Chocolate Cake in a Mug

Yes you read it right.  I said it. It is:

1. Chocolate

2. Cake

and

3. Can be made in a mug

Baked Doughnuts - Need I Say More?

So I found this cute little doughnut pan at the store and I just had to try it out.  I had a great friend bring some healthy doughnuts to a play date one time and they were delicious. So I called her up and tested our her recipe.

These little things were a hit right out of the oven. Elli helped me bake them up and both kids helped me eat them.  No  questions asked.  We made chocolate chip baked doughnuts but you could add fruit or cinnamon or anything your heart desired (but you know my heart desired chocolate).

Peanut Butter Granola - Only 4 Ingredients

Granola is something I love. Seriously.  I probably love it too much.  I love the satisfying crunch and the sweetness.  I have seen countless recipes for making my own granola but it always seemed "out of my league."  I'm not a great baker or chef so trying something like granola just seemed like too much. Until I stumbled across the recipe for 4 ingredient peanut butter granola. Well this got my attention because:

1.  it involved peanut butter

2:  it had less than 5 ingredients.

I decided to give it a try and man am I glad I did. So if you are like me and scared to check this out - DON'T BE. I promise you can make this. If I can bake it, you certainly can too.

Pumpkin Pudding in a Bowl

This may be the last pumpkin for breakfast recipe (although I'm not making any promises).

This idea of pumpkin pudding made from bran cereal intrigued me.  I will admit it is a bit more in the prep work than the other two pumpkin recipes posted this week. Don't worry -  it isn't super labor intensive unless you consider pushing the button on a blender labor intensive.

What do you do with the left over pumpkin you have after making the pumpkin parfaits from our previous post? Well, you make pumpkin pudding in a bowl!

This comes from one of my favorite food blogs. Seriously, I haven't been disappointed on her blog yet.  See the link at the bottom to check out more of her stuff.

Pumpkin Parfaits

Here is another pumpkin infused breakfast idea.  I know - I'm pumpkin crazy right now. I love trying out these new ideas on the kiddos and just seeing how it goes.

So pumpkin parfaits for breakfast....why not?

Banana Split Breakfast

Get ready guys - a few breakfast ideas coming your way. These are not technically recipes but fun ideas I want to archive. I hope that you enjoy them too.

Today's topic:  banana split breakfast.

So this is super simple, super versatile, and super popular in our house.  

Breakfast Waffle Kabobs and Cinnamon Dip

This had to be written up today, now, asap. Why? Because most mornings getting Jackson to eat breakfast is a struggle. I have to turn on the iPad to distract him (please don't judge) and then I have to basically feed it to him. If left to feed himself, it just sits on his tray, gets cold, and life goes on. The boy isn't a breakfast person.

Enter waffle kabobs. 

I put one on his plate this morning, turned around and it was gone!  Gone!

Once I showed him how to take the fruit and waffle off, dip in the bowl of cinnamon yogurt dip, the boy went to town.

Vegan Quinoa Chili

I simply love this dish and we eat year round - even in the hot summer time!  Why? Because it is fairly simple to make and makes a ton! I always have plenty left over for lunches the next day and then can freeze a good portion for a later dinner. So it saves me time in the long run. My kids eat it too.  They like theirs topped with cheese and I'm definitely ok with that.

Here is What You Need:

1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed

1 cup water

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 large carrot, peeled and chopped (I forgot this in the pictures but it does add a nice bit to the chili)

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 medium zucchini, chopped

2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15 ounce) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

3 (15 ounce) cans diced tomatoes

1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce

2-3 tablespoons chili powder, depending on your taste (we used 1 because I can't tolerate it!)

1 tablespoon ground cumin

Salt and black pepper, to taste

Optional:  1 jalapeno pepper, diced

Here's What You Do:

1.  Prep your quinoa by combining with the water in a medium sauce pan and cooking over medium heat until the water is absorbed. This takes about 12-15 minutes. Set aside.

