Future Foodie Friday Tip -- Creativity with Food

We recently have had some success getting the boys to try new foods, by giving them creative names or stories. We tried refried beans and the boys were turned off by the appearance and the fact that the beans were mashed. We told them we had to mash them because they were magic jumping beans and otherwise they would jump right off the plate. We also told them if they ate them, they would have super jumping powers. Needless to say they both ate several bites and then jumped around the kitchen the next 10 minutes, swearing they were jumping higher than ever before.

 Last night I made fried zucchini chips and the boys were hesitant, but when I told them they were gold coins from a lost pirate treasure they gobbled them up. Try to get creative with the new foods your kids are hesitant to try in order to spike interest. You never know, they might be more willing to try it and like it.

I'd love to hear what stories or names you give food that helps your little one's eat more variety.

Happy Friday!

Zucchini, Zucchini, Zucchini

Right now our garden is over flowing with zucchini, so I thought I would post our top 5 recipes for using this great summertime vegetable.  Sorry I don't have more photos, we been eating these dishes before I can remember to take a picture.  Let me know what you think of these recipes, if you try them or feel free to share your favorite zucchini recipe.

1.  Zucchini Cakes -- We made these last week and they are our new favorite way to make zucchini.  They are very filling and even taste great leftover.  They are similar to crab cakes but with zucchini instead of crab.  The Old Bay seasoning gives them a little heat but not too much.
2.  Zucchini Coins -- This is the way my mom used to make zucchini. This is messy frying but very delicious.  These remind me a little of tavern food, when you get fried veggies as appetizers.

3.  Zucchini Slaw -- This is unique way to use zucchini for a sweet and sour slaw and no one will ever believe what the ingredients are when they taste it.
4.  Grilled Zucchini -- This is an easy way to make the vegetables on the grill while you cook your meat.  We actually put these in the refrigerator to chill and then serve them as part of an antipasti tray.  They are delicious warm to.
5.  Zucchini Bread -- This is the boys favorite way to eat zucchini.  I normally make these in batches and freeze the breads so that we can get them out for breakfast throughout the year.  This is a great recipe to use frozen grated zucchini in, so if you don't have time to bake and you have some extra zucchinis, just shred it and put it in a freezer bag in either 2 cup or 4 cup portions.  Just thaw and it will be ready to bake with.

Zucchini Cakes 

• 3 cups of coarsely grated zucchini (you may want to remove seeds first depending on how large your zucchini are)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 T yogurt or mayo
• 1 tsp butter
• 2 T oil for frying

Combine all ingredients (except butter and oil) in a medium size bowl.  You may need to add more breadcrumbs if your mixture is too wet to hold together in patties.  Make 8 patties the size of small hamburgers.  Heat oil and butter in a skillet.  Cook patties until golden brown on both sides and drain on paper towel.

Hints:  Zucchini gives off a lot of water, so grate it and cook immediately.  These patties could be fragile so let them cook a few minutes before trying to turn them.

(inspired by http://www.relish.com/recipes/zucchini-cakes/)

Zucchini Coins

•  sliced zucchini (as much as desired)
• 1 egg
• 2 T milk
• 1 cup corn meal
• salt and pepper
• oil for frying

Heat oil in skillet  (ideally you want it to be about 350 degrees). Slice your zucchini thinly into rounds.   Beat egg and milk in bowl and set aside.  Mix corn meal with salt and pepper to taste.

Dip zucchini rounds into egg mixture and then into corn meal mix until coated.  Deep fry in oil until golden brown.  You may need to turn them to brown both sides.

Zucchini Slaw

• 1 1/2 pounds zucchini, (3 medium), grated
• 1 medium sweet onion, grated
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
• 1 small red bell pepper, diced
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup apple juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (optional)
• Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste

Place zucchini and onion in a strainer or colander over a bowl. Add salt and toss to coat. Let drain at room temperature for 30 minutes. Rinse vegetables and squeeze to remove as much moisture as possible. I like to squeeze mine in a paper towel to get as much moisture out as possible.

Mix zucchini, onion, bell pepper, vinegar, apple juice and basil; toss well. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately or chill until serving time.

 (inspired by http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/cool_zucchini_slaw.html)

Grilled Zucchini

• zucchini thinly sliced lengthwise (as much as desired)
• olive oil
• salt 
• pepper

 Drizzle zucchini with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Toss to coat them evenly.  Grill until soft to touch and warm through.  Serve immediately or chill and serve cold.

