It is as though Someone knew the joy that I would get from cooking, then carefully wrapped up that desire, and gave it to me as a gift to open and discover. I’m blessed by the gift and I’m thankful that my parents helped me to open and discover it. I’m thankful that they took the time to cook for me and with me. I’m also thankful that the house never burned down as a result of my early cooking experiments.

I feel pretty strongly that the best way to teach children about food and help them become better eaters is to get them into the kitchen (or into the garden!) from a very early age. Most kids are skeptical about trying new foods…especially fruits and vegetables. When kids are able to use their senses to see, touch, and smell new foods they are usually more likely to taste them.

Below is a list of 10 ways to teach your children about food (good food)!

1. PYO – (Pick Your Own)

Bring your child to a local farm or orchard and spend an hour or two picking fresh fruits and vegetables.

2. GYO – (Grow Your Own…garden)

If space is limited, grow some herbs or veggies in pots on your porch, roof-top, or at the local community garden. I have seen some serious veggie haters reform their ways once they started to grow their own vegetables.

3. Visit a local farm.

I am so surprised at how many children have no idea what broccoli looks like or where/how it grows…on a tree, underground, or on a plant. Nutrition literacy can (and should) begin at a very young age.

4. Ask your child to help with meal preparation.

Kids are usually eager to help out in the kitchen. Suggest washing vegetables, setting the table, making a sandwich, mixing, stirring, sorting, gathering, serving, etc.

5. Ask your child to help with grocery shopping.

For example, at the grocery store, ask your child to pick out 3 green vegetables. This will teach your child about the huge variety of green vegetables, but also about making choices, having responsibility, learning colors, counting, etc.

6. Ask your child to help make the grocery list.

For example, ask your child to write down the types of fruit he or she would like that week and how many of each you will need.

7. Ask your child to help with making his/her lunch.

For example, ask your child to count out a serving of crackers and put them into a baggie, fill up a water bottle, make a sandwich, or rinse an apple and put it into their lunch bag.

8. Cook a special recipe with your child.

Spend some time with your child looking through cookbooks either ones that your own, from the book store, or at the local library. Select a recipe (does not necessarily need to be super ridiculously healthy), but it should be something that has the potential to be a fun and memorable experience.

9. Allow your kids to make a mess (in the kitchen).

Everybody’s got to be able to make a mess sometimes, right Kevin?

10. Then….Ask your child to help with cleaning up after cooking.

For example, ask your child to wash or dry a few dishes, load the dishwasher, or put ingredients back where they belong.

Here is a link for My First Cookbook

Here is a link for 15 Cookbooks for Kids

Another excellent resource for teaching children to cook and become educated about nutrition is a magazine called Chop Chop. Check it out!

Try this recipe with your kids! The recipe has been adapted/changed from the original recipe from my first cookbook.

Baked Apples with Walnuts and Raisins

Ingredients

• 6 apples, rinsed and cored (I used one of each: Cortland, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Honeycrisp, McIntosh, and my favorite…Macoun)
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons of butter (cold)
• 1/4 cup oats
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup raisins

Directions

1. Rinse the apples and using a corer, core out the center of each apple. The corer should go through the entire apple removing the seeds.
2. Using an extra large muffin pan (that holds 6 muffins), place each apple in the pan.
3. Sprinkle the tops and inside of each apple with a little lemon juice.
4. In a small mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, butter, oats, and cinnamon. Mix together with hands (or food processor) until butter is completely combined and small peas sized pieces of dough are formed.
5. Add the walnuts and raisins to the mixture.
6. Stuff each apple with the mixture, cover the pan with foil, and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. You will know when the apples done because the luscious smell of Colonial New England will fill your entire home.

On the day we went apple picking, we came home with bags full of apples. I forget exactly how many pounds it ended up being, but it was simply obscene, but a super fun day. The orchard that we went to in Scituate, RI had a huge variety to choose from….20 varieties! We picked Cortland, McIntosh, Golden Delicious, Honeycrisp, and Macoun, and maybe some others. We had more than enough apples left over to bake apple crisp (which is what the above photo to the right is showing), and apples with our lunch for the next month.

