Chocolate Fruity Granola Bites

Now that I'm a lady of leisure, (that's right, my miserable year as a sales leader for a business intelligence tool to help entities manage liquid inventories in remote assets is over) I have time to create new recipes, like these irresistible Chocolate Fruity Granola Bites and guest post again. How fun!

Mixed feelings about that of course. I'm glad I don't have to do work that makes me feel incompetent anymore, and I'm sad I lost my income. I'm glad I don't have to be the blind leading the blind, but already miss the challenges that a steep learning curve provide. I'm glad to interact more with readers, other bloggers, and recipe mavens but miss my old work friends. I'm glad I can spend my time learning about food, writing about food and feeding my family. I'm glad I get to solve the problem of how to make a little money doing what I love, vs solving the problem of how to get executives to invest in enterprise software that can save beaucoup de operating dollars. I'm a little nervous about closing the door on the skills I've developed, and honed in the business world to help feed my family, and very excited (and scared) about this new chapter in my life that has already started. I don't know where it's going yet, but it has to be more fulfilling that selling software and hiring technology professionals. Back to guest posts and protein filled snacks.

As promised, here is a link to my guest post chocolate fruity granola bites recipe on Good (& Cheap) Eats. Jessica, also known as FishMama on her other blog LifeAsMom, is who I tune into for inspiration on the mom journey. She also happens to be a food network junkie, and mother of boys (and girls). I am grateful to her for showing me some of the blogging ropes, sharing my recipe with her readers, and her perspective on parenting.

This recipe was a meeting of wanting to get out of our trail mix snack rut, and cleaning out bits of chocolate, nuts and fruit from the pantry. I could not stop eating these granola bites. I would open the container to grab one while the boys were at school, and have to coax myself to close the lid without tasting their crunchy, chewy, fruity, chocolateness.

I had to wait 30 years, but finally, finally....I. Like. Nuts. Especially toasted almonds mixed with granola, peanut butter, chocolate and dried fruit. And on top of rice with dried fruit. And in cookies. And covered in chocolate. Isn't life grand? Can you learn to like a food you've hated all your life. I say yes. Click that link to find out how.

Big boo loved the granola bites like me, little boo was only partially into them, taking them happily, but always leaving a morsel or three. I never really offered them to hubby, man was I stingy with these tasty snacks.

I will be making them again very soon!

What do you make when you're in a snack rut?

Kohlrabi Greens with Chevre Pizza

First I want to say welcome to new subscribers that found me by way of two guest posts I wrote on Good (& Cheap) Eats and Freebies4mom. I am delighted to have you. If you have any feeding the family obstacles you need help with, start a question on the discussion tab on Kid Appeal's Facebook Fan Page. I'll link up to both guest posts tomorrow, promise, it's been a busy week!

Nearly 2 years ago I was inspired by the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle to try a weekly home made pizza night on Friday night. For the first couple months I managed to serve pizza a every other Friday, then Pizza night slipped to a special occasion night. My goal wasn't sustainable due to the following constraints: no one step of home-made dough and pizza assembly is difficult, but the steps are numerous and the dough rising and rolling them, baking them one at a time has a certain lead time. Not to mention slicing and often pre-cooking all of the toppings. I could keep it simple (ha!) by just offering pepperoni and cheese, but if I'm going to the trouble of making dough that has to rise, I'm not eating pepperoni pizza. I want mushrooms, onions, fancy cheese and when I'm really getting every single thing I could want on a pizza, like this week, greens!

Perhaps when my kids are older and can actually help, this will be a weekly event, but for now, it's a special occasion dinner. The Boos help now, but it's that kind of help where they watch the mixer knead the dough and exclaim happily about all the shapes the dough takes, and dust the floor with flour as they attempt to roll out the dough. I enjoy this "help", but it doesn't divide labor, expedite the process, and it increases KP!

I'm not posting my pizza dough recipe here, because I don't love it. I'm either not doing it right, or I need a new recipe. I've been using the one on the back of King Arthur's whole white wheat flour package. If anyone has a fabu whole wheat flour pizza crust recipe, I'm all ears.

I will share with you the amazing kohlrabi greens with chevre that topped my pizza. Hubby had his heart set on cheese and pepperoni, but once he got a whiff of the veggies I had going, he made a half 'n half for himself!
He really liked the greens. And the sauteed mushrooms and onions. I can't take credit for the greens, chevre combo. Michelle, my central city co-op leader planted that seed in my head over a year ago. I am so sorry I waited this long to pair the two. I'm using Wateroak Farms fresh dairy goat cheese I snagged at Georgia's. Boy does it make the greens go down!

The kohlrabi greens need not top pizza, they would do fine on crostini, or as a small side dish. I say small because unless you buy several bunches of bulbs you won't get many greens. When selecting kohlrabi, look for ones with smaller tender leaves. Gus Narawa Farms supplies Georgia's with locally grown organic and very nicely priced vegetables. Thank you Gus, your greens are delish! Pay attention houston readers, Georgia's is THE place to go for affordable organic and/or locally grown produce. More on that later.

All I did to the bulbs was peel them, slice them thick, and pan sear (fry?) in a bit of oil in the cast iron skillet. I hit them generously with salt and drained on a paper towel. Tasted a little like steak fries to me, only greener. Yum! I am completely sold on kohlrabi.

Kohlrabi Greens with Chevre
recipe
1 tsp oil
1 bunch kohlrabi greens, trimmed from bulbs, washed, dried and chopped roughly
3 cloves crushed garlic (use less if you like)
1 heaping spoonful of chevre (also known as goat cheese)-maybe that's 1/3 of a 4oz package??
Salt to taste.

directions
Add greens to a pan with one tsp of oil, and let them wilt (you'll know, they turn the most amazing shade of green...). Once the greens are wilted (1-3 minutes), add the garlic and stir constantly being careful not to burn the garlic. Once that's fragrant, add the chevre and stir to combine. Taste first, then add salt if needed. My chevre was quite salty and didn't need more salt. Use as a topping for flat bread, pizza or just a side.

Kid Appeal Tip. I sold the kohlrabi bulbs by having the boys watch store wars again as the pizzas were in the oven. The kohlrabi are sitting at the bar having libations in the beginning of the "salad bar" scene. Exposing kids to media featuring food in an amusing way is not a guarantee of food down the hatch, but it is a nice first step. If they can think of the food neutrally or positively based on a book, video, picture or song then, they may resist the first bite less. Getting the first bite in, is often the trickiest part. Getting the first bite in is setting your child up for success. How can a kid learn to eat a food, if the food never touches the tongue? Sure, 101 things can happen once the food hits the tongue, but if you build up enough techniques to get the food in, those 101 things will usually work themselves out over time with repeated exposure and an enthusiastic guide (that's you!).

