May | 2014 | My Foodie Call

Monthly Archives: May 2014
- Back in first grade…Healthy Soft Serve Sundaes
  
  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  May 31st
  
  Nom nom.
  
  I make banana soft serves at home A LOT. So easy. It’s just frozen banana (sliced and peeled), then whipped down in a food processor. This dessert is so versatile and the internet is exploding with different yummy variations you’d be crazy to not give it a go if you haven’t already. My go to recipe is usually some sort of peanut butter and chocolate soft serve but I do make berry concoctions for the kids quite frequently. Here is this recipe from a while back, but seriously, the sky is the limit when you start with your basic frozen bananas.
  
  So….I headed back to first grade. If you remember, I have been there three times now. We have done pumpkin smoothies and chocolate pudding and green smoothies so far. This last treat Landon has been asking for all year. We did this in kindergarten as well and it was a big hit.
  
  Banana Soft Serve Sundaes
  
  Kindergarten Landon. Poor guy must get so sick of being my model all of the time.
  
  So here is what we do and why the kids like it. We start with our banana soft serve as our base and the kids get to pile it with healthy toppings. A healthy sundae bar if you will. Healthy topping choices were strawberries, blueberries, crushed peanuts and even crushed whole grain pretzels. woot woot! To make things even more tasty the kids made a raw chocolate sauce to drizzle over the top. So naturally Landon would be excited for this snack in first grade as well.
  
  As usual, we had a lesson on one nutrient that was in our snack.
  
  Bananas=potassium. We talked about overall heart health and potassium’s role .
  
  Then we got to work.
  
  The kids sliced their bananas…
  
  Popped them in a freezer bag.
  
  These bananas went into the cooler that I brought. I pulled out my “magic” bananas that were ready to go, pre-frozen.
  
  Frozen bananas, whirring in the food processor.
  
  Here the kids are watching them get whipped down.
  
  See how creamy and custardy it becomes?
  
  Kids chose their toppings…
  
  Vaughn, getting ready to go for it…
  
  Landon, killing it.
  
  This year was no different. Kids wanted seconds.
  
  Posted in Desserts, Snacks | Tagged banana, berries, peanuts
- Baked Tortilla Cups with Beans and Salsa
  
  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  May 22nd
  
  Have you seen these baked tortilla cup things floating around Pinterest?
  
  Me too. However, when I have seen the baked tortilla bowl-like things on the internet, the recipe calls for them to be baked on the backside of a muffin tin. The muffin tin creates the mold and the corn tortilla bakes into this cool lipped, edible bowl thing. As fun as they are, I alway felt like it was such a waste of space because you can only fit a few tortillas on the back of the muffin tin. That said, I have been wanting to try this for quite some time, but in my own attempt I wanted to save some space and use the actual muffin compartments..Here goes nothing!
  
  First off, I started with super basic goods. Nothing fancy here.
  
  After heating the tortilla, I molded them into the muffin tins and added some beans in each cup.
  
  Then I added some of the tomato/green chile mixture.
  
  Then some cheese…
  
  Then some salsa, and more cheese. Not a science here, my friends…
  
  Baked it up and topped with avocado and hot sauce. Not bad for a baked tortilla newbie!
  
  Baked Corn Tortilla Cups with Beans and Salsa
  
  Ingredients
  
  ▪ cooking spray
  ▪ 12 6-inch corn tortillas
  ▪ 1 can refried beans
  1 can chopped tomatoes with lime and chiles
  ▪1 jar of your favorite salsa
  ▪ shredded cheese of choice
  ▪avocado (cut into cubes)
  ▪ hot sauce (optional)
  
  Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Spray the muffin tin with cooking spray.
  3. Wrap the tortillas into a paper towel and microwave for 40-50 seconds. (this is what makes the tortilla pliable, the heat!!)
  4. Mold the tortillas into the muffin tins, layering the sides if need be.
  5. Distribute the refried beans on the bottoms of each cup. (this will help maintain the cup shape of the tortilla once the beans are in there)
  6. Top with the tomato/chile mixture.
  8. Sprinkle cheese.
  6. Top with the salsa.
  9. Bake 15-20 minutes
  10. Add a couple avocado cubes
  11. Add hot sauce if desired, but duh, YES!
  
  All 12, polished off. The biggest problem?? There was not enough of to feed a family of five. Should have doubled it!
  
  Posted in Meatless mealtime | Tagged avocado, beans, tomato
- A healthier Tuna Noodle Casserole
  
  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  May 16th
  
  I grew up on this stuff…
  
  And survived. Boy did I love when my mother said she was making Tuna Helper. Remember those dehydrated squashed peas?? Or pea-like green things? (I assume they were peas.)
  
  Although I know how horrible the stuff is now (for health), I still kind of miss it. Nostalgia food?
  
  Miss it, yes, but it doesn’t mean I am running through Walmart to buy it. Let’s healthify this instead.
  
  Impeccable timing too because I made this recipe during teacher appreciation week at my 13 year old’s school. Her middle school needed 100 casseroles so that each teacher had one to bring home, so they asked parents to step up and contribute a casserole.
  
