Today's shenanigans and healthy snack options for kiddos

Hey everyone!  Happy Friday!  Babies are down for a nap so I thought I'd make a quick post.  Yesterday I did a Nike Training App workout.  I did the "get lean advanced" heart throb workout.  It is a quick 30 minute workout but it was KILLER.  I can barely walk today and I feel some muscles I didn't even know I had...  So, that means I'm taking a rest day today from my workouts.  If you don't have the app on your iphone (may even be available on the android), you must get it.  It is a free app and has tons of great workouts.

Here is my breakfast this morning:

Don't hate people!  It's my fave drink in the world...a grande non-fat iced mocha (no whip).  It has 170 calories and is delicious.  I wasn't feeling 100% this morning and I wasn't in the mood for my usual hot coffee with french vanilla. 

Last night I made Baked Pretzel Chicken with cauliflower gratin.  It was awesome and the kiddos all ate and loved it.  Here is a pic with the recipes:

Pretzel chicken (as adapted from mommie cooks)
5 chicken thighs (organic, antibiotic & hormone free)
1/2 c homemade bread crumbs (toast, garlic powder, onion powder, organic parmesan cheese in food processor)
1/2 c pretzels mulched
1/4 tsp salt (I omitted this all together)
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 c organic light soymilk
1 1/2 tsp mustard
1/4 c organic shredded cheddar  

• Grab up three bowls. In the first bowl combine your bread crumbs, pretzels, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. In your second bowl add your flour and in the third bowl add in the milk, cheese, and mustard.
• Dip each individual thigh into the flour first, then the cheesy milk mixture, and finally the pretzels. Lay them into your baking dish and repeat with all your legs.
• Kick your oven up to 425 degrees and pop your legs in for about 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn the heat down a notch to 350 and continue to cook them for another 35-40 minutes or until the juices run clear.

 Cauliflower gratin (adapted from deceptively delicious)

• 1 cauliflower head
• 1 tbsp butter (I use earth balance)
• 2 tsp whole wheat flour
• 1 c organic light soymilk
• 1/2 c organic shredded cheddar
• 1/2 c carrot puree
• 1/2 tsp salt (I omitted this too)
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 tbsp grated organic parmesan  

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Bring a medium saucepan of salt water to medium boil.  Cut cauliflower into bite size pieces.  Blanch for 2-3 min until tender but still firm.  Drain in colander & set aside.  
2.  In the same sauce pan, melt the butter.  Whisk in flour & cook1 min over med heat.  Slowly whisk in milk to prevent lumps from forming.  Bring to a boil.  Mixture will begin to thicken.  Cook 2-3 min more.  Reduce heat to low & add cheddar, carrot puree, salt & pepper.
3.  Add the cauliflower to the cheese mixture and transfer to a greased 9 in baking dish.  Top with grated parm and bake for 15 min until bubbly & brown on top.  


Snack time is really hard around our house.  When the kids get home from school or in the afternoon before dinner, they're pretty hungry from a long day.  Before I converted our diet, my pantry was full of fruit snacks, chips, granola bars, and cookies.  Kids had lots of options but none were healthy and these options did not satisfy their hunger.  So, in turn they kept coming back for more.  There was a lot of complaining for the first couple months when there were no sugary snacks in the pantry when they got home from school.  But, they got over it.  Kids are so resilient! 


So here are some of the options I have for the kiddos now:

**  organic granny smith apples.  My kids eat a TON of apples.  They eat them plain but if you have trouble getting your kiddos to eat apples, there are tons of yummy dipping options, such as organic peanut butter.
** This time of year, we go through Cuties like crazy.  They are small and easy to peel.  The kids love these and I love all the vitamin C they offer!
**  Red grapes.  I get them washed up so that they're ready to go when the kids want them.
**Other seasonal fruits, such as bananas, pineapples, and pears.
Organic baby carrots and organic cucumbers with organic ranch dressing.  Hidden valley makes an organic ranch that I have only found at Target so far, and it's pretty "clean".
**  The only "easy"/portable snacks I have in my pantry right now are a bag of pretzels and a bag of animal crackers.  Neither offers any nutritional value but if I'm leaving the house, I always have some small bags of pretzels or animal crackers to appease the babies if necessary.
**  Hummus and pita chips.  My 8 y.o. and 2 y.o. loves this snack.  Here is my recipe for the hummus and pita chips:

