Baked Whole-Wheat Raspberry Doughnuts

Yes. I'm the mom sending heart shaped everything in the kids lunches! Don't hate me- join me! These aren't just pretty and yummy- they're healthy too! 

Popsugar moms posted these baked treats (yes, I said baked!) made from Weelicious. The raspberries were so appealing, I immediately knew I had to make them in heart form for V day. 

I'll be whipping up a couple of more batches because these bad boys went pretty quickly! I swapped out the buttermilk that the original recipe called for, for applesauce. I don't keep buttermilk in the house so I used something I had. They taste amazing and are kid approved! I'm happy to give them a healthier alternative to the greasy, fattening doughnut. 

Heart Shaped Rice Krispies Treats!

The heart wants what the heart wants. Ours wants rice krispies treats! In ode to Valentine's Day, ours come in heart form! 

If you're in the eye of the storm like myself, this is the perfect treat to make with the kiddies today. With just 3 ingredients most of you have in the house, you have the perfect edible arts and crafts project to create with the littles. You're in luck if you have Rice Krispies, marshmallows, and butter!

If you don't have heart shaped pans, don't fret. Simply lay out the rice Krispy mixture in baking pan and cut with heart shaped cookie cutters. Also- no biggie if you don't have the heart sprinkles. Just leave them out. 

You can use any sprinkles, chocolate chips, or candy pieces you have in the house. Spray the pan first to avoid sticking, then sprinkle in topping. If making bars, sprinkle out topping on wax paper before laying down mixture. If you want to do these for Valentine's Day, you can purchase the Wilton heart sprinkles and the pans on Amazon. 

LeanPops!

Have you ever read the ingredients on the back of the ice pops at the supermarket? Can be scary…and hard to pronounce! Even the so called healthy choices aren't so healthy once you read the label. We've attempted making our own in the past but the pops always seem to get stuck inside the mold. We haven't had much luck until trying LeanPops! They popped right up after letting them sit out of the freezer for a few minutes. The kids loved getting involved mixing in different fruits. We even added carrots to one. They were so quick and easy to make! I love knowing exactly what is going in them, and exactly what isn't! 

LeanPops are made of 100% food grade silicone, BPA free, latex free and non-toxic. The icing on the pop- they're dishwasher safe! Each comes with it's own lid so there are no messy leaks or spills while freezing! You can even re-cover and refreeze unfinished pops! 

We used whatever was in the house to make an assortment of pops. The timing couldn't have been better because Max had a terrible sore throat and wasn't able to eat anything but these! One didn't make the pictures because he ate it first thing in the morning. My kids love Chobani key lime yogurt so we filled one to try. It soothed his throat and he absolutely loved his frozen yogurt treat. We will definitely be making many more frozen yogurt Chobani treats in our LeanPops molds! 

 Wowza Watermelon 

• 1 cup cubed watermelon
• 1/3 cup of water

Blend in a NutriBullet or blender until smooth

Makes 2

Pineapple Express

• 1 cup pineapple
• 1/4 cup mango (3 slices)
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup of shredded carrot

Blend in a NutriBullet or blender until smooth

Makes 3

Blueberry Meet Banana

• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup of blueberries
• 1/4 cup of 2% milk (substitute milk of your choice)

Blend in a NutriBullet or blender until smooth

Makes 3

You can order your own by visiting www.LeanPops.com Mine are coming out of the dishwasher and getting refilled right away! Save $2 off of your July order.

Books to Belly: If You Give a Moose a Muffin & Yogurt Apple muffins

In my house, we are big fans of all Laura Numeroff books! IF YOU GIVE A MOOSE A MUFFIN is a great children's story about asking for something that leads into many, many other somethings…(moms relate now)! The little boy in the story starts off giving moose a muffin- but the moose wants jam on his muffin. The moose comes inside for some of the mom's homemade jam. He wants more once they are all gone so they head out to the store; however, the moose finds himself chilly and asks for a sweater. The loose button on the sweater reminds him of puppet socks his grandmother used to make so he asks the boy for some old socks. Of course with a puppet show, you'll need scenery! One thing leads to another and moose asks for more and more from the boy. 

