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Make Now Bake Later Cookies

By

dd

A wonderful family Christmas tradition I started since the children came along is baking Christmas cookies. My daughter is now nearly 5, but we started doing it when she was 2, and actually do it all year round. Of course, during Christmas it becomes even more special as we make enough to give away and its a good excuse to use our special cutters in holiday shapes like a Christmas tree, bell, star and angel. The gingerbread man is my daughter’s favourite, as is the snowman.

Everyone has a favourite cookie recipe of their own, but this particular one is ideal for the busy Mom as they freeze really well and come in handy when the kids just want to do the shaping and icing part (and you have enough on your hands to want to mix and measure). Oh, and best of all, these taste really good too!

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

Heat oven to 375� F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

With an electric mixer on medium-high, beat the butter, brown and granulated sugars, corn syrup, and vanilla for 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat until combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture to the egg mixture. Add ingredients from the variation of your choice.

Unless the directions for the variation state otherwise, form the dough into tablespoon-size mounds. Place on the prepared baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake until lightly browned at the edges, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer the cookies to wire racks. Cool completely.

To Make Now and Bake Later: When you mix a batch of cookies, double the recipe. Bake half the dough according to the recipe and divide the rest into 4 equal portions. Roll each portion into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap each log in plastic, then place in a resealable plastic bag. To save yourself time and hassle, label the bag with the flavor, the oven temperature, and the baking time, adding 3 to 6 minutes to the regular oven time. Freeze the dough for up to 3 months. To bake, slice the frozen dough into rounds about 1/2 inch thick, making as few or as many as you would like. Bake on a parchment- or foil-lined baking sheet.

Yield: Makes 40 cookies

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 105(43% from fat); FAT 5g (sat 3g); SUGAR 8g; PROTEIN 1g; CHOLESTEROL 17mg; SODIUM 67mg; FIBER 1g; CARBOHYDRATE 15g

[tags]Christmas, Holidays, Christmas cookies, cookie recipe[/tags]

Originally posted on December 15, 2006 @ 1:12 pm

The Grossest Fingers Ever

By

ddd

I was about to post another totally adorable DIY costume, but I came across these totally disgusting appetisers, which are just too horrible not to share.

To be honest, I feel physically sick when I look at these, but I’m pretty sure it will elicit joy from my daughter and her kindergarten gang. I’m debating whether I should serve it at my next drinks party……just to see the faces of my friends.

These grotesque digits are actually delicious pretzels, and the recipe makes about 45 of them – so perfect for a party (or scaring your husband when he raids the fridge in the middle of the night). The recipe also suggests you sprinkle the fingers with rosemary, to complete the freakish, bristle-laden look.

Ingredients:

24 blanched almonds, halved lengthwise
Red food coloring, optional
1 tablespoon sugar
1 scant tablespoon active dry yeast (one 1/4-ounce package)
5 1/2 to 6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons baking soda
1 large egg
Sea salt
Dried rosemary (optional)
Vegetable-oil cooking spray

1. Place a small amount of food coloring in a shallow bowl, and, using a paintbrush, color the rounded side of each split almond; set aside to dry.

2. Pour 2 cups warm water (110�) into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough-hook attachment. Add sugar; stir to dissolve. Sprinkle with yeast, and let stand until yeast begins to bubble, about 5 minutes.

3. Beat 1 cup flour into yeast on low speed until combined. Beat in salt; add 3 1/2 cups flour until combined. Beat until dough pulls away from bowl, 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low; add 1/2 cup flour. Knead 1 minute more. If dough is sticky, add up to 1 cup more flour. Transfer to a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth, 1 minute.

4. Coat a large bowl with cooking spray. Transfer dough to bowl, turning dough to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap; let rest in a warm spot to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

5. Heat oven to 450�. Heat 3 quarts water to boil in a 6-quart straightsided saucepan over high heat; reduce to a simmer. Add baking soda. Lightly coat two baking sheets with cooking spray. Divide dough into quarters. Work with one quarter at a time, and cover remaining dough with plastic wrap. Divide the first quarter into twelve pieces. On a lightly floured work surface, roll each piece back and forth with your palm into a long finger shape, about 3 to 4 inches. Pinch dough in two places to form knuckles. When all twelve fingers are formed, transfer to simmering water. Poach for 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer fingers to baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, blanching each set of 12 fingers before making more.

6. Beat egg with 1 tablespoon water. Brush pretzel fingers with egg wash. Using a sharp knife, lightly score each knuckle about three times. Sprinkle with salt and rosemary, if using. Position almond nails; push into dough to attach. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on wire rack. Fingers are best eaten the same day; or store, covered, up to 2 days at room temperature.

