Feeding the Family: White Bean & Chicken Chorizo Stew

I love when the weather starts to turn chilly and I get to make soups and stews! Last night I tried out a new recipe and Daniel (darling husband) and I loved it! (Monty had a yogurt for dinner- this wasn't really his speed.) It was so tasty, easy, and healthy that I thought I would share it with you!

I initially found this recipe in this month's Real Simple magazine (under "White Bean & Kielbasa Stew") but their recipe called for dried beans and a slow cooker... I didn't do my grocery shopping until mid afternoon so that wasn't really an option for me yesterday.

Ingredients:
2 cans white beans (rinsed and drained)
1 package chicken chorizo sausage (cut into 1" chunks)
4 cups chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes
1 large onion (diced)
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
5 oz baby spinach

Directions:

1. In a large soup pot saute the garlic and onions in 1/4 cup of chicken broth until onions are soft.
   
2. Add in all other ingredients (except spinach) and simmer for 30 minutes or so.
   
3. Stir in the spinach just before serving. (If you want to freeze some of the soup- don't add the spinach to the portion you are going to freeze.)
   

Makes 4 large bowls- 357 calories/serving.

Feeding the Family: Butternut Squash Muffins

I'm always looking for a way to get more vegetables (or any vegetables for that matter) into my 2 1/2 yr old. So, I was elated to find another veggie muffin recipe in the September 2011 issue of Parenting Magazine and just had to give it a try. The original recipe was a bit bland so I've changed a few things to make them more flavorful. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
7 oz. of peeled, seeded and roughly chopped butternut squash (about 1/2 a medium sized squash)
1 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
6 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup dried cranberries (aka Craisins)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin pan with 12 cupcake liners.
2. In a food processor, finely chop the butternut squash. Add sugar and eggs and whiz to combine.
3. Add salt, flour, baking powder, cinnamon and oil and whiz until combined.
4. Stir in Craisins with a wooden spoon- reserving a few for the top of each muffin if you wish.
5. Evenly distribute the batter among the muffin cups and top with remaining Craisins.
6. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a wooden skewer or knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
7. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Enjoy!

For more fruit and vegetable muffin/bread recipes check out some of our older posts under the heading "Feeding the Family" and "Recipes".

Understanding Artificial Sweeteners

It’s understandable that you might be drawn to diet foods or artificial sweeteners when trying to keep your weight down. Unfortunately, those foods may be doing you more harm than good.

Most of these are chemicals that replace the sweetness of sugar without the calories. Think about this: with real foods when you eat something that’s very sweet it’s also usually high in calories. Your brain knows this and does its best to use those calories efficiently. When you eat something that is sweet and does not have calories, your brain is confused and your body will not metabolize those calories as it should. Basically, if you eat something that tastes like it should have calories and doesn’t, it will have a negative impact on your body!

TIPS

1. “Sugar Free” does not always mean low in calories.
2. Recent studies have shown artificial sweeteners can actually increase your appetite.
3. Artificial sweeteners can still spike your blood sugar and lead to additional cravings

Just because it’s on the market does not mean it’s safe. Saccharin has been linked to cancer. Sucralose (also known as Splenda) is associated with both liver and kidney enlargement. It can also cause skin rashes, headaches and stomach pains. Aspartame (also known as NutraSweet, Equal and others) has been associated with everything from hallucinations to brain tumors.

Turn to natural sweeteners when you need something sweet. This can be honey, maple syrup and date sugar. As with any sugar, keep it in moderation as it has no health benefit. Sugar is sugar, regardless of color.

Natural Minimally Refined Sweeteners (the best for you)

•Fruit juice

•Unrefined maple syrup

•Raw honey

•Date sugar

•Molasses (blackstrap or barbados)

•Sucanat

•Brown rice syrup

•Barley malt

Refined Sweeteners (second best)

•White sugar

•Brown sugar

•Refined maple syrup

•Corn syrup

•Fructose

•Glucose

•Dextrin

•Dextrose

•Processed honey

•Maltodextrin

Artificial Sweeteners (avoid!)

•Aspartame (a.k.a. NutraSweet)

•Saccharin

•Mannitol

•Sorbitol

•Xylitol

(Originally posted on www.strollerstrides.com by Lisa Druxman 7/2011)

Understanding Sugar

No doubt about it, sugar is a hot topic for anyone wanting to lose weight. Unlike fat or sodium, you don’t actually have a physical need to eat sugar. It has zero nutritional value. However, your body naturally turns food into sugars (glucose) to fuel the body and brain. The challenge is that sweet foods tend to make us overeat. Plus, artificial sweeteners trick our body about how food should be metabolized.

