December | 2013 | My Foodie Call

Monthly Archives: December 2013
- Back in First Grade: A Healthy Holiday Treat.
  
  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  Dec 20th
  
  So I went back to Laurel Hill. Remember when we did the Pumpkin Smoothie Challenge? Well, back for another hands on treat. This one might look familiar from a couple of weeks ago. Remember the Avocado Chocolate Pudding?
  
  Avocado Chocolate Pudding. Chocolate is the perfect place for avocado to hide.
  
  Went to Laurel Hill and used the same recipe except to give it a holiday twist we crushed peppermints as an optional topping for the Avocado Chocolate Pudding.
  
  Same technique that I used for my Healthy Holiday Ice Cream Sandwiches.
  
  Peppermints in the processor.
  
  Crush ’em. Easy.
  
  Back to Laurel Hill…I made the “health lesson” for this visit on avocados. Good fats. Bad Fats. Easy. You know that green scares the kids :).
  
  The original recipe calls for 2 avocados. 19 kids means quite a few avocados.
  
  I first had them do our sweet topping.
  
  All of the kids lined up and got a turn adding mints to the food processor. I especially like the Trader Joe’s mints because there is no gross red dye in them. Score.
  
  We cut, we measured, we scooped. We added a little of this and we added a little of that…
  
  Tripling our recipe got us 22 cute little pudding cups.
  
  Time to test our treats.
  
  A little unsure….
  
  He will like this. That I can say with certainty. And I know this because he is the My Foodie Call at-home judge.
  
  I think the peppermint candy topping helped seal the deal.
  
  As mentioned above, I began the lesson by explaining about good fats and bad fats.
  
  By the end?
  
  Happy to say that 100% of the kids could pronounce the word “Mono-unsaturated”.
  
  Mission accomplished.
  
  ***Taking a blogging break and going on a My Foodie Call hiatus to enjoy the kids during the holiday break. See you in 2014!***
  
  Posted in Random stuff | Tagged avocado, chocolate, kids, school
- Hearty Bean and Barley Soup in a Slow Cooker
  
  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  Dec 19th
  Beans and barley. Great combo.
  
  Got a slow cooker? Use it. Especially this time of year.
  
  3 kinds of beans, tomatoes, creamed corn, carrots, onion, celery, barley. A garden in a bowl.
  
  Hearty Bean and Barley Soup in the Slow Cooker
  
  Ingredients:
  - 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
  - 2 cloves garlic, minced
  - 1 medium onion, diced
  - 3 cups veggie broth
  - 1/4 cup celery, fine-chopped
  - 1/2 cup carrots, fine-chopped
  - 1-15 oz can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
  - 1-15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
  - 1-15 oz can organic kidney beans, rinsed and drained
  - 1-15 oz can cream corn
  - 1 14.5 oz can fire roasted tomatoes with green chiles
  - 1 bay leaf
  - 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  - 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
  - 1 1/2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
  - 1 cup quick-cook barley
  Directions:
  1. Add all ingredients except for your quick cooking barley. Give it a big stir.
  2. Cook on low for one hour.
  3. Add your barley. Stir.
  4. Cook on low for one more hour. Stir.
  5. Remove bay leaf and enjoy!
  Hearty bean and barley soup.
  Posted in Meatless mealtime, Salads, Soups, and Sides | Tagged barley, beans, carrots, soup
- What I pack my kid.
  
  Posted at 8:05 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  Dec 18th
  
  Home stretch for lunches. Almost winter vacation. Hanging in there. You should too.
  
  Here is what I pack my kid.
  
  My kids like stuff like this way better than sandwiches.
  
  A closer look.
  
  This is just whole wheat linguine with butter and nutritional yeast. Easy. You could make this blindfolded.
  
  Cut cantaloupe satisfies my fruit requirement.
  
  Vitamin C, anyone? Don’t you just love these mini peppers they sell now? Cute.
  
  Homemade trail mix. Almonds, cranberries, raisins, and chocolate chips, of course.
  
  Vanilla milk. Love this stuff.
  
  Posted in What I pack my kid. | Tagged kids, lunch, school
- What we did for teacher gifts this year.
  
  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  Dec 17th
  
  A break from cooking. Had an idea.
  
  Cute pot, right? No, we didn’t make the pot. Just the pineapple flower on top.
  
