DIY~ Children's Tea Towel Aprons

I've been looking for cute, affordable aprons for Jack and Nolan, my 4 and 5 year olds, for some time. They love to help me in the kitchen almost as much as they love personalized gifts. I was in JoAnne's Fabric last week and saw what I thought were children's apron's. As I  unfolded one and looked closer I found that they were actually cute little tea-towels for the Holiday's. The bottom of each towel was trimmed with  gathered fabric making them look like aprons to me. Each towel had a different embroidered Christmas picture on it and so I grabbed the cutest ones and set off to sew my boys and
my nieces some aprons for their Holiday Cookie Baking!

This defiantly falls into the " If I can do it, Anyone can do it" category. Sewing is NOT my forte'! This took me all of an hour to make 4 aprons and that's with baby Mona 'helping' me........

So here is a little photo tutorial I put together to show you how simple it is,

and how cute my son's and nieces are! ;)

1. Find cute Holiday Tea-Towel's on sale for $1.99 at craft store.

2. Turn towel over, fold down top to create desired length.
Fold over sides to make a steep triangle.
Iron

3. Sew along very top edge.

4. Sew 1"-2"  from the side of apron, leaving enough room to slip in your ribbon.

5. Slip ribbon into slot (just an inch or two) and sew on securely.
Sew ribbon onto the sides of the apron.
I found it helpful to have my 4 year old nearby to measure the lengths for the ribbons.

6. Embroider names on chest of apron. You could also use iron-on letters.

Voila! Aren't they cute?

I sent them to my adorable nieces in New York just in time for Holiday Cookie Baking!

My boys couldn't wait to put on their Christmas Baking Aprons and make Peppermint Chocolate Cookies!

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Happy Day! I'm featured on Two of my Favorite Foodie Sites!

I am so very excited to have been featured on two of my favorite foodie sites recently. I am relatively new at food blogging and am honored that my recipes and thoughts are finding their way into homes across the globe.

The first site I hope you find your way over to is Food with Kid Appeal. She featured my post "Simple Chilled Gazpacho, Give A Kid A Straw"  as part of her series on 'How to Get Your Kids to Eat Healthy Foods'. FwKA has been one of my favorite sites and resources since I started blogging. Jenna's blog is a wonderful resource for parents and caregivers who have picky eaters or just want to feed their family a variety of healthy foods.

I'm also thrilled to be on Hip Pressure Cooking.com  with my Sante Fe Style Stacked Enchiladas  recipe.
I love love love my Kuhn Rikon Swiss Pressure Cooker and use it several times a week for lightning speed dinners that lock in the nutrients and flavour of the food far better than traditional cooking. Hip Pressure Cooking is a very inspirational website for all things pressure cooker!

As I compile more recipes I hope to have a page dedicated to pressure cooking on Simply Healthy Family. I think everyone should own a pressure cooker, it's a busy mom's DREAM!

Thank you to everyone who reads my blog and leaves such sweet comments. I truly appreciate the time it takes to read, comment and hopefully try a recipe or two. I truly hope that more and more people will read this blog and be inspired to have a healthier home!


Happy Sharing!!!

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Reliving Old Holiday Traditions and Starting a Few New Ones: Peppermint Hot Cocoa

Traditions are what makes the Holidays so special and coming up with new traditions to celebrate with your family is even better. Every year when we were little we would have a cup of  hot  warm  cocoa with mini marsh mellows while we decorated the tree. I remember feeling so special while holding that cup of creamy sweet chocolate and watching with my brother and sisters as the tree slowly came to life. We were always in our footsy jamies, the red "Annie" ones were my favorite and we always put out a small plate of cookies for Santa by our fire place, a rarity in Phoenix to be enjoyed only once a year on Christmas Eve.






The expectations and anticipations of Christmas come flooding back to me now that I have 4 children of my own. I relish in living vicariously through their utter thrill of all of the magic of the Holidays. Keeping up with most of the traditions that mine and my husbands families enjoyed so much and cherishing the new ones our own little family have started.