We know that foods, like candy and ice cream, are high in sugar. But you may be surprised at the high amount of sugar in foods that you wouldn’t expect. It’s added to most processed foods and beverages. Sugar is added because of flavor but also because it can help preserve foods, fuel fermentation (like in bread) and serves as a bulking agent. Sugar occurs naturally in foods like fruit, milk, vegetables and even some grains. Remember sugar has n0 nutritional benefit!

Why you want to stay away from added sugars:

- Tooth decay - Sugar allows bacteria to grow in your mouth

- Poor nutrition - You fill up and then don’t eat the healthy foods

- Weight gain - It adds calories but no nutrition to foods and usually causes overeating

- Higher triglycerides - Eating too many sugars can increase triglyceride levels which can increase risk of heart disease.

The American Heart Association suggests no more than 100 calories/day (or about 30 grams) for women from added sugar. That is about 5 teaspoons per day. Most Americans are eating closer to 31 teaspoons per day! Eye opener: One soda has 9 teaspoons of sugar!

Sugar Surprise- These foods are all high in sugar:

- 1 Package Oatmeal – 15 grams

- 1 Protein Bar – 15 grams

- 1 Tbl. Salad Dressing – 6 grams

- 1 Cup Granola – 24 grams

- ½ Cup Tomato Sauce – 10 grams

- 1 20 oz. Bottle Ice Tea – 56 grams

- 1 oz. Ketchup – 6 grams

- 12 oz. Sport Drink – 42 grams

- 8 oz. Fruit-flavored yogurt – 26 to 39 grams

Eliminate Hidden Sugars

You don’t have to worry about naturally occurring sugars in fruit and milk, for example, for your health. It is the added sugars that cause the problem. Read labels and stay away from: Fructose, Maltose, Sorbitol, Evaporated cane juice, Syrups, Xylotol and sugars ending in "ol" or "ose".

More to come on artificial sweeteners later this week!

(Originally written and posted on www.strollerstrides.com by Lisa Druxman 7/2011)

Feeding the Family: Chicken, Red Grape & Pesto Pizza

Chicken, red grapes and pesto? Weird, right? No... amazing! Gina suggested this recipe to me weeks (or maybe even months) ago and I've been meaning to try it out ever since. My parents are in town this weekend and always up for trying something new so we made it for dinner tonight and it was SO good! (Thank you, Gina!) The recipe dates back to a 2009 issue of Cooking Light magazine... enjoy!

Ingredients
1 can refrigerated thin-crust pizza dough
Cooking spray
1/3 cup refrigerated pesto
1 1/2 cups seedless red grapes, halved
8 ounces shredded skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast (or the pre-cooked "short-cuts")
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced (we left this out since our pesto was extra garlicky to begin with)
4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced (we used shredded mozzarella)
3 tablespoons grated Romano cheese
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup sliced green onions

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425°.

2. On a lightly floured surface, pat dough into a 12-inch circle; gently place dough on a pizza pan coated with cooking spray. Spread pesto evenly over dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border around edges. Arrange grapes evenly over dough; top evenly with chicken. Top with garlic and mozzarella; sprinkle with Romano and pepper. Bake at 425° for 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Sprinkle with onions. Cut into 12 wedges.*

*We followed the directions on the pizza dough and set the oven at 400 degrees, pre-baked it for 5 minutes before added toppings and ended up cutting the cooking time to 10 minutes... do what works for you!

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 2 wedges)

CALORIES 364 ; FAT 14.4g (sat 4.8g,mono 6.3g,poly 1.4g); CHOLESTEROL 55mg; CALCIUM 191mg; CARBOHYDRATE 34.6g; SODIUM 562mg; PROTEIN 22.6g; FIBER 1.7g; IRON 2.5mg

Feeding the Family: Roasted Shrimp Tacos

Another creative, fun, and healthy meal from the kitchen of one of our Stroller Strides moms, Kerri Kanter. Thanks for sharing, Kerri!

Who says our kids are the only ones who can play with their food? Here is a simple, fast, and healthy recipe that everyone can eat with their fingers: Roasted Shrimp Tacos!

