Note to self: When planning on doing a cooking project with Miss G, don’t make mention of it until it’s actually time to begin.  I learned this the hard way today when I casually asked Gracen if she wanted to make a treat with me while finishing up a load of dishes.  I went to pop the dishtowels in the wash and came back to a butcher block littered with with containers – cocoa, cream of tartar, beans, and baking powder.  Not sure what she planned on making, but she obviously got a little excited and jumped the gun.  My bad.

Today we whipped up a little something I’ve seen a lot of while browsing Pinterest…  Energy bites.  Here’s our version, and let me tell you, they’re delish.  Sweet and satisfying like dessert, but packed with healthy fats, protein, fibre, and vitamins.

Don’t be intimidated by our giant line up of ingredients…  These are all things we always have on hand and I wanted to jam pack these little suckers with as many nutrients as possible, so we used a little of everything.  It doesn’t have to be this involved though.  I like the way Heidi from Food Doodles stated it…  This is more of a formula than a recipe. You could easily get away with less than half of these ingredients.  Our list includes organic oats, pure maple syrup, honey, all-natural almond butter, hemp hearts, chia, ground flax seed, wheat germ, raw almonds, walnuts, unsweetened coconut, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, cinnamon, and pure vanilla.

To get started, put your almond butter into a large mixing bowl (any nut butter will do, so feel free to pick your favourite).

Next, add some old-fashioned oats.

Then gather your “goodies”. For us this included hemp hearts, chia, ground flax seed, wheat germ, raw almonds, walnuts, unsweetened coconut, sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds, but it could really be any combination of dry ingredients.

Dump your goodies into the mixing bowl.

Next, add a generous amount of good vanilla.

And a spice (or spice combination) of your choice.  We kept it simple in the spice department and chose cinnamon, but you could really use any of your favourites…  Nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and allspice could all be good options.

Mix everything together so that all of the ingredients are evenly distributed.

While you tidy up, pop your mixture into the refrigerator for about 30 minutes (or cheat like we did and pop it into the freezer for half the amount of time).

With your mixture chilled, now you’re ready to form your bites. We found it easiest to take a tablespoon measure, dip it into a mug of very hot water (this would work even better if you were using a metal measuring spoon), fill the scoop, and press the mixture down into the spoon to compact it.

Little dome-shaped bites should easily pop out into your hand or onto your baking sheet.

Tada!  Little nutrient-packed mouthfuls.

After you’ve formed all of your bites, pop them into the fridge / freezer for storage or feed them to your desperate toddler immediately. (In all honesty, she stuck around to help form the first five and then begged for me to put her in her seat so she could start gobbling down her creation.)

You may not be able to tell, but she’s got a giant mouthful, plus a fistful, and she’s frantically saying “More! More!”  You think she liked them?

‘Mama, don’t you hear me saying “more”?  Must I sign it for you also?’

 

I highly recommend you whip up some of these as soon as possible.  The original recipe can be found here and this is our tweaked version:

Nutrient-Packed Energy Bites

• 1/2 of a cup of all-natural nut butter (at room temperature)
• 1/4 of a cup of honey and pure maple syrup (we used mostly maple syrup with just a little honey because I’ve always found the sweetness of honey to be a little overwhelming, but using more honey will definitely increase the stickiness of the mixture, thus making it easier to form the bites)
• 1 cup of organic old-fashioned oats
• 1 1/2 cups of dry “goodies” (your personal combination of nuts, seeds, dried fruit, unsweetened coconut, wheat germ, ground flax, hemp heats, chia, etc.)
• 1 tablespoon of pure vanilla
• 1 teaspoon of your favorite spices or spice combination (cinnamon, cloves, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg would all be yummy)

Add all ingredients to a large mixing bowl.  Stir well.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes (or pop in the freezer for 15).  Dip a tablespoon measuring spoon into a mug of very hot water and fill the spoon with the mixture, pressing it down in order to compact everything. Gently shake spoonfuls out onto a baking sheet and place in the fridge or freezer to firm them up.

Serve or transfer into an airtight container and store in the fridge or freezer.  Pull bites out for a quick, delicious, and nutritious snack.

Enjoy!

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Let me tell you, our little girl loves to cook.  This afternoon I made mention of the fact that I might need some help with dinner and she had her apron around her neck and was pushing a chair into the kitchen before I had even gathered my canned goods.  On tonight’s menu was one of our household staples – turkey chili.  Super hearty, easy to pull together, loved by everyone, and even better as left overs…  That’s my kind of meal.

Here’s the line up of ingredients:  Ground turkey (cooked with a couple of diced onions, a couple of chopped celery stalks, a few minced garlic cloves, some olive oil and lots of freshly ground pepper), frozen corn, baked beans, kidney beans, black beans, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chill powder, cumin, oregano, and cayenne pepper.

Once you’ve browned your ground turkey (ground chicken works just as well), you basically just add everything to a pot and let it do its thing.  In with the baked beans…

Side note: I hate buying baked beans. I’m rarely able to find a good low-sodium, low-sugar option and always end up juggling 5 cans in an effort to accurately compare their labels while entertaining a toddler who wants the shopping cart to keep moving.  Must find a good brand and stock up.

