Snack Time

We have been in a major food rut. I swear I just stare, cluelessly, at my meal planning sheet each week. It's as if all my delicious recipes are filed away in a part of my brain that I simply cannot access right now. My complete lack of new posts reflects the complete lack of anything new or inspiring coming out of my kitchen.

Snacks have been pathetic, too. Fruit and veggies with hummus are pretty much what we've been sticking to, and we're all tired of it. Nobody wants to eat it anymore, and when my kids don't eat, it's not pretty (remember hungrumpy?) Hunting the internet this weekend for someone else's ideas, I came across this post from What Life Dishes Out. YES! THANK YOU! This was a snack technique that I used to use when Lainey was a toddler. She really didn't like take time out to sit and have a snack, so I used to put out an ice cube tray with little bits of a variety of snacks that she could nibble on all morning. As she got older and we phased that out, I completely forgot how genius it is!

The idea to make it a "super secret surprise" snack sampler is equally genius. Lainey was ALL OVER this. She must have said "Thanks, Mom!!" about six times. She loved it, and I was able to give her a good mix of healthy snacks. Score!

This time, her Super Secret Snack included raisins and sunflower seeds, a few mini cheese sticks (cut from my giant block), banana slices, four Soy Crisps, carrots and rice crackers, and a spoonful of hummus.

Combating the Hungrumpy

**I have been corrected, and have thus corrected my post; the word is hungrumpy, not grumpungry. :)

Yes, that says hungrumpy. As in grumpy and hungry--or hunger induced grumpiness. I credit my clever brother-in-law with coining this phrase (Thanks Bri!), which unfortunately is a common syndrome in our house. My mother-in-law tells the story of my husband, as a child, behaving like an absolute devil prior to a meal. Minutes after eating, she describes the sweet, loving smile accompanied with an "I love you, Mom.". Cute story, and though I've witnessed similar behavior in the adult-Mike, I always suspected it was a little exaggerated.

Until I had my very own mini-Mike named Alaina.

The story is 100% accurate (truly!!), and it happens regularly. I have learned that I need to keep a steady supply of snacks going or hungrumpy rears it's (really) ugly face. Our snacking had gotten into a rut over the past couple months. We don't really eat processed snack foods, and a piece of fruit and/or a small bowl of yogurt was getting old for all of us.

Our new favorite snack is super healthy and quick to get on the table. I've been trying hard to get more veggies on Lainey's "like" list. I had tried cut veggies with dip in the past, and it was always met with resistance. I need to remember more often the "try new foods again and again" rule; I brought out some carrot sticks, cucumbers, and homemade hummus last week, and both girls gobbled it up.

I have played around for a little over a year with different hummus recipes; super garlic-y, cumin, tahini-free, plain, atrichoke...but none of them compared to the store hummus. Then, a few weeks ago I pulled out my recipe book and found this recipe, from my dear friend Amy. It's hummus perfection--creamy and not overpowering; just a perfect blend of traditional hummus flavors. It takes about five minutes to make, and I plan to have this in the fridge all the time.

Lebanese Hummus

1 clove garlic, crushed (I used garlic powder, maybe 1/4 tsp)

1/4 c. lemon juice

16 oz. can chick peas, drained with liquids reserved

1/3 c. sesame tahini

1 tsp. salt

I put all ingredients in a bowl and puree with my immersion blender; add liquid as needed to help puree and thin to desired consistency.

Here's to a hungrumpy free day!

Autumn Perfection: Triple Ginger Cookies

I feel like my brain wants to start every post lately with some comment about how much I love the Fall. I'm sounding less than creative, but it's so true. I LOVE the Fall. And one of the main reasons I love the fall is for all the amazing foods that just taste so much better when the weather is cool. The smell of soup simmering on the stove all day, warm apple cider, sweet squash, root vegetables....sigh. LOVE LOVE LOVE!

One Fall Food that graces my kitchen counters on a verrry regular basis are these incredible Triple Ginger Cookies.

In my husband's world, a cookie is not a cookie without chocolate, so I confess that I bake these quite selfishly for myself. I've never been a big gingersnaps person; they're tasty, but I could never get into that extreme crispiness in a cookie. This, however, is the perfect blend of the gingersnap flavor with a very chewy cookie. They are delicious, and healthy--whole wheat flour, honey-sweetened, loaded with ginger to help you fight off all those nasty cold germs floating around this time of year...I literally can't get enough of them.

