It doesn’t get much sweeter than these mummy fruit pies for Halloween! With only a couple of ingredients, you can turn pie crust and fresh fruit into the breakfast, lunch or dessert of your kids’ dreams. Is it necessary to make special treats like this? Nope! But it’s fun. For me, for the kids, and…
Jack-o-Lantern Fruit Cups
You know those cute Halloween breakfast ideas you see on Pinterest? The ones that seem SO easy, then turn out to be as hard as convincing your three-year-old that it’ll be faster if you just buckle her carseat? This is not one of them. After testing out the idea, I have good news. These adorable…
Pumpkin Pie Breakfast Cookies with Whole Oats
What happens when you combine our favorite Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Zucchini Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies? The perfect fall breakfast: Pumpkin Pie Breakfast Cookies with Whole Oats. Just throw everything together in one big mixing bowl, bake and bam. A gluten-free, make-ahead breakfast that’s not too sweet but boy is it satisfying. My eight-year-old called…
Corn Chowder with a Healthy Twist: Our Kids Call it “Rainbow Chowder”
That’s right, a healthier version of corn chowder with all the creamy goodness, plus a ton of fresh vegetables. What’s special about this corn chowder with a healthy twist Instead of cups of cream, we use chicken stock plus a cup of milk. But don’t worry! It’s still really creamy, thanks to those naturally starchy…
A healthy breakfast recipe for busy mornings: Make-ahead egg sandwiches with the works!
What’s the secret/only hope for a healthy breakfast recipe on busy school days? A make-ahead breakfast sandwich like this one and a healthy drink to go with it like ORANGINA. For our favorite new healthy breakfast recipe, starts with leftover roasted vegetables. This could be roasted cauliflower. Or oven roasted broccoli. Sauteed spinach would be…
Make-Ahead Turkey Pesto Meatball Pockets
As the mom of four kids, here is one thing I believe: Making dinner doesn’t always have to be so hard. Because sometimes it is. So hard. The problem with managing a household full of four small kids is that I have all these Pinterest-y ideas about how our lives should work. I picture it…
Baked Turkey Pesto Meatballs (AKA Magical Pesto Meatballs!)
What makes these baked turkey pesto meatballs magical? Like our mac & cheese by the same name, it’s all the veggies that are built right in. That’s the magic. What makes these baked turkey pesto meatballs special Our meatballs are baked, not fried. So you pop one pan into the oven and never once worry…
The Easy Breakfast Peach Crisp Your Kids Will Sit Quietly and Eat Without Fighting, Ever
Just kidding. This breakfast peach crisp IS delicious. And just happens to be filled with good-for-you ingredients. But I have four small kids and it’s rare that they sit down for breakfast without mayhem swirling in behind them. Someone spills their drink. Someone touches someone else’s chair. You know. You’ve fed kids in the morning….
12 Easy Spinach Recipes Kids Like (Adults, Too!)
Spinach recipes kids like! Sounds like an oxymoron, right? Trust me, as a mom of four kids, it’s felt that way sometimes. But now we’ve tried, tested and eaten our way through SO MANY spinach recipes that I’m sharing my keepers with you here. Here are a few of our very favorite, tried-and-true, even-the-kids-like-them spinach…
Magical Mac & Cheese Cups (with Pureed Sweet Potato + Cauliflower Baked Right In!)
What’s the best lunch for kids? Leftover dinner. Especially when you can transform a crowd pleaser like Magical Mac & Cheese into…Magical Mac & Cheese Cups in minutes. Start with the basic recipe for Magical Mac & Cheese, which happens to include as much veggies as it does cheese, and add three quick things: 2…
Sheet Pan Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Vegetables: A 25-Minute Meal Full of Flavor
Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Smithfield® Marinated Fresh Pork. The opinions and text are all mine. You know those videos that kept popping up on Facebook a while ago? The ones with hearty European kids racing through the woods during a whole day spent outside with axes? Everyone has ruddy cheeks and…
Magical Mac & Cheese With Hidden Veggies in a Creamy Cheese Sauce
This is the best mac and cheese I’ve ever made. Kids love it. Parents feel good about serving it. And for those two reasons, I call it magical. With just a handful of ingredients, it’s possible to whip up a comfort food favorite like mac and cheese that just happens to be full of vegetables….
How to Roast Frozen Cauliflower (That No One Can Resist!)
Yes, you can roast frozen cauliflower. For everyone who doesn’t like vegetables — and those who live with (or parent) them — this recipe is for you. In fact, if you try cooking ONE NEW vegetable this year, make it roasted frozen cauliflower. How to make roasted cauliflower from a bag of frozen cauliflower The…
Pancakes To Go! 2 Kinds of Sheet Pan Pancakes + 3 Simple Ways to Make Any Mix Healthier & Tastier
With after-school activities breathing down my neck coming up, I’m experimenting with tons of healthy snacks. Portable snacks. Really just any good snack for kids that will stay with them until dinner. And somehow I arrived here. At pancakes. But these are not just your average pancakes. You can bake TWO WHOLE PANS of these…
Taco Pop-Tarts
That’s right. These are a mash-up of tacos and Pop-Tarts. You can make them out of store-bought pie crust or make your own crust. They can be vegetarian or meaty. Or in our case, both. The whole thing can be served for lunch or dinner but if you’re looking for a hearty snack full of…
Our New Favorite Healthy Snack for Kids: Chocolate Chip Oat Cups with Cranberries
I’m always looking for new ideas when it comes to healthy snacks for kids. And starting this fall, those healthy snacks need to be portable. Because I caved. Three of my four kids are starting after-school activities this year. Between two dance classes and one after-school basketball program, the next nine months will basically be…
Week 3: 5 Healthy Lunches Kids Can Pack Themselves with Eggs & Mini Mozzarella Balls
This year we started a new strategy for school lunches. It’s called “3 Small Kids Pack Their Own Lunches, Even the Kindergartener”. Subtitle: “So Mommy Doesn’t Go Crazy.” Guess how it’s going? Surprisingly well! In this third installment, we’ve got a week’s worth of healthy lunch ideas, focusing on two main ingredients: mini mozzarella balls…
The Healthy Snack My Kids Keep Asking For Again (and Again): Blueberry Blast Apple Pan Fritters
You only need three ingredients for these blueberry blast apple pan fritters. That’s it. Blueberries. Flour. Applesauce. Combine those three things and you’ll have a healthy snack I made for the kids three times today. The idea was recipe testing but I’ll tell you this: Even after eating three batches, they still wanted more. Score!…
5 Healthy School Lunches Kids Can Make Themselves (With Chicken Breasts & Sausage)
You guys, I was so tired of packing lunches. And school hadn’t even started again yet. So this year I’m trying something different. It’s called Kids Pack Their Own Lunches. We’re on Week 2. It works like this: On the weekend I cut up 5-6 kinds of fruit and veggies and store them on a…
Super Strawberry Fritters
These 3-ingredient strawberry fritters say welcome to the weekend. With fewer items to add than regular ol’ pancakes, they’re packed full of flavor–and practically all fruit so you don’t even need syrup. Like our blueberry-apple version, these easy fritters make healthy finger foods for babies and toddlers, not to mention a no-sugar snack for any…