Rainbow Cakes

Ok, not really a cake, but a very delicious and COLORFUL muffin! These muffins are chocked full of antioxidants, omega 3's and B vitamins. Because I have days where I struggle to get enough fruits and veggies into my son, I try to create recipes that include lots of nutrition into a small, child sized package. These muffins succeed in every way! I like to make my muffins in little cupcake liners and call them cupcakes to increase their appeal. Serve them for breakfast or at snack time with a glass of milk and you have something the kids(and hubby) will gobble up while you sit back smiling about your secret weapon! Mission Accomplished.

Rainbow Cakes
1/4 C. Canola Oil
1/2 C. brown sugar(packed)
1 egg
3/4 C. applesauce
1 C. grated carrot
1 C. grated zucchini
1 C. whole wheat flour
1/2 C. all purpose flour
1/4 C. wheat germ
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
pinch of cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 C. chopped walnuts
1/2 C. dried cherries, no sugar added(or you can use raisins)

Preheat oven to 400. Spray your muffin pan with non stick cooking spray or line with cupcake liners(you may still want to spray lighty). Combine dry ingredients and walnuts in a bowl. In another bowl lightly beat egg with sugar. Add in remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Add wet ingredients into dry and mix to just combine. Fill cupcake wells evenly. Bake for 18-20 min or until a toothpick comes out clean. Makes 12 muffins.

Tip: After muffins completely cool, wrap individually in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag in freezer. These don't take long to thaw, so double the batch and keep some on hand for playdates and busy school mornings.

Blueberry Banana Muffins

This morning my son asked for muffins, so I decided to tinker around in the kitchen and come up with something delicious with the items I had on hand. These were moist and sweet from the creamy bananas and slightly tart from the fresh blueberries! These are muffins you can feel good about with whole wheat, omega 3's from the walnuts and of course, fresh fruit. These were a winner for sure!

1 1/2 C. whole wheat flour
1/4 C. wheat germ
3/4 C brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c smashed walnuts
1 C buttermilk*
1 egg
1 TBS. canola or olive oil
1 smashed banana
1 pint fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 12 count muffin pan with non stick cooking spray or line with cupcake liners.

In a large bowl combine sugar and other dry ingredients, then stir in blueberries and walnuts and set aside. In another bowl, combine vanilla, egg, milk, banana and oil. Gently pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to just combine. Fill muffin cups to the top and bake for 15-18 min.

We ate these with a glass of milk and I put half in a freezer bag for another morning when I don't have time to bake from scratch!

*If you don't have buttermilk, here's a trick to use. Combine 1 cup of milk with a tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar(whatever you have on hand). Let sit til you can see it start to curdle.



Makes 12.

Nutty Banana Bread

I LOVE to bake with my son, Jack. He's 3.5, so anything he can do to feel big and important is pretty high on his list. Unfortunately, my camera was charging until the bread was finished or you would have been impressed with pictures of his banana smooshing skills! Anyways, back to the bread. This is absolutely the BEST banana bread. My family goes through this pretty fast. We love it toasted with butter for breakfast or if you really want to be decadent, I make french toast with it. YUM! This recipe calls for a lot of bananas, Omega 3 rich eggs and walnuts and sunflower seeds for vitamin E. Don't they look pretty sprinkled on top?

1 C. all purpose flour
3/4 C. whole wheat flour
1/4 C. wheat germ
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2-3/4 C. smashed walnuts
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 C. butter or canola oil(butter tastes better)
1/2 C. packed brown sugar
2 eggs(free range, organic eggs are higher in Omega 3 fatty acids)
2 1/3 C. overripe mashed bananas(kids love squishing these up by hand)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla
raw sunflower seeds(amount depends on whether you make lg/sm loaves or muffins)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease loaf pan or muffin pan. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl, then add in walnuts. In another bowl, cream butter/oil with sugar and then add in the remaining wet ingredients. Combine well. Next, pour wet ingredients into dry ingredient bowl and gently fold together until just combined. Be careful NOT to overmix. Add batter into greased pan and sprinkle with raw sunflower seeds.

Large loaf pan: 60-65 min
Small loaves or muffins: 25-30 min

Test with a toothpick to test for doneness(is that a word?) It should come out clean.

Super Ripe Bananas

Overripe Bananas? You may have a few sitting on counter right now. Don't throw them out! Bananas are natures candy bar satisfying your sweet tooth and providing your body with loads of healthy potassium, fiber and vitamin B6. The potassium can help soothe your tummy when morning sickness hits or help balance electrolytes when your child has had a bought of the stomach flu. At any rate, even overripe bananas can be useful. Here are my top 3 favorite ways to use them up!

1. Smoothies! Who doesn't like a smoothie? Great way to increase the fruit and veggies content of your family's diet, but buying frozen fruit can be expensive. Just peel your over ripe bananas and store them in the freezer for future use. They make smoothies thick and creamy and you don't need to add extra ice. Try this combination:

1 frozen banana
2 C. orange juice
1 Cup frozen wild blueberries
1 Cup fresh strawberries

Blend and serve. Serves about 4.

2. Banana Pancakes: smash up that ripe banana with a fork and add to your pancake batter. They are so sweet and yummy, you really don't even need syrup. Try the breakfast tab to the right for a Banana Bread Pancake recipe.

3. Banana Muffins: make a healthy muffin with your bananas. They add SO much sweetness without having to add too much extra sugar. Under the muffin tab, you will find a recipe for Blueberry Banana muffins that have been a family and playdate favorite.

