Join me at Price Chopper on Saturday, October 3

10AM - 1PM

Price Chopper in Amsterdam, NY

141 Sanford Farms Shopping Center

....fun, quick cooking for kids...

Breakfast on the run...WAIT take fruit too!

Some mornings just don't leave for a lot of time for breakfast. I'm always trying to mix it up so that we don't get in the rut of bagels and cereal every morning just because it's the easiest grab; even though my kids don't complain. Not only am I trying to avoid a rut, I'm also always trying to squeeze in some extra fruit wherever and whenever I can. My kids weren't certain they'd like this mix, but it ended up being a hit and is easy, quick and well rounded. Not only is it healthy, it's also something they can make too.

Strawberried Muffins

1 English muffin*
1 T. vanilla yogurt
1 T. cream cheese
1/8 tsp. vanilla extract
4 medium strawberries

Wash the strawberries and remove the greens. Chop the strawberries either with a food processor or with a sharp knife. Set Aside. Strawberries are great for little hands to chop up using a plastic knife taking away the hazard, but allowing little cooks to feel like big cooks!

Toast the English muffin as desired.

In a bowl mix together the yogurt, cream cheese and extract until smooth using a metal spoon or mini whisk. Spread a layer of the cream cheese mixture onto the muffin and top with the strawberries.

*make the English muffin whole wheat for added benefits.

Not Squashed Yet....

Well, our continued search for new fruits and new vegetables continues. Last week we were drawn to the squash in season and so we have not squashed our squash interest quite yet. We started our squash exploration by trying Spaghetti Squash and this week we've selected White Acorn Squash to try. I'll let you know who gave it a 'thumbs up' and who gave it a 'thumbs down' keeping you posted on how we've decided to cook and serve it.

Yum, Pizza Bagels

Our family has a complete list of simple dinners for the reserved back up needs like most families and today, since I'm fighting a head cold and wasn't really up to cooking a large meal, I put the 'quick meal option' into action.

Tonight, we took advantage of Pizza Bagels since our Price Chopper had buy 6 bagels, get 6 bagels free. It was a perfect reminder of how a simple recipe can still make for family involvement/togetherness in the kitchen. Everyone played a role; someone grated the mozzarella, someone spooned the pizza sauce onto the cut bagels and someone sprinkled the cheese bagels on top and off to the 400 degree oven they went for 10 minutes until the cheese had melted. While the bagels were cooking I showed my middle guy how thick to cut cucumber slices as a side and whola! Not fancy by any means, but the kids were thrilled for pizza bagels, we all cooked together and I took it easy....Here is what we did:

Ingredients Needed:

1 can pizza sauce

16 oz. mozzarella cheese

6 bagels

Optional: pepperoni or other toppings

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Shred the cheese; set aside. Cut the bagels in half. Spread approximately two tablespoons of pizza sauce and top with cheese. Place the bagels onto a non-stick baking sheet and bake for approximately 10-15 minutes until the cheese has fully melted. Serve with fresh vegetables!

To save on any melted cheese mess, cover your pan with aluminum foil before baking. Then you can take it easy with cooking and clean up.

The Taste Bud Test Continues...

So, having used my knowledge from my previous 'taste bud blog', I of course put it right to work reminding my kids why it's important to retry foods on a relatively regular basis. My daughter has been mostly a vanilla yogurt eating child because she hates what she calls "fruit skin" in her yogurt. So, today when I put blueberry yogurt in front of her at breakfast I expected to hear the typical response, "mom, I really don't like this," but instead I heard her little voice say, "Hell-o...Mom, its' been at least 10 days...." Low and behold the blueberry skin aversion is no longer....

Now, of course, I am a big proponent of trying different foods cooked and served differently, but sometimes as parents we have to use any and all tactics to keep re-introducing different foods. Taste buds will now be added to my list of excuses to accompany the reason I try and re-try recipes and foods, like squashes...

Thank you Jeanne for the taste bud discussion!

Taste buds...

