Introducing a brand new Segment: Gabby’s Eats ....There’s a new little blogger on Net and Her Recipe Debut is Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Popsicles!

There have been many segments that I have added to this blog over the years but this is probably one that I am most excited about.  “Gabby’s Eats” was born out my love of developing recipes/blogging and wanting to involve my daughter in this creative process. I started this blog on Dec 28, 2008 and found out I was pregnant just a few short weeks after, so technically my daughter Gabrielle (aka Gabby) has been along with me the entire time.  As she has been growing up I have noticed her interest in cooking, recipe writing and blogging has been increasing. As a toddler she would want to be near me in the kitchen banging pots and pans and taking a peek at what I was making. Then when she became a preschooler there was more watching, making up pretend recipes, plus asking questions and begging me to help plate the food and take photos when I was creating a post. I let her help here and there but always feel a bit guilty that she was not getting more out of it since I am so busy and trying to move quickly.

Now that she just began elementary school, I recently decided it sure would be a good idea to actually get Gabby totally involved in my cooking and blogging in a more concrete way.  One typical weeknight and I was rushing to get dinner on the table and Gabby was doing what she often does, “cooking too” only in her play kitchen, which I purposely have located right next to mine.  She called out to me that she was making “the latest and the greatest new recipes” and began bringing me pretend tastes and samples.  Then, as usual, she tired of her make believe culinary world and asked to help me with dinner prep but being too busy I had to appease her with my usual “next time honey”  and she sadly went back to her pretend space.   When we finally sat down to eat,  and the idea hit me hit me and I asked her “would you like to make up REAL recipes with mommy?” Gabby’s face lit up so brightly and she belted out an emphatic “YES!!!”

We talked about how the purpose of mommy’s blog was to cook healthy food that also tastes great because both are important.  Then I asked her what healthy yummy recipe would she first like to make up.  “Chocolate chip popsicles” was the reply.  We got out a new little notebook and brainstormed while eating our dinner. I mentioned that there are healthy things about chocolate but only to a certain degree so we came up with adding yogurt and peanut butter to the mix too and this recipe was born.  Getting my daughter into the whole creative process of developing a recipe, testing/tasting it, figuring out its nutrition facts using an analysis program and blogging about it from start to finish was magical for us both.  She learns to create, cook, use the computer and camera and I not only get to spend time with her and teach her about healthy eating, but I also get some new recipe ideas from my little helper as well- a WIN WIN!

Hope you enjoy this recipe and look out for more upcoming Gabby’s Healthy Eats posts of original, nutritious, easy and fun recipes (not to mention the whole creative process) that can be enjoyed by kids and adults alike!

PB Chocolate Chip Yogurt Pops

This is a salty + sweet creamy treat that even has a bit of tang to it (think Pinkberry!) The chocolate chips want to sink to the bottom so you can blend them in with other ingredients as another option. 

(This photo taken and edited by Gabby herself!)

Ingredients:

12 ounces of vanilla lowfat yogurt (we used and highly recommend Trader Joes organic)

3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter  

1 Tablespoon honey

2 Tablespoon mini chocolate chips

¼ cup milk (we used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)

dixie cups, popsicle sticks and plastic wrap

Directions:

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and mix on high until a smooth mixture is formed.  Or another option is to blend the ingredients and then mix in the chocolate chip whole (but they do tend to sink to the bottom- both versions are pictured above). Pour the mixture into six Dixie cups.  Carefully place the filled cups in a container (a mini muffin tin works well) cover with plastic wrap, poke holes in it and add popsicle sticks in the center of each cup.  Freeze for 4-6 hours until solid and enjoy!   

Note: You can also freeze without the sticks, remove from the Dixie cups let soften a bit and eat in a bowl ice cream style which is delicious too!

Makes 6 pops, six servings

Serving size: 1 yogurt pop Calories 130 Protein 4  g Carb 17  g Fiber 0 g Sugars 9 g Fat  5 g Saturated fat 1.5  g Sodium 50  mg