Drain and rinse your black beans and add them to the pot.

Same drill with your kidney beans (white or red both taste great)…  Drain, rinse, and add.

Next, add your diced tomatoes.  I buy a petite diced low-sodium olive oil and garlic option – more flavour and no chopping!

Next, add in some corn.

And some tomato paste.

Then add your ground turkey mixture.

On with the spices!  First, add a generous amount of chill powder…

Then some cumin…

And a touch of oregano.

Depending on how spicy you like it, shake in some cayenne pepper.  (We often add some jalapeños at this point too, but we like a little heat.)

Now mix everything up really well…

So that it looks something like this.

We use an awesome really heavy oven-safe Kitchenaid pot (wish I knew what it was really called) that Brad’s parents bought us, so we put the lid on, pop it in the oven, and come back an hour later to a hot dinner. (A stovetop pot or slow cooker works just as well.)

If time allows, let your chili stand before serving.

Dish into bowls and top with your favourite toppings… Avocado, sour cream, jalapeños, and grated cheese are some of our favourites.

 

Southwest Turkey Chili

*This recipe is very flexible and easily lends itself to changes, so don’t be afraid to experiment and get it just as you like it.

• 1 package of lean ground turkey (ground chicken works too)
• 2 small / medium onions, diced
• 2 celery stocks, chopped
• 2 – 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• freshly ground pepper to taste

• 1 can of no-salt-added black beans
• 1 can of no-salt-added kidney beans
• 1 can of low-sodium, low-sugar baked beans
• 1 can of petite diced low-sodium tomatoes
• 1 cup of frozen corn
• 1/2 can of all-natural tomato paste
• 2 – 3 tablespoons of chili powder
• 1 heaping tablespoon of cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of oregano
• cayenne pepper to taste
• salt to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large frying pan, heat olive oil on medium heat.  Sauté onions and celery for a few minutes.  Add garlic and sauté for another minute. Add turkey and freshly ground pepper.  Sauté until the turkey is fully cooked, making sure to break up big pieces every now and then.

Add turkey mixture, along with all other ingredients into an oven-safe pot.  Stir well.  Place lid on pot, pop into the oven, and let cook for a full hour.  (If you’re really on your game and have the time to spare, cook for 2 hours at 350 degrees.)  Remove chili from heat and let stand 10 – 20 minutes before serving.  Taste and add salt if desired.

Top with cheese, sour cream, jalapeños, or avocado.

Enjoy!

I must admit, we’re pretty strict when it comes to Gracen’s eating habits.  She’s 20 months old now, and we’ve managed to stay clear of all refined sugars, processed foods, and other junk foods thus far (although she did taste her first ever tortilla chip a few days ago while celebrating her Papa’s 30th birthday).  So far, we’ve also avoided all juices too.

But today as we were waiting for last night’s leftover pizza to warm in the oven and I was attempting to chop watermelon with a hungry little munchkin tugging on my pants, I needed a way to get her involved in the lunch preparation for a few minutes.  Off the top of my head, I decided we’d turn the watermelon into a smoothie of sorts, so I sent her into the crisper to retrieve a lemon and we headed outside to pluck a fresh stem of mint from the yard.  What do you get when you combine these 3 simple ingredients?  A citrus mint watermelon cooler (which totally reminds me of something we would have seen on an elaborate “drink” menu during our years in Kuwait). Truthfully, I had no idea how this would turn out, but it was deeeeelish.

Here are the required ingredients….  Chopped watermelon, fresh mint, and a lemon or two (ours was of the sweet variety, hence the orange colour, but any lemon would do).

First step – put your watermelon in a blender.

Be sure to save the last chunk for eating purposes. ☺

Pluck the mint leaves off of the stem.

And put them in the blender.

Next, squeeze the juice out of your lemons and into the blender.

Be sure to remove the seeds first or catch them while squeezing!

Then, blend!  At first, it may seem as though there is not enough liquid to allow the mixture to blend properly.  Start by ‘pulsing’ and then removing the blender from its base to give it a good shake.  After doing this a few times, you’ll have plenty of liquid to blend the entire mixture.  For a smoother texture, blend for a couple of minutes, and for a chunkier texture, blend less.

Pour a munchkin-sized glass for your wee one…

And a mason jar full for yourself!

If I’m being honest, Grae took a sip or two in the very beginning and let out an enthusiastic ‘Mmmmmm!’, but then promptly asked for water and left her glass of watermelon juice just sitting there for the duration of lunch.  It truly was really yummy and she loves all of the ingredients separately, so I’ve come upon the decision that she’s just not a juice girl.  She had the same reaction back in January when she was sick and we offered her the juice from a freshly squeezed orange.  Oh well. I’m perfectly happy having a kid who would prefer water over juice anyways.

Citrus Mint Watermelon Cooler

• 2 cups of chopped watermelon (a few seeds won’t hurt)
• A small handful of fresh mint leaves
• Juice from one or two lemons

*Play with the ratios to get it tasting exactly as you like.

Place everything in blender. Pulse and shake a few times in order to build up a little liquid.  Blend the entire mixture until your desired consistency is reached. Serve with ice and a fresh mint sprig.

Enjoy!