Fruit Week – Groovy Smoothies

This has to be one of Brady’s favorite things in the world!

He LOVES to make and drink the smoothies!

breakfasts   Fruit Week   Groovy Smoothies

And if he didn’t love it enough before.

Now I have to listen to this bunch…

breakfasts   Fruit Week   Groovy Smoothies

Do these kids haunt you too?

It’s the Fresh Beat Band and they like to hang out at the Groovy Smoothie and drink fruity concoctions.

And if that’s not enough….

breakfasts   Fruit Week   Groovy Smoothies

That iCarly crew loves the fruity smoothies too.

So with the help of these shows…all my kids are into the smoothies!

Granted Brady loves fruit all kinds of ways but this is a treat for him.

And since he’s still milking the tonsil thing I’ve been making a bunch of these bad boys.

Now I’m all for making these with all those fresh berries that you can get at your local farms this time of year.

But I think smoothies are better with Frozen Berries!

That way I don’t have to use ice cubes to make them all nice and frothy!

FYI – those frozen berries work great for frozen margaritas too!

Just saying…

It is Friday after all…

breakfasts   Fruit Week   Groovy Smoothies

STRAWBERRY SMOOTHIES

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 cup frozen organic strawberries (or blackberries or any other kind of frozen fruit you have)

1 cup frozen organic blueberries

1 cup organic skim milk

1 cup organic low fat vanilla yogurt

2 T honey

1 t flax seed oil (this I just toss in because it’s just so darn good for you!)

WHAT TO DO:

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender.  Blend on high for a minute or until smooth and creamy.  Enjoy.

Feel free to try any combo of fruit you have.  Bananas would make a great addition!  Mango, pineapple, raspberry!

If you don’t have frozen fruit, just add a bunch of ice cubes to make it thick and smooth.

If you have picky eaters this is a great way to get some fruit into them.  Who doesn’t love a smoothie?

And if you want…this is a fantastic place to add in a bit of frozen spinach for a little extra healthy punch.


Grilling Week – Veggie Kabobs

We hear it all the time.

Eat more veggies…

Incorporate more colors into your diet…

Eat the rainbow…

But how do you get kids to join in the fun?

How do you get kids to eat?

Well…

Invite them into the kitchen with you and…

Make food appetizing and appealing!

Make food fun.

How do you get kids to eat veggies.

Make veggies fun.

Food on a stick is fun.

Put veggies on a stick!

Voila…Veggie kabob.

It’s ok for you to think they’re fun too!

dinner   Grilling Week – Veggie Kabobs

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 zucchini, cut into discs

1 onion, cut into chunks

1 pineapple cut into chunks

1 8 oz container button mushrooms (you could use crimini too)

1 container cherry tomatoes

1 red pepper cut into chunks

1 yellow pepper cut into chunks

1 orange pepper cut into chunks

1/4 cup olive oil

S&P

WHAT TO DO:

Toss all your veggies into a large bowl.  Sprinkle with olive oil and S&P. Carefully help the kids build their veggie kabobs onto their skewers.

They can follow a pattern…zucchini, onion, mushroom, tomato, pineapple, pepper, zucchini, onion, mushroom…

dinner   Grilling Week – Veggie Kabobs

Or they can get crazy and creative.

Use this time to teach the kids about math, about patterns, about colors…

Most importantly, have fun.

Now fire up your grill and toss these bad boys on there.

I let them go about 5 minutes a side.

Trust me, your kids’ll be eating the rainbow in no time!

Don’t forget to BUY LOCAL!

Tasty Tidbit – Snack Time

Do your kids snack as much as mine?

I feel like they are always asking for some sort of snack.

Before breakfast…

In the car….

After school…

Before dinner….

Before bed (that’s the one that drives me INSANE!)

And if I’m always giving, it makes them not hungry for meals.

Well lookie here what I found…

cooking tips   Tasty Tidbit   Snack Time

It’s called the Snack Time Survival Kit from Beanstalk Express.

It’s a working clock that comes with a deck of 33 snack careds.

Your kids get to choose their snack…

You choose the time…

They’re happy, you’re happy…

And they’re learning to tell time to boot!

I love this idea.

Head on over to Beanstalk Express and check it out!

Kids Fun Food Week – Chicken Surprise Bundles

I say it all the time…

The easiest way to get a kid to eat,

Is to involve them in the process.

These little bad boys are so much fun to make…

And even better to eat.

