Hi everyone and please click on the title of this post to read more. Please read the following:
“My philosphy is that I make what I like to eat and if my kids (12,12 and 9) don’t like it, then they don’t have to eat it. But I do not prepare alternate meals. I’m sure that if my kids begin to appear undernourished, people around this wonderful town of Montclair will let me know. “
This is just one of the many great comments from the last blog post where many people had thoughts to express about how they cook for their kids and how they feel about Cheerios for breakfast. I am very interested in this last statement; What other people think.
So many of us are driven to make changes because of what others think about our parenting styles. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Some of us are shocked at what other parents feed their kids but don’t tell them, for fear of sounding judgmental. Others come right out to the person and exclaim that they can’t believe what they’re feeding their kids. How many of us have been on either side of this awkward discussion?
Years ago, a friend of mine saw Skippy peanut butter in my pantry (It was you, Julie R.!). She told me that she was surprised I would give my daughter that product because of the hydrogenated oils. I had no idea that Skippy had bad oils and never thought to check (this was about 7 years ago so cut me some slack, please). I was embarrassed but NEVER bought Skippy again and never again assumed that peanut butter or any other product for kids was without really dangerous ingredients for their precious little bodies.
That being said, I do give my kids baked goods and other sweets but I try to bake them with the less evil ingredients and not constantly. With regard to Cheerios, no, they are not a “bad” food, but for my family who eats the bulk of their nutritious foods in the morning, I need to make a concerted effort to have them eat as much nutrient rich stuff as possible when I can. We all need to pay attention to our own family’s eating styles and patterns to see how we can get the most nutrients in them in a non-challenging way.
In the following recipe for awesome mint brownies, I tried not to use food coloring but my eight year old insisted. We won’t judge you or at least embarrass you to your face if you choose to make the filling green. Let’s face it, green = mint, right? Enjoy!
P.S. If you want to donate soup to the “souper bowl” for the Montclair Human Needs Food Pantry, please go to www.cookingwithfriendsclub.com for details about delivering soup 1/27 and 1/29
Mint brownies:
Any brownie recipe you like or try this one…
4 oz. chopped unsweetened chocolate (like Bakers brand)
1 1/2 stick of butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line an 8’X8″ pan with parchment paper. Melt butter and chocolate in a sauce pan until melted. Add in sugars , stir until melted and smooth. let cool and then add in eggs and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Add flour and whisk just until blended. Pour into prepared pan and bake about 30-35 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.
Mint topping:
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1 cup confectioners (powdered) sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
green food coloring (optional)
With a whisk or an electric mixer, combine all above ingredients until smooth. Spread on cooled, baked brownies and put in fridge to harden.
Then…
Chocolate topping:
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Melt above in a microwave bowl or in a double boiler and stir until smooth. Make sure you don’t heat too much or it will burn. Spread over hardened mint layer of brownies, put back in fridge to set and EAT!
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4 Responses
Breakfast is tough. We don’t eat cereal(except oats) as they are so processed but what to feed the kids? I’ve been experimenting with this waffle recipe until I found a recipe that my daughter likes:
1 cup millet
1 cup buckwheat(I substitute steel cut oats)
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 egg(optional)
2 tablespoons butter, ghee or coconut oil
2 tablespoons honey or blackstrap molasses(I use maple syrup)
1 tablespoon orange zest(optional)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup sunflower and/or pumpkin seeds
Soak millet and buckwheat(oats) in 1 1/2 cups of water overnight(or at least 5 hours)
Drain, rinse and place soaked grains in blender(not a vita-mix, makes batter too dense). Add enough fresh water to just reach top of grains. Add coconut, egg, butter, honey, orange zest, cinnamon and salt. Process into thick batter. Pour batter onto waffle iron and sprinkle on seeds and bake.
I make a batch and store it in tupperware in the fridge so all I have to do is pour it into the waffle iron in the morning. You can also make pancakes by adding 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to the ingredients.
My daughter likes them made with millet and oats, maple syrup and without the orange zest and cinnamon but you can play around with it. These waffles cut down on wheat consumption and millet, buckwheat and oats are very healthy grains.
Breakfast is tough. We don’t eat cereal(except oats) as they are so processed but what to feed the kids? I’ve been experimenting with this waffle recipe until I found a recipe that my daughter likes:
1 cup millet
1 cup buckwheat(I substitute steel cut oats)
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 egg(optional)
2 tablespoons butter, ghee or coconut oil
2 tablespoons honey or blackstrap molasses(I use maple syrup)
1 tablespoon orange zest(optional)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup sunflower and/or pumpkin seeds
Soak millet and buckwheat(oats) in 1 1/2 cups of water overnight(or at least 5 hours)
Drain, rinse and place soaked grains in blender(not a vita-mix, makes batter too dense). Add enough fresh water to just reach top of grains. Add coconut, egg, butter, honey, orange zest, cinnamon and salt. Process into thick batter. Pour batter onto waffle iron and sprinkle on seeds and bake.
I make a batch and store it in tupperware in the fridge so all I have to do is pour it into the waffle iron in the morning. You can also make pancakes by adding 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to the ingredients.
My daughter likes them made with millet and oats, maple syrup and without the orange zest and cinnamon but you can play around with it. These waffles cut down on wheat consumption and millet, buckwheat and oats are very healthy grains.
I can’t believe I’ve been outed as a judgmental parent!! Yikes! I am glad you followed my advise–I just hope it was said in a more helpful, informative way rather than making you feel judged. From my observations. that was probably your ONLY food indiscretion over the years. That, and marshmallow peeps. But you know I am a peep fan so I cannot judge. But I can remind you the peep season is fast approaching!!
Julie R! You were not judgmental, you simply told me you were surprised and I was embarrassed. In the end, you saved my kids from the evil oils 😉 as a good friend should….