Back To School

The monkeys went back to school last week and I went back today.  It has been a busy time for us!  I thought I would post a few of my recipes that we use during the school week and a few ideas for store-bought items to pack in lunches.

First, breakfast.  My girls will eat pancakes 4-5 days a week if I let them, but I could not in good conscience feed them pre-packed or white flour mix pancakes.  So, I made up a whole wheat mix that I keep in a ziploc bag in my freezer.  One cup of mix, one egg, and 3/4 cup of milk and you have 6-8 good-sized pancakes. I use white whole wheat flour, which is a bit smoother than whole wheat, but still has all the nutritional benefits of the wheat. (You can also use this mix for waffles. Use all the same amounts, but add 2T of oil.)

Sometimes I am tired of making pancakes or want to change it up a bit for them.  I toast a whole wheat English muffin and add cheese and an egg to it.  Sometimes the girls like their eggs fried (in cooking spray) and sometimes they like them scrambled.  Either way you have a super nutritious Egg McMuffin knock-off. They usually can't finish the whole thing.  It is very filling!!

And don't forget my Anything Muffins! It is the perfect muffin base.  You can add anything, hence the name. :)  Seriously, though--anything you want. From blueberries to chocolate chips, bananas to bacon and cheddar! They also freeze really well, so you could make them over the weekend and pop them in the freezer.  They will be thawed by the time you get to work or leave out a couple overnight (wrapped up tight) and pop the thawed muffins in the microwave for 8 seconds the next morning.  (When I make them during the school week I use at least half white whole wheat.)  Tink's favorite muffin, though, is my Raisin Bran Muffin.

Last year, I could not get enough packed in their lunches--they kept asking for more! This year, they want a sandwich, yogurt or sugar-free pudding, and some Fig Newtons. I think it's the heat that has sapped their appetites.  Also, it's just week 2. By next week they will want totally new things.  Here are some examples of things I pack for them:

pudding and a small cheese round  or stick

yogurt

The girls LOVE red, seedless grapes.  We buy them even when they are out of season.

Cheerios or Cheez-its snack mixes

dark chocolate Chex Mix

my homemade granola bars

(those are sooooo good.  Make them today!!)

my homemade apple sauce (or, in a pinch, all natural applesauce with a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar)

Chickens in the Road posted a homemade Fig Newtons recipe that I am dying to try!! Especially since my girls are on a Fig Newtons kick.

When my monkeys get home from school I usually pull a cookie out of the freezer or they just have a glass of juice.  They aren't usually very hungry and we eat at 4:30, so they don't have to wait long for dinner.  Any of these lunch ideas would be perfect for after-school snacks, though.

Have a successful, wonderful school year everyone!

(The winner of my first giveaway will be posted tomorrow!)

Revisited

One of the drawbacks of having posted over 100 recipes is that I've shared with you most of the stuff I make on a regular basis. Last week I made nothing new. Not one thing. So I thought I would share what I made and maybe you will find a recipe you never read about before or one that you forgot about. I remembered to take new pictures of some of them.

Every two weeks I make my granola bars. They are healthy, delicious, and great treats in my kids' (and hubby's) lunch sacks. Sometimes the girls will even have a second one as an after school snack. I love that I know every ingredient that does into these bars.




One of my all-time favorite dinners is Lemon Chicken. I love it so much that we ate it all before I could take a picture. If you haven't tried it yet, give it a shot!

For dinner one night we had Meatloaf and Roasted Green Beans. Both sooooo good. Sometimes I like to change it up and use orange, yellow, or red peppers instead of green in the meatloaf. I didn't put any of it into muffin cups this time, though.



Friday night I made Whole Wheat Pizza. Except this time I used all white whole wheat and I think it's even better than my original recipe! We decorated the pizzas with pepperoni, red peppers, and lots of mozzarella. Bubba added banana peppers to his. The posted recipe makes four individual pizza crusts. Try it this weekend!

I also made my Healthier Banana Bread and Zucchini Muffins. Again I used all white whole wheat. I almost never use even the smallest amount of white flour anymore. The girls have state-wide standardized testing this week. Banana bread and zucchini muffins made with whole wheat, low fat, healthy ingredients are the perfect breakfast food to keep them full until lunch. Have you ever tried to take a test while your stomach is rumbling? It's so hard to concentrate! I load them up with bread and a glass of sugar-free Carnation Instant Breakfast for the protein.



