Cherrytinis

Morning snack: Blueberries and vanilla greek yogurt

Lunch: Chicken quesadillas, avocado slices and cherrytinis (aka cherry tomatoes)

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I know you saw the title and thought to yourself....isn't her blog about kid's food?  I know, I know, it was deceiving but based on a true and somewhat story.

So LQ (little Queen) is a fan of all fruits and vegetables except for potatoes, tomatoes and kiwi.  Now kiwi, I get.  She and I have a slight allergic reaction when we eat too much of it so she just won't eat it at all.  I, on the other hand, love it and eat it anyway!  But potatoes and tomatoes, I have no idea.  I mean, what kid doesn't like french fries and potato chips?  She won't eat potato chips if you call them such but will eat them if you call them chips.  And she'll eat sweet potatoes if I call them yams (and she doesn't see me prepare them).  What's funny is that if you call marinara "tomato sauce", as many restaurants do, she won't eat it.  She'll even get a bit annoyed by the fact that they even offer her tomato sauce.  But if you call it "spaghetti sauce" she's cool with it.  

So, the other day we were at the grocery store and I thought, what the heck let's see if this same concept can be applied to tomatoes.  So I picked up a box of cherry tomatoes and talked about how cute they were and how delicious they tasted, blah, blah, blah.  Then she asked what they were.  I nearly called them cherry tomatoes, but because I'm such a smooth mama, who wasn't at all panicking (yeah right) I instead called them cherrytinis. Of course afterwards I thought to myself, really....that's the best you could do?  So there you go, the nonalcoholic, nonbeverage related cherrytini was born.  Of course, it will only take one kid in her classroom pointing out that they are in fact tomatoes to completely derail my plan but I'll keep my fingers crossed that this does not happen.  Cross your fingers too!

Do your kids avoid any food?  Do you have creative ideas on how to get around these avoidances? (Yes, I think I made up that word.)

Mac and cheese

Morning snack: green apples and pistachios

Lunch: macaroni and cheese, steamed broccoli and "chicken"

Afternoon snack: Stonyfield yogurt

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I was debating what I should make for LQ, so I asked her.  She immediately said, chicken, mac and cheese, broccoli and yogurt.  How easy was that!  Now the best part, I made mac and cheese from scratch! I love making it this way because I know exactly what is in it.  I know that it contains no preservatives or additives.  And LQ loves it!

Mac and cheese 

Ingredients

1 TBS wheat flour

2 tsp butter

1/3 cup 2% milk

1/8 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1/3 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup whole wheat fusilli 

salt and pepper to taste

Method

Cook fusilli according to the the instructions on the box and set aside.  Over medium to low heat melt the butter and add wheat flour.  Use a whisk to combine until all the flour until it is moist and continue stirring for a couple of minutes.  Add milk and continue mixing with the whisk until the flour breaks up and makes the milk thick.  Once the flour is all broken up add the cheese and continue stirring to make the cheese sauce.  Add pasta.  Enjoy!

**This method works with almost any cheese.  The roux (a.k.a. the flour and butter part) helps to keep the cheese sauce from breaking and thickens it up.

Black Bean Won-ton Mini Tostadas

Morning snack:  cinammon coco pop with almond butter, cinnamon and a drizzle of honey and clemenite

Lunch: black bean and cheese wonton mini tostadas, avocado and blueberries 

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These mini tostadas were the easiest thing I've made yet.  I had a stock of black beans which made it extremely easy.  I wet the won-ton wraps, placed them in a silicon muffin cup added black beans, sprinkled it with cheese and baked at 350 until the won-ton was a golden brown.  By the time I put everything else together the mini tostadas were done.  Voila!

I can imagine these being awesome for parties.  If I were having a party I'd make some with chicken, some with beef and some with black beans.  To pretty them up I'd top them with guacamole, sour cream, chopped lettuce and tomato.  

**I also made these with turkey once.

Fruit smoothie

Morning snack: pumpkin pancakes, a little syrup and a blueberry, raspberry, vanilla yogurt, banana (added after picture was taken) and flaxseed smoothie

Lunch: blueberries, clementines and whole wheat bowtie pasta topped with parmesan cheese and veggie sauce (crushed tomatoes, asparagus, zucchini, onion, garlic and orange bell pepper)

Afternoon snack: cinnamon and blueberry coco pop cake with almond butter, cinnamon and drizzle of honey

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Two of my favorite ways to sneak in veggies and fruit are in a pasta and in a smoothie.  Not that I really need to sneak anything into this kiddo's diet.  She's happy to eat anything from the produce section...except potatoes!  She won't even eat potato chips (which I love, of course!) 

For some reason LQ had always been a little reluctant to try smoothies.  She'd take a sip or two of the smoothies I'd prepare for myself or the hubster but would never want her own.  BUT about a week ago or so she watch an episode of Peppa Pig and they were all having smoothies.  Ever since then she's been determined to try every combination of fruit and vegetable possible.  I'm ok with that!

Persimmon

Morning snack - 1/2 banana and peanut butter, raisin and cinnamon on wheat

Lunch - Cheese and turkey roll ups, multicolor Goldfish, and persimmons

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If you've never had persimmon, you are missing out!!  It's a little pricey and it looks a bit like an orange tomato but it's absolutely sweet and delicious.  I've always wanted to cook it but we end up eating it before I decide what to make...oops.  I hope you give it a try!

