Starting tomorrow, Lovebug has 2 weeks of swimming lessons first thing in the morning, followed by a week of Science Camp in the mornings. That means we will not be sitting down at the table for a leisurely breakfast for quite some time, so we needed something we could “grab & go”.
It couldn’t be just any food though. It needs to be healthy and packed full of nutrients so that she can get through the morning with enough energy and is able to focus.
Today I made “Egg Cupcakes”, and “Apple Muffins”, and I made a ton of them so I can throw them in the freezer and just pop a couple out each day. One of each, and a side of grapes or apple slices will make a perfect breakfast that can be eaten easily in the car if needed.
The Egg Cupcakes have eggs, chopped ham, zucchini, red bell pepper, spinach and seasonings. Lovebug will eat almost anything, but she doesn’t like zucchini or red bell pepper. However, thanks to my food processor, she can’t even taste it in there – as evidenced by the fact that she ate 3 of them tonight fresh out of the oven!
The Apple Muffins have apples (of course), banana, grated carrots, & raisins. They are also GFCF, and made with almond meal instead of flour. Delicious!!
These also make great snacks, or a quick lunch too!
For those kids who DON’T like fish or seaweed, this is a great alternative.
My daughter LOVES sushi – the real kind. She and her Daddy go on “Sushi Dates”, she even requested it for her 5th birthday, but she would love making these at home!
These adorable party wrappers come in several pretty colors with all natural coloring! None of that fake stuff. You can also find several fun recipes on their site as well. Here is a picture from one of their recipe ideas:
I came across an article in Eating Well magazine from their Nov/Dec 2010 issue discussing food dyes. I already knew that synthetic dyes are scary stuff, as we have been avoiding them in our family for 3.5 years now, but it’s nice to see more studies being done. In some countries, these dyes are banned completely, but that hasn’t happened (yet!) in the United States.
In this particular study mentioned in the article it was found that,
“children who consumed a mixture of common synthetic dyes displayed hyperactive behavior within an hour of consumption”
We’ve seen plenty of evidence of that in our daughter, that’s for sure!
We are talking about the dyes listed in the ingredient list as a color followed by a number such as: Blue 1 and 2, Citrus Red 2, Green 3, Red 3 and 40, Yellow 5 and 6. Do your own research on the ingredients and dangers of these toxins. Did you know they are made from tar and petroleum? Yuck! Who wants to eat crude oil?
One thing to note as you are looking at the labels is that the terms “artificial color,” “artificial color added” or “color added” indicate that nature-derived pigments were used since synthetic dyes must be listed by their names.
Start watching the ingredients of the foods you buy, and I bet you will be surprised how many of them contain these synthetic dyes. Vanilla pudding, and even white marshmallows contain dyes to get it “just the right shade”. M&Ms, cereals, chewing gum, Kool-Aid, Jello, maraschino cherries, Doritos, Sun Chips – it’s everywhere!! Some blueberry waffles don’t even have blueberries in them – just blue colored bits.
Good News! There are healthier alternatives available. We’ve been able to find comparable dye-free substitutes for just about everything (Except candy corn! Someone make an organic version, PLEASE!). If you are looking for some dye-free candy alternatives for your family and you don’t have a Whole Foods Market nearby, check out NaturalCandyStore.com! We shop from them frequently, stocking up on things like candy canes for Christmas and cotton candy before we go to the fair. Right now they have lots of cute natural Valentine Candy available!
If you are looking for other suggestions to replace dye-filled foods in your pantry, let me know and I’ll point you in the right direction. We’ve had no trouble having cupcakes with sprinkles, ice cream sundaes with cherries, or even cereal with marshmallows – it’s just about finding the right products.
Obviously, this isn’t a problem when eating meat, veggies, fruits, and whole grains. That’s why I only focused on all the sweet treats in my suggestions. I find that a lot of parents are afraid to make the change because their kids are used to having these treats and they don’t want to take them away from them. You don’t have to – just switch to a better product. For their sake – and yours!
Strawberries & Cream Crepes, served with a side of “Cheesy Eggs”
My husband is the King of Crepes! Before Bug was born, Hubby’s mom bought us a crepe pan and a crepe cookbook. Those 2 things are in the top 5 most-used gifts we’ve received! We’ve had to replace the pan a couple times since because we use it SO often for all sorts of things. He can even flip them!! See?
Recently we had our first try at making Gluten Free pancakes, and they were delicious! We couldn’t tell the difference from what we used to make. We made Strawberry & Cream Crepes. YUM!! Make them yourselves, and see what you think.
Crepe Batter Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups milk OR your favorite dairy free milk substitute
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons melted butter OR light olive oil
1 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour mix (Use your favorite – we used Bob’s Red Mill GF All Purpose Baking Flour)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
Light olive oil or canola oil to grease skillet
Preparation:
Crêpe Batter- Pour milk, egg, melted butter OR olive oil and vanilla into a blender pitcher or a medium mixing bowl. Whisk the dry ingredients together and add to the blender or mixing bowl. Blend or whisk just until combined and smooth. The batter should be the consistency of thin pancake batter. Add more milk, one teaspoon at a time if the batter is too thick.
Note-Batter can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for up to one day. (We always make it the day before)
Directions:
Heat a low-sided 8-inch skillet or crêpe pan over medium high heat. Add 1/4 teaspoon oil to the skillet and brush to coat the bottom of the skillet. (Do this before making each crêpe) Pour 1/4 cup of batter into the heated skillet. Swirl the skillet until the bottom of the pan is covered with batter. Cook the crepe for about 1 minute- the crepe should be barely moist on top. Use a thin spatula to loosen the edges of the crêpe, slide the spatula under the crêpe and gently flip it upside down. Cook for about one more minute, just until golden and transfer crêpe to a cooling rack or plate. Repeat with the remaining batter.
