When I was gifted my first ever {decent} food processor for my birthday, I had two things I knew I needed to make asap. The first, two ingredient ice cream, got taken care of while we were still on vacation. The second was fresh pesto. I returned home eager to whip up my first batch of the delicious green sauce, only to find that both of my basil plants had been badly eaten while away. Phooey. The project got put on the back burner for a little while until it was time to whip up lunch today and my giant container of organic baby spinach reminded me of something I’ve seen numerous times online… Pesto made with spinach! Brilliant, really. Who doesn’t love adding another way to sneak loads of spinach into their family’s meals? So spinach pesto it was. I gathered up my sous chef and a good amount of the basil I did have left in the garden, and got busy.
First, we gathered our ingredients – organic baby spinach, olive oil, sea salt, asiago cheese, basil, lemon, a couple of cloves of garlic, and some walnuts. (I did consider using the pine nuts I have stashed away in the freezer, but those things are like gold nowadays, so walnuts it was. On the plus side, my mom, a health fanatic of many, many years recently told me that everyone should be eating a few walnuts a day, so there you go. Our walnut intake for the day is covered.)
Start out by placing your clean, dry spinach leaves directly into your food processor.
Next, add the walnuts…
And asiago. (Parmigiano would obviously be the more traditional choice here, but I like to change things up now and then.)
Next, add a couple of whole raw garlic cloves. Just be warned that the finished result is quite garlicky. If you prefer a more subtle garlic flavour, I suggest just adding one.
Next, give your fresh basil a good whiff…
And then add it to the food processor.
Grind in just a touch of sea salt.
And add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
Give everything a couple of pulses first, then turn it on while slowly drizzling the olive oil in. Blend until your desired consistency is reached. We made ours quite smooth this time around, but slightly chunky is just as good.
Next, take a little spoonful and let your toddler dip her finger in.
When you receive enthusiastic nods of approval and shouts for “More!”, you know you’re done.
Transfer into a mason jar for storage in the fridge, or use immediately for lunch (in this case, a warm orzo salad with spinach pesto, roasted red peppers, and toasted pine nuts).
Homemade Spinach Walnut Asiago Pesto
- 3 large handfuls of fresh baby spinach
- 1 handful of fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 cup of asiago cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup of raw walnuts
- 2 large cloves of garlic
- juice of 1/4 of a lemon
- 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt
- 1/3 cup of olive oil
Place all ingredients except olive oil into a food processor and pulse a couple of times. Turn food processor on and drizzle in olive oil as the mixture blends. Stop the food processor when the sauce reaches your desired consistency. Transfer into a mason jar and store in the fridge or use immediately on pizza, pasta, crackers, or bread.
Enjoy!
Our line up of ingredients: bananas, all-natural peanut butter, wooden popsicle sticks, and toppings. (Grae picked sesame seeds, organic raisins, sunflower seeds, and organic brown rice puffs, but almost anything would work… Dried cranberries, chopped nuts, and granola would be yummy too.)
To get started, peel a couple of bananas.
And then chop them roughly in half.
Now for the messy part… Spread your peanut butter on the banana halves. (Gracen started by spreading peanut butter on one side, then I’d insert the popsicle stick, flip the banana over, and gently cover the other side.)
It doesn’t have to be perfect, but you want most of your banana covered in a layer of peanut butter by the time you’re through.
Next, take your banana and roll it in the topping(s) of your choice. Larger items, such as raisins, can be added by hand afterwards.
Place your pops on a tray and pop them in the freezer for at least an hour or so.
In the meantime, let your little munchkin {messily} lick the spoon and snack on the leftovers.
Once they’re at least semi-frozen, serve them as a snack or for dessert.
Or heck, why not breakfast?! If there’s ever been a breakfast-appropriate popsicle, this has got to be it.
The best part is that it’s really simple. Here’s everything you need: edamame beans, olive oil, fresh-ground pepper, sea salt, and some cheese (we used asiago).
First things first, run your beans under some cool water for a few minutes to thaw them.
Next, have your sous chef place them all in a large mixing bowl.
Add a drizzle of olive oil…
Your cheese…
A generous grinding of pepper…
And just a tiny touch of sea salt.
Then mix everything together.
Lay your beans out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (who doesn’t love easy clean up?!) and pop them in the oven, flipping them once about half way through.
Take them out when they’re golden brown and have a good crunch to them.
Let cool for a few minutes and serve while still warm. Mmmmm!
Get started by peeling and coring your apples. (I haven’t yet taught Gracen how to peel things, so I peeled and cored our apples while she gathered all of the scraps and placed them in a bowl for composting.)
Next up, chop your apples into smallish pieces. (We both did this job – Gracen using a regular butter knife, of course. FYI: I’ve done this several times with my Kindergarten classes and decent-quality plastic/wooden knives work too.)
Then, chop your strawberries.
Dump everything into a large pot.
