Pretty Little Apron

Recipes

Toddler Lunch: Day 14 (And why to avoid HFCS in popular ketchup brands)

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For lunch today my toddler got to try something new… Mozzarella Sticks! He said “What is that?” when I put them on the table but soon enough he realized how delicious they were! I used my Whole Grain Mozzarella Stick recipe that I just posted today and they are awesome. I highly recommend trying them! I also served a “baby orange” aka mandarin orange, whole grain pasta with a tad of butter and freshly grated parmesan cheese, sautéed mushrooms, and ketchup for dipping the mozzarella sticks.


The most note-able thing about this meal is the ketchup. I think ketchup is something we are so familiar with that we have never actually stopped to check the ingredient list. Almost ALL ketchup contains High Fructose Corn Syrup, a highly refined and likely genetically modified sweetener that is cheap and abundant. We do stay away from any products that contain HFCS, so standard ketchup is not something we purchase. Our bodies are not capable of processing HFCS the way we do regular sugar and it has been linked to obesity, depression, heart disease, diabetes and many other health issues. Dr. Mark Hyman has been leading the crusade against the use of HFCS in processed foods, and here is a link to his website further explaining the dangers of HFCS. I have linked this before and cannot stress enough how important it is to avoid this ingredient! We do limit ketchup consumption as it is still a processed item, but we buy an organic brand that does not contain HFCS. I hate to use this word because people are sick of hearing it, but it is all about moderation with the ketchup!

Whole Grain Mozzarella Sticks

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Who doesn’t love a good mozzarella stick once in a while? I know I do, and making them at home is simple and easy. You will not miss the fried version after tasting these, and your kids won’t either! This is a great recipe for a party, or just as a snack for your kids. You will need my Whole Grain Breadcrumb Recipe for these, which is simple and easy as well, taking only about 5-10 minutes from start to finish. I did omit the parmesan cheese from the breadcrumbs because I didn’t really think they needed any extra cheese! A batch of the breadcrumbs will give you more than enough to bread a few sticks, and save some in the refrigerator for another meal. Tonight I am making Fish Cakes so I knew whatever I had left would be used up in those. I love a recipe that is versatile and helps me plan future meals.


Roasted Poblano and Cheddar Mac

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My husband brought home a poblano pepper that I didn’t use in chili, so I challenged myself to coming up with a new recipe to use the pepper in. My kids request mac n cheese every time I ask them what they want for dinner, so I combined the two and it turned out to be a great twist on mac n cheese. It was really delicious with just a hint of spice. This side could easily be turned into a main dish by adding some extra veggies and seasoned black beans. If you are tired of the same old mac n cheese, I would highly recommend trying this recipe!


Toddler Lunch: Day 13

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Today for lunch was sweet and spicy chili with whole grain corn bread duckies and cheese butterflies for dipping. My toddler loves chili and often asks me to make this. The shapes made it fun and different for him so he enjoyed that! I served the chili with blueberries and some whole grain pretzel sticks. He finished the blueberries first, and asked for more. As happy as I am that he loves fruit I do try to get him to finish everything before getting more of one particular item. If I didn’t stick to this rule he would probably only eat the fruit everyday!


This morning we also had oatmeal pancakes, a recipe I am working on to share right now. I have been on the hunt for the best pancakes for a while now, and I might have found them! Will be experimenting with the recipe this week so hopefully I will be able to share that soon!

Almond Joy Greek Yogurt

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Store bought yogurts typically contain tons of  added sugar and unnecessary additives.  Most brands have jumped on the Greek Yogurt bandwagon, however a lot of the flavored versions contain GMO’s (modified corn starch), and preservatives (potassium sorbate). I have even seen mono and digycerides (hidden trans fat), natural and artificial flavorings (unknown ingredients), and fake sugars all packed into seemingly harmless Greek Yogurt.


The best thing to do is buy a plain yogurt and flavor it yourself. You will be surprised how much better this tastes then any of the already flavored stuff! If you’ve tried the Pinned It, Did It cookie dough Greek Yogurt and liked it, this one is even better! Almond butter can be expensive but I’m telling you, it is so worth the extra dollar or two. I could eat almond butter out of the jar for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and be happy about it!

I should also mention to choose your chocolate chips wisely. Most chocolate contains soy lecithin as an emulsifier, and most soy is GMO. Here are the chips I use. A few chips go a long way!

 

Toddler Lunch: Day 12 (Peanut butter and honey rolls!)

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In spite of calling out Smucker’s I decided to show them how to really make a peanut butter and honey sandwich without the crust! To make these fun peanut butter and honey rolls I simply got a whole grain Ezekiel tortilla, spread peanut butter on half of it, then spread honey over top and used a pizza cutter to make strips. If you want to do this it is super easy, just make sure your tortilla is warm or it could rip.


I always give the same disclaimer when I use peanut butter. Check ingredients! Make sure your peanut butter doesn’t contain partially hydrogenated oils aka trans fats. A good quality peanut butter should not have more then 1 or 2 ingredients. Choosy moms DO NOT choose Jiff!

He also had mandarin oranges, blueberries, carrot sticks, peas, and a mix of raw cashews, raisins, and a few little pieces of chocolate my husband got me for mother’s day. My husband sure does know me because he came home with a few great chocolate bars! I have been on the search for a good quality chocolate that does not contain soy, and he found some! The brand is called Equal Exchange Chocolates. Almost ALL chocolate contains soy lecithin and most of the time the soy is GMO. When I got my GMO scanner app I realized the chocolate chips I had were GMO, so no more of those. Here is a link to the chocolate bars and another great brand of chocolate chips that do not contain soy. Happy Friday everyone!