Ingredients:

1 lb uncooked shrimp

1 tbs olive oil

Pinch of salt and pepper

1 head of Boston lettuce leaves (or butter lettuce)

Optional toppings: Avocado, Tomato, Red bell pepper, Salsa, Reduced fat cheddar cheese, Black beans, Cilantro, Scallions, and Black olives

Directions:

1. Clean, remove tails, and de-vein shrimp.
   
2. On a baking sheet, toss shrimp in oil, salt and pepper.
   
3. Roast in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes.
   
4. Let cool for a few minutes until safe for everyone to touch.
   
5. Using the lettuce leaf as your taco shell, add shrimp and other favorite ingredients.

Do you have a healthy recipe to share with our Midtown Raleigh Moms community? Email it to missycurrin@strollerstrides.net and we'll get it posted here for all to try!

Calorie Counting and Meal Planning

Recently two of our beautiful Stroller Strides moms approached me with a request. They wanted to know what free website I would recommend to track caloric intake and get sound nutrition advice and even recipes for meal planning. I posed the question to our 300+ Stroller Strides franchisees across the US, Canada and even Korea and got some wonderful recommendations.

Here they are (in no particular order) for you to check out:

• fitday.com
• sparkpeople.com
• loseit.com
• MyPyramid.gov
• myfitnesspal.com
• livestrong.com

As far as I know all of these websites are free to use and some even have iPhone apps that you can use on the go. A common sentiment among the franchisees was that you should not rely on the amount of calories that these sites tell you you've burned because they tend to overestimate. Which of these sites have you used? Can you recommend any others?

Feeding the Family: Spinach Stuffed Portabellas

A tasty recipe made with lots of veggies from our very own Stroller Stridin' mama, Kerri Kanter...

I made spinach stuffed portabellas last night with items I had in my pantry and fridge. It was so easy and yummy that I thought I'd share. I didn't measure so some of these are guesstimates! Hope you like! ~Kerri

Ingredients:

2 Portabellas

1 large bag of baby spinach leaves

14oz can of fire roasted tomatoes

1 mini can of sliced olives

1/4 cup or so of reduced fat feta

Generous sprinkle of black pepper, oregano, basil, garlic powder

Shredded mozzarella cheese

Portabellas

1. Wipe clean and remove stems.
2. Place in a baking dish with top facing down.
3. Brush inside with 1 tbs of Italian dressing in each (you could also use wine or a vinegar of choice).
4. Let marinate for 45 minutes.

Spinach Stuffing

1. Heat olive oil in saute pan.
2. Saute spinach until wilted on medium heat.
3. Add remaining ingredients execpt for mozzarella cheese.
4. Simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Stuff portabellas top with shredded mozzarella cheese and bake for 15 - 20 minutes in a 350 oven.

Thanks for sharing, Kerri! Can't wait to try this one out at Chez Currin. To share a recipe with your favorite Midtown Raleigh Moms type it into an email or Word document and send it along to missycurrin@strollerstrides.net and I'll post it up here for all to try.

Feeding the Family: Spiced Carrot Muffins

Monty is currently a very picky eater and unfortunately it is leaving him rather constipated. It is so sad to see your child cry when he poops. It wasn't always like this. When he was a baby just learning to eat solid foods he would eat anything... I even made his baby food with added onions, garlic, and even cumin.

But now that he is a toddler, he prefers starchy staples and things covered in cheese (don't we all?!) such as goldfish and pizza and won't touch a vegetable and rarely eats fruit. So I was really excited when a friend of mine made these muffins and Monty gobbled one right up because they are full of carrots! And I made them with Greek yogurt so they have lean protein in them too! This is originally a Martha Stewart Everyday Recipe... enjoy.

Spiced Carrot Muffins

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 large egg
2-3 cups of shredded carrots

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 12 cups of a standard muffin tin with paper liners; set aside. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, pumpkin-pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2. In another bowl, whisk together yogurt, butter, and eggs. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, and add yogurt mixture. Stir until just combined. Fold in carrots. (I had to add a splash of milk to loosen up the batter a bit... maybe you don't have to if you use regular yogurt.)
3. Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes.
   
