Sushi is a food that many children and adults shy away from because the idea of eating raw fish is less than appetizing. You can always opt for the California roll with imitation crab, avocado, and cucumber. But even that is a bit much for the squeamish.

If you have a hard time getting your children (or their adult parent) to try this international delicacy try putting a spin on the standard dish.

Frushi: Made With Fruit And Sweetened Rice

• Cook sushi rice or any short grain rice as directed. Once cooked add coconut milk, almond milk or soy milk and sugar.
• You can get fancy and roll your rice in the traditional way or form your rice into shapes for the fruit to rest on.
• Add any fruit that your children enjoy: thinly sliced watermelon, kiwi, raspberries, strawberries etc.
• Serve with yogurt on the side for dipping.

Breakfast Sushi: A Fun Way To Rise And Shine

• Take a tortilla (whole wheat or flour will work) and spread with your favorite nut butter (peanut, almond, even chocolate hazelnut spread). 
• Or use a cream cheese base and add chopped strawberries and a little confectioners sugar. 
• Lay fruit like bananas, kiwi, or strawberries on your tortilla. Roll, cut, and enjoy.

PB&J Sushi: An Old Favorite Made New

• Change up your routine peanut butter and jelly sandwiches by flattening your bread with a rolling pin. 
• Spread peanut butter and then add on the toppings: jelly, apples, bananas, even raisins.
• With the help of plastic wrap roll your sandwiches up and slice into individual pieces.

As you can imagine there are many variations of this modern take on an ancient dish. Get your children involved in picking out what you use in your sushi and let them help you make it. The options are endless.

What creative alternatives can you think of for sushi your children will love? 

Making a meal that everyone in your family will love can be a challenge. Sometimes we moms hit it out of the park and our children think we’re the Dinner Diva. Sometimes we strike out royally and they crown us the Dinner Dud!

Here are a few tips on how to help your kids try new things.

Use foods you know your child likes

If pasta is always a winner in your house the variety can come in the form of sauces like garlic Alfredo, roasted red pepper and tomato, or something as simple as butter and Parmesan cheese.

You might also be able to get away with adding zucchini or spinach to your rice casserole as long as you cut the vegetables up in bite size pieces and the seasonings are something your children are used to.

Consider offering condiments that they love with meals that you might not normally like ketchup, sour cream, ranch dressing, or barbecue sauce. You can even make sure that your side dish or bread is something you know that they will love to offset the new dish.

Let them play an active role in cooking

Have your kiddos scour the Internet or your cookbooks and pick what they’d like to make. Children usually choose what looks appealing to them which will make them more likely to eat it.

Allow your children to assist you in cooking the meal. This will get them used to the cooking process as well as the satisfaction that comes from preparing a dish from start to finish. They will be proud of their accomplishment and be happy to serve it to the entire family.

You can also let them name the different dishes you venture out in making. My girls named one of my made up recipes years ago because they were tired of calling it noodles with the white sauce. Instead they donned it “Special Creation.” It’s hilarious to me but they love it and I make it often.

Avoid bringing attention to new ingredients

Announcing that you made mock meatloaf with nuts, rice, and carrots will not go over well. PB&J sandwiches will soon follow. Trust me. 

Gradually add more and more things once their palate changes. You do not want to scare them off from trying too many new things at once so go slow.

I suggest one or two new things a week to start. If you do too much too soon your children will be suspicious of anything you try to feed them in the future and less likely to try anything you put in front of them.

Be flexible

Work on not making this process difficult and tiresome. Sometimes your children will love a recipe that you experimented with and sometimes they will look at you like you’ve lost your mind.  If they whisper among themselves at the bomb you just served them and called dinner, don’t let it discourage you.

Keep trying to add your own flair to the foods you want your family to try and you may just end up with a family favorite!

I bought some organic carrots and spinach, then loaded up on Fuji apples, cucumbers, blueberries and raspberries.

Carrot and apple is my all time favorite fresh juice. With that as a base I can add all kinds of green stuff to it and enjoy it going down.

Another favorite juice addition is a beet. Beets add a dark red color and you don’t need much to add a lot of flavor.

My son loves the juice I make at home too. He guzzles and asks for more most of the time.

Since I started using a Magic Bullet for smoothies and other small blending tasks, I decided to mix up my juicing with my blending. I juiced my apple and carrot, then took it and my spinach over to the bullet and blended it all together. It was a tad chunky, I probably overdid the spinach LOL!

I also use the bullet to blend in the berries – you don’t want to ‘juice’ the berries, they just turn to mush and you don’t much out of them. Blend them in and get all the goodness!

Next I need to head over to the farmer’s market. There’s so much more that I can add to juice if I have available to me. This time year tough because a lot produce items are expensive.

How about you? Do you juice? Do your kids enjoy it?

P.S. I bought this: Jack LaLanne’s PJEB Power Juicer Express

Great Gadgets

Do you love using your tablet to find new recipes?  Hate the thought of getting it dirty in the kitchen, or have trouble reading the screen while cooking?  Then try the Belkin Kitchen Stand and Wand for Tablets (around $39.99).  The chef stand is designed to hold your tablet securely in place, angled perfectly for reading.  The magnetic tipped stylus allows you to navigate the tablet even when your hands are dirty, and when not in use it’s stored securely on the chef stand.  Stand and stylus are both hand washable for easy cleanup when the cooking is done.

If you love the convenience of microwave popcorn, you will love the Presto Power Pop Microwave Multi-Popper ($17.99 on Amazon).  This handy device allows you to make microwave popcorn from regular popcorn kernels.  Not only is homemade microwave popcorn healthier than the packaged microwave popcorn, you can dress it up any way you want.  The Microwave Multi-Popper makes up to three quarts of popcorn at a time with no butter or oil required.  You control the ingredients!  Best of all – the bowl is dishwasher safe for easy cleanup.

While the next item isn’t technically a gadget, I love the vintage look and feel of this exclusive Christmas Platter from Williams-Sonoma, priced at $39.95.  The holly leaves and berries bordered in cherry red evoke the image of an old fashioned post-card.  Made of durable earthenware, the platter is both microwave and dishwasher safe, making it perfect for holiday entertaining.

Best For Baking

Homemade donuts are a hot trend for 2012, so we have not one, but TWO options for gifts that help you make your own donuts.

Make your own homemade donuts right on your counter top with the Mini Electric Donut Maker, priced at $39.95.  You can bake one dozen grease free donuts in under five minutes, then wipe clean.  A fork and cooling rack are included with the donut maker.  This is a great option for bakers who don’t like to heat up the kitchen.

Check Out Mini Donut Makers on Amazon!

Donuts and coffee are natural partners.  Williams-Sonoma is offering a Coffee and Donuts Gift Set, including a donut pan, donut baking mix, and custom coffee blend for $49.95.  The non-stick carbon steel donut pan bakes a dozen donuts at a time, but cleans up easily.  The organic baking mix makes up to three dozen donuts, while the coffee blend sings with notes of honey and chocolate – perfect for the holidays!