If you missed the store wars video I posted over the weekend, check it out. There's bound to be some food item in it your kiddo hasn't tried yet, and this medium may be the ticket to shining a good light on that food item. Who can resist a talking cuke? Green yogurt with squishy yoda ears? Little boo watched this video non stop for nearly an hour over the weekend! (I was busy in the kitchen, plus I couldn't resist his little giggle every time he saw darth tater.) I repeat,

"the farm is what gives us our power. it's a kind of...field that creates all edible things."-- obi- wan canoli.

The boys were open to eating the fried kohlrabi bulb slices (tasted like a mix between broccoli stems and potatoes). Big boo tried, but made a face about the greens, and I didn't attempt to encourage little boo to try the greens as I knew after rejecting the pepperoni pizza (always a go) the croup he ended up with was taking a bite out of his appetite. Honestly I was too ensconced in the party going on in my mouth, that as long as the boys ate some veggies (I gave them the option of on the pizza or on the side), I didn't care which ones they ate.

This recipe is participating in Cooking Thursday, hosted by diary of a stay at home mom.

Vegetable Bouillon - Cooking From Scratch Timesaver

This recipe is participating in Real Food Wedensday, hosted this week by Kelly the Kitchen Kop and Well Fed Wednesdays hosted by Outnumbered Mom. If you're visiting from RFW, or WFW welcome! I encourage you to check out the Big Words for Little Foodies blog event that debuted yesterday and find out who ate the long avocado. The spirit of this meme is to capture the funny things kids say as we try our best to feed them a wholesome diet. It's a place to commiserate the ups and downs of feeding the family. I hope you join in!

If you follow this blog, you know I'm a lazy cook. If there's a short cut, I'll find it. With soup as a weekly menu item around here, short cuts, even those that require a little labor up front, will pay off week after week.

Alanna of A Veggie Venture posted this recipe and a hunch that it would spread virally in the blogosphere, so I'm doing my part by sharing it with you. She adds that a jar of this would make a nice hostess gift for the foodies in your life. Those of you with pregnant friends could whip up a batch, keeping half for yourself and giving half to an expecting mom. She's sure to love being able to toss a few nutrient dense teaspoons of love in a pot of water with some left-over veggies and protein for a much needed and appreciated meal.

It took me about an hour to clean the veggies, whiz them up in the food processor, pack them up for the freezer, and get the veggie scraps on in the stock pot. Next time I might make a half batch, or host a cooking play date, where another mom and I pool veggie resources and time and split the bounty.

Vegetable Bouillon Recipe (inspired by this recipe by alanna at a veggie venture)

3 leeks, white and light-green parts only
1-2 bulbs fennel bulb, chopped (approx 3/4 lb)
4 large carrots, chopped
2 large ribs celery, chopped
1 large bulb celery root
1 ounce sun-dried tomatoes (approx 14 large)
2 large shallots, peeled
3 medium garlic cloves
1 cup kosher salt
1 large bunch of parsley
1/2 large bunch of cilantro

Working in batches, add the chopped veggies to a food processor and pulse until small "minced" sized veggies form. Add veggies to a large mixing bowl (and I really mean large) and combine thoroughly. Return the mixture to the processor in batches until a thick wet paste forms. You'll still see individual bits of vegetables. Put the mixture in freezer save containers and place in freezer. The salt keeps the mixture scoopable even in the deep freeze.

To use in sauces and soups, add 1 teaspoon of vegetable bouillon to 1 cup of water. That's 1 3/4 tsp as a sub for a can of broth, 1 TBSP + 1 TSP for a box of broth.

Georgia's Farm to Market didn't have any fennel, so I subbed with another small celery root, and the heart (including light yellow leaves) of a head of celery. If you've never cooked with celery root, this is what it looks like.


And this is what it should look like after you peel it.



You probably won't find it with the celery still attached as I did. They are quite pricey at the regular grocer, $5 if I recall. Georgia's had them for $2.49!

Veggie Scraps Broth
Another money saver (and nutrient optimizer) is to keep your veggie scraps to make broth. I have a ziplock bag in the freezer where I keep green onion, leek and celery tops, as well as onion skins and organic veggie peels. When I'm ready to make stock I yank these out, toss in a stock pot full of water, add peppercorns and a bay leaf. Bring the water to a boil, turn down to a simmer and close the lid. Simmer for 15 minutes and then strain the liquid. Re-freeze broth or make soup!

Why Keep the Lid Closed When Cooking Soup?
I just learned this on WHfoods.org last week. Some nutrients are water soluble and migrate to the broth when cooking. Some of these water soluble nutrients become volatile and evaporate into the steam. Covering the pot, makes these nutrients fall back into the soup pot rather than escape into your kitchen. Here's the long version of what really happens when the lid is off the soup pot. You'll need to turn the heat down a bit when simmering with the lid closed.

Heidi of 101 Cookbooks was Alanna's inpiration, and Heidi found this recipe in Preserves: River Cottage Handbook No.2

Stay tuned for recipes calling for vegetable bouillon.

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" Don't Eat My Long Avocado" Big Words from Little Foodies Recipe Swap

Welcome to the beginning of a new weekly feature, Big Words from Little Foodies. The complaints from dinner participants can often run the family cook down. Kids' perspective on what grown-ups call dinner can be unexpected and hilarious. Now we all have a meeting place to share the things kids say about dinner (or food). I hope to see your post in Mr. Linky or your quote in the comments! Can't make it today? No worries, the post will be up all week! Thanks for playing.

Big Boo was just two and I was big pregnant with Little Boo.
I know.....that is not me cooking with big boo, this was before the blog, so no cooking with kids pictures yet! Look at those big cheeks and big belly. Why must our noses become girthier during pregnancy?

I made French Rice Salad for dinner, which contains many of big boo's favorite foods (at the time) rice, tomatoes, corn and avocado. Of course he preferred (at the time) his food separate, and for some reason unless it was taco night, avocados were right out. With a brain in utero I certainly was not going to let any of those brain building avocados go to waste. I was pregnant-famished, you know, that hunger that hits fast and incites you to take food from your children. I reached across the table and forked a few avocado pieces, right from my first-born's plate. Down the hatch.

Big Boo starts sobbing immediately.

"You ate my long avocado. Give it back. You ate my long avocado! "

Rationally, I apologize immediately, and offer in trade some of the avocados off my plate, then some from the bowl. He's not consoled.