What do you like to cook with your kids?

A couple of weeks ago we went to St. Augustine, Florida to visit with friends and become godparents to the most amazing little lady this side of the Mississippi – Mia. Mia is turning 3 years old this Friday! Happy Birthday Mia! From the moment we stepped off the plane Mia insisted that we make popsicles….strawberry popsicles. Popsicles seemed to be the theme for that trip.

We made the strawberry pops with Mia and we also got to visit a new fresh fruit popsicle shop in downtown St. Augustine on Hypolita Street called the Hyppo! Why there are not more popsicle shops in Florida I am not quite sure….but the idea is brilliant! I got the idea for the pineapple coconut cilantro popsicle recipe from this shop where I had a similar pop. Some of the other yummy flavors were Mexican hot chocolate, orange cream, cucumber lemon mint, datil strawberry, lavender lemonade…and many many more.

If you are in St. Augustine or within a 6-8 hour car ride, let me encourage you to make the trip….they’re that good! My prediction: the popularity of homemade fresh fruit popsicles is on the rise and will force cupcakes into the backseat for at least a season or two.

Kevin and I loved those popsicles so much that we went back to that shop 2-3 times during our one week vacation in St. Augustine. Fresh fruit pops are not only extremely delicious, they are also extremely fun to make with kids, and an extremely healthy alternative to garbage pops that most kids binge on all summer long….like I did from ages 7-13.

Tip for parents: toss the pops that are loaded with added sugars, food dyes, and other junky ingredients and make some fresh fruit pops with your kids! So easy, so tasty, so cheap.

Pineapple Coconut Cilantro Popsicles

Ingredients

• 1 cup frozen pineapple chunks
• 2 tablespoons of minced fresh cilantro
• 1 cup pineapple/coconut juice
• shredded coconut (optional)

Directions

1. In a blender, combine all of the ingredients until smooth
2. Pour mixture into a popsicle holder or use ice cube trays and insert popsicle sticks (learned that trick in 2nd grade from an episode of PeeWee’s Playhouse. I cannot believe that I just admitted that)
3. Freeze for 8-12 hours and then enjoy!

It’s becoming a tradition for me to make cupcakes on Christmas Eve. Last year, I made traditional red velvet cupcakes (pictured below), but this year I wanted to make red velvet cupcakes without using the red food dye. I’m not going to lie. It makes me uneasy that the FDA recognizes food additives and food dyes as G.R.A.S (Generally Recognized as Safe). It’s the generally part that gets me. You are probably thinking, “why the heck are there so many different cupcakes in this post?”. Valid question. Let me explain.

The cupcakes pictured above are from this year and are my first attempt at making a natural red velvet cupcake. Instead of red food coloring, I read that you are able to use beets or beet root powder as a natural alternative. I went to Whole Foods but I was told that my store does not carry beet root powder. Darn. If anyone knows where to find beet root powder, if you have used it, made it, or if you have a great recipe for naturally colored red velvet cupcakes, please let me know! These were intended to be red in color (I used pomegranate juice), but they ended up as chocolate cupcakes. They were good, but very heavy (using a buttercream frosting) so I decided to try again. This time I made chocolate angel food cupcakes with homemade whipped cream. Much tastier and lighter.

These are my traditional red velvet cupcakes from 2009. I used red hots and mint leaves for the toppings.

Chocolate Angel Food Cupcakes with Homemade Whipped Cream

Cupcakes

Ingredients

• ½ cup cake flour
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup cocoa powder or (hot cocoa mix if you forgot to buy cocoa powder)
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 6 large egg whites (1 cup)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

Directions

1. Place the oven rack on the lowest position.
2. Preheat the oven to 375° F.
3. Line one cupcake pan with paper liners.
4. In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, ½ cup of the sugar and the salt and then set aside.
5. Using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment beat the egg whites with the vanilla and cream of tartar on medium-high speed until soft-medium peaks form.
6. Gradually add the remaining ¼ cup sugar. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
7. Fold in the dry ingredients using a rubber spatula. Be careful not to deflate the batter.
8. Makes 12 cupcakes

Cupcake recipe adapted from Annie’s Eats

Whipped Cream

Ingredients

• 1 cup of heavy whipping cream
• 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar (or to taste)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Directions

1. Chill your bowl and beaters in the freezer for 10 minutes before starting.
2. Using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment beat the egg whites with the vanilla and cream of tartar on medium-high speed until soft-medium peaks form.
3. TIP: Be careful not to overwhip your cream! It can quickly go from fluffy and creamy to thick and buttery.