  Guess what? Some ~~poor soul~~ lucky teacher got my healthy tuna noodle casserole.
  
  Hopefully they were pleasantly surprised.
  
  Check this out.
  
  Start by cooking up some veggies. My recipe does not have the mystery green pea-ish things like Tuna Helper. Figured I’d up the antioxidant content of this dish. Peppers, celery and onions it is.
  
  Add your flour, nutritional yeast, milk, mustard..(the creamy factor in this casserole) Give it a good stir, don’t be shy. Then incorporate your noodles.
  
  Next add tuna and parmesan. Stir, stir.
  
  Spread evenly into prepared pan.
  
  Top, bake, serve.
  
  Finished product.
  
  The recipe below was enough for two casseroles. We had one for our family, and I made one for one lucky teacher. :/. I really could have piled it all into one 9×13 pan and cooked it a tad longer, but chose to split it up.
  
  We ate our whole casserole that night, but you could keep the recipe as is and have leftovers for work.
  
  Healthy, Whole Wheat Tuna Noodle Casserole
  
  Ingredients:
  
  • 3 cups whole wheat egg noodles
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 medium onions, diced
  • 2 red peppers, finely diced
  • 3-4 stalks celery, finely diced
  • 1/4 cup whole wheat flour with (optional) 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
  • 2 cups almond milk
  • 3 tablespoons yellow mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt, to taste
  • 2 cups grated parmesan cheese
  • 2 cans chunk light tuna, drained
  
  Topping
  • 2 cups breadcrumbs (Make your own crumbs by pulsing old pieces of bread in your food processor)
  • 4 tablespoons grape seed oil
  • 4 cloves minced garlic
  
  Directions:
  1. Preheat the oven 350 degrees.
  2. Cook egg noodles according to package instructions.
  3. Heat a large pan over medium heat.
  4. Add your butter to the pan.
  5. Add the onion, celery, and bell pepper and saute for 5-6 minutes to soften.
  6. Mix in the flour and nutritional yeast and stir to coat the vegetables evenly.
  7. In a small bowl, whisk the milk and mustard.
  8. Pour into the vegetables, stirring to blend.
  9. Cook and stir for another 5 minutes (or until the mixture is thick) and turn off the heat.
  10. Add the salt and the parmesan cheese.
  10. Stir in the noodles and the tuna and mix to blend.
  11. Pour into a pre-sprayed 9”x13” pan.
  12. Topping: Mix together the breadcrumbs, oil, and minced garlic and sprinkle evenly over the top of the casserole.
  13. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
  14. Switch oven to Lo broil. Broil for another 5 minutes creating a crisper topping.
  
  Try it and let me know what you think!
  
  Posted in Meatless mealtime | Tagged nutritional yeast, red pepper, whole wheat noodles
- A Roasted Veggie and Rice Casserole
  
  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  May 12th
  You would think with all of the veggies this household consumes that I would be this insane gardener. Insane gardener I am not. I kill plants, not purposely of course, but I just do not make them my top priority and by the time I realize they have dried out or are seriously diseased, they are on their deathbed.
  
  Needless to say, I would probably not make the best vegetable gardener. Not that I don’t wish that I was. And yes, I have attempted to grow a few edibles along the way.
  
  Attempt one
  
  Remember the Topsy Turvy things? I had a strawberry one a few years ago. It had a couple of small strawberries, “yay, me!”, but then the stupid thing fell off my deck (to its death) and the remnants got munched on by some sort of rodent. grr.
  
  Attempt two
  
  I tried to grow herbs in my window 3 years ago…Only to have them grow for a few weeks, tease me, and then die. Failure two.
  
  Attempt three
  
  I tried herbs again last year when a dear friend made me an awesome herb garden as a birthday gift. It was so beautiful in its large pot that I told myself:
  
  “Self? You will not kill this herb garden ESPECIALLY because of the nature of its’ origin. A good friend made you this and this may be a metaphor for your friendship. Don’t kill it!!!”
  
  Well, I did pretty dang good for a while with that herb garden, clipping things as needed, smelling and sniffing up the awesome oregano scent like a crazed person (I went through a big oregano kick during that period.)
  
  Yes last summer, I tended to the herbs with great care and they were doing FAB, until…
  
  I went up north for the whole month of August. My herbs paid the price and did not survive my vacation.
  
  womp womp.
  
  Okay my point in this story? I am attempting herbs (again) and venturing out and growing tomatoes in a pot at the moment. Super excited. I know to most a lousy tomato plant is not a big deal, but this is big for me. Stay tuned.
  
  My tomato plant. Cherry tomatoes, but still, tomatoes.
  
  Speaking of tomatoes…Today’s recipe is a yummy marinara with rice and roasted veggies. This sauce was so good, I could have eaten it solo.
  
  Check it out.
  
  Make this yummy sauce, and seriously, it’s good…
  
  Cook up some rice.
  
  Roast some veggies.
  
  Layer it.
  
  Top it and bake it.
  
