June 7, 2010

Morning Glory Muffins

I made Whole Foods recipe for Whole Grain Morning Glory muffins as a quick grab and go breakfast for Oscar.

Ozzie really enjoys helping me in the kitchen so I decided to let him fill the muffin cups with liners but that wasn't enough for my little sous chef. He insisted on filling the liners with batter too. He did pretty good, he only had to cheat a few times. 



Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup sugar (I substituted agave nectar for sugar)
1/4 cup packed natural brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2/3 cup canola oil (I substituted 1/2 oil with apple sauce)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Fuji apple, cored, peeled and diced
1/2 cup seedless raisins
1/2 cup grated carrots
1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped (I left out the walnuts so Ozzie could eat the muffins)
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dried flaked unsweetened coconut, divided
1 - 2 T flax seed (not part of the original recipe but I always add flax seed to my muffins)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, flax seed and salt; break up any brown sugar lumps with your fingers or a wooden spoon.

In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, oil and vanilla, then add to flour mixture and stir just until combined. Add apples, raisins, carrots, walnuts and 1/4 cup of the coconut and stir gently until well combined.

Spoon batter into 16 paper-lined muffin tins, filling each about 2/3 full. Top evenly with remaining 4 teaspoons coconut and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until cooked through.

Nutrition:
Per serving (1 muffin/about 2oz/55g-wt.): 200 calories (110 from fat), 12g total fat, 1.5g saturated fat, 25mg cholesterol, 170mg sodium, 21g total carbohydrate (2g dietary fiber, 14g sugar), 3g protein

Casper Babypants

Ozzie and I went to the Casper Babypants concert at our local library last month. The lead singer is Chris Bellew, former lead singer of the Seattle band, The Presidents of the United States. He has left the rock/grunge genre and made his way to kids music. The music is really good; not too kiddish and funny enough for parents.

Ozzie loves music and loves to sing and dance, so I knew he would really enjoy this concert. Here are a few pictures and videos from our adventure.


If pictures weren't enough, I shot a few videos.

This video cracks me up because Ozzie is a little more interested in his cheddar bunnies. It must have been close to lunch time. When he finally does decide to participate, he is a few steps behind but the little girl next to him is right on point with the band.

I bought the CD after the concert and played Ozzie's favorite song "Run Baby Run" when we got home. It is really close to nap time so all of his energy is gone but he's trying. I should call this "Ozzie in slow motion".

All of Casper Babypants concerts are free so make sure to check him out with your toddler or preschooler. I bet they will love it!

June 1, 2010

Playing the Geeetar!

Oscar's mom bought Ozzie a toy guitar and he hasn't put it down since she brought it over. His moves with his guitar amaze me. He really knows how to rock out. I have no idea where he learned how to hold his guitar up in the air and strum as if he's in a rock band but I love it!

Here is a short video. I am lucky enough to be front row for this entertainment daily!

Spinach Smoothie

Remember that vegetable war I told you about. Well I am happy to announce I have won another small battle.

I had such success with the spinach muffins, I tried another recipe from Cooking For 10 and made Ozzie a spinach smoothie.

The recipe yields a lot of smoothie, even after cutting it in half, so I froze the extra in popsicle molds. Here is Ozzie enjoying a spinach popsicle on one of our few hot days so far this year. He likes the smoothies so much he asks for one almost everyday. I am loving his spinach and milk intake!




Spinach Smoothies
Ingredients:

1 banana
1 orange
1 pear
1 - 2 cups fresh baby spinach
1 cup milk
1/2 cup yogurt (I use Greek style)
1 T flax seed (optional)

Place all of your ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Add more milk for a thinner smoothie.