Going to Cost Plus World Market every year and letting all of the kids and ourselves pick out one special ornament to hang on the tree is a tradition that we started many years ago with our children. This has proven to be such a treat as the kids bounce out of their slippers every year as we drag out the Christmas boxes and let them rifle through the ornaments finding the ones with their initials and the year marked on them that they chose them and then hanging them perfectly on the tree. I know that we will cherish those ornaments forever and ever.



Making the hot cocoa that literally defines Christmas in my humble opinion is another tradition we have stuck with. I however prefer to make it with a good quality cocoa powder and sucanat or turbinado (organic) sugar  instead of the boxed/packaged/overly processed variety and then adding a bit of pure peppermint extract and using a peppermint candy stick to stir up the chocolate that settles at the bottom of the cup. Mini marsh mellow are of course Absolutely, Positively  still  Required. After all a little bit of marsh mellowy goodness never hurt anybody.

Now, if you'll excuse me I'm going to start a very recent tradition and go sit out in our new bubbly hot jacuzzi. I love living here in the Arizona desert, 58F is the perfect temperature.

What are your Holiday traditions?

Peace, love and peppermint wishes from Simply Healthy Family.

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Rice Pudding All Around The World

When I was growing up Rice Pudding was a very common dessert in our home. My 3 brothers and sisters and I all thought we were really getting a special treat since it was so sweet and delicious. The truth about Rice Pudding is that it is a sweet dish that goes way back in time and all over the world. I think that this has to do with the fact that it is obviously cheap and rice is readily available almost everywhere and most importantly, it's simply sweet. We usually had our rice pudding served with left-over rice and cold milk mixed with a bit of brown sugar and raisins. My kids really love this simple dessert just like we did when we were little.

Most people cook up their rice pudding in a pot with milk and add spices and serve it hot. I thought this was funny since I always thought of it as a last minute treat made from leftover rice. Simply add milk, raisins, cinnamon and sometimes vanilla and Voila dessert is served. When it is chilly enough here in Phoenix, we just warm it up for a few minutes in a pot. I've discovered recently that Brown Jasmine Rice makes an excellent Rice Pudding. The leftover Jasmin rice holds up well and has a nice mild flavour. If you use long grain rice it will produce a pudding that is slightly drier and chewier than one made with a short grain rice. It's a personal preference I suppose.




The Way We Like It:

1 cup cooked  Brown Jasmine Rice
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon Tahitian Vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Mix, serve hot or cold and let the nostalgia comfort you



I did a little research and found it very interesting how many variations there were across the globe.



All Around The World:

In Italy ~  'Budino di Riso',  made with milk, eggs, raisins and orange peel


In Costa Rica ~  'Arroz con leche', made with milk, condensed milk, butter, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and vanilla


In Scandanavia and the United Kingdom Rice pudding is a long standing Christmas tradition. Made with dried fruits and nuts and spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, mace and vanilla.
 
In the colder countries;  Norway, Finland, Sweeden and Iceland Rice Pudding is a common dish served hot with butter and sugar to warm ones body and spirit.

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Edible Crayons

I saw these fun edible crayons on Kitchen Corners and just had to share them! So cute and creative, and if your feeling super industrious you could try making them ( it's on my 'to do list' ) !
I'm not sure if this is the best solution for little kids who eat crayons since it won't discourage them from eating 'real' crayons in the future, but they sure are cute regardless! Maybe for fun party favors/party activity for kids old enough not to eat real crayons.The best part is, most of the ingredients are made from dried fruits and veggies, healthy!

Other healthy ingredients in each color are bee pollen which is thought of as a fountain of youth for it's numerous health benefits.

The green crayon ingredients: peas, green beans, dried kiwi, green fruity pebbles, dried pumpkin seeds!

 Bee pollen

Marshmallows keep them 'glued' together!

Original idea and pictures found at luxirare.

