Everyone has bananas that are just past eating at some point right?  I think I say that every time I post some kind of banana bread, but it’s true.  We eat a ton of bananas in our house, quite literally.  At the store I always think I better get one extra bunch to throw in the freezer at the end of the week for smoothies and somehow we still only end up with one or two extra.  I don’t know how it happens. It might be the two monkeys we have for kids, haha.

I do get sick of banana bread though.  My hubby doesn’t like bananas baked into anything so for the kids and I to go through a loaf is a bit much so it usually gets frozen and enjoyed for a little longer.  I wanted to mix things up a little though so I went with a chocolate loaf.  Surprisingly it doesn’t have too much sugar considering how chocolatey it was.  Thank you bananas!

I will tell you, none of this loaf made it to the freezer 

In this loaf I used coconut oil, which I use all the time.  I really love the stuff.  From a purely culinary perspective, think of all the things you can do with an oil that is naturally solid up till 76 degrees.  My favorite of course, is a healthy chocolate magic shell sauce that’s made with your favorite chocolate melted with a little coconut oil.  As soon as you pour it on ice cream it turns into a magic, hard chocolate shell.  Awesome, right?  It’s also delicious for dipping frozen fruit into.  Yummy!  I also love that it’s a healthy fat for cooking, which is something that makes me nervous about other oils.

Tropical Traditions was nice enough to send me a sample to try and review of their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil and I have to say I absolutely love it.  If you’ve never tried coconut oil you really should, it’s creamy and coconutty.  You might think you wont like the coconut flavor in everything but you get used to it very quickly, and I even miss it in dishes that don’t normally have a coconut flavor.  I like using it in everything from desserts to roasted veggies and savory dishes.  And besides how much I love coconut oil I have to say I really love how Tropical Traditions produces their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil.  If you’re curious why, just watch this quick video.

See you back here tomorrow for a giveaway!

Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for a free product.

First off, I need to tell you I feel a little awkward writing this post.  Yes, I have a 4 year old and 2 year old and a 1 month old, but I certainly do NOT have all the answers or tricks.  I’m not perfect and sometimes I put a movie on while I’m rushing to throw dinner together with a stack of dishes already in the sink and an upset baby on my hip.  That’s just how it is, and everyone has those nights at some point.

In this post are just a few things that work for me and my kids, but of course these ideas wont work for everyone, I just think they’re worth sharing.  Please leave me a comment below telling me how old your kids are and what works for you, whether it’s just getting everything done during nap time or some kind of fun craft or activity that your kids love and can do on their own while you cook.

My second confession is that I feel terribly guilty about not including my kids in everything I do in the kitchen.  I try to include them as much as possible, but a lot of the time(especially if I’m testing recipes) things need to be done just right, and lately I’m in a rush to get things done before the baby wakes up.  Kids, even starting when they’re really small can help so much, and just being in the kitchen they’re learning from you!  I didn’t realize it until I started cooking on my own how much I learned from my mom.  Even for little ones, just starting with pouring ingredients that you’ve already measured into a bowl or pot or getting ingredients for you from the fridge or cupboards, or stirring things together, like the dry ingredients for granola bars, just for a few examples.  There are a ton of ways to include your kids and that’s the best way to keep them occupied while you’re in the kitchen.

For me, having something to keep baby happy while I’m in the kitchen is the most important now that my 4 year old and 2 year old have each other to play with while I’m busy doing other things.  My 1 month old sleeps amazingly well during the day, but so far only if she’s being held.  Of course all babies are different, but for me it’s so important to have something that she can be close to me and sleep in while I work in the kitchen.   Whether it’s a wrap like a Moby wrap or some kind of carrier or sling, etc, I really recommend it.  I could not live without my Moby – food would just not get made, and the kitchen would be a complete disaster, not to mention the rest of the house.

Lastly, my absolute favorite thing for keeping my older kids busy while I need to get things done in the kitchen is playdough because they can be right there in the kitchen with me.  I’m sure there must be a million recipes out there for homemade playdough, but I’ll post the recipe we use anyways.  My kids love making “cookies” or “bread” or “pizza” or whatever else with playdough.  You’d be surprised at their creativity You don’t need any special toys to play with it either, as you can see in the picture we use all kinds of things, from plastic toddler cutlery, rolling pins, chopsticks, wooden popsicle sticks, cookie cutters, even a potato masher.

If you’re new to my blog, I will tell you, this is the only time you’ll ever see kool-aid in a recipe here, haha.  Even if my hubby disagrees, I don’t think that stuff is fit for anything other than making awesome smelling playdough

I know this post is getting long, but this is my last tip for this post.  If they’re not entertained for long enough with some playdough, they can always do their playdough dishes when they’re done.  Pull up a chair or stool to the sink, throw their playdough tools in some warm soapy water and roll up their sleeves

I will warn you – I could not control myself with the camera with these.  Especially not after this, the second batch, because by then I knew they were amazing.  So I’ll also warn you that these bars are just as irresistible to eat as they are to look at!

These are slightly more tart than regular lemon bars but they’re incredibly rich.  They aren’t your average lemon bars, but I guess the whole grain flour and the honey in the filling might be why.  Those two are definitely what make these awesome though.  Oh yeah, and the raspberries!

It’s not raspberry season here yet, but I know it is in other places so I thought it would be a good time to post these, even though I made them with frozen berries.  But secretly, I was just too excited about this recipe to hold onto it   You could use fresh berries as well, just make sure the amount of pulp and juice is the same because fresh berries will measure differently than frozen.

This recipe is how we like these best, but they need to be kept chilled as the filling is very gooey and will be too soft if left at room temperature.  If you’d rather enjoy these at room temperature up the whole grain flour in the filling to 1/3 C and the filling will be firm enough at room temperature to hold their shape.  We prefer them gooey though

I’m feeling a bit scatterbrained(and rushed, among other things) today, so I hope you wont mind if I just leave you with some more pictures   And the recipe, of course!

Inspired by Jaime’s Raspberry Lemonade Bars on Sophistimom but adapted from my own Lemon Bar recipe.

Just a very quick Monday post from me today!  Even though today is a stat here in Canada it still feels like regular Monday for me – running around and trying to get more things done than possible!  I’m behind, but determined to catch up at least a little bit while the baby sleeps.  Bring on the one handed typing!

So I thought I’d post more of an idea than a recipe today.  I know I’ve been posting a lot of recipes using cilantro lately, but usually I use a little bit and then have no idea what to do with the rest so I’ve been using these two methods to make the most of my fresh herbs because I’m awful at letting them go to waste(please tell me I’m not the only one!).

Even if you don’t like cilantro I use this method for saving all kinds of herbs(especially my favorite – fresh basil!).  Of course, ones like basil or oregano probably wouldn’t work so well with lime juice but water works just as well to seal in the delicious fresh herb flavor and in soups and a lot of other dishes the extra water doesn’t make a difference.  I quite often use lime and cilantro together, in fresh salsas, this red lentil soup and plenty of other dishes, but you could freeze it in water in case you need cilantro without the lime.

I want to hear from you!  What other tips do you have for saving or making the most of fresh herbs?

This is one of my favorite meals.  I should say that this is what a lot of my meals look like.  I quite often cook up some kind of rice-and-beans type dish to keep in the fridge and reheat as needed for weekday lunches for the kids and myself and then I roast some veggies to go with it, and ta-da, a really fast, balanced meal.  Of course with a little one attached to me most of the day I find a few minutes whenever I can to chop the veggies, in this case broccoli, and store it in a container in the fridge until I need it then at lunch time it’s even easier.

In fact, every week I find at least an hour to just chop and store fruits and vegetables so that they’re ready to go in the fridge.  You would be amazed how much of a difference it makes when they’re ready to go and all you have to do is open a container.  And, with my kids I’ve found if raw vegetables are washed, peeled, chopped and ready to go in the fridge, they’ll even eat some of them raw, so it’s well worth the effort to do a lot of my veggie prep before-hand

So, the main star of this show is Kitchiri.  Rice and lentils make this a cheap meal to prepare, but it is so delicious!  You really have to trust me and try it.  It doesn’t look like much but it is so good!  I chose to garnish mine with cilantro, which I highly recommend, but if you don’t like cilantro it’s just as good with parsley or just without it.