If cake or bread baking is your passion, try this Pop Out Round Cake Panby celebrity chef Curtis Stone, retailing for $29.95 each.  The pans are an innovative combination of silicone and steel, which provides even browning and prevents warping even at high heats, but releases easily with a “pop” on the bottom of the pan.  Stone’s line features round cake pans, six hole muffin pans, and loaf pans.  The only drawback – hand washing is recommended.

Speaking of silicone, no holiday baking wish list would be complete without a mention of Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mat  (about $24 each) and Roul’Pat Countertop Mats (about $43 each).  The Silpat mats make baking a dream, offering a reusable non-stick baking surface the ensures even browning and no sticky mess.  The Roul’Pat Countertop mats offer the same non-stick effectiveness for rolling out dough and pie crusts, or even working chocolate.

Better Beverages

Green tea lovers will really enjoy the Primula Flowering Tea Set ($22.59), which comes with a clear borosilicate glass pot with a package of 12 green tea flowers for brewing.  Each flower can be reused up to three times, making 15 cups of tea per flower.  Plus you get the relaxing effect of watching the flower unfurl in the clear glass pot as your tea steeps to perfections.

Coffee lovers who are discriminating on temperature as well as taste will flip for the Cuisinart 12-Cup Extreme Brew Elite Coffee Maker ($139.95 at Williams-Sonoma).  You choose between two strengths and three temperatures for your ultimate pot of coffee.  This coffee maker brews 25% faster than most other models, and comes with a reusable filter – so it’s easy and green!

If smoothies are more your style, remember that we love the Magic Bullet.  It would make a great gift for any single foodie on your Christmas list this year.

We here at Family Foodies hope this gift guide helps you find the perfect gift for friends and loved ones on your holiday shopping list!

What is a Tater Tot Casserole?

In it’s simplest form, the tater tot casserole combines creamy soup, cheese, and frozen Tater Tots.  These three ingredients can form the basis of a meal or a fabulous side dish.

But many variations of the basic recipe exist to mix things up.  You can add meat and vegetables for a “one dish meal”.  You can add different seasonings to make it a Mexican Tater Tot Casserole, or a Pizza Tater Tot Casserole.  You can go lean(er) with ground turkey, light cheese, and a bechamel sauce made with skim milk to help cut calories and fat.  Or you can go indulgent, adding sour cream, rich melting cheeses, and topping the already crunchy tots with fried onions.

Can’t decide which version you crave the most?  Here are some of my favorite versions of the humble Tater Tot Casserole.

Classic Tater Tot Casserole:

First, let’s start off with the classic recipe for Tater Tot Casserole.  The basic recipe features browned ground beef, cream of (your choice) soup, cheese, and Tater Tots.  Dana Clover at The Homesteading Housewife has a great post on the classic Tater Tot Casserole recipe.  You simply layer the ingredients and bake – easy peasey.

Now let’s try some variations.

Tater Tot Casserole for Breakfast

Why not try Tater Tots for breakfast?  Here are two recipes to help you start the day off right?  Tater Tots aren’t much different from Hash Brown potatoes, and adding them to the classic breakfast casserole adds a fun twist to a morning dish.

Hanan at Lilac City Momma posted her version of a Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole featuring bacon and eggs topped with cheese and tater tots.  Six ingredients, five steps, and fabulous results!  This would be a great recipe to take to a brunch, morning baby shower, or just for one of those lazy Sundays when you want to impress your family without too much effort.

For a spicier version, Stephanie from the Cookin’ Cowgirl adds hot sauce and sausage.  The result – a spicy, cheesy Turkey Sausage Breakfast Casserole, topped with crunchy Tater Tots.  If you really like the heat in the morning, you can substitute spicy Italian sausage for an extra peppery kick.  The bonus here – Stephanie adds step by step pictures.  My mouth was watering by the end of the post!

Spicy Tater Tot Casserole:

Speaking of spicy, some folks just like it hot!  Luckily, the Tater Tot Casserole recipe lends itself well to peppers, Cajun spices, and hot sauce.  Mary Foreman of the Deep South Dish blog posted her spicy version of Tater Tot Casserole (a Southern staple dish).  As a bonus, you get a little bit of Tater Tot trivia along with the recipe.  Did you know that Tater Tots are made up of the leftover potato material?  The Griggs’ brothers at the Ore-Ida factory were looking for a way to bits of potato leftover after making French Fries, Hash Browns, and other Ore-Ida goodies.  They put all the bits together with a binder, and fried them up.  Clever, no?

For a Mexican twist, Lee at the Vegan Version blog created a Mexican Version of Tater Tot Casserole by replacing the meat with refried beans, and the “cream of” soup with salsa.  Although the recipe is Vegan, you could easily add shredded chicken or beef to the refried beans for more protein.  To kick up the Mexican flavors, you could also add diced green chiles or chipotle peppers for a smoky kick.  That’s what Kirby at Dancing on the Table did when she created a smokey Chipotle Tater Tot Taco Bake recipe that just oozes cheese and Mexican flavors!

Chicken Variations:

Finally, lest you think Tater Tot casserole is only beef based, let me share two tasty chicken variations of the classic.

First, there is the Broccoli, Cheddar, and Chicken Tater Tot casserole from Jill at Meet the Dubiens family blog.  One of my favorite casseroles of all time is Chicken-Broccoli, and this casserole takes those same classic tastes and tops them with crunchy Tater Tots.  One caution – the recipe calls for four cans of creamy and cheesy soup, so the end product may be a bit runnier than some of the other recipes highlighted here.

Finally, I wanted to share a slow cooker version, perfect for busy cooks.  Brandie, at the Country Cook, whips up a version with bacon, chicken, cheese, and Tots, all of which blend together in a slow cooker.  Throw the ingredients into the cooker in the morning, and savor the comfort food that evening.

So next time you are in the mood for some solid comfort food, why not give one of these Tater Tot Casseroles a try?

So I’d like to share with you some of my favorite recipes, and bloggers, who help me find those spot-on recipes to help warm the days and nights during Fall.

Here’s Some Great Fall Link Love:

First – fall is all about pumpkins, at least here in North America.  So what better way than to start your day with a Pumpkin Spice Breakfast Shake, courtesy of Kiersten at Oh My Veggies! vegetarian food blog.  The shake contains pumpkin, dairy, oats, and a variety of spices, making it a filling and healthy way to start your day off right.  The recipes at Oh My Veggies! make it fun and easy to try out the vegetarian lifestyle without sacrificing taste.

Another great Fall breakfast option is to bake a batch of Apple Cinnamon Chip Muffins, from Ashley at Cookie Monster Cooking.  I haven’t seen Cinnamon Chips at my local grocery store, so this recipe might justify a trip to my local Central Market or Trader Joe’s to find this trendy baking item.  Partner this up with a nice cup of herbal tea and I might be ready to face the day!