Ultimate Oven Fries with Sour Cream and Onion Dip

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ovenfries There are a few secrets to the best oven fries. First, use butter! I only used two tablespoons for a whole batch of fries so a little goes a long way. Second, boil potatoes first, then bake. This will give you a really soft center and crunchy outside. Third, SEASON correctly. Potatoes don’t taste like anything so you need to season them nicely if you want them to turn out good. I do use a secret ingredient as well, and it is Bragg’s Sprinkle. It contains 23 seasonings and spices and it can turn anything into a delicious masterpiece in seconds! Here is the link to the seasoning. These fries would also make an awesome side a party topped with cheese and served with the dip in the middle of a tray!

If you don’t have the seasoning you can mix something similar up using a combination of equal parts rosemary, onion salt, garlic powder, thyme, basil, and parsley. Obviously those are only a few of the spices included in the seasoning but I feel those are the major flavors.


Toddler Lunch: Day 11 (and why Hidden Valley would prefer their ingredients stay hidden!)

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toddler11 For lunch today my toddler had mostly leftovers from last night’s dinner. I made my 5 minute flounder recipe last night because my oldest son had a baseball game and it was one of those rush around evenings. I love that my kids are involved with sports but it can put a damper on eating a healthy meal together as a family. I knew I could quickly make the fish and throw in an extra piece for lunch today. When you are continually cooking healthy and unprocessed dinners, it can make other meals easier! I also served oven fries (from last night as well), carrots with homemade sour cream and onion dip, and a trail mix of coconut/chocolate popcorn (recipe coming soon!), almonds, and raisins.

I think the most important part of this meal is the dip. I use this in place of ranch dressing for the kids to dip veggies into. It is a better alternative to bottled ranch dressings because the truth it, most of the ingredients in bottled ranch are not ingredients anyone has sitting in their pantry. Here are the ingredients in Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing:


Soybean Oil, Water, Egg Yolk, Sugar, Salt, Cultured Nonfat Buttermilk, Natural Flavors (S0Y), Spices, Less Than 1% Of: Dried Garlic, Dried Onion, Vinegar, Phosphoric Acid, Xanthan Gum, Modified Food Starch, Monosodium Glutamate, Artificial Flavors, Disodium Phosphate, Sorbic Acid And Calcium Disodium EDTA As Preservatives, Disodium Inosinate And Disodium Guanylate.

If you have never looked at this ingredient list before it is a real eye opener at how much crap they can shove into one bottle. Here are the red flags:

  • First ingredient highly processed and refined soybean oil. Unhealthy, cheap, genetically modified.
  • Monosodium Glutamate: MSG, the chemical that excites your brain cells so much that your  brain tells you that you want more.
  • Artificial flavors: Unknown chemicals.
  • Calcium Disodium EDTA:  Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid are we in chemistry class now? Yeah, didn’t think so. Anything abbreviated on an ingredient list means you should be questioning why you are eating it.

The rest of the ingredients are flavor enhancers and thickeners because well, soybean oil doesn’t taste like anything and isn’t dairy-like. Essentially this is another example of using soybean oil as a main ingredient and then adding a ton of extra stuff to make it seem like something else. I guess Hidden Valley took a page out of the Campbell’s soup book!

 

 

Toddler Lunch: Day 10 (Kale Fail)

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toddlerlunch10 Yes… I attempted the unthinkable… I tried to feed my toddler KALE! I know he loves black beans, cheese, and sour cream so I thought I’d throw some baby kale chopped up underneath and he’d never notice. I suppose I forgot I was dealing with a toddler here!

The real problem might have been that he saw my lunch sitting next to his and decided mine looked better. I was eating the same thing, mine was just already spread out on a pita instead of pitas to dip in the mix. “I want that!” he said when he saw mine. So of course, he got mine and I got his. Mine did have a few bits of kale on it so I succeeded in getting him to try it, however as a “salad” he wasn’t having it! Lesson learned.


The beans I used in this are just a can of black beans, a tablespoon or two of strained tomatoes, and a sprinkle of cumin, chili powder, and adobo seasoning. My whole family loves beans like these and they are very versatile. When someone is hungry I can quickly  put together something that tastes good and is nutritious. They are also super budget friendly!

The pita is the brand Food for Life and does not contain any refined ingredients. These are just as awesome as the rest of the Food for Life products! You can’t get a better grain product!

 

Sweet and Spicy Chili

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If you have seen any of my other posts you may have noticed I do serve sweet potatoes often! My kids love to eat them as fries, and I like to put them into many dishes. The hint of sweetness they provide compliment many other ingredients. I started putting sweet potatoes in my chili after my husband bought a butternut squash that I needed to use before it went bad. It worked so well I moved right on to sweet potatoes and now I rarely make chili without them. This is a staple recipe in my kitchen and I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

I also serve this with whole wheat cornbread, and you can find that recipe here. I followed this recipe but instead of using cream I used milk and it came out perfect.

Also, here is a link to the tomato product I use. We do stay away from canned tomatoes because of the possibility of chemical leaching into the product.

