Foodie Friday for Sprouts

Remember those amazing, FREE blackberries from earlier in the week? Well they make a vibrant, deliciously purple smoothie! 

MADELINE'S PURPLE-LISIOUS SMOOTHIE

1 ripe banana
About 1 Cup fresh blackberries
A handful of fresh kale
Almond milk (or milk of choice) to cover

Just toss it in the blender and blend until smoothie consistency. Pour over a few cubes of ice in a clear glass, add a favorite straw and enjoy!

Foodie Friday

I found this great article on organic breakfast for kids from Organic Authority today... below is one of the recipes I would add to the great one's listed in the article. Enjoy! 

Multigrain Hot Cereal with Apples and Raisins

Serves 4 (makes about 4 cups)

A steaming bowl of hot cereal is one of the most comforting ways to start the day. Our version combines rolled oats, quinoa, and buckwheat groats (kasha) for a tasty, high-protein breakfast loaded with fiber. It will keep you satisfied until lunch time!
Buckwheat groats and quinoa add a slightly chewy texture and a mild, nutty taste, while grated apple, raisins, and cinnamon lend sweetness and spice. Groats are readily available in natural food stores, but you can easily substitute pearled barley or cracked wheat if you prefer. Kids can vary the cereal by adding other favorite fruits (fresh or dried), a handful of nuts, or by using maple syrup instead of honey.
For even more protein, mix in a tablespoon of your favorite nut butter. Depending on their age, kids may be able to make this cereal for themselves, or help out with the measuring and stirring. Leftovers reheat beautifully in the microwave.

3 cups water

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup buckwheat groats (kasha)
1/3 cup quinoa
2/3 cup thick rolled oats
1 large organic apple, coarsely grated (unpeeled, cores discarded)
1/3 cup Earthbound Farm Organic Raisins
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or more to taste
Honey or brown sugar, optional
Milk, optional


Bring the water and salt to a boil in a medium-size saucepan over high heat. Reduce the heat and add the groats and quinoa. Cover and simmer the mixture over low heat for 7 minutes. Add the rolled oats, cover, and simmer for 6 minutes. Stir in the apple, raisins, and cinnamon, cover, and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let the cereal sit, covered, for 5 minutes.
Divide among bowls and serve hot with honey or brown sugar, if desired. Add milk if you like a thinner consistency.

(above recipe is from www.ebfarm.com... check out there cookbooks THEY ARE WONDERFUL!)

How to make a easy recycled ice cream churn!

Check out this wonderful, kid friendly activity! Perfect for the coming hot South Carolina days!
 

Foodie Friday: Vacation Style

This is a wonderful, easy recipe for a on the go snack or light lunch (or even breakfast!) Plus, what sprout doesn't love fruit! Take it to the beach, pool or even the museum in your reusable lunch box and stop the Styrofoam and unhealthy options normally served up at these locations. Go green without sacrificing flavor or fun!

This recipe is from vegan.sheknows.com! Thanks for sharing!

Kid-Friendly Fruit Pita Pockets
Makes 4
Ingredients:

• 2 whole grain or whole wheat pita pockets
• 8 tablespoons smooth almond butter or other nut butter
• 1 banana, peeled, thinly sliced
• 1 apple, pear, peach, or nectarine, depending on the season, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons agave

Directions:

1. Cut pita rounds in half to form 4 pockets.
2. Slather nut butter on the inside of each pocket.
3. Stuff with fruit, lightly mashing, and drizzle with a little agave.
4. Serve immediately or, for a change, gently warm them in the oven.

The Time is Here! Our Earth Week Giveaway!

That's right! Adventures in Green Parenting's first eco-giveaway is here! An upcycled basket filled with a mix of great organic/eco coupons (even some free products!), kid products, etc. from great companies like HappyFamily, Marcel, Green Works, and others...all put together by my friend at Crossroads Baskets. It's a great giveaway for anyone with a toddler in their lives! So...here's how it works:

Look at the photos below of the *empty* upcycled basket and take a guess at how many product boxes were used to create it. If you guess correctly, that's two entries in the drawing! An incorrect guess still gets one entry!

Receive additional entries by:

- Follow this blog (leave a comment that you're doing so)
- Share this giveaway via Facebook, Twitter, or on your own blog (one entry per share, leave a comment that you have done so)
- Follow me on Twitter @organicmommy26 (leave a comment that you're doing so)
- Follow Crossroads Baskets on Facebook (leave a comment that you're doing so)

Leave your comments by 11pm on Friday April 22nd, 2011, Earth Day!, and the randomly selected winner will be announce on Saturday evening!

