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".

DIY salt scrub soothes dry summer skin!

Last week I was lucky enough to spend a relaxing week with my family at the Jersey Shore (it's not all GTL, folks!). We played on the beach, took long bike rides, checked out the island's many playgrounds, did some bird watching in the marshes, and just generally had a fabulous week of active family time.

Monty's "Bee" gives him a lesson in shallow water boogie boarding

All of these great activities left us covered in sweat, sand, and sunscreen at the end of the day... a stinky and sticky combination! Luckily my mom left a batch of her homemade salt scrub in the enclosed outdoor shower for all to use. My skin has never felt more refreshed! So I thought I would share with you all this super easy homemade salt scrub recipe so you can all feel refreshed and rejuvenated. Enjoy!

DIY Salt Scrub
Ingredients

• Coarse salt (sea salt or kosher will do)
• Baby oil
• Plastic container with a lid (any "tupperware" container will do)

Directions

1. Pour salt and oil into the container. The ratio is 1:1 (1 part salt to 1 part oil). No need to mix as the salt inevitably sinks to the bottom. Make as little or as much as you want.
   
2. Apply in small amounts in the shower with a circular motion using your hands, washcloth or bath mitt- avoiding sensitive areas like the face and neck. Rinse and pat dry. Your skin should feel gently exfoliated and moisturized.

Possible substitutions- You can substitute raw/turbinado sugar for salt but beware of attracting ants. Other oils that you can use include almond oil, extra virgin coconut oil, scented baby oil, or vegetable oils (but you probably want to avoid olive oil because it is a bit smelly). A few drops of essential oils can be added for fragrance as well.

A word of warning: this may leave your bathtub/shower feeling a bit slippery because of oil build-up on the tub/tiles so be careful!

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.
   
   

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: 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.

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.
   

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!

Blueberry week!

This week our Luna Moms Playgroup is taking a field trip to the North Carolina Farmers Market for Blueberry Day! Monty and I cruised Strawberry Day back in April and had a blast- hopefully Blueberry Day can live up to that experience!


Our group is meeting at the Farmers Market at 11am on Thursday to taste blueberries from all over the state and hopefully bring home the tastiest ones we can find. So I’m dedicating this week’s blog posts to all things blueberry! (If you want to join us you can find our more info on our meetup.com site.)

This afternoon I decided to use up all of the blueberries in my fridge by making blueberry muffins from scratch! I used this basic recipe and sprinkled them with a little turbinado (raw) sugar.

They were quick and easy and done in time for a home-baked post nap snack for Monty (and me)! I just find baking quick breads so satisfying. I need to try a recipe for zucchini bread- can anyone suggest a good one?

Feeding the Family: Banana Oatmeal Bread

Today I think I'll make some Banana Oatmeal Bread. I found this recipe a few months ago on allrecipes.com and tweaked it to suit my family and my pantry- who uses shortening anymore anyway?

Its easy 
to 
throw 
together
 and
 pop
 in
 the
 oven
 while 
your
 little
 on
e naps ­
then
 it’s
 ready 
for
 snack
 time 
when
 they’re 
up!

 Baking 
makes 
me
 feel
 so 
accomplished­
 and
 even
 better
 when 
I
 pull
 something
 out
 of 
the 
oven
 that
 is 
healthy 
and 
that 
my
 whole 
family
 will
 eat!

Here is my recipe in case you want to bake along with me this afternoon...

Ingredients:

1/3
 c. 
unsweetened
 applesauce

½
 
c.
 white 
sugar

2
 eggs

½
 teaspoon 
vanilla 
extract

1
 c.
 all‐purpose
 flour

1 
c. 
quick
 cooking/instant
 oats

1
 teaspoon
 baking
 soda

½
 teaspoon
 salt

½
 (or 
more)
 teaspoon 
ground 
cinnamon

¼
 (or
 more)
 teaspoon
 allspice

2
 c. 
mashed 
ripe 
bananas 
(~
4 
bananas)

¼
 c.
 milk



Directions:

1. Preheat
 oven 
to 
350 
degrees 
F. 

Grease 
one 
9X5 
inch 
loaf
 pan 
and 
set 
aside.

2. Cream 
together 
the 
applesauce, 
sugar,
 eggs,
 and 
vanilla 
and 
beat 
until 
fluffy.

3. Add 
the 
flour, 
oatmeal, 
baking 
soda,
 salt, 
cinnamon, 
allspice, 
bananas, 
and

milk
 and
 mix
 until
 blended.

4. Pour 
in to 
prepared 
pan 
and 
bake 
for 
50‐60 
minutes: 
remove 
from 
oven 
and

cover
 for
 5 
minutes.

5. Enjoy!