Whipped cream recipe adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Have a wonderful Christmas with your family and friends!

Two weeks ago, I made this crisp with my Mom. We were originally going to make rhubarb crisp until I learned that it is apparently not rhubarb season. Peaches and strawberries were a pretty darn good substitute.

This is a dessert. It has flour. It has sugar. It has butter. I know what you are thinking. Isn’t she a dietitian? Yes, I am and I feel an immense amount of pressure to only share “healthy” recipes. I don’t like that pressure. In fact, I detest that pressure. Don’t get me wrong, I eat lots of nutritious foods, but I also eat dessert. I realize that might make some people feel uncomfortable, but I’d like to invite you to relax and have some dessert too.

I have a new goal. My goal is to post 3x/week from now until the end of 2010 until all recipes categories on my blog have at least 6 entries. This is a big goal and I might need some encouragement and recipe ideas too. Feel free to send some ideas my way!

Ingredients

• 3 white peaches (peeled and thinly sliced)
• 3 yellow peaches (peeled and thinly sliced)
• 1.5 pounds of strawberries (sliced into quarters)
• 1 cup sugar
• ¾ cup flour
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 1 cup of rolled oats
• ½ teaspoon of cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a large mixing bowl, toss the peaches and strawberries with ¾ cup sugar and ¼ cup flour.
3. In a separate mixing bowl, combine the ½ cup flour with the butter until clumpy pea-sized shapes are formed.
4. Add the rolled oats, cinnamon, and ¼ cup sugar to the butter mix.
5. Layer the peach/strawberry mix into a 9×13 inch baking pan (that has been greased).
6. Sprinkle the oat mixture on top of the fruit.
7. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the top is golden and crispy!
8. Incredibly delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

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Banana Bran Bundt Cake with a Chocolate Glaze (…it kinda looks like a Mohawk)

Bran taste better when it’s covered in chocolate. That is why I decided to smother my Nana’s famous banana bran bundt cake with a chocolate glaze. My dad actually made this cake for the photos and I think that he did a great job! I’m really impressed, Poppa. My dad found the recipe the other day as he was rummaging through my Nana’s old recipe collection. My Nana had tons of amazing recipes that I am hoping to make and post in the next few months.

Ingredients

• 4 cups of regular All Purpose Flour
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 3 cups of mashed, fully ripe bananas
• 3 cups of All Bran or Bran buds
• 1 cup of canola oil (you could also use butter or margarine)
• 1 ½ cups of sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 cups of melted semi-sweet chocolate chips or Nutella

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt
2. In another mixing bowl, combine the mashed bananas and the bran. Allow it to sit for 2-3 minutes until it has softened.
3. In a separate mixing bowl, mix the oil (or butter) and sugar. Then add the eggs one at a time until mixed well.
4. Add the banana/bran mixture to the sugar mixture.
5. Stir in the flour mixture to the banana/bran/sugar mixture
6. Add the walnuts.
7. Spread evenly in a well-greased bundt pan.
8. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour.
9. Cook until a knife or toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
10. Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan.
11. Melt the chocolate chips or Nutella in a small sauce pan or Dutch oven over low heat until completely melted.
12. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the entire cake. Enjoy! Really good with a glass of milk.

What special recipe did your Nana make for you?

In the ninth grade I had a very peculiar relationship with egg biscuits…

Let’s put it this way, I had peculiar eating habits in general. For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to go all day without eating and then come home from school and gorge myself on egg biscuits and pudding snacks. Not wise.

