Recipe ReDux Post # 74 Gabby's Greek Omelet

The Recipe ReDux for September is "Kids That Cook." And, as the title implies, we were encouraged to bring our kids in the kitchen to help with this challenge.  Gabby is going on 4 plus years of enjoying cooking time with me and lately she has been asking to learn how to make an omelet.  We decided this would be a perfect opportunity for her to learn.  Our weekly local produce box delivery included some fresh oregano this week so we definitely wanted to include that.  As we peeked in the cupboard a jar or olives and some sun dried tomatoes inspired us to go with a Greek style omelet.  We started with some egg whites and used them to blanket some fresh chopped spinach, the oregano, sun dried tomatoes, olives and shredded mozzarella cheese. The combination worked perfectly, was so easy to prepare and was SO flavorful. We spilt it and savored every last bite together. I hope you and your family will give this one a try as well as some the other kid-friendly recipes from the Recipe ReDux group.

Ingredients:

2 eggs or 1/2 cup liquid egg whites/substitute
1/2 cup chopped fresh spinach
1/2 teaspoon oregano (fresh or dried)
1 tablespoon chopped sun dried tomatoes
5 chopped kalamata olives
1/4 cup low fat mozzarella cheese
cooking spray or olive oil

Directions:

Coat a small to medium sized pan with cooking spray or olive oil and warm on medium heat for 1 minute.  Pour in the eggs/liquid egg whites and heat for 1 minute.  Sprinkle the spinach, oregano, sun dried tomatoes, olives and cheese on one side of the eggs and heat for another 1 minute.  Fold the side without the toppings over to cover them and heat for another minute.  Flip the omelet over and heat for another 1-2 minutes until lightly browned.

Makes 1 serving

Serving Size 1 omelet: Calories 205 Protein 22 g Carb 9 g Fiber 1 g Sugars 2 g Fat 9 g Saturated fat 1 g Sodium 656 mg

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Recipe ReDux Post # 59 and Gabby's Eats Strawberry Brownie Bites

June's Recipe ReDux is Bite Size Desserts to celebrate the 6th birthday of the Recipe ReDux challenge.  One of Gabby's Summer "To Do's" is to create a new recipe so I thought I'd bring her in on this one and so glad I did!!  She suggested we do something with a "brownie" and I also wanted to incorporate Summer into the mix so we decided  to use fresh strawberries for the toppings. This no-bake dessert is super easy to make, SO delicious and fairly low in carbs and sugar too.  We hope you will try them out and the other bite size treats from the Recipe ReDux bloggers!

Ingredients:

½ cup creamy or crunchy unsalted natural almond butter (we used Trader Joes Raw Unsalted Crunchy)
3 tablespoons honey

1.5 tablespoons cocoa powder 

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

1/2  cup oats (old fashioned, not quick)(*use a gluten-free oats such as Bob's Red Mill if you are on a gluten-free diet)
¼ cup chocolate chips, measured, then finely chopped

4 strawberries, each quartered

3 tablespoons whipped cream cheese

Wax or parchment paper

Directions:

In a medium sized bowl, combine the honey, cocoa, salt and almond butter and mix well.  Stir in the oats and chocolate chips and mix some more. Press mixture into an 8 by 8 inch pan. (Lining the pan with a large rectangular piece of wax/ parchment paper, placing the mixture on one side and then folding the paper over to press down works nicely since the dough is a bit sticky.) Chill in the fridge for an hour or more (if you can wait that long!) or in the freezer for 10-15 minutes and cut into 16 squares. Roll each square into a ball, top with 1/2 teaspoon of cream cheese and add one strawberry quarter.  