Toddler Lunch: Day 9

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toddlerlunch9 This lunch is a great example of the fact that it doesn’t take a ton of time to feed your children foods that aren’t packaged. I always hear from people how busy they are, and while I understand, I think the more you cook the easier and less time consuming it gets. I made these mini egg and cheese “muffins” this morning and it only took a few minutes to get them ready for the oven. I mixed 3 eggs with two tablespoons of milk, then filled each mini muffin tin with about a tablespoon of sharp cheddar cheese. I poured the egg mixture over the cheese and that was it! Then I baked them for about 20 minutes. With the little effort I put in I have a great lunch for my toddler and snack for my 1st grader for when he gets home from school. I put the frozen pop together yesterday as well as the whole wheat cheese crackers (recipe coming soon). The pop is simply yogurt, cocoa powder, raw honey, and strawberries. Kids love frozen stuff so if  you are struggling with including fruits in your meals this is a good tactic to try to get them to explore new flavors.

I should also mention my son HATES broccoli! It is one of those vegetables that doesn’t even make it to the table before he starts saying how gross it is. I was feeding my 11 month old broccoli today so I steamed some extra and threw it in there. I don’t make a big deal out of issues like this because I have found the less I mention it, the more likely he is to just try it. He used to eat broccoli all the time but  we went a month or two without serving it and when I tried again he was not having it! It was a good reminder to me not to get into a routine of serving the same few things over and over again (we had a very needy baby at the time). I will continue to offer broccoli because if I just write it off as a food he doesn’t like, he will never get the chance to change his mind about it.


Toddler Lunch: Day 8

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We had leftovers of our chicken noodle soup, so I served the soup along with sweet potato fries, mango slices, and fresh popped popcorn. I love eating this soup the next day because as it sits over-night in the refrigerator it develops more flavor! The sweet potatoes in this soup give the broth a nice hint of sweetness and the longer it sits the better it gets.


For the popcorn, I simply put about a 1/2 a cup of organic corn kernels in a brown bag, fold the top over, and pop it for 2 minutes and 30 seconds in the microwave. When it comes out I sprinkle adobo seasoning, a pinch of kosher salt, and a drizzle of olive oil over it and that’s it! No artificial flavors, hydrogenated oils, or chemical laden bags with this popcorn! Here is another popcorn recipe I use for a sweeter version, along with some information on what makes microwave popcorn bags so bad for us.

Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup

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chickensoup8 We invited some of our friends from church over so I decided to make a nice big pot of chicken noodle soup. I love this soup and make it often. I always think I will make extra and we will have a lot leftover to eat throughout the week but somehow it always disappears quickly! One thing I do not use in a soup like this is boxed chicken stock or bullion cubes. Although these products can make a soup taste good, they all contain MSG or some form of it (yeast extract, autolyzed yeast). I have not found a boxed product that does not contain these ingredients. Even stocks that are labeled as containing “No MSG” still contain the yeast extract and autolyzed yeast. I would stay away from these products especially because these companies are being deceitful about what is in their products, which is not the type of company I want to support. Not only is MSG linked to obesity, depression, eye damage, and fatigue, it also over-excites your brain cells and tells you that you want more.

This recipe does take some time to make, but 95% of that time is spent just simmering to create a tasty broth. I can put this on the stove and do a number of things before I go back to the soup for the next step. It is a great soup to make on a weekend when you cleaning the house or playing with the kiddos. I also use half regular potatoes, half sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes give the broth a hint of sweetness that sets this soup apart from any other chicken noodle soup you have had!


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Toddler Lunch: Day 7 (Green Eggs and Fruit)

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You should have been at my house for dinner last night! I found a moussaka recipe on Pinterest and well.. let’s just say after preparing it for an hour or so I hated it! My husband was the only one who actually liked it and generally he does like the flavors that were mixed in the dish (cloves, cinnamon lamb). Needless to say I will NOT be making that recipe again! It was a great reminder that not every recipe works out the way you were hoping, and that is part of cooking. I don’t know any chefs that haven’t cooked a few awful meals! While I followed the directions and cooked everything the right way, the combination of flavors were a bit off.


One Pinterest win I had were these “Green Eggs”. If you are staying away from processed foods mayonnaise should be one of the first things to get rid of. Use it up, and forget it ever existed! I think mayo is one of those condiments we don’t even question but the reality is mayo is mostly just soybean oil. Not to mention nobody really knows how they get it to be the texture that it is so that’s never a good thing either. Here are the ingredients in Helman’s classic mayonnaise:

INGREDIENTS: SOYBEAN OIL, WATER, WHOLE EGGS AND EGG YOLKS, VINEGAR, SALT, SUGAR, LEMON JUICE, CALCIUM DISODIUM EDTA (USED TO PROTECT QUALITY), NATURAL FLAVORS. GLUTEN-FREE.

When I visited the Helman’s website I saw they were claiming to be using “cage-free” eggs. First of all, I’m sure the “cage-free” they are talking about and the cage-free we are thinking of are two different things. If the first ingredient in their mayo is highly refined and likely GMO soybean oil then they don’t have a quality product to begin with. Instead of making claims about their eggs they should be explaining why they are using soybean oil instead of a healthier oil. That’s just scratching the surface because if there is a preservative in any product that is abbreviated because the name is too long, then you should stay far, far away from it. We need to be eating natural foods, not science experiments. Also, do not be fooled by the words “natural flavors”. These words indicate there is something in this product that isn’t even being labeled. Whether it is natural or not, I want to know what is in my food!