[tags]Recipes,Halloween,Appetizers,Pretzels[/tags]

Originally posted on October 15, 2006 @ 8:04 pm

The Five Ingredients For The Perfect Lunchbox

By

ss

To continue from the last post, a good way to get started on daily lunchbox planning is to do it based on the 4 vital ingredients. I’ve given some ideas too below.

1. Protein

Try sandwiches filled with chicken, eggs, tuna, cheese or ham (try the turkey kind). My daughter also likes pasta or rice with chicken or tuna.

2. Complex Carbs

Complex carbohydrates, as opposed to refined carbs, release energy slowly, ensuring that your child has enough energy to last the day and wont need a coffee after lunch. Find this in whole grain breads, pasta, brown or red rice and the good old banana.

3. Calcium

Kids simply need calcium for their growth, so do remember cheese, yougurts, fromage frais and milk (including milkshakes). Experts say kids above 5 can go low-fat, but personally I’ll keep mine on whole until they hit puberty. It just seems they should enjoy whole as long as they can.

4. Fruit and Veg

Heres where they’ll get their all-important vitamins, anti-oxidants, minerals and other lovely things. I sneak the veg in pasta sauce (tomatoes and carrots), chicken meatballs (with spinach) and even cake (carrot & pineapple). My kids love raisins, oranges, mangoes apples (with cinnamon sugar – the brown kind) and broccoli too, so I count myself lucky. Oh, and corn too. Does that count as a vegetable?

5. The Treat (entirely optional)

Ok, this bit is optional depending on how much of a health-obsessed Mom you are. But even if you are, you can kinda cheat. As a treat, you could throw in one of those fruit leather things (or fruit roll ups if you’re lazy and feeling indulgent) or some cake or cookies (homemade is better, but a raisin oat variety or wholewheat teddy grahams from the store is ok too).

On Martha Stewart’s site, she drew funny faces on fruit with edible markers or better yet, do as my Mother did when I was little and make faces on top of brown rice using grapes and veg slivers. It got me to eat my complex carbs, and made me the envy of my 1st grade class.

Originally posted on September 11, 2006 @ 3:00 pm

Lunchbox No-no’s: Foods That Pretend To be Healthy

By

dd

Before you start planning tomorrow’s lunchbox, I thought it would be useful to make a quick list on what SHOULDNT go into the lunchbox. This is because of the gross amount of things you can find in any supermarket today – things, which masquerade as “healthy” items but are actually NOT.

Here’s what to be wary of:

1. Fruit Drinks – if its not 100% juice, its got very little of the real stuff in and probably masses of flavourings, sugar and coloring. Better choices to give are homemade smoothies or pure juice.

2. Fruit Snacks – I plead guilty to this as seen in my last post’s mention of fruit roll ups (but my daughter loves them!). Anything that says “with real fruit!” on it probably has very little fruit and gargantuan amounts of sugar. Yikes.

3. Processed Snacks – Cheese strings, cheese and cracker packs, and obviously crisps (despite being wholewheat etc) can be loaded with salt and saturated fats. Not good.

4. Flavoured and Kid’s Yougurt – Kids yogurt tend to be sweeter or worse, with those add-ins like sprinkles, chocolate etc which mean too far too sweet. Think of it as 5 teaspoons of white sugar in each pot.

5. Cereal Bars – On the outside these do look convincingly healthy, but the reality is actually about 40% sugar, 30% fat and some major cavities tomorrow. Did I scare you enough?

Originally posted on September 13, 2006 @ 3:02 pm

Solving Daily Lunchbox Dilemmas

By

ddd

Like billions of Moms everywhere, every morning (or the night before for the more organized ones) I have to come up with what to put in my daughter’s lunchbox. Quite a challenge as each day must have 3 important factors:

1. Yum factor (she’ll eat it)

2. Health factor (to diminish any guilt on my part that I’m feeding my kid right)

3. Variety factor (kids thrive on this in waves, after one particular fave is no longer a fave you’ll have to experiment to find a new one so variety does matter)

And now that my child has both snacktime and lunch at school, I have to be extra creative.

It is extra difficult to succumb to temptation at the supermarket in the name of convenience, where there are miles of aisles devoted to pre-packaged biscuits and crisps, all brightly coloured with kid-ogle-worthy characters but unhappily laden with all the scary mono-poly-whatever fats, salts, refined sugar, msg and other frightening dyes.

