Double-Pumpkin Muffins

September 8, 2020Leave a comment

Double Pumpkin Muffins (3)

These are easily the biggest muffins I’ve ever baked at home. Loaded with vitamins and minerals, they’re sure to fuel kids through the transition back to school and can easily carry them from breakfast until snack break.

Ingredients:

3 and 1/2 cups flour
2 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup sugar
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
1 tablespoon flaxseed
3 tablespoons cold water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Scant 1 and 1/2 cups soy milk
2 Ener-G eggs
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

In a large bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
In a second bowl, whisk together the sugar and pumpkin.
Whisk the flaxseed into the cold water and let stand for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, pour the lemon juice into a liquid measuring cup. Add the soy milk to equal 1 and 1/2 cups and let stand for 5 minutes.
Add the flax mixture, soy milk mixture, and Ener-G eggs to the sugar mixture, whisking to combine.
Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, stirring just until combined.
Divide the batter among 12 oiled muffin cups. The cups will be very full. Sprinkle evenly with the pumpkin seeds, pressing in lightly into the better.
Bake at 375 degrees F for 24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool before serving.

Double Pumpkin Muffins (2)

A is for Apple Smoothie

September 8, 2020Leave a comment

A is for Apple Smoothie

Playing off the old teacher-and-apple theme, you’ll get kids off on the right foot on a school morning with this nutrition-packed smoothie.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup baby spinach
1/4 cup fresh mint
1/2 Granny Smith apple, chopped
1 banana
1 tablespoon agave nectar

Combine the almond milk, water, spinach, and mint in a blender; process until smooth.
Add the apple, banana, and agave; process until combined.
Divide among two glasses and serve.

Blueberry and Banana Yogurt

September 2, 20201 Comment

Blueberry Banana Yogurt (2)

Here’s an instant upgrade over a standard cup of yogurt in the morning!

Ingredients:

1 banana
2 (5-ounce) non-dairy blueberry yogurts
1/2 cup rice cereal

Divide the banana evenly among two bowls and mash with a fork.
Add 5 ounces yogurt to each bowl, and stir in 1/4 cup rice cereal.

Taco Dinner

August 27, 2020Leave a comment

Taco Dinner (2)

This recipe is perfect for the whole family because it can be adapted to suit everyone’s tastes, from little toddlers to the grown-ups!

Ingredients:

1 pound meatless crumbles (such as Gardein)
1 cup frozen corn
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 cup shredded non-dairy cheddar
Hard taco shells

To prepare the filling, heat the meatless crumbles and corn in a skillet coated with cooking spray for 8 to 10 minutes, until the crumbles are lightly browned.
Meanwhile, prepare the taco spice: in a small bowl, stir together the chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, cumin, paprika, and salt.
Remove any portion of the filling for family members who don’t want spice (e.g. my kids!). Add the taco spice to the skillet with the rest of the filling.
Warm taco shells according to package directions. Serve with the filling, tomatoes and cheddar shreds.

My 1st grader loves the filling stuffed into taco shells with lots of cheese, but omits the tomato.

Meanwhile I serve a sort of deconstructed version to my toddler with the taco shell broken into “chips”, cheese on the side, and a mixture of crumbles, corn, and tomato on her plate.

Taco Dinner (3)

And the grown-ups get spicy tacos with all the fixings!

Taco Dinner (1)

Hummus & Mango Sandwich

August 26, 2020Leave a comment

Hummus Mango Sandwich (1)

You can introduce new flavors in kid-friendly sandwich form with this fun, easy lunch. It’s a great one for school lunchboxes, if you’ll be packing those up again soon!

Ingredients:

2 slices whole wheat bread
1 tablespoon hummus
Mango slices

Spread the hummus on one of the bread slices. Top evenly with thin mango slices to taste (you’ll probably want about 1/8 cup per sandwich).
Top with the remaining bread slice, and cut into triangles to serve.

Hummus Mango Sandwich (2)

Little Passports: India

August 23, 2020August 23, 2020Leave a comment

LP India (12)

Travis has Indian heritage on his father’s side, so he was especially excited to receive this package from Little Passports! It was a great chance to learn more about the culture. The booklet was, unfortunately, advanced for a 1st grader, involving tricky patterns to find and solving for missing letters in an Indian menu.

LP India (3)

But he enjoyed monthly activities like adding stickers to his passport and world map, and coloring in India’s flag.

