There just isn’t any reason to buy popsicles full of sugar and High fructose corn syrup, when they are so easy to make yourselves.  Last week’s Tofu Chocolate popsicle was such a hit, we decided to make others.

We blended some

• vanilla yogurt (you can use plain too),
• apricot jam. (No sugar added)

-in the food processor, and filled the popsicle mold.

These froze in less than 3 hours. It could have been sooner, but that is when we checked on them.

Tip for getting your popsicles to release from the mold, is to run the mold under water for just a second.  Usually, they will pop right out after that.

Exciting news: Anni Daulter, (who I spoke of last week) will have an entire cookbook coming out next year with ALL popsicles!

Other popsicles recipes:

• Chocolate tofu pops
• Get your juice on
• Fruit puree popsicles

Our Basic Crepe recipe is:

• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water (or a little  more until it’s a consistency you like)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 TBL melted canola oil
• 1 cup whole wheat flour

Pour 1/3 cup of batter onto skillet and cook until both sides are browned and middle is cooked through.

For the filling we used plain yogurt and berries

So enjoy this beautiful summer day, and hurry with the berries, they are already starting to go up in price around here

“We want video clips of kids, with or without parents, making meals from our meal plans. If they choose to use the clips, they pay $50.

Instructions: Just pick a meal or two, tell us in advance so we don’t make one somebody else already made. Pretend it’s like a cooking show – just lay out the ingredients and show how to prepare the meal. The web guys also said "make it fun" – whatever that means… Just keep shooting, don’t worry about any mistakes since we have a team that will do all of the editing. You can use any of the meals from the plan we sent (you don’t have to be a member), or pick one from this: http://www.45pounds.com/MenuPick

Just mail the finished product to the address below. If the editors want to use it, they will send you a check for $50. That’s about it. Let me know if you have any questions. Mark Daniel 6018 Highway 206 Cisco, TX 76437 “

Sounds fun, right? Here is Erica’s attempt at making apple dessert.  And for the record, she really loved the dessert.  I told her she could keep the $50 if they use her video.. She’s already spent it in her head!!

Obviously, we are totally new at the video blog/ cooking show thing.  But if you like cooking videos, you must check out Kelly’s blog, Two Kids Cooking, where she has ton’s of video’s of her kids – Alex and Sophia cooking!!  Not only does she have great video’s, if you sign up for her newsletter, she’ll send you tips for having FUN while cooking with kids. So, check her out.

First, why more beans?

• Beans are healthy! In fact, Joel Fuhrman recommends a full cup of beans PER DAY!
• Beans are cheap!  Food is not cheap, but dry beans can help you get control over your food budget.
• Beans last a very long time!  Besides having 50lbs of oats, we probably have 150 lbs of different dried beans.

So, Tip #1 Add them to baked goods

Are you still substituting applesauce for the fat in your baked goods?  I think bean puree turns out a better result.

The Journal of the ADA reports when pureed cannellini beans were substituted for shortening in Brownies for 25% and 50% of the fat, no difference was detected. (You can read the abstract here) “Yielding an acceptable and more nutritious product”.

So, while this practice is best when you replace 50% of the fat in cake like baked goods, we replaced 75% of the fat in a cookie (because I love cookies!).  They also turned out pretty good.  They were eaten at least. 

First, I used

• 1 can of white beans (I used Great Northern Beans).
• Placed them in a food processor (remember, mine is just a $25 Cusinart from Costco)
• Blended until smooth (I did not add any water).  It turned out the consistency of shortening

Then, I used the puree in this cookie recipe, replacing 75% of the fat for white beans.  So, the original recipe used 1 cup of butter.  I used 1/4 cup of butter and 3/4 cup of the white beans.

Printable recipe

White Bean Chocolate Chip Cookies

• · ¾ Cup Pureed White beans
• 1/4 cup butter
• · 1 Cup brown sugar
• · 1 Cup white sugar
• · 2 Eggs
• · 1 tsp vanilla
• · 1 cup whole wheat flour
• · 1 ¼ cup White flour
• · 1 TBL baking soda
• · 1 tsp baking powder
• · 2 ½ cup Ground oat flour (put regular oats in blender or food processor until the consistency of flour)
• · Chocolate chips

Mix pureed beans, butter, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, and vanilla thoroughly. Mix dry ingredients together. Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix softly with wooden spoon just until all flour is mixed in.

Drop by TBL onto cookie sheet. Bake at 400 for 6 minutes.

Makes 3 Dozen cookies

So come back tomorrow for Tip #2 for getting kids to eat their beans!

• Day 1: Pureed Beans in Baked goods
• Day 2: Bean Dip
• Day 3: Chick-En nuggets, Falafel
• Day 4: Roast them!
• Day 5: Mixing them in

The recipe:

• 4 oz light cream cheese
• 1 tsp agave nectar (or honey)
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 banana
• 2 whole wheat tortillas 

Mix cream cheese, honey, and cinnamon in small bowl. Spread on tortilla. Slice bananas and add to top. Roll up.  Grill slightly on hot skillet till barely browned.