The "triple" ginger comes from three different forms of ginger baked into these beauties, so be sure to serve these to kiddos with a big cup of water or milk. Lainey enjoys them, but I do get an earful of "my tongue is tingling, mama!" every time she eats one.

TRIPLE GINGER COOKIES

2 1/2 c whole wheat flour

3 tsp powdered ginger**

1 tsp cinnamon**

1/2 tsp ground cloves**

dash of nutmeg**

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

tiny pinch cayenne pepper (yes, trust me!)

2/3 c honey

1/2 c oil

1 egg

1/2 c molasses

1/2 c chopped crystallized ginger

2 tbsp fresh grated ginger

---display-worthy crystallized ginger---

**I buy my powdered ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves from Wild Thyme, in Ballston Spa...they sell bulk organic herbs and spices for a FRACTION of what you'd pay in the grocery store, and the quality is incredible.

Heat oven to 350°. Mix all dry ingredients in one bowl, set aside. Mix all wet ingredients in another bowl. Mix wet and dry together.

Gently stir in crystallized ginger and fresh grated ginger.

Drop by the tablespoon onto cookiesheet (I have nonstick, so I don't grease mine) and bake 8-10 minutes. They WILL be soft, DO NOT OVERBAKE! Let sit on cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes, then move to cooling rack to cool completely.

---oops...still working on cracking eggs...---

Rhubarb Cookies

In my house, with the cool weather come lots of warm soups, and lots of baking. I've really gotten in gear this week with both, and today's baking experiment REALLY paid off. I cut and brought in the little bit of rhubarb that I managed to grow in my garden this year--what an amazing plant. The leaves on these stalks were incredible...I'm not a very good photographer, so it isn't the best photo (the apple is for a size reference!), but look at the size of this leaf!! (They actually grow much bigger than this, but my plants were transplanted this Spring and took a while to recover.)

I've realized recently that baking a healthy sweet treat makes a huge difference in my snacking and sweet-cravings all week. When I don't have something baked at home, I still get a sweets craving, and end up getting cookies at the McDonald's drive-thru...mmm, but ick. :) If you're trying to cut back on sweets, try some healthier baked goods at home and see if it helps you, too! (try baking one big batch of something Saturday or Sunday, then you're set for the week...or at least a few days :) )

Back to today's treat: I didn't want to deal with a rhubarb pie, so I hunted for a rhubarb cookie recipe and found this, from thefoodspot.com. I made a few modifications, as always, and these cookies came out waaaay better than I expected. I got nervous once they were in the oven that substituting honey would not give enough sweet to counter my rhubarb's tart, but the sweet level is perfect (unless you ask my husband, who believes a cookie isn't complete without chocolate chips...if you are a fellow chocolate lover, it would definitely work in these cookies).

Rhubarb Cookies

from The Food Spot

2 cups flour (I used half whole wheat, half all purpose)

1 1/4 cups brown sugar (I used honey)

8 tbsp butter (I used half butter, half chia gel)

1 egg

2 tsp milk

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup dried cranberries (had none, used raisins)

1 cup rhubarb, finely chopped

1 cup chopped walnuts (only had 1/2 cup)

Preheat oven to 350°. Beat wet ingredients in bowl until smooth. Mix in dry ingredients, then stir in rhubarb, raisins, and nuts. Spoon out about 2 tbsp. cookies onto a greased cookie sheet, and bake for 12-14 minutes. Cool one minute on cookie sheet, then move to cooling rack.

Delicious, healthy, and even pretty with those flecks of red rhubarb!

Homemade Applesauce

The Fall is my favorite time of year. Even though it's actually quite the opposite by definition, it always makes me feel alive and full of energy--I think the new school year, starting-fresh feeling of the Fall has stuck with me into adulthood.

Along with cooler weather (a refreshing break from getting sweaty just getting the kids out the door), the Fall season brings many of my favorite foods, and apples are at the top of the list. I am still in awe every year at how incredibly delicious apples are when they are in season and fresh-picked. We've been getting them in the fruit share of our CSA, and have made several batches of applesauce already this year. It's SO easy, and VERY kid-friendly. I think this was the most involved Lainey has been in a cooking activity in a long time.

First off, wash and peel the apples. Really, if you're making a good-sized batch of applesauce, you've gotta have one of these:

It peels, cores, and slices up your apples in seconds. And, supervised, it's kiddo-friendly and really fun!

