Okay… So truthfully, when the Patriots are no longer in the running to become Superbowl champs, football is done in our house. We don’t watch it, we don’t talk about it, and we certainly don’t do a big Superbowl celebration. {I know it’s sort of weird, but such is life with a hardcore football fan.} That being said, just because we’re not actually watching the Superbowl this year, doesn’t mean that we can’t make and eat delicious Superbowl goodies, right? Right!
There’s no doubt we have a thing for play doughs in this house. I absolutely love coming up with fun new dough recipes, and Miss G absolutely loves exploring and creating with them. I’m not sure where this crazy idea came from exactly, but one day I found myself wondering why we had yet to play with basic cooking doughs {like the ones used to make breads and pastas}. Miss G’s well out of the putting things in her mouth stage, so ingredients like raw eggs are not a concern, and how fun would it be to ‘play’ with the dough by shaping and cutting, and then cook it up into something delicious? Sounded like a plan to me {as long as very clean hands and a clean playing surface were involved, that is!}
Last month Miss G and I were challenged to healthify Paula Deen’s sugary sweet apple strudel by our very good friends over at Hillary with two Ls (please) and Little Miss Mama. Looking back, I think we did a not bad job, if I do say so myself. In addition to getting rid of the sugar altogether and replacing it with pure maple syrup and a wee bit of honey, we also traded store-bought phyllo dough in for from-scratch wholewheat pastry dough, exchanged the butter for coconut oil, and added an additional nutritional punch with some ground flax seeds sneakily hidden inside (see our recipe here). Not to shabby, right? ☺
With our complex’s kids Christmas party happening this afternoon, Miss G and I hit up Pinterest this morning for a little snack inspiration. I knew that there would be plenty of sweet treats (there always is) and with Gracen not eating sugar, we always try to bring something healthy, but fun. As soon as we began our search, Grae fell head over heels for this awesome upright fruit tree. I loved the look of it too, but I wasn’t thrilled about attaching food to a styrofoam cone, and knowing how much we had going on today, knew I wouldn’t have a ton of time to experiment with a healthier alternative. As we continued browsing, we came across this fun Christmas tree vegetable platter, which we both loved. Gracen thought about it for a minute and then asked if we could make a broccoli tree but with fruit. Sure thing, little lady. A broccoli tree, but with fruit it is.
Today’s Christmas countdown calendar activity was something Miss G has been looking forward to for a while now… Making and drinking homemade hot cocoa! Of course it meant coming up with a recipe that was both yummy and sugar free, but it wasn’t all that hard with the help of one of my very favourite natural sweeteners and a loose idea of how I used to make regular hot chocolate when I was younger.
Grae and I have had this soup for 3 out of our last 4 meals {not even joking}. We whipped it up for lunch yesterday, ate it for dinner last night, and then had it again today for lunch. The crazy part is that neither of us enjoys fresh tomatoes. But this soup is different – soooo yummy! And with our new bout of cold weather (13 degrees Celcisus – BRRRR!), it’s the perfect warm-your-insides meal. Plus, it packs a good protein punch which is great when you’re like us and don’t eat a lot of meat.
There is no doubt that Miss G and I miss our Canadian mama and munchkin friends terribly despite being very happy here in the desert. Two of those pairs include Tairalyn of Little Miss Mama and her little lady, Sofia Marie, and Hillary of Hillary with two Ls (please) and her petit monsieur, Grady. Gracen sees both of her little friends via Instagram photos and videos, and I stalk both mamas via all of their social media outlets to make sure I don’t miss out on a single thing. Last month, when Tairalyn posted about a naughty recipe full of white flour, butter, Velveeta, and cream cheese, a crazy fun idea came together. You see, the three of us mamas all love to cook and bake. The only difference is that our approaches vary quite widely. Hillary loves to play with ingredients and try to find healthy(ish) alternatives to traditional ingredients, but despite her daily green juices and veggie-packed dinners, she’s a butter lover at heart. Tairalyn, on the other hand, unapologetically cooks up indulgent recipes in their full sugary, buttery glory, and spares nothing when it comes to taste.
…And then there’s me. Yes, lame-o ‘I bet I could make that sugar-free and wholewheat and butter-less, and, and, and…’ me. I once attempted to make a banana healthier. Enough said.
Very rarely does Brad ever make meal / recipe suggestions, but this summer he came home from volleyball all jazzed up about trying a new pancake recipe after hearing about it from one of his teammates. They did sound really interesting – they were flour-free, made of whole foods, and totally Miss G friendly, but for some reason or another {most likely the fact that we were packing up our house and moving overseas with a 2 year old in tow at the time}, we didn’t get around to making them.
This fun breakfast is quickly becoming a Halloween tradition in our house. G loves spiderweb pancakes because they’re ‘really cool and spooky’ and I like them because they make for a fun, but healthy way to start the day. Plus despite how it may look, they’re really easy to make.
