The only problem I’m having with yogurt these days is that I’m not sure whether to give it to my kids for breakfast, lunch, dinner or all of the above. Apparently the live cultures found in yogurt are all the rage for fighting off the flu. But I also just read an article that encouraged yogurt consumption close to bedtime because it is relatively high in the amino acid L-tryptophan.
More importantly, don’t you just love the kitty bowl? Sur La Table.
1 cup plain greek-style yogurt
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped apple (plus more for garnish)
In a small mixing bowl stir together yogurt, maple syrup, cinnamon, and vanilla. Add chopped apple and stir again. Serve garnished with extra chopped apples.
Yield: 2-3 servings
Prep time: 5 minutes
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Yesterday morning my first grader told me out of the blue that Danny (name changed for snacking privacy) has Oreos for snack every day. Her other tablemate has Ritz Handi-Snacks. I have a feeling that her third tablemate eats relatively healthy snacks because my kid doesn’t have an answer when I ask her what Susan snacks on.
So apparently, through the eyes of my child, this is what I’m up against during morning snack:
I think this all came up because I asked my kid to get her snack ready. As she was surveying the kitchen she was not tempted by the usual fruit or crackers (Surprise!). So we started brainstorming and the Chocolate Chippy Roll was born.
I sent her up to school with a much lower tech version than what is pictured below - just cream cheese and normal-sized chips between a couple pieces of bread and cut up into squares. The report back that afternoon was that little Danny actually stole some of my kid’s snack (all in good fun) because it looked so yummy. I’m sure my kid gave it a good sell because she had such a hand in making it. But still, I was happy that, at least for one day, my kid was not the one with freaky healthy parents who send her to school everyday with a bag full of oats.
Chocolate Chippy Rolls
1 slice whole grain bread
2-3 teaspoons cream cheese
1 teaspoon mini chocolate chips
Cut crusts off of bread and roll flat with a rolling pin. Spread on cream cheese. Sprinkle on chocolate chips. Roll up the bread and slice into 5 or 6 pieces. Pack it up in an airtight storage container.
Yield: 1 serving
Prep time: 5 minutes
These somehow manage to give me a sugar buzz even though they don’t seem to be totaly overloaded with it. I’ve really got to get some piece of software that will spit out nutrition information for recipes.
Anyway, these are tasty, as you can well imagine. It’s sort of like a reese’s peanut butter cup and a kit kat decided to quit their day jobs and move out to the country to start running their own organic co-op.
1/2 cup peanut butter (homogenized works best)
1/4 cup chocolate chips
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed or wheat germ(optional)
1 1/2 cups corn flakes cereal
Place peanut butter, chocolate chips and maple syrup in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir constantly with a rubber spatula until chocolate is melted and combined.
Turn off heat but leave your saucepan on the burner. Quickly stir in flaxseed or wheat germ. Immediately add cereal and stir gently with rubber spatula until well-coated. If the peanut butter mixture starts to get too firm, reheat it a bit.
Place mini muffin paper cups in mini muffin pan and spoon heaping tablespoons of the cereal mixture into the cups. Cover and allow to set for 1 hour. Serve or store in an airtight container. Best eaten the same day.
Yield: approximately 22 clusters
Prep time: 15 minutes
Set time: 1 hour
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