Summer is here!!  I don’t know about you, but I think this school year flew by! Time to keep the kids busy and plan some fun summer activities! If boredom strikes, which we all know it will, plan some fun days in the kitchen and experiment with some new recipes.

Cooking with your kids will not only keep them busy, but it will keep them healthy too! Some of these ideas are from the past school year that I have taught in my Live Virtual Cooking Nutrition Lessons to students through my work with Green our Planet. The teachers would sometimes make the recipe along with me and serve it to the students. I guess you can say the recipes were “kid tested and approved”!

Most of my recipes include produce that is growing seasonally in a school garden and in our own garden.  If you don't have a garden, I would recommend visiting a local farmers market to find some of the freshest produce (another fun activity to do with the kids)!

So gather your kids, aprons and chef hats and basic cooking utensils, and let’s have some fun in the kitchen!

Cucumber Guacamole Boats
This was one of my favorite recipes to teach! Avocados have over 20 vitamins and minerals! Probably one of the healthiest things kids can eat! A healthy fat that is good for brain health too! Make a batch of guacamole and add to cucumber "boats". Kids can add their favorite toppings: diced tomato, bell pepper, cilantro, onion and more! Find the recipe here: Cucumber Guacamole Boats

​For more tips and suggestions on cooking with kids, check out my blog post "10 Ways to Get your Kids to Eat Healthier".  For healthy snack ideas for kids, check out my blog post "Smart Snacking"

Hope you have a healthy, fun and safe summer! Please share with me any recipes that you try and photos of you cooking with your kids! For inspiration throughout the summer, visit me on Instagram @lisacheplak ! Happy Cooking and Happy Summer!

Our team didn't win the NFC Divisional Playoff game, but we can win with a healthy menu for the final upcoming playoff games and Super Bowl!  Here are some of our simple, plant-based recipes ideas to incorporate into your menu.

For more recipes and ideas, check out our "Sides & Snacks" recipe section. Wishing you happy, healthy game days! Go team!

The photo above is a flashback to a favorite photo of a St. Patrick's Day breakfast for my son when he was around 5 years old!  We loved making these special GREEN "treats"!  We have the green covered for St. Patrick's Day with our Shamrock Smoothies, Leprechaun Sticks with Coconut Fruit Dip and Spinach Muffins! Now that he is 10, we thought we would remake them again to see if he was still a fan!  Check out all the recipes below!

Shamrock Smoothies
Ingredients:

• 2 cups water
• Handful of Spinach
• 1 cup green grapes
• 1 peeled kiwi
• ½ green apple
• 1 few leaves of fresh mint
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• Ice

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. ​

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Coconut Fruit Dip
Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw, unsalted cashews, soaked for 30 minutes, then rinsed and drained
• 2 tbsp. water
• 2 tbsp. non dairy milk, coconut, almond or rice milk
• 1 tbsp. maple syrup
• 1 cup coconut milk yogurt (vanilla flavor works best)
• 1 tsp of cardamom
• Dash of cinnamon
• Shredded coconut for garnish on top

 
Directions:

1. Blend the cashews, water and coconut, almond or rice milk first for a minute or so on high speed.
2. Add the maple syrup and yogurt and blend again for a few seconds. 
3. Add the spices and blend well. 
4. Pour into a small bowl, then garnish with shredded coconut.  Serve with fruit sticks.

For a St. Patrick's Day theme for kids, add your favorite green fruit to wooden skewers to make these fun Leprechaun Fruit Sticks.

Leprechaun Fruit Sticks

• Kiwi
• Green Apple
• Green Grapes 
• Wooden Skewers  

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​A Flash back to Valentines Day 2014: In the kitchen with my son and his friend making Valentine "treats" like this delicious smoothie!

Chocolate, peanut butter and bananas are always a great combination. We have created this delicious smoothie that uses peanut butter, banana, and raw cacao powder, along with a few other healthy ingredients.  Raw cacao powder is a 100% dark chocolate source of antioxidants, magnesium, iron and fiber and has the rich chocolate taste without the sugar and processing. This smoothie would be a perfect, healthy treat for a Valentine's Day breakfast.  
​

​Chunky Monkey Smoothie
Ingredients:

• 1 banana, frozen works best
  
•  ½ cup peanut butter
  
• 1 tablespoon raw cacao powder
  
• 1 tablespoon flax seeds
  
•  2 dates
  
• 2 cups almond milk or other non-dairy beverage of choice
  
• Ice

 
Directions:
1.    Blend all in a blender until smooth.
2.    Top with unsweetened coconut (optional)

We hope you enjoy this chocolatey, delicious and nutritious smoothie!