Sometimes I do weird things just to see Miss G’s reaction. I don’t know…. I can’t help myself I guess. Seeing her little face light up with excitement {or crinkle up in total confusion} makes my heart happy. So today when she asked for a glass of water during her quiet play time, I surprised her with a Halloweenified glass of what she’s deemed ‘buggy water’. {Doesn’t it look sort of like a glass full of baby spiders? Yum!}
I created this silly little jack-o-lantern on a whim this afternoon and paired it a few crackers and a bunch of apple slices as an afternoon snack for Miss G. Being that it was the first time I’d ever served her a jack-o-lantern made of cheese, I knew she’d really get a kick out of it, but she honestly thought it was the funniest, BEST thing EVER. Who knew a simple cheese snack could make someone’s day?
Popsicle season is in full swing here in the desert, so Miss G and I stocked up our freezer today with a big batch of tasty new treats – fruit and honey yogurt pops!
Grae and I have been making versions of this delicious smoothie since she was a wee little thing, and it remains a favourite. It’s nutritious, filling, and tastes more like a thick and creamy milkshake than a good-for-you smoothie. {Milkshakes for breakfast? Yes please.}
Amidst our packing frenzy, the figs on our lovely backyard fig tree have decided that now is the time to become perfectly ripe. This poses a problem for a few different reasons…. 1) The tree is big and old and produces a TON of fruit, 2) I’m the only one in our family that truly enjoys fresh figs, 3) Keeping up with the daily picking of the fruit is time consuming, and 4) If I don’t keep up with the picking, our backyard becomes a sticky mess filled with wasps.
In an effort to avoid a waspy sticky mess of a backyard, I’ve been giving away boxes of figs to almost every person I’ve been in contact with, I’ve been adding 3 or 4 to our green smoothie each morning, and I’ve been eating them fresh as my nightly treat, but that just wasn’t enough. I needed a way to use up a ton of figs all at once, and preferably it would be something that the other members of my family would enjoy too. Enter fruit leather…
Gracen loves fruit leather, and though it can be a little intimidating if you’ve never made it before, it’s truly one of the easiest, most forgiving things to make. And no special equipment is needed! If you have some fruit, an oven, a baking pan, and some parchment paper, you can easily make your own fruit leather at home.
I’ve made several batches of this stuff already, and it’s getting eaten up like nobody’s business! Plus I’ve changed my method a little bit and it’s now even easier for me to make my own fruit leather. Here’s how to do it…
Apple Fig Fruit Leather
Preheat oven to 125 degrees (or lowest setting) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper (paper should cover all edges of the pan).
Place all ingredients in a covered pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer fruit {still covered} for about 30 minutes, or until super soft.
Pour everything into a food processor or good blender and purée until smooth.
Pour fruit mixture out onto parchment-lined baking sheet and use the back of a spatula to spread the fruit purée out so it covers the entire base of the pan. Gently shake the pan make the purée as even as possible.
Pop into the oven for approximately 8 hours (I put ours in just before going to bed). You want to remove the fruit leather from the oven when it’s still sticky to the touch, but not at all wet. You may find that part of your fruit leather will be done earlier than the rest. In this case, you’ll need to remove the fruit leather from the oven, cut off the finished part, and return the still wet to the touch part to the oven for another hour or two.
When finished, simply remove the large sheet of fruit leather from the baking sheet, cut of the excess parchment paper around the edges, and cut directly through both the remaining parchment and fruit leather to create strips. Roll strips and secure with baker’s twine or washi tape. Store in an air-tight container or jar.
Enjoy!
See our other homemade fruit leather recipes here:
Berry Banana // Apple Pear Carrot
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We’ve been making super simple {and healthy} strawberry creamsicles since Grae was a wee little thing, and they’ve always been a summer favourite. Today, with our fridge still brimming with freshly picked berries, we made our best version yet with the addition of a simple ingredient… dates!
I must admit that though I’ve known about the awesome sweetening power of dates for a long time now, I’ve been a little hesitant to jump onboard… But, I’m so glad I did! Using them in our cookie dough boys and our wholewheat strawberry shortcake recently has made me realize that they really aren’t all that intimidating. Simply soak, puree, and use like honey. Easy enough, right? Plus they allow these popsicles to be perfectly sweet even though they’re made with plain yogurt.
Healthy 3 Ingredient Strawberry Creamsicles
(makes 12 – 14 large popsicles)
Before beginning this recipe, put the 4 majool dates into a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Let sit for 15 minutes.
Pop strawberries into a food processor (or good blender) and puree until smooth or nearly smooth. Pour the puree into a glass measuring cup and set aside.
Without worrying about washing your food processor or blender, blend your pitted dates and about a tablespoon of the soaking water until smooth (this may require you to stop the processor and scrape down the sides with a spatula a few times). Add the yogurt and blend to combine.
Using a large spoon, scoop some of the yogurt mixture into each of the popsicle moulds. Gently pour enough strawberry puree on top to cover the yogurt. Continue to layer the two until the moulds are full.
Freeze overnight and enjoy!
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