  Mr. Foodie Call got one of those Edible Arrangements a couple of months ago from the women at work for Boss Day, Manager Day, whatever it was… Edible Arrangements. Those insane fruit bouquets that you can eat? Well, Mr. Foodie Call got one. The family devoured it. Very cool gift.
  
  We actually have never really gotten one of those as a gift or have even bought one. They always seemed so expensive.
  
  When Mr. Foodie Call’s fruit arrangement was kicked, I started to dissect it to see how they put it together and what it entailed. It really did not look hard. And it wasn’t. A couple of kabob sticks, some foam, fancy cut fruit…not too bad. Long story short: The kids decided they wanted in on this fruit cutting thing and the Fruit-Teacher-Pot idea was born.
  
  Ours is a toned down Edible Arrangement with one change. Instead of a throw away pot, I decided to use a really cool mixed media stone pot to set it in. That way the teachers could have an actual gift to keep. These pots are my new obsession.
  
  These are the mini pots. They are available in mini, small, medium, large, and extra-large. I’m hooked!
  
  The kids and I made 8 fruit arrangements, all with these mini pots.
  
  My oldest has 5 teachers. These would have taken FOREVER had we gone with a larger size.
  
  The arrangements varied quite a bit based on the fruit cuts and how sick of making them the kids were. 🙂
  
  Here are a couple more pictures of the mixed media pots.
  
  Awesomeness.
  
  So, so cute.
  
  If you have any questions about purchasing these pots, please email the owner of Nests & More Creations:
  
  rachellebartholomew@yahoo.com
  
  Don’t you want to be a teacher so that we can make you one of these? Ha.
  
  Below is an example of a completed gift. This pot had a sand dollar instead of the medallion.
  
  For my youngest’s teacher. Love 6-year-old handwriting.
  
  Posted in Random stuff | Tagged fruit, kids, school
- Non-Dairy Sweet Potato Corn Chowder
  
  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  Dec 16th
  So this family was feeling a bit overscheduled. We, like everyone, have been running around doing the crazed holiday thang, trying to find the balance between holiday events, school work, volunteering, seemingly endless gift wrapping…you know how it goes.
  
  Another thing I am discovering is that the big problem with Charleston is that there are too many great things going on all the time. Fun stuff, but just all of the time. I know, such problems….
  
  This particular day we were supposed to go to a Christmas parade. Last year’s was super fun, all of our friends would be there, all the more reason to go. Feeling tapped out physically and mentally, we debated skipping.
  
  Should we? Shouldn’t we?
  
  Hate missing out on fun, cool stuff.
  
  But then I remembered.
  
  There is always fun, cool stuff happening.
  
  We skipped it. Decided it would be a day to take a minute to breathe.
  
  Guess what? The world didn’t end.
  
  Decided to make a cozy meal instead. My point in this story. Made a cozy meal instead.
  
  “What does everyone want for dinner?” I asked??
  
  The only child with a reasonable response was my oldest child.
  
  “Corn Chowder.”
  
  Corn chowder it is.
  
  Of course I made it without dairy.
  
  No dairy? No problem. This chowder is plenty creamy with almond milk and sweet potatoes.
  
  Non-Dairy Sweet Potato Corn Chowder
  
  Ingredients:
  - 2 tablespoons coconut oil
  - 1 small onion, chopped
  - 1 cup celery, chopped
  - 1 clove garlic, minced
  - 2 cups veggie broth
  - 1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped into small chunks
  - 1 cup frozen corn (I used Trader Joe’s frozen roasted corn)
  - 1 can creamed corn
  - 1 cup almond milk
  - 1 tablespoon flour
  - 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  - 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  - 1 teaspoon salt
  - 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  Directions:
  1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in onions, garlic and celery. Cook until just slightly soft. About 2-3 minutes
  2. Add veggie broth and sweet potatoes.
  3. Simmer on medium low until tender. about 30 minutes.
  4. Add the frozen and creamed corn. Stir for about a minute.
  5. Reduce heat to low, and pour in 1 cup almond milk.
  6. Whisk in flour.
  7. Stir in parsley, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until chowder thickens to desired consistency.
  I did not double this recipe because I was unsure of the outcome, but I wish I had. I want leftovers. :/.
  Posted in Salads, Soups, and Sides | Tagged chowder, corn, soup, sweet potato
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