For a savory afternoon snack, I can’t wait to try out the Maple-Bacon Kettle Popcorn from Michelle, the Brown Eyed Baker.  I first tried candied bacon at a baby shower a few years back, and it rocked!  And Kettle Corn is a “must have” treat at our local Pumpkin Patch – it’s almost synonymous with Fall.  I usually make microwave popcorn, but the recipe looks simple enough that I’m tempted to try it out tonight (or rather, once I buy some traditional popcorn).

Fall is also another great excuse to break out my slow cooker and fill my home with savory aromas, which will hopefully entice my picky eaters to try something other than chicken strips and french fries.  Karen Petersen at 365 Days of Slow Cooking has posted a yummy looking Cheesy Potato and Leek Soup recipe for the slow cooker, which looks fantastic!  I tried making a stove top leek and potato soup a few weeks back, but this looks much easier and much tastier than the recipe I tried.  Time to buy some more leeks and give it a shot!

Do you love trying out heritage recipes?  What would you say to Beatrix Potter’s Gingerbread recipe?  Her handwritten, 161 year old personal recipe book is up for auction, but you can find her family recipes for Gingerbread over at The Kitchn blog.  There are also a great list of freezer staples that make entertaining much easier for the busy cook.

Since I have picky eaters, no Link Love post would be complete without a nod to Jenny at Picky Palate.  Tonight I’m all set to try her Cheesy Chicken and Rice Skillet (with bacon!!), although I’ll probably have to cut back a little on the cheese to please my hubby and daughter.  Jenny has excellent tips for whipping together homemade meals that help satisfy the demands of picky eaters, and her current list of recipes really hit the spot for Fall cooking.

Finally, to wrap it up, what would be better than a list of 100 Sweet Fall Treats to provide desserts and snacks for the entire Fall season.  The list is divided by category, and features apple, caramel, chocolate, spice, maple, pear, pumpkin, and sweet potato treats.  Marla at Family Fresh Cooking contributed many of the recipes, but also collected a great variety from other bloggers.

So – enjoy the Fall season, and enjoy cooking up some of these treats for your family foodies!

Here are three easy ways to serve your family new vegetables that they will eat and love!

Roast Vegetables to bring out their sweetness:

Let’s face it – some vegetables are downright bitter.  Our usual methods of steaming or boiling vegetables only increases the bitterness.  But roasting veggies is a great way to caramelize the natural sugars found in many vegetables.  With Fall just around the corner, try picking up root and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, parsnips,or kale.

Each of these items can be roasted at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes with a little salt and EVOO (extra virgin olive oil).  In the Spring, you can roast asparagus with a sprinkle of olive oil and lemon pepper for a savory side dish.

I tried this recently with a batch of Brussels Sprouts I had picked up at my produce co-op.  I had never eaten Brussels Sprouts before, but I started by roasting them in the oven with some olive oil, lemon pepper, and salt.  Let me tell you – I almost didn’t share them with my family, they were that good!  As the sugars developed, they grew sweeter and softer to eat with no unpleasant odors.  Yum-O!

Pour on the sauce:

A little ranch dressing can go a long way in helping your kids (or spouses!) try new vegetables.  Pick your kids favorite salad dressing or condiment and let them dip away.  My daughter dipped her broccoli in the marinara sauce last night -not conventional, but she ate every bite!  My oldest son is currently on a mustard kick, but if it gets him to eat asparagus, why not?

When you can, try low-fat options, but the main goal here is to let them dress up the veggies to help them go down easier.  Adding a familiar condiment can help kids feel brave enough to try new foods.

Hide Them:

OK – now I’ll admit this is a sneaky way to get your family to try new vegetables.  But if they are truly resistant, try hiding it in a favorite dish!  If your family love casseroles, simply add a small amount of a new vegetable in the casserole and serve away.  If they notice, ask them if they like it.  You don’t even have to tell them what “it” is.  If they enjoyed it, you might casually mention “oh, did you know there was cauliflower in that?”

Jessica Seinfeld, author of the children’s cookbook “Deceptively Delicious” hides all sorts of fruits and veggies in her food by adding pureed vegetables of the same color to traditional kid friendly items.  For example – she adds pureed cauliflower to macaroni and cheese.

The family gets all of the vitamins and nutrients of the extra vegetables, and they don’t usually know the difference.  Check out the cookbook for ideas on using the pureed food technique to introduce  painlessly introduce more vegetables into your family’s meals.

If subterfuge is not in your nature, tell the family that you are trying a new recipe and you really want their opinion on it.  Be sure the recipe includes favorite and familiar flavors – like crumb topping, or lots of cheese if that’s what your family likes.  Familiar flavors and textures can make it easier to try new foods.  You might even have the kids help you find new recipes and help you prepare them, since kids are more likely to eat something they helped make.

Don’t get discouraged!

There is no time like the present to start introducing new vegetables to your family.  But remember – it takes most kids (and many adults) a minimum of ten tries before they develop a taste for something.  The French culture explains it this way “your taste buds haven’t learned to like this food yet”.  Keep trying the foods, and try different preparations, until you find a recipe your family loves.  Then try it again and again with different foods.  Pretty soon you’ll say “Green beans?  We haven’t had those in forever!”

This is a guest post from Susanne Myers, the Hillybilly Housewife.

It’s 3pm and the kids are home from school and ready for a snack. One of my first go-to items is homemade jelly or jam. Yes, there’s the obvious PB&J Sandwich, but it doesn’t stop there. Let me share some of my favorite quick and easy snack ideas with you.

Jelly And Toast

One of my daughter’s favorites is simple toast topped with jelly or jam. It’s quick, simple and very frugal. Just toast a few slices of bread and let the kids pick their favorite jam, jelly or even fruit butter. This is one of my favorite breakfasts or afternoon snacks with a nice cup of tea. Serve it with juice or milk for the kids and they’ll be ready for homework in no time.

Muffins Topped With Jam

Homemade muffins are another great afternoon snack choice. I make up large batches of plain or oatmeal muffins and serve them with homemade jam. Add a glass of milk and you have another great snack option.

Homemade Fruit Yogurt

Yogurt has a lot of health benefits but many of the store-bought ones are full of sugars and preservatives. This is particularly true for brands marketed to children. Grab some plain yogurt instead or even better, make your own. Stir in a spoon full of your favorite jelly or jam and you have a delicious homemade treat.

You can make this snack a little more filling by topping the yogurt with a little granola.

Sweet As Can Be Smoothies

We love smoothies at our house, but during the colder months, it’s hard to find fruit to use. While frozen berries are always a great option, try this for a change of pace. Make a smoothie with yogurt, ice and a spoon full of jam. Homemade jam also makes a great sweetener for any type of smoothie. It blends in better and adds a lot more flavor than using plain sugar.