Still sobbing, "I want it back. No, not that one. My long avocado. You ate my best friend."

At this point I don't even know what a long avocado is, but if will help my little one come out of his irrational state of grief, I'm all for finding one. I know this surprises you, but no suitable long avocados were to be found on my plate or in the bowl. I accepted guilt, admitting that it was rude of mama to just take something from his plate without asking, hoping the grief over a lengthy bit of fruit would soon abate. No such luck. No point being rational with an irrational being.

I was so glad hubby was with me, because I'd hate for this funny avocado debacle be only in my memories. After I realized there was no appeasing a two year old who really needed a specific chunk of avocado, it was good to belly laugh with someone. With tears of joy running down my cheeks, I took my wailing toddler in what was left of my lap and listened to his incessant requests for the immediate return of his long avocado and best friend, until at last his demands faded.

It's been three years. This unpleasant night must not have imprinted in his heart. It wasn't immediate but he did take to eating mixed up food, and avocados, even when not on tacos. This cold rice salad is one of his favorites and he usually takes seconds, sometimes thirds.

Here is the recipe for French Rice Salad. Here is a post with details on why your brain, and the brains of every member of your family could use a little avocado.

Have you got a hilarious quote or story from a kid about food? Please share!

1. Mention the Big Words from Little Foodies Recipe Swap in your blog post, link to this post,
   
2. then bring your link (to your blog post, not your blog's home page) here and add it to Mr. Linky.
   

Recipes are not required, but are encouraged. Not a blogger? You can click through and leave a quote in the comments so we don't miss your kid's funny words.

Wilted Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries

This is a recipe on I caught on Sunny Anderson's show before the holidays on Food Network. I love Brussels sprouts, but always make them the same way; halved and sauteed with butter in my cast iron skillet. I finally got to this recipe last week when Big Boo's homework assignment was, "help mom or dad prepare dinner." Of course by the time I made it, I'd forgotten a couple key ingredients, but my pared down version was nice to look at and tasted great. And I loved having a helper in the kitchen.

When the boys were little and always underfoot during meal preparation I would hand them a couple sprouts and ask them to peel them. That would keep them occupied for a few minutes and create a mess for me.

According to George Mateljin at WHfoods.org here's some super facts about brussels sprouts to help make this super food relevant to kids.

• Suck toxins out of cells. Many phytonutrients in cruciferous vegetables each play a role in optimizing our cells' ability to disarm and clear free radicals and toxins. This is cancer protection, but also helps those of us living in large cities breathing in all kinds of toxins in the air, get some of the junk out.
  
• Fights sick bugs. vitamin A and beta carotene both help the body defend against infection, take that mr. virus.
  
• Nice Skin. tweens and teens will like to know that the vitamin A and beta carotene will give them soft, supple skin.
  
• Gets the poop out. Many kids suffer from constipation. Sprouts have 2 kinds of fiber to soften things up, and fiber nourishes the cells in the lining of the colon.

Here's a great run down of the many ways to cut brussels sprouts, pictures included by Alanna of a Veggie Venture.

Wilted Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries
Inspired by Sunny's Crunchy Sweet Brussels Sprout Salad
One lb or container of brussels sprouts, washed, ends trimmed and sliced thinly (as thinly as you can with a knife)
1/4 cup of dried cranberries (I used less, sunny used more)
1 TBSP butter
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Heat cast iron skillet over medium heat and add butter to melt. Add the sliced brussels sprouts, salt and pepper, stir until just wilted and they turn bright green, about three minutes. Add the dried cranberries and stir to combined. Serve warm or cold.

Kid Appeal Tip Reading food trivia like the ones above is probably not going to appeal to little kids. You'll need to put your teaching cap on, use an enthusiastic voice and exaggerate the actions of the food. Tell kids sprouts are like vacuum cleaners going in and sucking up icky stinky molecules from cars that go in when we breath. Then the fiber in sprouts take all yucky stuff to the colon and mix it in with all the other waste the body doesn't need and later it comes out in the toilet. Good bye icky stinky car air. This is the only kind of potty talk I condone!

Stay tuned for a guest post coming up where I write about big boo and this dish for "cooking with kids" in a series on the what's cooking blog to inspire more families to cook together.

Bloggers, and parents, don't forget tomorrow is the first Big Words, Little Foodies blog party. Link your post with recipe (optional) and hilarious things your kidlets say about food. You don't have to have a blog to participate, leaving a comment with kiddo quote works too! Now, I'm off to figure out how to make mr. linky work, wish me luck!

Darth Tater and Cuke Skywalker in Store Wars

"the farm is what gives us our power. it's a kind of a...field that creates all edible things."-- obi- wan canoli.

I know this probably went viral years ago when it was first made, but I guess I've been in a cave. I just stumbled across it a few days ago on Nurit's blog all about things you don't want to know about your food. Maybe you've already seen it. You should watch it again. If nothing else it's a fun way for kids (even girls) to relate to produce.

It made me laugh. Really really laugh. With two boys approaching age 6 and 4, our house is currently star wars obsessed. The boys both raked in a ton of star wars loot for Christmas. I'm forever impaling my foot on tiny helmets, picking up minuscule lightsabers, tucking them in my pocket so they don't get eaten by the vacuum and answer "have you seen darth vader's head?" a few times a day.


The film was produced by Free Range Studios for the Organic Trade Association. I appreciate this video on so. many. levels. Thank you free range studios and the organic trade association!

Make a bowl of whole grain spicy popcorn, gather up the kidlets and enjoy!

Find Food With Kid Appeal on Facebook

I've happily been a facebook fan of a couple other bloggers I follow for months, yet I was nervous about creating a facebook fan page for this blog. I hardly think of my contributions to the universe to be worthy of having fans, but Facebook does seem to be a place people congregate and are willing to share pithy comments. So, I went there, where all the people talk. If you would like to join me there follow this link to the Facebook Fan Page for Food With Kid Appeal. I've started a discussion in the discussion tab. I've uploaded pictures of the boos in the kitchen with me. Fans can add kiddos in the kitchen photos too. Mostly it's just another platform to connect with parents in the feeding the family trenches.

There we can play, "WFD" What's for dinner. And "BWLF" Big Words Little Foodie, a place to capture all the funny things kids say about food. RE: Fried veggie snacks "I like the dry green beans, not the wet ones." And you can try and stump me with your toughest feeding the family challenges.

I still have to figure out how to create an RSS feed of my blog posts here as status updates there, but it'll happen, eventually.