Get rid of all those peels and cores, and throw your apple slices in a large saucepan. Cover the bottom with just a drizzle of water...I usually use enough to cover the bottom of my pan about a half inch or so...again, I don't measure it, so just eyeball and add more if you need to! (another very kid-friendly step: no measuring required, no hot stove!)

Now just put it on the stove, covered, and medium-low heat, and let it simmer away. In about 30-45 minutes, shake in your cinnamon and nutmeg (amounts are up to you--to your taste), give it a little mash up with a fork or a pastry cutter, and you'll have this:

You do NOT need to add sugar to this applesauce! If you are using fresh apples in season, they are delicious enough. No sugar needed. :)

Happy Fall!

Easy Popsicles

Last week, I wrote a product review of these popsicle molds (thanks, Jeanine!!) by Tovolo:

(see it on the other blog I write for, From Scratch)

I am definitely a big fan. The molds themselves are great, and the process of popsicle making is so toddler friendly: it's very easy, there's no hot stove involved, and the end result is a super kid-friendly treat.

We have made three batches now from our one bottle of juice. The first round was half creamsicles and half popsicles, but the straight up juice is a much bigger hit, so we've been sticking with those. There's no recipe, just pour the juice into the molds and freeze. Lainey has helped by using her kid sized ladle to fill them, but here's a few more complicated (if you could even call it that!) recipes that I think we'll try in the coming weeks.

• Fruity Veggie Popsicles, from the Green Baby Guide: yummy strawberry popsicles with fresh spinach pureed right in!
• Green Pops--bananas, pineapple, plus greens of your choice, from Goddess of the Garden
• Carrot, Sweet Potato and Apple Popsicles from Kids Going Green

The very best thing about these popsicles is a completely unexpected surprise...these are pretty good-sized popsicles, so it takes a good 30 minutes for Lainey to eat an entire popsicle (which she always does...she's devouring these things the the very last lick!). This means a full half hour of time for me...to get a meal ready/clean up (or maybe blog... :) ).

Zucchini Patties

Thanks to my friend Colleen for the big honkin' zucchini that inspired this recipe! It sat on my counter for a few days, tempting me to make a massively huge batch of Garden Cake. I decided to fight the sweets-urge, though, and I made these Zucchini Patties instead. (As it turned out, I had more than enough zucchini to make both recipes, lucky us!)

This recipe came from Allrecipes.com, which is one of my favorite websites for recipes. It provides ratings and reviews of recipes, so you never face the disappointment of spending an afternoon cooking something that is, when finally finished, less than edible. These Zucchini Patties had 663 (!!) amazing reviews, so I took my zucchini to the grater without hesitation. They turned out delicious--full of flavor, easy to prepare, and a hit with Lainey! We had them over several days for lunch, along with whatever leftovers we could find in the fridge.

Do you have a favorite use-up-the-zucchini recipe?

ZUCCHINI PATTIES

from allrecipes.com

2 c grated zucchini

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 c chopped onion

1/2 c flour

1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 c shredded mozzarella

salt and pepper to taste

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 clove minced garlic (my addition)

In a medium bowl, mix zucchini, eggs, onion, flour, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, garlic, and salt.

Heat a small amount of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Form mixture into smallish patties (mine were about 2" in diameter), cook for a few minutes on each side, until golden brown. (the original recipe recommends dropping the mixture by heaping tablespoons, but I was worried it wouldn't cook all the way through all the way).

We had these with a side of marinara sauce--delish!!

Cucumbers and Dill, Two Ways

Cucumbers are, by far, my favorite summer vegetable. Our CSA has not disappointed in the cukes department this year. Pair them with some fresh dill from my garden, and I'm in cucumber heaven. Here are two of my favorite ways to enjoy them.

I should clarify that my all-time favorite is homemade pickles, but I have not mastered that one...perhaps my mom or my sister would like to guest blog?? (hint, hint!) This Cucumbers Vinaigrette is a close second. It's slightly adapted from "Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites". Lainey is not a big fan, but the delicious-ness of this recipe warrants breaking the general rules for my blog. :)

CUCUMBERS VINAIGRETTE:

2 medium cucumbers, peeled in stripes

1/4 c cider vinegar

2 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp dried mustard

lots of fresh dill, chopped (I use about 1 tbsp)

Slice the cucumbers crosswise into 1/8"-1/4" rounds.

Combine the vinegar, sugar, salt, and mustard in a serving bowl. Toss with the sliced cucumbers and add dill to taste. Refrigerate at least 2 hours (the longer the better, this only gets better with time!)