Cottage Cheese Made Yummy

Have you ever tried to make your child eat cottage cheese? Didn’t go to well, did it? It’s not a very kid-friendly food, unless you let them stir in some of their favorite jelly or jam. All of a sudden cottage cheese becomes a yummy treat. I’ve served this for after school snacks and even desserts on weekend nights.

While you can make any of these snacks with store-bought jam, I’d like to invite you to give home-made a try. It’s a lot easier than you think. Take a look at my new Amazon Kindle book “Homemade Jelly and Jam Recipes” and put together some easy freezer jam this weekend.

Family Foodies recommends the Magic Bullet Blender for making smoothies like the one above.

But what if you put a lot of emphasis on good nutrition? ALDI is not a health food store, but that doesn’t mean you can’t fashion a healthy, whole foods menu out of their offerings.

I recently put together a free healthy ALDI meal plan available for download and printing. It includes a week’s worth of dinners and breakfasts. All feature ingredients your Great-Grandma would recognize as food. Nothing artificial or pre-packaged. And the best part is, your shopping trip won’t cost more than $70 to feed a family.

Go here to download and print the healthy ALDI meal plan, shopping list and free recipes.

Grab your free BBQ Recipes eBook!

“Carrie – your blog is great! I couldn’t agree more that it is equally important to introduce sons to cooking. I have 15 month old twins, so when should I start involving them and what would be the ideal first meal?”

Carrie Willard, Natural Moms Talk Radio

Congrats on your twins! It’s never too early to bring kids in the kitchen in my opinion. Even babies love to watch mom cook while perched in a sling or backpack. Of course, you have to use common sense and caution to keep baby’s hands away from hot things and knives, but even from that young age kids love to learn about cooking.

Now that your twins are toddlers, they can understand when you explain dangers to them. When mine began crawling and pulling up, I bring them near the oven door when it’s on and place their hand on it just long enough for them to feel the heat but not enough to cause pain. That way, they understand that this is a place that gets hot.

Since your little ones are young and at a very curious age, you might find it less stressful to involve them one at a time. Perhaps they can take turns watching/helping you prepare a meal. Since I’ve never had twins, I can’t imagine what it would be like to have TWO young helpers at once! They are probably able to help you wash produce and maybe even fetch ingredients from the pantry or fridge. (I could barely keep my youngest out of the fridge at this age!) Some other tasks they can probably handle would be: spreading butter or cream cheese on a bagel with a small plastic knife, “chopping” or mashing banana or avocado with a small fork, and helping you make dips.

I’ve noticed that toddlers love dipping things. You could whip up an easy sweet dip with yogurt and mashed berries to dip bread or fruit in. Or one with mashed beans (such as chickpeas for hummus) to dip pita or vegetables in. (At 15 months they may not be able to handle some raw veggies depending on how many teeth they have.)

I think the ideal first meal would be something you really enjoy cooking and eating. Food is an adventure at this age, and many toddlers will eat just about anything that doesn’t crawl off… and some things that do! In France, it’s common for parents to begin cooking and baking with their children when they’re still toddlers. (In addition, French babies and toddlers eat a very healthful, varied diet that would surprise many American parents!) I mentioned this in a recent review of the book Bringing Up Bebe.

One example is an easy recipe called “yogurt cake” in which all the ingredients are measured out with an empty yogurt cup. This might be fun for your guys to try.

Know Your Style
Every cook has her own style. Some of us need to follow recipes. Some of us hate them. Some of us want to know exactly what’s for dinner, lunch and breakfast 7 days a week, others like a little more flexibility. That’s ok. Your style of meal plan doesn’t have to look like mine.

Whether you’re super organized or more flexible and fly by the seat of your pants, meal planning can work for you. A more flexible cook could still benefit by making a looser plan. Instead of deciding on an actual recipe, she could have themed nights: Asian, Mexican, Fish, Pasta, Sandwich, etc.

Don’t Reinvent The Wheel
Sometimes we moms make things harder on ourselves than they need to be. What does your family enjoy? Sit them down and ask them what their favorite dishes are. Or think about meals that everyone enjoyed in the past. Write those down and see if you can come up with 25 or 30 meals that can be rotated through the month.

Keep your family’s schedule in mind as you plan. If Mondays are when everyone has extracurricular activities and you’re coming home late, that might be the night for a slow cooker meal you prep in the morning.

Use Evernote and Pinterest
If the idea of paging through your cookbooks trying to come up with good recipes for your meal plan sounds like a boring chore, then skip it. As you browse the web and come across good looking food, clip those pages to an Evernote account or your Pinterest boards.

Personally, I love Evernote because I can search it by ingredient and my account is synced across all my computers and phone. When something’s on sale at the store or I have an ingredient on hand I need to use up, I can easily find a recipe featuring that item, saving me money and avoiding waste. Most of us use only a few of the recipes in each cookbook we own. Why not scan those and get rid of the actual cookbook?

Use a Meal Planning Service
And finally, if you’re just too busy for meal planning or keep putting it off but know it would make your life easier, let someone else do the heavy lifting. Throw a little money at the problem and try one of the meal planners available online. There are several that come to mind: BuildAMenu, EMeals, MenuPlanningCentral, and PlanToEat.

They each have different features, so you’ll have to do a little initial investigating to find which one is right for you. However, once you are familiar with how the websites work, you’ll be printing off great recipes and meal plans in minutes a week.

Carrie is a homeschooling mom of 6 who finds that her day goes much more smoothly if she plans her family’s meals. Find healthy, whole foods recipes and meal planner reviews at her site http://www.NaturalMomsRecipes.com

Eating low carb is a challenge sometimes but it’s a great option for anyone struggling with weight loss.  Many who find it hard to lose weight on other diets find success with low carb.

We apologize for using the word diet, most people doing the low carb thing will tell you it’s about adopting a new lifestyle – not being on a diet.

Here’s a picture peek into some of the great low carb ideas we’re sharing over there:

Do you eat low carb?  We’d love to have you come tell us what you’re eating.  Take a snap of your next meal and email us! mom@momstalknetwork.com

“I have been taking steps towards being a more “natural” mom and am encouraged by women who write positively about a natural lifestyle. I loved your nutrition articles and am wondering what kinds of lunches you feed your kids. I have a son, 18-months, and often times find myself struggling to give him some variety during the afternoon meal. Dinners don’t tend to be a problem, and maybe my quest for variety is what the issue is. How do you vary your menus while still offering whole foods?”

Carrie Willard, Natural Moms Talk Radio

I struggle with lunches too! In fact I recently posted on my blog that I needed ideas for more creative and fun lunches. I ended up stumbling upon a blog post from a blogger I admire, with lots of great tips, mostly in the comments. The post is here.  While you may not need to eat gluten free, there are still dozens of awesome ideas!

It’s interesting that in many cultures, lunch is the main meal of the day. We tend to eat a light lunch here in the States, and then a hefty dinner. Recently though I’ve been switching this around to reflect what our bodies probably need: more calories in the middle of the day when we’re most active, and lighter fare for dinner. When I made this mental switch lunches got easier, because now I plan better for the mid day meal when I do my meal planning and grocery list.