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There is nothing better than home-made granola, and it is so easy to make.  You can add your favorite ingredients and customize it to your own taste. I prefer to bake the granola in my Excalibur Dehydrator, but you can make this recipe in an oven as well if you don’t have a dehydrator.

Granola makes a perfect breakfast, lunch or snack.  I love it with Almond Milk or in a Coconut Milk Yogurt Parfait, my new favorite (recipe below).  It’s great for kids because you can add so many nutritious nuts, seeds and grains, and it’s low in sugar.  We also like it for a topping for our frozen fruit “ice cream”.  It’s easy to make and I always have the ingredients on hand.
​
A basic recipe is below, but have fun adding YOUR favorite ingredients.

​Maple Granola and Coconut Milk Yogurt Parfaits
​Yield:  About 5 cups of granola

 Ingredients:

• 4 cups rolled oats
• ½ cup ground flax seed (and about ¼ cup whole flax seeds)
• 1 cup chopped raw unsalted nuts, such as: almonds, walnuts or cashews
• 1 cup raw unsalted pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
• 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon, nutmeg or allspice
• ¾ cup maple syrup
• ¼ cup coconut oil, melted

Directions:

1. Add oats, nuts, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds, and coconut.  Sprinkle with cinnamon, nutmeg or allspice.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together ¾ cup maple syrup and ¼ cup melted coconut oil.  Pour over granola and mix well to coat.
3. Pour onto sheet pans covered with parchment paper.  Bake at 250 degrees until golden and toasted about 45 minutes.  Watch closely and stir about every 10 minutes.  *If using a dehydrator, pour granola onto dehydrator sheets, and set temperature to 115 degrees for about 8 hours until everything is well toasted.
4. Remove from oven or dehydrator and add raisins, cranberries, dates, apricots and/or any other favorite dried fruit.
5. Cool and store in an airtight container.

 
Coconut Milk Yogurt Parfait
Ingredients:

• Granola
• Fresh Fruit
  
• Coconut Milk Yogurt, Vanilla flavor is the best!

Directions:

1. Layer granola, coconut milk yogurt and fruit into a glass, about 2 or 3 layers per serving.

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The photos below are of my son was little and was helping to make the granola. He has always loved granola! Kids can help by chopping the nuts with a chopper like this and mixing the ingredients together.  

 We hope you enjoy these simple ideas for making and eating granola!

Yield:  About 3 cups of salsa

​Ingredients:
​Romaine Lettuce (Romaine lettuce works best for the "boats")
Separate lettuce leaves, rinse and pat dry

Black Bean Salsa

• ​15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained (you can also use garbanzo beans, pinto beans or any favorite bean)
• ​1 tomato
• ​1/4 red onion
• ​1 garlic clove
• ​1 handful of cilantro (or parsley)
• ​Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• ​1/2 tsp cumin
• ​(Can also use veggies such as red bell pepper and cucumber)

​
Directions:

1. Add  tomato, onion, garlic, cilantro, lemon and seasonings to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.  (If you don't have a food processor, finely chop by hand).
2. ​Add to large bowl and mix in black beans.
3. ​Fill lettuce boats with salsa and serve!  I could barely get photos because my son ate them so fast! 

It doesn't get much easier than this to put together a quick and healthy lunch!  We hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season and all your fun, family traditions! 

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​Cauliflower seems to be pretty popular these days! From making pizza crust, buffalo wings, "rice" and eating it raw or cooked, cauliflower is pretty versatile. A cousin of broccoli, cauliflower is a member of the cruciferous group of vegetables. 

​It contains a healthy range of minerals, vitamins and antioxidants that are beneficial for our overall health.  These nutrients include vitamins C, K and B6, omega 3, protein, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, magnesium, phosphorus, folate, pantothenic acid, potassium, and manganese. Health benefits of cauliflower also include healthy digestion. A typical serving of cauliflower provides over 3 grams of dietary fiber, which is essential to maintain a healthy digestive system. It is low in calories so it makes for great vegetable to eat when dieting. 