IF YOU GIVE A MOOSE A MUFFIN is part of the If You Give…Book community , a group of animals and their human friends who laugh and play together, go to exciting places, celebrate holidays, and eat delicious treats. Another favorite of ours from this community is If You Give a Pig a Pancake. Trying new foods and eating healthily is such an important part of raising my children. I have found that being in the kitchen together has opened my kids up to doing just that. They love participating in the preparation of the foods they eat. Sometimes they love new foods, other times- they don't. I'll never know if they'll like something unless I try giving it to them. Our Books to Belly posts inspire picky pallets to try new foods while also promoting a love of reading. I cannot think of a better way to connect to a story - than with food! 

Of course with this story- we had to make muffins! These apple yogurt muffins are healthy and taste like little apple pies! They are absolutely delicious and taste like your eating something bad! 

Apple Yogurt Muffins

What you need

• 1 1/2 cups white whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbs. packed brown sugar, divided
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup chilled butter, divided
• 3/4 cup of plain nonfat Greek yogurt
• 1 egg
• 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into 1/4-in. cubes
• 1 Tbs. flax seed
• 1/2 cup rolled oats

What to do

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Spray muffin cups with non-stick spray (or line with paper liners). In a bowl, whisk flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.

2. Melt 1/4 cup butter. In a separate bowl, whisk together yogurt, egg, and melted butter. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients until just combined. Fold in apples; set aside. 

3. In a food processor, combine flax seeds, oats, and remaining butter and brown sugar. 

4. Fill muffin cups almost to the top. Sprinkle each with 1 tsp. of seed mixture. 

5. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool for 5 minutes.

Makes 12 muffins.
We hope your children love the muffins as much as they do the story! Enjoy!

Books to Belly: We're Going on a Bear Hunt & Trail Mix

The kids and I love a good trail mix. We make our own, mixing in our favorite healthy snacks. We make a big batch that's easily accessible- a great solution to grabbing a quick, healthy, satisfying snack on the go. You can even pre- bag it. We keep it simple by mixing up a granola, a nut, chocolate chips, and organic freeze dried yogurt bites. While making our latest batch, it reminded me of one of our favorite books, We're Going on a Bear Hunt. It was the perfect pairing with our trail mix.

We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury is about a family going on a hunt for a bear. On each page the family has to overcome different obstacles they come across in order to continue their hunt. As the family encounters each obstacle, they describe it by using sensory descriptions such as; long, wavy grass, a deep, cold river, thick, oozy mud, a big, dark forest, a swirling, whirling snowstorm, and a narrow, gloomy cave. By using a range of descriptive vocabulary, the reader can imagine themselves on a hunt. 

After reading the story, the kids and I threw on our jackets, grabbed our trail mix and set out for our very own hunt! Of course ours was not for a bear, so we completed the part of the story that is repeated throughout with our own animal we were hunting!

We're going on a squirrel hunt.
We're going to catch a big one.
It's a beautiful day!
We're not scared. 

Trail Mix

• 1 11oz bag of KIND or Bear Naked granola (I find the clusters bigger & easier to grab than other granolas-best for little hands)
• 1 bag of Happy Family Happy Yogis (look in the health/organic aisle in your supermarket)
• 1 cup of Hershey's mini milk chocolate chips
• 1 cup of cashews, almonds or nut of your choice

Happy hunting!!

Chocolate Covered Pretzels - in 10 minutes!

There are so many things you can do with these chocolate covered pretzels- besides eat them! They literally take 10 minutes from start to finish! Max helped line up the pretzels on the cookie tray. I asked him to make a pattern with the vanilla and chocolate. My little sous chef was very proud of himself!

