Posted by Jennifer Lee on March 14, 2012 0 Comments
Can gluten-free be
tasty? Oh yes! This delectable gluten-free fruit and berry crisp will have your
kids licking the bowl and screaming for seconds!
The recent popularity of gluten-free recipes is hard to
ignore. At every turn, I seem to find a new gluten-free product – gluten-free
pastas, gluten-free pizza dough, gluten-free bakeries, even gluten-free options
on our school lunch menu. But my first meeting with these gluten-free goodies
was less than stellar. I certainly wasn’t going back for more! Without a
driving dietary need to be gluten-free why would I make the switch?
Then I met Amy, The Family Chef. She’s taken on gluten-free
with gusto and created a tasty lineup of simple to cook recipes that make it
hard to tell the difference. I found my kids singing, “Beat’s me – is it really
gluten-free?”
Feature Recipe: Gluten-Free
Fruit and Berry Crisp from The Family Chef
Bubbling over with peaches and blueberries and topped with a
deliciously crunchy cinnamon oat topping, it was hard to wait for dessert to
try our recipe of the week: Gluten-Free Fruit and Berry Crisp from The Family
Chef. It was delicious and nearly impossible to tell that it was gluten-free.
Here’s how we made our version:
Topping:
1/2 cup gluten-free flour mix*
1/3 cup gluten-free oats*
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
6 Tbsp melted butter
*You can use regular oats and flour if
you’re not making the gluten-free version.
Filling:
2 cups sliced peaches*
2 cups blueberries*
½ cup sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
*You can use whatever fruit you’ve got in
your kitchen. We used frozen peaches and blueberries.
Directions:
1)
Preheat the oven to 375°.
2)
Lightly grease a deep pie dish.
3)
Make the topping and set aside.
4)
Mix the fruit, sugar and flour. Transfer to the
pie dish and cover evenly with the topping.
5)
Bake about 25 minutes, or until the top is well
browned and the fruit is bubbling.
6) Serve with or without vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
Crunch a Color Kids Vote: Can we
make another?
What we liked: This
recipe is beautifully flexible. You can make it gluten-free or not – either way
it’s a colorful, tasty treat. You can use whatever fresh or frozen fruits you have in your fridge. You can dial up or down on the sugar and
butter to suit your needs. The recipe is easy enough for your kids to make and
it’s tasty enough for the whole family to enjoy. Bonus points all around!
Do you have a favorite
gluten-free recipe? Share ‘em!
Next up: Whole Wheat
Pancakes
Who doesn’t love pancakes? The ultimate comfort food,
pancakes are a regular on our weekend menu. Is there a healthier version of
these hot cakes? Join us next week when we test-drive Jamie Oliver’s Whole
Wheat Pancakes. Who’s coming to our house for breakfast?
Craving more new
recipes to try? Catch up on last week’s recipe: Wild Salmon with Basil Aioli
and Quinoa.
About the author: Jennifer Tyler Lee is a
mom of two children and the creator of Crunch a Color™ -- the
award-winning game that makes healthy eating fun. Like most parents, she
struggled to get her kids to eat healthy, balanced meals, so she decided to
make it into a healthy eating game and she’s giving back to support Jamie
Oliver’s Food Revolution, FoodCorps, and Alice Water’s Edible Schoolyard. Watch
her picky eaters tell the story of how they turned into healthy eaters playing the
game. Follow @crunchacolor on Facebook or Twitter to tune into Crunch a Color's healthy eating adventure
and Jennifer’s tips and kid-friendly, easy recipes.
Read More
Posted by Jennifer Lee on March 07, 2012 2 Comments
A pot of gold at the
end of the rainbow! This jewel of a recipe for quinoa with wild salmon is
simple and delicious. A tasty treasure for busy families.
With St. Patrick’s Day on the sunny California horizon, our
conversations have turned to leprechauns and lucky charms (the whole food kind!).
My kids are fascinated by stories of finding a pot of gold at the end of a
rainbow. Where does that rainbow end? It could be our kitchen table! Hailed as
the “gold of the Incas”, quinoa has been treasured for generations as a power
grain. If my kids will try it, this easy quinoa recipe may prove to be a
treasured jewel in our weekly dinner lineup.