Oddly, serving more food has made lunch planning simpler for me. I think more in terms of making an actual meal (like I would with dinner), instead of just slapping something together at the last second.

At the same time, I think we moms make things harder on ourselves by thinking we need to have lots of variety.

While we do want to eat lots of different vegetables to make sure we’re exposing our kids to new tastes and meeting our nutritional needs, this can happen over the course of a week/month and at different meals. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel every day. When I’m feeling mentally overloaded, I often ask my family what they would like to eat. They always pick the same things! Especially when we have little ones as you do, they would probably prefer we spend less time in the kitchen and more time on the floor playing.

A toddler’s appetite, as you know, can vary widely from day to day depending on different factors, so I would suggest you keep it simple for now. (How I keep my “quickly growing into a man 14 year old” fed is another blog post altogether!) A simple snack tray of small bites of cheese or meat for protein, cut up veggies and fruits, bean dips such as hummus with pita are fun, nutritious and easy to put together. If your toddler is like mine, he loves to dip things. There are lots of fun dips you can make with yogurt, sour cream, and mashed beans. For a toddler, a little dip and something to dip with (veggies, fruit, cut up bread) is a meal.

Start a page of lunch ideas you like in your planner, or on your computer or phone if you prefer. When I come across recipes and ideas on blogs and places like Pinterest, I use Evernote to keep track of them. This makes it easy for me to plan my meals and grocery list because it’s searchable.

This is such a fun time with your toddler because he is open to so many new things and you can get him going on a path to healthy eating with no struggle or pickiness (at least most of the time!). Don’t be afraid to try something exotic if it’s what you love. Bon appetit!

Did I feed my family this ‘pink slime’ in our Hamburger Helper dinner last night? Yep, most likely.

Do you know if your local grocery is selling you pink slime?

On the news tonight they mentioned that Kroger is pulling the pink slime meat. I’ve shopped at Kroger many times and I’m just sick to think that I’ve ate this stuff and fed it to my children.

Over the years our tastes buds are constantly changing, and as our daughter Claire was growing up, she was no different.

The first couple of years she attended school she stayed for school dinners. Then, for no apparent reason, she decided wanted to have sandwiches instead. Although it meant a little extra effort each morning, we were happy to oblige.

This went on for a month or so before she decided she didn’t like white bread and wanted to try brown instead. No problem, we started buying brown bread for her.

Then, in no time, she didn’t like brown bread. So we stared buying bread rolls. But, then she decided she didn’t like bread rolls either. Our weekly trip to the supermarket was becoming fraught with anxiety and tension, as whatever we bought she just refused to eat.

One day my wife was talking to her friend Jean about this when Jean mentioned that since a youngsters taste buds were far more acute than ours, it might be that she just didn’t like shop bought bread anymore. Something to do with the enhancers tasting much stronger to her.

To be honest I thought this was all nonsense. I was convinced she was just being fussy. But by now we were getting notes from the school saying Claire was not eating, which only added to our anxiety and concern.

The next day Jean turned up at our house with a loaf of white bread that she had baked herself in her bread maker. She told us to let Claire try it and see if she liked it.

Well I have to say the results were quite amazing!

We made some sandwiches with Claire´s favorite filling, even though she said she didn’t want them, and hoped for the best. When she came home from school that afternoon my wife nervously checked the lunch box expecting to see the sandwiches uneaten. Much to her surprise it was empty! Not even a crumb left.

The next couple of days were the same, until the loaf was finally finished. During that time there were no more tears and drama from Claire, and no more tension and anxiety for us.

The solution was obvious to us! So, we fired up the computer and researched all the best bread maker reviews we could find on the Internet before ordering one for ourselves.

A couple of days later the machine was delivered to our house and since then we’ve never looked back. To be honest, even I could taste the difference from shop bought bread.

Claire even started to help her mum make the bread, and really got a buzz out of it too. Using a recipe book she would chose what sort of bread she wanted and then help her mum measure out all the ingredients and put them into the bread maker. Never was a loaf of bread waited for with so much anticipation!

But best of all was that we knew exactly what was going into each loaf. As parents that gave us a lot of peace of mind knowing that our child’s wasn’t eating a lot of additives.

That was a few years back now and Claire has grown into a beautiful young teenager, but even now she still prefers own home baked bread over shop bought.

We recently replaced our first machine with a new Panasonic bread maker and I´m amazed at all the improvements that have been made. This machine can even make gluten free bread, and for those on a special diet there is even a low salt and low sugar option too.

In some ways, even though I´m loathed to say it, perhaps I´m glad our daughter put us through all the worry over those sandwiches, after all we all gained from the solution.

Healthy food-growing standards for organic food (no chemicals, pesticides, growth hormones, genetically modified organisms, etc.), have some disadvantages: organic food is in most cases seasonal. Not everyone has the means to operate a greenhouse.

If you are health-conscious, you understand the invaluable benefits of using organic food in your diet, but you are also aware of the fact that seasonal food cannot be used throughout the year, unless frozen.

Here enters the old dilemma: yes or no to frozen organic food?

If you’re afraid your ripe, healthy and expensive veggies will lose their taste and worth once frozen, you’re greatly mistaken. Food producers are starting to recognize the value of frozen food more and more, especially during off-season periods. When you think about it, it makes perfect sense:

Food manufacturers wait until their organic products are in their peak condition, full of nutrients, and that’s when they pick and freeze them. If picked too early or too late, they wouldn’t have the maximum amount of nutrients of a fully ripe vegetable. Freezing them in this nutrient-rich state guarantees that once thawed, the food will be as good as when you purchased it. So, you see, using frozen food is healthier than using “fresh” food that already lost its nutrients.

Seven Tips to Make Organic Food Freezing Worthwhile

This goes double so for organic food, whose nutrients are twice worth saving than regular pesticide-packed food.

If you say ‘yes’ to freezing organic food, you might start thinking of the problems:

• How to keep all the rich contents, pesticide-free vitamins and nutrients?
• How to keep the taste as good as when freshly plucked from an organic garden?
• How to make sure to use frozen food while it’s still safe?

Here are seven easy-to-remember tips that will help you preserve your food properly. It would be a shame to waste products that are, not only more expense, but also nutrient-richer, rigorously inspected and proven healthy.

