Category Archives: Kid Friendly

July 19, 2012 · 4:42 pm

TEMECULA TANGERINES

Last year I was introduced to Temecula tangerines.  I had seen them in Mother’s Market before and never even thought about buying them because quite frankly they aren’t very enticing.  I know, don’t judge a book (or in this case fruit) by its cover, but these oranges look like they would be dry and not juicy in the least.

Last year the kids and I went shopping and Mother’s was sampling the Temecula tangerines.  Man, they are good!  Juicy, flavorful, and uber-convenient.

Temeculas peel so easily and can quickly be peeled into a bowl of sorts, which is our favorite way of eating them.  We peel off the top of the tangerine and are left with a wonderfully tasty “bowl” of tangerine segments which easily pull-out segment by segment.

Have you tried Temecula tangerines yet???

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Filed under Fruit, Kid Friendly, Product Reviews, Vegan, Vegetarian

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July 12, 2012 · 1:30 pm

QUICK & EASY BERRY JAM

My daughter has been chomping at the bit to make jam.  I’m not sure where she got the idea, but with all of the juicy berries we have been bringing home, now is definitely the time to preserve the berries while they are at the height of their flavor so we can pop into the jars when the bounty is no longer here.

My maternal grandmother was the queen of canning.  She grew-up on a farm in Minnesota with a gazillion brothers (she was the youngest and the only girl…even her twin was a boy!  Just based on that you know she lived in the kitchen).  I could go on and on about her canned peaches and have so many memories of all of the grandchildren being horrified when we discovered that there was only one can left in the pantry…they were THAT good.

Don’t even get me started on her huckelberry syrup…absolute heaven!

And her garden.  Oh her garden.  When it was dinnertime she would send my sister and I out to the garden to harvest the salad for the meal.

And her backyard.  It was HUGE and lined with fruit trees.  We would go out there and play for hours.  When we got hungry, we just reached-up and picked whatever we wanted to snack on.

Grandma Ruba made some amazing jam as well and I was always excited when she brought some on her visits.

Needless to say, I was definitely nostalgic while making jam with my daughter.  Perfect weather, cooking with my little one, and a tasty jam as the result of a wonderful day…another slice of heaven.

This jam my daughter and I created was definitely fresh vs. the cooked-down taste with a traditional jam.  I like both versions, but this version seems so appropriate for capturing the fruit in it’s prime.

We have one in the fridge and I froze the rest for later use.

INGREDIENTS
Inspired by 5 Dollar Dinners
 
3 lbs. berries (I used 2 lbs. strawberries, 1/2 lb. blueberries, 1/2 lb. raspberries)
1 box fruit pectin (I used Sure Jell)
2 tsp agar powder
1 12oz. container frozen organic apple juice concentrate (I used Cascadian Farms)
sweetener to taste (depends on ripeness of berries) with stevia, honey, or maple syrup.
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Wash, de-stem,  and dry the berries.

Mash the berries with a potato masher.  If you are using some blueberries, make sure to pop open all of the blueberries.  The kids will have A LOT of fun helping you with this.  Make sure they have clean hands and then encourage them to get their hands into the action and squish the berries.

Bring the apple juice concentrate to a boil and add in the pectin and agar agar.  Whisk until dissolved and pour the boiling mixture over the crushed berries. Mix well.

Pour the jam into glass containers and cool to room temperature.  Refrigerate the cooled mixture to set.

The jam will stay well in the fridge for 3 weeks or freezer for 3 months.

I can’t wait to try this with the apricots we have been getting at the Farmer’s Market!

For a printable version of this recipe click here.

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Filed under Fruit, Gluten Free, Kid Friendly, Quick, Recipes, Sauce / Spread / Jam / Yogurt, Vegan, Vegetarian

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July 9, 2012 · 4:00 pm

SRC – PB BANANA BON BONS

After a one month break from the Secret Recipe Club (SRC) I am thrilled to be back.  I have so much fun participating in this wonderful group.  For those of you unfamiliar, the SRC is a club that was:

“[B]orn from an idea that it’s founder Amanda had one day while trying to come up with ways to bring more exposure to her cooking blog, Amanda’s Cookin’. She thought it would be fun to make a recipe from a friend’s blog and that friend could do the same. But instead of just the two of them, including several others would be even more fun. Plus, it would also help give added exposure to their food blogs. And so it began…”

Their first month yielded 19 participants and now there are hundreds. The concept is simple really. Each month you are “assigned” a participating food blogger to make a recipe from and it’s a secret until reveal day.