Thankfully, my eating habits have improved. I eat small meals and snacks throughout the day and I have developed a healthy relationship with egg biscuits. Though, I’m still working on the pudding snacks.

I made this recipe with my Mom last weekend. We found the recipe in my Mom’s collection, which consists of Mom’s own creations, my Nani’s recipes, and recipe clippings from the 80s. I think this recipe came from a women’s magazine from the 80s. Not sure though.

These taste great with a cup of tea or coffee.

Ingredients

Biscuits

• ¾ cup of sugar
• 1 stick of unsalted butter (equal to ½ cup, melted)
• 2 large eggs
• ¼ cup milk
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (or anise extract)
• 2 ¾ cups of flour
• 2 ½ teaspoons of baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon of salt

Glaze

• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 4-5 teaspoons of milk
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (or anise extract)
• nonpareils or colored sprinkles

Directions

Biscuits

1. Heat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Coat a baking sheet with butter.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar and butter and beat for 1-3 minutes
4. Next, add the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract, and blend.
5. In a separate mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
6. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients a little bit at a time until completely blended.
7. Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 6-8 minutes.
8. Transfer biscuits to a cooling rack and allow them to cool for 10-15 minutes.

Glaze

1. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the confectioners sugar, milk, and vanilla extract.
2. Drizzle over the egg biscuits once they have cooled (about 10-15 minutes).
3. Sprinkle with nonpareils.

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I’m afraid that I may have tarnished my credibility as a nutrition professional by posting this recipe…

If I have, oh well. It was worth it. These cinnamon buns are that good.

My friend Sue, who is also a dietitian, shares the same philosophy on food, “every now and then you need to give your system a good jolt.” This kind of thinking makes sense to me. However, I would like to emphasize the “every now and then” part of that statement. Otherwise, a diet built on cinnamon buns is a one-way ticket to insulin resistance.

I wish that I knew how to photograph smell and taste. Since I am unaware of how to do that, I will encourage you to make these cinnamon buns for yourself. This recipe makes 16 cinnamon buns, so unless you are feeling particularly strong willed, I suggest sharing them with 15 of your closest friends. Trust me, you do not want to end up at the gym the next day in elastic waist pants and a B.U.M Equipment sweatshirt desperately trying to peddle off the calories from a half dozen cinnamon buns. It’s not a pretty sight…

Ingredients

• 1 cup of milk (I use 1%)
• 3 tablespoons of butter (unsalted)
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• ½ cup of white sugar
• 4 cups of all-purpose flour (unbleached)
• ½ cup canned pumpkin (you can also use fresh roasted pumpkin that has been pureed but you will need to use a little more because it is not as dense)
• 1 ½ packets of yeast (rapid-rise) about 2 ½ teaspoons
• 1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon of ground nutmeg
• ½ cup chopped pecans
• ½ cup raisins
• 1 stick of unsalted butter at room temperature ( ½ stick for the filling and ½ stick for the frosting)
• 4 ounces of cream cheese
• 2 cups of confectioner’s sugar
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

Directions

Pumpkin Dough

1. In the microwave, heat the milk and 3 tablespoons of butter in a glass measuring cup or a small glass bowl (about 30 seconds)
2. Pour this mixture into a large mixing bowl.
3. To this mixture, add the white sugar, salt, yeast, egg, and pumpkin, then mix (about 1-2 minutes). You can use a wooden spoon or an electric mixer for the next few steps.
4. Next, add 3 cups of flour (one cup at a time) mixing after the addition of each cup (about 3 minutes total).
5. Continue to add flour to the mixture until it forms a ball. This dough tends to be very sticky so do not be afraid to add more flour a little bit at a time until you are able to knead the dough.
6. Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a lightly floured surface.
7. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes. The dough should become more elastic.
8. Make a ball with the dough and place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Now cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a towel and let it sit for 90 minutes until it has doubled in size