As for food this weekend, I made BLTs for lunch and was a hero. Tomorrow more ham shenanigans are planned as the ham bone hits the stock pot and i bust out the split peas.

Big Words from Little Foodies Recipe Swap

I get so engrossed in optimal nutrition sometimes that I forget to share some of the amusing and priceless things my kids say as they taste the family meal. My solution to that huge oversight is to create a weekly blog post swap where mamas and papas can take note, record and share what their kids say at the table. This allows me to document the boys' food utterings while creating a community of inspiration and camaraderie as we parents mosey along the feeding the family journey.

The spirit of this meme is to share in the joy and frustration of feeding the family. While sometimes our recipes turn the family cook, into family hero, there are plenty that also make us least-valuable-player of the day. Recipes need not be involved, but are encouraged, and food need not be optimally wholesome. Believe me, I know that getting kids to eat is sometimes of higher priority than getting kids to eat healthy. You and your family don't have to be foodies to participate. You can be families who dine together on occasion.

For me this week, when I tried making black bean burgers for the first time, and probably made too many recipe modifications, I was not a hero. Even black bean fiend Big Boo shivered, while saying, "mama, can I eat my bread plain? you shouldn't make this one again, it's not a winner."

A recent winner was the mushroom rice pilaf. Not only did the boys love it, and gobble up mushrooms but it inspired a hand puppet show directly after dinner where big boo's hands were beta-glucan and "bad cells" with the former devouring the latter. The Mushroom Channel liked the recipe too and included it in their weekly mushroom recipe roundup.

Of course in order to do this I'll have to master Mr. Linky, a technology that confounded me over a year ago when I was a blogger newbie. Gotta love a challenge. I'm sure hubby will be delighted I'm making this commitment to you!

I look forward to blogging Kid Appeal followers and readers swapping feeding the family war stories. I'd love to crack up over what your loved ones say about your cooking adventures. All you'll do is link up to Kid Appeal on Tuesdays with your blog post link, and link to the weeks event URL here in your blog post. And of course you don't have to be a blogger to participate. Simply jot down the hilarious things your little foodies say when you're cooking and eating, and report them in the comments.

Next Tuesday, January 26th will be our first Big Words from Little Foodies recipe swap blog event. Give me a holler today if this is an event you reckon you'll join in on.

Help me get the word out, tweet about this blog event to your blogger foodie mama/papa friends!

To link up paste the URL to a blog post oublished in the last day or two (not your homepage) and leave your name, blog name, post title and if you're new add "new" like this:

Jenna (new) @ Food With Kid Appeal - Can I lick the butter?

If you want to link up an old post that fits this them, create a new post on your blog, linking to your old post and this week's Big Words Little Foodies post.

Taco Seasoning Recipe No MSG No Preservatives

You may not suspect this, but those little packets of taco seasoning at the store are loaded with little uglies like MSG and other preservatives that your loved ones don't need in their blood stream. You can probably make taco flavor from stuff you already have in the pantry! This recipe is participating in LifeAsMom's ultimate recipe swap- eating from the pantry challenge, and Cooking Thursday hosted by Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.

Taco night is one of my quick supper nights, although since I've gotten over my onion aversion, it takes a little longer to pull this together as the chopping and cooking of onion adds 5-10 minutes. To shave off a little time for this meal I decided to pre-mix some taco seasoning so I just have to get one spice bottle out, and it's got plenty of taco flavor included.

I don't know why, but I still don't care for pre-ground black pepper, but I do like it fresh ground from the pepper mill. I left the pepper out of my mix, and will just add pepper at cooking time.

This is a good time for me to toot the horn of herbs and spices. While they don't contribute much energy to our diet, they are packed with phytonutrients and antioxidants. In fact 14 of the foods in Dave Grotto's 101 Foods That You Could Save Your Life book are herbs and spices. Here are a few tips on optimizing nutrients from spices.

• buy spices whole when possible and grind your own just before cooking. a coffee mill works well for this.
  
• avoid large economy sizes. not only do spices lose some of their flavor punch, but their nutrient quality declines with age.
  
• buy your spices from a store that has good product turn over. you want to avoid buying a spice that was ground ages ago and sitting on the shelf for who knows how long.
• store your spices in a dark cool place. sunlight exposure can hasten the depletion of nutrients.
• feed tiny tummy's spices too. don't be afraid to feed herbs and spices to your youngest eaters. they like flavor too and will benefit from all the antioxidants.
  

I have to admit that I rarely grind my own spices as it adds extra time to the prep phase. I have the tools and supplies to do so, but usually opt out. I'm trying though! This recipe contains 6 foods on Dave's 101 list (noted by * below).

Taco Seasoning Recipe (based on this allrecipes.com spice ratio)
2 TBSP Cumin*
5 TBSP, 1 TSP Chili Powder*
2 TSP Red Pepper Flakes*
2 TSP Garlic Powder*
2 TSP Onion Powder*
1 TBSP, 1 TSP Paprika*
2 TBSP, 2 TSP kosher salt
1 TBSP, 1 TSP black pepper

Add all ingredients to a small mixing bowl and combine. Return spice mix to an airtight container or empty spice jar. Per your taste, add 1/2- 1TBSP of this mixture to 1 lb of cooked ground meat. Add it in larger quantities to make taco flavored soups. You should get 8-16 servings assuming you're flavoring 1lb of meat. Add a label to your spice mixture with the amount to use "1/2-1 TBS per lb meat" so you don't forget!

Note: This mixture is forgiving. If you're out of something, leave it out. My grandma just used salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder to season taco meat, so that's all I usually use. It is a slightly different flavor than the packages, but your family will get used to it over time. Also, this doesn't contain flour or cornstarch, and it doesn't call for adding water, so this won't give you saucy meat, rather, flavored meat. That's the way we roll!

Stay tuned for my premixed chili spice blend. That recipe makes it super easy to get the crock pot going with a pound of beans on a weekend morning for a pot of chili.

For more recipes and kid appeal tips on how to make real food relevant to your kids, click there to join the food with kid appeal facebook fan page, or there to become a subscriber via email or google reader. We share What's for Dinner (WFD) daily on Facebook, and I pose a "Question of the Day" (QOTD).

Why You Should Eat True Free Range Eggs

This post is participating in Real Food Wednesday, hosted by Cheeseslave and Kelly the Kitchen Kop. Head on over to check out other real food recipes and commentary. If you are visiting from Real Food Wednesday, welcome! Take a moment and vote, I'm trying to figure out how to make a little cash doing what I love, teaching kids and families how to eat whole food!

