I CAN’T LIE TO YOU. These aren’t exactly “healthy” Halloween treats for kids. But they’re not so bad for you–or the kiddies–either. Low in sugar, full of pumpkin and even chia seeds, the main culprit here is that deliciously buttery pie crust. But the serving size is so small that I think we can get…
10-minute no bake chocolate, fruit & nut balls
THESE HEALTHY SNACKS TOOK 10 MINUTES to make, even with my three “helpers” on hand. That’s not my favorite thing about these no bake balls though. With 4-5 ingredients and instructions like “roll”, even two-year-old Estelle could easily get in on the action. But, nope. That’s not the best part either. I love this new…
homemade strawberry cereal bars with whole oats
I’VE TRIED TO MAKE BARS LIKE THESE BEFORE. A bunch of times. The results were too thick, too crumbly or just not flavorful enough. This time we got it right. Look out Nutrigrain bars, we’ve got a homemade version that’s fresher, less expensive and even yummier.
peach crisp so good (and good for you) you’ll eat it for breakfast too
IF YOU WANT TO SCORE POINTS WITH THE RASCALS, serve them dessert for breakfast. Make it this dessert and you won’t even have to feel weird about it. It’s basically fresh fruit, oats, nuts, a little honey and yep, wheat germ.
zucchini chocolate chip breakfast cookies
YEP, ZUCCHINI. Barbara Kingsolver wrote in her amazing book, “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle”, about the windfall of zucchini she had after planting her first garden. They had piles of the stuff everywhere, on every surface of the kitchen. That’s when her daughter decided to get drastic. Bake them into cookies, she said. And that’s just what…
just add almond meal. a new (healthier) chocolate chip cookie recipe!
LIKE CAKE, COOKIES CAN ONLY BE SO “HEALTHY”. And that’s not really the point of them anyway. A treat is a treat, but with all the birthday parties and special celebrations going on during any given week, most of us are deeper in the throes of “cupcake creep” than we want to be. Enter the…
Chocolate Fudge Pops with Bananas & Avocado
WE HAD A LITTLE PREVIEW OF SUMMER for a while, and when the sun came out, we made these. To our chocolate-avocado-banana pudding, we added honey and milk then froze the whole thing in Popsicle molds. The taste is rich and creamy and the ingredients are only good for you.
flourless black bean chocolate cake. yep. We
I HAVE A LIST OF TOP 5 FOODS. In fact, on one of our first dates, I asked Paul about his. With a sort of deer-in-the-headlights look, he shrugged and explained that he didn’t have such a list (he politely left out saying anything like “because I’m not 9”). No matter. Mine, I announced, were:…
strawberry lemonade tiramisu, a dessert recipe from “The Yummy Mummy Kitchen”
SPRING, MEET A DESSERT MADE IN YOUR HONOR. Fresh from the pages of *The Yummy Mummy Kitchen, a beautiful kid-friendly cookbook, and the same one that we just happen to be giving two copies away (hint: enter now!), I’m delighted to share this pretty little treat by Marina Delio. So simple to prepare–it’s mostly stacking–I…
3 low-sugar pudding ideas for kids
PUDDING, I’VE LEARNED, CAN MEAN MANY THINGS. Especially when you’re cooking low-sugar stuff for kids. Here are three recipes we’ve tried: one’s beloved, another so-so and one big ol’ miss.
Little Bit o’Spinach Shortbread Cookies for St. Patrick’s Day
OUR KIDS HAVE BEEN MISBEHAVING. I’m sure this never happens at your house, but this has been one of those weeks. We’ve had a whining, crying, tantrum-throwing, Pull-Up-removing time of it for days now. But this morning when Paul and I mentioned working toward a picnic dinner at the playground tonight, as in, we only…
Lower-sugar, lower-fat golden yam brownies (An Allrecipes.com makeover)
THIS REQUEST CAME IN FROM ALASKA. Tricia, who is a mom to three boys living waaay up north, sent me a link via Facebook to these decadent treats with a healthy sounding name, Golden Yam Brownies on Allrecipes. She asked if I could do a healthier makeover. “My family LOVES it but it’s loaded with…
coconut milk and chia seed no-cook, no-sugar pudding
THEY LOVE THIS STUFF. I’m shocked and amazed myself, but our girls do. I’d been hearing about the health benefits of chia seeds for years–fiber, omega fatty acids, calcium, antioxidants and protein–but in Italy, if it ain’t the stuff that mama made, it ain’t available. At least not in my grocery store. (The Italians are…
diy dark chocolate truffles
THESE WERE A DISASTER. A delicious disaster, but nonetheless. I decided to update Heidi Swanson’s No-Bake Chocolate Cake to give it a kid-friendly spin. It turns out that a recipe basically made of pure chocolate doesn’t actually need a spin. Except for the part where the debilitating sugar crash ends the activity in tears. See: disaster…
low sugar coconut cookies (a 101 cookbooks makeover)
WE KNEW THEY WERE GOING TO BE HEALTHY, because this cookie recipe was inspired by 101 Cookbooks. But we’re all pleasantly surprised to know they’re tasty too. (And when I say “we” I mean Phoebe and Estelle who keep hanging out by the little blue storage bin, longingly.) With a quarter of the sugar you’d usually…
baked apple chips with cinnamon sugar
I’M PRETTY SURE THIS IS WHAT HEAVEN SMELLS LIKE. Sweet apples slowly roasting in the oven, the scent of cinnamon swirling in the air… I enjoyed the amazing aroma almost as much as the moment I handed our kids a bowl full of low-sugar, full-flavor apple chips…and they loved them!
Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins (With Beans!) 2 Ways
Don’t stop reading yet. I made chocolate pumpkin muffins with beans. A full can of beans. And they’re awesome. This breakfast was originally a dessert, similar to our chocolate cake with beans, but if there’s an option to wake up to chocolate I have only one thing to say: yes, please! Our muffins are packed…
Individual plum crisps (a Barefoot Contessa recipe makeover)
WE’VE DONE SOMETHING LIKE THIS BEFORE. Last summer a friend appeared on our door, bag in hand overflowing with juicy purple plums. We combined them with a few berries for a family-style dessert at a friend’s summer rental. This time we got our own plums and this time they were yellow. And this time, I…
Peanut butter chocolate chip pie
FOR PAUL’S BIRTHDAY I made a decadent dessert inspired by Dorie Greenspan’s Chocolate Peanut Butter Torte. But because I didn’t have quite everything on her shopping list available in Italy, I adapted it to suit my supermarket. The result was delicious and if I wasn’t trying to transform myself from a formerly pregnant person into…
Snap, crackle, fun! 3 last-minute food ideas for the 4th of July
4th of July Layered Drinks from In Katrina’s Kitchen EVEN THOUGH WE’RE IN ITALY where the 4th of July only means George’s first month birthday (and that’s only at our house), I couldn’t resist showing off some of these buy valtrex online it no prescription adorable Independence Day ideas from my favorite blogs. Here’s to…