Perfect Passion Cherry Smoothie

  This smoothie I made for my son today was packed with more goodness. I'm determined to get him healthy and his brain working at full capacity by the time he goes for the Concussion Test next week.  I know I'll do it, with all the Omega's I'm getting into his body.  So...here's another recipe that's great for you, even if you don't have a brain injury.  Have a great weekend!

With a kiss from MOM:) Trust me he would rather have the lipstick on the glass:)

Ingredients:

1/2 banana (the other half I used for decoration)

1 1/2 cups Organic Cherries

1 cup kefir

1 scoop Wheatgrass

2/3 cup organic dark cherry juice

1 tablespoon flax oil

1 tablespoon Barlean's Orange swirl fish oil

Method:

Blend all ingredients in a vita-mix and decorate how you wish.  I cut hearts out of low glycemic Papaya (Pictured above).  Enjoy, this is super kid friendly and they don't know you packed it full of nutrition.

On today's hike and Yoga... Lilly got all cutesie on me!

 

Concussion Smoothie Bowl

  They say that nutrition is one of the most important aspects of brain health after a concussion.  My little guy got a concussion last night, which kept me up checking on him throughout the night, (If you have kids you know what I'm talking about).   I know that nutrition plays a huge part in recovery so I went to the store this morning to find the necessary foods to feed his brain well.  This is not as simple as it sounds because with concussions you can be nauseous all the time.  Luckily, I think this is a mild concussion and any nausea he had last night was not evident this morning.  So, my quest on healing began.

Here is what to stay away from if you've had a concussion:  Cooked oils (anything fried), sugar, caffeine, alcohol, artificial colors and flavors. - basically all the things you've heard of that are bad for anyone are especially terrible for your brain when you have a concussion.

Here is what to eat/drink if you've had a concussion: Avocados, blueberries, kefir, meat from grass fed cows, nuts & seeds, (OMEGA'S are NOW YOUR BEST FRIEND),  raw honey (heals tissues), wild salmon, eggs, coconut oil (If cooking), and obviously... drink water.

A couple things I also am doing per a Dr. friend is: NO MEDIA, stay in a dark room and just rest, don't read (rest the brain),  a headache means you need more rest and you are over doing it.  REST, REST, REST!  I think of this as CONCUSSION JAIL:)

I will have this boy healed in record time... just watch me!

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen organic wild blueberries

1 scoop of organic wheatgrass (I use Amazing Grass brand)

1 cup of organic kefir

1 tablespoon flax oil

1/2 cup organic wild blueberry juice

Method: Blend all above ingredients in a Vita-mix blender, if you don't have a high powered blender add more blueberry juice or kefir.

TOPPINGS:

This is the best part so don't forget to make your loved one feel special! Plus they'll want to eat more if it's pretty!

1 cup fresh organic blueberries

10-12 sprouted raw almond (you don't have to sprout them I just had some)

1 tablespoon Barlean's Pina Colada Swirl OMEGA oil (THIS IS A MUST)

5-6 Coco Mango Pomegranate Chews (I buy these at Whole Foods in bulk, Coco stands for Coconut)

1 slice banana, cut in the shape of a moon... he needs to go rest more:)

 

The Moon means he needs more rest after eating this yummy healthy bowl!

Him diving in and licking the sides...PERFECT!

STAY WELL!

Grass Fed Beef Burritos...Boy Style!

My boys are the typical boys.  They want to eat like a boy..."Bring On The Beef"!  So after having Grass Feed Beef Steak and Potatoes the night before we had a filet left and some of the potatoes leftover.  So, knowing this couldn't feed the two of them I decided to make them a meal using these...Burritos, Boy Style.   Here it is:

    1 Grass Fed Beef Filet, grilled (can be leftovers), thinly sliced

1 cup baked diced potatoes (Leftovers as well, don't worry about seasoning)

1 cup shredded cheese (your choice)

2 Spelt, flour or corn soft tortilla

1/4 cup sliced green onions

1/4 cup cilantro, (I used what I had in the garden)

1 tsp.  Cumin

1/2 tsp. lime juice

1 Tbs. olive oil

Method:

  Take the leftover potatoes and dice them if not already diced.  Place in a bowl and toss with onions, cilantro, cumin, lime juice and olive oil.  Lay out the soft tortilla of your choice on a piece of foil and place potato mixture, evenly distributed between the two.  Next, slice the beef thinly and place on each.  Then top with cheese and wrap up.  Place in 425 degree oven for 10 minutes or cheese is melted.  Top with whatever you like.  My boys like, sour cream, salsa, sliced avocado, and lettuce.  I always make a fresh little dressing on the lettuce for them using olive oil and lime juice, and a little salt and pepper.  This just adds a ton of fresh flavor to the topping.  Hope your able to enjoy this one as a leftover staple. 

