Kiddie Munchie Mix

Today I'm sharing with you my favorite go to snack for our kids! It's simple, its yummy, it's got versitility and most importantly it keeps them busy and quiet!

This snack evolved because I spend a lot of time waiting around with Zach and Adie. Whether we're watching Rylee play soccer or gymnastics, or at Zach's speech therapy, or waiting for ferries (the bane of our West Coast existance)... whatever it is we spend a lot of time waiting. I've learned the hard way that being unprepared while waiting with toddlers is not an ideal situation, thus the creation of the Munchie Mix.

One of the best things about this is you can use whatever you want and make it however healthy you want. Changing it up is actually part of what makes it so great, because the kids never get bored of it! 

Also if your kids are like mine, there's certain things they don't like (like Rylee doesn't like craisins), no big deal, make a base, store it, and when its snack time add to it. Heck throw in some sweets for movie night or a special treat and you just made yourself Mom of the year!

Kiddie Munchie Mix

Ingredients
Raisins
Craisins
Banana Chips
Wholewheat Sesame Sticks
Peanut Butter Panda Puff Cereal

*extra options*
Cheerios
Fish Crackers
Nuts (peanuts, almonds, cashews...)
Pumpkin or Sunflower seeds
Pretzels
Other dried fruits (apricot, apple, mango...)
Chocolate chips
Mini Marshmellows
Reese's Pieces/Smarties

Put all your items in a bowl, give a stir, and store in an airtight container. Serve in little cups, ziploc bags, mason jars, or these handy "To Go Snack Catchers"! Enjoy your quiet nimbling at home or on the fly!

Recipe : Energy Boost Juice

Over the last couple weeks I've been making a mid morning juice/smoothie snack for myself and the kids. Works well for me cause I'm typically one to skip breakfast so getting a nutrient packed snack helps keep the morning going. Second bonus I can "hide" a whole lot of healthy things into them and make them taste good to a very picky four year old. And third, its so quick and easy I actually let the kids in the kitchen to help, they love it, and subconsciously I'm hoping that them seeing these "weird", "gross" things going in and coming out magically yummy, that they'll be more adventurous to try them in regular meals.

On the menu today was a energy booster juice, that has earthly tones with an after zing taste of ginger.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Medium Beet
1 Granny Smith Apple
1 Stalk of Kale
1" Ginger
1/2 Cucumber
1 Tsp Chia Seeds
5+ Mint Leaves
1 Cup water

PREP:
Core and chop apple, peel and chop beet (you could leave skin on for added nutrients, I didn't cause I was afraid it would be too "earthly" tasting for the kids), chop cucumber into chunks, peel leaves off stalk of the kale, grate ginger.

Throw everything into the blender, mix to your desired consistency, and away you go!

*With our pickiest I added a few spoonfuls of vanilla yogurt to sweeten it up because she said she "didn't love it", but Zach our two year old downed it no problems.

**We use a Nutribullet to blend things up, and I must say this is a great first pocket friendly blender/juicer! I think I may actually like it more then a juicer because its way easier to clean up!

Recipe : Peanut Butter Chia Energy Balls

Once upon a time I used to work in an amazing coffee shop, and they sold these bite size balls of deliciousness called "power spheres". Ever since I have wanted to replicate these little yummies...

It's taken me five years but with a recent purchase of a big bag of chia seeds that I had no idea what to do with I finally have a freezer full of similar delightful goodness!

These are soooo simple to make, you can't mess this up, honestly, this is coming from the worst baker ever! Better yet there is no baking involved! And extra bonus basically anything can be substituted or tweaked to suit your tastebuds or just to change things up once in awhile.

Peanut Butter Chia Energy Balls

Yields: 16 to 20 balls

Ingredients:
1 cup Oats (Conveniently those "original" instant single serve bags that no one eats around here is the perfect amount) 
2/3 cup Shredded Coconut
1/2 cup Peanut Butter (I've used creamy and crunchy and both are equally good!)
1/2 cup Ground Flax Seed
1/3 cup Honey
1 tbsp Chia Seeds
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Change it up and add one or more of these ingredients: chocolate chips, dried cranberries, raisins, cocoa powder.

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, cover, and let chill in the fridge for a half hour.

Roll into bite size balls, mine generally come out around 1.5" in diameter. You can flash freeze your balls and store in a freezer bag or keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Thai Tea Frappe Recipe

This week I have been totally craving the tastes of Thailand. So Last night I went all out and made us a scrumptious Sweet & Sour Stirfry (recipe coming soon) paired with our favourite thai drink, "Cha Yen" (Thai Iced Tea), frappe style!