This month I was assigned the blog, Baking and Boys, penned by an amazing baker, Katrina.  In her words, “It’s a crazy house full of boys around here with me trying to keep it all together. Ya gotta love it! Welcome to Baking and Boys.”

It didn’t take me  long to choose which recipe I was going to make.  As I explored her blog I zeroed in on her recipe for Healthy Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles which she found on a coconut recipe website.  I made this recipe as a surprise for my children during the last week of school.  They were thrilled to come home to it.

But you know me…I had to switch it up a bit by adding some sliced banana and turning these into frozen treats akin to a healthier bon bon.  The other changes I made were to eliminate the added salt and sweetener.  Since the banana slices were nice and ripe, they had a natural sweetness all their own and the chocolate coating was sweet as well.  I also upped the amount of chocolate slightly since adding the banana slices meant the bon bons were slightly larger than the original recipe, meaning more chocolate was needed for coverage.

This recipe came together so quickly, uses simple ingredients, and was a resounding success!!!


INGREDIENTS – Makes 20 bon bons

6 Tbs. organic peanut butter
¼ cup coconut flour
6 ounces Enjoy Life chocolate chips
1 tsp coconut oil
1 banana
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METHOD

Slice the banana into 20 slices and place them individually on wax or parchment paper.

In a bowl combine the peanut butter and coconut flour using a spoon and eventually your hands.

Using a 1 teaspoon measuring spoon, form the peanut butter mixture into half circles and place one on each banana slice.

Freeze for 30 minutes to one hour.

Once the banana and peanut butter is frozen, heat the chocolate and coconut oil together over a double boiler until completely melted OR in the microwave at 30 second intervals (stirring in between) for approximately 2 minutes.

Insert a toothpick in the top of the bon bon and submerge it in the chocolate.  Shake off the excess and place the bon bon back on the waxed paper.  Continue with the remaining bon bons and place back in the freezer to set.

Serve straight from the freezer.

For a printable version of this recipe click here.

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Filed under Candy / Fudge, Dessert, Frozen Treats, Gluten Free, Kid Friendly, Nuts, Quick, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

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July 2, 2012 · 1:30 pm

WATERMELON POPS

It is getting hot here!  My brain is constantly thinking about what I can make as a nice cooling treat.  With all of the cute fruit and melon wands I have been seeing on Pinterest, I decided to take it one step further by freezing them while simultaneously simplifying the fruit wands by sticking with just one fruit and one cookie cutter cut per Popsicle.

I cut off all of the rind of the watermelon while keeping the watermelon in tact and then made 1/2-3/4″ thick big round slices (We used a mini-melon, but next time I plan on using a standard watermelon).  The kids and I then cut out shapes in the watermelon using cookie cutters, stuck small wooden dowels in them, placed them on cookie sheets and froze them…Instant whole-food Watermelon Popsicles.

Yum!  Perfect for the Fourth.

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Filed under Dessert, Frozen Treats, Fruit, Gluten Free, Holiday, Kid Friendly, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

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June 22, 2012 · 1:30 pm

ONE GREEN PLANET – NEARLY FAT FREE CHOCOLATE PUDDING

I am thrilled to share with you some exciting news.  I was recently contacted by One Green Planet and invited to become a contributor.  I am definitely in good company seeing as many of my plant-based heroes are contributors to the site.

My first post for One Green Planet is now live.  My kids went gaga over this pudding recipe (shhhhh….don’t tell them it has 3 cups of zucchini in it!).

Click HERE to go to the post and see the recipe.