Feature Recipe: Wild
Salmon with Basil Aioli and Quinoa from Family Fresh Cooking
Easy quinoa recipes are in abundant supply with the
resurgence of this ancient South American grain. The trick is how to pick one
that won’t result in a tasteless mountain of mush. Thanks to Marla Meridith, we’re in good hands! Cruising Marla’s site is a joyful
adventure for your eyes and tummy. Her tasty recipes are beautifully
presented and make it easy for amateur chefs (like me) to make designer
dinners, effortlessly.
I used Marla’s recipe for Wild
Salmon with Basil Aioli and Quinoa as my starting point. It’s a
little early in the season to grill, so I opted to bake the salmon and it was
equally tasty.
Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
16 ounces wild salmon
2 cups water or chicken broth
1 Tbsp olive oil
Paprika
Garlic salt
Pepper
Marla’s
Basil Aioli
Directions:
For the quinoa
1)
Rinse the quinoa in cold water.
2)
Place in a medium saucepan with 2 cups water (or
broth). Bring to a boil.
3)
Reduce to a simmer, cover.
4)
Cook about 20 minutes.
*Tip: For more flavor, sauté the quinoa in a splash of olive
oil until lightly toasted, then add to your saucepan.
For the salmon (modified
for baking from Marla’s
original recipe)
1)
Heat oven to 350°
2)
Wash the salmon and pat dry.
3)
Brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with paprika,
garlic salt and pepper.
4)
Bake for 15-20 minutes in a lightly greased heatproof
dish.
Divide the quinoa between four dishes. Place a piece of salmon
over each bed of quinoa. Drizzle with basil aioli. Enjoy!
Crunch a Color Kids Vote: Jackpot!
What we liked: I
used rainbow quinoa instead of black quinoa for our recipe, thinking it would
be easier for my kids to try. They were hesitant at first, but I encouraged
them to try this new kind of “mini pasta” as a way to earn their bonus points. Sautéing
the quinoa in a splash of olive oil, and adding chicken broth instead of water,
definitely helped create a more flavorful dish. Serve the basil aioli on the
side so the kids can have fun drizzling!
Do you have a favorite,
easy quinoa recipe? Share your comments!
Next up: Gluten Free
Fruit and Berry Crisp
Can gluten free be tasty? According to Amy The Family Chef,
the answer is yes! Next week we’ll take her Gluten
Free Fruit and Berry Crisp for a test drive. Loaded with peaches and
blueberries and topped with a tasty cinnamon oat crunch, it may be tough to
wait for dessert!
Craving more new
recipes to try? Catch up on last week’s recipe: Cinnamon
Beef Noodle Soup.
About the author: Jennifer Tyler Lee is a
mom of two children and the creator of Crunch a Color™ -- the
award-winning game that makes healthy eating fun. Like most parents, she
struggled to get her kids to eat healthy, balanced meals, so she decided to
make it into a healthy eating game and she’s giving back to support Jamie
Oliver’s Food Revolution, FoodCorps, and Alice Water’s Edible Schoolyard. Watch
her picky eaters tell the story of how they turned into healthy eaters playing the
game. Follow @crunchacolor and #52NewFoods to tune into Crunch a Color's healthy eating adventure
and Jennifer’s tips and kid-friendly, easy recipes.
Read More
Posted by Jennifer Lee on February 25, 2012 1 Comment
An easy, weeknight-worthy
twist on the winner of the 2011 Taipei International Beef Noodle Soup Festival:
Slow Cooker Cinnamon Beef Noodle Soup.
A hungry hush fell over the audience. Slurp. Slurp. Whisper.
Whisper. Chef Hou stood sternly planted at the helm of the room, as if guarding
the entrance to a treasured room full of gold. Could one of the food
aficionados in his midst, including the honorable Narsai David, guess the magic
ingredient? Tomato, beef, ginger, red hot chili peppers -- too obvious. Worthy
opponents stumbled. No one was able to discern the secret ingredient: spicy
fermented bean curd. Two years of diligent work, and 168 contestants trampled on
the road to the crown, resulted in a dish worthy of the title Best Beef Noodle
Soup in Taiwan. But with his prized recipe in hand, would I ever make this dish
at home? My eyes blurred looking at the long list of ingredients.
Feature Recipe: Slow
Cooker Cinnamon Beef Noodle Soup
Inspired by Chef Hou, I ventured to create a homespun
version of his award-winning dish. Simplified to bring together the best
ingredients on his list for busy parents, this simple soup can be prepared in a
slow cooker making it an easy, tasty weeknight dish that will have your whole
family eating healthy. It was also a stealth way to add a new ingredient to our
menu: Gai Lan (aka Chinese broccoli).