Its made from a strong brewed red ceylon tea, ours we bought in Thailand so its the real deal. I'm not sure if it's available to buy in North America but I did see you can buy it on Amazon, or an alternative could be Teavana's, "Cha Yen Thai Black Tea," (but I haven't tested that).

I used my espresso machine to brew my tea so as an alternative all you need to do is brew your tea in a cup of boiling water with a tea ball or just strain the leaves out when its done steeping. (Steep for at least five minutes)

So here's what you need:

2 Tsp Thai Tea
2-3 Tsp Sugar
1/2 Cup whole milk
Ice (6 to 8 cubes)

Brew about 2 to 3 ounces of tea.
Stir in sugar to hot tea (important... I alway forget, sugar doesn't dissolve so well in cold liquid)

Add mixture to blender, along with milk and ice. Mix it all up, adjust ingredients (often I find I need to add more tea to give it more flavour). If your on the ball you could prepare thai tea ice cubes as an extra bonus of flavour while the frappe melts.

For an added sweetness, top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, and enjoy!

Glamping // Homestyle Smores Recipe

Let me introduce you to this ridiculous term, Glamping, which is glamourized camping, for those who can't cut the rugged discomforts of regular camping... like trekking to foul smelling outhouses and sleeping on rocks wedged in places that shall not be mentioned...

Glamping is sillyness, plain and simple, but if its done in the right manner I'm all for it! Like tonight for instance... 

As most of us are in the heat of summer and fire bans are in full effect we have to get creative when a smores craving hits. Weirdly enough, while we were in Thailand I craved smores... like the whole time! 10 months of smore cravings people, 10 months! It was on my list of must eat foods once we returned. 

So in true glamping style regardless of the fire ban we ate smores... happily, legally, and in the comfort of our own home!

Ingredients:

Marshmallows (the big ones of course!)

A bar of chocolate (Hersey's is a good choice, but tonight we used a Purdy's bar that I got to help a good cause)

Graham Crackers

Directions:

1 // Set your oven to broil at 450 degrees.
2 // Place half your crackers on a cookie tray with a marshmallow in the middle.

3 // Let them roast in the oven for a few minutes, or until they turn golden brown.

4 // Remove from the oven and place a chunk of chocolate in the middle. Finish by smooshing your other half of crackers on top

5 // Beware they may still be hot and watch out for drippy chocolate...my jeans look like I had a bit of an explosive accident (but it was oh so worth it!).

Recipe Of The Week : Rosemary Infused Lemonade

What do you do when life throws you lemons? 

MAKE LEMONADE!

With Old Man Winter leaving us and warmer weather kicking in I start craving my all time favourite thirst quencher, Lemonade! I just love its sugary, tart, refreshing goodness! I usually just buy a can of frozen lemonade for a quick fix, but today I wanted it to be extra special...homemade. I've never actually made lemonade from scratch and was pleasantly surprised how easy it is!

For this recipe I tried something a little out of the ordinary by throwing in fresh sprigs of rosemary! I know wierd, but hey, don't knock it till you try it! Obviously this is an optional componant and can be eliminated completely or substituted with something else, like, basil, thyme, or my personal fave... mint! I also wanted to make it a little bit more natural in the sugar department by using honey but turns out we're out :( but if you were to substitute honey for sugar just add 2 tbsp of honey for each lemon used.

Anyways lets get to it!

Shopping List:

5-6 Lemons

2-4 sprigs of Rosemary

1 cup of Sugar

6 cups Water

Directions:

In a small pot combine 1.5 cups water with 1 cup sugar. Cook over medium heat while stirring to dissolve the sugar. Once all the sugar has dissolved turn off the heat and add a sprig of rosemary. Let the water cool and then remove the rosemary.

While your waiting extract the juice from 5 lemons. Your looking to get about 1 cup of lemon juice.  In a pitcher combine the lemon juice, sugar water, and the remaining 4 1/2 cups of cold water. Stir together.

Serve over ice, garnished with a few lemon slices and rosemary sprigs, get out a good book, lawn chair and enjoy! 

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Recipe Of The Week : Strawberry-Apple Sauce

After a frustrating trip to the grocery store this week I have been inspired and dedicating myself to make homemade snacks for Rylee. I'm tired of looking at the ingredients of things one would assume to be healthy and find it to be filled with a monstrosity of words I can't pronounce... aka gross unnecessary fillers. So I've taken it upon myself to make snacks that I know each and every one of the ingredients... it may not have as long a shelf life, but isn't that what the freezer is for!?