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Filed under Dessert, Gluten Free, Kid Friendly, One Green Planet, Pudding / Mousse, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

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June 8, 2012 · 1:30 pm

PURELY MANGO POPSICLES

Mangoes rank right up there with dark chocolate in my book.  I will happily eat any and all varieties of mangoes, but Champagne mangoes are insanely delicious this time of year. One of my favorite after dinner snacks is a bowl of frozen diced mango.  I am always amazed by how creamy plain frozen mango is and the last time I sat down with a bowl of them inspiration struck…these need to be popsicles!!! There is no point in even writing down this recipe because there is nothing in these bad boys other than 100% pure mango. Remove the skin, dice-up the mangos, place them in your Vitamix, and puree until smooth as silk.  Pour the mango puree into popsicle molds and freeze overnight. Looks like I found a new after dinner treat! Click HERE to see some super fun popsicle molds…I think I need to get some more. ..  Please note that I am a Vitamix affiliate…and I wholeheartedly endorse the use of their wonderful product.

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Filed under Appetizers, Dessert, Frozen Treats, Fruit, Gluten Free, Kid Friendly, Raw, Recipes, Sorbet, Vegan, Vegetarian

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June 4, 2012 · 1:30 pm

INDOOR CAMPING SURPRISE

A few weekends ago my husband was slated to be out of town and I wanted to do something fun and out of the ordinary with the kids.  I teased them about it all week telling them that I was planning something special for Friday night.  Every day they asked me for clues, but I was like a vault and wouldn’t cave.

I grew-up camping with my family most weekends.  I can’t even count the number of times I was dropped off at school on a Monday morning on the way home from a camping trip…trailer in tow.  I loved camping as a kid, minus the HUGE fear of wild animals that I still carry with me (snakes top the list and my fear of mountain lions keeps me from “off the beaten path” trails).  Camping as a child instilled in me a massive appreciation of and for nature.  While I now prefer a cabin to a tent (showers and comfy beds rule!), I will ALWAYS love the great outdoors.

My daughter has been begging to go camping and my son loves all things camping, dirt biking, and “manly,” so I knew he would love what I had in store for them.  I spent all morning Friday preparing for indoor camping.  The kids were thrilled to come home from school and see my son’s tent set-up in the living room along with all the fixings for gluten-free smores.

The kids roasted dinner on a stick and then after going on a “hike” around the neighborhood (purely to distract them from the smores for a little bit…didn’t work…the whole hike they asked when we could turn around and go home to roast the mallows), we went home and finally roasted those marshmallows. Since we did not have any gluten-free graham crackers on hand and also because I generally don’t like the GF version you can buy in stores (they are too crumbly and more importantly too processed), I made my Chewy Chocolate Brownie Cakes (click HERE for the recipe) and made them about 1/3 of the normal thickness.  Next time I am going to try and make them even thinner…more like the thickness of a true graham cracker.  They were an absolute hit.

On our way back home to roast the mallows we also got a call from my husband letting us know that work commitments were keeping him home.  Yay for us that we got to have our daddy home too!

The night was capped-off with a viewing of Ghostbusters II in the tent and then sleeping in the tent for my son and I.  My daughter prefers sleeping alone, so we set-up her little sleeping bag on a special camping bed I made right outside the tent.

What fun surprises do you plan for your little ones?  I’d love to hear your ideas because this time together is so precious…

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Filed under Cake, Dessert, Events, Gluten Free, Kid Friendly, Recipes, Vacation, Vegan, Vegetarian

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June 1, 2012 · 1:30 pm

GUEST POST – Weelicious’ Carrot Ginger Sauce

I am super excited about today’s guest post by Catherine McCord of Weelicious…this marks her third guest post for Veggie Grettie (click HERE for her first and HERE for her second).  I can’t wait to make this recipe.  The carrots I have been buying at the Farmer’s Market right now are so sweet and flavorful, so I know this is going to be amazing.  Enjoy!!!

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When it comes to my kids, if they’re offered rice or pasta they pretty much could care less what its mixed with. But when I served this Carrot Ginger Sauce tossed with long strands of noodles they were dubious. What was this “orange pasta” sitting on their plates?

That initial skepticism changed almost immediately after their first bites. With sweetness from the carrots, salty flavor from the miso and nuttiness from the tahini, they were so hooked by the incredible taste, I think they’re going to start paying a lot more attention to what’s on their pasta and rice from now on!