Now that things are warming up, I’m not roasting vegetables as much, but it really is my favorite way to prepare veggies, especially ones that people don’t always enjoy eating steamed or otherwise prepared.  It’s really so simple and you can do it with most any vegetables, but just in case, I’ll put my method for roasting broccoli into a handy printable for you

Oh, and before I forget again, so many of you have been asking how things are with our new little one – thank you so much!  She’s not so new anymore – she’s a month old already!  Even though I knew what to expect this time around, I feel like this time while she’s so tiny is slipping away from me no matter how hard I try to hold onto it.  I’ve had quite a few women with older children say they don’t miss this stage at all, which I can understand, but I don’t feel that way at all and I really wish I could just hang onto it for a little while longer.  I’m afraid I’ll blink and she’ll be going into kindergarten like my oldest is in the fall

Despite that, things are going great and we’re really looking forward to the summer.  I am planning on a few non-food posts on how I keep my little one happy and my two older kids(2 and 4 years old) busy and entertained while I’m in the kitchen – let me know if you’d be interested in reading something like that!  And thank you again for all your kind comments, they mean so much to me!

Have you ever made a raw brownie?  Or any kind of raw dessert?  Of course they’re different in taste and texture, and it’s not like I don’t enjoy the real deal, buttery and sugary brownies(even if I do like them a little less sweet now), but I will gladly choose these as a very healthy replacement for everyday chocolate cravings and save the real brownies for only very special occasions.

That being said, these are just as cravable as traditional brownies, maybe even more so since they’re filled with so much more nutrition than a traditional brownie.  I honestly can’t think of anything bad about these except that they’re way too easy to make!

Need more to convince you?  These are no-bake!  So simple to throw together, they’ll quite literally take you 5 minutes to throw together(even if you have kids hanging off 3 out of 4 limbs, it might only take 5 more ) and you can enjoy them right away.

They’re dense, chewy, fudgy and perfectly sweet.  As much of a treat a traditional brownie is, I have to say I’d much rather have one of these, and I can enjoy a couple completely guilt free.  I’d even enjoy one of these with my breakfast, they’re that healthy.  Breakfast brownies, how does that sound?

I was quite excited to see how many people were interested in this naan bread!  I was going to hold off posting, but I thought I better share   This naan may not exactly be authentic, as naan is a yeasted bread.  Maybe this is more like roti or chapati, I’m not entirely sure, but either way, it’s an incredibly fast bread to make that would be awesome dipped in hummus, served along some kind of curry or even used just like a tortilla.

We like these on the thinner side, but you could make them slightly thicker and nicer for dipping by not rolling them out quite as much.  Just don’t make them too thick or they wont cook in the center as these are cooked very fast.

These have a very slight tangy flavor from the yogurt which I love.  You could use a non-dairy yogurt for a vegan/dairy-free alternative or you could use water like the original recipe but you may need a little more whole wheat flour to absorb all the water.  That being said the dough is still tacky when it’s finished being kneaded.  It’s shouldn’t be too sticky that pieces rip off and stick to your fingers, but it should still be a soft dough.  Resist the urge to add too much flour.  Just sprinkle with flour frequently when rolling it to prevent it from sticking.  Be sure to dust any extra flour off before throwing it in the pan though because the loose flour will burn and wont smell too pleasant.

Have you ever been to Foodie.com?  I don’t think I’ve mentioned it here on Food Doodles before, but I’m a part of the Foodie 100 and also a part of the Glam Author program where I get a chance to try products and participate in events that might interest you and I.  This time around I couldn’t resist working with Dole on a recipe to enter for their contest, taking place on their facebook page.  Prizes include $10,000 for the winner of the 2012 Dole California Cook Off and $1,000 for the two runners up.  Not to mention a trip to California for the cook-off!  Sounds fun, right?  There’s also a sweepstakes that you can enter by entering your email address to win a trip to California to be a judge in the contest plus $500.  Just click to logo above to go to their facebook page where you can enter both contests.

For the contest, I’m submitting a grilled pineapple salsa. We’ve been eating a ton of salsa since I first canned some last summer.  I do like fresh salsas too, but I did something different this time and added grilled pineapple.  I wasn’t sure of how it would turn out, but trust me, it’s amazing!  Smokey, sweet, perfect.  I will do it again.