Makes 16 mini bites

Serving size: 1/16 of recipe, 1 bite  Calories 97 Protein 4 g Carb 9 g Fiber 1 g Sugars 7 g Fat 6 g Saturated fat 1 g Sodium 59 mg

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Recipe Redux Post # 54: Kicked Up Tomato Soup

My challenge for Recipe ReDux this January was to create a “budget friendly” entrée that costs less than $3.00/serving.  I thought this was a great idea and brought Gabby in on the task so she could learn about the cost of ingredients in addition to helping me in the kitchen.  When I think of cost friendly, I think of canned ingredients so we looked in our pantry to see what we had.  Being that’s its been cold and rainy lately we thought a soup recipe would be in order and got to work combining what staples we had on hand.  We decided to do a kicked up tomato soup that actually included adding refried beans, corn, chili powder and cumin for some flair.  It was super easy to make and…..costs only roughly $ 1.00 per serving!!  You can add left over chicken or more beans  (like whole pinto or black) if you want to increase the protein and can garnish it with low fat cheese or sour cream as well. We hope you will try it along with the other budget friendly recipes from the Recipe ReDux group.

Ingredients:

32 ounces of vegetable broth

One 16 ounce can of corn  

One 16 ounce can of refried beans

One 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes

2 teaspoons chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a large pot and bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce to medium-low heat and simmer (stirring occasionally) until warmed though and beans are uniformly mixed in, about 10 minutes. 

Makes about 12 cups, six servings

Serving size: 2 cups Calories 140 Protein 6 g Carb 24 g Fiber 7 g Sugars 19 g Fat 4.5 g Saturated fat 0.5 g Sodium 800 mg

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Recipe ReDux Post # 51 and Gabby's Eats: Fabulous Fall Veggie Bowl

“Plant Power Protein Bowls” is the October theme for the Recipe ReDux Challenge and us bloggers were encouraged to put together our own nutritious and delicious plant based, protein packed bowl.  I am fortunate to have a kid that loves veggies so I thought I’d bring Gabby in on this one to help me out. I was very intrigued to find out what kinds of ingredients that she would put in her ideal veggie and protein bowl. Her first step in the planning was to ask me what veggies and fruits were in season.  We took to the internet to research Fall produce and she decided she wanted to do a Fall themed bowl featuring some of the best produce of the season.  

She then literally “mapped” out her bowl recipe on a paper- including kale, sweet potatoes, turnips, Brussels sprouts, as the veggies.   

We thought it would be a fun idea to take a variety of our favorite recipes I have previously created using these veggies in the past, to fill the bowl with all kinds of flavor.  Once our ingredient shopping was done,  we had a busy afternoon of cooking the veggie recipes to put in her bowl. To make it complete, she chose steamed edamame as her plant protein source and then topped her bowl off with a sprinkle of dried cranberries for the finishing touch.  The result was rainbow of color, taste and nutrition and I was very proud of her creation.  We hope you will give it a try and also check out some of the other powerful plant based bowls developed by the awesome group of Recipe ReDux bloggers.

Ingredients:

½ cup Super Smoky Sweet Potato Chips:  Recipe HERE

½ cup Simply Sauteed Kale:  Recipe HERE

½ cup Honey Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts:  Recipe HERE

½ cup Sea Salt Roasted Turnips:  Recipe HERE

¼ cup cooked edamame

1 tablespoon dried cranberries

Directions:

Prepare all the veggie recipes as listed per links above and arrange a ½ cup of each into a medium sized bowl.  Add the edamame and cranberries and serve!

Serving size: 1 bowl Calories 415  Protein 14 g Carb 54 g  Fiber 13 g Sugars 18 g Fat 15 g Saturated fat 1 g Sodium  600 mg

An InLinkz Link-up

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Gabby's Eats: Autumn Harvest Popcorn Bars

Being that October is National Popcorn Popping Month and Halloween is also right around the corner, I decided I had to celebrate both these occasions.  When I saw that SkinnyPop was gluten-free and kid friendly,  I was inspired to develop a recipe that puts a fun “Halloween spin” on popcorn. 

My daughter Gabby LOVES popcorn and I do too, so we were both very excited to work together to create a recipe for the challenge! We have done snack mixes using popcorn in the past, which were super yummy but this time around we wanted to do something different… Gabby and I decided to try our luck with using popcorn in a bar recipe with some Autumn inspired ingredients as "mix-ins" like apples and cranberries.  We used almond butter and a touch of honey as the base, added some sea salt and vanilla to go along with the popcorn, and the combo worked perfectly!  These bars are easy to make, have just the right amount of sweetness and a nice texture.   They are great for a snack, dessert or as a fun treat to bring to a party/gathering.  We hope you will give them a try!