   

Tips for Making Healthy Choices During Holiday Meals

The holidays are just around the corner... the first feast is just days away. Are you ready to make this year a healthy season? Here are some tips from our Stroller Strides Founding Mother, Lisa Druxman, that can help you get through the party season without putting on weight:

1. Know what types of foods will be there and what you are going to choose to eat. Let’s face it; in general, you know what types of foods are on the holiday dinner table. Plan ahead of time which foods are important to you and which you could do without. Choose your favorites but pass on those that are not special to you.
2. Don’t go to the table telling people you’re “eating healthy this holiday season”. There’s no need to bring attention to your food choices. People will feel that you are not enjoying yourself or that they should feel guilty about what they are eating. Your host (especially your mom) will be disappointed if you’re not sampling all that she labored over in the kitchen. You’re more likely to have success if you keep it low-key.
3. Fill your plate heavily with vegetables, fruits and lower-fat fare. Start your eating with these foods and than eat your favorites. This way you won’t be so hungry for the calorie dense foods. Besides, your relatives and the people around you are only going to draw attention to your food choices if you have an empty plate or are picking at food. This way you are eating, your plate is full, and you are enjoying the foods you’ve chosen. No one should feel sorry for you, including you!
4. Don’t say yes to all that is before you. You don’t need to pick at every gift basket that’s left at your desk at work or eat your way through the holiday party buffets. Choose wisely and carefully.
5. If you’re cooking, try not to nibble throughout the day. All those little bites add up.
6. If you’re cooking, try some new lighter recipes. Use high quality, fresh ingredients and the foods will taste great. You just don’t want to tell your guests that they’re lighter until after they’ve already enjoyed it. We’re predetermined to think that healthy food can’t be good.
7. If you’re not cooking, offer to bring a dish. Bring something that you know you can fill up on without the guilt. This Thanksgiving I'm bringing teriyaki green beans... no cream of mushroom soup here!
8. Moderate your alcohol consumption because it most often leads to the worst choices. Alcohol will slow down your metabolism and your good judgment. Try a wine spritzer instead of champagne or just try to limit yourself so you can enjoy your holiday fully!
9. Have a healthy snack before you go to a holiday meal. Don’t go to a party on an empty stomach. When you get to the party and you’re already satisfied, you’re less likely to eat as a reaction to hunger.
10. Get your exercise. Take a walk before or after the holiday meals to get your metabolism going. When you take care of yourself regularly with exercise your desire for unhealthy foods tends to decrease.
11. If at first you don’t succeed, don’t throw in the towel. Most of us tend to eat out of control after we give in to that initial temptation. Don’t assume that because you ate a piece of pumpkin cheesecake that you now have to try every type of pie on the table. Accept your choice and than move on.
    

Overall, remember the meaning of the holidays and that they can be enjoyed without indulging in mass quantities of food. Make sure to focus on the meals you can control. Get plenty of nourishing foods in throughout the holiday season to make up for some of the not so good choices at parties. The key to overall health is to eat healthy overall. A few meals with less than healthy choices will not lead to your downfall.

This year, make your focus on giving and not what you’re taking in. Happy Thanksgiving from Stroller Strides of Midtown Raleigh!

Feeding the Family: A Healthier Chocolate Chip Cookie

Our Midtown Raleigh Moms have had a busy week! 3 Stroller Strides classes, 1 trip to the Marbles Kids Museum, 1 Mani-Pedi (& impromptu karaoke) Moms Night Out last night, a Piggies & Paws Party tomorrow morning at Nora's house, and a Tree-Lighting with Santa tomorrow evening at North Hills... but there's always time for baking!

Here is a healthier version of the standard chocolate chip cookie- easy to make and guilt-less. Not totally guilt-free, mind you... it's still a cookie after all! Bake and enjoy!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup light cream cheese
1 cup brown sugar (light)
2 egg yolks
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/3 cup wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet (or 2) with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
2. Cream together the butter and cream cheese with the sugar until smooth.
3. Add egg yolks one at a time until thoroughly incorporated, then mix in the vanilla extract.
4. In a separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients and chocolate chips, then add them to the yolk/butter mixture quickly and stir by hand until everything is incorporated- do not over-mix!
5. Scoop dough by heaping teaspoons about 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Bake for about 10 minutes, rotating the cookie sheet about halfway through.
6. Makes 6 dozen mini cookies.

Nutritional Info:
Per Cookie: 41 calories, 1.7 g of fat, 6.3 g of carbohydrate, 35 mg of sodium

*This recipe was originally printed in a community newsletter from UNC Health Care and was titled "UNC Health Care's Low-fat Chocolate Chip Cookies"

Feeding the Family: Turkey Meatloaf

Let me preface this post by saying that I would be the first to tell you that turkey burgers are just gray tasteless hockey pucks... gag! So when a friend brought me this meatloaf after Monty was born and told me it was made from turkey I was not expecting much. I was SO surprised to find out how delicious and moist it is and because it also has spinach mixed in you can use it to sneak veggies to your unsuspecting toddler (or husband)!


Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs lean ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
4 cups fresh spinach with the stems removed, chopped
1 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped (I never have this ingredient so I just add extra spinach)
1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 large egg white
Kosher salt & black pepper
1/4 cup ketchup

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, combine the turkey, onion, spinach, parsley, bread crumbs, mustard, egg white, and 1/2 teaspoon each of Kosher salt and pepper.
2. Transfer the mixture to a baking sheet and form into a 10-inch loaf. Spread the top with the ketchup.
3. Bake until cooked through, 45-50 minutes.
4. Enjoy!

I believe the original recipe came from Real Simple Magazine so we'll give them the credit for its' tastiness!

Feeding the Family: Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Bread

My family LOVES this yummy quick bread and it doesn't last long in our house! I came across this recipe on www.allrecipes.com last fall when I was trying to figure out how to use up a seemingly bottomless Costco-sized box of instant oatmeal packets and fell in love with it! I generally make it with homemade applesauce but can't seem to find the time to do that anymore (wonder why- haha) so store-bought applesauce works just as well. The low-sugar oatmeal packets make this recipe ever so slightly healthier. Happy baking and enjoy!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup chunky applesauce
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 packets of instant apple cinnamon oatmeal (single serving size)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and flour a 9X5 inch* loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in applesauce, cinnamon and one packet of oatmeal. Stir in the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition. Mix in the baking soda and flour. Pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle with remaining packet of oatmeal.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean.

*If you want to make 4 mini-loaves instead of one big loaf then use mini-loaf pans and cut the baking time down to about 25 minutes.

Monkey-See-Monkey-Do

My son is now a toddler... and he doesn't miss a thing. And for better or worse it's Monkey-See-Monkey-Do at our house. It is hilarious to watch him brush his teeth, floss, and drink from a cup at bedtime (just like mom & dad). He stumbles around the house wearing our shoes and loves to dress up in my jewelry (much to his father's chagrin). He even puts his new stuffed dog on a leash and drags her up and down the sidewalk in front of our house (and the poor thing seriously needs a bath in the washing machine because of it!) and uses an old plastic grocery bag to pick up "poop" (so far just sticks- thankfully). He has started to sing along with the songs we sing in Stroller Strides class with his favorites being: Row, Row, Row Your Boat, Twinkle, Twinkle, and the ABCs. He even surprised us the other day by counting to ten.

It is amazing... and a little sobering. It makes me think about what behaviors I'm role-modeling to him on a daily basis and which ones I'd like to see him imitate. I've decided that these are some of the things (because this list is a work in progress) that I want him to imitate...

1. I want him to know how to exercise and like doing it
2. I want him to eat his fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean proteins- and like them!
3. I want him to be kind, gentle, generous and patient with his friends, family, and community

So, I've got to make sure I'm role-modeling these behaviors to him daily because he really doesn't miss a thing. I'll keep taking him to Stroller Strides with me, stock my house with and prepare healthy foods, be kind, gentle, and patient with him, and take him along with me to volunteer (when appropriate). I can't yet figure out how you teach a toddler to share toys though... any suggestions?

What behaviors do you want your children to imitate and how are you going about it? Please share!

Feeding the Family: Creamy Chicken-Apple Chili

There's nothing like a bowl full of hearty & healthy chili using fresh seasonal ingredients (like apples) on a crisp cool fall day (or a hot sunny one as the case may be)! Which is why I love this recipe and want to share it with you! Though it may sound a bit strange it has become a family favorite and even my toddler loves it! It was originally a Rachel Ray recipe but I've made it so many times my way that I can't even tell you what is different about it anymore. So thanks, Rachel, and here it is... enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 lbs chicken breasts/tenders, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
• 4 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 2 apples, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 150z cans of kidney beans, rinsed
• Shredded cheese to taste

Directions:

1. In a large pot, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, chili powder and cumin. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes; transfer to a bowl.
2. In the same (as yet unwashed) pot, heat the remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil. Add the apples and onion and cook, stirring, until softened, 6 minutes; add to the chicken.
3. In the same (still unwashed) pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour for 1 minute; whisk in the chicken broth and milk until thickened, 3 minutes. Stir in the chicken-apple-onion mixture and the beans and bring to a simmer. Simmer for approximately 30 minutes or so. Serve topped with cheese and enjoy!
4. Oh, and now you can wash the pot!
   