To get back to the “Green Eggs” I simply mashed the yolk of a hard boiled egg with a bit of avocado and sour cream, then sprinkled it with kosher salt and garlic powder. Avocados are naturally creamy and kind of bland so you can season these however you like. While they are a bit different then the common deviled egg, they sure are good! My toddler was reluctant to try these but when he did he seemed to like them. He ended up only eating one but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t serve it again. He also had strawberry and cream cheese “hats”, blueberries, pineapple, green beans, and Ezekiel bread.  For more about choosing the right bread for your family check out my post Are Trans-Fats Hiding in Your Bread?

 

 

 

Toddler Lunch: Day 6 (I can eat a rainbow!)

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In this lunch he had some cheese, walnuts, whole grain pretzels and peanut butter to dip, and a rainbow of fruit including blueberries, avocado, pineapple, mandarin oranges, and strawberries.


I’m not sure who liked this lunch more… my toddler or me! As a mom of 3 boys lunchtime for me is often eating whatever I’m preparing for them and I do love fresh fruits. Grabbing a few strawberries, slices of avocado, mandarin oranges, and  some walnuts and throwing them on top of spinach will be my lunch. When you are feeding your kids whole and natural foods it makes feeding yourself whole and natural foods that much easier. One thing I will never understand is when parents eat fresh foods themselves but feed their kids hotdogs and chicken nuggets. Something about that just doesn’t make sense.

I also FINALLY found some whole grain pretzels that did not contain enriched flours. I’ve been looking for these for a while, so I’m not sure if I was missing them or they are a new product, however UTZ is the brand and all of the ingredients checked out. They do contain a bit of evaporated cane juice but overall they are the best pretzel I have found. Most other brands contain what is labeled as “enriched wheat flour” and when you are eating whole foods there isn’t really a need to enrich grain products because the grains contain natural vitamins and mineral. Our bodies do not process added vitamins and minerals the same way as natural ones so we do stay away from enriched foods.

One other notable thing is that we are choosy when purchasing peanut butter. Most big name brands contain partially hydrogenated oils aka trans fat so that is really something to look out for. Highly processed synthetic fats are just a way for those brands to extend the shelf life of those products and make more money. I can tell you they probably don’t eat their own products though because they know exactly how harmful these synthetic fats are to people. I also choose a peanut  butter that is not sweetened and I add raw honey to it myself. This way you know there are no refined and GMO sugars in your peanut butter. Who knew peanut butter was so complicated!?!?

Here is a great book for babies and toddlers with tons of pictures of fresh foods!

“Ditch the Campbell’s” Fish and Noodle Casserole

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campbells sucks I have a confession… I HATE canned soups! What I hate even more is browsing Pinterest and viewing recipes that are using the slogan “Healthy” only to click the link to find it is actually just another recipe using cans of 98% fat free cans of soup and adding extras. Yes these recipes may be low calorie but they aren’t low sodium or by any means “healthy” due to the fact that your getting a whole lot more then just mushrooms and milk. Here are the ingredients in a can of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup:

WATER, MUSHROOMS, VEGETABLE OIL (CORN, COTTONSEED, CANOLA, AND/OR SOYBEAN), MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, WHEAT FLOUR, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF: SALT, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, SOY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, DEHYDRATED CREAM (CREAM [MILK], SOY LECITHIN), YEAST EXTRACT, FLAVORING, DEHYDRATED GARLIC.


What these ingredients tell me is that Campbell’s wants to make their soup out of highly refined soybean oil instead of real cream or milk because it is cheaper for them to produce. Then to make you think you are actually getting cream they add some fillers to thicken it up as well as two forms of MSG and “flavoring” (whatever that means). Obviously this soup can stay on the shelf because there is nothing remotely “healthy” about it.

That was the bad news. But now I have some good news to tell you. You can make a fresh, creamy mushroom sauce in about the same time it would take you to open that can and heat it. It isn’t much more expensive either because other then buying the mushrooms, which run in the $1.78 range, you probably have the other stuff on hand. I know the classic “Campbell’s Tuna Casserole” recipe that everyone is familiar with also includes canned tuna, but since canned tuna contains soy and “chicken broth” we stay away from that as well. The chicken broth is a huge unknown because the ingredients in the broth are not labeled.

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I know the process of making this is not that picture worthy but these pictures basically spell out the steps. Melt the butter while cooking the mushrooms, add flour until gritty, add milk and stir until it thickens and THAT’S IT! If you have other recipes that include canned soups you can easily switch the ingredients up to copycat the canned version. If you aren’t using mushrooms just melt butter, add flour, add milk. Super easy! As I mentioned I don’t use canned tuna so I baked some wild caught Flounder and topped the pasta with the fish. Alternatively, you could break it up in the mixture (my kids like it that way). I called this a “casserole” even though I didn’t bake mine but you could throw it in the oven for a few minutes if you wanted to and top with some sharp cheddar or homemade bread crumbs. That would be even more delicious!

Toddler Lunch: Day 5

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toddlerlunch5 Today is a pretty easy lunch but it is a great example of how to switch refined ingredients for whole ingredients. I used a whole grain Kumat pasta and a good quality jarred sauce (same as I used for the eggplant rollups), and sautéed some mushrooms. In just a few minutes I had a healthy and nutritional lunch for my 2 year old. The difference between the Kumat pasta and refined pasta is that the nutrients in the Kumat are naturally occurring and therefore more easily digested and used in our bodies. We pretty much stay away from any enriched products because if you are eating the right foods to begin with there is no need to extra enrichment. Here is the nutrient panel on the pasta. The brand is Eden organic and I found this pasta in the specialty foods section of my local grocery store. We do use a lot of their products!