Carrot Ginger Sauce (Makes 1 Cup)

1 Tbsp Canola Oil
2 Garlic Cloves, peeled and minced
1 Tbsp Ginger, peeled and minced
4 Medium Carrots, peeled and chopped
2 Tbsp Miso
1 Tbsp Tahini
2 Tbsp Water

Accompaniments: Soba Noodles, Brown Rice, Pasta (conventional wheat or GFree)

1. Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium heat.
2. Add garlic and sauté until soft, about 30 seconds.
3. Add ginger and carrots.
4. Cover and cook until carrots are soft, about 15 minutes.
5. Transfer to a food processor and add the miso, tahini and water.
6. Puree until smooth.
7. Serve tossed with pasta, soba, udon noodles or rice.

* Stays fresh in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

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Filed under Guest Blog, Kid Friendly, Main Dish, Recipes, Sauce / Spread / Jam / Yogurt, Sides, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian

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May 18, 2012 · 1:30 pm

STRAWBERRY FRUIT ROLL-UPS

When I go grocery shopping and walk past the snack aisle I am always shocked by how many different fruit roll-ups there are, not to mention the fruit snacks.  Trust me, I understand how good they taste…like candy, but that us essentially what they are.  Have you ever looked at how much sugar they add?  My guess is that the manufacturers feel they have to add so much sugar because they are probably using fruit that isn’t truly ripe as the basis of their product.

I am so thankful that I have an Excalibur dehydrator.  They are pricey, but I eased some of the hurt by buying a Factory Refurbished model ($199 vs. $299) which still has a 10 year warranty!  I use my dehydrator a lot and have been using it a ton lately because there are such wonderful organic strawberries at my local farmer’s market.

Making fruit roll-ups couldn’t be easier.  Simply wash the berries, remove the stems, place them in your Vitamix high speed blender (I squeezed in an orange for extra flavor, however doing so is not necessary), blend until smooth, sweeten if necessary (you can use dates, maple syrup, stevia, honey),  and blend again to incorporate the sweetener.

Pour the mixture in batches on to your dehydrator trays lined with non-stick drying sheets, spread with an offset spatula (This tool is such a help…I first learned about this trick from Kristen Suzanne’s blog) as thin as you’d like making sure that it is evenly spread and there are no holes, and dehydrate at 125 until firm to the touch.  I spread my roll-ups to about 1/8″ and they dehydrate within 3-4 hours.  If you would like to keep the roll-ups “raw,” dehydrate at 115 degrees (it will take longer).  You can also make the roll-ups thicker, it will just take longer to dehydrate.

Once you remove the roll-ups from the dehydrator, allow them to come to room temperature and carefully peel them from the non-stick sheet.  Line the back of the roll-ups with parchment paper, cut them to size, and roll them up!  I store my roll-ups in glass jars.

Recently I have used this method to make a ton of different flavors; mango, pineapple, apple cinnamon, and white peach.  I was so pleasantly surprised by the pineapple fruit roll-ups…they were AMAZING!!!  I can’t wait to make my next batch and have been dreaming-up all sorts of flavor combinations.

*TIP – try to keep the roll-up “batter” as thick as possible and do not add extra liquid if possible.  You will find that certain fruits are less watery than others i.e. mangoes produce a thicker batter than apples do (the result is much more watery).  Dehydrating time will change depending upon which fruit / fruit combo you use.

If you do not have a dehydrator, you can make the roll-ups in the oven by following Catherine McCord’s method on her blog, Weelicious (Click HERE).

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Please note that I am a Vitamix affiliate…and I wholeheartedly endorse the use of their wonderful product.


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Filed under Cooked Fruit, Dessert, Fruit, Gluten Free, Kid Friendly, Raw, Recipes, Snacks, Vegan, Vegetarian

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May 14, 2012 · 9:26 pm

MY AWARD-WINNING VEGAN GLUTEN FREE CREPE RECIPE

A BIG, MASSIVE, GINORMOUS THANK YOU!!!!  

Thank you to all who voted for my crepe recipe in the So Delicious So Much to Love Recipe Contest.  I am beyond thrilled to report that my recipe won!  This is my very first recipe contest win and I am beyond excited.

For those of you who do not have Facebook, as promised, HERE is the recipe.

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Filed under Breakfast, Contests, Dessert, Gluten Free, Kid Friendly, Main Dish, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

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