Ingredients:

½ cup creamy or crunchy unsalted natural almond butter  (or sunflower butter for those with nut allergies)

3 tablespoons honey

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon vanilla 

¾ cup chopped dried apple rings

¼ cup dried cranberries
2 cups air popped or store bought light popcorn (plain or lightly salted)

Wax or parchment paper

Directions:

In a medium sized bowl, combine the almond butter, honey, sea salt and vanilla together  and mix well.  Stir in the chopped apple, cranberries and popcorn. Press mixture into an 8 by 8 inch pan. (Lining the pan with a large rectangular piece of parchment paper, placing the mixture on one side and then folding the paper over to press down works nicely since the dough is so sticky.) Chill in the freezer for one hour or the fridge for several hours until firm. Cut into 8 squares and serve. Store in the fridge.

Makes 8 bars

Serving size: 1/8th of recipe  Calories 170 Protein 4 g Carb 22 g Fiber 4 g Sugars 16 g Fat 9 g Saturated fat 1 g Sodium 40 mg

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Gabby's Eats: Sea Salt Roasted Turnips

Gabby and I were overdue for time in the kitchen together so this past weekend we got cooking!  She wanted to make something seasonal and after doing a little research online about Fall fruits and vegetables, she chose turnips. Gabby was intrigued because they are one of the only vegetables she has not tried and I was all about her choice since I have never cooked turnips at home and have only enjoyed them at restaurants. I asked her how she wanted to prepare them and she came up with something simple- olive oil and sea salt. I suggested the best way to cook them was to roast them with her two chosen ingredients.

I peeled and chopped up the turnips (since this was a bit of a challenging task requiring a sharp knife) and then Gabby added the olive oil and the salt and mixed them up. We spread cubed turnips on a greased pan and in just 15 minutes we had crispy delicious turnips fresh out of the oven. They were so delicious and the olive oil and salt were just the perfect way to season them.  Gabby ate them all up and was happy to have a new veggie choice in the rotation.  We hope you will give them a try too!

Ingredients:

2 average sized turnips, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes (about 4 cups raw cubes)

2 tablespoons olive oil

¼- ½ teaspoon sea salt

cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Add the cubed turnips into a medium bowl, put in the olive oil and salt and toss to coat.  Spread the turnips out on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray and roast for 10 minutes. Flip them over and cook another 5-10 minutes until tender with a fork and browned.

Makes 2 Cups, 4 servings

Serving Size: ½ cup Calories 95 Protein 1 g Carb 8 g Fiber 2.5 g Sugars 5 g Fat 7 g Saturated fat 1 g Sodium 400 mg

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Gabby's Eats: Juice Cubes (well...Spheres!)

Being that we are in the throws of Summer and enduring the warm weather, which in Southern California (where we live) will continue easily into November (!),  it is super important to stay hydrated.  Water by itself can get a bit monotonous, namely for kids, but it really is a top choice because it does the job to naturally replenish to the body's fluids WITHOUT any added sugar, calories or other additives.

I was recently sent a fun package of goodies from The Cranberry Institute which included some cranberry juice, a lovely tumbler and a REALLY cool ice cube maker.  Well, not really ice cubes- ice spheres!!  It's called the Flamen Ice Ball Maker.  This handy tool is BPA free, dishwasher safe and creates 2 inch ice spheres which supposedly melt slower than regular ice cubes to keep your drink colder longer.  How cool, right? Literally ;)

Gabby and I decided we wanted to try out this intriguing tool right away, and what better way to liven up her plain ol' water than by making some juice cubes too put in her glass!  She is a big fan of cranberries so we used the cranberry juice that was sent to us. 

Basically, all we had to do was pour the juice in the mold...

Freeze overnight....

And voila- add the spheres to water and enjoy a hint of yummy cranberry flavor!  You can use any juice you like and also use a regular ice cube tray if you don't have a super fancy Flamen handy to make ice spheres!

A big thank you to The Cranberry Institute for the fun Summer care package-  our inspiration to make these delicious and refreshing juice spheres!

