Goodbye, Terrible Twos!

My sweet Lainey turned three last week. It's almost impossible to believe. I can barely wrap my brain around the memories of my life without her in it, yet at the same time it feels like these three years have passed in the blink of an eye.

This year we kept her birthday celebration simple: family, pizza, and cake. For the sake of the cake, I try to let go of my healthy cooking ideals, really I do...but it's really hard for me! I feel like I can totally let go for store-bought treats; a Klondike Bar is a Klondike Bar...there's not much I can do but just eat it and enjoy every bite. :) But when something is homemade (by me), I find I just can't bake something sinfully (as in, not one single healthy ingredient) delicious. I pore over recipes, looking for the dessert that will taste sinful, but actually be not-so-bad. For her 1st and 2nd birthdays, I made a Chocoalte Beet Cake (from Deceptively Delicious); it was tasty, but not a knock-your-onesie-off chocolate cake. This year, I totally achieved what I'll call Sinfully Nutritious. Woohoo!

CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI CAKE

another fantastic find on allrecipes.com

2 c all-purpose flour (I used half whole wheat)

2 c sugar

3/4 c cocoa power

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

3 + c grated zucchini

1 1/2 c vegetable oil

4 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 9x13 baking pan.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add the eggs adn oil, mix well. Fold in zucchini until evenly distributed. Pour into prepared pan.

3. Bake 50-60 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

I topped with this frosting, it was fast, easy, and soooo good. Happy Birthday, my sweet girl!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia!

Doesn't just reading that instantly bring you back 20 years? (sad, huh? It has indeed been that long.) If you watched any TV, you remember this beauty from 1985:

I remember we got my Mom one for Mother's Day one year. It was great, and weird. The seeds mixed into a slimy, jelly, spreadable blob. One would think there must have been some strange additive into the seed mix to make it that way, right? Nope. They just do that.

I'm sure you're wondering why I'm discussing Chia Pets on a food blog. Turns out those little chia seeds are a SUPER food. They're high in Omega-3 fatty acids (even more than flax seeds), calcium, and protein, and pack tons of fiber. Chia seeds even made it onto Oprah with Dr. Oz-- here.

I bought some at the co-op this week and I'm trying a few different things with them. We had some sprinkled on our salad, and I didn't even notice them (they're flavorless, by the way). I'm planning to make some chia gel to bake with (see this website; you can replace half the butter in a recipe w/ gel and supposedly not notice...I'll keep you posted on that one). And for dessert tonight I made chocolate rice krispie treats with some mixed in, and they were DELISH. Even my non-health-food-nut parents enjoyed them. Recipe follows below, and I will experiment with some cookie-baking this week.

PS-Good luck getting the Chia Pet song out of your head. :)

Chocolate Chia Rice Krisipie Treats

modified from Clean Food, by Terry Walters

3/4 c. maple syrup

1/2 c. peanut butter

1/4 c. chocolate chips

3 c. crispy rice cereal

1/4 c. toasted sesame seeds

1/4 c. chia seeds

In a medium Dutch oven over medium-low heat, combine syrup and peanut butter until smooth. Add chocolate chips and stir until melted. Fold in rice cereal, chia seeds, and sesame seeds and stir to coat everything. Press into an 8x8 casserole and refrigerate until firm (at least 20 minutes). Cut into squares and serve or store in an airtight container.

Makes 1-1 1/2 dozen 1" squares

Mr. Magoo Muffins

Thanks to one of my favorite blogs, Mixing Bowl Kids, for this recipe! These Cereal Muffin Treats, or Mr. Magoo Muffins as Lainey calls them, are sooo good! Really, though, how could you go wrong with your favorite cereals and chocolate? Also check out Jan's other blog, Family Bites, for more great food ideas!

Lainey really had fun helping me make these. She mixed, she poured, but perhaps most importantly, she licked. Thank goodness I had the forethought to take off her shirt! :)

You know you've really enjoyed yourself when there's chocolate in your hair...