Feeding the Family: Butternut Squash Lasagna

One word for this fall family favorite- YUM! Great for all ages and hubbies like it too! I think this was originally a Paula Dean recipe because it calls for full-fat ingredients like whole milk, butter, and whole milk cheeses. But you can use the low fat versions of all of these ingredients and it still tastes great!

Butternut Squash Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 3-4 cups of pureed butternut squash (steam it, peel it, and mash with a fork to make this puree- freeze any extra for later use)
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 cups milk
• Pinch nutmeg
• 3/4 cup (lightly packed) fresh basil leaves (or cheat and use the tube of basil puree from the store like I do... usually kept near the carrots and bags of salad)
• 12 no-boil lasagna noodles
• 2 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a heavy medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the milk. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, whisking often, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the nutmeg. Cool slightly. Transfer half of the sauce to a blender. Add the basil and blend until smooth (note: if you use the basil puree you can omit this step and just stir it in to the sauce). Return the basil sauce to the pan and stir to blend. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F.
3. Lightly butter a 13X9X2 inch glass baking dish. Spread 3/4 cup of the sauce over the prepared baking dish. Arrange 3 lasagna noodles on the bottom of the pan. Spread 1/3 of the squash puree over the noodles. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. Drizzle 1/2 cup of sauce over the noodles. Repeat layering 3 more times.
4. Tightly cover the baking dish with foil and bake lasagna for 40 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses over the lasagna and continue baking uncovered until the sauce bubbles and the top is golden, approximately 15 minutes. Let the lasagna stand for 15 minutes before serving.
   

Luna Moms Club Tip of the Week:

Fact: One in seven newborn babies could be at risk for brain damage and learning difficulties due to mercury exposure in the womb. Women and children are exposed to dangerous levels of mercury when they eat certain fish.

Action: Eat small fish and use the mercury calculator at www.gotmercury.org to find out how much is safe for you.

Feeding the Family: Salmon Veggie Patties

In July our Luna Moms Club group met for a Moms Night Out at Kitchen & Bath Galleries at the North Hills Mall. There were beautiful kitchens to ogle, munchies, wine, and lots of fun new mom-friends to hang out with- and no kids! And we were treated to a brief lesson and informative Q&A session on feeding our children courtesy of our local Happy Baby rep.


One of the Happy Baby products caught our eye and yet no one could find them in a store near us... Salmon Stix. Why salmon? Two words- brain food. So I stumbled upon a recipe in Parenting magazine and added more veggies... Monty had it for dinner tonight and here it is for your toddler's enjoyment! Let me know if you try it- and what your little one thinks!

Salmon Veggie Patties
Ingredients:
*1 can (7.5 oz) boneless, skinless pink or red salmon (drained)
*2 T of finely diced onion/shallot
*1 egg, lightly beaten
*1/4 cup plus 2T panko bread crumbs
*3-4 T finely diced veggies (I used carrot & zucchini)
*salt & pepper sparingly
*2 T canola oil
*Unsweetened applesauce for dipping

Directions:
1. In a large mixing bowl flake the salmon and combine with the onion, egg, veggies, bread crumbs, and salt and pepper.

2. Using your hands, roll mixture into 6 little balls and flatten slightly.

3. Dust lightly with remaining bread crumbs.

4. In a pan, over medium heat, warm the oil. When hot, add the patties and cook until golden brown on each side (approx 1-2 min/side). Transfer to paper towels to drain briefly.

5. Let them cool, dip them in applesauce and enjoy!

Luna Moms Club Tip of the Week

Fact: Laboratory tests of eight industry-leader baby foods reveal the presence of 16 pesticides, including three carcinogens.

Action: Buy certified organic baby food (Plum Organics and Happy Baby are great flash frozen organic brands). Or make your own baby food from organic, pesticide-free fruits & veggies!

Black & Blueberry week!

How do you get your little ones to eat blueberries? It turns out that Monty doesn’t really care for blueberries. Well that’s not entirely true. He likes to roll them around in his fingers and then squeeze really hard until they pop and their guts squish out between his fingers. But eating them? No thanks. Maybe he’d eat them frozen… we’ll have to try it and get back to you.
Fortunately he will eat them in something, which gives me the perfect excuse to bake! He likes blueberry muffins (though those ones I blogged about the other day were kind of dry), blueberry pancakes, blueberry yogurt, and blueberry cobbler!
On our Luna Moms Club field trip to the Farmers Market yesterday for Blueberry Day I picked up some blackberries too so I think tonight I’ll surprise the men in my life with a black and blue cobbler (that is blackberries & blueberries). I’ll let you know how it goes!