2.  In a large pot (very large), heat your olive oil over high heat. Then add in your onions and cook until translucent (about 5 minutes).  Stir in your garlic, jalapenos (if using), carrots, celery, peppers and zucchini.  Cook all of these until the veggies are nice and tender which takes about 10 minutes or so.

3.  Now add in your black beans, your kidney beans, tomatoes, and tomatoes sauce.  Stir in the quinoa you cooked previously. 

4.  Add in your seasonings and then simmer on low for about 30 minutes.

Cauliflower "Fried" Rice

This is an awesome recipe a challenger shared with me in one of my recent Clean Eating Challenges.  I was skeptical at first - very skeptical.  Would this be worth having to go through getting the cauliflower in the right format. And would it really tasted like "fried" rice?  But I love trying new recipes so I went for it and the answers to those two questions are yes and no.

YES this recipe is totally worth it and not difficult at all.  

No it isn't like a big bad bowl of fried rice from your favorite Chinese restaurant but it is an awesome substitute for a fried rice dish if you are working towards a clean healthy life style.  

(There isn't anything wrong with the occasional bowl of fried rice from the restaurant but definitely not something we can do all the time so enter cauliflower!)

If you have a food processor this recipe is a piece of cake. If you don't have one - GET ONE. I resisted having a food processor for a while but I finally picked up a $30 at Target and it has opened up a world of recipes to me.  So get a little one today, come home, make this recipe.

Frozen Peanut Butter Treat (aka smudgies)

I have been using this recipe for months now and many of my challengers LOVE it. Kids love it, adults love it, and all the while we are eating something clean and healthy. I decided it was time for me to write it up and get it archived on my own personal little recipe book.  I only put my favorites on this blog so that I can find them easily and share them easily with you guys.  So here you go!  An awesome little treat for summer.

Bulk Whole Wheat Pancake Mix

I am posting this here so I can find it easily next time. For some reason I always lose this recipe. Well, I'm not sure it is a recipe but I love having this mix on hand.  I use this recipe to create a bulk supply of whole wheat pancake mix. When I am ready for a morning of pancakes (or pancake poppers), I just get one cup of my mix, one cup of milk, one egg and boom - pancakes are ready!

(To make this vegan simply substitute 1/4 cup applesauce for the egg)

So here is what you have to combine to have the mix ready for when you need it:

Combine

1.  5 cups whole wheat flour

2.  3 cups unbleached all purpose flour

3. 1/2 cup white sugar

4.  2 1/2 tablespoons baking powder

5.  4 teaspoons salt

6.  4 teaspoons baking soda

Whisk these together and store in an airtight container

And here is a little bonus recipe - pancake poppers. I make a batch of these in my mini muffin tin and we have them for several days. You can serve with warm syrup or even top with a little peanut butter for added protein!

Original recipe for bulk mix here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/whole-wheat-pancake-mix/

Hope this helps you in the chaos that we call breakfast time!

Kid Bake Vegan Cookies

I saw this recipe on Pinterest and saved it for a rainy day. I didn't know the rainy day would come so soon but luckily we had the ingredients on hand.  The recipe claimed that this was a great recipe to let kids do on their own because there were no eggs involved (meaning kids could lick away on the spoons without any worries).  

I let my 4 year old try this thing out. She did the dumping, stirring, mixing, and even putting on the pan.  My son was invited but he was more interested in:

1.  playing trains

2.  aggravating his sister while she did the cooking

Alas, we were able to make them and surprisingly enough they were delicious!!! My husband had at least 4 after dinner (I'm not condoning that I'm just saying he did it).

So the pictures for the post are not really of the recipe but more of my daughter cooking and the mess she made. But you know what? It was storming and this made her forget that we were stuck inside so I call it a win/win!