I know cilantro is either a love-it or hate-it ingredient, so if you don’t like it feel free to leave it out or sub some parsley instead as I’ve noted in the recipe.  I found out the hard way that my husband does not like cilantro(OK, it’s not so hard since it means I don’t have to share this salsa!) but I will make this again without it, for sure.

How do you feel about cilantro?  What’s your favorite fresh herb?  Mine is absolutely, without a doubt, basil!

For my recipe for Grilled Pineapple Salsa, click over to my post on Foodie.com.

Compensation was provided by Dole via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Dole.

I have a new favorite soup.  Since posting my cajun shrimp soup recipe in February we’ve had that soup almost a dozen times and I usually make way more than the recipe makes because we love it for leftovers too.  I’ve moved on though.  Seriously, this is now my favorite soup.  Good news, I don’t have to share with the husband because he doesn’t like lentils.  Bad news, I have to share with a toddler that is also crazy about this soup

A while ago I was sent a cookbook to review, Whitewater Cooks with Friends.  Whitewater is a ski resort that’s just over the mountains from where we live, so I couldn’t resist taking a look and I’m so glad I did.  Just from appearances, this book is gorgeous.  It’s filled with amazing full page pictures which I absolutely love.  Obviously I’m a visual person when it comes to food

I am a little disappointed that the book contains a lot of seafood recipes though.  Because of where we live and the price of seafood, we don’t enjoy it very often, but all the recipes do look delicious.  But I was happy that there were a few vegetarian options, and a lot of recipes that are easily adapted.  And if this recipe is any indication of what the rest are like, I really can’t wait to try more!

The small note at the top of this recipe says “Tana is probably the most vivacious person you could ever meet and her flavorful personality shines through in the his soup… she loves it so much that she says she could bathe in it!”  I couldn’t agree with Tana more.  Did I mention this is my new favorite soup?

Another note about the soup, I made it on a gorgeous sunny day and I was thinking about what bad timing it was because I wasn’t particularly in the mood for soup on such a warm day but it was incredibly refreshing.  It was really perfect for a warm spring day, so don’t hesitate to try it even though it’s warming up.  I served mine with some extremely fast 100% whole wheat naan bread that I’ll share the recipe for soon!

**Disclaimer:  While I did receive this cookbook for free, I did not receive any compensation for this review.  Any opinions are 100% my own and I was not under any obligation to write a positive review.

I’m not afraid to admit that a lot of my meals for the last week and a half have been liquid – in the form of green smoothies!  As much as I didn’t want to post another smoothie recipe, I think I’ll probably be posting some more in the near future.  But I have realized that most of our smoothies follow the same formula so I decided to post that today, instead of a specific “recipe”.  Of course there is no right or wrong way to make a smoothie and I’m sure this “formula” is nothing new, I still wanted to share it.  If I can inspire one person to try a green smoothie, it’ll be worth it

I have to say, I would be lost without green smoothies.  They are, without a doubt, my favorite meal or snack.  Who doesn’t love a good fruit smoothie?  Plus, it’s way better than sitting down to a bowlful of greens.  Not to mention, anyone with a newborn knows it’s not likely that you’ll have time to prep and chop veggies for a big salad(not to mention time to sit down and enjoy it!) any time soon, where a smoothie is almost a completely 1 handed meal.  Awesome!

Plus, something with spinach in it that my kids go crazy for?  Yes please!  It may not be equal to a big bowlful of greens but it really is better than nothing.

For this one we used our home canned peaches which is why it turned out to be such a pretty color.  The color isn’t always as pretty as this though, sometimes they’re brown or even almost black depending on the type of fruit we add.  If your kids think the color is gross you might want to invest in a cup that wont let them see what’s inside.  Of course that probably only works for little kids, but still… As long as you can get them to take one taste – they’ll love it!

I will mention that if you’ve never tried a green smoothie before – blend, blend and blend some more!  I’m pretty sure everyone likes a smooth smoothie.  Spinach chunks = ew!  So keep blending.  I do NOT have a fancy blender, I make all my smoothies in a plain old magic bullet and it works perfectly(if I don’t stuff it too full – which I usually do anyways and it’s survived so far – hah!)  For the record, the makers of Magic Bullet have no idea who I am, I just love my little blender.

I want to hear from you!  How do you enjoy your smoothies?  Do you add greens?  Do you use a basic formula for your smoothies(if so, what is it!), or do you usually wing it?