Enjoy! And, for cool cranberry news, research and recipes- check out the Cranberry Institute's webpage HERE!!

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Gabby's Eats: Super Easy 2 Ingredient Yogurt Pops!

Each year Gabby and I create a "Summer Fun List" which is essentially a bunch of activities that we carve out time to complete together to liven up the season and combat Summer boredom!! Creating recipes, namely a new popsicle, is always on our list and we developed the easiest one yet this past week!!  I had bought a six pack of 4 ounce yogurts and we happened to have popsicle sticks on hand so we decided to see what the result would be if we simply punched the sticks through the top of the yogurt container and froze them.  Guess what?...It worked!  No need for fancy molds or holders and no mess- what you get is a yummy yogurt pop in no time :)   Just be sure to use pre-blended yogurt varieties instead of fruit on the bottom.  And once they are frozen, it helps to run the container under warm water for easier removal of the yogurt pop.

Ingredients:

6 pack of 4 ounce pre-blended flavored yogurts (We used YoBaby)
6 popsicle sticks

Directions:

Carefully poke the sticks though the top of the container (using a knife to pre-cut a small slit in the top helps), freeze overnight and serve!

Makes six yogurt pops, 6 servings

Serving size: 1 pop Calories 100 Protein 4 g Carb 12 g Fiber 0 g Sugars 9 g Fat 4g Saturated fat 1 g Sodium 65 mg

*nutrition facts will vary depending on brand of yogurt used 

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Gabby’s Eats: Strawberry Banana Protein Muffins

“Let’s bake something with strawberries!” had been a frequent request from Gabby over the last couple of months.  Unfortunately this persistent asking happened to occur during the late Winter/early Spring when strawberries just are not in season in California. (Yes, we could have used frozen but fresh ones taste so amazing.) I would explain this to Gabs but it didn’t really stop her from asking from time to time. So she was very excited indeed when strawberries popped into stores in May and the time had finally come to be able to use them in a recipe. Gabby enjoys the protein muffins I make for breakfast, namely the morning glory flavor.  She decided that another version, a strawberry banana protein muffin, would be just her choice for the our beloved berries.  Her enthusiasm prompted her to initially suggest adding a full 2 cups chopped to the recipe, which was a bit overzealous and led the muffins to be too soft. We scaled them back to 1 ¼ cups and that was just the right amount.  They came out delicious and this recipe was very well worth the wait!

  Ingredients:

2 cup rolled oats (old fashioned, not quick, use a gluten-free oats if you are on a gluten-free diet)

3/4 cup all purpose (or oat flour, which can be used on a GF diet)  

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

6 Tablespoons protein powder (preferably natural unflavored)

3 large sized over ripe bananas, mashed

6 Tablespoons liquid egg white

6 Tablespoons (packed) brown sugar

1/4 cup milk (we used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1.25 cups finely chopped fresh strawberries

cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder and protein powder in a small bowl.  

In a large bowl, mix together the mashed banana, brown sugar, egg whites, milk and vanilla. Add the oats/flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix well. 

Fold in the berries. Spoon into 6 jumbo size muffin pan cups (or 6 small ramiken/small oven safe baking dishes) or 12 regular sized coated with cooking spray and bake on the bottom rack of the oven for about 30-35 minutes for the regular size, and 35-40 minutes for the jumbo, until top is firm, lightly browned and a toothpick comes out mostly clean when inserted into the center.

Makes six jumbo or 12 regular servings

Serving size 1 very large muffin Calories 290  Protein 13  g Carb 52  g Fiber 7  g Sugars 20  g Fat 3.5  g Saturated fat  0 g Sodium 280 mg

Serving size 1 regular sized muffin Calories 145  Protein 7  g Carb 26  g Fiber 3.5 g Sugars 10  g Fat 2  g Saturated fat  0 g Sodium 140 mg

Gabby's Shot

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Recipe ReDux Post # 45 and Gabby's Eats: Ham Cheese and Tomato Pinwheels