On occasion when budget allowed and when I happened to be in Georgia's Farm To Market (previously Sandy's in West Houston), I'd pick up some true free range eggs from J&S Eggs in Hempstead, TX. At six dollars a dozen they were a sometimes food for our menu plan, even though I knew their nutrition was far superior. Over the holidays I picked up a handout near the eggs and read the ingredients on feed for one brand of conventional hens and my position on true free range eggs was changed, immediately. According an article on Mother Earth News...

Here’s the ingredients list from “16 percent Layer Crumbles,” a feed designed for hens raised in confinement: “Grain Products, Plant Protein Products, Processed Grain Byproducts, Roughage Products, Forage Products [in other words, could contain pretty much anything! — Mother], Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Choline Chloride, Folic Acid, Manadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex, Methionine Supplement, Calcium Carbonate, Salt, Manganous Oxide, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Chloride, Zinc Oxide, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Sodium Selenite.”

Did you just do a double take? I did. What is "roughage products"? And why do they feed the hens so many vitamin supplements? Oh right, it's because the actual FOOD the hen's eat doesn't contain any nutrients, because they've been processed away. So the animal raisers add nutrients in the feed in the form of supplements. It's sobering to know that a supplement and processed grain-bit-part diet is a cheaper way to feed hens than giving them whole grains (that actually contain nutrients), or better yet, letting them eat their natural diet which consists of grain, grass, worms that are natural sources of omega 3s and protein.

By the way, did you know that grass-fed beef has omega 3s in it, just like fish. You know why? Because they eat green food. Grass. Just as fish eat green food. Algae. I digress, that's a whole other post....

So not only do conventional eggs contain nutrition solely because they have been fortified with cheaply made supplements they contain lower levels of nutrition than free range eggs. According to Mother Earth News's 2007 egg test study here are some of the optimal nutrients free range eggs contain:

• 2⁄3 more vitamin A
• 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
• 3 times more vitamin E
• 7 times more beta carotene
• 1⁄3 less cholesterol
• 1⁄4 less saturated fat

What to do when you can't afford fancy eggs?
If you are fretting now that you can't afford to eat free range eggs, and you're deliberating on whether or not to stop feeding your family eggs, or whether it's ok to feed your family conventional eggs, I would say go with the latter. While they are nutritionally inferior, conventional eggs when compared with other protein sources are still nutrient dense, and shouldn't be excluded even if you can't purchase nutrient optimized eggs.

Egg Recipe Roundup
We love runny egg yolks on toast, greens and salad. Bet they'd be good over pasta too. My meatless meal favorite? Eggs!

Egg Toast -current breakfast fave, to save time, i just put an over easy egg on top of buttered toast and skip the removal of the toast hole.
Poached Eggs & Rocket Salad-hubby thinks me a kitchen goddess when i make this!
Veggie Egg Scramble-great thing to use up zucchini in
Hard boiled Eggs-Farmer's Market Supper
Frugal French Toast- with blueberry syrup, yum.
Veggie Fried Rice with Egg- I can't believe I don't have a post on this yet, I swear I wrote about it! We eat it all the time because I crave this meal. Coming soon, stay tuned!

Growing Good Eaters Class, Book, Coach or Online Videos?

Dear Readers,

I’ve been “hobby blogging” for over a year. My goal is to transition my passion for growing good eaters into some type of income generating business so I can stop my recruiting services business and focus on what I love.

I have some ideas for how to generate income, but I’m not sure what direction to take. I think what sets me apart from other mom chefs, mom nutritionists etc, is that I go past what kids should be eating and focus more on how you actually get them to eat it and enjoy it.

Ellyn Satter says parent’s job is to offer food and kids job to decide what and how much. I agree that’s step one, but I do believe that by making food relevant-teaching what that food does for the body and why that matters to kids and effectively getting kids enthusiastic about whole food-that the process of getting kids to eat a wholesome family meal, is expedited. Ellyn's own daughter was a teenager before she started eating many veggies. I don't think parents (or their child's nutrient needs) have to wait that long.

So my challenge is, how do I support my community by helping parents grow good eaters and support my family by earning enough money to fund our organic, whole, unprocessed food diet??

I could:

• resume teaching kid’s nutrition classes to parents
• start teaching classes to kids
  
• I could offer day time/after school activities to get kids excited about whole food, tasting new things, making food relevant.
• I could be an eating coach, coming to people’s homes and helping parents develop more effective things to say at meal time to encourage good eating-this could be kid coaching or parent coaching
• I could network with pediatricians and preschools to be a guest speaker/ guest teacher at their facilities. (summer camp, private schools etc.)
  
• I could focus on writing a book and getting published (I have no credentials, not an RD nor a trained chef, how limiting is that?)
• I could create and publish web based video content that people could down load and watch from their own homes (but how do I generate a little $, offer it free and depend on ad revenue or hook up with a place like mindbites to earn a little cash for each download?)
  

So my question to you is, assuming you had extra cash and the need to get your family eating better, what are you more likely to spend money on? Books? Classes for parents? Online education? Classes for Kids? One-on-one coaching for parent or kid? Day time/after school kid activities?

You can click through to comment, or vote online. See the vote box on the right.

Thanks for your thoughts! Stay tuned to find out how my venture goes. In addition to having a family who enjoys a larger variety of wholesome food, in the beginning 0f 2011, I may have realized my dream of spending more time dedicated to feeding families better.

Can Food Make Kids Angry?

Jar of pickle relish, yellow 5 is last ingredient.

This is a guest post by a reader, Amanda Essenmacher. She commented on a post a while back about adverse behavior reactions her daughter had to additives and I asked her if she would share her story with readers. I am thrilled she's sharing her story here, as I suspect additives may play a role in big boos anger. His on again off again tantrums often come out of no where and are otherworldly.

--

I am the worst mother on Earth. It was something I thought every day about the time my oldest daughter was three years old. We had gone through two years of her angry, violent tantrums – everything from yelling at me horrible, ugly things to her grabbing a kitchen knife and threatening me with it. My husband and I were at our wits’ end with her. I was sure that in the coming year either she would be on medication or I would be. That was only if I didn’t crack first.

Then one day at a party she had a glass of orange soda, and everything began to make sense. Ten minutes after drinking the soda, she was running in circles, seemingly without being able to control herself. Her father made her stop running, but her arms and legs were flailing wildly. In her words, “I can’t stop. I’m CRAZY!” This seemed like it could be food-related, so we tracked down the ingredients for the soda and made a list. From there we started eliminating ingredients from her diet to see what which was the culprit. It turned out to be the FD&C Yellow 5. It was giving her that uncontrollable high energy that would keep her awake at night, but there was something else going on, too.