Here's What You Need:

-1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

- 1/2 tsp baking soda

- 1/8 tsp salt

- 1/2 cup salted butter softened (Ok I didn't have a whole stick of butter but it was close and I melted it because I am lazy)

- 1/4 cup white sugar

- 1/2 cup honey

- 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Here's What You Do:

1.  Preheat oven to 300 and grease a cookie sheet to prepare

2.  Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt and set aside (be prepared to see flour fly!)

3.  Combine the butter, sugar, and honey and blend.

4.  Add in the chocolate chips and stir or blend but don't over mix

5.  Drop onto baking sheet (these will spread so spread them out - we didn't and we had a lot of separating to do) and bake 18-20 minutes (mine took 20)

I really was surprised at how yummy these are. I just figured it would be something the kids would nibble on for fun but I enjoyed them. I think it will be my go-to chocolate chip recipe from now on.

 

See no worries? They can lick away and I don't care. Pardon that we are in our swim suits in these pics. We made it half way to the pool before the thunder kicked in.  Let me know what you think if you try these out. And show me the mess your kids make baking!  Mine had a blast but it did require some clean up for sure.

Enjoy!

 Original recipe here:  http://www.smartschoolhouse.com/eats-and-sweets/chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe-for-kids/2

Sweet Potato Paradise Casserole

I have been wanting to try this for a while and finally decided this week was the time to jump in and give it a whirl.  You know, it is one of those recipes I found online but kept putting it off. Well put it off no more! This thing was amazing.

Let me preface - it takes some work up front but it is one of those dishes that you can prep while your kiddos eat lunch (and watch cartoons - am I the only one who does that?). Then you can just pop it in the oven at 5:00 and be ready for dinner.  So it does take some prepping but the outcome is delicious.

Roasted Veggie Enchiladas

This is seriously one of my favorite meals.  However, it takes a little more prep than I like to do so I don't cook it as frequently as I would like.  But when I am done eating it, I remind myself that it was worth every second of work I put into it. I believe there are probably tons of ways to make this dish work for you so be creative.

I am including the link to the original recipe. You will see their creation is much more intricate than mine - I tend to simplify so I can use what I have in the pantry and minimize time in the kitchen. But do glance at the original because I am sure it is delicious!

Here's What You Need for the Simple Version:

-2 red bell peppers chopped up

-1 cauliflower chopped up

-1 small sweet potato chopped

-1 cup frozen corn kernels

-1 onion diced

-olive oil or coconut oil

-1.5 tsp cumin (I even use more because I love that flavor!)

-2 garlic cloves minced (I buy mine already minced!)

-2 cups salsa

-spinach leaves

-approximately 9 or 10 tortillas (I use whole wheat flour but the original recipes calls for corn)

Optional:  shredded cheese, sour cream, green onions

Here's What You Do:

1.  Preheat the oven to 425 and lightly grease a cookie sheet (I put aluminum foil down for less clean up).

2.  Put all of your veggies on the sheet and drizzle about 2-3 tablespoons olive oil on top and sprinkle with cumin.  Put a pinch of salt and pepper on if you'd like and then use your hands to mix it all together.  

3.  Be sure the vegetables are in a single layer and then place in the oven for 30-40 minutes until the veggies are nice and tender. Some will have brown spots - even better!

The recipe says stir the veggies every 10 minutes for even roasting but I always forget!

Egg and Cheese Muffins

I have recently been on the hunt for more protein for the kids at breakfast.  A great friend told me how to make these little egg muffins and I love them. They are easy to fix, versatile, and I have left overs for at least another day or two of breakfasts.  I guess this isn't really a recipe but I'm recording it here so I don't forget about these little gems.

As you can see I made mini and regular versions this time so the pictures show the prep for both sizes!