So this week I made a batch of Strawberry-Apple Sauce as well as some plain Apple Sauce. This snack is the best fall back when Rylee is having a picky food kind of day, I think if she had it her way she would eat it all day, everyday!

Strawberry-Apple Sauce

Approximately fifteen 2.5oz. servings

Shopping List:

1lb of Strawberries

3-4 Apples 

1 Tbsp Lemon Juice

Directions:

1. Peel and core apples and put in a pot of water. Bring to a boil until apples are soft.

2. While your waiting for the apples, hull the strawberries.

3. Add apples and strawberries and lemon juice to the food processor and puree until your desired consistency. (If you want it to be a thinner consistency you can add some of the water you boiled the apples in)

4. Divide into containers, I generally keep 3 servings in the fridge and freeze the remainder. 

*If you want to make just plain apple sauce, obviously omit the strawberries and throw in a dash of cinnamon.

Sweet Potato & Peanut Soup

Lately I have been on an Asian kick and tonight I made a delicious soup (Recipe found through Pinterest, HERE.), its called Sweet Potato & Peanut Soup! It's amazing, one because it tastes pretty darn good and two because after a long exhausting day it was easy and quick to put together.

This recipe yields about 6 cups and goes well with jasmine rice. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Shopping List:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 small onions diced, about 1.5 cups
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 3 cups vegetable broth
  
• 1 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 to 2-inch chunks
• 1 13-ounce can “lite” coconut milk
• 1/3 cup unsalted roasted peanuts
• 1.5 tablespoons lime juice
• Chopped cilantro, and chopped peanuts for garnish

Directions:

Heat oil in a large soup pot. Add the onion and garlic and cook (stirring often) until onions begin to get soft. Now add the celery, sweet potato, and broth. Cover and increase the heat to high to bring it to a boil.  Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook about 15 minutes until potatoes are soft. 

Next Puree half of the soup in a food processor or blender and add back to the pot. Puree the coconut milk and peanuts until smooth and add to the soup along with the lime juice. Give everything a good stir over low heat to warm thoroughly. Do not boil. Serve alongside rice and garnish with cilantro and chopped peanuts.

Recipe of the Week // Kale Omelette

This was my breakfast this morning, a Kale + Tomato Omelette.

This was my very first time trying this green leafy vegetable everyone's been raving about. From what I've heard its the "queen of greens" as its packed with iron, Vitamin K, anti-oxidants, Vitamin A, calcium, Vitamin C, and even Omega 3 fatty acids. BOOM! this vegetable knows what its doing and I think I may be jumping on the Kale bandwagon.

On top of being so healthy this recipe is very easy! (the original recipe I found via pinterest, here.)

Shopping List:

About a cup of shredded kale

1 clove of garlic, minced

2 eggs

1 tbsp of milk

1/2 a medium sized tomato, diced

1/4 cup shredded cheese

1 tsp Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper 

Directions:

Add olive oil and garlic to pan over medium heat for about a minute. Add your kale and let it sizzle and wilt for a few minutes. Whisk two eggs, milk, cheese, and tomatoes together and add to the pan, and wait a few minutes...I added a cover to mine to speed it up a bit. Once its cooked enough flip the omelette (I just have to add how proud I am for flipping mine without butchering it... I normally have a bit of a flipping handicap). Cook for another minute and fold that yummy eggy deliciousness over and there you have an omelette. Season to taste and bon appetite!

Spicy Shimp & Bok Choy Noodle Bowl

What did you eat tonight... We ate this Spicy Shrimp & Bok Choy Noodle Bowl

 

It was pretty delish and if your looking for something light on your tummy this is a great meal for you. I found this recipe in my "Rachael Ray 365: No Repeats" recipe book, it was super easy & quick to prepare which is always a plus, however it was spicy (my nose had the runs the whole time I was eating it). The only changes I would make...or shall I say additions is to add more veggies like carrots, water chestnuts, and maybe even some bean sprouts.

Grocery List:

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp crushed red pepper or chili flakes

4 garlic cloves, chopped

2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled or cut into very thin matchsticks or grated

2 cups shiitake mushroom caps, sliced

1 medium bok choy, trimmed and cut into 3-inch pieces, then cut lengthwise into sticks

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

1 litre chicken stock or broth

1 cup seafood stock or clam juice (found in the soup aisle)

1 1/2 lbs peeled and deveined shrimp

400 g vermicelli (thin spagetti)

4 scallions, cut into 3-inch pieces, then sliced lengthwise into thin sticks

Directions:

Heat a medium soup pot over medium high heat. Add the oil, crushed red pepper flakes, garlic, ginger, mushrooms, bok choy, and season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken stock and clam juice. Put a lid on the pot and bring the soup to a boil. Add the shrimp and noodles and cook for 3 minutes; add the scallions and cook for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and let stand for 2-3 minutes. 

