I'm officially in the running for Mommy of The Year according to my kids because this weekend I let them have cookies for breakfast.
Now before you call the nutrition police hear me out—these cookies are packed full of all the things we TRY to get our kids to eat for breakfast in the morning including bananas, oatmeal, and apples!
Simply mix all of the ingredients in a bowl (including a few optional chocolate chips).
Drop onto a baking sheet.
Bake for 15 minutes then wait to be handed your award after you tell your kids they're eating cookies for breakfast. Don't worry—I won't tell if you don't!
Ingredients:
3 ripe bananas
2 cups uncooked, quick-cooking oats
1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce (or one of those hand snack-sized ones)
1/4 cup skim milk
1/3 cup raisins (if not using chocolate chips use 1/2 cup raisins)
1/3 cup chocolate chips (optional)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tbsp. brown sugar
Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, mash bananas with a fork. Mix in the remaining ingredients and blend well with wooden spoon. Let mixture stand for at least 5 minutes to allow oatmeal to moisten. Drop dough by approx. 2 tablespoons-full onto baking sheet (I use my baking scoop for easy measuring). Note: When I made the cookies pictured I "forgot" to flatten them slightly with a fork or the back of a spoon. They still tasted great but they would look more like cookies if flattened slightly. Bake for 15 minutes, remove from oven and let cool completely on rack.
Adapted from Wise Bread.
PS: if you're looking for more kid-friendly breakfast ideas be sure to try my Breakfast Muffins or my grandma's Tater Tot Omelette Pie.
I absolutely LOVE peanut butter and chocolate. While I have never been that great at resisting any kind of dessert, there is a special place in my heart (and preferably my stomach) for anything peanut butter and chocolate.
You can often find me curbing my PB cravings by negotiating with my youngest daughter to let me have one tiny taste as she eats peanut butter with a spoon right out of the container or by smothering a chocolate chip cookie in peanut butter goodness.
But my most recent favourite way to get my fill of peanut butter and chocolate is by baking these cupcakes—it's like a soft peanut butter cookie baked right into a chocolate cupcake—so YUM!
I love this recipe because the kids can help by rolling the peanut butter balls.
And placing them in the cupcake tins.
When baking anything in muffin tins I use my favourite scoop to make for easy measuring.
But the frosting for this recipe is my favourite part and because there are no raw ingredients feel free to let your kids lick the bowl clean.
You can also let them help ice the cupcakes using a sandwich bag with the corner cut off—because this Canned Soup Mom certainly doesn’t want to spend her time cleaning cake decorating tips and bags.
Ingredients:
1 cup icing sugar
1 ¼ cups whipped peanut butter (or smooth/creamy peanut butter), divided
4 tbsp butter, softened
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 box chocolate cake mix (+ all ingredients required on back of box)
1 container milk chocolate icing (or vanilla)
Combine icing sugar, ¾ cup peanut butter, butter and vanilla in a bowl. Mix with mixer until combined.
Using your hands mix into 24 1-inch balls and place on plate in refrigerator.
Meanwhile, line 2 cupcake pans with liners (24 cupcakes in total).
Mix chocolate cake according to directions on the box.
Fill each cupcake liner with 2-3 tablespoons of batter (or use a scoop like mine pictured above).
Place one peanut butter ball in each cupcake and top with equal amounts of remaining batter.
Bake in pre-heated oven according to directions on the box.
Remove from oven and let cool in pans for 2 minutes, remove cupcakes and allow to cool on baking rack. When cupcakes are completely cool, beat together chocolate icing and remaining peanut butter until combined.
Frost each cupcake using desired method (like my sandwich baggie method above!).
Yield: 24 cupcakes
May 19, 2012 is Food Revolution Day.
Inspired by Jamie Oliver’s television show, Food Revolution Day is about fun, getting out into our communities, sitting down for family meals and packing healthy lunches for our kids.
Even before becoming the Canned Soup Mom I have always been a “Sometimes Food Mom”. This means that in my family’s life there are every day healthy foods and sometimes foods.
Yes, Sometimes Foods include drive-thru meals, frozen pre-packaged entrées and foods that come out of a box or a can. But what I’ve come to learn over the last almost decade of being responsible for feeding the little people I love is that healthy every day food does not need to mean time consuming, expensive or even inconvenient.
After all, if this Canned Soup Mom can do it, so can you - especially with a little bit of help from recipes like this one.
I make these meatballs at least once a month and freeze the majority of them. My eight year old daughter’s favourite lunch is three of these meatballs cut into quarters and put into her thermos. For quick week-night dinners I defrost these and toss them over pasta and sauce or put them on a nice crusty roll with tomato sauce and melted cheese. These meatballs are super easy, super fast and definitely Food Revolution Day worthy.
Simply mix the wet ingredients.
Add the dry stuff.
Shape into meatballs and bake.
Then cool and freeze (I don't bother dating mine because they don't last very long).
Ingredients
2 eggs
2 tbsp. dried Italian seasoning
2 tbsp. tomato paste or tomato sauce (I’ve used both and they both taste great)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup milk (I typically use skim)
1 tsp. sea salt (or other coarse salt)
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
2lbs extra lean ground beef (I usually buy the $10 package from my local grocery store or Wal-Mart)
1 cup Parmesan cheese
½ cup bread crumbs
- In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, Italian seasoning, tomato paste, garlic, milk, salt, and pepper until tomato paste is dissolved.
- Add ground beef, cheese, and breadcrumbs and mix together using your hands.
- Form meatballs approximately 3tbsp. in size and place on cookie sheet lined with tin foil and sprayed with non-stick spray (NOTE: if you’ve opened up a jar of tomato sauce instead of using tomato paste I often place a tsp. of sauce over each uncooked meatball just for fun).
- Bake in a pre-heated 325F oven for 30-35 minutes. Using a fork to cut in half check one to ensure it is cooked through (or use a meat themometer). Then cool completely.
Yield: 36 Meatballs
PS: Looking for other super-easy and freezable but sit-down-for-dinner-worthy recipes be sure to try my Three Ingredient Crock Pot Chicken Tacos and my Dad’s famous Two Potato Soup.
Loosely based on this recipe from Crepes of Wrath.
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