Zucchini Bread

3 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 c grated zucchini (it's best to have a little water with the zucchini to keep the bread from being too dry)
3 tsp vanilla
1/2 c chopped nuts (if desired)

Beat eggs, oil, sugar until combined.  Combine flour, soda, cinnamon, salt, and baking power as dry ingredients.  Gradually add dry ingredient mixture to egg mixture and beat well.  Add zucchini and beat.  Finally stir in vanilla and nuts if desired.  Pour into 2 well greased loaf pans or  4 mini loaf tins. Bake at 325 degrees for one hour or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from pans and cool.

Tyler Makes Pancakes by Tyler Florence

Lucas and Adam got this book for Andy for Father's day and the boys have insisted on reading it every night before bed since.  It's a great book that any child would love and has a great recipe for pancakes.  It does a wonderful job of teaching children where the ingredients come from besides the grocery store. This is the first in a series of three and we can't wait for the rest to come out.  Check out the video and this great book from Tyler Florence!

Tyler Makes Pancakes

Future Foodie Friday Tip -- Read about Food

When our sons are anxious or scared of something new, I try to find a book about it, so that the boys can learn about what to expect in order to calm their fears.  I believe the more you know about something the more likely you are to enjoy it.  The same can be said about food, when it comes to getting young children to try new things.  We have several books about food and they are not hard to find.  Most of ours came from the dollar section at Target.  Some of these books discuss the health benefits of certain foods, others talk about where food comes from, and a few are about the fun of cooking with friends and family.  We are supposed to read to our children everyday, so try adding a few books about food to your library and see if it spikes your child's interest in food.  I've listed a few of our favorite "food" books below.  We would love to get comments on how this works for you or your favorite children's books about food.  Happy Friday!!

Super Baby Abigail's Lunch Time Adventure
Cooking with the Cat
Sesame Street's Busy Bakers
Tyler Makes Pancakes
Fruit Salad Day

Future Foodie Friday Tip -- Taste Tests

In an effort to keep our blog up to date, I'm going to try to do a Future Foodie Friday Tip each week.  So here goes.  Our first tip is to let your children taste your dishes as you make them.  We should all cook with our palates, and we should teach our children how to use theirs.  A few weeks ago, I decided that our family was going to give black beans a try.  I looked at a few black bean and corn salad recipes and decided to use those as inspiration and wing it.  (I chose a black bean and corn salad because the boys really like corn and I thought a familiar ingredient might make them more likely to try and like the salad.) Lucas wanted to help, so I let him taste the salad and tell me what he thought it needed.  I think this is a great exercise, because it teaches him to notice the difference after more of an existing ingredient or a new ingredient is added to a dish.  It will help him develop his palate and hopefully make his dishes more successful when he is cooking on his own.  Happy Friday!

Biscuit Pizzas

One of the boys' favorite items to make is Biscuit Pizzas.  They are quick, easy and always a hit at meal time.  Adam helped me make these recently. 

1.  Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.  

2.  The crusts are just canned biscuits flattened out on  pizza pan or cookie sheet covered in parchment or greased.  (We don't cook anything without parchment anymore because it significantly cuts down on our dish scrubbing time.)  Adam enjoyed flattening the squishy biscuits. 

3. Add pizza sauce and let your little one spread it out with a spoon as Adam does below.

Spreading the sauce

4.  Next add the meat of your choice.  We happened to have some leftover browned sausage on this day, so we did a combination of sausage and pepperoni.  We prefer Turkey Pepperoni, since it is significantly less greasy and healthier.  It truly taste the same if not better than regular.

Adding Pepperoni and Sausage

5.  Add pizza cheese. I like to try to let the boys 'do their thing' without a lot of fuss, when we are cooking.  As you can see, Adam had some trouble evenly distributing the cheese.  Since this was something I could easily fix after the fact, I just let him have a good time.

Adding cheese

Adam being very proud of his handy work

6.  We topped our pizzas with some Italian Seasoning and I mistakenly let Adam put that on one pizza.  I caution you against letting little ones spread spices evenly, because this is something that cannot be easily fixed after the fact.

Ready to go into the oven

7.  Bake the pizzas according to the directions on the biscuit can.  Ours took about 8 - 10 mins. 

Quick, easy well balanced meal when paired with broccoli and peaches

This is a great way for your little ones to get their own individualized pizza and you can have toppings of your choice too.  It's simple so they can help and they taste great as well.  Enjoy!