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Banana Coconut Cookies GF

I have been baking a lot more than usual now that I've figured out how to make these healthy cookies that actually taste wonderful! My kids don't know what got into me and think they are being quite spoiled. Oh tricky me.  I made these gluten free just because I'm trying to really limit processed/refined flour which contains zero nutrients and basically turns into sugar in your body. I also used Agave nectar which has contradicting nutritional benefits vs. honey but no firm data. I think moderation is the key here. I also use organic raw sugar, honey or *organic maple syrup when I bake.    

* formaldehyde is sometimes used to extract the maple syrup from trees, best to stick with organic as often as possible.

The fact that these cookies are gluten free makes the texture lighter and slightly crumblier than other cookies but they were very moist and delicious, almost cake like, YUM! Honestly, put these babies in a bowl and eat with a spoon, maybe dollop some yogurt on top and you have a perfect, healthy dessert.

You will need:

2 tablespoons flax meal + 2 tablespoons water ( OR 1 egg)
1 1/2 cup Oats
1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup coconut flour ( could also use almond flour/meal, garbanzo flour, ground millet or quinoa )
1 teaspoon guar gum   *optional, but it helps hold the cookies together and also is a pre biotic
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 cup dried, organic apricots, chopped    * regular dried apricots get their pretty orange color from sulfates
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
3/4 cup Agave Nectar
2 slightly mushed bananas

*optional add-ins:  chopped nuts, chocolate or carob chips, raisins.
 Carob is similar taste to chocolate but is naturally sweetened unlike chocolate (unless you get unsweetened chocolate which is bitter) which gets it's sweetness from added sugar. Carob also has more vitamins than chocolate and is a good source of calcium.



Putting it all together:


Preheat oven to 375F
I threw everything into my KitchenAid mixer, banana last so it stayed slightly chunky and mixed till just combined. I ended up adding 1/4 cup water to better combine the ingredients. It probably depends on various factors so add it if you need to.
Either pour batter into a cookie pan or shape into cookies. Bake at 375F for 12-14 minutes until golden brown.

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Berry Stella Cookies from Eden Kitchen!

Why do you blog? To share stories and pictures, to journal your thoughts or travels, for a creative outlet?

I started Simply Healthy family just a few short months ago. I have always loved cooking from scratch. I love how I can create so many wonderful, savoury meals from so many cultures in my very own kitchen. I also wanted to catalogue our family's favourite recipes and maybe make a recipe book someday for me and my friends and family. Lastly, I am passionate about healthy eating and wanted to share just how easy it is to make home made, healthy meals in hopes that people will see that I have 4 children who actually eat healthy and be inspired to give healthy a try.

Those are the reasons I started this blog. In the last few months I have grown to LOVE all of the wonderful foodie sites out there and meeting some really wonderful people. Some of whom I really feel like I know and consider friends. Weird huh?

Lately, I have been cooking quite a bit from fellow foodies blogs and have come across some seriously wonderful dishes and snacks! I feel fortunate to have come across these recipes from all over the world that I would never have otherwise tried.

This brings me to my point. Stick with me....

 I so appreciate that these people have taken the time and love to share their recipes, I know how much time goes into food blogging! I have read about some fellow foodie friends frustrations with people who comment without even reading the posts let alone with the intention of actually trying the recipe. If your anything like me, I really would love people to try my recipes and let me know what they think. In return, like I already mentioned, I cook at least once a week from others blogs/sites and love to let them know how wonderful it was and especially to give a "shout out" on my blog so that others can find these recipes too. I try to only post recipes on Simply Healthy Family that are "family friendly".  This means, they are fairly simple, inexpensive and my kids will eat them (some days are better than others). This does NOT mean that they are bland or boring or your typical "kids foods" like chicken nuggets and mac n' cheese, I don't want to eat that crap.

So, I hope your still with me!! I usually try to keep it short so as not to lose people's attention.
THIS IS THE BEST PART OF THE POST, I PROMISE!!!
 I recently came across a wonderful site with so many amazing recipes I just had to share. Joe from Eden Kitchen who shares my passion for healthy yet delicious foods and I really wanted to do a Shout Out or Guest Post or Simply Share The Love.

Fellow Foodie Friends, meet Joe. I sure hope you check out his wonderful site!