March is strawberry season in Florida and last Saturday we made our annual trek to the Plant City Strawberry Festival.





From 11am to 5pm on Sunday Tink and I washed, hulled, sliced, and mashed three full flats of strawberries!



Yep, three of those. We made enough low-sugar jam to last until next year.




We also put away in the freezer a few containers of strawberries ready for shortcake. And we ate A LOT of strawberries. Tink was such a huge help!! But the best thing about making jam with her was the talking. She talked about school, politics, religion, boys *shudder*, her friends, you name it we talked about it. It was, in every sense of the word, awesome.

Of course for dessert that night we had to have Strawberry Shortcake with real whipped cream. No chemical whip will ever sully my shortcake! It was also awesome. :) (Oh, and I used all white whole wheat in the shortcakes.)



But first, for dinner Sunday we had Sunday Roast.

Give one of these recipes a try!

Enjoy!!

Back to School Granola Bars

I always thought I was giving my girls a healthy treat when I would pack granola bars in their school lunches, especially the ones touted as "low sugar." Then the warnings came out about high fructose corn syrup and moms starting checking food labels with a vengeance. It turns out that you might have a hard time finding a granola bar without the stuff. Even the Fiber One bars that I used to have for breakfast are loaded with it. And now that I know, I can't let my kids eat that junk, so I make my own. This recipe is easy, super tasty, and completely void of corn syrup. Best part of all, the girls love them!

You will need:

2 cups oats (sometimes I substitute Multi-Grain Cheerios)
3/4 cup wheat germ
1 cup crushed peanuts
*******
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
4 T Smart Balance
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp Kosher salt
6-8 oz dried fruit (your choice)
1/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips



Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Line a jelly roll pan with foil (or any cookie sheet with sides). No need to grease it, just spread out the oats and wheat germ.



Crush your peanuts. I like to use low sodium dry roasted peanuts, but you can use any type of peanut or nut that you like. I use my mini chopper to chop up the peanuts, but you can crush them in a plastic bag using a cup.



Add the peanuts to the oats and wheat germ and mix.



Toast them in the oven for 10 minutes, stirring after 5 minutes and checking two minutes early. You don't want the wheat germ to burn. After they are done you can turn off the oven.



Line a 9x13 inch glass baking pan with wax paper. Grease the paper with a little cooking spray and set aside.

Add your toasted mix to a large bowl and pour in fruit of choice. I like to use a 6 oz bag of mixed fruit.



Add the brown sugar, honey, butter, vanilla, and salt to a saucepan.



Melt over medium low heat...



until the mixture comes to a simmer or low, low boil. Remove from heat when you see the first little bubbles coming to the surface.



Pour your yummy sugar mixture into the bowl over the fruit and oats.



Stir and make sure that everything is evenly coated.



Now the chocolate chips!!



Drop your granola bar mixture into your greased and lined 9x13 pan.



Spread evenly to all sides.



Cover with another sheet of wax paper and press down hard. You aren't going to bake these, so you need to press them into shape so they won't fall apart.



Leave the wax paper on top and set aside to cool and set for 2 hours. Then remove top sheet of paper and use the bottom sheet to pick up the entire giant bar and put it on a cutting board or your counter top.

I make four cuts lengthwise



and three width wise.



I get 2 to 3 weeks of granola bars this way. It depends on how many times a week they take them. It's usually around four times a week for both girls.



They are moist, but not too moist. Chewy, not overly sweet, and I can feel good about giving them to the girls. The first time I gave these to them Tink ate 3 and Goose ate 2.

I wrap each bar individually in plastic wrap. That way I can just drop one in their lunch sack.



I keep them in a Ziploc fresh shield freezer bag in the freezer. They are completely thawed by lunchtime for the kids. On the weekends I'll take out a few and keep them in the cupboard for a quick snack.



Try different nuts, fruit, and grains. You really can't go wrong! And give yourself a pat on the back for giving your kids a granola bar you made from scratch with NO corn syrup.

Enjoy!

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