I’m no granola Mom (and occasionally buy oreos and take them to yikes- Mac Donalds) but I do like to think that I’m not filling my kids with scary things that will pop out and haunt them later on. And that the rosy glow of health is also a look I like to see on them.

According to a nutritionist a healthy lunchbox should have the capability of improving your child’s attention, behaviour and learning throughout the day and into the afternoon, providing 1/3 of your child’s daily requirements of nutrients.

So to simplify:

1. Protein: to keep them alert

2. Complex Carbs: for slow-release energy

3. Calcium: for growth, healthy bones and teeth

4. Fruit and veg: for vitamins and minerals

More on my next post on ideas for this. Stay tuned Moms.

Originally posted on September 9, 2006 @ 12:50 pm

The Best Cookbooks For Vegetarian Kids. Part 2

By

ss

Feeding the Healthy Vegetarian Family
By Ken Haedrich (1998, Bantam Books, $16. Reading level: Adult)

Vegetarian father-of-four, Ken Haedrich dishes out more than 250 kid-tested, meat-free recipes that can be prepared in short order, taste good, use easy-to-find ingredients, and are healthy. The book is sprinkled with family anecdotes, sections just for the kids, and tips for enjoying vegetarian meals without feeling deprived.

New Vegetarian Baby: An Entirely New, Updated Edition of the Classic Guide to Raising Your Baby on the Healthiest Possible Diet
By Sharon Yntema and Christine Beard (1999, McBrooks Press, $16. Reading level: Adult)

Certified nutrition educator and counselor Christine Beard teamed up with the author of the original Vegetarian Baby (published in 1980) to create a level-headed, well-researched, timely, and accurate guide to feeding your baby a nutritious yet meatless diet.

Better Than Peanut Butter & Jelly: Quick Vegetarian Meals Your Kids Will Love!
By Wendy Muldawer (1997, McBrooks Press, $17. Reading level: Adult)

Yes, whipping up yet another pb&j is an easy way to keep the kids fed, but even the most change-averse child will get sick of the same old thing eventually. This book packs 150 low-fat, low-sugar, kid-friendly recipes, such as Brown Rice Fruit Salad and Cartwheel Carrots, that can be prepared without a lot of hassle. Snack and party ideas are included, as are vegan options.

Originally posted on June 6, 2006 @ 3:46 pm

Kids and Junk Food

By

Saying an absolute “no” to those cookies and chips may be doing your child more harm than good.

As our children grow we have less say over all areas of their life including their nutrition. While we may pack a healthy lunch, there’s not much you can do to stop them trading their nutritious apple for cookies, or spending their allowance on a chocolate bar. While as a parent you may not approve, keep in mind that there is a place for junk food in a diet … as long as that place is a very small one. Pediatrician and co-author of All Shapes and Sizes, Dr. Miriam Kaufman adds that “junk food is sometimes very good for the soul and it’s very important not to deprive our children of this.”

So how do we fit in a little junk food without overdoing it? Dr. Kaufman suggests that we “go with smaller portions, go with them as things that you have every once in a while so that potato chips are not dietary staples. Go with one scoop of ice cream instead of three. Even make your own ice cream with low fat yogurt and milk instead. There are lots of treats which are low fat. Popcorn is one of the greatest. If you do it in a hot air popcorn maker you can stick a tablespoon of butter on it and it’s still pretty low fat.”

Nutritionist Jadine Kairns agrees that a little junk food is okay. In fact, if it’s never allowed it may become the forbidden fruit and that can be trouble in itself. “I think all snacks can be offered. I even advocate chips and candy once in a while. I believe junk food does have a place in our diet, because the more you say no to yourself or have someone say no to you, the more you can really value that. So I really believe in variety, moderation and a relaxed attitude towards eating and what it entails.”

And as for the odd meal at the local burger joint Kairns feels that “the approach to fast food should be the same as to junk food. In moderation it’s okay. You don’t necessarily want a steady diet of it, but when you put together a shake, fries and a burger, you’re getting the milk, protein, starches even a little vegetable. So the four foods groups are covered, but what they are high in is fat.”

So relax when your child is out with friends and has had nothing but junk food. As Dr. Kaufman says, “every once in a while it’s okay for your child to go out and have ice cream and cake at a party.”

Originally posted on June 24, 2006 @ 10:38 pm

The Best Cookbooks For Vegetarian Kids. Part 1

By

dd

Whether you’re merely hoping to get a carrot or two into your child’s meals or wondering how to provide a balanced, healthy diet for a budding vegetarian, check out these cookbooks. They’re chock-full of veggie recipes guaranteed to please fussy family members, including some that even kids can help make.

Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes: A Cookbook for Preschoolers & Up
By Mollie Katzen and Ann L. Henderson (1994, Tricycle Press, $17. Reading level: Ages 4 to 8)

Vegetarian foodie Mollie Katzen (author of The Moosewood Cookbook) and educator Ann Henderson have teamed up to create a kid-friendly, nutritionally mindful, and parent-perfect book. Each of the 19 recipes starts with individual instructions for both the adult and child, is illustrated with cute animals, and includes insider reviews from kids who have tried the recipes. Children will love the easy-to-follow step-by-step illustrations, and parents will like that science and math lessons are covertly woven into assignments for mixing and measuring.

101 Meatless Family Dishes: Delicious & Satisfying Recipes the Whole Family Will Love (Even the Kids!)
By John Ettinger (1995, Prima Publishing, $15. Reading level: Adult)

Whether your family shuns meat completely or you just want to switch out a couple of animal-based dishes each week for plant-based ones, this book, written by the food columnist for The Portland Oregonian, offers plenty of options. The sheer number of family-tested recipes, such as Texan Stuffed Peppers, Spicy Vegetable Pilaf Casserole, and Herbed Cheese Ravioli, ensures that you’ll find something to please the palates of everyone in your home.

Originally posted on June 5, 2006 @ 3:42 pm

Feeding Your Baby On The Road. Part 2.

By

vv

Feeding solids on the go

Starting at about age 4 to 6 months, your child will probably start eating solid food � so get ready to add soft spoons, dishes, bibs, and more to your already bulging diaper bag.

What helps: Disposable or plastic-coated bibs.

Disposable bibs are really extra-thick paper towels with Velcro-like closures that you toss after one use. Plastic-coated bibs can be wiped clean with a wipe or napkin and machine-washed when you get home. Portable placemats. Portable placemats that you can lay down on restaurant tables or highchair trays give you the peace of mind of knowing that your baby’s eating off of a clean surface. You’ll find reusable or disposable mats made of plastic � these are handy because they don’t slip. Disposable placemats (essentially heavy-duty paper towels) also do the trick, but they don’t stay put as well as the plastic ones.

Mini-food dicer. Tired of cutting your baby’s food into bite-size pieces?

A food dicer does the job quickly for you and is small enough to fit in your diaper bag. Just drop the fruits, vegetables, meat, or poultry that you want to feed your baby into the dicer, press a few times, and the meal is ready to serve, safely.

Knowing the safety rules of baby food.

If you’re offering food from a jar or container, don’t dip the spoon back into the food after it’s touched your child’s mouth unless you’re sure he’ll eat it all (or you don’t want to save what’s left). The spoon will contaminate the remaining food with bacteria. Instead, use a clean spoon to scoop a small amount of food into a bowl and serve from there. Once a jar of commercial baby food has been opened, it will keep � refrigerated � for 24 to 48 hours (read the jar’s label for specifics: Fruits keep longer than meats). If you don’t have access to a refrigerator, sandwich any leftovers in ice packs in an insulated cooler. When in doubt, throw it out. It’s better not to risk serving contaminated food.

Clip-on seat or self-inflating booster.

Helpful whether you’re dining in a restaurant or at a friend’s house, these seats attach to virtually any table, or even a picnic bench. A self-inflating booster is compact enough to fit in most diaper bags or backpacks.

Disposable snack cups.

Fill a couple of plastic cups with fitted tops with snacks appropriate for your child’s age: rice cereal for an infant (add breast milk, formula, or water when you’re ready to feed), toasted O’s cereal, teething biscuits, goldfish crackers, mandarin oranges, peeled and sliced grapes. These containers keep food from spilling or getting crushed � and they make great serving bowls for jarred food, too.

Disposable spoons.

Infant- and toddler-sized disposable spoons are useful for mixing cereal and for feeding your baby. And you don’t have to worry about cleaning them to take home.

Mini-insulated tote bag.

A small cooler bag with ice packs keeps formula, juice, yogurt, cheese, and other perishable foods fresh until you need them. If your baby is still eating just a few foods, it will make your life easier if you keep them on hand and then “supplement” with appropriate foods available wherever you happen to be eating.

Portable mini-fridge.

For longer outings such as road trips, a portable refrigerator with a car adapter (which can also be plugged into a standard electric outlet) keeps jars of opened baby food, snacks, breast milk, and prepared formula cool.

Tip: Even when you’re at home, offer jarred baby food at room temperature rather than heating it. That way, when you’re out (where warming it up would be inconvenient), your baby will enjoy it just as it is.

Originally posted on May 22, 2006 @ 4:35 am