Here's What You Need:

-eggs (One egg per muffin you plan to make. I usually make only 6 muffins at a time)

-shredded cheese

-spinach

-any other veggie you want to throw in

Here's What You Do:

1.  Preheat the move at 360 and spray the muffin pan with Pam for easy removal

2.  Fill the bottom with the veggies you are using.

3.  Fill the rest of the way up with shredded cheese and pat it down a bit.

4.  Whisk eggs together and put into a measuring cup (for easy of pouring).

5.  Pour the eggs over each muffin.

6.  Bake at 360 for 20-23 minutes.

So this time I made 4 regular sized muffins and 4 mini muffins to see if the kids would like them better. Elli loves these things and Jackson did fairly well with the mini ones (I still have to feed them to him) but he got it down.  He isn't a huge egg person so this is a victory for me.  My mini ones were done at 20 minutes and I let the larger ones cook for 23 minutes.  These are delicious straight from the oven but go ahead and put your left overs in the fridge. You can pop them in the microwave for 1 minute the following morning for an easy breakfast on the go.

Versatile? Yes!  Make these with spinach, bell peppers, chopped broccoli - the list goes on and on and on.

Hope this gives you a quick breakfast to get you out of the oatmeal rut.  Oh wait?  Was that just me stuck in the oatmeal rut? Well maybe you'll enjoy it anyway!!

Peanut Butter Cookies

I pack my hubby's lunch for work every night. It is an easy way for us to use dinner left overs and save a few bucks (plus I figure if I have to eat at home - he can't be going out every day too right?) I digress.  I usually pack him a couple of cookies as an after lunch treat and we were out of his favorite kind this week, Fig Newtons. In a scramble, I looked up easy cookie recipes and found this gem. They are super easy to make, dairy free, grain free, and delicious.

Pizza Puffs

As you know, I'm continually on a quest for fun kid lunch ideas. I just hate giving them the same old peanut butter and jelly everyday. Now don't get me wrong, there isn't anything wrong with a good old fashioned pb&j, but we were eating A LOT of them.  The kids were bored, I was bored, our kitchen was bored. So off hunting I went for new quick and easy lunch ideas.  I've already written up the quesadilla craze we had and we love anything wrapped up in a tortilla but I wanted something that didn't require a tortilla this time. Enter - pizza puffs.

These took me very little time to prep and they only needed to bake for about 20 minutes.  Plus, these little guys provide a great opportunity to sneak in veggies. Today I got spinach in them and my kids never knew the difference.  SCORE!

Here's What You Need:

 -3/4 C flour (I used whole wheat)

-3/4 tsp baking powder

-1 cup shredded cheese

-couple pinches of spinach

-3/4 C milk (I used 2%)

-1 egg lightly beaten

-Pizza sauce for dipping

Here's What You Do:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease a mini muffin tin pan.

2.  Whisk together flour and baking powder.

3.  Whisk in milk and egg. Then add cheese and spinach and stir together. Let this sit for about 10 minutes.

4.  Pour into individual muffin tins.  This was supposed to make 24 but mine only made about 20 so maybe I filled mine too much.

5. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden and puffy.

Serve these with a side of warmed pizza sauce for dipping.  

Now the original recipe called for one cup pepperoni as well. We didn't have that so I just left it out but I'm sure it would be delicious in there too. I think you could really chop up any veggies and add them in - red bell peppers, tiny bits of broccoli, green peppers and the list goes on and on.

I had about 20 of these little pizza puffs. My oldest ate two and my son only ate one but he is sick so not much of an appetite.  I kept out about 6 or 7 more for the rest of the week. Then I stuck the other ones in the freezer. I will update you later as to how that turns out. Seems like they would freeze well and be something you can grab at a moment's notice.  

Try it and let me know what veggies you sneak in your kids' lunch today!

original recipe here:  http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/budget-recipes/pepperoni-pizza-puffs

Super Easy (not just for breakfast) Breakfast Pizza

When I stumbled across this recipe I had no idea it would be so easy.  So so so easy.  Today it is snowing (again), my kids are sick, and we are bored.  I decided it would be a good day to pull up the thousands of recipes I have saved on the internet and start trying one out.  Elli and I decided the breakfast pizza was the way to go.  The reason this works is because you will most likely have all of the ingredients on hand.  If not, it is super versatile and you can make it however you want.