She was still having the fits of rage that rocked our family to the core, so with the clue that the coloring had given us, we started another elimination diet. The results of that were that she was sensitive to a family of preservatives: BHT, TBHQ, and BHA. When these were removed from her diet for a week, we didn’t see any more anger reactions, nor did we see any more of the leg cramps at night that we hadn’t realized were food-related.

Now, if my daughter eats something with BHT, TBHQ, or BHA, we can expect 24 hours of “hell on earth” before she can return to her new self – the child who is loving, caring, gentle, and creative. Without these additives in her system, I can feel like a normal mom. She still has her moments, as does every child, but they are normal moments, not “crazy” moments.

Later, after we had figured out what we thought was something unique to our child, we came across studies related to this type of allergy. One article discussing food additive allergies was printed in Time magazine recently. This study tested behavioral reactions to kids in two age groups given sodium benzoate and food coloring. Children in both age groups were significantly more hyperactive when drinking the stuff containing additives. If this topic is new to you and you want more information, this preservative allergy page on about.com has some useful links.

According to a support group for hyperactive children in Britain,

"In 1987 the HACSG, with the support of Professor Neil Ward, Senior Lecturer in Chemistry at the University of Surrey and the Group's Scientific Director, found that, out of a total of 357 children who had been diagnosed as hyperactive, 87% had adverse reactions to artificial colourings and 72% to artificial preservatives in food. Similar results were discovered in 1993 at the Institute of Child Health, and as long ago as 1987 a Scottish psychiatrist, Dr. Ian Menzies, obtained consistently positive results in treating hyperactive children by removing artificial additives from their diet. Similarly, a recent report published by the Food Commission confirms that studies involving 277 children on the Isle of Wight have shown food additives to be a major cause of misconduct in children."

Delicious Living magazine explains what parents can do. In some kids, food sensitivities produce symptoms that mimic signs of ADHD, including hyperactivity and the inability to focus. When kids eliminate trigger foods, their symptoms decrease substantially. “If we can identify and address food sensitivities, it can make a dramatic difference for some children,” Weber says. “The challenge is figuring out which sensitivities they have.”

The best way to figure out if your child may have sensitivities is to try an elimination diet. You begin by taking many things out of their normal diet, then slowly adding them back in to see what the reaction may be. Here is a list of foods with additives (to avoid) and without additives (to eat instead).

In many instances, the only way to truly diagnose an adverse reaction to food additives is for the person to undergo an oral challenge with the suspected additive under close supervision of an allergist, but don’t be surprised if your doctor has never heard of such an allergy. Many practicioners associate symptoms of this type of allergy with other conditions.

There are many types of reactions that can occur as a result of food additives. Some of these reactions suggest an allergic cause, while many others do not appear to be allergic, but rather an intolerance. Here is a list of reactions to food additives.

Having removed the preservatives and colorings from our family’s diet – it was just way too hard to keep them away from just one person – we are enjoying some of the best health we have ever had. Food, the way it was really intended to be, does not require colorings or preservatives. Real food is the best tasting and healthiest thing for us, no matter what any advertisements may tell us.

If you need help walking through a change of diet for your family to avoid food additives, please leave your comments below, and I would be glad to walk through it with you. You are NOT the worst mother on the Earth.

Amanda is wife and mom to three girls, ages 7, 4, and 2. She loves to try new things, and often gets in too many projects at once, then drives herself crazy trying to finish all of them. Her interest in food is by necessity, her love for yarn is unquenchable, and her passion for helping others keeps her going. She will be monitoring and responding to comments on this article, so ask away!

How to Make a Child Eat Healthy Food

Welcome to Food With Kid Appeal, thank you for stopping by. Here's a place to get started. There's something for everyone, whether you're new to the challenges of feeding your family wholesome food, or you've hit some obstacles you can't find a way around, or you just need new ideas to get out of your current menu rut.

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How to Make a Child Eat Healthy Food
Make is a terrible word when paired with eat. As many parents are keenly aware, you can't make a child eat any more than you can make them use the toilet. Inspire, suggest and encourage are much better verbs to use when talking about how to grow good eaters. "Grow" suggests that it's a process. "Good eating" isn't a result of one meal, one effort, one purchase of vegetables or brown rice. Eating habits are built over time. Habits, whether you're trying to create them with your baby, or change them with your picky eater (and reluctant husband) take time to create and often longer to change.

So relax. You don't have to do it all today. You'll find a plethora of tips and recipes for feeding your family wholesome food on Food With Kid Appeal. Pick a few changes to start with, then once those habits are created or changed and sustained, start on a few more. Make a commitment to yourself and to your family to try a little every day.

I promise; when you make growing good eaters an activity you practice with your family every day, at least at one meal or snack, you will be surprised at how much progress you can make in a matter of weeks, months and eventually a whole year.
This is a roundup of the posts that contain tips on helping you navigate your way down the growing good eaters journey.

Here you'll get some ideas for how to solve some of the most common feeding the family problems most families experience including:

#1 secret weapon to getting kids to try new foods
Proof that Elementary students do like vegetables and fruit
5 things your school age kid needs for breakfast and lunch.
Taste buds change as kids age - empowering kids to try new foods once thought of as hated
Help! My kids won't eat soup
Help! My kids don't eat enough lunch at school.
how to get kids to try new food
how to get kids to drink more water
What should a constipated kid eat?
Eat like a dinosaur video
How to get your preschooler ready for school lunch
What to say when kids refuse foods
Help! My child gags when he tries new foods.
Help! My husband won't eat his vegetables.
Find a way to like a food you hate.
Is letting kid decide what and how much to eat the right thing to do?
getting kids interested in fresh fruits and vegetables,
making breakfast healthy,
How I taught my kids to eat visible onion pieces.
kids who don't eat enough school lunch,
dealing with picky eaters,
Bend your mind, think a different way about disliked foods.
cooking with kids in the kitchen,
harmony at the dinner table,
transitioning baby from spoon food to table food,
starting solid food with baby,
organic food best practices,
eating out with kids,
baking healthier treats,
overcoming lunch box boredom,
grocery shopping with you child,
eating local food

Are you ready to start a real food journey with your kids? What do you need most help with?