*This giveaway is a personal creation and is not sponsored by the company's products featured in the giveaway...though I highly recommend their products! Random.org will be used to pick the winner.

School Lunch Controversies, My Opinion, and Options!

This week is shaping up to have lots of cafeteria related conversation; probably thanks to Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, Season 2 returning this evening. And rightly so, as school lunches contain highly processed, nutrient deficient foods. Surely not what will give our kids what they need to focus, learn and participate to their full ability. Below are the links to two articles I have come across this week as well as to Jamie's Petition, which I encourage each of you to sign.

Chocolate Milk Stirs Controversy in Schools

Chicago School bans some lunches brought from home

Jamie's Petition!

I am a firm believer in homemade lunches that involve your sprouts in packing a healthy, delicious lunch that will not only feed them better food but also teaches them how to make healthy choices. Below are some of my favorite lunch items and ideas:

Laptop Lunches

Shop for awesome lunch containers

Muffin Tin Mom

Just get creative! Think outside the PB&J (and stay clear of Lunchables!) and create colorful, delicious and nutritious lunches for your little sprouts!

A Must Buy for Eco, Health Conscience Parents!

Recently (on the release day) I purchased an amazing new cookbook that is a "must have" for parents looking for yummy treats that are also health-conscience.

Anni Daulter, author of Organically Raised (featured on my top 5 baby/toddler cookbook listing) has done an amazing job in her newest book, Ice Pop Joy, combining the naturally sweet fruits that kids love with everything from veggies to tofu. This book features beautiful photos (by Alexandra DeFurio) of the pops and kids enjoying them. Just the photos make me want a pop...they look so refreshing!

One of my favorite features is that she uses agave nectar, honey, coconut sugar or even no sweetener at all! All of these items have low glycemic indexes and are far less processed than your standard bleached-white table sugar. There are fruit, veggie, yogurt, tofu, herbal tea, chocolate and specialty pops; some even have a great source of protein...wonderful for the vegetarian sprouts! One of the Herbal tea pops are great for sprouts with soar throats, you get the numbing comfort of the ice cold pop and the healing properties of the tea... a win, win!

We most recently tried one of the speciality pops that has quinoa in it! I must say, I thought having a protein like quinoa in my pop would be strange but they are super yummy! Even my two year old sprout loves them! (And the purple color from the blueberries doesn't hurt, as she loves everything purple!)

I can't sing the praises of this book enough! Parents, grandparents and anyone who wants the refreshing sweetness of Popsicles without all the artificial junk...this is a must have! I have recommended it for mother's day gifts already! So, as the weather warms, pull out your Popsicle molds (or purchase cute BPA-free one's on Amazon) and start creating! And of course, go organic and local whenever possible!

Be sure to "like" ICE POP JOY on Facebook and check out Anni's new digital magazine, Bamboo Magazine - Conscience Family Living on Facebook too!

Foodie Friday

Tonight I hosted a Pampered Chef party and I just have to share the wonderful recipe we made because it was 1) super easy 2) very kid friendly and 3) easy to make organic! A BIG thank you to the wonderful ladies that attended and the wonderful consultants that ran the show, I know I had a blast.

We made Apple Berry Salsa with Cinnamon Sugar Chips and it is a very quick fix, works for a vegetarian, raw foodie or vegan, and kids and adults will love how fresh and colorful it looks and tastes! I know I am adding it the the menu planning for my youngest sprout's first birthday:-)

Apple Berry Salsa

2 medium granny smith apples
1 pint strawberries, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 kiwi, peeled and diced
1 small orange
2 Tbsp packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp apple or apricot jelly or jam

Basically you peel and dice everything up (of course using Pampered Chef's great products like the apple slicer, the manual food processor, etc.) Then you zest the orange and juice the orange, add the brown sugar and the jam and mix it all together. And you have a quick, yummy, healthy snack! It's only 30 calories for 3 Tbsp.!

Serve it with the chips that you create by cutting tortillas into wedges, brushing with water, sprinkling with cinnamon/sugar and baking in the oven until crisp. (use the awesome stoneware for this!)

Remember to go local and organic wherever possible!

Also, chew on this: Pampered Chef is going greener! I was very impressed to learn this evening that alot of their products are going BPA free or glass (my favorite!) and they have a wonderful (fairly new) bamboo line of servingwares and more! So if you are in need of kitchen gizmos and tools click here (especially if you're in the Lexington, SC area)