Unresourceful People Need Not Apply

See these seemingly unassuming-looking veggies pictured above? To the untrained eye, they may look perfectly ordinary. What would you say they're called? Bell peppers and zucchini? Well, think again! These are not your run-of-the-mill veggies. Let me introduce you to...pepper fries and zucchini fries. Before I had our son, I scoffed at the suggestion of coming up with cool-sounding names to entice your children to eat. "That's for sissies," I thought, "My child will eat nutritious foods called by their given names. There will be no 'Superhero Sandwiches' in my home."

As all you parents out there already know, becoming a parent has a way of humbling a person, and I am certainly no exception to this...God knows I need all the humility He's willing to grace on me!! Now I am extraordinarily thankful that our son really does love a lot of nutritious foods, especially fruits and veggies, and that's something that I've worked on ever since I began introducing solid food to him. But as I've learned more and more about the way nutrition affects every part of our bodies' functioning, I wanted to up the anty even more, both for myself and for my family. I noticed that my son was eating way too many carbs for snacks and while they were "healthier" snacks (granola bars and crackers that were preservative-free and free of trans fat), I knew that I needed to gradually work in more raw food for snacks. Calvin already loved bell peppers, so the thought of eating "pepper fries" was quite exciting to him and he was all on board. The zucchini fries didn't go over so well, but I can't complain too much because he does like cooked squash. Now he knows that for at least one of his snacks during the day, he'll having some raw foods. Giddy up, Mama!

The more I thought about this concept of making foods sound appealing, it made perfect sense, and I realized that it isn't just about kids. Adults are enticed all the time simply by the name of a food. Most people are more likely to be drawn to a "Rootin Tootin BBQ Burger" on a restaurant menu than they are to a plain ole "burger." We like to start our wining and dining in our brain, before the food even touches our palate.

I'd love to hear about the creative ways that other parents out there have used to help their kiddos eat healthy!

Nothin' Says Love Better Than a Cupcake

Calvin and I had a fun day yesterday getting all pumped for his Valentine's Day party at preschool. He worked with all the might a 4-year old can muster at writing his name on each valentine (he really only wrote the letter "a" while Mom filled in the rest). And I thought what better fun for Valentine's Day than to make some homemade cupcakes together! I assumed Calvin would be just as pumped to help me bake cupcakes as he was to do his valentines (especially since there were sprinkles involved!), but alas, he was most content letting me do the work while he pretend cooked in his chef's costume.

This cupcake recipe came from Taste of Home and the recipe is almost identical to Texas sheetcake, hence, that's the reason why they're called "Texas Cupcakes." The original recipe called for these cupcakes to be iced in a homemade, caramel frosting, but I deemed it absolutely necessary to forgo the caramel and load up these bad boys with buttercream. Because, really, I think we all could use a little more buttercream in our diets. I've been known to purposely take the corner piece of a sheet cake because the buttercream to cake ratio is much higher on corner pieces. Many moons ago, I had a co-worker friend who shared my passion for buttercream and she told me it was her dream to have a cake made entirely from buttercream frosting for her 40th birthday. Let me pause for a moment while I wipe the drool off my chin.

Also, while I was adding the red food coloring to the frosting, my intention was to create a pastel pink color. But instead, what I ended up with is a shade I've lovingly coined as "Pepto-Bismol Pink." So it goes. Anyway, Happy Valentine's Day!

Calvin cooking to his little heart's content

As you can see, the cupcakes were well received. Hey look! He's eating off the frosting first...ah, do we have another buttercream addict in the works?

Texas Chocolate Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 cup baking cocoa
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup butter, cubed
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup buttermilk or plain, unsweetened yogurt
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Buttercream Frosting

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 4-1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 T. milk
• 1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• food coloring, if desired

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking soda. In a large saucepan over medium heat, bring cocoa, water, oil and butter to a boil. Gradually add to dry ingredients; mix well. Combine eggs, buttermilk and vanilla; gradually add to batter and mix well (batter will be very thin).

Fill paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

For frosting, in a large mixing bowl, cream butter and shortening. Add powdered sugar, milk and vanilla and beat until smooth and has a spreadable consistency. If frosting is too thick, you can add additional milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it reaches the right consistency. Spread on completely cooled cupcakes.

Yield: About 18 cupcakes

Kids in the Kitchen...Pizza Night!

When I was growing up, my mom would occasionally make these awesome mini-pizzas, using english muffins as the "crust." I thought it was about time to bring back this tradition, and as you can tell from the pictures above, it was a great way to get Calvin to help me make dinner. (Plus, he had oodles of fun eating handfuls of cheese. It's hard to tell in the close-up pic, but he's eating a slice of pepperoni.) So kudos to you, Mom, for the inspiration!

Mini-Pizzas on English Muffins

• English muffins, split into halves (I used multi-grain, to sneak in some extra fiber)
• bottled pizza sauce
• shredded mozzarella cheese
• assorted pizza toppings of your choice

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. On an ungreased cookie sheet, arrange muffins halves. Top each muffin with approx. 1 tablespoon of sauce and desired amount of cheese. Then top with your choice of pizza toppings. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cheese is completely melted, but not browned. Turn on the oven broiler and transfer cookie sheet under the broiler. Broil for 1-2 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and just starting to brown. (Watch them carefully; they can burn quickly under the broiler!) Allow pizzas to cool slightly before eating.