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I also had the frozen yogurt and fruit pop already prepared so all I had to do was take it out of the refrigerator. Freezing these pops is an awesome way to quickly throw in extra nutrition on a day I am busy or have exhausted other options. My 2 year old loves these! Here is a link to the pop molds.

 

Meatless Monday Eggplant Rollups

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eggplant10 Eggplant is an awesome substitution for pasta because you can season it however you like and give your meal 10 times the flavor.  It also contains a lot of naturally occurring vitamins and minerals (vitamins C, K, and B6, phosphorus, copper, thiamin, niacin, magnesium, and pantothenic acid), as opposed to the enriched nutrients in refined grain pastas. Our bodies do not process enriched nutrients as easily as we process natural nutrients so it is always better to rely on natural sources of these nutrients. If you have never tried substituting eggplant for pasta and are thinking it might not be appealing, I can assure you it is very similar to the texture of pasta when it is sliced thin and cooked. My husband was quite surprised how much he liked these even better then traditional pasta the first time I made them. These rollups are similar to manicotti as they have ricotta cheese inside them and a red sauce on top. If you like these you can experiment with eggplant in other ways such as using it as layers in lasagna. In my opinion eggplant is highly under-rated!

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I did use a store bought red sauce for this recipe. Here are a few things to keep in mind when choosing a store bought pasta sauce:

  • Look for one with little to no added sugars (I have found a sauce with no added sugars)
  • If you see soybean oil in it, put it down and don’t purchase that brand again!
  • Check the sodium content…. companies are notorious for putting massive amounts of unnecessary salt in their tomato sauces. The one I used had around 300 mg per 1/2 cup which is in the middle of the spectrum. I have seen some sauces have as much as 700 mg per 1/2 cup! Yikes!

Fun Fact: Eggplant is actually a FRUIT!

eggplantrolluptutorial

 

 

 

Stuffed Pepper Skillet

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peppers6 Making an entire meal in one pan has one huge benefit…. less dishes! Any dinner with easy clean up is on the top of my “to make” list and this Stuffed Pepper Skillet did not disappoint. My father-in-law picked up some beautiful peppers for us at the Gratz auction and when I was thinking about what to make for dinner stuffed peppers seemed like the obvious choice. The last time I made stuffed peppers I noticed that both my husband and I didn’t finish our entire pepper because there is too much bulk at the bottom with no stuffing. I hate to see food go to waste so I decided this time around I’d go the skillet meal route.  I can confidently say we will be sticking to the skillet version because it was so much more delicious! In this recipe I do use a strained tomato product in a glass jar. I am very untrusting of canned foods with the whole leaching aspect,  so when I found these tomatoes at the grocery store I was happy to have an alternative to canned. They also do not contain any added salt which I appreciate because then I can control the sodium content of my meals. Here is a link to the tomatoes. I also bake off two bone in chicken breasts at the beginning of each week to use in meals and in place of lunchmeat for my 1st grader’s lunch. For this reason I did not include cooking the chicken in the directions, however I simply season them with salt, pepper, and olive oil and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. When they cool I pull the meat from the bones and store in the refrigerator until I need the chicken. It is so simple and saves me time throughout the week. If you want to use boneless chicken breasts, you can cut them into small chunks and sauté with the diced peppers and garlic. Alternatively, a half pound of ground beef or a can of black beans would be great in this recipe as well. stuffed pepper skillet

Toddler Lunch: Day 4

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toddlerlunch4 For lunch today we have some homemade whole grain chicken nuggets. Instead of traditional fries I went with sweet potato fries, which are so simple to make! Here is how I cut them, then I toss them in olive oil and cinnamon and bake at 350 degrees until they are soft. My kids love these!

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To see the recipe for the chicken nuggets click here.

 

 

Pinned it, did it! Cookie Dough Greek Yogurt

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cookieyogurt I saw this on Pinterest at 10:30 last night and decided to give it a try since I had all the ingredients on hand. Chocolate chips do have added sugars and soy in them so I eat them very moderately. The great thing is just a few chocolate chips make this awesome! I’m on the search for a good quality chocolate chip that doesn’t contain soy lecithin. If anyone knows of a brand let me know!

When I tasted this yogurt I was super surprised how good it was! I ate it last night for a snack and this morning for breakfast, and packed it in my son’s school lunch, obsessed much?? Here is the recipe… I dare you to not eat this for every meal for the next few days!


*Just to note, make sure you are using a good quality peanut butter that does not contain partially hydrogenated oils, or trans fats. Most big name brands do contain this ingredient so steer clear of those products. Just for the record, choosy moms DO NOT choose Jiff!

Whole Wheat Pancake Donuts

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donuts2 These little donuts are so fun! I’m constantly thinking of ways to make unprocessed food fun for my kids and this recipe was a hit all around. They are great for breakfast, lunchboxes, or dinner. To make these you will need a mini-donut baking pan. Here is a link to the one I use.

For this recipe I also used a whole wheat pastry flour which allows for a whole wheat product that is not dense. I do use this product often in recipes like this one and other baked goods. Its a great alternative to bleached and enriched white flour without the processing the white flour goes through. This flour is a staple in my pantry! If you don’t have whole wheat pastry flour on hand, you could experiment with using a regular whole wheat flour. I have experimented with a few different flours in pancake mixes and I can’t say I prefer one over another. Here is a link to the flour if your having a hard time finding it in your local grocery store.