I was just chatting with my friend the other day when I mentioned how I am constantly re-introducing foods to my kids and how low and behold one of them, who didn't, now likes Salmon. My friend had shared that she had read that taste buds renew themselves every 10 days. Hmm, interesting....so, I googled, I asked my doctor, I asked my dentist and I asked a registered dietitian. No one could confirm the exact timeline of taste bud renewal and there was conflicting information on the web, but what I could determine is that yes taste buds do change. The question is, when? I have decided it doesn't matter. I'm going with http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_often_do_taste_buds_change that says 10-14 days. It's the perfect reason to keep re-introducing foods in a short period of time. I kind of do this already, but now I can pass the blame on to those little taste bud culprits that constantly have to re-try and re-taste, because maybe they've changed their minds for those foods we want our kids to eat, but don't.

Mini Yogurt Flower Pots

I love simple, but fun ways to play with food. Tomorrow I will be at a community event for the Price Chopper Kids Cooking Club and will be making Mini Yogurt Flower Pots with the kids at the event. It's a quick, easy recipe that's fun for tea parties, used as a dessert alternative or as an after school snack.

Mini fillo cups, thawed
6 oz. strawberry yogurt
6 oz. blueberry yogurt
6 oz. whipped topping
Strawberries
Blueberries

1. Wash, rinse, remove the greens and slice the strawberries. Set aside.
2. Wash the blueberries and set aside.
3. Mix the yogurts and whipped topping together.
4. Fill the fillo cups with the yogurt mixture.
5 Arrange 3 strawberry slices on top of each yogurt filled cup to serve as your flower pedals. Place a blueberry in the center to finish off your flower.

Pictures to follow....

Encourage Kids to Experiment at the Grocery Store

Often, but not always, we use our grocery store as an experimental zone; especially in the produce section where you will find a wide variety of fruits and vegetables available during certain seasons. This weekend my daughter was drawn to the large and diverse selection of squash. So, I let her pick one; she wanted one of each, but we kept it to one this week. I added a little influence in helping her decide as I hadn't had Spaghetti Squash in years, but remember my mom making it. My mom wasn't much of an experimental cook, but she was always great about introducing vegetables and fruits to our plates. In doing this little experiment in the produce section and encouraging my kids to try new things, we continuously find things we like and of course things we don't. Three out of four at the table liked the Spaghetti Squash, unfortunately my daughter wasn't one of them; but that's okay, she has her eye on next weeks selection to try.

Here's what I found in cooking Spaghetti Squash with kids;

1. They were interested in the name alone.
2. Cutting the squash for prep was NOT a child friendly job & I highly recommend an adult stick to that part of the process.

How we cooked our Spaghetti Squash;

1. Cut the squash in half length wise.
2. Spoon out the seeds in the center and discard.
3. Place the squash into a large glass pan, at least (13 x 9), with the cut area facing upwards.
4. Add a little water to the bottom of the pan; approximately one inch.
5. Top the squash with a little bit of butter, salt, pepper & paprika.
6. Cover and bake on 375 degrees for approximately 45 minutes or until the center is soft and can be scooped out with a fork to get the spaghetti like strings.

How kids help;

Let your kids assist with discarding of the seeds, adding the water to the pan, sprinkling on the seasoning and covering the squash. You can also remove the squash from the pan when they are done cooking and with your help, so they don't touch anything hot, they can help scoop out the squash.

Crazy for Kiwi...

After school my kids went right for the pantry for a snack and after one granola bar I reminded them to add some fruit. Even though they had done the fruit selection at the grocery store, they suddenly weren't sure if that was what they were really in the mood to eat. So, I pulled out some kiwi and instead of the regular peel and slice, I cut it in half and served it with a fun spoon to eat. They thought it was a great way to eat a ripe kiwi, I was thrilled they added fruit to the after school snack menu and all it took was a fun spoon and a different serving method to make the difference. You never know what will inspire kids to create a new recipe or try a new food; you just have to keep on trying.

Raspberry Kiwi Blaster
By Jodie Fitz

½ Cup frozen raspberries thawed
1 kiwi
6 oz. vanilla yogurt
1/2 Cup milk
1 Cup ice
1T. honey

Cut off each end of the kiwi and remove the remaining rind using a potato peeler. Slice the kiwi and then cut t into small pieces. Place all ingredients into a blender, adding the honey last. Mix and serve. Makes 2 servings.

Kid tips: Let young children cut the kiwi into small pieces with a plastic knife. Let the kids chop the ice in the blender before adding the ingredients

The Choco Monkey Crisis Resolved

Off to Price Chopper I went yesterday to grab my groceries with my little one & we were very excited to see the sign for the Price Chopper Kids Cooking Club along with a recipe card and information about how to register for the e-newsletter. Unfortunately the minute I looked at it I realized one key ingredient was left out of the recipe....yikes. The cards will be pulled and replaced, but in the meantime....here is the correct recipe.

