Peas in a Pop from Weelicious

Genius popsicle idea from Weelicious: Frozen peas in a popsicle!

Orange Hummus

I'm actually not a huge fan of hummus. But come to find out it tastes much better homemade. And the addition of the orange maralade here turned it into something I actually enjoy eating. I can't say as much for my 3 year old, but the 5 year old loves it.

The idea for orange in the hummus comes from 1,001 Lowfat Vegetarian Recipes by Sue Spitler.

1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans (a.k.a. chickpeas)
¼ cup orange juice
1 tablespoon sesame tahini
1 tablespoon orange maralade (optional)
1 teaspoon soy sauce
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon curry powder
¼ teaspoon salt

Place all the ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Take a couple breaks while processing to wipe down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Serve with pita bread, pretzels, or carrot sticks. Store any leftover hummus in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Makes 6 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes

Apple Flying Saucers

1 apple, cored
5-6 teaspoons nut butter
Raspberries (for garnish)

Slice apple horizontaly into rings approximately 1/4 inch thick. Make a sandwich by spreading approximately 1 teaspoon of nut butter between two apple rings. Insert raspberry in center. Serve.

Makes 5 to 6 flying saucers
Prep time: 5 minutes

Apple "Tarts"

I started thinking seriously about kid snacks about a year ago and apples were featured in some of my first experiments. This is probably the first of my homegrown recipes that made me smile when I tasted it.

Today I used a Jonamac apple (which is a cross between a Jonathan and a MacIntosh). Other tart and sweet apple choices are: Cortland, Empire, Golden Delicious, or Winesap.

4 slices soft whole wheat bread
1 medium apple, peeled, cored, and chopped fine (approximately 1 cup of chopped apple)
4 tablespoons cream cheese or vanilla greek-style yogurt
4 teaspoons apricot preserves
Cinnamon sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Cut the crusts off of the bread slices and discard. Spread the bread slices out on a large cutting board and flatten with a rolling pin. Cut a small (approximately 1 ½ to 2 inches long and ½ wide at the base) triangle out of each of the four corners on each slice.



Transfer the bread slices to greased muffin pan. Make sure the center of each slice is resting on the bottom of a cup and the sides are overlapping slightly. Using your fingers, press the side flaps together and make adjustments to minimize any gaps or holes.



In the bottom of each bread cup, place ¼ of the chopped apple. Center 1 tablespoon of cream cheese and 1 teaspoon of apricot preserves on top of the apples. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (if desired).



Bake on the center rack of the oven for 30-35 minutes or until the edges of the bread crust are browned and the preserves start to sizzle. Allow tarts to cool in the pan for at least 5 minutes or more depending on your child’s age and preference. Gently remove from muffin pan and serve immediately.

Makes 4 “tarts” (easily doubled)
Assembly time: 20 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes

Lucky Charms article

Here's an article titled Eat More Lucky Charms! On the new "Smart Choices" labeling program from Silicone Valley Moms. Apparently some really sugar-filled foods are going to have the big green "healthy" check on them.

I hate that going grocery shopping can feel like such a minefield sometimes. Marion Nestle's book What to Eat was a big help on this front.

Apple Tower

Kids have fun building this snack themselves.

1 apple, cored and sliced
9 squares (2-inch) of cheddar cheese
2 raspberries

Make sure your apple slices are about 1/3 of an inch thick and flat rather than tapered so that they will stack easily. Cheese should be sliced 1/4 inch thick. Alternate apple slices and cheese on top of each other. Garnish with raspberry.

Serves 2.

Parenting and Food article

Parenting and Food by Frank Bruni in the New York Times 08-30-2009.

Avocado Cookies

This recipe uses an entire haas avocado.

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

1 ripe haas avocado, pitted and skin removed
½ cup butter (1 stick), softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1 large egg
½ cup low-fat milk
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, oats, coconut, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Mash avocado with a fork in a large bowl until there are no large chunks remaining. Add butter and mix very well with avocado. Add sugars and stir well. Add egg and stir. Finally add the milk and stir until incorporated. Add the flour mixture and stir until combined. Fold in chocolate chips (if desired).

Drop heaping tablespoons full of batter onto ungreased baking sheets or jelly roll pans two inches apart. Bake for 15-17 minutes near the center of the oven, rotating once if necessary. Once the edges of the cookies start to brown, remove from oven and transfer to cooling rack with spatula. Allow to cool slightly and serve.

These cookies will soften considerably if left out overnight. They are best stored in the freezer in an airtight container and thawed on demand.

Makes 38 cookies.
Prep time: 20 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes

Raspberry Rockets (a.k.a White Chocolate Filled Raspberries)

Surely I’m not the first person to have done this. But if you’ve heard of it before, don’t tell me. I’m busy being overly happy about my discovery. Oh, and the kids looovve these.

20 raspberries
20 white chocolate chips

Wash the raspberries by holding them under gently running water or submerging in a bowl of water and agitating gently. Allow the raspberries to air-dry by simply putting them on a towel. Once dry, insert one chip into each berry with flat side of the chip facing you. Serve.

Makes 2 servings.
Prep time: 5 minutes

Walnut Raisin Balls

There is a healthy amount of flexibility here. I have a feeling you could throw in a ¼ cup of ground flax or wheat germ without any problems.

1 cup shelled walnut pieces, raw or roasted
1/3 cup raisins
5 dates, pitted
2 tablespoons brown rice syrup or 1 tablespoon honey (optional)
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)

Put the walnuts, raisins, dates, syrup, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse for 20-30 seconds until the walnuts are the sized of large crumbs and the mixture is starting to clump together.

Scoop the walnut mixture out of the processor bowl and roll into small balls with your hands. Put coconut in a small shallow bowl and roll balls in the coconut to coat. If you choose to skip the coconut, the balls will be a little sticky, but still edible. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Makes approximately 20 balls.
Prep time: 15 minutes