Check out our Chicken Surprise Bundles…

baking with kids   Kids Fun Food Week   Chicken Surprise Bundles

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 tube Pillsbury refrigerated dough

1 cup grilled chicken, diced

1 cup shredded swiss, cheddar or mozzarella cheese

8 sliced cooked chopped bacon

1 cup baby spinach

WHAT TO DO:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Spread out your dough on a cutting board.

Cut it into 8 equal squares

Place the rest of your ingredients in an assembly line and call the kids into help.

baking with kids   Kids Fun Food Week   Chicken Surprise Bundles

Let them decide what goes into the center of each of their bundles.

Keegan built his with bacon and cheese and chicken.

Brady and Cooper loaded up on the spinach.

You can get creative and add whatever you think your kids will like!

Next wrap up your bundles.

Take each corner and pull it up towards the center.

Pinch together at the top and place on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 for 12-14 minutes.

baking with kids   Kids Fun Food Week   Chicken Surprise Bundles

Serve with a side salad or soup or veggie sticks.  Make a bunch, these bundles go fast!

Kids Fun Food Week – Meatloaf Cupcakes

Want to get your kids to eat?

Grab them and get in the kitchen and make these fun recipes together!

Back by popular demand…

Here is the recipe that started it all!

I couldn’t get the boys to eat meatloaf and mashed potatoes!

So foolish considering that they like everything in that dish.

But they wouldn’t actually put it in their mouth sooooo….

We came up with a fun way to make them together.

Meatloaf Cupcakes were born!

crafts   Kids Fun Food Week   Meatloaf Cupcakes

Here’s a lighter turkey meatloaf version…we’re slimming down for summer!

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 ½ lbs ground turkey

1 egg, beaten

1 clove garlic, chopped

½ c bread crumbs

2 T Worcestershire sauce

¾ c chili sauce (you can use ketchup too)

½ c onions, finely chopped

½ c carrots, finely chopped

½ c mushrooms, finely chopped

½ c red pepper, finely chopped

½ c canned fried onion strips

S&P

1 lb russet potatoes peeled and cubed

½ c milk

3 T sour  cream

2 T butter

S&P

WHAT TO DO:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Place your peeled cubed potatoes in large pot of cold water over high heat.  Bring to a boil and cook until fork tender (about 8-10 minutes after water boils depending on the size of your cubes).

In a large bowl combine ground turkey, egg, bread crumbs, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, chili sauce, onions, carrots, mushrooms, red pepper, fried onions and S&P.  Mix together with your hands until combined.  Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray.  Mold your meatloaf mixture into cupcake sized balls and place in muffin pan.  You’ll get about 8-10 cupcakes.  Place in oven and cook at 375 for about 25-30 minutes.

Drain your potatoes and return to pan.  Pour in your milk, sour cream and butter, and season with S&P.  Using a hand mixer whip your potatoes until smooth and set aside to cool a bit.  Take a large plastic Ziploc bag (or a pastry bag if you have one) and cut a small hole in the bottom corner.  Spoon your mashed potatoes into the bag then pipe out the potato on top of the meatloaves to look like frosting on a cupcake.   Serve ‘em up hot, who doesn’t love cupcakes?  Especially for dinner!

Meaty Morsel:  Decorate the tops of your cupcakes with BBQ sauce, ketchup, mustard, cheese, shredded lettuce, chopped tomato, anything you or your kids can think of.  Let them have fun with this, they’ll have more fun eating it!

Tasty Tidbit – The Clean Fifteen

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Have a Margarita!

With some Mango!

cooking tips   Tasty Tidbit   The Clean Fifteen

So after scaring you all on Tuesday with the food that you have to buy organic…

Here’s a list of fruits and veggies where you can afford to buy conventional.

THE CLEAN FIFTEEN

cooking tips   Tasty Tidbit   The Clean Fifteen

1. Onions

2. Avacados

3. Sweet Corn

4. Pineapple

5. Mango

6. Sweet Peas

7. Asparagus

8. Kiwi Fruit

9. Cabbage

10. Eggplant

11. Cantaloupe

12. Watermelon

13. Grapefruit

14. Sweet Potatoes

15. Sweet Onions

cooking tips   Tasty Tidbit   The Clean Fifteen

So what makes these guys so much different than their dirty cousins?

Well many of these have thick skins and it’s thought it makes it harder for the pesticides to penetrate.

So relax a bit and if you’re grocery list can take the hefty organic grocery bill you can save a few bucks and buy these guys conventional.

Still, remember to try and buy local!

Improve Your Life, Go The myEASY Way™