Ingredients

• 1 bag of pretzel tiny twists (I used Rold Gold)
• 1 bag of Wilton candy melts in light cocoa
• 1 bag of Wilton candy melts in vanilla
• Wilton micro heart sprinkles

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°

Line up pretzels on a cookie sheet (parchment paper optional)

Place chocolate in the center of each pretzel

Put the pretzels in the oven for 2 minutes

Remove from oven and sprinkle on hearts

Let stand for 5 minutes

I wanted to give Valentine's Day gifts with a homemade twist, especially since Max helped make them. I bought mini ramekins and filled them with the pretzels.

I made some extra to use as cupcake toppers for Chloe's Valentine's Day party at school. She was very excited to sample one when she got home yesterday!

For the time these yummy pretzels take, the possibilities are endless. My friend Kelly first introduced them with M&M's in the center of the chocolate! I could not stop eating them! I filled a large mason jar with the extras…I'm sure they will not last very long!

                      Happy Valentine's Day!!

Yummy Mummy Marshmallow Treat

Seeing Chloe and Max's faces light up when they came home to these marsh-mummies was a treat in itself! They both love marshmallows so I kinda knew these easy Halloween treats would be a hit. I plan on making a batch for each of their classes fall festival celebrations - since I love seeing little faces light up so much!

I'm absolutely loving this fall. The weather, the festivities, the sweaters and boots, and of course-the food. I'm happy to be enjoying another season as much as I do summer! This is definitely a new found love for me- but I'm welcoming it with opened arms! The kids and I went pumpkin picking on a farm last week with friends. We went on a hay ride and fed some bunnies along with some other smelly animals! As much as I enjoyed myself, the city girl in me cannot handle smelly animals! Luckily there were also some good smells too, like that of roasted corn on the cob! The farm had it's own gourmet market that had many yummy things to buy such as zucchini chips and butternut squash & apple soup. My friend Gina and I shared a fresh mozzarella panini with balsamic reduction that was pretty darn good! The market is where I got the inspiration for these marsh-mummies.  It was a great day with friends and my favorite little peeps! 

Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins

I'm a summer girl at heart. I love the beach, not wearing a jacket or having to bundle up the kids, and of course, flip-flops! My feet were seriously rejecting my boots the first day I wore them last week! However, fall...you had me at pumpkin! I embrace the fall by indulging in the many pumpkin-y treats this season has to offer. 

I like Chloe and Max to come home to a healthy after school snack. They both come have ravenous, as if they haven't eaten in days! This is when I introduce something new- giving them little choice to decline! Who would turn down a muffin served by a spider waiter anyway?

I wanted to make a healthier pumpkin muffin. I try to sneak wheat germ into anything I can because it's such a superfood. I used oatmeal instead of flour. Oats are low in fat, and are sodium free, cholesterol free, and preservative free. Oats add fiber, texture and a mild nutty flavor to baked goods. I had semi-sweet chocolate chips in the house and I knew the kids would definitely be more open to eating anything with chocolate!

Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins

• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup applesauce (I use Mott's Medleys because it has blended vegetables in it)
• 1/2 cup of plain yogurt
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/3 cup of old fashioned oats
• 1/3 cup of wheat germ
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbs pumpkin butter (optional)
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Line your muffin pans with cupcake baking cups- or spray the muffin pan with non-stick spray

Blend all the ingredients until mixture is smooth

Fill approximately 14/15 muffins with mixture

Bake 25 minutes or until tops are brown

These are even better the next day- so if you can, bake ahead! These don't just make for a great after school snack, they make a great breakfast as well!

Ghost Toast & Three Little Ghosties- Books to Belly Halloween Edition!

I bought these awesome ghost and bat cookie cutters to fulfill all of my quirky food fantasies for the kiddies! Target has lots of great Halloween goodies that make this time of year that much more fun. 

On our last trip to the library, the kids chose some books, one of them being Three Little Ghosties. Upon finishing their burnt toasties, the three little ghosties set off to scare some girlsies and boyses but their plan doesn't exactly work out for them! How much trouble can three harmless little ghosts get into in one night? Plenty! Maybe they are hanging around my house! 