My second recipe, Cucumber Yogurt Soup, is so refreshing and satisfying. My hunt for this recipe was inspired by the soup I recently ate at Joshua's Cafe in Woodstock, NY. Their's was definitely better, but this still hit the spot. By the way, if you want to eat an amazing, healthy meal, Woodstock is the place to visit! We love the food options there so much, we are going back for our five-year anniversary in September. Mmm, I can't wait!!

CUCUMBER YOGURT SOUP:

from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

8 small-medium cucumbers, peeled and chopped (I also seeded mine)

3 c water

3 c yogurt (I used Argyle Cheese Plain yogurt from the farmer's market)

2 + tbsp fresh dill

1 tbsp lemon juice

Combine ingredients in food processor until smooth, chill before serving. (I reserved a cup or two of my chopped cucumber to put back into the puree for some extra texture).

Keep it Simple--Stir Fried Sugar Snap Peas

I used to think I had to fix fancy, complicated recipes that took all afternoon in order for a dish to be delicious. Yes, there are plenty of multi-step, multiple-pot-dirtying recipes that are quite good. But, more and more lately, I'm realizing the best way to prepare so many foods is often the simplest way (and, by the way, it's usually the way some new vegetable moves from my 'eh' list to my 'wow' list)...I feel like it let's you taste just the wonderful flavors of the vegetable itself, instead of drowning it in so many other flavors.

Tonight's dinner was homemade veggie burgers (these were amazing, by the way...recipe will be later this week!) and these stir-fried sugar snap peas from our CSA share.

They were so good. My mouth is watering again just looking at this picture. Oh, and they half passed my Lainey-friendly test. She is so used to eating edamame, squeezing the beans out of the shell, that she really had a hard time understanding that she could eat the whole thing. She did, however, very much enjoy the peas alone. :)

Quick Stir-Fried Sugar Snap Peas

from How to Cook Everything

2 tbsp peanut, canola, or other oil (I used olive oil)

About 1 1/2 lbs peas, washed and trimmed

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil (optional--I did and feel it's a must...sesame oil has such an amazing flavor!)

Place the oil in a large, deep skillet or wok and set the heat to high. When the oil begins to smoke, toss in the peas and cook, stirring almost constantly, until the are glossy, bright green, and begin to show a few brown spots, about 5 minutes.

Turn off heat and remove to a platter. Drizzle with soy sauce and sesame oil, if you like, and serve.

Garden Cake

Tomorrow morning we head out for our first camping trip as a family of four. I'm so excited; a long weekend away with my amazing, sweet little family AND our great friends, Charles and Sara. Lainey and I spent this morning cooking and baking a slew of yummy snacks to take along. We had a pasta salad, a batch of my pesto-ish spread (this time with broccoli rabe, garlic scapes, and basil), and a batch of mini cupcakes all done before 11 a.m.

These garden cake mini-muffins came from one of my new favorite cookbooks--"More Vegetables, Please!" by Elson M. Haas, MD and Patty James, MS. It's kind of like the non-deceptive version of Deceptively Delicious....full of ideas to incorporate veggies in your meals, but by preparing them in better more appealing ways, instead of trying to trick your family into eating them.

Lainey so enjoyed making these muffins with me; this was the most enjoyable thing we've ever made together because of how involved and into it she was. She helped me grate all the vegetables with my cool old hand-cranked grater (called a King Kutter, find one on ebay!)

and loved tasting them in the grated form (and found she loves grated carrots!). She mixed, poured, grated, drank applesauce, and discovered a love of a new veggie...what more could I ask for? :)

My mom always told me to eat a rainbow of colors...I'm so in love with dessert that has all these beautiful colors baked right in!

GARDEN CAKE

from More Vegetables, Please!

1/2 c walnut oil (I used canola)

1/2 c applesauce

3 eggs

1 1/4 c sugar (I used just 1)

2 tsp vanilla

2 c whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 c unpeeled and grated carrots

1 c unpeeled and grated zucchini

1/2 c unpeeled and grated beets

1 c chocolate chips (optional)

1/2 c chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 9x13 pan. (I made mine in mini-muffin tin...just adjust bake time depending on what you bake it in).

In a large bowl, mix the oil, applesauce, eggs, and sugar, beating well with a hand mixer or whisk for 3-4 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir into wet ingredients. Add shredded veggies, chocolate chips, and walnuts. Stir until blended and pour into prepared pan. Bake 35-40 minutes (mini muffins took about 12 minutes), until toothpick comes out clean.