Hi there, my name is Joe Rich. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, edenkitchen.com is all about my favourite recipes and food discoveries.


I am passionate about healthy food. I love cooking with natural, whole foods and fresh produce that's in season - creating food that has real flavour and natural goodness. Thanks!


I wasn’t sure what to call this recipe. I don’t usually go for gimmicky names; I much prefer to call out the predominant or unique characteristics of a recipe and work that into the name. But these oatmeal cookies have a lot of good things I just can’t squeeze into the name. First, they’re about the healthiest cookie you can make before it really stops tasting like a cookie. I used a little maple syrup in place of cane sugar and a good dose of coconut oil, macadamias, flax seed and berries. So these cookies pack in a lot of goodness; protein from the nuts, fibre from the oats and flax seed, lauric acid from the coconut oil, and phytonutrients in the berries. Whoa!



Then there’s the wonderful crunchiness thanks to the medley of oats, desiccated coconut, macadamias and flax seed. And finally, each cookie is bejeweled with a small handful of raspberries and black currants, giving them a lip-smackingly good berry tang. Trust me – they are as good as I’m making them sound.

So what should I call them? Macadamia Berry Oatmeal Cookies? Coconut Macadamia Berry Oatmeal Cookies? You get the idea… It just won’t all fit. So I settled on Berry Stella Cookies. I think it has a nice ring to it and seems to sum up both the flavor and the health(ier) factor.



Berry Stella Cookies Recipe


My cookie cutters didn’t cut through the oats very well and made the edges crumble a little so I ended up pressing the dough into each cutter and working it into the desired shape. It is a little time consuming but gives a much better shape. If you don’t have OCD you could simply roll them into balls, flatten them a little, and be done with the cutters altogether.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or zentrofan fine wheat flour or all-purpose flour)


• 1 cup desiccated coconut


• 1 cup rolled oats


• ½ cup macadamias


• ¼ cup flax seeds, ground


• ½ teaspoon fine ground sea salt


• ¾ teaspoon baking soda


• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract


• ½ cup maple syrup


• ½ cup virgin coconut oil


• ½ cup black currants and/or raspberries (fresh or frozen)

Preheat oven to 350°F/ 180°C. Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Pulse the macadamias in a food processor until they resemble coarse breadcrumbs. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, desiccated coconut, oats, macadamias, flax seed, salt and baking soda.

Add the vanilla extract, coconut oil, and maple syrup and mix until well combined. If using cookie cutters scoop 2 tablespoons of the dough into each cutter following the instructions above. Otherwise simply roll the scooped dough into balls and flatten them a little.

Lightly press and small handful of frozen berries onto each cookie and bake in the upper third of oven for 13-15 minutes, or until golden on top and bottom.

Makes about 20-25 cookies.

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Cinnamon and Spice Bread with Dates and Walnuts

This afternoon I made the World's Best Bread, otherwise known as "Mission Impossible" in our house.
Honestly, have you ever tried to bake something with 4 kids in the house? Not so straight forward. But I did it and I'd do it again for this amazing bread. In fact, I'm really having a hard time calling it a bread. It's so delicious and wonderful it's really more of a cake without all the sugar. I've lovingly adapted this recipe from one of my fav blogs, Anja's Food For Thought.  I added nutmeg and cloves for extra Fall aroma's ( we'll take all we can get here in Phoenix) and subbed chopped dates for the raisins because I already had them and I added walnuts to the bread and topping. Just look at this list of ingredients, so healthy and delicious!
I strongly suggest you try this bread whatever obstacles may be hindering you from baking!! It's all kinds of worth it! Before you start baking away, take a peek at Anja's amazing blog! She has a truly natural and healthy approach to eating and I have personally made several of her delicious and simple recipes.

ummmm, ignore the fact that half of the loaf of bread seems to be missing.....

