What up doc?...Carrot Salad

Like most moms, I'm constantly trying to figure out ways to interest my kids in eating their vegetables.

What I've found works best, is take what of vegetable they do like and run like heck with it!   I keep exposing them to other veggies and fruits, and hopefully as they become more comfortable and open to trying new ways to eat their favorite vegetable, they will at some point try a new one out.  The goal is to never stop exposing the kids to the fruits and vegetables.   So for their favorite one:  try it in different forms and textures, such as shredded, sliced, julienned (or "sticks"), peeled into ribbons or "noodles", or just left whole and eat the entire vegetable like you would an apple or peach (I often halve a red or green pepper or peel an entire carrot and spread peanut butter or cream cheese on it. C'mon...these thing can make any kid maybe think twice about trying something :)  

You could prepare the vegetable of choice cooked, or keep raw, or blanch it so that it is still crispy......you get the drift.  Just try multiple different ways of making a vegetable they like. Like cucumbers?  add cheese cubes and mango Boom.  Plain cucumbers just became a little more interesting.   

In addition to how to cook it, I like to add something to it that makes it even more appealing to them (within reason....I'm not into adding chocolate and butterscotch chips to my salads at this point.  Because let's be honest, we all know what will get eaten and what won't in that salad!)

So the other day I told H. (6 years old) that he can make a salad for dinner.  We almost always have some sort of vegetable at dinner.  I always eat a salad at dinner, and I leave it up to the kids if they want a "mommy" salad or if they would like the other one.  Still getting their veggies, but they get to make the choice of what it is.  I personally love salads (you can shake your head at me if you like, but I do really love them!).  My hope is that someday (maybe it won't be until they are 30 years old....), is that they too will see the beauty and benefits of a fresh salad.   

H. is at the age that he can really help in the kitchen.  Like real, live--"wow..., you actually saved me time"--help.  The twins (age 3) are still at the "I want to help" stage, but really the type of help they offer is more like a lesson to me in patience.  But, I feel that it's important that they are exposed early to being in the kitchen and seeing how food is made.  And, it's time together :)  And, one more......even they aren't necessarily saving me time, they think they are pretty darn awesome for "helping" in the kitchen.  Building some major confidence!  Ok--back to H.'s salad....

H. loves carrots.  These are his go-to vegetable that I'm trying to build on.  We decided to shred the carrots and I let him pick two things to add to it.  I kind of wondered where he would take this new opportunity.  But he went into the pantry and picked raisins and almonds.  Perfect!!  (note--if I would have had chocolate chips, gummy bears etc. at eye level in the pantry, this is likely what he may have picked.  However, these types of food are usually out of sight at our house from a kid's eye level :)  I couldn't really lose with what he picked.  I knew he would probably come back with some type of dried fruit (a plus.....most usually love dried fruit).  And almonds....yummy!

Here's how we roll:

Shred carrots in food processor with grater attachment (the kids love this part!)
(my food processor is a Cuisinart 9-cup.  I love it, but someday would like to get a 12 cup one!)

Add caption

silly boys...

all three boys take the raisins and spread them on top.  The white specks in the picture are chopped almonds because we ran out of sliced ones

getting ready to stir.....everyone gets a turn

Stirring the raisins and almonds into shredded carrots

TA-DA!!  Carrot Salad!

I like to make this salad with the kids and then we have it for the week.  I can add it to more "adult" salads, or I put it with cheese in a sandwich wrap or sprinkle on peanut butter in a tortilla for H's school sack lunch.  It's very versatile!  And if carrots aren't yours' or the kids' thing, you could try with red bell peppers....yum:)

Carrot Salad

4-5 cups shredded carrots (about 5-9 carrots depending on size)

1 cup raisins or golden raisins or other favorite dried fruit

1/2 cup sliced or chopped almonds (or other chopped nuts)

Mix all together and you're done.  Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy.

Did somebody say Mango?

photo from MeaganElizabeth.com

Recently I've been experimenting with more raw recipes.  For those that are not familiar with what a raw recipe is here here's a cliff's notes version:

• made from fresh raw ingredients (all plant based)
• nothing heated above 115 degrees F.

