These were not homemade.  I used "Maple Grove Farms Buttermilk & Honey Pancake Mix".  I (sorry we) followed the directions for 6 servings and added one tablespoon (if I'm being honest here, it was one heeeeeeaping tablespoon of Libby's Canned Pumpkin and a little bit of cinnamon.

My daughter helped me with these by whisk, whisk, whisk the eggs, GENTLY whisk the eggs, merrily merrily merrily ...

These were not only delicious, but a great source of Vitamin A.  Now my only question is, what shall we do with the leftover pumpkin?  Cookies, perhaps?

- Michelle

Better Breakfast - P.B. & H

Since today is 9/29, I'm guessing this will be my final edition of September's Better Breakfast.  So here it is:

Peanut Butter on an English Muffin, drizzled with honey (or you could do it as a bagel).  You can also add banana to the english muffin/bagel, but as you can see, I prefer the banana on the side.

If you are in a no peanut butter house or school, you can substitute Almond or Cashew Butter.  And of course if your child (ren) has not been introduced to honey yet, you can substitute Agave Nectar or even pure Maple Syrup.

Better Breakfast - Strawberry Chocolate "Banilla" Smoothie

For those of you who are new here, September is Better Breakfast Month.  So here's my second idea for a "Better Breakfast".

Besides Cheerios, smoothies have got to be my favorite breakfast.  Pretty much anything goes in a smoothie.  This is what I like to call "Strawberry Chocolate "Banilla" Smoothie" and it includes:

9 Frozen Strawberries (Not sure why it was 9?)
1/2 Cup 2% Milk (This was a very thick Smoothie, so you may need to add more milk)
1 Tablespoon Stonyfield Farm's Organic "Yo Kids Banilla Yogurt"
1 Scoop Kidz SuperFood (Click here to view my post on Kidz SuperFood)

This is a smoothielicous breakfast, indeed!

- Michelle

Better Breakfast - Green Eggs & Ham

In honor of Better Breakfast Month, throughout the month of September, I'm going to post a breakfast idea here or there.  Of course since I'm not a Chef, the ideas will not be my own creations, but they will be yummy!

The first one is Green Eggs & Ham, of course, and there are many different ways to prepare Green Eggs & Ham, but you must check out the recipe posted at Weelicious.com.  Click on the link if you DO like Green Eggs & Ham as much as I like them "Sam-I-Am". 

Pair these Green Eggs & Ham with some whole grain toast, and you have a healthy well-balanced, and of course yummy breakfast.

And while you're at it, Dr. Seuss fans, why not check out this most delicious Cookbook:

- Michelle

Vegan Banana Blueberry Muffins

In honor of Try Vegan Week (oh and our Letter B week) we baked some Vegan Banana Blueberry Muffins from a recipe that we found at Soy Chick.  Well actually it really had nothing to do with "Try Vegan Week", and everything to do with the brown bananas that were sitting on the counter and the fresh blueberries that my Brother-In-Law picked for us.  And you know the old saying - When life gives you brown bananas, bake banana anything!

I think that "Try Vegan Week" is a really cool idea because many people won't try it, and although I'm not vegan, I am confident that vegan baking is much better for us.  Besides I think it's important to introduce children to different types of food.  Not to mention that so many children have egg allergies now-a-days.  The truth is these muffins were delicious, and you wouldn't even know they were vegan unless I told you.

I'm not going to copy the recipe from Soy Chick.  If you are interested in trying these fabulous muffins, please click on the link above. 

The only thing I modified from the recipe was that I used Canola Oil instead of Vegetable Oil, and I did not do the crumb topping.

So why not give Vegan Baking a try.  Not because it is "Try Vegan Week" and not because of the fabulous photo above, but because it is really much healthier.  But I've said this before, and I'll say it again - I'm certainly no Nutritionist ... or Photographer!

- Michelle

Fabulous Finds Friday - Kidz SuperFoods

We recently went to pick blueberries.  And to my surprise, my daughter was eating them right off the bush.  As I watched, (cringing for fear of sickness because these blueberries weren't washed). 

Apparently as soon as we brought them home and washed them, the excitement wore off, except when we squashed them and watched our fingers turn blue.  Oh well, back to the fruits and vegetables drawing board, I guess.

So as I was googling, super foods for kids, I stumbled upon this "Kidz SuperFoods", which is a chocolate powder that can be mixed with water or milk.  It makes a great chocolate milk or hot chocolate.  This isn't just a chocolate powder, it contains 33 rainbow colored fruits and vegetables, and one glass is the equivalent to 3 servings of fruits and vegetables.  Yes, I thought it was important to put that in bold.

It is also certified organic and is a great source of Beta Carotene, B-1, Vitamin K, Vitamin C, Iron, B-2, and Folic Acid.

Of course it is still important to try and get children to eat their fruits and vegetables.  But when it is nearly impossible, hopefully the "Kidz SuperFoods" will make you feel a little better about what your children are eating.

Click on the picture below to learn more about "Kidz SuperFoods", and please tell me the picky eating stage is only temporary!