(Holding it together with a corn cob thingy)

It definitely tastes like dessert.  All warm and crispy, and sweet

And hooray for spring, because it’s STRAWBERRY SEASON!!

Did you know that:

• 1 cup of strawberries has 100% of the daily value for Vitamin C!!

And, so I can kill 2 birds with one stone (study for my Nutrition test next week, AND make a blog post out of it)… Here is what you should know about Vitamin C

• Vitamin C is water soluble (which means we need to eat it everyday because we can’t store it)
• Vitamin C has antioxidant properties (meaning it helps to stabilize free radicals.. which ages you)
• It regenerates oxidized vitamin E
• It reduces formations of nitroasmines in stomach
• Assists with collagen synthesis
• Enhances immune function
• Assists in the synthesis of hormones, neurotransmitters, and DNA
• Enhances iron absorption
• Assists with carnitine synthesis (fat metabolism)
• A deficiency in Vitamin C causes scurvy (bleeding gums, loose teeth, weakness, hemorrhaging of hair follicles, poor wound healing, swollen ankles, diarrhea, bone pain and fractures, depression, and anemia…very rare in developed countries.. although there was a case of a college student in the US getting scurvy!)
• Also known as ascorbic acid.
• Has been shown to have preventative effects in Cancer, Cardiovascular disease, cataracts, gout, hypertension, asthma.
• Best food sources: Fruits and vegetables.

Too much information?  I know, and there are about 15 vitamins or minerals I need to know all that information for!… I’m making flash cards to memorize it all.

So clearly, as the picture indicates, our dessert on Monday was strawberry shortcakes.  My kids LOVE these.  We use angel food cake cups because they are lower in sugar than pound cakes or cups.  We pile on the strawberries, and we don’t have to worry about their vitamin C intake for the day!

Post note:  I need to apologize that I am not responding to your emails promptly.  For the next four weeks, (or 9 years) things are a little hectic.  So I will respond… just not right away)

Did I mention only 1 cup of strawberries has

49 calories, 1 gram protein, 12 grams carbs, 149% or 89.4 mg of Vitamin C, 3 grams fiber, 0 fat, 0 cholesterol

Related Posts:

• Eat the rainbow- starting with red
• What about strawberries
• Fruit Roll ups

• egg whites, (totally healthy and good for you.  4 egg whites has 16 grams of protein)
• a little sugar, (this just makes it taste good)
• some coconut,  (also a power food!)

They turned out great!  I ate three. My husband had several.  But my kids, the little stinkers, weren’t exactly fans.  My husband and I were both shocked they didn’t like them.  However, I should have known. They have never liked coconut.  I had hoped these cookies would change their mind.

They were easy to make:  Coconut Macaroon Recipe (Food Network)

I whipped the egg whites until stiff

Slowly added sugar.  Then folded in the coconut and salt.  I actually added a touch of flour (because we are at high altitude and I always add flour to stuff.

Then we scooped onto parchment paper.

After they were cooked, I put some almonds on top, so they would be like little bird eggs.

Like I said,  not a hit with the kids! But soooo delicious!

Perfect nesting place for the wounded bird we found in our garage last summer.

I have a great opportunity for you. Pleasant Grove High School (in Utah County) entered a video contest to win $3000 for their Drama Department. And you know how our schools need money, right? All you have to do is vote for them! It will just take a second, and you can vote every day!! Go vote! Please vote! Save Drama!

Other coconut posts:

• Scientific Investigation

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I used three sweet potatoes (not the yam variety). Chopped and boiled.  An actual recipe can be found here.

The final product was a coconutty, mashed potatoey sweet treat.  Perfect with BBQ chicken.

So, are there any health benefits to adding the coconut milk? Actually, YES! Coconut milk has been shown as containing Lauric Acid (which has anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, and anti-fungal properties.  It can help boost the immune system.. a definite bonus coming into flu and cold season.

• 1 Cup vanilla yogurt
• 1 cup Orange juice
• 24 ice cubes

Put all ingredients in a blender.

  And drink

(Those are sunglasses that the lenses broke out of. She loves to wear them and “trick” people into thinking she wears glasses.  She wants braces too. Remember those days?)

This is what is called sorbet:

• 1 cup frozen berries (I had a mixed “medley” bag)
• 1 TBL Agave nectar.   (You can use other sweeteners, or no sweetener at all, but agave nectar is light, delicious, has a small impact on blood sugar, is plant based, and minimally processed. 

Place berries, still frozen in blender or food processor.  Squirt in some nectar, and wa-la! Finished.

There will be a delay in my menu posting for next week. I’m really excited about it because there will be lots of Halloween ideas, BUT, I can not bring myself to write one more post on this desktop!  My laptop is supposed to arrive TODAY!