Simple Homemade Veggie Dip

Here's a great way I've found to help my children eat more veggies: While preparing lunch or dinner, I put out a small veggie "platter" for snacking, with my dip of choice. (I don't offer any other snacks during this time, or the veggies may take 2nd seat) My kids are usually hungry enough that they eat at least a serving of veggies before we've even started dinner.

We usually put out our veggies with some homemade hummus (so easy, and much more economical than store-bought!). Last week, for our afternoon snack, I created my own version of homemade Ranch dip. I couldn't believe how much the girls ate--the dish in the photo below was FULL of carrots, cucumbers, and broccoli when we started.

This was so easy to mix up (done in minutes!), and the whole family loved it.

Simple Veggie Dip

1 c plain yogurt

1 heaping spoonful of mayo (I'd guess I used about 2-3 tbsp)

LOTS of dill (I've made this now with both fresh and dried; both work)

a few shakes of garlic powder OR 1/2 of a small clove, minced

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients. Enjoy!

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.

My Little Helper

This is a non-food post, but it's kinda, sorta food -related. I have been meaning to share this for quite some time, so tonight's the night! I made a pretty awesome kid-in-the-kitchen discovery. It's this beauty, from Bissell:

I bought this a year or two ago in hopes of having something to easily tackle the mess that was (well, still is...) my kitchen floor after every meal. I hate the feeling of crumbs stuck to my feet, and that's a tough pet peeve to have along with a toddler.

Anyway...the vaccuum itself is really nothing terribly special. It doesn't pick up huge bits of food, but it helps with most dinner messes. It's designed to be a dust-buster type, hand-held vaccuum, but it also has a handle that can make it like a little sweeper. Oh, and it's five pounds...very light for one of these things. Here's the beauty: when assembled as a floor vaccuum, if the handle is removed, it is now a perfect child's vaccuum.

I was able to clean up dinner, get the baby changed for bed, and clean up all the toys in the family room during the time Lainey spent vaccuuming the kitchen for me. I was thrilled to have help, and Lainey was thrilled to be the one who "cleaned the whooooole kitchen!". This doesn't count as child labor, right? :)

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.