There's plenty out there about why people "eat raw".  Frankly, I like to incorporate a lot of these foods simply because they are so fresh and clean tasting.  And, I must say....they are some of the most simple recipes I've ever seen. Pretty simple stuff and ridiculously delicious and good for you.   Can't get much simpler than 1 ingredient!

I made a Mango Mayo Wrap the other day for lunch (actually....I ate two because it was so fabulous!).   It's from Meagan Elizabeth's blog which you can find more of here.  

I must say......the mango mayo (aka the golden yumminess that I wanted to eat up with a spoon like it was soup) was delicious.  I made extra so that my twin 3-year olds could eat some.  When they were helping me make in the blender they were scraping the sides of it with the spatulas, so I could I say to them, "No more Mangoes for you!!"  And so I made extra :)   

Not the cleanest day in the kitchen, but whatever.....they loved it!   Now, you may think "wow..., her kids ate a wrap that used collard leaves instead of bread??" (however, I used broccoli leaves though from our garden).  Um.  No. No indeed. A big fat no.  They did not.  BUT, they did dip their carrots and cucumbers and their PBJ in the mango mayo and loved it.   And they asked lots of questions about what was in my wrap.  This is fabulous!  And the best part.....G. asked if he could try some of my wrap!  He didn't want his own, but the fact that he wanted to even try it was a plus.  I'll take it :)  

As I mentioned above, I used broccoli leaves instead of collard leaves.  Any hearty leaf will do:  collard, swiss chard, broccoli leaves, nappa cabbage or basic cabbage leaves will work.  

Inside the wrap I used lettuce, red pepper, cucumber and avocado.  Usually I have shredded carrots on hand and would have thrown some of those in there too, but I didn't.  So, it was without the pop of orange.  But still beautiful and delicious!  Thank you to Meagan!

                                                               Mango Mayo Wrap

Here we go....Pesto!

I have finally made the jump into what I have been wanting to do for so long....  Start a blog about my experiences cooking with my kids and teaching them about food and nutrition along the way!
Seeing the kids' faces light up in confidence when they can "cut" into peach or apple, or spread peanut butter on a cracker or slice of bread is so rewarding for me.  Yesterday, I made pesto with my twin two-year olds, and they LOVE mommy's "cheene"  (aka "machine" or as we know it--the food processor).

It dawned on me when I was talking to a friend of mine about what to make for kids' lunches and snacks, that many people may not believe in themselves enough in the kitchen to steer away from a recipe and possibly make a mistake. Sometimes that is when the best food comes out!  In desperation for a sandwich spread and a dip to use for the kids to dip some (well-intentioned) carrots into, I used pesto (just a spoonful or two...you can't go wrong) stirred into a little mayo. It turned out fabulous!
I had the boys help take the basil leaves off the stems and into the measuring cup.  Then they practiced
 "I dump", as they liked to call it, when they put the leaves into the processor.  And they both LOVED to push the button on the "cheene"!

S. and G. working their magic with the "cheene" (aka....food processor).  And no my fellow parents.....I didn't not give them full control over it.  They just watched and helped :)

Here is the recipe I like to use when we made our pesto:
~2-3 cups lightly packed basil leaves
1-2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup toasted walnuts
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2/3 cup olive oil.....take or give a little
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Put all theingredients except the olive oil and cheese into a food processor.  Pulse it so that it is very fine.  Then add the cheese and pulse again until it's fine and smooth.  With the processor running, add the olive oil slowly until it starts to become smooth and to the consistency you like.

We froze some of the pesto (without the cheese), and then I like to keep a container in the fridge (with cheese) to mix into mayo for a veggie dip, or use the pesto on pizzas or sandwiches, mix the pesto and a tiny bit of mayo with hard-boiled eggs for a twist on egg salad.   Spread on some whole grain crackers and top with a cheese and and an apple slice.  Sounds weird, but again it was a no-recipe test and it worked!
Pesto is one of those flavors and colors that I think is great for kids to be exposed to.  It's fresh, green, and super tasty.  It's so useful and the the kids love it :)  And, I can't forget to mention that we like to have it the old-school way too: stirred into pasta for a quick and yummy dinner!