Chunky Monkey Muffins

Im sitting here writing this post with my twins laughing and playing in their cribs when they are suppose to be napping.  Im so not looking forward to the day when nap time no longer exists but I think it will be here before I know it.  Today has been a struggle with the "terrible twos" and the tantrums and not listening that comes with this stage.  I have found myself needing to take lots of "mommy breaks" this past week.  Something that always makes me feel better is chocolate, you can never have enough.  I found a recipe on superhealthykids that looked so delicious and I thought it would be perfect to incorporate a puree vegetable in!  This recipe also has NO added white sugar like many muffins, Mom win. 

I decided to try this recipe with puree cauliflower and it did not disappoint.  The boys gobbled them up and asked for more!  Cauliflower has so many benefits, but not my favorite vegetable to just eat as a side dish, I find that it blends perfect in many recipes though, one of my favorites to use.  Some benefits include preventing cancer and cardiovascular disease, boots immune system, aids in digestion, prevents bone loss, and improves brain health!

Ingredients:

3 medium ripe bananas (mashed well)
2 eggs
8 oz greek yogurt (I have used plain whole milk yogurt as well)
1/2 cup almond milk (I use unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour (I use bobs red mill whole wheat flour)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I use milk chocolate chips from whole foods, 365 brand)
4 oz puree cauliflower (thawed if frozen)

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees, place muffin liners in tray
2) In a large bowl add mashed bananas, eggs, yogurt, milk, puree, honey, and vanilla.
3) In separate bowl whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
4) Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and add chocolate chips, mix.
5) Bake for 25-30 minutes, let cool before serving.

Hope you enjoy as much as we do!

Everyone loves mac and cheese

We had a busy weekend going to a friends sons Birthday Party and then celebrating my Grandmas Birthday.  I knew the boys weren't going to be eating a good dinner Saturday night as we were going out to a Mexican Restaurant with my family.  I made the boys Beet pancakes with left over puree from last weeks blog and cauliflower mac and cheese for lunch.  I could rest easy with dinner knowing they already had two different vegetables for the day!

I never realized how easy making your own macaroni and cheese was until the boys started eating solids and I made it for the first time.  Most of the time you can make this very kid friendly meal with ingredients you already have at home.  I puree cauliflower like I do beets and freeze in my 4oz mason jars.  Wash and chop one head of cauliflower and place in a pot streamer on the stove.  Steam for 5-7 minutes or until you can pierce with a fork.  I then put the pieces in my food processor with a 1/4 cup water to start.  Add more water until you have a puree consistency.  Place in containers and freeze.

A mac and cheese recipe I absolutely love is from 100 days of real food by Lisa Leake.  She suggests adding peas to her recipe, I have tried this before but my kids just picked them out.  When making this I just pull a frozen cauliflower jar from the freezer and incorporate into the recipe, no need to thaw!

Recipe:
3 cups uncooked noodles (we prefer whole wheat)
4TBSP butter
2/3 cup heavy cream ( I have also used half/half when I didn't have heavy cream)
2 1/2 cups grated cheese ( we use Monterey Jack, but you can use any cheese you prefer, or a combo!)
1/2 TSP salt
ground pepper to taste
one 4oz container of cauliflower puree

1) cook noodles per package directions, set aside
2) In same pot you boiled noodles place butter, cream, and frozen puree, mix until melted/combined
3) Add noodles, cheese, and salt and mix until cheese is completely melted
4) Add black pepper if preferred

This recipe makes great leftovers!  When reheating you can add a little more cream to get a "freshly made" look and taste.

We are gearing up for my weekend to work and meal prepping for what my husband calls " a guys weekend" with our toddlers.  I work 12 hours shifts two days in a row so he is with the boys from sun up to sun down.  He does a great job!  I just made some chunky monkey chocolate muffins (with cauliflower) I will share with you all next week!  Hope everyone has a great weekend!

UPDATE: I recently made this recipe with 1 cups Monterey jack cheese and 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese.  I didn't think this could get better but it DOES with this cheese combo, highly recommend!

conquering the picky toddler

I cant complain too much about my twins eating habits, they have generally been very good with meals.  When they turned 2 they started with the "normal" picky eating habits and judging something by its looks.  I struggled for a while getting them to eat the recommended amount of vegetables daily.  They would only eat roasted carrots.  I bought a few cook books about hiding pureed veggies in recipes.  I tried a few and only found a couple that tasted good, most I would not even eat.  I thought I would experiment for myself with recipes and share my struggles and mom wins with you!  I have heard many times "they will eat if they are hungry" but that didn't stop me from having mom guilt that they weren't getting the needed nutrients to grow and thrive.  Dont get me wrong, sometimes you do just have to throw your hands up and say I can only do so much, but if I can hide a vegetable in a meal that they already like why not right?? 

My food processor became my best friend when I started making puree baby foods for my twins when they were infants, I stopped pureeing once the boys were older and could eat solids.  I quickly learned that pureeing is still a great way to get your kids to eat vegetables!  Another product that I absolutely LOVE are my mini 4oz glass mason jars with lids that you can freeze in perfect portion sizes.  I got mine at Target.

Tonight I roasted beets.  I usually just roast 3 at a time but you can certainly do more.  Wash the beets and cut the stems off.  Wrap each beet in foil and bake at 400 degrees for one hour.  Let cool for about 20 minutes.  Once cooled you should easily be able to rub the skin off and slice each beet into 4 pieces.  Place in processor with 1/2 cup water and voila!  Place in containers and freeze.

My go to recipe for the beet puree is one of the boys favorites, beet pancakes!  We use Bobs Red Mill buttermilk mix(add all ingredients on package for pancakes),  add one really ripe banana and 2 spoonfuls of the puree.

Makes such a pretty pink color!  We make these for Valentines Day!

My kids love food in bite size portions

I have struggled so long with finding good recipes and ways to keep my family healthy!  I want to start sharing my recipes and veggie hiding ideas with you all in hopes to help just one other mama out!