YIELDS  1 small loaf, I doubled this for 1 large loaf
You Will Need:

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/3 cup warm milk

1/2 cup chopped dates or raisins

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

1/3 cup palm sugar ( I used Raw, Organic sugar)

2 eggs

1/4 cup plain, fat free yogurt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cloves

Topping

1/4 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup walnuts, chopped

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon palm sugar

1 tablespoon butter



Putting it all together:
Combine oats, warm milk and dates in bowl, cover, let stand for 20-30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Line loaf tin with parchment paper.

Beat butter and sugar in  bowl or stand mixer until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time. Whisk until well incorporated, before adding the next one. Stir in yogurt and vanilla. Stir in oat mixture.

In another bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and spices. Combine wet and dry ingredients.

For the topping, combine oats, nuts, cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Rub in butter with your finger tips or using a small spoon until mixture becomes crumbly.

Pour cake batter into prepared loaf tin. Sprinkle with topping . Bake for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick come out clean. ( if you double the recipe add 10-13 more minutes bake time)  Let cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

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Pumpkin Granola Squares, No added sugar, gluten free

You can feed these delicious and healthy pumpkin squares to your little ghouls and goblins guilt free!

There is NO added sugar and they are low in fat. Pumpkins aren't just cute and tasty. They are loaded with vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants! Bonus!

So skip the sugar loaded pies and treats and get your pumpkin fix with these granola squares.

TIME  50 MINUTES    YIELDS  20 SQUARES

Ingredients

 1 c Pumpkin puree,  cooked or can

1 Egg

1/4 c  Butter

1/4 c Honey

2 Tb Molasses

2 1/2 c Rolled oats  

2 Tb Shredded coconut,

1/4 c flax meal, or whole grain hot cereal mix such as Bob's Red Mill

1 teaspoon Allspice

1 Tb *Orange rind, grated

1/4 cup Craisins

1/4 cup Walnuts, chopped

Preparation

In the bowl of a stand mixer, blend together the pumpkin, egg, butter, honey and molasses. Add the oats, nuts, coconut, wheat germ, spices, and orange zest. Blend until ingredients are well combined. Spread mixture in lightly greased 15 1/2x10 1/2-inch jelly roll pan. Bake in 350 deg. F oven for 40 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly and cut into 3x1 1/2-inch bars.

Calories 159

Calories from Fat 89 56%
Total Fat 10.54g 13%
Saturated Fat 7.81g 31%
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 15mg 5%
Sodium 25mg 1%
Potassium 150mg 4%
Total Carbs 15.23g 4%
Dietary Fiber 3.0g 10%
Sugars 6.01g 4%
Protein 2.45g

* Tip: The next time you eat an orange, save the peel and freeze it in a baggie to use for adding flavor to cookies, cakes,muffins and smoothies! Simply take a piece of frozen peel and grate it!

 

 

 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

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Pumpkin Applesauce Belgian Waffles with Orange Cranberry Chutney

My 6 year olds chin is on my shoulder staring past me on the computer screen at these waffles. As I wipe the drool off my arm he says  " Mom why can't we have these for dinner every night, then I would never ever say Ewwww, I don't like that?"   Gotta Love the logic and common sense of a 6 year old boy. I suppose I wouldn't mind having these for dinner more often either I mean why give breakfast all the fun?

These are perfectly suited for a Fall dinner especially with this tangy sweet cranberry chutney but they are also extremely simple to make and healthy enough for a weekend breakfast or brunch. It's still in the

TRIPLE

       freaking

     digits

here in Phoenix and I really  neeeeed  these pumpkin waffles and cranberry sauce in my life right now to remind me that there is such a thing as 4 seasons....... somewhere.

 I start hoarding cans of pumpkin as soon as they hit the shelves in late September. Around the end of October I think they start hiding them from me at my local Trader Joe's.  Something about saving a few for other customers  blah blah blah.....

Use fresh cranberries, which I also keep well stocked year round in my freezer instead of canned. You won't believe the difference in taste, no comparison. As soon as these babies start simmering and slowly popping open and infusing with the orange juice and zest I am bouncing on my toes in anticipation of the blissfully tangyness  that is about to happen in my mouth.