April’s Recipe ReDux theme is “Limpin’ Along For Lunch” and we were encouraged to help break out of the lunch rut by coming up with some tasty new ideas.  Gabby and I have not cooked together in awhile since we finished our ecookbook and I this seemed like the perfect opportunity to jump right back into it! I wanted to come up with a quick and easy yet also yummy and creative recipe that she could make with my help. A few weeks ago, at Easter dinner, my father had introduced Gabby to the delicious combination of ham and tomato sandwiches and she really enjoyed it. We decided to put a new twist on this combo by making a pinwheel style sandwich incorporating those same ingredients.  Gabby enjoyed slicing the tomatoes and cutting the crusts off the bread. We used soft whole wheat bread, which easily rolled out flat with the rolling pin.  Soft cheese wedges made a perfect spread to go with the ham and tomato slices.  The roll ups came out great and Gabby really enjoyed making/eating them and was proud of her first recipe of 2016. So was I!! We hope you will try them out and check out some of the other great lunch ideas created by the talented Recipe ReDux group.

Ingredients:

2 large slices of soft whole wheat bread

2 spreadable cheese wedges (we used Laughing Cow Light)

1 medium, roma tomato sliced thin

2 slices (2 ounces)  of lean ham (we used Trader Joes nitrate free ham)

Directions:

Cut the crust off the bread slices and roll them out flat using a rolling pin. 

Spread each bread slice with a cheese wedge.  Layer the ham and then tomatoes on top. Roll up each sandwich and cut into 4-5 pieces. Serve immediately.

   

Makes  2 sandwiches, 2 servings

An InLinkz Link-up

Serving size 1 sandwich Calories 193  Protein 14 g Carb  23 g Fiber 4 g Sugars 8 g Fat 4.5 g Saturated fat 1 g Sodium 657 mg

Gabby's Shot:

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Gabby's Eats: Double Banana Yogurt Pops

Gabby has been very into bananas lately, hence a huge container of banana vanilla yogurt from Trader Joes that we just happened to have in the fridge.  

She wanted to use that as the base for a new recipe.  We simply added fresh banana slices to make a very simple yogurt pop with BIG banana flavor.  The result turned out great and because the ingredients are only yogurt and fruit they are pretty much guilt free. In fact, we wouldn’t even judge if decided to grab one or two for breakfast on a warmer morning…..we may just try that ourselves!

Ingredients:

2 cups of banana or vanilla low fat yogurt (we used and highly recommend Trader Joes organic brand)

1 large banana cut into small chunks

six 3 ounce Dixie cups and  popsicle sticks

plastic wrap

Directions:

Combine all of the ingredients in medium size bowl.  Spoon 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 100 Protein  4 g Carb  20 g Fiber 1 g Sugars 16  g Fat   1 g Saturated fat  0.5 g Sodium  50 mg

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Gabbys Eats: Tomato Basil Baked Egg Cups

Gabby has been wanting to try and make an omelet for awhile now but I have been intrigued with the idea or trying to bake eggs in muffin tins for individual portions and grab and go.  After showing her some example pictures she agreed and was sold trying it.  She wanted to do a very basic combo of fresh tomato, cheese and basil.  Gabs has developed  a real love of basil since we started growing it in the garden last Summer and this was a perfect opportunity to us it.  

The egg cups were surprisingly easy to make and Gabby actually prepared the whole recipe herself  from start to finish.  We keep these in the fridge and just reheat them in a microwave for a quick and fuss-free breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Ingredients

6 large eggs

½ cup egg whites

3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

1 cup sliced cherry tomatoes

¼ cup chopped fresh basil

a dash of salt and pepper

cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Crack the eggs into a large bowl, pour in the egg whites and the parmesan cheese.  Whisk to break up the eggs and mix well. Add the tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper and stir some more.

Coat a standard size 12 muffin tin with cooking spray and divide/pour in the egg mixture to fill all 12 cups, filling each about ¾ full. Bake for 25 minutes until the eggs are set, firm and lightly browned

Serving size: 1 egg cup Calories 50 Protein 5 g Carb 1 g Fiber 0 g Sugars 0 g Fat 3 g Saturated fat 1 g Sodium 75 mg

Gabby's Shot:

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