Souvenir:

Luckily, the souvenir hit it out of the park; you can’t go wrong with a stuffed animal! That’s exactly the surprise that was waiting inside, an adorable Bengal tiger to represent India’s national animal.

Further Activities:

From here, we headed over to the web where there were additional fun activities like a sort of “hidden pictures” image of hennaed hands.

LP India (5)

Travis was so proud to spot the sitar, lotus flower, and more! This was intricate to color in, and a great mommy-son project.

LP India (4)

There was also a recipe for Holi powder. A note of caution: this project was not only messy, but also didn’t work for us. In a bowl, stir together 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup water. The instructions said we should have a thick paste, but we had more of a sticky dough. Add drops of food coloring, use a rolling pin to flatten into a disc, then let dry overnight.

LP India (9)

Because the mixture is so sticky, I added additional flour, which may have been part of the problem. I also tried to contain the sticky mess in plastic wrap, which may have been an additional problem. Needless to say, our “paint powder” didn’t dry out, and we really only had a sticky pile to try and crumble with mortar and pestle the next morning.

LP India (13)

If this works for you, please share in the comments!

Luckily, the final project, this month’s add-on from Little Passports, was a mandala art kit that Travis quite enjoyed.

LP India (8)

He was thrilled watching me demonstrate how to make patterns on the provided circular paper, and then loved making up mandala designs in his own way.

LP India (6)

The kit comes with sparkly gel markers and he adored the colors, following along the lines with them, and then shading in. These make lovely gifts!

Recipe:

We finished with dessert, a riff on the Indian frozen treat of kulfi. Grind up shelled pistachios in a food processor ahead of time, and then the rest of this recipe will come together in a flash.

Ingredients:

2 (11-ounce) cans sweetened condensed coconut milk
1 cup non-dairy creamer
2 teaspoons cardamom
1/2 cup ground pistachios

Stir together all the ingredients in a large bowl.
Pour the mixture into Popsicle molds (or paper cups with craft sticks inserted in the center). Freeze until firm.

Kulfi (2)

These hadn’t quite frozen all the way for us by dessert, but we spooned into the molds like it was a dish of ice cream – yum!

Kulfi (4)

Pinto Bean Roll-Ups

August 18, 2020Leave a comment

Pinto Bean Roll Ups (3)

Cut tortillas into slices for this fun pinwheel-shaped sandwich. You can leave the carrots and cabbage raw for older kids, or steam lightly before putting the roll-ups together for younger toddlers.

Ingredients:

2 flour tortillas
1/4 cup refried pinto beans
1/4 cup shredded carrots
1/4 cup shredded cabbage

Warm the refried beans and spread evenly over the tortillas.
Divide the carrots and cabbage among the tortillas, and then roll up tightly.
Cut each tortilla into slices, and arrange face up on plates.

Pinto Bean Roll Ups (2)

If your kids like salsa, serve it on the side, or even a yogurt-salsa dipping sauce.

Breakfast Burrito

August 16, 2020August 17, 2020Leave a comment

Breakfast Burrito (2)

Get a weekend morning off on the right foot with this hearty wrap!

Ingredients:

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (4-ounce) jar carrot puree
1 pound firm tofu
1/2 cup shredded non-dairy cheese
4 flour tortillas
Salsa for serving

In small saucepan, combine the black beans and carrot puree over medium heat. Cook just until warmed, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and mash with a potato masher to desired consistency.
Meanwhile, mash the tofu with a fork to break into crumbles. Add the tofu and cheese to a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the tofu is warm and the cheese is beginning to melt.
Warm the tortillas according to package directions. Spread each with some of the black bean mixture and top with the tofu mixture. Wrap up and dollop salsa on top for serving, if desired!

Breakfast Burrito (1)

Raspberry Strawberry Muffins

August 12, 2020Leave a comment

Raspberry Strawberry Muffins (1)

Take advantage of fresh summer berries for these muffins! In a pinch, use frozen and you can bake them all year.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup plain non-dairy yogurt
1/4 cup almond milk
3/4 cup raspberries
3/4 cup chopped strawberries

Combine the flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and salt in a bowl; set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the applesauce and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon baking powder.
Add the flaxseed, oil, vanilla, maple syrup, yogurt, and almond milk to the applesauce mixture.
Gently stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Add the raspberries and strawberries.
Divide the batter evenly among 12 muffin cups and bake at 350 degrees F for 27 minutes; a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin should come out clean.

Raspberry Strawberry Muffins (2)