Adjust the seasoning and serve.

Tastey Tuesday - Owl Cake Pops

 

At Rylee's owl themed 1st birthday party we served the guests owl cake pops! I discovered these on pinterest (Follow Me Here), which led me to a great video tutorial on how to create these awesome little treats. I will warn you they are quite time consuming and I wouldn't attempt them on your own (one because its more fun with a partner, and two it would take even longer!). 

Grocery List:

Lollipop sticks (found at Micheals in varying different sizes)

Wilton Candy Melts (found at Micheals in different colors)

Chocolate Chips

Brown M&M's 

Candy Necklace

Cake Mate Rainbow Rounds

Cake Mate Stars

Rainbow Chip Sprinkles

Paramount Crystals (which we didn't use but would definitely use it next time as it is to help with thinning the chocolate for better dipping)

Cake mix (your choice of flavor) or Tim Bits! (We used Tim Bits as a time saver, I pre-ordered 40 chocolate unglazed from Tim Hortons and it was the best decision I made regarding these pops!

Foam Base (Found at Micheals or any craft store)

Directions:

Step 1: (If you are using Tim Bits skip this step) Make up your cake mix and line a baking sheet with wax paper. Make golf ball sized rounds of cake and shape them into somewhat of a square for the owl body. Then bake.

Step 2: Melt down your candy melts (using a double boiler) in small glass bowl with a little bit of water in the top pan. Stir it as it melts down and add the paramount crystals. (All of this we did not do....resulting in crummy dipping conditions)

Step 3: Add the ears to the owl, aka the chocolate chips. Take a toothpick and dip in the chocolate sauce and apply it to the bottom of the chocolate chip. Attach the ear to the body, repeat for second ear and wait for it to dry. (stick them in the freezer if you want to speed up the process)

Step 4: Get your sticks ready! Dip the end of your stick in the chocolate sauce and insert into the bottom of your owl body and then dip the cake pop into the sauce using a spoon to cover it. Take it out of the sauce and tap while rotating repeatedly against the bowl to get rid of excess sauce. Stick in foam base.

Step 5: Place wings (M&M's) on the body while its still wet and hold it for a little bit for it to dry. Repeat for second wing. 

Step 6: Place eyes (Candy Necklace), nose (Rainbow Chip Sprinkles) and feets (Cake Mate Stars), using sauce as extra glue if necessary. and Voila!! you have owl cake pops!!

They were a hit, and how could they not? They were cute and yummy! 

Below is a picture of Rylee's grandpa's enjoying the cake pops, one of fave pics of the day.

Tastey Tuesday - 1st Birthday Cake

With Rylee's first birthday coming up I made a trial cake for a little photo shoot we did at Sears. I decided on a carrot cake as an healthier alternative for her (although the icing is far from healthy :P but everyone's allowed a treat now and then right).

This recipe I found is good for one double 8" round cake which I found on a great website that I've used frequently for information and recipes on making baby food. 

(Check out Wholesome Homemade Baby Food)

Grocery List:
2 1/2 cups thinly sliced carrots
2 1/2 cups apple juice concentrate (you may use slightly less)
1 1/2 cups raisins
Vegetable Spray/Shortening
2 cups whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 whole eggs
4 egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce (which I made from scratch)
1/2 cup wheat germ
2 Tbsp low sodium baking powder
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

Prep: Preheat oven to 350 F. Line the bottoms of two 8 inch circle cake pans with waxed paper and spray the paper with vegetable spray/shortening.

Step 1: First combine the carrots with 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the juice concentrate in a medium size saucepan.
 

Step 2: Bring it to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer with a cover. Simmer until carrots are tender about 15 to 20 mins. Puree in a food processor until smooth. Add the raisins and blend until finely chopped. Let mixture cool.
 

Step 3: While the carrots are cooking combine the flour, wheat germ, baking powder, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Add 1 1/4 cups apple juice, the oil, eggs, egg whites, and vanilla; beat just until well mixed. Once mixed fold in the carrot puree and applesauce. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans.
 

Step 4: Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35 to 40 mins. Cool briefly in the pans, then turn onto wire racks to cool completely. When cool, frost with a cream cheese frosting which you can find a sugar free recipe on the wholesome foods website (I might try it for her actual birthday cake), for this cake I made a vanilla butter cream frosting and sprinkled rainbow dots all over the top.