Cranberries have long been valued for their ability to help prevent and treat urinary tract infections. Now, recent studies suggest that this native American berry may also promote gastrointestinal and oral health, prevent the formation of kidney stones, lower LDL and raiseHDL (good) cholesterol, aid in recovery from stroke, and even help prevent cancer.

Fresh cranberries, which contain the highest levels of beneficial nutrients, are at their peak from October through December, just in time to add their festive hue, tart tangy flavor and numerous health protective effects to your holiday meals. When cranberries' short fresh season is past, rely on cranberry juice and dried or frozen cranberriesto help make every day throughout the year a holiday from disease.

Spoon the still hot cranberry chutney over your piping hot pumpkin waffles and skip the syrup. 

PREP TIME 10 MINUTES        COOK TIME 15 MINUTES          YIELDS about 10 waffles 

INGREDIENTS:  

2 cups unbleached whole wheat flour 

1/4 cup flax meal (ground flax) - put it on oatmeal, yogurt, muffins, cookies etc. 

1/2 cup wheat germ - {you can also put it on oatmeal, yogurt, muffins and cookies} 

1/3 cup turbinado (raw) sugar 

2 TBSP baking powder 

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice or (1/2 t cinnamon + 1/4 t ground ginger + 1/8 t nutmeg + 1/8 t ground cloves, 1 tsp nutmeg 

1/2 tsp fine salt 

1 cup almond milk or low fat milk 

1 - 14 oz. can pumpkin puree 

1/4 cup unsalted, melted butter 

2 large eggs 

1 egg white 

chopped pecans or walnuts for topping

Beat together the milk, pumpkin, melted butter, agave and eggs in a bowl. In another bowl, mix together flour, wheat germ, flax meal, baking powder, spices and salt. Make a well in the dry ingredients, pour in wet ingredients. Mix together until just combined. 

Pour into a preheated waffle maker. 

*If you have settings on yours, set it to med. otherwise, you might have to remove them before the light goes off so as not to burn. They will be moist and delicious!!!

Cranberry Compote  makes about 4 cups 

1 - 12 oz. bag whole, fresh cranberries (found in the produce isle)
1/4 cup O.J.
1 TBSP orange zest
2 TBSP Agave nectar (or raw turbinado sugar)
1 cup water
2 TBSP cornstarch
1 tsp real vanilla extract

Mix cornstarch in a measuring cup with about 1/4 cup of the water. Bring the rest of the ingredients to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add cornstarch mixture. Lower heat. Cook about 8 minutes. You can use this as a topping on yogurt too. My 9 month old loves this!

Nutrition Info
Calories 208
Calories from Fat 78 (37%)
Amount Per Serving %DV
Total Fat 8.8g 13%

Saturated Fat 3.0g 14%

Monounsaturated Fat 3.0g

Polyunsaturated Fat 2.1g

Trans Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 40mg 13%

Sodium 290mg 12%
Potassium 320mg 9%
Total Carbohydrate 28.1g 9%
Dietary Fiber 4.8g 19%
Sugars 3.4g
Protein 6.8g 13%

This post was created for the Monthly Mingle October edition featuring "squash" hosted this month by 

Dara over at Cookin' Canuck.

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Ginger-Pear Popsicles

Have you ever heard of Seasonal Affective Disorder 'SAD'? According to the Mayo Clinic it is described as a very real condition which is a type of depression that occurs at the same time every year. Usually symptoms start in the fall and may continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody.

Usually people who are affected with this live in a part of the Country or World where there is less light during the day such as in Washington State or the East Coast here in the States. This being said, my husband is convinced he has SAD. He's not the type of guy to complain or even mention that he not feeling well and has 'jokingly' said he must have SAD when I ask him why he is so sullen lately. The fact that we live in Phoenix, Az., the Valley of the Sun makes it harder to wrap my head around the possibility that a native Zonie can have a condition that is primarily caused by a lack of light. (light therapy usually helps treat this condition).  Maybe a vacation to the Bahamas is in order! I've been feeling a bit moody or as I like to say "hormonally unstable" lately as well. Then again, I'm used to it. ;)

Maybe a V-K isn't possible right now but I'm pretty sure popsicles cheer up most everyone, right?