How to Make Whole Orange Puree to Optimize Antioxidants

As promised earlier this week, here are the details on making whole orange puree. I can't take credit for the baking with orange idea. I get many inspirations from the blogosphere. One of my fave recipe bloggers, Kristen at Passion4Eating, posted an olive oil whole orange cake recipe. Having just read up on the antioxidants available in orange peel and the inner white pith on WHFoods.org, I was inspired to try this cake adding fudge icing for my dad's birthday cake last summer. When the tangerines on the neighborhood tree turned from green to orange and the cooler weather began to set in, I started thinking about ways to use up the harvest that included the peel and pith. I knew I wanted to bake with the whole fruit to use up this year's tangerine harvest.

My first recipe was a flop as I included too much puree and the muffins came out too bitter. Hubby's accurately described them as "it kinda tastes like what a seasonal candle would taste like." These whole orange quinoa oat corn meal muffins were much better, a recipe I'll enjoy many times in 2010. Plus I love that they are a wheat free muffin and have a tad more protein due to the quinoa.

Traditionally we've made Fruity Tangerine Popsicles and ice cubes with the juice, but as followers know, I'm compulsive about milking all the nutrients out of our produce, grains and animal products even our produce scraps. Especially when the produce is of the free, locally grown organic variety. I just love the idea of nourishing our bodies with this zero cost source of fiber, juice, phytonutrients and antioxidants. And I have enough whole orange puree in the freezer to make whole orange cake and whole orange quinoa muffins all year!

why should you eat whole oranges?
Because one of the orange's most important antioxidant is found in the skins and pith and is not located in the juice and pulp. Further this antioxidant called herepidin optimizes the benefits of vitamin C by enhancing the healing properties of the widely know virus protecting vitamin. Here's more information on the anti-inflammatory activity of the antioxidants in orange peel in case you missed my post earlier this week. After interviewing my kid's nutrition class curriculum co-author, Jennifer Nagel PA-C, RD, I learned that the inflammatory process plays a part of when pathogens like viral, bacterial, fungal and abnormal cells (cancer). Inflammation happens to at the cellular level which means that various of body parts can be involved like tissue, muscles and organs. Thus the consumption of whole oranges can benefit everyone including those who are currently diagnosed with a disease, and those who are generally well but face exposure to infections from virus, bacteria and fungus from, well, being alive. (I hope I got that right-as a disclaimer, I'm not medically trained- if you're visiting and happen to be an MD and my explanation is off base, please set us straight.)

If you belong to a CSA, organic produce co-op, or find a good price on a bag of organic oranges at the market, this is a good way to make some of the nutrients in oranges last throughout the year.

whole orange puree directions

1. Use only organic citrus fruit. Conventional citrus fruit will have chemical toxins applied to the skins that you don't want to ingest. My puree is tangerine, because that's the abundant fruit I have to work with, but this would work for any orange, tangerine, clementine, satsuma variety.
   
2. Wash citrus fruit and let dry.
3. Cut a thin slice off top and bottoms to remove any stem bits.
4. Cut fruit in have and remove seeds. If you are using locally grown/organic fruit it may contain more seeds that conventional store varieties. I had to juice them by hand over a sieve to separate seeds out. I sacrificed some of the pulp with this method, but it was the only way to get the seeds out.
5. Put orange halves in a food processor and whiz until you have a good puree. I didn't go too fine because I love the color and wanted to see orange flecks in the baked goods.
6. Place 1/2 to 1/4 cup portions of puree in freezer safe containers, and freeze. I put mine in layers separated by wax paper in 2 cup containers. In hind sight, ice cube trays would probably be better.
   
7. Defrost frozen puree before baking.
   

iso (in search of) whole orange recipes
This is a call out to bloggers, foodies, local foodies, chefs and bakers. I could use more recipes for whole orange puree. The muffins are delicious, but um, I have so much puree to consume this year a little variety would be good. I will keep this thread updated and link to your recipe here if you share one. If there's enough participation I'll create a new post for recipes using whole orange puree, or orange peel which if you're a blogger, you can cross post on your blog. Doesn't even have to be a recipe, general ideas in comments would work too!

Whole Orange Recipe Roundup
Lianne commented and shared this whole orange poppyseed cake recipe posted by Lulu the Baker. Looks delish. Can't wait to try it.

Triple Attack Mushroom Rice Pilaf, you know, for kids.

When thinking of veggie sides to go with dinner, is onion on your mind? The poor onion is often over looked as far as vegetables are concerned. They are in a lot of dishes in small quantities, but what about as star player? The onion doesn't exactly play a leading role in this pilaf, but it could pass for best supporting vegetable. I love the onion/grain combination, and often my left-over rice/quinoa that doesn't end up under stir fry, fried rice or in a cold rice salad gets added to one diced sauteed onion for a tasty side dish. One could argue mushrooms are not a vegetable either, but along this whole food eating journey, I've just consider most plant based foods count as vegetable. Most have a variety of antioxidants, phytonutrients and polyphenols, which is what the traditional veggies have in them. Although lacking in "nutrition" (I'm guessing that means it's not a great source of the macronutrients protein, fat, carbohydrate and water), mushrooms are one optimal life food I want my family eating.

The Triple Attack
Three wardens of good health in this dish can all play a part of keeping you healthy and getting rid of unwanted abnormal disease causing cells.

• Beta-glucan in mushrooms (enhanced immune system) ,
• allicin in garlic (antimicrobial, antifungal-killer of at least one strain of staphylococcus)
• quercetin in combination with Vitamin C in onions (antibacterial) all can play a part of keeping you healthy and getting rid of unwanted abnormal disease causing cells.

The Boos started eating mushrooms a few months back when I got out my handy food bible-101 Foods That Could Save Your Life by Dave Grotto-out at the table after making this mushroom and spinach pasta dish. (I can't keep a secret, per Dave, my copy of his newest book 101 Optimal Life Foods is on it's way. I promise to inhale it and post about it tout de suite.) We read all about mushrooms and what they do for the body. Naturally the boys latched on to this very key phrase "mushrooms contain......substances that may help the immune system recognize and devour abnormal cells that cause disease." What more could a pair of star wars loving minds need to incite them to devour mushrooms. The story was written, the parts were cast:

Good Guys (played by shitake mushrooms)
Bad Guys (played by abnormal cells that cause disease)
Plot: evil disease causing cells have invaded planet body and begun an attack of the immune system. The body becomes weakened, trying to fight off the invasion. The shitake mushrooms are prepared, consumed and dispatched to the scene of the invasion to devour the abnormal cells. Planet body is restored, disease is thwarted.

If you're nourishing girls, this play could easily be adapted to a fairy princess and an evil queen who dumps abnormal cells into the princesses oatmeal. Then some elves could pick mushrooms in the forest and deliver then to the princess who cooks up a rice pilaf, eats it has restored health.