  A well balanced meal, no meat required.
  
  Roasted Veggie and Rice Casserole
  
  Ingredients
  - 3-4 cups cooked rice (cook according to package directions)
  - roasted veggies (see directions below)
  - marinara sauce (see directions below)
  - grated parmesan
  Directions for the Casserole
  1. Prepare a casserole dish with non-stick spray.
  2. Spread rice at the bottom on the dish.
  3. Top with your roasted veggies.
  4. Top with your marinara.
  5. Top with parmesan.
  6. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
  Ingredients (for the roasted veggies)
  - 2 medium sweet potatoes
  - 4 or 5 carrots
  - 1 asparagus bunch
  - 2 tablespoons olive oil
  - salt and pepper, to taste
  Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 425˚F.
  2. Peel the sweet potatoes and carrots.
  3. Then cut up into chucks about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick.
  4. Just keep them somewhat similar to ensure even cooking.
  5. Trim the ends off of the asparagus stalks and cut into 2 inch long pieces.
  6. Place the sweet potato and carrot pieces into a bowl with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Toss well so that the vegetables are coated evenly.
  7. Add asparagus pieces into another bowl, then add 1 tablespoon olive oil and salt & pepper.
  8. Spread the sweet potato and carrots onto a prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes (stirring midway).
  9. Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Spread the asparagus over the sweet potato and carrots and bake in the oven for another 20 minutes.
  10. Remove the baking sheet from the oven.
  Ingredients (for the marinara)
  - 1/2 cup olive oil
  - 3 garlic cloves, minced
  - 1- 28oz can organic crushed tomatoes with basil
  - 1-2 T balsamic vinegar
  - 5 packets stevia (or you could just use sugar)
  - 1/2 tsp onion salt
  Directions
  1. Add olive oil and garlic cloves to a sauce pan and simmer for 5 minutes.
  2. Add remaining ingredients and whisk until totally fully incorporated. Simmer for an hour.
  Seriously delicious, give it a shot!
  Posted in Meatless mealtime | Tagged carrots, rice, sweet poatoes, tomatoes
- 10 Healthy Snack Options you can find at Target
  
  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  May 5th
  
  How are your school lunches looking these days?
  
  Feeling less than enthused?
  
  Are you done packing thoughtful lunches?
  
  Have your Ants on a Log turned into one big celery stock wrapped in plastic?
  
  Let us moms unite, throw in the towel and just buy packaged snacks for these final 4 weeks of school. Pinterest moms need not apply.
  
  The fine print: No Lunchables. I’m not that desperate. We can still pick healthy packaged things.
  
  Remember my post about good snack choices from Walmart? Did you pay attention? Well if not here is another shot. Today is the same idea, but this time I using Target.
  
  10 Healthy Packaged Snacks from Target
  
  1) Fruit Burst Squeezers
  
  Del Monte Fruit Burst Squeezers
  
  Not too shabby of an ingredient list. I’ll take it.
  
  2) Simply Balanced Popcorn
  
  When you can’t be bothered to make your own.
  
  Only 3 ingredients, and a 3 cup serving size is only 100 grams of sodium? Your Baked Lays can’t make those claims.
  
  3) Fruit Cups (that are actually in their own juice.)
  
  Pineapple Tidbits. These are in straight up juice, not syrup. Of course fresh fruit is best, but if you are going with a fruit cup?? Go with the ones in syrup.
  
  4) Salmon or Tuna Packets (Admittedly, this is a weird snack, but keep an open mind.)
  
  This one is for all you high protein people out there. If you are a protein junkie, try to keep away from those protein bars and get your fix from somewhere that doesn’t have 20+ ingredients, all of which are produced in some lab.The cool thing about these tuna pouches are that they do not need to be drained, just have a disposable fork nearby and you are in business.
  
  5.) Clif Kid- Z Bar
  
  Speaking of bars, you can buy these in bulk. Sugars in these babies are not so bad and if you are going to stock an arsenal of granola bars, these should be at the top of your list.
  
  6) Siggi’s Yogurt Tubes
  
  Yogurt tube anyone?
  
  Nothing artificial and only 6 grams of sugar. Have you looked at how much sugar is in your yogurt lately?? I bet it’s double and for some even triple this amount.
  
  7) Simply Fruit- Fruit Rolls
  
  These are not fruit roll-ups, although they are pretty dang similar. Minus the high fructose corn syrup.
  
  But hey, wow, this actually has fruit in it. How about them apples?
  
  8) Single serving Cashew or Almond Packs
  
  These are great for anyone that has zero self control and would eat triple this amount.
  
  9) Vita Coco- pure coconut water
  
  Coconut Water. Super hydrating and way more potassium than a banana. Try to steer clear of the ones infused with juice. Keep it clean people!
  
  Check out those percentages.
  
  10) Chobani yogurt
  
  Love these packs.
  
  There are many greek yogurts on the market, but this one does not have as much sugar as some of those others.
  
  Happy Shopping. 4 more weeks, let’s do this!
  
  Posted in Random stuff, Snacks
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