This was the first real sweet thing we have given Rylee and at the photo shoot she was so adorable. I totally expected he to dive right into it but she was a classy lady and pinched the icing with two fingers and ate it barely making any kind of mess. She giggled the whole time and was bouncing up and down so I will take that as a sign she loved it! I can't wait till she see her real birthday cake which will be SOOO much better (thank goodness for a cake decorating Godmother!).

Tastey Tuesday - Thai Chicken & Rice

Today I attempted a recipe found in "Slow Cooker Menus" magazine that I was given last Christmas. It was easy to pick because it's one of my favourite cuisines...Thai! I picked this recipe mainly because I've wanted to do it for a long time and chicken FINALLY came on sale this week! Being a slow cooker recipe it was pretty simple to prepare, the most time consuming part was chopping up the ingredients to make the curry paste... but it was so worth it to enjoy the fresh flavors. I wish you could capture smells somehow because our house was and still is smelling SO scrumptious!

Shopping List:
2 stalks fresh lemon grass
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup fresh ginger
1/4 fish sauce
1-3 jalapenos, seeded and chopped (fyi - I used two small ones and it wasn't spicy at all)
4 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp ground coriander
2 Tsp sugar
1 Tsp lime zest
1 Can coconut milk
12 bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed (2.5-3lb total)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Red bell people, cut into strips
chopped fresh basil
Dry-roasted peanuts

For the curry past

• Trim the root and ends from the lemons grass and then slice it about 4 inches. 
• Puree the lemon grass, onion, cilantro, ginger, fish sauce, jalapeno, garlic, coriander, sugar, and zest in a food processor (From my experience I would make it more on the chunky side). 
• Transfer the puree to a 4-6 quart slow cooker and stir in the coconut milk.

For the Chicken

• Brown chicken in a frying pan with a the oil (wait till it has a nice brown color, but it doesn't have to be completely cooked)
• Add chicken to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 1.5 - 2 hours or on low for 3 hours. 
• Stir in the bell pepper at the end and cook on high for 15 more minutes. 

Once its all said and done you can sprinkle the basil and peanuts over each serving or serve separately if you have some picky eaters. 

The end result is super flavorful and it makes enough for a larger family or in our case a small family with enough for leftovers and to freeze!

Tastey Tuesday

I will be the first to admit my culinary skills are less than par! I have serious problems with being creative when it comes to cooking and I wish I could be that girl that could just grab whatever from the fridge or shelves, throw it in a bowl, and voilà out pops a gourmet delicacy...but I'm not! I'm tired of the same old blah meals and stressing everyday what the heck to make for dinner, so I've decided if I want to learn how to cook then I've got to practice till I get it.

So every Tuesday I will share with you a recipe I've tried during the week, in a sense I will be your personal recipe taste tester (feel free to make suggestions).  I'll be going for inexpensive family friendly yet still healthy meals, oh and quick and easy (I don't have high standards....right!?!)

This weeks dinner was Quinoa Broccoli Chicken Casserole (which I got from my amazing "Quinoa 365" cook book). It was super easy and bonus I didn't have to go shopping, I already had everything!

Shopping List:
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
3 cups broccoli florets (fresh or frozen)
2 tbsp olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups light sour cream
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp prepared mustard
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp minced fresh basil (or a pinch of dried basil)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Prepare your oven to 350F (180C) and lightly grease a 9x13 inch casserole dish.

Bring the quinoa and water to a boil. Cover, and reduce to a simmer cooking for 10 minutes. Turn the heat off but leave covered on burner for 6 more minutes. Fluff it up with a fork and set aside to cool.

Cook the broccoli until just tender or al dente.

Heat the oil in pan over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken breasts until cooked and the juices run clear, about 5 minutes on each side. Cool the chicken a bit before cutting into 2 inch wide strips.

In a small bowl mix well together the sour cream, mayo, lemon juice, mustard, curry powder, and basil.

Now that you have everything ready...
first spread the quinoa out evenly in the bottom of your casserole dish, then the broccoli, chicken, sauce, and finally spread the cheese over the top of it all. Bake on the center rack for about 25 minutes or until the casserole is hot and the cheese is melted and bubbly.

There you have it ...super simple. And it passed the picky husband and baby test! I wouldn't serve it if I was trying to impress someone but if needed a "homey" kind of meal I'd make this. As for flavour it was a bit of different taste with the curry sauce, it was almost spicy sweet if that make sense at all, but the sauce definitely livened up the bland quinoa.