Who says popsicle season is over? IMHO it's the perfect time for a cold sweet treat especially when all of my favorite flavors are in season like pears, pumpkin and apples. Apple Pie popsicle anyone? Check back on Thursday for the recipe and a chance to win my new favorite toy, the Zoku Pop Maker. This cute little gadget is cord free and can freeze popsicles in about 5 minutes! Shazaaam!

Ginger Pear Popsicles

Simple ingredients: Fresh pears, ginger root, vanilla almond milk and honey.

Did you know that ginger is excellent for calming a sick tummy? If you or your kiddos have an upset tummy give them one of these popsicles, it will help with nausea. I wish I had thought of these

when I had morning sickness for months on end!

My favorite pear to snack on are Bosc's although they are slightly grainy and next time I won't use them in popsicles. As my 8 year old put it "It tastes like you put sand in these."

These are my other favorites:

Bartlett's  are the juiciest pears when eaten raw and, consequently, lose their shape when cooked, turning to pear-sauce quite easily with the briefest exposure to heat. They are perfect for making Pear Butter or any other recipe where you want the pears to fall apart when you cook them.

Anjou  pears have a mild flavor and a firm texture, while still being sweet and juicy.

Bosc  pears are crisp when raw and hold their shape beautifully when cooked. They have the best example of the soft, grainy texture associated with pears. They are easy to recognize by their brownish russet skin, classic pear shape, and heady pear aroma. Use them to make savaory dishes like Pork With Pears and Chiles and Bourbon-Glazed Pears, or in desserts like Upside-Down Pear Cake and Sparkling Pear Sorbet.

Asian  pears are super crunchy - more like crisp apples than other pears. They are great for eating raw, especially when sliced or diced into salads. They are so good raw, in fact, that people rarely cook Asian pears. If you have a glut of them, though, they work wonderfully in tarts and crisps, like this Asian Pear Crisp. 

Ingredients 

3 fresh pears (any kind should work)1 small piece of fresh ginger root (about the size of your thumb)1 cup vanilla almond milk1tablespoon local Organic honey1/2 teaspoon cinnamon1/4 teaspoon nutmeg1/8 teaspoon cardamom

Blend all ingredients in blender until smooth, NO ice! I used my Vitamix so I even included the seeds and skins on the pears. Pour the mixture into the Zoku Pop Maker. Set timer for 7 minutes and watch while your kids peer over the top and watch the Popsicles freeze before their eyes!

The Results?

Jack ~ 8 1/2 years old "They taste kind of like nothing"  He's my cynic  

Nolan ~ 7 years old   "They're delicious! They kind of taste like chocolate but not really. Next time can we have chocolate popsicles?" He's my little sweet tooth.  

Mona ~  4 years old   "Mmmmmmm, these are sooooooo goooooooood! They taste just like a popsicle!"  She's my baby. ;}

Bottom line? I loved them! They were very refreshing with just a hint of zing from the ginger and a touch of sweetness from the honey.  Next time I might add a bit more honey to appease the kids. Perfect for sitting out on the back patio during the fall months with a cool breeze. 

Don't forget to stop by on Thursday for my Apple Pie popsicle recipe and a chance to win a Zoku Pop Maker!

happy snacking!

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Tropical Fruit, Nut and Seed Granola Treats... Not for the Birds!

I've been on a mission to feed my family way less flour, sugar and processed foods and eat  more whole grains, nuts and seeds. It's almost impossible to find all natural goodies at the market and when you do, ouch, it costs a small fortune. Why is it that most healthy foods are so much more expensive? It's no wonder so many people grab pre-made, pre-packaged, over processed junk. Well I'll let you in on a little secret I've discovered..... being healthy is in fact NOT more expensive but it does require a bit of effort, just a bit! In fact, if you do the math, it's cheaper to make your own goodies, after school snacks etc from scratch. Just keep your pantry stocked with whole grains (not whole wheat), a variety of nuts and seeds and a bit of dried fruit for adding natural sweetness.