1. This goes for all kinds of food you are freezing: keep it at 0 degrees Fahrenheit. All other precautionary measures you’ll take in order to preserve food become meaningless if you store food at higher than recommended temperatures.
2. Freezer burn is bad. It happens when you don’t pack your food tightly, and air gets into your food and dehydrates it. Then it becomes grayish and tasteless. Avoid freezer burn by tightly wrapping your food with foil, freezer plastic wrap or paper, or place it inside freezer plastic bags, but make sure you squeeze out all excess air. If you think laziness or a busy schedule might prevent you from doing this properly, just remember the value and cost of organic food.
3. Though frozen food serves to prolong the life of meats and veggies, it DOES have a life span. Don’t keep frozen food in the freezer until it becomes an ugly dark blob that you want to get rid of asap. If you prepare food properly, it can last up to six months. One of the most important things about this is properly labeling food.Use strong adhesive freezer labels to keep an inventory of when you put the package in the freezer, and some other information that might be useful to you. Without “freeze by” reminder on your label, you can end up with lots of food that might or might not be ready for garbage – you’ll never know.
4. It’s best to store organic food in small packages – one package per serving. The problem with keeping a big chunk of food in the freezer is that once you want to use it, you have to thaw the whole thing. You probably won’t eat all of it, and refreezing food is not recommended.
5. Don’t go around opening and closing freezer doors all the time, because it can damage your frozen products. Food closer to the door is more exposed to fluctuations in temperature due to door opening and closing, so it’s the best to keep the oldest food there, or, the food you’ll be using the soonest.
6. If you discover that freezing food is great, like I did, don’t start fanatically freezing everything you buy or make. Tender veggies will slump down after thawing, for example. Also, foods high in water, such as celery, strawberries, melons, cucumbers, lettuce, etc., should not be frozen. I found that creamy cakes I make change their taste after freezing, in a way I’m not sure I really like. You might make a few mistakes before you get the hang of what’s good to freeze and what’s not.
7. Freezing does NOT kill bacteria and enzymes in food. It just slows them down. If you’re really serious about preserving your organic vegetables, the wisest thing to do is blanche them before freezing. This process of quickly immersing veggies in boiling water, then in cold water, and freezing them ensures all enzymes and bacteria are gone.

To sum it all up: don’t let any air enter the food packaging, keep good track of when you froze your food, and try to avoid refreezing.

Once you’ve mastered this simple guide to freezing organic food, you can stop wasting time and money on food, at the same time feeling good about eating healthy. Try it.

Ana Brady is a working mom of two, and a member of a creative group that recently finished their Freezer Labels project. Ana likes to write about nutrition, healthy living, family life, and similar topics.

Photo credit.

When I saw that my little neighborhood grocery store had fresh cabbage, I was instantly inspired to make cabbage rolls.  I grabbed a head and started to fill my basket with the other items I needed, and then stopped.

Normally, I use a mix of ground beef and ground pork for the filling, along with a mixture of spices.  This time, I decided to take a shortcut AND get a ton of flavor at the same time.  I decided to use Jimmy Dean Hot Sausage.  Of course, you can use any kind of meat you want, but this little trick added a lot of flavor, texture, and eliminated the need to use any spices.  It turned out to be a useful, and tasty little shortcut, indeed.

So, here is my homage to my Mom’s huge cabbage rolls.  I hope you get a chance to try them.

Hungry Family Cabbage Bundles

• 1 head cabbage
• 1 lb. Jimmy Dean Hot Sausage
• 1/2 med. size onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced or grated
• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (8 oz) can tomato paste
• sprinkle of white wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
• 4 cups chopped cabbage
• olive oil to cook cabbage
• 1/2 cup cooked quinoa (or rice)

Prepare the cabbage:

1. Peel off the loose unedible leaves (if any) from the solid head and discard.
2. Wash the head of cabbage under running water, then gently peel off six to eight of the nice outside cabbage layers and set aside. (I cut out the stem portion from each leaf because I think they stay tough.)
3. Cut the remaining cabbage in half, cut out the core, and cut into thin wedges, then chop until you have a coleslaw looking pile of cabbage; set aside.

Blanch the cabbage leaves:

1. Put the six to eight cabbage leaves in a metal colander strainer that fits in a large pot; set strainer in pot.
2. Fill the pot with water making sure the cabbage leaves are covered.
3. Put pot on burner on high and bring to a boil.
4. Boil for 4 to 7 minutes or until the cabbage leaves are softened, but not mushy.
5. Lift the strainer out of the water and set aside to drain and cool the cabbage leaves.

Prepare the filling:

1. In a large skillet, put the sausage over medium-high heat, breaking up with a spatula.
2. Cook until sausage is browned slightly, then add onion and continue cooking until sausage is cooked all the way through and onions are soft; stir in garlic and sprinkle lightly with vinegar, taste and add more vinegar as desired to reach a nice flavor.
3. Turn heat down and simmer slowly while you prepare the cabbage.
4. Put 4 cups of the chopped cabbage in a separate skillet over medium-high heat with a generous drizzle of olive oil; cook, stirring often, until cabbage is softened.
5. When cabbage is soft, add it to the skillet with sausage/tomato sauce, then stir in the quinoa, mixing until sauce is combined well; remove from heat.

Fill the cabbage leaves:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and get out a casserole dish with a cover and spray or butter it a little.
2. Spoon about 1 to 2 cups (depending on how big your casserole dish is) into the bottom of the casserole dish forming an even layer for the cabbage rolls to sit on.
3. On a cutting board or baking sheet, lay out a cabbage leaf.
4. Spoon a good portion of the filling into the middle of the cabbage leaf and roll up lengthwise, then lay in your casserole dish, seam side down.
5. Continue with each leaf using up as much of the filling as you wish and tucking each one in the casserole with the seam side down.  Remember, any filling that you don’t use up will be a welcome leftover! You’ll see only four cabbage bundles in my picture.  I made two small casseroles with four in each.

Bake:

1. Cover and put in preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 35 to 40 minutes or until hot, bubbly, and the leaves get nice and soft and the sauce starts to brown around the edges of the casserole.  Remove and let sit for a few minutes, then serve hot.
2. I scooped a little of the filling from the bottom of the casserole alongside the cabbage bundles just for fun and a bit of color. Enjoy!

In terms of cost for this filling meal, we’re looking at a very frugal dish.  The sausage was the most expensive at about $5 for the pound.  But considering it takes no further spices, herbs, or seasonings, the price is pretty reasonable.  Then I had about $2.50 in tomatoes, and I paid less than $1 for the cabbage.  The other ingredients, the onion, garlic, vinegar, and the 1/2 cup of cooked quinoa add up to less than $1.  You can stretch this meal to feed more by adding more quinoa or rice, but it’s a very filling dish and feeds 6 to 8 people as-is.  Adding chopped cooked cabbage to the filling as I did actually does more to stretch the meal than anything.  So, for about $10 you can easily feed a hungry family!

p.s.  Does old fashioned cooking appeal to you?  Do you have a hungry family that likes to sit down to hearty meals?  If you’re ready for more recipes like this one, you will appreciate my ebook Memory Lane Meals.  I’ve been collecting recipes for decades and now have put them together in one delightfully nostalgic cookbook.  Not only do you get recipes that are reminiscent of the good ol’ days, but you get a few glimpses into my life growing up in a big family during the 50s and 60s.  Click on and order your copy today and start cooking the good old fashioned meals I know your family will enjoy!