I should also note that I did pre-sweeten these with pure maple syrup. It is important to use pure maple syrup over a highly refined syrup because most of the time the other ones are pure high fructose corn syrup and caramel coloring! Never a good way to start the day for any child. I pre-sweetened to avoid the “syrup fight” as I like to call it. You see, my oldest son likes to put all of his syrup on one or two bites and then continually asks for more and more until the “syrup fight” happens when I have to cut him off. Then I’m “really mean” as he likes to say. I’ll admit I’m a tad bit skimpy with the syrup because refined or not, sugar is still sugar and we should all be conscious to not over-consume in the name of being “healthier.” It is just easier to put the syrup in the mix and avoid any issues! I went light on the syrup and the donuts were only slightly sweetened, but my kids didn’t complain or even ask for more. You can adjust this according to what you like.

 

 

Toddler Lunch: Day 1

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toddler5 Today is a really quick and easy lunch to put together. We have fresh mango and strawberries, a black bean and cheese quesadilla, and some carrot “pasta”. The biggest issue in making a lunch like this is choosing the right tortillas, as some brands put some pretty scary stuff in their products. I use Food For Life’s Ezekiel Tortillas which is a 100% natural sprouted grain tortilla. Here are the ingredients:

Ingredients: Organic Sprouted Wheat, Filtered Water, Organic Sesame Seeds, Organic Sprouted Soybeans, Organic Sprouted Barley, Organic Sprouted Millet, Organic Sprouted Lentils, Organic Sprouted Spelt, Sea Salt

Here are the ingredients in Mission brand’s Soft Taco Whole Wheat Tortillas:

 Ingredients: Whole wheat flour, water, vegetable shortening (interesterified soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil and/or palm oil), contains 2% or less of: leavening (sodium bicarbonate, sodium aluminum sulfate, corn starch, monocalcium phosphate and/or sodium acid pyrophosphate, calcium sulfate), sugar, salt, preservatives (calcium propionate, sorbic acid and/or citric acid), cellulose gum, distilled monoglycerides, enzymes, wheat starch, calcium carbonate, antioxidants (tocopherols, ascorbic acid), dough conditioners (fumaric acid, sodium metabisulfite and/or mono- and diglycerides)

If you take a look these contain partially hydrogenated oil (trans fats!), added sugars, preservatives, and dough conditioners. It is hard to look at these ingredients without being really confused by what half of the ingredients even are and why they are in something very simple like tortillas. Unfortunately Mission themselves don’t want to admit how terrible their ingredient list is because their website claims these are a healthier choice. Not even a chance Mission, sorry!
quesadilla
To put the quesadilla together I simply used  canned black beans and seasoned them with cumin, chili powder, and adobo seasoning. I spread them out on the tortilla and topped them with cheese. On the other side of the tortilla I spread sour cream. I put the two together and placed it under the broiler for a few minutes, then flipped it to the other side for another few minutes. I gave half to my boys and I ate the other half and I have to say.. it was delicious! They both enjoyed it as well.
blackbeanwrap
 
For the carrot pasta I peeled one carrot with a potato peeler and steamed the peels until they were soft. I put a good quality store bought pasta sauce on top of them and that’s it!

Homemade Chicken Tenders

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Whole Grain Chicken Tenders

Whole Grain Chicken Tenders


For some reason people classify chicken nuggets and tenders as food for kids. What irritates me about this is the fact that chicken nuggets are made from scraps and other parts of chickens that was otherwise unable to be used.  Basically we are saying “Let’s feed our kids all the scraps” instead of saying “Let’s feed our kids the most nutritious food we can.”  See how this doesn’t really make sense? If your wondering about chicken nuggets here is a great video to set the record straight about what is really in them. Chances are you have seen the “pink slime” but it is a great reminder to me of why my family stays away from this stuff!

The good news is you can make your own chicken tenders (or nuggets) with whole ingredients. I do have a few secrets when it comes to my chicken tenders and I’m going to share them with you today! The most important factors to making your own are seasoning them correctly and pounding your chicken.  I use chicken tenderloins and pound them until they are thin. Thin chicken gives you the nice crunch kids love. Here is an example of how I do this. I simply place a plastic baggy over the chicken and pound lightly to flatten.

poundedchicken

If you are not sure of the tool you would need to do this it is just a simple meat hammer or tenderizer. Here is the link to one.

For this recipe, you will also need my whole grain bread crumbs. To learn how to make them click here.

 

Whole Grain Breadcrumbs

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breadcrumbs Store bought breadcrumbs are one of those items that make absolutely no sense. How do these companies take something as simple as bread and turn it into 59 ingredients… yes 59 ingredients!!!!! Not only are they using 59 ingredients, they are also using a cocktail of dangerous and cheap ingredients. Here is the list:

Ingredients


Bread Crumbs (Enriched Flour [Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid], High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil [Soybean and/or Cottonseed and/or Corn and/or Canola], Water, Salt. Contains 2% or Less of: Yeast, Honey, Molasses, Sugar, Wheat, Gluten, Whey, Soy Flour, Whole Wheat Flour, Rye Flour, Corn Flour, Oat Bran, Corn Meal, Rice Flour, Potato Flour, Butter, Dough Conditioners [Mono- and Diglycerides, Sodium and/or Calcium Stearoyl, Lactylate, Soy Lecithin, Calcium Carbonate], Yeast Nutrients [Ammonium Sulfate, Calcium Sulfate, Monocalcium Phosphate], Vinegar, Nonfat Milk, Buttermilk, Lactic Acid, Calcium Propionate and Potassium Sorbate [Preservatives, Sesame Seeds), Oat Flour, Salt, Dried Parsley, Spices, Onion Powder, Garlic, Natural Flavor, Egg, Sunflower Seeds.

