Fresh Peach Salsa

When I saw that peaches were on sale this week, I knew I had to make this. This is the first time I've made a fruit salsa and I loved it!

Ingredients

4 firm ripe yellow peaches, chopped

2 T green onions

1 jalapeno, minced with ribs, stem and seeds removed

juice from 1 lemon

3 T fresh mint, chopped

1 T ginger, fresh grated

1 T sugar

Directions

Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until it reaches your desired consistency. (7 times was perfect for me).

Source

Adapted from Simply Recipes*

*Their server is temporarily unavailable, I'll update link when it is corrected

Strawberry Banana Bites

I woke up yesterday morning and realized that every single skillet in my house was dirty. Iusually make scrambled eggs for Michaela's breakfast, but ever since we got our new dishwasher, I try as hard as possible not to wash dishes by hand. I immediately thought of this recipe, and whipped up a quick batch. I made some "normal" ones, then added some pureed strawberries to the batter to make these Strawberry Banana versions. I imagine this would be delicious with any type of pancake batter. These are so yummy and easy to make. The banana caramelizes a bit and they are the perfect size for little hands. Michaela couldn't put them down!

Ingredients

pancake mix, boxed or homemade

strawberries, pureed

bananas, sliced

syrup (optional)

Directions

Prepare pancake batter as normal, exept replace 1/2 liquid with pureed strawberries. Pour pancake batter onto hot greased griddle about the size of a banana slice. Put a banana slice on top, then cover with more batter, flipping when bubbles start to appear. Alternately, you could coat the banana slices in batter, then cook on griddle. You could serve with syrup, but they were pretty sweet as is, so I didn't bother.

Source

Adapted from Weelicious

Chocolate Banana Oatmeal Cups

My little one turned two yesterday, so in honor of her birthday, I made her these oatmeal cups for breakfast. They were a big hit! Don't expect these to be a muffin like consistency. It's basically baked oatmeal, but it is a really really yummy breakfast, and the chocolate chips just makes you feel like you are eating dessert for breakfast. This would be a great snack too!

Ingredients
3 over ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup chocolate soy milk
2 eggs
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 cups old fashioned or rolled oats
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons mini chocolate chips

Directions
Mix all the ingredients together and put in lightly sprayed or lined muffin cups. Bake for 20-30 minutes in a 375 degree oven. Cool on wire racks. Makes 12-15 cups.

Real World Wednesday - Toddler Milkshakes

If you have a kid who refuses to eat fruits or vegetables, this is a must-have recipe. After I got this idea from my sister-in-law, I started making this every morning for Michaela. It makes me feel good that even if she refuses all other food that day, she is still getting a few servings of fruit, veggies, calcium and fiber.

Ingredients

1 Banana

1/2 cup fresh Spinach

3-4 Strawberries

2 tablespoons ground flax seed and/or wheat germ

1/2-1 cup yogurt, plain or vanilla

2-3 cups Milk

any other fruits or veggies

Directions

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Notes

• You can really put anything you want in this shake. I have a friend who uses carrots, something I've been wanting to try. I always use bananas and strawberries, then look for seasonal fruits that are on sale to add in.
• It usually takes Michaela the entire day to finish this. I pull this out first along with any meal or snack, then return it immediately to the refrigerator when she's done.
• You can't taste the spinach because of the overwhelming flavor of the banana, however, it does sometimes turn the shake green. Since this can be off-putting to some kids, I would recommend using a cup that you can't see through. I use The First Years Insulated sippy cups, with the rubber valve on top cut out.
• Adjust the amounts to your own taste. Sometimes I make enough for me to have a glass also.

Fruit & Yogurt Salad

This is more a snack idea than a recipe, inspired by two different blogs. I've been wanting to make this ambrosia salad for awhile, but never think about it till I really want it, so I never have the ingredients on hand. The other day I had a plate full of fruit so I decided to make a fruit compote and added some yogurt to make it creamy like the ambrosia salad. This is delicious! I used this as a side for our dinner (egg mcmuffins), but this would also be perfect as a light breakfast, healthy snack, or even as a dessert!

Ingredients

Fruit, cut up

vanilla yogurt, enough to cover the fruit

wheat germ

ground flax seed

Directions

Combine and serve!

Notes

• I used bananas, kiwi, nectarine and apple.
• This is a great base recipe, use whatever you have on hand to create a flavor you like!

Date Snacks

With only a handful of ingredients and no cooking or baking, these are quick, easy, healthy, and super delicious! They are based off a recipe for homemade Lara Bars that I found while looking for healthy snack ideas for Michaela & me. While these are perfect for a carb boost before or after working out, or even as a quick afternoon pick-me-up, I think these are definitely dessert worthy and significantly healthier than that candy bar you buy everytime you're in the checkout lane at the grocery store. (You thought no one knew did you?) :)

Ingredients

1 c dates

1 c dried cherries (or other dried fruit)

1 1/3 c chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions

Pulse dates & cherries in a food processor until it forms a thick paste. Put mixture in a seperate bowl. Then chop your nuts finely in the same processor. Add the nuts and cinnamon to the fruit paste and knead until everything is well combined. At this point, I just rolled the mixture into several small truffle shaped balls and placed them in an airtight plastic container. The original directions call for them to be shaped into protein bar type rectangles, but I figured Michaela would be more likely to eat them if they were bite sized.

Notes:

• If you don't have a food processor, a blender, magic bullet or pampered chef style food chopper will work just fine. In fact, the dates are so sticky that if you don't have any of those and wanted to use a knife and a bit of elbow grease, you would be fine.
• The originaly directions say to store these in the refrigerator to maintain their freshness but none of the ingredients are perishable and I prefer my snacks to be room temperature so they are sitting on my kitchen counter. Plus these things are so delicious, I don't think they're going to be around long enough for me to worry about maintaining their freshness!

I hope you enjoy these as much as we have! Be sure to check out the original post for variation ideas and to read about the nutritional benefits of dates!