​Here is a simple Cauliflower Rice dish which would make a delicious and healthy, low carbohydrate and gluten free meal.

Ingredients:

• 1 head of cauliflower, finely chopped in food processor
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 2 ribs celery, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
• 1, 15 oz can kidney beans

Directions:

1. Cut the head of cauliflower into quarters, then trim out the inner core from each quarter.
2. Break apart the cauliflower into large florets.
3. Add the cauliflower to a food processor. Process in two batches if necessary.
4. Process the cauliflower in pulses until it has completely broken down into rice-sized granules.
5. Add the carrots, bell pepper, zucchini and celery (and any other favorite veggies) to large pan with ½ cup water.
6. Sauté until veggies are soft about 5-10 minutes.
7. Add in the cauliflower, kidney beans, and ginger and combine well.
8. Cook about 5-10 minutes more.
9. Add 2 tbsp. tamari, soy sauce, or liquid aminos and mix well.
10. Top with sesame seeds.
11. Serve.

​We hope you enjoy this simple and delicious dish! "Make It Healthy and Make it Fun!"

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It's hard to believe that it's the Holiday season once again! I love cooking with my son, especially for the holidays! Our recipe this month, is a fun appetizer using endive! My son had endive for an appetizer at a restaurant recently and wanted to create his own version at home. Endive is a green leafy vegetable and a member of the chicory family, which includes radicchio, escarole, frisee and curly endive. It has a crisp texture and a sweet, nutty flavor with a pleasantly mild bitterness. It is great served raw or cooked. Endive is a great source of potassium, fiber and Vitamins A and C.​

Holiday Endive Boats
Yield:  Makes about 20 

• 4 bunches of endive, separate the leaves and arrange on a platter
• 1 cup Jicama, peeled and diced
• 1 cup Radishes, diced
• Chopped mint and parsley
• Lime zest
• Juice of two limes
• 1 tbsp. maple syrup
• Pomegranate seeds

 

1. Mix the jicama, radishes and herbs in a large bowl. 
2. Whisk the lime juice with the maple syrup and add to the bowl of veggies/herbs along with the lime zest. Mix well.
3. Add a scoop of the mixture to each endive leaf.
4. Top with pomegranate seeds.

These Festive Holiday Endive Boats would make a perfect snack or appetizer to bring to a holiday party!   Wishing everyone a Happy and Healthy Holiday Season!!

​Make It Healthy and Make It Fun!

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​October is always our favorite month! Cooler temperatures, Fall Festivals, Halloween and of course pumpkins!  We will soon have our annual visit to the pumpkin patch and apple orchard.  We are not overly crazy about pumpkin products, but definitely love our fair share of pumpkin during the season.  

There seems to be pumpkin products everywhere you look! Pumpkin chips, pumpkin granola, pumpkin coffee, pumpkin waffles, pumpkin cereal. You name it! I picked up a couple cans of organic pumpkin and made some hummus. It was really delicious and the pumpkin added a nice flavor to the hummus! With some fresh cut vegetables, it made a perfect appetizer! 

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We love baking cookies and it's really nice when it doesn’t require turning the oven on (especially in the summer)! These no bake cookies are filled with protein, fiber, omega 3 fatty acids and much more. They make a great snack and always satisfy a sweet tooth!  We always have them in the refrigerator ready to pack in lunches too!  You can substitute the peanut butter for almond butter or even a nut free butter.  Try different variations with your favorite ingredients.

​Yield: approx. 20-25 balls

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup cacao chips
• 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/3-1/2 cup maple syrup (or fresh dates for sweetener)

Directions: 

1. In a food processor, pulse the oats, peanut butter, maple syrup, cacao chips, cranberries, sunflower seeds, coconut, and flax seeds until fully combined. If you don’t have a food processor, you can just mix all ingredients together in a large bowl by hand.
2. Refrigerate dough about 30 minutes until easy to handle.
3. Form balls from the mixture and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
4. Refrigerate and enjoy!

Simple to make, no baking required and best of all, it's kid approved!  Enjoy!​

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