So you can see they are using HFCS, Partially Hydrogenated Oils (trans fats!!), and preservatives. No wonder these things never go bad! What makes me downright angry about these breadcrumbs is people use these when they are cooking at home and never think to read the ingredients on something that seems so simple.

Thankfully making your own is super simple and easy. If you use breadcrumbs a lot you can even make these in big batches and keep them in the refrigerator or freezer. These breadcrumbs taste ten times better then the store bought version and are able to be used in a number of ways. It is also important to point out that I use a preservative free, sprouted grain bread found in the organic freezer section of my local grocery store. Click here to learn more about the bread. I also freshly grate my parmesan cheese because the powdery parmesan can contain additives and preservatives. Here is the micoplane I use to grate the cheese as well as the oat flour and adobo seasoning used in the recipe.


 

Whole Wheat Chocolate Tarts

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Yesterday was Easter so we had a big celebration at my sister-in-law’s house. It was a wonderful day! We had beautiful weather here in Pennsylvania and a delicious meal. They grilled some fresh salmon and we had a really nice variety of side dishes to go along with it. For someone trying to eat unprocessed food there were lots of options and it was nice to see a meal without all the additives at someone else’s home!

chocolate tart3


I made some mini-desserts to take… including these delicious Whole Wheat Chocolate Tarts. I had a very hard time finding a recipe with whole ingredients so I adapted my own using this recipe from Martha Stewart. They turned out fantastic! As with all of my dessert recipes, I like to mention sugar is still sugar! Although this is a less refined version that doesn’t mean I’m going to go crazy with it because I think that it is “better”. I switched out the all purpose flour for whole wheat pastry flour and the regular sugar for a pure cane sugar. I also used a higher quality cocoa powder as opposed to the standard Hershey’s brand. Sometimes you get what you pay for and in this instance I would rather support a company that doesn’t use a ton of additives and unknown ingredients in their products. Although Hershey’s cocoa powder has only one ingredient, the rest of their products are all filled with questionable ingredients.   Here are links to these products.


chocolatetart5

I also used this wonderful mini-tartlet pan to get a really nice looking shell. It is super easy to use and your end product looks like something straight from a professional bakery. If you have ever wondered how specialty bakeries make their mini products so eye appealing, it is the use of pans like this one.

I filled these chocolate tarts with Mascarpone cheese. I did two varieties of Mascarpone in the shells, one was plain and the other had a hint of coffee in it. The Mascarpone really helps make these delicious because it is creamy and smooth without the use of any additives or extra flavorings. It is simple and allows for the chocolate and fruit to shine and really make this dessert.  Sometimes less is more when it comes to sugar in desserts and this is one of those instances.

 

chocolatetart

 

 

Easiest 5 Minute Flounder

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I often hear from busy families that they don’t have time to cook dinner every night. I understand this is a concern when trying to get homework done, change diapers, wipe faces, and get someone to baseball practice all at the same time! I use the phrase “I am only one person” a few times a day myself! On busy nights I know I can make this flounder quickly because there is very little prep time and it doesn’t take long to cook. I also know my kids will always eat it and I can leave one section unseasoned to give to the baby. You could also use other fish varieties as this recipe is pretty basic. Make sure when choosing fish you select a wild caught variety. Fresh or frozen work just the same so we usually buy them frozen because it is a bit cheaper.


flounder

This recipe is also really helpful to people who have been purchasing pre-seasoned frozen fish. I was visiting my mom one day and I was going through her freezer to help her weed out the highly processed junk disguised as health food. When we came to the fish she said “Well that’s just Tilapia.” I thought the same thing but when I read the ingredients I realized you can never assume anything is healthy until you actually read what it contains. Here are the ingredients listed in the Gorton’s Signature Grilled Tilapia:

Ingredients: Tilapia, Water, Canola Oil, Salt, Dehydrated Garlic, Spices, Paprika, Red Bell Pepper, Modified Corn Starch, Dehydrated Onion, Yeast Extract, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Parsley, Xanthan Gum, Citric Acid, Maltodextrin, Natural Flavoring, Ascorbic Acid, Natural Smoke Flavor, Carrageenan, Yeast, Corn Syrup Solids, Onion Juice, Sodium Tripolyphosphate (to Retain Fish Moisture), Propyl Gallate and Tocopherol (to Protect Flavor).

I bolded anything that is a questionable or unknown. Here is what you should know about these ingredient:

  • Canola Oil is highly processed and not an oil I would be using on fish at home
  • Yeast extract is just another way to say Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
  • Natural Flavoring could be literally anything, we have no idea what that means
  • Carrageenan is controversial because it may cause cancer
  • Corn Syrup Solids are very much like High Fructose Corn Syrup.. Highly processed and lacking any nutritional value

So it is clear that making your own is a much better option, and I promise it will only take a minute or two more then just taking something out of a box and putting it in the oven!