California, Here I Come!

I'm taking a mini-vacation this week...Lainey is staying home with Daddy, while baby Sarah and I fly with my dear friend to San Francisco for a long weekend. I'm super excited. However, it hit me last night that I'll be leaving half of my little family with no head chef. :) Unfortunately (for them), my hubby is a mess in the kitchen (figuratively and literally!)...so I'm left with two choices:
1. Leave them to fend for themselves (and eat Moe's bean burritos, PBJs, and canned baked beans) for five days.

OR
2. Get crackin' on some serious cooking that will feed them at least something in the healthy/vegetable category while I'm away.

So, I got my butt in gear today. I made the biggest batch ever of my veggie soup this morning, and I'm making a super-sized

dinner for tomorrow night with the hopes of having some leftovers to save (menu TBD...still unsure). Then Lainey and I baked some delicious Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins this afternoon. She is my official banana masher.

This is one of our favorite recipes, we make some with our extra bananas just about every week. It's really,

really good, and does NOT taste like it's whole wheat. (Check out Lainey's beautiful apron from our friend Emma!! :) )

CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA BREAD MUFFINS, adapted from Whole Foods for the Whole Family
1 3/4 c whole wheat flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/3 c. oil
1/2 c. honey
2 eggs, beaten OR 1/2 c applesauce (I do applesauce, they come out super moist)

3 medium bananas, mashed
1/4 c. hot water

1 c. choc chips (I use the grain sweetened chips from the co-op, just eyeball it until it looks good and chippy!)
Cream oil and honey in mixer. Mix in the applesauce, then bananas. Add the dry ingredients, pour in the hot water (I just keep the mixer on the whole time), then fold in the chips. Bake at 325° until a toothpick comes out clean. Time depends on what you make--mini muffins take about 10 minutes. A loaf pan takes 45-55 minutes.

The end of my kitchen help came when a pretend phone call came in from Aunt Erin... :)

The last while-I'm-away menu item I made was a surprisingly tasty salad dressing for some Apple Goat Cheese Salad. I've kind of been on a goat cheese kick ever since my pizza... Anyway, the dressing is five minutes to mix up, then just drizzle over some lettuce (pre-washed

and waiting for family in the fridge!) with diced apples and some goat cheese crumbles. We had some tonight and it was a hit with the adults. Lainey didn't like the goat cheese, so I'll leave that out for her next time. Who knew there was a cheese she wouldn't like?

SALAD DRESSING, from Paula Deen

2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/3 c olive oil

Mix all ingredients but oil. Whisk in oil or just shake it up in a jar with a lid!

I may post my last big-batch dinner, but in all likelihood I'll be hustling around trying to get my packing done tomorrow. Anyone have any tips on what NOT to miss while in San Francisco??

Peanut Butter Balls

This afternoon, Lainey and I made one of our family favorites--peanut butter balls. Not the cocolate-dunked variety, but still super tasty. These peanut butter balls are the perfect, protein-packed snack. They satisfy a sweet-tooth craving, without packing a ton of sugar....well, ANY sugar, actually. (I owe a shout-out to my sister for passing this recipe on a while back--THANKS KRISSI!)

For a truly healthy snack, you should definitely use natural peanut butter. I know it is a pain to have to stir every new jar, but the health benefits SO out-weigh the added work. Commercial peanut butter has added hydrogenated oil (that's what helps stop the oil from separating but clogs up your arteries at the same time), and usually added sugars (or even high fructose corn syrup, ick!) and preservatives. Hydrogenated oils are a major cardiovascular risk; they cause an increased risk of coronary heart disease, and not only increase your "bad" cholesterol (LDL) but even decrease "good" cholesterol (HDL)! Yikes.

(see some info on hydrogenated oil here)

Some "natural" peanut butters still have added sugar or preservatives--just read the labels to check. The ingredients on my natural peanut butter (from Ocean State Job Lot! :) )?? "Roasted peanuts, salt". I love that.

And now the recipe. Not only is this a toddler-friendly snack, it's also a toddler-friendly recipe. No hot oven, no complicated ingredients. Just pouring, stirring, and rolling. Very quick and easy.

PEANUT BUTTER BALLS:

3/4 c. honey

1 c. peanut butter

1 1/2 c. nonfat dry milk

Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl, chill for at least 30 minutes, and roll into 1" balls. Store in the fridge in single layers separated with waxed paper.