No more talking!  Let me give you this recipe that will 100% become a staple on our list. I envision it for dessert, for fun lunch, even for dinner (who doesn't love breakfast for dinner!?)

Here is what you need: (kinda because you can really do this however you want!)

-1/2 cup whole wheat flour

-1 tsp baking powder

-2 stevia packets (I didn't have anymore stevia so I used another sweetener we had on hand) or 2 tablespoons sugar

-1/2 cup water, juice or milk (I used 2% milk but to keep it vegan use almond or soy)

-2 tablespoons applesauce (or coconut oil, mashed bananas, vegetable oil...)

-1/8 tsp salt

-You can add any spices you wish. I added a dash or two of cinnamon but you could do pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, you name it!

-And the fun part:  Add in a few handfuls of whatever you want.  We added in 1/2 banana sliced and couple handfuls of mini chocolate chips. You could do blueberries, strawberries, walnuts, raisins, chopped apples, and the list goes on!

 Here is what you do

-Grease a round pan really well so it doesn't stick.

-Mix all ingredients together and then pour into prepared pan

-Place in NON PREHEATED oven at 425 for 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean (mine took exactly 10 minutes)

It looks delicious even without toppings!

Now have fun with toppings. Today I melted the Cinnamon Cheese spread I had and spread that on top (just one wedge). Then I added sliced strawberries and powdered sugar.  Seriously - this is breakfast? Both kids loved it and ate it up.  

This was delicious on top but I'm sure any cream cheese would work.

Who WOULDN'T want to eat that for breakfast?

OK you try your breakfast pizza and tell me what you add to yours.  I'm thinking next time I'll add walnuts and top with bananas and cinnamon. Or what about mini chocolate chips topped with nutella and bananas?  Oh man or what about mini chocolate chips topped with peanut butter and banana.  Yep I have a lot of baking to do!  I may very well be making this tonight for dessert while my kids are sleeping since they ate it all this morning and didn't want to share very many bites with their mom.

I want to let you know the original recipe came from Chocolate Covered Kate. I love her blog. I use it all the time. She takes desserts and makes them healthy.  She is all about chocolate and all about health. She should be my best friend. Really.  I haven't tried a recipe from her site that I didn't love.  Check it out!

http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2010/04/12/the-breakfast-pizzert/

Happy Breakfast!

Quesadilla Crazies!

I want to take a quick minute and give you some ideas that I have been trying out on my kids.  I wouldn't call this a recipe post necessarily. This post is more of a compilation on a theme we have been working on.  My kids will eat quesadillas most of the time (my 2 year old being the most picky and fickle).  In an effort to vary their diet but also give them something they will actually eat, I have been experimenting with all types of quesadillas.  So here is a list of some of the quesadillas we've had here. I'm sorry for the lack of pictures but I was just thinking today that I should share some of our go-to lunches.

I make all of the quesadillas by spraying Pam in the skillet and toasting for a few minutes on the stove. I have to be careful because if they are too crunchy, the kids won't eat them.

1.  Blueberry Quesadilla

Spread half of the tortilla with Laughing Cow cinnamon cheese spread. Top with handful of blueberries and a sprinkle of cinnamon. I served this for breakfast but it would be a fun lunch too.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookie for Kids (or you!)

So you know I eat my three ingredient cookies everyday (ok usually two a day!) But I don’t feel guilty about that. They are only about 45 calories a piece and made from completely clean ingredients –no dairy, no oil, just deliciousness. 

Well while scrolling through pinterest during our snow days here recently I saw a new twist on the same cookie idea. The difference? These are peanut butter and jelly cookies instead of chocolate chips cookies. Now I love chocolate chips but not everyone in my family is quite as addicted so I thought this might be a good change for them.  And my kids love pb&j so why not a pb&j cookie?

So here is the recipe. It is easy, quick, and you can feel great about your kids having one or two cookies a day if they are made with these ingredients!