The BEST NEW LUNCH IDEA...

One of my boys is super picky and so finding new Kosher, peanut free lunch ideas that he will ACTUALLY eat is difficult. We have branched out from organic pizza rolls to the Organic Nacho bean and Cheese rolls...totally stoked about that. We have even added banana mini chip waffles to the rotation...but this...this is totally Stupendous! A must try...EVERYONE in the family is gorging!....Are you ready?... wait for it...WAIT for it...

                                              WAFFLED MACARONI AND CHEESE

Yep, you heard me right! Ever had those cheese mac & cheese balls...these are like those times ten! One hint...Spritz your waffle maker with olive oil after every waffle! Check them out! We even froze a bunch for quick lunch and snack ideas.

***AND if you wanna be healthy...add some baby spinach or broccolli. The possibilities are endless!

Choco-Banana Cheerio Balls

One had one last box of cheerios in the house. So, I decided to go ahead and get through this box and replace it with something healthier. The box is a sassy Banana Nut Cheerios. Hmm... what was I thinking when I purchased that one! Luckily my little Tonka Truck loves it and takes large chubby handfuls at a time while he leaves me trails to follow throughout the house. Mr. Pickey on the other hand wants nothing to do with them. So, instead of another lifetime with this nutty box, I decided to dress them up a bit for Mr. Pickey...now I will admit, this is mt my healthiest recipe and I will inevitable live to regret it when Mr. Pickey gets one of his super duper sugar highs...but then again...what are daddies for????

Choco-Banana Cheerio Balls

Heat up 1T of butter (I used Earth's Balance) and  1/2 c of marshmallows for 2 minutes in the microwave. Remove and stir in 1-2T of Nutella. Then, dump in the Cheerios to your hearts content.
**I did add in 1T of ground flax to make me feel a little better!
Then, I formed in to balls and chilled!

Homemade Peanut Butter dip

The Farm close to our hose has this amazing assortment of homemade peanut butters. They always have samples out which I love to try. So, with that in mind, I decided to whip up some yummy homemade peanut butter dip for a snack for the boys served with organic apple slices! Yummy!


Homemade Peanut Butter Dip
4 T homemade peanut putter (I used chocolate hazelnut butter...like Nutella but better!)
2 T plain Greek Yogurt
1 T applesauce
dash of cinnamon (what is better with apples)

Whisk together and Serve...with apples of course!

A Healthy Cookie...Is It Possible?

I struggle with giving my sons sweets. I want to be able to give them sweet treats, but that usually means feeding them sugar laden junk sure to stick them to the ceiling. I am not sure about you, but I get tired of peeling my kid off the ceiling or dealing with the sugar breakdown after! So, I knew I had to come up with some other alternative my picky, sweet loving kid would indulge in. Enter the Chair-We Banana Coo-coo as my son calls it. You can call it a breakfast cookie, scone, healthy bar...I just call it good!

Cherry Banana Cookies
1 c Flour- wheat if you have it
1/2 c Ground Oat- I food processed quick oats
(you can use 1 1/2c four)
1/2 t salt
1 t baking powder
2T sugar (totally optional)
1/4 t cinnamon and nutmeg
1/2 c cherries (I used fresh, you can use dried)
1 egg
1T Olive oil
1t vanilla (optional)
3 bananas mashed

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine all the wet ingredients in one bowl and all the wet ingredients in another bowl. Add the wet to the dry. Scoop out golf ball sized scoops onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. (I used an ice cream scoop) Bake 15-20 minutes.

***Need a bit more umf, or have a craving for a bit of chocolate. Add 1/4 c white chocolate chips and 1/4 c chopped macadamia nuts!

Picky Eaters: Soup

My son is a very picky eater. Half the time I cannot even get him to taste what I am offering, but today I decided to play to his fancy...Letters!

Simple Alphabet Soup
Chicken stock (or a few cups of water and a few boullion cubes)
Alphabet pasta

Bring to a boil and cook until pasta is tender.

Normally I would recommend cuting up tiny carrot cuves, but I didn't want to push it! I was content that he even ate this!

An Easy, Yummy Summer Treat

Ok. So, it is winter and cold outside...not so much summer! But, when you have a really picky toddler that seems to avoid dairy at all costs...along with almost everything else...you tend to get a bit desperate. AJ loves ice cream (ag-ga as he calls it). So, why not make com yogurt pops. I have been thinking about juicing some fruit for some fresh fruit pops ever since be bought our juicer, but they do not carry popsicle containers at the grocery store. I never seem to remember to look for them while I am out. Plus, all the popsicle containers make these huge popsicles...way more than AJ can handle. So, the thought finally hit me! Make yogurt pops in the funky shaped ice cube trays from IKEA. (I need to make another trip to get some more!)

So, AJ helped me put some different flavored yogurt together in the trays and we froze them. He LOVES them! He will eat 2-3 at a time! Total success! He loves the mixed ones. We made...vanilla/banana, strawberry/banana, and blueberry/vanilla. Easy Peasey!

(Oh and when Ican't get AJ to eat a whole popsicle, I decided to make some yogurt melts also. I put little nickle sized dots of yogurt on a platic cutting board and froze it. He loves those also and it makes a fun alternative to a whole popsicle)

In my search for Homemade...Cheese Itz!

 

I am really working on more homemade copycat type recipes. Things I feel good about feeding my toddler...I am also going to try to take more pictures of the steps to help with the cooking/baking process. I can't say I will do this for all postings because it is very time consuming. Between working, taking care of a 2 y.o. and managing our other photo heavy blog, this one doesn't get much attention in the photo department. Ironically though, I only like reading cooking blogs with photos...anywho! I had planned to always post pics, but I was not please with how the photos were turning out so I quit! I will try to post more pics, at least a finished product pic.  That being said...I confess now, I am not a professional photographer and although I have Photoshop I have not figured out how to use it...so here is my best attempt! Enjoy!  

My Homemade Cheese Itz!

1/4 c oats, ground or Oat Bran

1/4 c flour

2T butter, cut into pieces

1/3 bag cheese, any type your prefer

 pinch of salt

pinch of sugar

2T water

***Note: I had a ton of left over sliced Swiss cheese, so, I finely sliced it so it was similar to grated cheese.

 

I used oat bran, but you can use plain old fashion oats. Just put 1/4 whole oats in the food processor and process until ground. Then, add four, butter, cheese, salt and sugar to food processor.

  

Process until combined, then roll together in a ball on a piece of plastic wrap.

  

Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 20 minutes.

  

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Then, roll out dough to 1/4" thickness and cut out any shape you would like. I made little stars, circles and rectangles. Then, place cutouts into a greased cookie sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes (less if rolled thinner). 

  

Remove and allow to cool. Keep in a airtight container for a few days! Enjoy...Simple and Homemade!