Big Boo took a second helping of the pilaf. Little Boo didn't finish his serving, but he did some good damage to it, and not a single mushroom remained!

Mushroom Rice Pilaf
ingredients
1 cup brown rice
1 pound sliced shitake or portabella mushrooms, or one package button mushrooms
2 large or 3 small onions, diced (less if you don't love onions)
4 cloves crushed/minced garlic
2 TBS grapeseed oil (divided)
2 TBS butter (substitute with broth if going low fat or vegan)
1/4 cup of water, chicken/vegetable broth.
Salt and Pepper to taste

directions
Heat 1 TBS oil in sauce pan, add uncooked rice and stir until it takes on a little color. Add water, bring to a boil, cover and cook according to package directions. In a large skillet add 1 TBS oil to the pan on medium heat. Saute onions until they've taken on some color, up to 15 minutes. Add butter, allow to melt, then add sliced mushrooms and saute until they've taken on some color. Add garlic, stirring constantly for one minute. Add water/broth until mixture absorbs water. Add cooked rice to pan and combine. Salt and pepper to taste. Optional: add two cups of shredded chicken to make this a one pan meal.

Kid Appeal Tip There is no reason drama can't be a part of new food acceptance. Young kids love make believe so make food and it's contribution to the body be a story that your child can bring to life by eating it. That will require a little parent directed knowledge acquisition, which can be obtained by doing some internet research on a website like whfoods.org or getting a book to have handy near the table like 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life by Dave Grotto. It will also require a little creativity and imagination. I suspect that no matter how square you are, this method will be far more enjoyable by all participants than repeating instructions like, "try a bite, eat it, it's good for you, you need to eat more."

For more recipes and kid appeal tips on how to make real food relevant to your kids, click there to join the food with kid appeal facebook fan page, or there to become a subscriber via email or google reader. We share What's for Dinner (WFD) daily on Facebook, and I pose a "Question of the Day" (QOTD).

Whole Orange Whole Grain Quinoa Oat Muffins (Wheat Free)

New to Food With Kid Appeal? Welcome and thanks for stopping by. Leave a comment, reading your thoughts makes me smile! If you like what you read, sign up to receive email subscription or RSS feed.

If you haven't already, please vote! Look to your right and weigh in on what normally caused your kids to reject food. Much thanks.

Since we harvested the tangerines the week before New Year's my brain's been working the challenge of using up the whole fruit. Why the whole fruit and why don't we just eat them fresh? Good questions. They aren't very sweet, they are tiny and they have tons of seeds. This makes them edible out of hand, but not amazingly delicious. I want to use the whole fruit as despite their high in Vitamin C , fiber and other healthy goodness reputation, the pulp and juice is only part of the health benefits in an orange. To consume these locally grown, organic tangerines optimally, I need to use the peel, the pith and all the white bitter stuff recipes usually eliminate.

According to George Mateljan's (of WHfoods.org) research, it is the herepidin molecule in one of the orange's flavonnes that may be it's most important phytonutrient. Herepidin is not in the pulp or juice of the orange, it is located in the peel and inner white pulp. And, as in many whole food studies, when Vitamin C is paired with the other phytonutrients available in the whole food source, the body's use of Vitamin C is optimized. Herepidin can do the following for your body:

• lower high blood pressure
• lower high cholesterol
• provide a source of anti-inflammatory properties

As Kid Appeal followers know, I'm on a quest to get as much anti-inflammatory phytonutrients from whole foods in our diet as possible, not only to help with Big Boo's asthma but also because inflammation seems to be a part of many illnesses and diseases it has to help ward off health conditions and help with any we already have. See this link from World's Healthiest Foods for more on the health benefits of the orange.

I processed all the tangerines to make whole tangerine puree last weekend. This week I've been testing recipes. The first one I added too much puree. it was too bitter to eat. The second was a hit, and I love them. I was skeptical about the cornmeal, and almost passed the recipe over for a wheat flour option, but I'm thrilled I experimented with this one. I used white corn meal that my aunt in Florida sends to me, which is a finer more flour like consistency than traditional corn meals. It only uses 1/4 cup of puree, so we'll be enjoying these muffins all year as I have about 8 cups of puree in containers in the freezer!

Hubby's favorite part about them was finding little quinoa grains stuck in his teeth to crunch up. I agreed, that was an unexpected bonus. These muffins are not your normal breakfast muffin. They have a definite corn taste and aren't overly sweet. The dried/fresh fruit paired with the oat/quinoa/corn grains was tasty and I enjoyed the texture of the diced apples, and crunch of the crispy muffin edges and quinoa. These muffins are very filling! I plan to yank them out of the freezer in the mornings and use them as nutrient packed, illness fighting snacks or mini-meals to nourish us between meals. As quinoa is a higher protein grain, despite their lack of nuts, these muffins pack a nudge of protein as well.

As a lazy cook, these have a the disadvantage of having a zillion ingredients. I assure you won't be sorry you took the time to make them. They have the advantage of being wheat-free, giving us a chance to have a baked good that doesn't make our diet overly redundant with wheat.

Whole Orange Whole Grain Quinoa Oat Muffins (based on this wheat free orange quinoa muffin recipe on care2.com by annie b bond)

ingredients
¾ cup old-fashioned rolled oats (processed to a flour in a coffee mill or food processor)
¾ cup cooked quinoa
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup flax seed meal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup whole orange puree (substitute tangerine, clementine or satsuma)
1 small peeled, diced apple
1 large ripe banana (mashed)
1/3 cup apple juice
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons grape seed oil (or virgin coconut oil)
2 eggs-beaten
1/2 cup chopped dried tart cherries (or pitted dates)- I used Montmorency Cherries

directions
Combine the processed oats, cooked quinoa, cornmeal, flax seed meal, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in one bowl. In another bowl combine the mashed banana, orange puree, diced apple, apple juice, brown sugar, honey, oil, eggs and cherries. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until combined. Fill a 12-cup greased muffin tin 2/3 of the way with batter and bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 until a toothpick comes out clean.

Per Annie, these muffins aren't gluten free as they contain oats. If you want them gluten free, double the quinoa. If you don't have an orange handy to puree, Annie's recipe uses chopped oranges and zest sans peel and pith. She also mixed hers in the processor, while I mixed by hand, and her egg-white to yolk ratio was different that mine, meaning she might have whipped more air into the batter. I'll try it with the processor next time to see if they turn out lighter.

If anyone tries this with, the processor, annie's yolk/white ratio or regular yellow or white cornmeal, come let me know how they turn out.