We read our story before our breakfast of Ghost Toast which I made with fluff and peanut butter dotted eyes. You can also use cream cheese and dot jelly eyes. The bats are made with Nutella and I dotted the eyes with fluff. The kids ate this up like the ghosties were coming! 

Today was a perfect Books to Belly day. Both kids were home sick so it was a nice little reading activity to do with them. Chloe and Max enjoyed eating their ghost toasties while trying to scare one another like the ghosts in the story! Nothing like making connections! 

I hope your lil guys & ghouls enjoy this Halloween edition of Books to Belly!! 

Mummy Dogs- Revamped!

When I made these mummy dogs last Fall, Max was eating turkey and chicken hot dogs. As the seasons change, so does that of a newly 4 year olds palette! 

Once he had the taste of a beef hot dog, he wasn't going back. I don't mind him eating them at an occasional BBQ- however, I'm not giving them to him at home. I bought Applegate organic hot dogs because they are all natural, have no nitrates and are hormone free. They are also less fattening than your average hot dog. If he's eating a hot dog, I feel better giving him these!

Max absolutely loves mummy dogs! He was so excited when I gave him his lunch in it's little coffin! He was cracking up when he opened it up! You can buy the coffin at Michaels for $1.00! 

Mummy Dogs

• 1 package of Applegate hot dogs
• Pillsbury crescent rolls
• mustard

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Line a cookie sheet wit tin foil (no spray)
• Take crescent rolls out one at a time and cut into 1 inch strips with a kitchen scissor
• Wrap crescent rolls around the hot dog- there is no rhyme or reason to wrapping!
• Bake for 18-20 minutes 
• Let the dogs cool 5 minutes before dotting on mustard eyes! 

These are so simple - yet, so much fun! Enjoy!!!!


                  

                           

Healthier Whole Wheat Pancakes

Looking for healthier pancake? These are infused with sweet potato and wheat germ! Not only are sweet potatoes readily available, inexpensive, and delicious, there are many other reasons to love them! They are high in vitamin B6, they are a great source of vitamins C & D, they contain iron, magnesium, potassium, and are high in carotenoids like beta carotene. 

I added wheat germ because it is an excellent source of so many essential vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats. It's considered to be one of the top ten healthiest foods! Because of its health benefits, I add it into anything I can such as oatmeal, yogurt, cereal, smoothies...I even mix it into breadcrumbs. The best thing, the kids have no idea! 

I adapted Gina's recipe from Skinnytaste.com by adding in my little extras. Max is a pancake fanatic- but not so much a veggie fanatic, so I have to get veggies in him whenever hiding them is a possibility! You cannot even see the sweet potato in the pancakes- no detection of veggies= happy Max & happy Mama!

            Healthier Whole Wheat Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups organic whole wheat flour (Bob's Red Mill)
• 4 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 2 tsp of cinnamon
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups + 2 tbsp fat free milk
• 2 tsp vanilla
• cooking spray
• 2 tbsp wheat germ
• 1/3 cup of sweet potato (baked)

Directions:

Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Add wet ingredients to the mixing bowl and mix well with a spoon. 

I use a large electric griddle - so many pancakes can cook at once so cooking time is reduced! Spray your pan and pour on batter according to whatever size pancakes you like. Flip pancakes once you see bubbles. 

We read two books to accompany our breakfast. The first, If You Give A Pig A Pancake by Laura Numeroff. The second, The Hungry Thing by Jan Slepian and Ann Seidler. 

If You Give A Pig A Pancake is close in comparison to daily life as a mommy. If you give your kid a pancake, they will surely ask for syrup...once they have the syrup- of course they'll need a fork.. and a drink... and a napkin!!! The little girl managing all of the pigs requests is exhausted by the end of the story- I feel ya girl!

The Hungry Thing is an adorable story that gets your children thinking! What exactly does the Hungry Thing want to eat? Shmancakes...and tickles...and feetloaf...and gollipops of course! Chloe loved guessing it was pancakes, pickles, meatloaf, and lollipops just to name a few. She was quicker than Max in the guessing department but he enjoyed the story just the same! 