Besides your basic appliances – refrigerator, stove, microwave – there are a few items which should be in every kitchen.  Whether you are a gourmet cook or a from-the-box cook, you will need the right tools and equipment to perform basic food preparation and serving tasks.

About a year and a half ago my cousin became a Pampered Chef consultant and in order to help her out I had done a show and quickly fell in love with so many Pampered Chef products.  So a lot of my recommendations are going to be either Pampered Chef things I already have or things I wish I had because really they have so many must have things.

Here is a Top Ten List of Things Every Kitchen Needs:

1. Stand Mixer. I have a Kitchen Aid stand mixer and as a mom who LOVES to bake this is a must have in my kitchen.  Aside from baking I also use mine for making mashed potatoes.  I can throw the potatoes in and let it do its work while I do other things.  I find it makes mashed potatoes creamier than hand mixers do.

And with the Kitchen Aid you can get so many attachments to add to it.  Things like a pasta maker or a sausage maker.  You can also make homemade ice cream with it.  So it really can be the workhorse of any kitchen, even if you aren’t much of a baker.

2. Stoneware.  Pampered Chef is known for their stones.  I started out with a rectangle pizza stone and eventually added the large bar pan.  And most recently I got the Deep Covered Baker.  I usually only use the pizza stone for pizza and maybe cookies.  The large bar pan I use to make bacon in the oven (which is a great way to cook bacon), oven fried chicken, pizza, cookies, and any other meat I have to cook in the oven.   If you are able to get just one stone, then I definitely recommend the large bar pan (or small depending on your family size).  But really host a party and get yourself the Deep Covered Baker too.

3. Knife set.  A good knife set is a must have for any kitchen.  Or at least a utility knife, a carving knife, and a trimmer if you can’t afford a whole set.

One summer while I was in college I sold Cutco knives.  Being a college student I thought I had no need for knives so I ended up selling my mom my demo set.  That was 15 years ago and now when I go over my mom’s house and I see that set of knives that I let slip through my fingers I long for it back.  If only I knew then what I know now.

4. A Good Pot and Pan Set.  When it comes to pots and pans you have a few options.  Non stick like Calphalon or All-Clad like what professional chefs use.

Here’s another wish list item of mine from Pampered Chef, the Executive set from Pampered Chef.

My cousin (aka my Pampered Chef rep) has a sister in law who is a professional chef.  She used my cousin’s stainless fry pan from Pampered Chef and was very impressed with it.  So impressed that the next time she needs to replace a pot or pan she’ll be purchasing a stainless from my cousin.  If you can’t get a whole set again I would recommend at least getting a 3 qt saucepan, 12″ fry pan, and a stock pot or Dutch Oven.

5. Crockpot.  This is great to have for those nights when you know you are going to be short on time.  Put everything in the crockpot in the morning before you leave for the day and come home to a house filled with the beautiful aroma of whatever you made.

6. Spoons and Spatulas.  You need to have big spoons and spatulas.  Not metal as these ruin pots and pans.  I prefer plastic and my husband likes wooden spoons.  So we actually have a mixture of both of those kinds.

7. Colander.  Colanders can be used for more than just draining pasta.  It’s also great for cleaning fruits and vegetables or straining things.  I have 3 different sized colanders to meet all the differing needs.  I prefer mesh metal because I find them easier to clean than the plastic ones.  Plastic are fine too though and they are inexpensive.  You can usually pick one up at the dollar store.

8. Can Opener.  I hate opening cans!  Must be because I’m left handed.  I prefer electric can openers because usually manual can openers are made for right handed people.  And I know all of you righties are thinking what’s the difference.  There’s a huge difference.  Try opening a can with your left hand sometime. I literally have to completely change my train of thought to use most manual can openers.  Yes, they do make lefty manual can openers, but they are hard to come by.

I still don’t care much for my electric can opener, but if I want to open cans then I need it.  Sometimes I have a hard time getting it to catch the can though.  Still, it is an important tool to have in the kitchen until they start putting pull tabs on all cans.  A lefty can dream, can’t she?

9.  Food Processor.  It doesn’t have to be a large food processor.   I have small ones that are easy to store and get out when needed.  It’s an invaluable tool for chopping and mincing things.   Erin from Small Town Mom Living in a BIG City uses both, but for most jobs she likes her Black and Decker one touch chopper.  I have one of these too, but I find the manual one to work better.  Erin says she can control the fineness better on her electric chopper than her manual one though.

10.  Cutting Board.  To save your counters and your table you have got to have a cutting board.  I recommend plastic cutting boards over wooden or glass ones.  Wooden ones can trap bacteria.  Glass cutting boards will dull knives faster.   If you have a dishwasher the plastic cutting boards can be cleaned in there to get rid of any bacteria that might have been left behind.  You can also easily bleach them without ruining them to kill any germs.  So plastic is the way to go for cutting boards.  It’s what’s recommended for commercial use.  If it’s good enough for a restaurant, then it’s good enough for me!

Is there something not mentioned here that you find to be invaluable in your kitchen?  That you could not do without?  Leave a comment and share your most needed kitchen item!

photo credit: e skene photo credit: allaboutgeorge

But what are we actually filling those little bellies with?

We are bombarded with commercials on TV showcasing the healthier and more balanced options that restaurants like McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s are featuring. But despite the over-use of buzzwords like “all-natural,” “new and improved” and “healthier options,” are these the things our kids are choosing?

And are those “healthier options” as healthy as we think?

Most Common Offenders

Most popular options for pre-schoolers include french fries, soda, chicken nuggets, cheeseburgers and hamburgers. While there are alternatives for both fries and sodas on many menus, when researchers from a Yale University study went into 250 fast-food restaurants across the country, they found that “over 80% of the time, fries were served with kids’ meals and over half of the time soft drinks were served over healthier options.”

Mass produced, processed and filled with preservatives, artificial flavorings, colorings and other additives, most of these options also present an awfully long list of ingredients.

At McDonald’s, where the Chicken McNuggets are “new and improved” and a common choice for kids, the meat alone contains over seven ingredients. Add another 20 for the breading, including scary additives and chemical preservatives that are also used in silly putty, and you have a very unnatural chicken product that millions of kids consume every single day.

If you’re feeling queasy already, the tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), also found in the McNugget, is a chemical preservative and a form of butane, or, in other words, lighter fluid. Shilo Urban, in an article titled “What’s in Fast Food Chicken? (Hint: It’s NOT Chicken)”, stated that one gram of this can cause a whole host of negative symptoms, while just five grams can kill you.

Author of Eat This, Not That!, David Zinczenko, informs us that McDonald’s isn’t even the guiltiest culprit of multi-ingredient “chicken” nuggets. Wendy’s nuggets have over 30 ingredients while Burger King chicken fries top out at 35.

