Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Tuesday is right around the corner and with it comes pancakes for breakfast. We make pancakes every year, some with chocolate chips, others with fruit, but always pretty standard pancakes. Looking for something different I stumbled upon Bakerella’s Pancake Muffins on Pinterest (of course). These bite sized treats taste just like pancakes but without all that griddle flipping. I actually made two batters of this thinking we’d have enough for the next day’s breakfast but due to their popularity they didn’t last long. I found, just like making regular pancakes, letting the batter sit for a bit lead to fluffier muffins.
The holidays are a great time to get creative with the kids and Valentine’s Day is no different. Crafts are fun and cards are great but baking, or rather decorating homemade baking, will always be at the top of the list with my kids.
This Valentine’s Day why not spend some time with the kids decorating holiday cupcakes. To make things easier, we’ve come up with a few ideas that look great and are easy enough to get the kids involved too.
Make your own panini night is a fun switch from the usual pizza - put together a do-it-yourself sandwich bar with a panini press on the end, and let the family build and grill their own. It's a great fridge cleaner - leftover roast chicken, ham, salami, cheese ends and veggies are delicious in panini, as is pesto and roasted red peppers if you have some in the door of your fridge.
This is a great last minute sauce that gets made with pantry ingredients. All you need is some frozen or canned pumpkin, tomato paste, water and a few dried spices. This is also an easy treat on a snow day when you don’t feel like going to the store.
If you have any cranberry sauce left, this makes good use of it - and you won't recognize it as cranberry sauce but a sweet, tangy sauce for pulled pork. Toss it in in the morning before work, and at the end of the day dinner will be done, with enough to feed a crowd - friends over to watch the game, or a bunch of kids over for a sleepover.
I’ll admit I’m not a cook. I sometimes even need help remembering how to cook soft boiled eggs (thankfully EverythingMom has this guide). Even though cooking isn’t my really my specialty, I do love baking. Maybe it’s the mom in me, serving fresh banana bread as a snack in my kids’ lunches or chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies on a rainy Saturday while playing board games. I love that feeling. Whoopie Pies are one of those delicious treats I have enjoyed but have never made myself, until recently.
Chickpea Wraps
Adapted from Super Natural Every Day
Okay, I will admit that I’m not the biggest fan of quinoa. It just doesn’t taste all that great to me, no matter what I’ve put it in. But the thought of it mixed with some herbs, cheese and onion, then fried until crispy intrigued me. I couldn’t resist-and as a result, I have found my very favorite way to eat quinoa.
The challenge with feeding children, particularly children we would like to keep healthy and eating their fruits and vegetables, is keeping them interested. ‘An apple a day’ is indeed a portable and healthy staple for your child’s snack, but if you don’t add a sparkle of creativity, your best intentions might end up in the teacher’s garbage bin. So, what to do?
What we need are a few healthy snack ideas. I have ideas. It’s like food magic over here, I tell you.
When thinking about school snacks it’s a balance to make sure they are easy to pack, tasty and nutritious. In our house, Trail Mix has become a go-to snack. Even when creating a trail mix without nuts (because of school regulations), trail mix can still be a great protein source. Trail mix meets all of my requirements for snack time, is easy to make and easy to transport – to school, work, or when travelling.