Happy Cooking!

Sweet Potato Pancakes

Breakfast is an overlooked time to add veggies into your children's diets. One way I do this at home is to add in shredded or pureed veggies into easy to prepare pancake mix. It improves the nutritional quality of an otherwise nutritionally bankrupt breakfast choice. The bonus....they taste great! This recipe calls for mashed/pureed sweet potato, but be creative! I use bananas, apples, berries, nuts, sweet potato, carrot, pumpkin, zucchini...it's endless. Stay tuned for more nutrient packed variations to come!

Sweet Potato Pancakes

1 batch Bob's Red Mill 10 Grain Pancake Mix prepared as directed
1/2 Cup pureed/mashed sweet potato(I usually bake an extra one or two when I make them for dinner to use in pancakes or muffins. You can freeze them by the 1/2 cup in baggies in the freezer for about a month!)
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 tsp(or more depending on taste) Pumpkin Pie Spice

Mix all ingredients together with a metal whisk. Grease your griddle with a cooking spray. Pour 1/3 cup of batter on griddle per pancake and when you start to see small bubbles forming, time to flip. Serve with real butter* and real maple syrup. I also typically serve pancakes with scrambled eggs and a berry fruit salad.

*Don't be afraid to use real butter. The synthetic properties of margarine are far more dangerous to your body than real fats, not to mention, butter just tastes better.

This recipe will feed 2 children and 2 adults.

Hint: if you double the batch, you can freeze these. Just let them cool completely, place a square of waax paper between each pancake and put them in a freezer bag. Then you have an easy and healthy breakfast for your kids during the school week. Then simply heat them up in the toaster just like Eggos...but yummier!

Meatloaf

Meatloaf is a standard American staple in comfort food. It is also a great opportunity to include a few veggies into your child's diet without creating a big fuss. Plus, with the addition of the sweet and tangy sauce, you can't miss! Want to make this even more fun? Use a mini muffin tin and make kid-sized "meat muffins*!" You can serve them at lunch time with some carrots and dip! Use super lean(pasture raised, organic if you can)ground beef and help fulfill your family's daily requirements for protein, B12, B6, zinc, selenium AND iron! This went so fast tonight, I forgot to take a picture.

Meatloaf:
1 lb. super lean ground beef
2 eggs
3/4 Cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1 tsp salt(I use sea salt)
1/2 tsp freshly black pepper
1 small onion, grated
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 Cup red bell pepper, chopped( you could also use green peppers or carrots)

Sauce:
1/3 Cup light brown sugar
1 tsp. mustard powder
1/2 Cup low sugar/sodium ketchup
black pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a loaf pan with olive oil or canola oil cooking spray.
Sauce: combine all ingredients and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine all of the meatloaf ingredients with your hands. Place in the loaf pan and shape evenly. Bake for 45 min. and then pour sauce over top and bake for 15 more minutes.

*you can also put into a muffin tin and bake for about 20 minutes.

Serves about 8.

20 Healthy Snack Ideas

We had a discussion recently in my forum to talk about the kinds of healthy snacks your kids love best. Most moms agreed that fruits, yogurt and crackers of all kinds are what they usually reach for to feed their little (and BIG) ones when tummies start rumbling. One of my favorite snacks posted was from Allyson at Musings of Allyson: wife and mommy. She posted a recipe for Honey Milk Balls and now I am going to share it with you! Stop by my forum and add your favorites to the list!

Honey Milk Balls
1/2 C. honey(local is best since it also helps control allergies)
1/2 C. peanut butter
1 C. dry milk solids
1 C. dry rolled oats

Knead all ingredients until well-mixed. Shape into small balls and chill for best result. Doesn't that sound delicious?

Fruit skewers with yogurt dip

Apple Sandwiches(Parent's magazine): Slice apples across to make round circles. Use a mini cookie cutter or knife to cut out seeds. Spread with nut butter and a dab of jam. Put 2 slices together and serve. So cute and yummy!(pictured)

Veggie sticks with hummus, white bean or avocado dip

Mini pizzas made with ezekiel bread or pita

Ezekiel or spelt bread spread with almond butter and sliced banana

Fruit smoothies(100% juice, frozen fruit and fresh spinach)

Yogurt parfaits

Mini sandwiches(egg, tuna, or chicken made with canola mayo)

Steel cut oatmeal with milk, butter, walnuts, raisins and strawberries

Organic(no sugar added) canned baked beans with ak mak crackers for dipping

Trailmix: walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, dried fruit, mini dark choc chips and low sugar granola

Nitrate-free deli turkey rollups with cheese sticks in the middle

Avocado toast

Cottage cheese with fruit

Mini bean and cheese burritos(stir flaxmeal into beans)

Edamame pods and fruit

Veggie cream cheese(finely chop veggies and mix with cream cheese) on top of crackers, pita bread, toast, etc.

Black bean quesadillas with guacamole

Whole grain pasta salad with cold chicken cubes, parmesan cheese, italian dressing, chopped veggies and olives

Healthy mini muffins

Fun ways to make old snacks new:
-let the children make their own snack
-make fruit fun, instead of sliced fruit, serve melon balls or fruit on a stick with dip
-sandwiches: use different types of bread like pita, whole grain slices, tortillas, etc.
-never underestimate the power of dip: serve low fat ranch, mashed avocado, cream cheese, nut butters thinned with canola oil for veggie dips