And while the burgers at McDonald’s appear to be made with 100% ground beef, the buns and processed cheese add a whole host of healthy eating don’ts such as high fructose corn syrup and preservatives.

Wendy’s Frosty, a restaurant staple and a common treat for kids at the fast food chain, has a whopping 14 ingredients in it, despite the common association with a traditional milkshake, which consist of milk and ice cream.

Deli Sandwiches Triumph

Fortunately for us busy moms, while they aren’t plentiful, there are healthier fast food options out there.

According to the Yale Study, the healthiest options are dominated by Subway and Burger King and include menu items such as a veggie delite sandwich, roast beef sandwich, grilled chicken, macaroni and cheese. A junior burger from Sonic with apple slices and unsweet tea even made the list and comes in at 350-calories.

These meals all come with a side of fruit and are absent of sugary soft drinks. They don’t blow our kid’s daily calorie allotments and won’t fill their bodies with excess sodium and saturated fat.

Taking Action

In the interest of full disclosure, I am a recovering Chicken NcNugget addict. Thinking I was making the healthier selection in a sea of greasy burgers and high-calorie salad options, I was nauseous as I read the gory details. Having previously ignored the onslaught of fast food related info, raising a child has forced me to re-examine the nutritional facts and what I have fed him on my most hectic afternoons.

Moving forward, I will certainly be choosing more wisely.

How has this information forced you to re-examine the fast food decisions you have made? What are some of your healthier alternatives for a busy afternoon or evening?

Check out the free coaching group that she has going on right now.  Register and you can ask her questions about anything.

Sign up here: Free Group Coaching

These snowman cupcakes could not be cuter.

You’ll need to start with plain cupcakes. You could make them yourself or purchase them. The blog has a recipe for buttercream frosting. I think to get the full effect, it is probably best to pipe the frosting on, so you will need a pipe bag. The other thing that she uses that make these things so stinking cute, are the candy eyes. You could use chocolate chips, but the candy eyes really give it that “Frosty” touch.

She uses an Oreo, a marshmallow for the hat and then dips the whole thing in melted black candy melts. She sprinkles some white non-pareils on top to create the snow effect. You could also have some fun with some orange fondant or a Starburst and make a carrot nose, but I think the sour cherry candy looks perfect. Kids of all ages will love these precious treats! Click Snowman Cupcakes for this darling recipe.

Looking for more inspiration? Don’t forget to grab you free copy of Christmas Goodies for Your Inspiration

Homemade candy is one of those things that has the ability to fool everyone into thinking that you bought it at a high end department store, especially if you do a nice job wrapping it up.

Peppermint bark is something that everyone loves.

What this Mom did with her recipe to make it extra special was to use cookie cutters. You can use any type of chocolate that is made for melting. She melted the chocolate right into cookie cutters. She froze each layer to make sure that it had set properly. Adding the crushed candy canes to the top was the piste de resistance

Make sure that the chocolate has set before removing the cookie cutters. You could put a cookie cutter with the candy, wrap it up individually in cellaphane and tie it with cute holiday ribbon. Viola! Instant gift.

Click Christmas Tree Peppermint Bark to find this adorable recipe.

Looking for more holiday treat recipes?

Don’t forget to grab Christmas Cookies and Goodies Guide.

If you’re looking for a frugal gift idea, this is a great one.  I spent a total of $75 on:

• 12 Plastic Goodie Containers.
• 40 Pretzel Rod Bags.
• 10 Goodie Bags.
• 1 Box of Graham Crackers
• 2 Boxes of Shortbread Cookies
• 3 Boxes of Chocolate Chip Cookies
• 3 boxes of Pecan Sandies
• 2 Bags of Pretzel Rods
• 1 Bag of Regular Marshmallows
• 1 Bag of Peppermint Marshmallows
• 1 Bag of Mini M&Ms
• 1 Bag of Peppermint Candy Crumbles
• 1 Bag of Mini Chocolate Chips
• 1 Box of Cheerios
• 5 Packages of Dipping Chocolate
• 2 Packages of Vanilla Dipping Chocolate

*Whew!*  Yes, I got a ton for the amount of money I spent (I bought all store brand/off brand items) and we got a TON of goodies from all of this.  The ‘Chocolate Factory’ was open for over five hours LOL!

I started out by putting two large pans on the stove top with three inches of water in the bottom.  I placed two large metal mixing bowls on top of that for a double boiler effect.  I turned the heat on low and dropped my dipping chocolate chunks into the mixing bowls – starting with one package of white and two packages of dark.  It took about 20 minutes to melt it down.  (Don’t rush this step – you don’t want the water boiling.  Be very careful to not get any drops of water in your melted chocolate, it will harden it.)

I worked with each child one at a time.  Because we were working with heat I explained where they could and couldn’t touch our work surface – and helped them steady their hands when necessary.

It was lots of fun – especially the sprinkling part!

Here are some of the goodies we made:

For more fun Christmas Goodie ideas check out our free Inspiration Guide!

It used to be the death of my waistline during the holidays. Year after year I would devour peppermint bark, chocolate-peppermint fudge, peppermint hot chocolate and more.

Then a couple years ago I discovered a non-fat brownie mix that is surprisingly divine. I wiped my peppermint-chocolate slate clean, and made my own concoction from this mix to satisfy the craving during the holidays.

To verify I wasn’t fooling myself, I brought them in to my office one year to see if others would notice that these heavenly bites were low in fat. Within five minutes flat the two-dozen batch had vanished and people were asking for more!

At only 150 calories and 2 grams of fat – these are a holiday treat you can have without feeling like a lump of coal.

Tip: If you’re in a rush to get these to the table and don’t have 20 minutes, divide the batter into individual microwave dishes and microwave on high for 50 seconds. Remove and allow to cool 5 minutes.

Courtesy of Margot Harris / www.whitehotoven.com

Candy Cane Brownies

Prep Time: 5 min. Total Time: 20 min. Serves: 12

Ingredients:

• Cooking spray
• 1/3 cup skim milk
• 1/3 cup 0% fat plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 18 Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses
• 1 (13.7 oz) box No Pudge! Original Fudge Brownie Mix

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper or tinfoil liners. Lightly coat with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the milk, yogurt and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth, about 30 sec.

Unwrap the candy cane kisses and set 12 aside. Chop the remaining six into very small pieces. Add to a large mixing bowl with the brownie mix.

Pour the yogurt mixture into the brownie mix and stir thoroughly until batter is smooth and uniform. Divide batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups.

Bake for 17 to 18 minutes rotating pan halfway through baking. Remove from oven and place one candy cane kiss on top of each brownie pressing down gently. Allow to cool slightly before consuming.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 153, Total Fat: 2g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 1mg, Sodium: 115mg, Total Carbohydrates: 33g, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 26g, Protein: 3g

Protein/Fat/Carb Ratio: 9% / 5% / 86%

See more recipes like this one on Healthy Holiday Recipes by visiting Fit Foodist: Healthy Recipes for Runners