We turn the oven on 200 degrees F, and place the cooked crepes on a cookie sheet to keep warm if using right away.
Filling:
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon (or to taste)
Mix together by hand, or in a food processor.
Topping:
I took a bowl full of frozen (no-sugar-added) strawberries, microwaved till soft, added 1/4 cup or of sugar, then tossed it all in the Vitamix and pureed till smooth. Use your favorite berry, or a mixture!
Assembly:
Place crepe on plate.
Put 1/4 cup or so of filling down the middle of crepe.
Fold like a burrito – tops/bottoms in, then roll from one side.
We had some friends over for dinner last night and served one of our favorite meals….Tacos! I love this meal when we have company for several reasons.
1) Each person can personalize their food with the toppings they choose. Don’t like tomatoes? Just leave them off. LOVE olives? Load ‘em up! Going carb-free? Leave off the shell and make a taco salad. Vegetarian? Throw on extra beans instead of the meat.
2) It’s easy to prepare ahead of time. You can cook the ground beef, season it, and store in the fridge for a couple days or freeze if you need to make it way ahead of time. Same goes for spanish rice if you choose to offer it. Cut up lettuce, tomatoes, olives, onions – all store well in baggies or tupperware containers. Grated cheese is something we always have on hand. Sour cream and salsa can just sit in the fridge in their original containers until you are ready. Refried beans? We love Amy’s refried black beans! Just open the can, put in a glass bowl and microwave till warm. Chips or taco shells can sit in the pantry for a few days if you don’t always keep them on hand.
3) Leftovers never get wasted! We eat lots and lots of salads around here, and every single ingredient that we serve with tacos is something that will get eaten by us if leftover.
Oh, and those “Stand n Stuff” taco shells? Genius!
What is your favorite “simple” meal to serve company?
One of our favorite things about summer is enjoying sweet, juicy watermelon! This summer, we made a new twist on an old favorite. It’s tasty enough to be a treat, and healthy enough to have for breakfast!
Servings: We made this for 3 people, but there was plenty of everything to make twice that many as long as you have more bananas!
Difficulty: Super Easy!
Prep Time Needed: 10 minutes for chopping fruit
Cook Time Needed: None!
Ingredients:
3 bananas
Medium sized watermelon sliced in half (you will at least need a large piece a few inches thick for making the scoops)
1 cup diced fresh blueberries
1 cup diced fresh strawberries
1 cup diced pineapple (fresh or canned)
3 TB strawberry all-fruit preserves, heated
1 cup your preferred yogurt (we use plain, nonfat yogurt and sweeten with honey or applesauce)
1/2 cup grated unsweetened coconut
Directions:
1. Slice bananas lengthwise and place in bowl.
2. Using an ice cream ball scoop, top bananas with 3 scoops of watermelon.
1 cup dates, pitted & chopped (may substitute raisins, dried cranberries, or any dried fruit)
1/3 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/2 cup unsweetened grated coconut (optional)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, mash the bananas. Add the oats, dates, applesauce, vanilla, cinnamon, nuts & coconut. Mix well. Drop by spoonfuls on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
**NOTE** These cookies will come out of the oven the same shape they go in. If you want a flatter cookie you may press down before baking, or form them into bar shapes.
This isn’t a unique idea, but I wanted to share it anyway since I’ve been using it for quite a while. I had seen it on several blogs & in magazines and thought it was a cute idea.
My daughter LOVES samples, and will eat almost anything on a toothpick. Often she even requests for me to make her a “sample lunch” (lots of bite size items and toothpicks for utensils). So, when I saw this idea, I knew she would love it!
Turns out, I love it too! In fact, I now do it at least twice a week. I love it even more when our house is full of kids, because I like to keep lunches simple, healthy, and interesting. I line up the muffin tins and in pure assembly-line style, prepare lunch for everyone. Grapes…some here, some here, some here, some there. Cut up cheese….same routine. And on it goes.
If I include sandwiches, I only have to make 1 or 2 because everyone just gets part of one. If I heat something up, I just heat up one bowl and everyone gets a small serving in one of the tins. That’s another bonus for anyone paying attention to portion sizes – each muffin tin is approx. 1/2 cup. Good way to make sure they get their fruits & veggies if that’s a problem in your house.
It’s also a great way to use up leftovers! No wasting that last bit of food. That’s the frugal side of me talking, because I can’t stand to waste food, but sometimes there just isn’t enough for a full serving for everyone.
You can Google “muffin tin meals” and get a tons of ideas, but here are a few of my examples:
“Letter D Week”: Cheese cut with the letter D cookie cutter, Dates, apples & carrots with Dips (PB and ranch)
These had frozen peas (my kids love them), apples, 1 gumdrop (made with natural coloring!), cheese & crackers, & 2 spots of plain yogurt w/applesauce mixed in.
From top-left: a piece of whole wheat biscotti, green bean casserole, chicken breast, grapes, veggies, ranch dressing
Another take on the idea for snack time: peanuts, raisins, & mini PB crackers.
Another reason I love it is because it makes my daughter do fun, creative things like dip her grapes in ranch dressing (ewww!), or make a “sandwich” with celery, carrot, green pea, and a piece of chicken. LOL