Add a little bit of water…
Just a touch of pure maple syrup… (Only if you want some extra sweetness – turns out ours could have easily done without.)
And a good amount of pure vanilla.
Give everything a quick stir and pop it on the stove at medium heat.
Slowly cook the fruit, stirring occasionally, until everything is soft and easily mashed with a fork. 
Remove from the heat and mash until the sauce reaches your desired consistency. If you like a smoother texture, an immersion blender works well.
Dish out a small bowl…
And give it to your extremely excited toddler. Watch her gobble it up and ask for more.
Grae carefully passed me spaghetti pieces one at a time and I poked one through the front and back of each car body.
And two more on the other side.
Then carefully disassemble the cars and neatly pile the spaghetti sticks on the table…
Start off by dumping your pumpkin seeds into a large mixing bowl.
Give the seeds a little mix and set the bowl aside.
Get out a separate smaller bowl, and dump in your onion and garlic.
Stir really well, allowing enough time for the chia seeds to absorb the water and thicken the mixture.
Next, take a few pinches of kosher salt, add them to your mixture, and stir again.
If your monkey is anything like mine, they may try to lick the seeds straight off the pan. (No joke – this really happened. Multiple times in fact. Crazy girl.)
Next, it’s time to pop the pan into the oven.
When you take them out, they should be crispy and golden.
Serve to your very anxious and excited toddler. Be prepared to hear “Mmmmmmmm!” and “More! More! More!” endlessly.
We chopped up a couple of big slices of watermelon, grabbed a lemon and lime from the fridge, and clipped a couple of mint sprigs from the garden, and we were good to go.
Put your watermelon chunks into a blender.
Taste midway through to ensure yumminess.
Next, juice a lime…
And a lemon.
Pull out the seeds and pour the juice and pulp into your blender.
Next, sniff in the deliciousness that is fresh mint.
Then pop it into the blender.
Secure the lid on the blender and blend everything until smooth. (Depending on the juiciness of your watermelon, you may need to pulse and shake the blender a few times in order to build up a little liquid.)
Once fully blended, carefully pour the mixture into your popsicle moulds.
Then add the sticks and pop them into the freezer.
If there’s any leftover, let you toddler have a little taste and watch her eyes light up with excitement. If Grae’s reaction to the frozen pops is anything like the reaction she had to the juice, I know she’ll love them.
We started by gathering our ingredients. Here’s what you need: mango, plain Greek yogurt, lemons, and pure vanilla (and a blender, spoon, and popsicle moulds of some sort).
Get started by putting all of your mango chunks into your blender.
Then add a generous amount of really good, thick Greek yogurt. (We used the no fat kind this time around because it’s what we had on hand, but since these popsicles are really for Gracen more than anyone else, I’d normally use the full fat kind.)
Next up – juice a couple of lemons…
And add the juice and pulp to the blender.
Lastly, add a splash of pure vanilla for a little hint of sweetness. (Depending on the sweetness of your mango, you may want to add a tiny bit of honey or pure maple syrup at this point too, but if your mango is ripe and naturally sweet, you won’t need it).
Next, blend away!
While your mixture is blending, get your moulds out and ready. (I love these old-school Tupperware ones from Gma Char… They remind me of summers on the back deck as a kid!)
When your mango mixture is smooth and creamy, pour it into the moulds, leaving a little room at the top for expansion.
That’s it! Let your little one slurp up the extras, put the lids on the moulds, and pop them in the freezer!
First things first, gather the following: rhubarb, strawberries (fresh or frozen), wholewheat flour, vanilla, pure maple syrup, old-fashioned oats, and olive oil. The biggest necessity however? One silly little doodle sporting a tiny apron and her “smile face”.
To get started, dump your fruit into a large mixing bowl.
Enthusiastically add some wholewheat flour…
Some pure maple syrup…
And a touch of vanilla.
Then mix it all up. If you’re feeling adventurous, follow Grae’s lead and sneak a piece of flour-covered rhubarb into your mouth (yuck).
When everything is mixed, pour the fruit mixture into a glass baking dish and spread it around evenly.
With the fruit filling complete, it’s time for the topping. Grab a fresh bowl (or rinse the one you have) and dump in some wholewheat flour.
Next, add some old-fashioned oats…
Some cinnamon…
Some olive oil…
And a little bit of pure maple syrup.
Mix everything well.
Next, shake your oat mixture out on top of your fruit, trying to distribute it {somewhat} evenly over the dish. Gently pat everything down in place.
That’s it! Now pop it into the oven for a bit.
And take it out when the fruit is bubbling and the oats are golden brown. Let cool on the counter while you eat dinner.
Then dish out two little bowls, one for you and one for your toddler, and listen to her exclaim “Mmmmmmmmm! Nom-a-nom-a-neh” while she shovels heaping spoonfuls into her mouth. Be prepared – she’ll most likely finish before you do and then ask to eat yours on top of her own. ☺
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!