So these chewy, tropical whole grain "cookies" are a perfect snack, morning or afternoon. Great to pack in your kids lunches or take with you for an mid-hike energy boost. By using orange juice,dried fruit and coconut, you don't have to add processed sugar. Of course fruit contains fructose, which is a natural sugar that is good for you in moderation. If you want these a bit sweeter you can add a little Agave nectar.

You Will Need:

1 1/2 cups 5 grain cereal or whole grain oats

1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon allspice

2 tablespoons  orange juice

1/2 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut

2 tablespoons toasted flax seeds

1/4 cup unsalted pistachio nuts,  chopped

1/4 cup walnuts, chopped

1/4 cup each; dried date pieces and dried apricot, chopped

3 ripe bananas

1/4 cup coconut or canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract





TIME   30 MINUTES     YIELDS  15-20 squares

Putting it all together:

Preheat oven to 300F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.


In the bowl of a stand  mixer, combine oil, bananas, juice and vanilla extract. Beat on medium-high spread till mashed. Add flax seeds, salt, spices and oats, mix till combined. Add nuts and fruit, mix till combined.

Spread the batter evenly onto the baking sheet, about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch high. Sprinkle coconut on top, press down gently .

Bake for about 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown.  Place baking sheet on cooling rack. Let cool slightly, cut into bars or fun shapes with cookie cutters. Store in airtight container and keep in the fridge.

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Tofu-Berry Morning Smoothie

If your anything like me, you get completely bored with breakfast every once and a while. I don't like to give the kids cold cereal very often because most all of them are laden with sugar and processed flour. Also, if you could see how much these 3 boys eat you would know that they easily scarf down a big box of cereal and well, boxed cereal is like $4 ea. That adds up fast. So that leaves the old reliable oatmeal. Even though we doll it up with pecans, flax, honey and dried fruit you can only eat so much oatmeal. That goes for eggs too.
Smoothies are always a fun treat and perfectly nutritious when made with healthy ingredients. You can always use plain, non-fat yogurt or Greek yogurt as a base, then add fruit of choice.

This time I used some soft Organic Tofu instead of yogurt for the protein. I freeze fresh blueberries when they are in season and chopped up frozen banana so the smoothies are nice and cold. That's it, blend it all up, add a tablespoon of flax meal for added Omega's and you have a super power breakfast smoothie!
These will wake you up and keep you energized much longer than cold cereal. Perfect breakfast for kids going to school!

Baby Mona gives her smile of approval!

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Okra Dippers with Home Made Buttermilk Poppy Dressing

Okra is in season right now (October) and it's not just for creole or jumbolaya! Okra is a favored vegetable in jumbos and jumbolaya because of it's gummy quality when cooked, adding to the thickness of the popular Southern dish. Although know for this sticky quality, when lightly steamed okra is a sweet crunchy snack perfect for dipping! To get kids excited about trying okra serve it with a small dipping bowl of buttermilk dressing!

To prepare, wash okra and place in a steamer basket. Fill a sauce pot with just enough water to steam the okra for 3 minutes. Leave the okra pods in tact to make for fun little dipping spears. Make sure the water does not touch the okra to avoid the slimy texture. 

Check below for my simply Buttermilk Poppy Dressing!

Chop up for babies.

 * Health Benefits of Okra

• Great source of dietary fiber, minerals, vitamins A, C and K; recommended in cholesterol controlling and weight reduction programs.

• The rich fiber and mucilaginous content in Okra pods helps smooth peristalsis of digested food particles and relieve constipation condition.

•  Are rich in B-complex group of vitamins like niacin, vitamin B-6, thiamin and pantothenic acid.

• The pods are also good source of many important minerals such as iron, calcium, manganese and magnesium.

Buttermilk Poppy Dressing:

1/4 c plain yogurt
1/4 c buttermilk
pinch Stevia

1 t lemon juice
1/2 t poppy seeds

dash sea salt & freshly-ground black pepper

Okra is great for your gut! Excellent for total digestive health!

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