Hummus (adapted from allrecipes)
2 c canned garbanzo beans (chick peas) drained and rinsed
1/3 c tahini
1/4 c lemon juice
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp olive oil

1. Place the garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, salt and garlic in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Transfer mixture to a serving bowl.
2. Drizzle olive oil over the garbanzo bean mixture.

Pita Chips (from Eat Clean book):
6-8 small whole wheat pita pockets
seasoning blend (I used sea salt, fresh cracked pepper, and garlic powder)
Preheat oven to 350
Split each pita into 2 rounds.  Place rough side up on baking sheet. Pour oil in bowl and brush on eash pita.  Sprinkle lightly with seasoning and cut into triangles.  Baking time will vary with thickness of pita.  Figure 6-8 min.


**  PB Pong Balls:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup chopped pitted dates
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/4-1/2 cup Peanut butter or Almond Butter(depends on how much PB flavor you want, add more to taste)
1/2 cup finely shredded coconut(plus more for rolling)
3/4 cup oats
2-3 TB Carob Chips(or chocolate chips)
1 tsp. Vanilla
Directions:
1. Gather your ingredients,
2. Using a food processor or high speed blender, add walnut and process until chunky crumbs.
3. Then add dates, and process until chunky crumbs again.
4. Next add almonds and carob chips, and process again. You don’t want it to be fine crumbs, you want it a little chunky. Not HUGE chunks though.
5. Then add maple syrup, PB or AB, and vanilla, and process until combined.
6. Next add coconut and oats, and process until chunky and combined.
7. Roll into balls. Mixture will be sticky.
8. You can roll them out plain,



Or you can be cool and roll them in coconut…
9. Then store in the fridge or freezer when done.

**Clean Dairy-free PB & J Smoothie

My 8 yo loves these! Here is the recipe:
3/4 c plain organic soymilk (or rice or almond milk)
1 frozen banana cut into chunks (if you don't have a frozen banana, use a fresh banana and ass ice as needed for the smoothie consistency)
1/2 c frozen organic strawberries (same thing as above if you don't have frozen, you can use fresh)
1 tbsp organic PB or raw almond butter
2 tsp all natural strawberry jelly
(You can also add flax seed to this for some added antioxidants)
Place all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth and creamy.

**Whole Wheat crackers with laughing cow cheese wedges

These cheeses are very good and low cal.  My kids love to spread them on crackers or the pita chips I make.  Here is a great recipe for whole wheat crackers (adapted from wholefoods.com):

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened plain soymilk (rice milk works great too)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/3 cups 100% whole wheat flour, plus more for dusting
2/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour or organic all purpose flour
1 teaspoon regular, smoked or garlic salt, plus more for sprinkling
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

  

 Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together soymilk and oil; add flours, salt and baking powder and mix together with your hands until just combined.

Turn half of the dough out onto a floured surface and roll out into a 12-inch square. Trim edges, if desired; cut into 16 squares and transfer to one of the prepared baking sheets, spacing crackers about 1/2 inch apart. Repeat process with remaining dough and baking sheet. Prick crackers all over with a fork and sprinkle with a bit of salt.

Bake, rotating baking sheets halfway through, until golden brown, just crisp and fragrant, 15 to 18 minutes. Set aside to let cool completely before serving. Store cooled crackers in an airtight container for up to a week.

Well I hope this helps to give your kiddos some healthy snack options.  I realize we all get busy and it's easy to grab for those fruit snacks or box granola bars...but they're full of sugar and chemicals.  But, if you think and plan ahead, then you can make it work too.

Thanks again for reading!!