Choco Monkey
By Jodie Fitz

1 Banana
1 Cup low fat/fat free Price Chopper milk
1 Container Price Chopper vanilla yogurt*
2 Cups ice
3 tsp. Price Chopper cocoa
1 tsp. Price Chopper pure vanilla
1 tsp. Price Chopper cinnamon
OPTIONAL: 2 T. Peanut butter

Peel and slice the banana; let little cooks use a plastic butter knife to be part of the process. Add all ingredients into a blender and mix. This is a great recipe for an after school snack or breakfast on the run with no added sugar.

Note to Parents: As a mother of three, I have found that naming some of the recipes have helped to encourage my kids to try different fruits and various foods introducing them to new tastes; “some recipes are thumbs up, some are thumbs down…but, you never know unless you try…”

*use a low fat and/or organic yogurt for a healthy choice.

As a mother of three, I have found that naming some of the recipes have helped to encourage my kids to try different fruits and various foods, introducing them to new tastes. Some recipes are thumbs up, some are thumbs down...but, you never know unless you try...

Here's a quick glimpse at the September launch taping, which we filmed in August. I created recipes keeping with '5 a Day' week in September. You can try my Apple Banana Smoothie, Chicken-Peared Salad & The Flying Saucer by visiting http://www.pricechopper.com/recipes/list/Kids_Cooking_Club/ Don't forget to join me at the Price Chopper Kids Cooking Club. You can watch the recipes in action by visiting http://www2.pricechopper.com/kids/video/index.shtml It's always a little crazy getting everything ready to film...the kitchen cleaned (how does it get so messy with three kids, a husband and a dog?!?)...the food prepped...the kids ready, but it all went pretty smoothly in the end. I managed to crank up the AC, take a deep breath and finish putting on my makeup before the crew arrived. Yesterday's filming had its funny moments, the crew arrived way earlier than planned. Yes, my hair was wet, no make up, but at least the kitchen was ready. They laughed at the site of me and threatened to put the before and after up on YouTube, but all in all it went well. Next month I put together some very easy recipes & simple ideas to celebrate the world series, fall & Halloween activities....stay tuned...

Film Day!

Today we're filming for the October newsletter for the Price Chopper Kids Cooking Club. Looking forward to fun fall treats to share next month including a quick & easy snack to share with the classroom for fall/Halloween activities, a ghostly hot lunch and of course a Quesadilla for the World Series. Stay tuned recipes to be released soon...

All Eyes on you for Halloween...

Just finished this morning's creation for next month's article at the Capital District Parent Review. Link and recipe to follow next month; you'll be surprised what's underneath.

I'm excited to report that the Kids Cooking Club with Price Chopper launched this week! You can visit the launch and register at http://www2.pricechopper.com/kids/

The launch focused on three recipes to encourage kids to try to include fruits & vegetables throughout the day; keeping with '5 A Day' week in September. By visiting the link above you will find my Apple/Banana Smoothie Recipe, Apple Peared Chicken Salad and the Flying Saucer. At my household you don't always have to like it, but you do have to try it. These three recipes were surprisingly liked by all of my kids even when they didn't think they would...

I'm excited about the Fall schedule and will keep you posted as the events unfold.

The Charlotte got put on hold. My youngest came home & had to go to the doctors unexpectedly. I ended up diverting my attention to my meal planning & prep for filming on Thursday. More updates on The Charlotte to come....Kids loved the French chocolate & candy I brought them; had to hide some so that it wouldn't all disappear in one day!

What's Happening in My Kitchen Today...

I just got back from Paris, France and thoroughly enjoyed all of the different foods I got a chance to taste. We visited the pâtisseries, which are French bakeries that specialize in sweets & baked goods. They often offer sandwiches, quiche and the French version of pizza bread 'to go'. In most parts of the cities you can find a patisserie on almost every street. Today, I'm going to try to recreate my version of one of my favorite French desserts to share with my family tonight called, the Charlotte. I will keep you posted and let you know how it goes on both fronts; is it easy & did they like it? If it's a success I'll share & if not, we'll just move on and say "next!"