Happy hiding & even happier eating!

Books to Belly: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

We might be experiencing a heat wave here in New York this week- my prediction? Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs! 

In the town of Chewandswallow, the people get their meals by simply stepping outdoors! I'm ready to pack up and move! However, things get rather sticky (literally!) when the weather becomes unpredictable showering down syrup that floods the streets and pancakes that cover houses. The meatballs were so dangerously large that the towns people had to up and move in fear of their lives. Maybe hamburgers falling from the sky instead of rain isn't so great after all!

Chloe and I  agreed that our turkey meatballs would be a perfect accompaniment to the story Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. She has seriously become my little sous chef! She's even asking for cooking lessons!

I use ground turkey opposed to beef not only because it's healthier, because I like the taste better and honestly- they taste just as great. My Italian dad loves them!

Turkey Meatballs

• 1.3 lbs lean ground turkey (shady brook farms)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp parsley
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350.

Line a baking pan with tin foil and spray with non-stick spray.

Mix all the ingredients together in a big bowl.

Roll turkey into balls (not tight) and place on tin. 

Bake for 30 minutes.

If you're making sauce, cook meatballs in sauce for another 20 minutes.

Chloe ate 2 meatballs for lunch after she helped make them today! We read Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs prior to making our lunch and discussed all of the food we would love to fall from the sky while we waited to eat. Ice cream, oreos, pizza and empanadas like Grandmas were a few!

Making these connections between reading and food have been so much fun. Chloe is enjoying cooking as much as the literature...and I am loving spending this special time with Chloe. 

Creating meals based on children's literature not only helps you connect to your child, but also helps your child make connections to the text- a very important part of being a good reader. This is also an excellent way to get picky eaters to try new foods! I hope you are enjoying Books to Belly as much as we are!

Baked "Cupcake" Eggs

Making the right food choices is a constant battle for me. I love carbs- especially pizza! Ive learned that working out alone doesn't do it for my body. Exercise and diet go hand in hand for me. When I am being really good, I get in this zone that puts me in this mindset that certain foods, like pizza, are not an option...not even the crust that Max leaves on his plate!  I still make the kids the foods they like, I've just conditioned myself to stay away from them. Yes, its hard- but very worth it. 

I am human and do fall off the foodie wagon! Last week between all of the BBQ's and extracurricular activities I partook in, I ate and drank like it was nobodies business...but I'm paying for it with my fluffiness! I'll work extra hard this week by paying close attention to what I put in my mouth and bring out the she beast at the gym! I did a run on Saturday and a spin class on Sunday to start the process. 

In my house, breakfast is our favorite meal. I should seriously consider housing a chicken- that's how many eggs we go through! I happily cook up eggs in the morning because of the protein they offer. When my kids were toddlers, I would whip up spinach and cheese omelette's and they would gobble them up along side me. As they grew and got pickier, spinach in eggs were no longer an option- for them. For me, I love throwing some greens into my eggs. Instead of making two batches of eggs, I utilize my cupcake pan to make every one's breakfast to their liking. 

I use my 2 cup measuring cup to crack the eggs and to mix them up (I despise dishes!). It's also much easier pouring them into the cupcake pan using this. 

Ingredients

• 6 eggs (makes 8 cupcake eggs)
• 1/2 cup of 2% milk (or whatever you have)
• salt & pepper to taste
• American cheese (shredded or diced)
• asparagus (I used 3)
• goat cheese (crumbled)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk your eggs with the milk. 

Spray the cupcake pan with non-stick spray. Right now, I'm loving Trader Joe's coconut oil spray. There's no fat, no calories, no sodium, sugar or carbs! 

Fill your pan with the eggs starting with halfway then fill more with the remaining eggs.

Top off four of the eggs with American cheese. As well as cracking and whisking the eggs, Chloe and Max assist with topping off their eggs. I feel like this gives them ownership of their meal, making them want to eat their creation. 

