Seeing as we are all still stuck at home with extra time on our hands, here is a recipe that is not only delicious but also nutritious and low fat with no added sugar. Homemade low fat granola is a great way to start your day and perfect for a mid day munch. With the kids learning from home, I tend to deliver mid-morning snacks to keep their attention focused on the virtual learning. (Sometimes I make it with some dark chocolate chunks to brighten the day – of course…) You can add goji berries, dried fruit, chia seeds or coconut. Whatever you have in the cupboard that can add some interest to your pandemic cooking!
The International Baccelaureate program encourages kids to think independently, drive their own learning, become more culturally aware, and engage with people in an increasingly globalized, rapidly changing world. Our family is very lucky that we live in an area with public IB schools that begin at the kindergarten level.
When you are serving vegetarian or want a tasty, light and healthy dinner, our harissa cauliflower steaks are always a huge hit!
This beach-ready buttermilk fried chicken was fun to make and completely delicious.
After eating these at a baby shower, I dubbed them the world’s best crabcakes. I quickly pulled out my cell phone to write down the ingredients as the baby’s grandmother named ingredients. I had to figure out the recipe myself……
These Chocolate Garden Cups offer the perfect combination of crunchy and smooth, and they are packed with nutrients. Just make sure you have the face wipes handy!! Adorable and fun to make with the family, these Chocolate Garden cups are perfect for kids parties or an after school snack. Topped with yummy cereal, the deliciously simple, eggless chocolate pudding is light, easy to make, and not too sweet.
This spring, the UrbanMommies team has been focusing on health. Jogging, extra water and vitamins have all been part of the routine. With the gardens not quite in bloom and stores of frozen fruit and veggies depleted, I started doing some digging on other options for getting nutrients through food. Canned cling peaches. Who knew? They are actually better canned than fresh and are readily available in stores – even in school lunch snack sizes.
Myth: Canned peaches are less nutritious than fresh peaches.
Fact: Canned peaches are actually more nutritious than their fresh and frozen counterparts. Canned peaches have 3.5 times the vitamin C, 10 times more folic acid and 1.5 times more antioxidants than their fresh counterparts. (And they are in stores all year round when there is nothing growing in your orchard!)
Myth: Canned peaches are full of sugar.
Fact: Canned California cling peaches have no added sugar in the juice or water that they are packed in, other than the natural sugar in the raw product.
Myth: Canned peaches lose their flavour and colour through the canning process.
Fact: Canned peaches retain their flavour, colour and firmness even when cooked or baked in entrees, appetizers or desserts.
Because California cling peaches are picked and packed usually within 24 hours, they retain their appearance, texture, flavour and nutritional content.
So… I need snacks after my runs. I need some great family meal ideas, and after 6 months of making school lunches, they were getting rather boring. Enter California Cling Peaches to remedy all of these situations!
Check our recipes for gluten-free sweet chili and chicken peach wraps and peach, goat cheese and basil flatbread pizza.
Disclosure: This article was sponsored by California Cling Peaches. And we bet you learned a thing or two!
The garden is thriving and the kids have been eating poorly since school got out. Well, mine have anyway. Time to hide some veggies in their favourite foods. When we made these summer zucchini muffins, we tripled the recipe, baked one pan of muffins and saved the other two batches in large ziplock bags in the freezer. A perfect start to the school year. Simply defrost the dough the night before and fill 12 tins for fresh breakfast treats or lunchbox snacks.
3 cups grated fresh zucchini (no need to take the peel off. The green adds depth.. and saves you time.)
2/3 cup melted unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons baking soda
Pinch salt
3 cups all-purpose whole wheat flour (or replace 1 cup with wheat germ)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup walnuts (optional)
1 cup raisins or dried cranberries (optional)
You don’t need a mixer for this recipe.
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). In a large bowl combine the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the grated zucchini and then the melted butter. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Stir these dry ingredients into the zucchini mixture. Stir in walnuts, raisins or cranberries if using.
2. Coat each muffin cup in your muffin pan with a little butter or vegetable oil spray. Use a spoon to distribute the muffin dough equally among the cups, filling the cups up completely. Bake on the middle rack until muffins are golden brown, and the top of the muffins bounce back when you press on them, about 25 to 30 minutes. Set on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the tin let cool another 20 minutes.
If you’re used to picky eaters or chicken finger lovers, kid friendly crab cakes make a great healthy snack. And it’s not necessary to catch the crabs and shell them like we did (for authenticity). You can grab the cans. You also have the option of frying or baking. The baked version is of course healthier, but you could do a flash fry at the end using olive or grapeseed oil (which has a higher temperature threshold to prevent burning). Served with veggies or a robust salad they make a great dinner as well.
Kid Friendly Crab Cakes Ingredients:
4 T. finely crushed whole grains (kamut, wheatgerm, wholewheat flour – whatever you have)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon seafood seasoning/cocktail sauce
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 egg, beaten
salt to taste
1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
1 pound fresh crabmeat, well drained
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs (try to use whole grains seasoned with just salt and pepper)
2 tablespoons butter
3T cut chives
6 T finely diced apple (optional)
Method:
- Mix grains, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, seafood seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, egg, salt, and cayenne pepper in a large bowl.
- Stir in crabmeat until mixture is combined but still chunky. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Sprinkle breadcrumbs on a plate.
- Shape chilled crab mixture into 4 small thick patties; coat completely with bread crumbs.
- Grease a cookie sheet and place in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Flip crabcakes at 10 minutes.
- Optional: flash fry for 30 seconds/side in a skillet before serving.
This kid friendly crab cakes recipe is also great for making shapes – the letters in the kids’ names, hearts, stars and geometric shapes. Have fun!
One of the biggest nutritious hits in our family are zucchini muffins: they’re tasty and nutritious. If your kids find the spice levels in this recipe aren’t appealing, adjust as needed. Your kids can help in preparing these zippy zucchini muffins from beginning to end, from measuring both dry and wet ingredients, stirring, pouring the muffin mix into the pans…and of course, eating them! You can also try this recipe with grated carrots, too.