Mango Berry Banana Smoothie

1 1/2 cups frozen mango (or peach)
1 cup frozen blueberries (or other berry)
2 bananas, unpeeled
2 1/2 - 3 cups unsweetened, plain soy milk (or other milk of your choice)
2 Tablespoons ground flaxseeds

Place all in the blender and puree until smooth. Add more soy milk to get your desired consistency or to stretch it out for one more person to enjoy!

Makes 5 1/2 - 6 cups of smoothie (enough for two adults and two children)

Cheers!

Vanilla Crunch Granola

I have shared other favorite Cathe Olson recipes in the past, and alas I fell upon another on the internet I have come to love! Vanilla Crunch Granola is a great quick, crunchy (love the steel cut oats) breakfast that is slightly sweet but not filled with tons of sugar like many store-bought granolas. This is incredibly easy and fast to make. Everyone in our family loves it! I follow her directions exactly; however, I do use golden raisins and think about throwing in some chopped dried apple next time.

Hope you enjoy it as much as we have!

Jalapeno Hummus

Hummus is a much-loved food in our home...mostly adored by my husband. I do my best to have it on-hand as much as possible, because it is one of his snack standards. Our three-year-old Finn has also become quite the fan. This recipe was inspired by Minneapolis' outstanding bakery and deli Holy Land which has an incredibly, creamy jalapeno hummus. Although I LOVE Holy Land, it's hard for me to spend money on hummus every week when it's so cheap AND easy to make at home.

The picture above is my jalapeno hummus as a condiment to a mighty trio of Indian foods we love. Lentil Puree (Dahl) over brown rice (I add spinach before pureeing) from Cathe Olson's Feeding the Healthy Vegetarian Family; Indian Turnips from the wonderful Driftless Organics; and, jeera alu from Mothering magazine's January-February 2009 issue. We love eating it with this type of meal but also devour it with carrots, crackers, pretzels, and bagels as a snack.

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups cooked garbanzo beans
3 garlic cloves
2 Tablespoons tahini
3/4 teaspoon salt
juice of 1/2 a lemon
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup water (use more or less for your desire consistency)
2-3 jalapenos, sliced with seeds

Place garlic cloves in food processor. Run until minced. Add beans, tahini, salt, lemon, and olive oil. Run processor. Add water through tube while processing other ingredients. Run until smooth.

Remove 1/4 to 1/2 cup for a non-spicy batch for the kids. Then place jalapenos in processor. Run until well chopped and combined. The number of jalapenos you add depends on your taste and the spiciness of the peppers. I often add one pepper at a time and then taste.

Squash Bread

Well, the delicata squash plant I grew in my garden this year was a MONSTER! I guess that's a good thing. It was healthy and HUGE! I've begun reaping the benefits by beginning my fall baking. It almost seems too early for pumpkin-esque treats; it's been so warm here in St. Paul. However, yesterday marked the beginning of fall, and today it is truly a beautiful autumn day.

Here's a recipe that my dear friend Sara shared with me last year. It's FatFree Vegan's Pumpkin Bread. I quite rarely use actual pumpkin when I make recipes like this. I like to use my butternut squash or delicata squash in its place, because I tend to always have one of those on hand in the fall. Currently, I have an entire basket of delicata squash! Below are my variations on FatFree Vegan's recipe and my directions to preparing and freezing squash.

Pumpkin Bread Variations:
Replace 1 cup of pureed pumpkin with 1 cup of pureed winter squash
*Use 1/2 cup of applesauce rather than 1/4 cup. This way you can eliminate the Ener-G Egg Replacer mixed with water.

*I never use Ener-G Egg Replacer, because I simply don't see the need for one more product in my pantry. I either use applesauce or banana as an egg replacer when it makes sense, OR I blend 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 Tablespoons of water (per egg you are replacing) until it's incredibly thick and creamy; I recommend using a hand blender for best results. Here is a simple reference guide to egg replacements from one of my fave sites theppk.com.

PREPARING SQUASH:
Cut squash down the middle, length-wise
Scoop out all the seeds
Place cut-side down in a 9x13 baking pan
Pour small amount of water into to pan, just to prevent scorching

Bake at 350 until squash is tender when poked with a fork...about 30-40 minutes for delicata squash. Remove when done and leave to cool enough to handle. Remover skin - should fall write off. Place the soft squash into a food processor and run it to create a more creamy squash. I then like to freeze it in 2 cup portions. Then you can easily take it out when your in the mood for pancakes or bread!

Peanut Butter Cracker Sandwiches

Ethan, my husband, thinks that this snack may be obvious, but I think it's great! I had never made these on my own until I met Ethan. Ethan often throws these together for Finn. They're a great quick, easy, cheap snack. You can put them in a little container to eat them in the car. You can pre-make these and keep them in the fridge for a day or two (don't want them to get soggy).

Simply take any crackers you have on hand. Spread creamy peanut butter on one cracker and top with another cracker. That's it!

Watermelon

This time of year my family consumes at least one good-sized watermelon a week. We could probably double that, but I limit myself to one each week at the co-op to practice some good ol' self-control. Watermelon often serves as our dessert at lunch and dinner. I love all the water content, and feel assured that my one-year-old is getting an extra dose of water while he's mastering his drinking skills.

Sometimes I think watermelon is avoided, because it's seems like a big mess. I believe I learned our technique of cutting and storing watermelon from my husband. There is never a mess, and it's a one-time process for a whole week of tasty watermelon.

Step 1 -- We never cut watermelon on a cutting board. The juice oozes everywhere and the kitchen gets nasty sticky. Rinse the outside of the watermelon in the sink and proceed to do all the cutting in the sink. Cut the watermelon into quarters.

Step 2- Take your first quarter and create a grid of bite-size pieces.









Step 3 - Empty the inner pieces into a bowl.









Step 4 - Cut along the rind to empty the remaining pieces into the same bowl.

Step 5 - Repeat with the three remaining quarters of the watermelon. Store in storage containers in the fridge and feast for days!

Berry Yogurt

I've been making this snack for my toddler for quite some time - when I can remember to throw it together the night before! Thankfully, it doesn't take more than five minutes, and Finn is always ecstatic when I pull it out of the fridge for his morning or afternoon snack.

I've noticed that individual sized yogurts for babies and toddlers have become very popular, but they are also very expensive - I think. They also market the added DHA (omega-3 essential fatty acid), which these yogurts usually have in fish oil form. We don't eat fish, so this is easily replaced with a good sprinkle of flaxseed meal (which is SUPER FOOD!).

I like to buy one tub of plain yogurt and a bag or two of frozen berries, and I'm able to get many snacks for much less money. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 - 3/4 cup of plain yogurt
1/2 cup of frozen berries (I often mix blueberries and raspberries)
1 tsp of flaxseed meal (optional)

In a one-cup tupperware, place a layer of yogurt followed by a layer of berries. Repeat. Top with a thin layer of yogurt. Place in the fridge overnight for the berries to thaw! Sprinkle with flaxseed meal just before serving.