Top off the other four with asparagus and goat cheese. 

Bake for 18-20 minutes. Check them at 18 by sticking a fork in. If the fork is clean, take them out- just like real cupcakes! If the fork has egg on it, leave them in for the 20. 

I made biscuits with the eggs that I didn't eat! I had a small bowl of Kashi cereal on the side. Making simple changes like this will help pounds come off and your body healthier. This is an easy way to prepare something for your family that everyone can eat at the same time. Alter your ingredients to your liking and to switch things up.

Books to Belly; Dragons Love Tacos & Shrimp Tacos

Forget dinner and a movie- dinner and a book is way better! 

It wasn't hard getting inspiration to create a meal based on the children's book Dragons Love Tacos!  Much like my family, the way to a dragons heart is always through his stomach! 

Chloe and Max chose Dragons Love Tacos at our local library and I immediately knew we had to have tacos to accompany the story! 

Creating a meal based around a children's book is a great way to promote a love of reading over the summer. Part of being a good reader is making connections to what you are reading. What better way to connect to a story than through food! Its also an excellent way to introduce new foods to your children and get picky eaters to try new ones. 

I read the story before preparing our shrimp tacos. Chloe and Max loved hearing why dragons love eating tacos so much. They especially enjoyed checking off the ingredients dragons love in their tacos because we were including most of the same in ours. We were very careful not to include the one ingredient dragons should never have in their tacos (anything spicy) because we do not like spicy either!

I truly enjoyed this time with my children. I cannot wait to select the next book with Chloe and Max and cook a meal together. Chloe loves to help in the kitchen and I hope through this, she will love reading just as much.

I look forward to sharing more "Books to Belly" posts with you and your families! 

                                                                                 

Shrimp Tacos

• 2 pounds of shrimp (feeds 4)
• taco shells (hard or soft- or both if you want to get crazy!!!)
• lettuce
• tomato
• avocado (optional)
• shredded Mexican cheese (I use Sargento Mexican blend)
• reduced fat sour cream (optional)
• Margie's all natural mango herb & garlic marinade for the shrimp.

Cook shrimp until pink throughout. I did ours in a pan on the stove. You can grill them on the BBQ as well. 


Involve the kids by having them assemble the ingredients in a platter. Before heating the pan, I had Chloe scoop the shrimp into the pan and clean the celery in the sink.

Breakfast S'mores

We kicked off the first day of summer in our house with S'mores for breakfast- no flame required! I mixed the summertime staple with classic French Toast and created a tiny miracle! If you think this looks good, wait until you taste it! 

First step is making your French Toast. You can even prepare it the night before and warm before serving. I use quinoa bread (pronounced keen-wah) from Trader Joe's. Known for its amazing nutritional value, quinoa is high in protein and iron and low in fat. Max and I love this bread. Chloe needs some convincing at times but had no trouble getting down her breakfast S'mores and actually asked for more! 

Ingredients:

• Sliced bread of your choice ( I use the quinoa to boost the nutritional value)
• Eggs
• Milk
• Cinnamon
• Nutella
• Fluff
• Graham Crackers

For my French Toast, I mix a little milk in eggs and sprinkle cinnamon directly into the mixture. After the French Toast is cooked, let it cool a bit and cut a circle out of each piece using a glass. My kids don't eat the crust so making everything crustless here has become second nature! If your kids eat the crust- you can leave the bread whole.

While the French Toast cools, take 2-3 graham crackers and grind them in your food processor. I use a magic bullet. 

Take your circle and spread on the Nutella. If the French Toast is too hot, it will melt off- same for the Fluff. 

Fluff is hard to work with. I took a snack sized Ziploc bag, cut off the tip, and spooned in the Fluff. I then squeezed it on top of the Nutella in a circular motion.

Finally, sprinkle the graham crackers on top of the Fluff!

I hope your family loves this breakfast as much as mine! It is something simple that your kids will love so much. 