Boyz Breakfast Sandwich

In my mind there are two types of food; "Adult food" and "Kid Friendly food"! It seems my children always want to eat something I consider to be bland or just plain unhealthy.  It has always been my intent, as an informed Mother, to have my children eat...well, somewhat healthy!
    When they were babies, I would make squash and mash tofu in it with a fork. I would also, cook organic carrots, blend it, and freeze it into ice cube trays. I think I covered the gamut, as far as, trying to bring up healthy children in an unhealthy world.  But, with this being said, they still WANT things I would rather NOT let them have!
    So… this brings me to today’s post!  I made a McDonald’s style breakfast sandwich as healthy as I could, without changing the consistency of it, too much! In other words, I didn’t add any spinach or vegetables of any kind which would have irritated the boys, even though this would have satisfied me tremendously!
    My oldest son’s response to this sandwich this morning was, “Wow, I didn’t even know this was an option in this house! What did you hide in it?” I responded, “Who me, I would never put anything in your food, lol!”

Makes 2 Sandwiches

4 Turkey Sausage links
2 Whole Wheat English muffins, toasted
2 large organic eggs
1/4 cup organic shredded cheddar cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:

1) Heat pan on stove and complete the turkey sausage links according to package directions.  Allow to sit on paper towels, to get out any grease while you are making the eggs.  Slice lengthwise.
2) Toast the English muffins.
3) Meanwhile, in the pan you made the sausage links make the eggs.  Scramble the eggs and make them separately as you would small omelets.  Put cheese in the center and fold over to let it melt. 
4) Layer, english muffin, sliced turkey sausage, then mini omelet and top with english muffin.

Ebelskivers

Happy New Year Everyone!  What breakfast did you make to ring in the New Year?  This morning I made a variety of Danish-style pancakes for my boys called Ebelskivers (You can buy the pan at William Sonoma).  We had a little taste test!  We did a couple of different batters and 4 different fillings.  Turns out making the batter from scratch was just as easy as buying the $10.00 can of mix sold at William Sonoma.  The Danish pancakes we made taste better and most likely were a quarter of the price.  The recipe we used is as follows:

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, separated
1 cup 2% or whole milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method:

1) Mix flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a bowl.
2) In a separate bowl lightly whisk together the egg yolks, milk, melted butter, and vanilla.
3) Mix the two above mixtures together until blended but still a little lumpy.
4) In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixture until soft peaks appear.  Mix the egg whites in with the egg and flour mixture.  Your ready!

Directions for use with pan:
1) Place Ebelskiver pan on medium-high heat. 
2) Place a little bit of butter in each divot on the pan. 
3) Place enough batter in each divot to reach the top and place Jam, Chocolate, Lemon Curd, Pie Filling in the center of the batter. 
4) Flip each Ebelskiver over like you would a pancake.  This can be tricky, I found using a very small spatula worked best for me.  You can buy wooden Ebelskiver flippers that resemble odd shaped chop sticks.  However, I found that these did not work very well for me.  Plus, the small spatula was cheaper and I could use this for more things in my daily living.

Favorite Fillings:

*Strawberry Jam, this is the boys all time favorite
*Apple pie filling
*Lemon Curd
*Cherry Jam
*Blueberry Jam
*Peach Pie Filling
*Chocolate

Heavenly Salad

A couple of dishes this Thanksgiving were still the stand out favorites for the kids!  Here is the recipe.  This one was handed down from my Mother-in-law!

   
2 Small pkg. lime Jell-O
2 cups water
1 large can of crushed pineapple
3 oz. pkg. cream cheese
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1 cup celery, cut fine
1/2 pint of whipping cream, whipped

Method

Dissolve Jell-O in 2 cups boiling water and cool.  When it begins to set, whip it.  In separate bowl mix together pineapple, cream cheese, walnuts, and celery.  Once mixed together stir in with the lime Jell-O.  Fold in the whipping cream and serve.

Top View!

Graham's Buttered Noodles

My son Graham loves plain old buttered noodles!  He keeps requesting, "Something kids would 'normally' eat"!  So...for Graham I'm posting his favorite, and something so easy we sometimes just forget about making it for them!

1) First, find the kind of pasta your kid will eat.  This could be ziti, fusilli, orecchiette, penne, bow ties basic elbow macaroni or just plain egg noodles.  It seems all children prefer a certain shape!
2) Next, experiment to see if you are able to sneak some kind of vegetable in with the noodles (I have successfully put carrots and broccoli in my children's buttered noodles)!
3) Then, find a cheese (for protein) your kids like!  My kids like shredded Parmesan, but I have friends who's children like shredded cheddar!  You can always add diced chicken if you have it on hand as well!
4) Lastly, add butter, salt and pepper to taste!

Method:

This is an easy one!  Just boil the water and prepare pasta according to package directions.  If you're lucky enough to be able to slip in some vegetables with the pasta you can aways boil it in with the pasta.  Drain, and add butter, cheese, diced meat or whatever else you can dream up that your children will eat!  Enjoy!