 

Creamy Caesar Dressing…. Mason Jar Style!

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ceacar Have you ever checked the ingredient list of the dressing you are using? Thankfully, I have… and all I can say is I will never be consuming store bought dressing again! Something about dumping a bunch of chemicals, artificial flavoring, and preservatives on a beautiful mound of spinach doesn’t make sense. Another reason I will never be purchasing store bought dressing again is the false advertising I have seen from the companies making these products. When I searched for the ingredients I went to the website for Ken’s Steakhouse and they were promising to be using “only the most select ingredients.” They have very clever phrases printed on their packages, for instance “Chef’s Reserve.” This gives the impression your dressing was handcrafted in a steakhouse just for you but unfortunately everything about Ken’s marketing is an illusion. Here are the 26 ingredients in the creamy Caesar:

INGREDIENTS: Soybean Oil, Water, Distilled Vinegar, Egg Yolk, Parmesan Cheese (Pasteurized Part Skim Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Garlic, contains less than 2% of: Salt, Olive Oil, Sugar, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Spices, Natural Flavor, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate and Calcium Disodium EDTA as Preservatives, Onion*, Xanthan Gum, Propylene Glycol, Alginate, Molasses, Corn Syrup, Caramel Color, Anchovy (Fish), Tamarind, Titanium Dioxide (for color). *Dried.


Not exactly the select ingredients I thought Ken’s was talking about! I bolded all of the ingredients I consider questionable in this dressing, and there are a lot! Essentially your consuming genetically modified soy and a bunch of other unknown ingredients. Soybean oil is highly refined, unhealthy, and cheap so I choose not to consume it at all. For more on soybean oil click here.

I purchased a special glass bottle to make dressing that had a bunch of recipes printed on the bottle. In theory this was a great idea but trying to put thick ingredients into a small hole just doesn’t work out so well. I resorted to a half pint wide mouth mason jar and it was perfect! It fit just right into the jar and I realized this made it super easy to make without creating a bunch of dishes and a mess!

Toddler Lunch: Day 2

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toddlerlunch2 Fish is one of those hit or miss items with toddlers. I served these “fish bites” to my toddler and sure enough he gobbled them down without question. I used flounder for these which is the perfect fish for bites because it is slit right down the middle and great for cutting into chunks. It has a light texture and great taste. These fish bites are a great alternative to frozen fish sticks that kids are more commonly served because after reading the ingredient list on a package of Gorton’s Crunchy Fish Sticks I would never consider eating them myself or serving them to my children. These are the ingredients in the frozen product:

gortons


INGREDIENTS: Minced pollock, enriched bleached wheat flour (flour, niacin, iron, thiamn mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (canola and/or soybean), water, yellow corn flour, modified corn starch, sugar, salt, dried yeast, whey (milk), dextrose, leavening (baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate), caramel color, hydrolyzed corn gluten, monosodium glutamate, colored with paprika, annatto and turmeric extracts, autolyzed yeast extract, onion powder, natural flavoring, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, sodium tripolyphosphate (to retain moisture), TBHQ added to protect flavor.

Not only do they contain hydrogenated oils (trans fats!), they also have enriched flour, caramel coloring, MSG (monosodium glutamate), autolyzed yeast extract (another form of MSG), preservatives, and a bunch of other stuff that I can’t pronounce. Not exactly the “healthy” fish consumers may think they are purchasing. The good news is the “fish bites” in this toddler lunch are 100% natural and super easy to prepare in only a few minutes. I paired the potato wedges with this fish and yes, I served ketchup with them because I can’t deny my children ketchup on occasion! We are choosey when it comes to ketchup and do not purchase the conventional ketchup that contains High Fructose Corn Syrup. I also served this with fresh mango (my favorite fruit!!!), blueberries, and apples.

For the potato wedges, all I do is cut the potatoes, pre-boil, season, and bake. The key to a crunchy wedge on the outside and soft on the inside is pre-boiling. Essentially I cook the potatoes almost the whole way by boiling (about 15 minutes), then transfer them to a baking sheet and bake to get that crunchy shell. If your kids are used to frozen French fries at home this is a great transition to an unprocessed version.

 

Whole Wheat Hummingbird Cake

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Wholewheathummingbird

 


As I mentioned before it was my husband’s birthday. I made him a chocolate tart and fresh mint ice cream on the actual day then I made this cake to take to my in-law’s house. I know sometimes people feel like whole wheat equals a really dense end product but if you choose the right ingredients to substitute for the refined stuff your cake will turn out fantastic!

I took the recipe I found here and made a few switches to ensure I was using the best ingredients I possibly could for the cake. I was not able to find a recipe online that used whole wheat flour so I had to adapt my own and pray that for the effort I put in, my husband would enjoy it. I have to say he loved it and I would definitely make it again using the exact same recipe. The cake itself is pretty sweet because of the banana and pineapple so I went for an icing that wasn’t overly sweet and it was the perfect combination. I hope your family enjoys this as much as we did!

*I used Bob’s Red Mill Whole Wheat Pastry Flour. Since discovering this product I use it for most of my baking. It has worked well for cakes, muffins, and pie crusts and is a great alternative to bleached, enriched white flours. If you can’t find it in your local grocery store here is a link to get it online. I also linked the mascobado sugar which is a great alternative to standard white sugar. Although sugar is still sugar and I don’t suggest over-doing it because it is “healthier,”  this is an unrefined and pure ingredient.