Versatile Muffin Mix

by Sara With the start of the Losing It In Ottawa website, we've been looking for healthy snack options.  What I like most about this recipe is its versatility.  You can add chocolate chips, raspberries, blueberries, raisins, dried apricots, dried mango: whatever it is that tickles your tastebuds.  Another combination that has worked well for us is grated apple (1 cup) and grated carrot (already included in the recipe). 

If you decide to leave out the cup of grated vegetables, make sure to include another 1/4 to 1/2 cup of applesauce to make up for the lost moisture.

1/4 cup canola oil

1 egg

1 cup grated carrots or zucchini (or 1/4 to 1/2 cup of applesauce)

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup applesauce

Whisk egg, canola oil, and then applesauce.  Add in sugar and mix.  Add shredded vegetables to the 'wet' mixture.

In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and any fruit or sweets you decide to add (e.g., blueberries, raisins, chocolate chips)

Stir the two mixtures together.  Makes 12 muffins.

Bake for 18 minutes at 400 degrees.

Sara is mom to a 4-year-old firefighter and 2-year-old monkey.  You can find her at her blog, My Points of View.

Sneaky snack secrets

by Brie I love to bake with the kids. Well, they love to bake and I like that they are happy and occupied. I don't really like the mess but that is the trade-off for some happy moments stirring bowls of flour and eating chocolate chips when they think I am not looking.

Last week I was looking for a recipe to make with the girl and stumbled upon a great recipe in one of my favorite cookbooks. Vegan Lunch Box. While I still have two years before I will be making school lunches, I was looking for any kid friendly food ideas when I bought this book. I also like to flirt with veganism, which is never going to happen in our house because the husband refuses to give up cheese, so I was happy with the great ideas offered in this book. I have made a number of the recipes and I have always been really happy. The Fluffy White Cupcakes (p.249) is a favorite.

I had never made the Back-to-school chocolate chip cookies before but I was excited to try the recipe. Chocolate chip cookies are always good. And this recipe uses both whole wheat floor and silken tofu so I was feeling slightly smug. Yummy and healthy.

The cookies are easy to make and very good. Plus if you eat two at once that's okay! They have tofu! And the kids won't even know. When I brought these cookies to a weekly Kids in the Capital play date Sara's son was chowing down on them. Since he is a picky eater she was thrilled to hear about the tofu. And of course her son was thrilled when she let him have a second one.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. The recipe makes about 4 dozen.

Mix together 2 and 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour, 3/4 teaspoons baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Mix together 1 cup room temperature margarine, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 3/4 sugar, 3/4 soft silken tofu (drained) and 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla. Beat with a hand blender until light and fluffy.

Add the dry ingredients to wet. Stir in the chocolate chips. Place small balls of dough on the cookie tray, about 3 inches apart. Cook for about 12 minutes.

Eat!

When I made the recipe I didn't have any margarine, so I substituted 3/4 cup of vegetable oil. They still tasted great. Next time I am going to try increasing the amount of tofu. Maybe 1 cup or even 1 and a 1/4 cups.

The author of Vegan Lunch Box also has a blog, which is how I first discovered the cookbook. Some of the recipes from the book and newer recipes she has created can be found there. 

Do you have any sneaky snack secrets? Don't keep them to yourself! Please share!

Brie is the mom of an almost 4 year old daughter “the girl” and twenty-two month old son “the boy”. You can read her blog at Capital Mom.

If life gives you lemons, make lemonade!

by Brie There is nothing like a glass of lemonade on a hot summer day. Especially if it is homemade.

We have a favorite lemonade recipe that comes from our well used copy of The New Canadian Basics Cookbook. It is one of the husband's favorite party treats to make. It is also one of our favorite treats to give. This year my one and a half-year old and three and a half-year old made a big batch to give to the girl's preschool teachers as an end of the year gift. Needless to say, they loved it!

I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't as hard to make as I thought it would be with two kids. My tip is to double the batch and then each child is in charge of their own batch. They each get their own bowl, their own pile of lemons and their own sugar to dump in the bowl.

I will warn you that the sugar, and not the boiling hot water, is the trickiest part of this recipe. I kept a close eye on the girl but when I looked back at her after turning away for only a moment she had her face in the sugar cup trying to lick as much of it as possible. She maintained she was just smelling it but I could see the white sugar crystals on her lips!

Here is our favorite lemonade recipe!

In a heatproof glass jar or a bowl, combine:

- 3/4 cup lemon juice

- 2 tbsp grated lemon rind

- 3 cups granulated sugar

- 2 cups boiling water

Stir well until the sugar is dissolved. Cover and refrigerate. For each service, mix 2 to 4 tbsp concentrate with 3/4 cup cold water, or to taste.

 Then enjoy some yummy lemonade. Or, set up a table out front and teach the kids how to run their own lemonade stand!

Brie is the mom of a 3.5 year old daughter “the girl” and eighteen month old son “the boy”. You can read her blog at Capital Mom.

I can't believe it's butter!

by Brie I like the idea of making things from scratch. I really like the idea of making easy things from scratch. My new favorite easy thing to make? Butter.

Yup, you heard right. Butter. And I am making it the easy way. No wooden butter churn for me. All you need to make butter are two marbles, a clean baby food jar and some heavy cream (i.e. whipping cream). Oh, and a lot of muscle.

The three-year old girl and I had some fun one afternoon making butter while her brother napped. She plopped two marbled into the jar and then filled up the jar half way with cream. I screwed the lit on very, very tight. Then the shaking began.

I wish I could tell you that she did most of the shaking, but well, that would be lying. Instead she would do a little shaking and then hand the jar back to me to do a lot of shaking. So I shook and shook and shook.

After awhile I couldn't hear the marbles rattling around anymore. I thought this is it! So I opened the jar and found...whipping cream. Convinced that I had somehow done something wrong, like buy the wrong cream, I let the girl eat four crackers spread with whipping cream. She loved it.

While she ate I sat there thinking. Finally I decided to try shaking the jar some more. And what do you know! I heard a distinct slosh sound and what had been whipping cream suddenly split into butter and whey. Success!

The girl ate another four crackers, this time topped with butter. I used the butter in my cooking the next day. Really, the butter is very yummy. After eating it you will want to make butter all the time.

The best part, though, was making something from scratch and showing the girl how butter can easily be homemade.

Brie is the mom of a 3.5 year old daughter “the girl” and twenty-two month old son “the boy”. You can read her blog at Capital Mom.

Easy Birthday Cupcakes - A Mom's Lifesaver

by Isabelle I recently resuscitated an old trick of my mom's for those times where you're busy and you're expecting a bunch of kids to your house: ice cream cone cupcakes. I made them a few weeks ago for my little guy's fourth birthday, and they were a HUGE hit, with both kids and grownups.

Step 1: Prepare your favorite cake batter (or use a mix if you're short on time and ingredients)

Step 2: Pour the batter into flat-bottomed ice cream cones placed in muffin tins.

Step 3: Bake according to cupcake recipe directions (nothing special needed for the cones).

Step 4: Decorate and enjoy!

This is what my quickie cupcakes looked like:

For slightly older kids, an easy birthday party activity would be to frost the cupcakes themselves. With the 3- and 4-year old crowd, though, I picked a different activity and just let them enjoy the pre-decorated cupcakes :)

Isabelle is the mom of 3.5 year old Jay and two-month old Rosie. You can also find her at Dr. Peach’s Blog.