Amidst the checkout chaos of paying for groceries with my 4 and almost 2-year olds, I started envisioning a naturally-dyed green jelly roll cake in the shape of a shamrock. And voilà! Here we are a few days before St. Patrick’s Day and my brainstorm image has come to life. You can enjoy your jelly roll in individual slices or arrange three slices per plate to make a festive St. Paddy’s shamrock.
These individually-wrapped filet mignons work well for holiday entertaining and dinner parties. And the fancy little filets enveloped in puff pastry {definitely rich comfort food!} are perfect for sharing with your Valentine, too!
This combo of natural food dyes isn’t just about avoiding artificial dyes and coming up with beautiful {natural} colors. It’s also because I simply love the combination of almond and berries.
Simply layer white (plain or vanilla) yogurt, red berries & fruit, a spoonful of raspberry freezer jam if you want to sweeten your plain Greek yogurt just a bit, and heart-shaped oatmeal pancakes to make a heart healthy breakfast, snack or dessert. And it doubles as an activity: my boys love every opportunity to create with cookie cutters!
Well, I finally did it. I broke down and made macarons. They have only been on my “to-do” list for more than ten years, ever since I visited Ladurée {Maison de Macarons in Paris}. These natural macarons with pink raspberry buttercream filling taste deliciously like raspberries and are the perfect bite-sized melt-in-your-mouth raspberry almond treat for Valentine’s Day or any other day.
Dress up your baked potato (or sweet potato/yam) with an assortment of veggies to make an edible Mr. {Baked} Potato Head. This edible art project is fun for all ages and allows kids to play with healthy foods.
I LOVE oatmeal so I was excited at the opportunity to sample a selection of Better Oats instant oatmeal and create a recipe. As I enter the pre-school years and realize that I am now responsible for getting three people ready and out the door in the morning, I was intrigued by Better Oats which promises quick instant oatmeal in tasty flavors while still offering 100% whole grain, added flax seeds, real fruit and all the other health benefits of whole oats.
This caramel corn is one of the many food-related traditions in my family. All you have to do is boil the caramel ingredients for a few minutes, toss the popped popcorn in the caramel, and bake it in the oven to golden, crispy perfection.
One of my favorite things about fall is eating squash — they are easy to prepare, flavorful, nutritious and comforting. I’m now a big fan of delicata squash and I especially love the fact that you can eat the beautiful yellow skin that is striped in green.
These pumpkin pie-spiced energy bars are loaded with flax, whole oats, whole grains, Greek yogurt and nutrient-dense pumpkin to make them a healthy, energizing snack that also satisfy a sweet-tooth craving.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
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