Pumpkin Cinnamon Buns

1. Once the 90 minutes is up…remove the dough from the bowl and place back on a lightly floured surface and punch it. It’s ok to pretend that it’s someone who made you angry. It’s only dough.
2. Roll out the dough into a rectangle about 12 inches x 10 inches and then spread some butter all over the surface.
3. In the mean time, mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a separate mixing bowl.
4. Spread the cinnamon mixture over the surface of the dough.
5. Roll the dough into a log beginning at one of the longer sides. Pinch and roll (like rolling up a sleeping bag).
6. Place the dough with the seam side down and slice in half. Then slice each side into 8 equal slices. There should be about 16 cinnamon buns total.
7. Butter a baking dish and place the cinnamon buns into the dish (the pieces should be touching).
8. Cover this baking dish with plastic wrap and a towel and allow the dough to rise for another hour.
9. Place the baking dish into the oven and bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. The tops should be golden brown and your kitchen should smell like Heaven.
10. Place the baking dish on the counter and allow the cinnamon buns to cool for 20 minutes.

Pecan, Raisin, Cream Cheese Frosting

1. Now you can make the frosting! Combine the cream cheese, vanilla extract, ½ stick of butter, and confectioner’s sugar in a large mixing bowl and mix for 3-5 minutes until smooth.
2. Add the raisins and pecans.
3. Pour this frosting over the cinnamon buns in the dish. Sprinkle a few extra raisins and pecans over the top of each cinnamon bun. Enjoy! These taste sensational with a glass of milk or a cup of tea.

This post was recently featured on Bouchonfor2.com under pumpkin baked goods in the post for October 20, 2009.

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Kate, I will ever look at another caramel apple in the same way again…

Kate is Kevin’s younger sister. Kate is a very talented photographer. She is adorable and petite and she makes me laugh each time I go to visit. I have always thought of Kate as calm and stress free until the night I saw her eat a caramel apple.

I walked into Kevin’s living room and saw Kate sitting in the rocking chair. From behind, it looked like she was relaxing. I moved closer and said “oh hey Kate, how’s it goin?” Kate slowly turned her head to the left and with a blood thirsty look in her eye, a look that I have never seen on another human face; she sank her teeth into a caramel apple. She was tearing into that apple like an animal that had just captured its prey. I took a few steps back. I started to sweat. I grimaced. She looked focused and a little angry. I had never seen Kate like that. I did not want to interrupt her. Then, in a raspy tone much lower than her normal voice, she spoke… “I had a long day. This apple makes it better.”

I suppose we all have foods that can make a bad day better. Mine is a brownie and maple walnut ice cream.

What’s yours?

Ingredients

• 4 small apples, cold (rinsed and dried) unwaxed
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup honey
• large bowl about half full with ice water and set aside

Gear

• Candy thermometer
• Baking sheet
• Parchment paper
• Medium size saucepan (preferably with a thick bottom)
• Popsicle or lollipop sticks (both of which can be purchased at a craft store)

Directions

1. Place a piece of parchment paper on the baking sheet.
2. Through the stem of each apple, push a lollipop or popsicle stick.
3. In the saucepan, heat the cream and salt (do this until tiny bubbles form around the edges of the pan).
4. Next, stir in the honey (now bring the mixture to a full boil).
5. Reduce the heat so that the mixture is cooking at an active simmer (stir constantly using a wooden spoon). This process takes about 20-25 minutes or until the mixture reaches about 255-260 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. In order to stop the caramel from cooking, place the bottom of the saucepan in the bowl of cold water (do not get any of the water in the caramel mixture).
7. Stir until caramel begins to thicken up (the caramel should somewhat thick so that it completely coats the apples).
8. If the caramel is too thick, place the saucepan back over the burner for 10 seconds and mix with the wooden spoon.
9. Tilt the saucepan so that all of the caramel collects on one side. With the other hand, dip and twist each apple until it is completely coated with caramel.
10. Place each apple on the lined baking sheets and allow the caramel to cool and set (about 1 hour)

Tips

• BE CAREFUL! Candy making can be dangerous because the ingredients are super hot!
• Pay extra close attention to children and pets while you are making this recipe
• It may be helpful to wear an apron and closed toed shoes

What food can make your bad day better?