Turkey Avocado Hummus and Cheese Stuffed Pita

Morning snack - pumpkin pancakes and a tad of syrup

Lunch - 1/2 pita stuffed with hummus, avocado, turkey and shredded cheese, pretzel sticks and apples

Afternoon snack - clementines and pistachios

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I recently read an article that I found really interesting.  It's an article about preschool obesity and how we can change how much a child eats by feeding him/her carbohydrates that have a slow digestion rate.  Hypothetically this advice doesn't just apply to those who are obese, but it would likely be most useful in weight management for those children.  (Citation: Alviña, M., & Araya, H. (2003). Rapid carbohydrate digestion rate produced lesser short-term satiety in obese preschool children. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 637-642.)

So I thought, what the heck is a slow digestion rate carbohydrate?  (I'm sure you're wondering too ;-p)  Well surely you've all heard of the glycemic index.  Foods that have a slow digestion rate are those that have a low glycemic number.  This basically means that the sugars found in the food will be absorbed and digested more slowly. To find and compare foods check out this website.  If you just want examples then check out this website.

Chicken broccoli and cheese on a biscuit

Morning snack - Stonefield berry yogurt and spinach, egg and cheese bake

Lunch - Chicken broccoli and cheese on a biscuit, almonds, datelets, pomegranate

Afternoon snack - Cortland apples

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I've been terrible about posting lately.  I just started a master's program in nutrition at American University and have just been exhausted trying to keep up with everything.  I hope today's post makes up for it a little.  I made the following two recipes in less than 25 minutes.  What's great is that I now have multiple meals done!

Spinach, egg and cheese bake

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

1/3 c chopped fresh baby spinach

3 Tbs shredded Mexican mix cheese

4 medium eggs

salt and pepper to taste

Method

Set oven to 375 degrees.  Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  In a muffin tin, add 2 tablespoons of the mixture to each slot.  (I used silicone molds, but you can use cupcake liners for an easy traveling meal!)  Bake for 12 minutes.  Enjoy!

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Chicken broccoli and cheese on a biscuit

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup baked chicken cut in cubes

1/3 cup quinoa

3/4 cup chopped steamed broccoli

1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 can of biscuits (I used homestyle, Wegman's brand)

salt and pepper to taste  

Method

Set oven to 375 degrees.  Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Use 1/2 a biscuit in each muffin slot to make the base of the bake.  Add a little less than 1/4 cup of the mixture to each muffin slot.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Enjoy!

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As many of you know, I'm a vegetarian so I made myself a vegetarian version.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup chopped steamed broccoli

1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1/3 cup quinoa 

salt and pepper to taste

Method

Set oven to 375 degrees.  Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Use 1/2 a biscuit in each muffin slot to make the base of the bake.  Add a little less than 1/3 cup of the mixture to each muffin slot.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Enjoy!

Parmesan shavings

Lunch - whole wheat spiral noodles with homemade marinara and Parmesan shavings, grapes and pistachios

Afternoon snack - apples and peanut butter (of course)

Limed Black Bean, Sweet Potato and Corn

Morning snack: Stonefield yogurt and mixed nuts (almonds and pistachios)

Lunch: Limed black bean, sweet potato and corn, quesadilla and pomegranate

Afternoon snack: Triscuits with almond butter, honey and a sprinkle of cinnamon and clementines

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Limed black beans, sweet potato and corn

Ingredients

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, diced and steamed

1 cup steamed corn

2 cups black beans

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp paprika

3 1/2 TBS fresh lime juice

salt to taste

**1/4 tsp cayenne pepper if you and the kids can take it

Method

Place everything, except the sweet potatoes, in a bowl and combine.  Because the sweet potatoes are steamed they are a bit fragile.  Gently fold in sweet potatoes and enjoy!!  

Alternatively, if you want the sweet potatoes to be a bit more firm you can bake them.  To bake the sweet potatoes line a baking sheet with foil and set the oven to 425 degrees.  Rub diced raw sweet potatoes with olive oil, making sure to coat evenly.  Sprinkle the sweet potatoes with cumin, paprika and cayenne pepper (if applicable).  Bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, depending on how small the sweet potatoes are diced.

This concoction is great hot or cold, it's especially delicious on corn tortillas, or maybe that's just the Mexican in me.

Nut Butters

Morning snack: whole wheat pumpkin pancakes, Cortland apples and a bit of syrup

Lunch: whole grain bowtie pasta with homemade sauce which included peas and spinach, ground beef vegetarian crumble and topped with Parmesan cheese, almonds and pumpkin almond butter oat bar (shaped like a cookie)

Afternoon snack: Cortland apples, Triscuits and almond butter

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As a vegetarian I'm constantly asked how I get my protein and I say two things...  

First, people don't need as much protein as they think they do.  A person who is consuming 2000 calories a day needs about a serving and a half of protein daily (a serving is 3 ounces or about the size of a deck of cards).  When you go to a restaurant they offer 16 ounce steaks.  And people order and eat it!!  That's enough for over 3 days of protein!!  The only people that need high protein intake are people who are trying to build a significant amount of muscle or professional athletes who cause a lot of wear on their muscles.  So if you're not a body builder or professional athlete, it's more than likely you'll get enough protein my eating a well balanced meal.  

Second, I explain to people that there are plant based proteins that provide sufficient amounts of protein.  For example, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds and vegetables all provide protein.  Not to mention there are meat replacement products such as soy protein and a variety of soy products.  Nut butters (peanut butter, almond butter and sunbutter) all generally provide 7g of protein per 2 tablespoons, depending on the brand, of course.  And, nut butters are great for on the go!

As a side note...

I constantly hear people saying that they need to decrease their carbohydrates and increase their protein so that they can lose weight.  Please don't.  Your brain is fueled by carbohydrates which is why you get a headache when you skip meals or reduce your carbohydrates.