My toddler has Dreads

Austin has been giving himself dreads lately:

He has always been fond of playing with hair, particularly when he is tired.  But this past week, he has taken his hair twirling to a whole new level:

It has been constant, and is resulting in knots and curlyl-q’s along the back left-side of his head (strangely, he only twirls with his left hand.).  Adorable, but perhaps it is time for a hair cut?

“Danish” pancakes to twirl your hair over:

I swear these taste like a cream cheese danish – and they are a more protein-packed version of your traditional pancake.

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup cottage cheese

1 small, ripe banana

1 t vanilla

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

pinch salt

1/2 t baking powder

1/2 t cinnamon

butter – for greasing griddle

Throw the oats in a food processor, whir till ground. Add banana and cottage cheese, and whir till smooth.  Add the rest of the ingredients (‘cept butter) and whir till combined

Heat a skillet (I strongly suggest a non-stick surface – otherwise, be very generous with the butter) to medium and melt a dab of butter.  Pour in batter (you choose the size, but spread as thin as you can) and let cook till bubbles come up, in the center of the cake – and pop.  Don’t try to flip too soon, you’ll have a mess.  Let cook thoroughly on the other side as well.

(not done yet – bubbles haven’t popped)

(done – bubbles have popped!)

Serve with raspberry jam.  You can try other, more traditional toppings (I experimented with peanut butter, honey, and applesauce, but the jam was by far the best).  Makes 3-4 largish pancakes.

My pancake experiment – 1/2 applesauce, 1/2 jam

Killer Granola

I swear this is the best granola out there – I did a lot of research, trials, and testing, and I think it is perfect – not to chewy, not too crunchy, flavorful, healthy, and clumpy.  I hate “granola” that isn’t in clumps.

Feel free to change up the nuts/seeds/fruits, just keep the ratio of ground – whole ingredients and you should be OK.  Also, you could change the amount of oil and sub more applesauce, but keep the liquid/solid ratio the same. Also, adjust baking time to your crispness liking.

Also – this is very healthy, but I wouldn’t call it “light” – it is best treated as a topping, or accessory to your yogurt or cereal, and not as the main gig, as it is very calorie (and nutrient!) dense.

Janelle’s Killer Granola

4 Cups Rolled Oats

3 1/2 Cups Rolled Oats, ground

1/2 Cup Ground Flax Seed

½ Cup Ground Almonds

5 ounces sliver or sliced almonds

8 ounces whole almonds

3 Tablespoons Coconut Oil

1 Cup Applesauce

⅔ Cup Honey

⅔ Cup Agave Nectar (or use all agave, or all honey, or maple syrup – this is just what I had on hand)

Dried Fruit of your choice – I like apricots, raisins, and cranberries

Mix up all forms of oats, almonds, and flax seeds in a large mixing bowl. In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the applesauce, coconut oil, agave nectar, and honey. Stir until combined. Pour over the dry ingredients, and mix till combined. Spread the mixture out on cookie sheets, breaking it into bite-size clumps. Bake at 325 for 45-75 minutes, mixing every 10-15 minutes to break up clumps and keep the mixture browning evenly. Shorter cooking time = chewier granola, longer = crunchier.

What the kids are Eating

I realized the other day that I put 11 (11!) ingredients, minimum, in our morning oatmeal.  No wonder it takes me two hours min. to get myself and the bub ready in the morning. The good news is that he LOVES it – as evidenced below:

(side note – I’m so proud of him – he feeds himself completely these days and managed to just about lick that sucker clean!)

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That bowl started looking like this:

Into the mix: 1/3 cup oats, 1/3 cup water, 1/3 cup whole milk, dash salt, 1 T ground flax, dash cinnamon, 1/2 banana cut into chunks, 1/2 t vanilla.  Cook on stovetop till cooked and tasty.  Mix in: frozen mixed berries, 2 T cottage cheese (sounds gross, but I swear it is fantastic and gives oats true “staying power.”) Top with: 1 T peanut butter, smeared around, and a drizzle of honey.  It makes my little guy happy, I swear it will make you happy as well.

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How does the rest of his day of eats look?  I’ve finally simplified the art of packing lunches for the wee one.  It helps that he can basically eat the same thing as Lyndo and I now…

The general plan is that he gets yogurt, fruit, and a generous helping of dinner leftovers.  Sometime I skip the fruit and give him another side, because right now his nap falls right over lunchtime, requiring a 1st and 2nd lunch, much like a hobbit.  Today’s eats:

This lovely concoction is leftover mash:  Mashed taters, peas, roasted broccoli, and baked cod.  Cod is hard to see – same color as the taters

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Second lunch: Egg, spinach, cheese, and beef scramble.  It actually started as a frittata.

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Finally, yogurt with berries and flax.  I made “vanilla” yogurt by mixing my homemade yogurt with vanilla and stevia.  You can see I didn’t have perfectly homogeneous mixing:

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All stacked up:

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Dinner was roasted sweet potato and broccoli, a ground turkey taco casserole, and chunks of mango for dessert.  No pictures, sorry…

But I can state with confidence that good food makes for a happy guy – and a happy mama: