Trader Joe's Pumpkin Pancakes - HEALTHIER, YUMMIEST version!

Trader Joe's Pumpkin Pancake mix is available seasonally (Fall and Winter months). 

Here's our tip for making them yummy and much healthier:  Substitute 1 container (4 oz.) of Trader Joe's organic apple sauce for the butter called for in the instructions. 

(You can use the applesauce 1:1 instead of melted butter.  If you are making the entire box, then use 4 oz. of organic apple sauce rather than 1 stick of melted butter.  Trader Joe's sells individual 4 oz serving organic applesauce (very economical too!) in 4 packs; we keep a 4 pack in our pantry for baking.  The Chapel Hill Trader Joe's is located in the Village Plaza between 15-501 and Franklin St.

Applesauce works great as a melted butter replacement for any pancake mix we have tried -- and when we make pancakes from scratch.  We don't notice any difference in texture; the pancakes taste the same or better.  Over time replacing melted butter with applesauce will save your family a HUGE amount of unnecessary fat and cholesterol, without giving up flavor or texture!

Healthy Oatmeal

Fresh cooked oatmeal makes a healthy, satisfying breakfast!  For steel cut oatmeal, soak the oatmeal in the cooking water overnight and then cook for 5-10 minutes.  Regular oatmeal can be cooked in 5 minutes or so without soaking.  

Make it even YUMMIER by adding one of the following: a teaspoon of vanilla, some maple syrup, cinnamon, diced apples, raisins, walnuts, FRESH FRUIT.

For a two-serving pot of oatmeal, add a teaspoon of vanilla an a teaspoon of cinnamon for yummy flavor without the sugar.  Add diced apples while cooking for a naturally sweetened flavor (or you can add the diced apples to the oatmeal after it has cooked it you prefer crunchy apples.)

Other healthy toppings to add to the cooked oatmeal: a sprinkling of walnuts; a dash of wheat germ; a dash of ground flax seed; a handful of blueberries.  Try something new every time!  

Serving Idea:  Place little measuring bowls with different toppings and  let the children decide which nuts or fruits they would like to mix in. (Also try sunflower seeds, a swirl of maple syrup for a little sweetness or a tiny bit of brown sugar.  Truly though, the fruit gives the oatmeal a perfect sweetness without any other sweetener.)

Oatmeal is a great healthy breakfast option.

Quick Mexican

For a quick and easy meal try making soft bean & cheese tacos.  (Heat up some tortillas, spread with refried beans, sprinkle with cheese.)  Serve with rice, guacamole, chopped tomatoes, and sour cream for a quick and easy favorite.  Saute some onions and green peppers for fajitas.

Grocery List:
Tortillas
Mashed, cooked Black Beans
Grated Cheese
Rice
Guacamole (buy ready-made, or mash fresh avocados with a little lemon juice and a pinch of salt)
Tomatoes
Onions and Green Peppers
Sour Cream

Here are our favorite versions:

1. Super Healthy & Delicious Version: Combine 1 cup frozen organic baby spinach, 1 cup frozen blueberries, and 1 banana (and add water or orange juice until you have the consistency you like) for a delicious, healthy treat.  Serves 2.  This is a great way to pack in the healthy benefits spinach; kids LOVE this blueberry smoothie.

2. Combine 1 cup frozen organic blueberries, 1 banana, and 1 cup organic vanilla or plain yogurt in a blender, and blend on high speed.  Makes 2 servings.

Dr. Fuhrman's Famous Anti-Cancer Soup (aka KIDS-FAVORITE-SOUP) Our kids LOVE this soup!  It requires juicing 5 pounds of carrots, so it might sound like a hassle but the more we make the soup the easier and faster it gets.  Also there is no need to dice the onions, zucchini or leeks; they are placed in the pot after removing the outer skins/inedible parts, and they are essentially steamed until soft.  The soup is then blended together with the addition of carrot and celery juice.  Not having to chop the veggies but rather placing them in the pot whole ends up saving me a LOT of time.  Most importantly, our kids all love this soup and don't mind having leftovers re-heated the next day!

Breakfast for Dinner

For a change of pace (or when you just can't think of what to cook), try making breakfast for dinner!  Kids enjoy the novelty of having omelets, scrambled eggs, pancakes, waffles, fresh fruit, and orange juice, etc. for dinner.  You may find that you already have everything you need to throw something together in the fridge and pantry.

Sweet Potato Fries

Our kids enjoy sweet potato fries in restaurants; now we make them as a special treat for our kids at home!  Slice sweet potatoes lengthwise into thick fries (or use a french fry cutter), spray them with cooking spray or brush lightly with olive oil, sprinkle salt or garlic salt and pepper.  Bake at 450 degrees for 30 minutes or until brown on bottom. Turn and bake another 15 minutes or until crisp and tender when tested with fork.

SUMMERTIME FAVORITE:

Fresh-Squeezed Lemonade

There is nothing like fresh lemonade on a hot, summer day, and it's so easy to make!

6 lemons, freshly squeezed, seeds removed (about 1 cup)
3/4 cup sugar (regular or superfine)
1 cup crushed ice
4 cups water

Have a parent place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.  (If you don't have a blender, just mix the ingredients well.)  Makes 1 1/2 quarts.  Serve with ice and enjoy!

Healthy Snacks:

Blueberries - USDA researchers have found that our of 30 fruits and vegetables studied, the blueberry is the top defender of body cells against free radicals (free radicals cause aging and diseases in the body).  Even better, blueberries are delicious!  For more info visit www.blueberry.org.

Food-Related Links:

The Blue Ocean Institute Guide to Ocean Friendly Seafood - Some fish species are high in mercury or other dangerous contaminants; other fish species are being over-fished or captured using methods that threaten to eliminate the species.  The Blue Ocean Institute Guide to Ocean Friendly Seafood includes red flag notes for fish species for which one or more consumption advisories exist from state agencies, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency, or where consumption concerns of certain fish species have been highlighted in scientific studies.  The guide also has a color-coded fish key showing which fish species are relatively abundant, those where problems exist with the farming methods, and those where the species are being overfished, have a high rate of "bycatch" (ensnaring other creatures), and poor management etc.

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