Enjoy you summer...and your Breakfast S'mores!

Fourth of July Shrimp Skewers

Forgive me Father, for I have sinned....it's been over 2 months since my last blog post! My kitchen remodel has kept me from cooking! With Fourth of July around the corner, I wanted to make these fun Fourth of July star spangled shrimp skewers for Chloe (my little shrimp lover)! You can't get any more patriotic than star shaped food! I wanted an alternative to meat which Chloe hardly eats. I will be bringing these to many a BBQ over the holiday weekend! 

I used my Pampered Chef cookie cutters to cut the red bell peppers into stars. Perfect Fourth of July food...and easy too!

I saved the remaining pepper to cut up in a salad. You can also save them to make fajitas, sausage and peppers or an add in for your morning omelet.

Fourth of July Shrimp Skewers

1 1/2 pounds of extra large jumbo shrimp

1 tablespoon of olive oil

salt & pepper (to taste)

1/2 teaspoon of Adobo (found in Spanish aisle)

Add shrimp to a bowl and mix in the olive oil. Add salt, pepper and Adobo. Mix 

well. I let them marinade for at least an hour. 

While shrimp marinades, soak your wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes to prevent burning. 

I grilled them on my indoor grill on 350 until they were pink throughout. If you are cooking them on the BBQ, you can lay foil down to prevent burning. Chloe will not eat anything from the grill if it has char marks or "black" as she refers to it! Watch them carefully- they cook quickly. 

Try these with chicken or steak, whichever your children prefer! They will definitely love the pepper stars!

        Happy Fourth of July from my little star to yours!

Jelly Ring Overnight Oats

Overnight oats make breakfast a breeze! Prepare the night before and simply take from fridge to table. The oats are filling and satisfying and you can switch it up daily with different mix-ins. The yogurt is protein, probiotic & calcium packed and will give the kiddies enough energy to last them to lunchtime. 

Chloe likes playing chef and the oats are simple enough for her to do so. For this combination, we wanted to create a chocolaty mix for the morning so we went with vanilla Chobani mixed with Nutella! My kids feel as though they are eating such a special treat while getting all the healthy benefits of this breakfast.

For the kids, I choose to use a bowl opposed to a jar because it's easier for them to eat out of. It's also easier for Chloe to prepare breakfast in a bowl rather in a mason jar. If you use a bowl, cover with clear wrap.

Jelly Ring Overnight Oats

• 1/2 cup of oats
• 1/2 cup of vanilla almond milk (you can use milk of your choice)
• 1/4 cup of vanilla Chobani
• 1 tablespoon of Nutella   
• 1 teaspoon of raspberry jam (top off in the morning)      

Mix your oats and milk together.

Mix the yogurt and Nutella together until Nutella is completely blended.

Scoop the yogurt/nutella mixture on top of oats and store in the fridge until breakfast time.    

Leftover yogurt/Nutella mixture? Save to scoop up with strawberries or spread it over a banana for a midday or after school snack.                           

Fruity Frozen Yogurt Pops!

Recipe and photo from The National Honey Board 

How awesome do these look? Mine did not come out as pretty or tri-colored! I made them with a refreshing after school snack in mind. The first few weeks back to school are hot and Chloe's school has no air conditioning- so I figured it would be nice for her to come home to something cold and tasty!

She absolutely loved them and ate two!

 These pops are super easy to make! A perfectly healthy after school snack for your little honey!

 

                

                   Fruity Frozen Yogurt Pops

Makes 8 servings

• 1 cup fresh, ripe nectarines, pineapple, or strawberries, chopped
• 1-1/2 cups plain yogurt
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 8 paper cups (3 oz.) and popsicle sticks or plastic spoons

In a blender, combine all ingredients; mix well. Pour into eight (3 oz.) paper cups; insert popsicle sticks or plastic spoon in center of each. Freeze 4 hours or until solidly frozen.

 

 

 

I should be embarrassed to even show mine! They tasted good- I swear!