Ingredients:
½ tsp minced garlic
1 TBSP minced ginger
2 cinnamon sticks
8 ½ cups of water
½ cup soy sauce
2 lbs beef stew meat, trimmed and cut into ½ inch cubes
2 cups Chinese broccoli (Gai Lan), trimmed and rinsed
½ pound noodles (fettucine or flat Chinese noodles), cooked and drained
Directions:
1)
Load the water, soy sauce and spices into the
slow cooker. Stir.
2)
Add the beef. If you like, you can lightly sear
the beef before adding it to the pot.
3)
Cover and turn the slow cooker on low for 6 to 8
hours.
4)
15 minutes before serving, boil the noodles
until just tender.
5)
Wash and trim the Gai Lan, removing the large
stalks.
6)
Five minutes before serving, add the Gai Lan to
the slow cooker. Stir.
7)
Divide the cooked noodles among four soup bowls.
8)
Ladle the soup over the noodles. Serve and
enjoy!
Crunch a Color Kids
Vote: Delish! A weeknight favorite.
What we liked: The
warm aroma of cinnamon and ginger made this tender beef noodle soup a hit at
our house. The broth was delicious! Gai Lan, gently warmed in the soup, was
easy for my kids to try. We also made a version of this hearty dish with
spinach, which is another great green vegetable to try in this recipe.
Do you have a favorite
slow cooker recipe? Share your comments and enter to win a copy of Crunch a
Color™!
Next up: Quinoa
Quinoa is popping up in dishes everywhere I seem to look –
restaurants, salad bars, even school lunches! These protein power-packed little
pearls are healthy, easy to prepare, and a welcome new addition to our weekly
menu. Paired with a simple salmon dish, we’ll be racking up the bonus points
with our new food next week: Rainbow Quinoa!
Craving more new
recipes to try? Catch up on last week’s recipe: One Pot Asian Chicken.
About the author: Jennifer Tyler Lee is a
mom of two children and the creator of Crunch a Color™ -- the
award-winning game that makes healthy eating fun. Like most parents, she
struggled to get her kids to eat healthy, balanced meals, so she decided to
make it into a healthy eating game and she’s giving back to support Jamie
Oliver’s Food Revolution, FoodCorps, and Alice Water’s Edible Schoolyard. Watch
her picky eaters tell the story of how they turned into healthy eaters playing the
game. Join the conversation on Facebook or Twitter to tune into Crunch a Color's healthy eating adventure
and Jennifer’s tips and kid-friendly, easy recipes.
Read More
Posted by Jennifer Lee on February 18, 2012 1 Comment
One and you’re done!
This tasty, easy one-pot Asian chicken recipe is a favorite anytime dish for my
family. Healthy eating made easy.
I love designer dinners, but I hate making them. Like most
parents, I am too busy between piano, soccer and homework to spend hours in the
kitchen primping and prepping a pretty meal. My solution: choose tasty, healthy
recipes that use five ingredients or less and can be easily prepared by a five
year old. Bonus if it’s a one-pot meal! Holding recipes to that high bar means
they make shopping and cooking a breeze for me, which translates into more time to spend
with my family.
Feature Recipe: One-Pot
Asian Chicken from A Family That Eats Together
One-pot recipes intrigue me. The simplicity makes me feel
less stressed around dinnertime. One-pot dinners allow me to easily whip up a
healthy meal and focus on quality time with my kids. Clay pot chicken is one of
my favorite meals in this category. The smell and taste of this simple meal brings back fond memories of enjoying this healthy dish with friends and
family when my daughter was first born. As a new mom, I relied heavily on
one-pot dinners! But I had parallel plan in mind this time. Clay pot chicken
features a staple vegetable of Asian cooking: Bok Choy. Its simple flavor would
seem to be a welcome addition to my picky eaters plate, but for some reason she
just wouldn’t try it. Maybe the crunchy, caramel sweetness of one-pot Asian
chicken would sway her?
Crunch a Color Kids
Vote: Bring on the bonus points!
What we liked:
Though this recipe involved more than five ingredients (it calls for closer to
10), the simplicity of making this dish in one-pot won me over. I simplified it
further by using pre-minced garlic and ginger (a time-saving trick that
eliminates one chopping step) and substituted grape seed oil for the peanut oil. The combination of healthy ingredients in this
recipe make for a deliciously chewy dish that had my kids asking for seconds -- bok
choy included!
Next up: Chinese Broccoli (aka Gai Lan)
This month I had the pleasure of dining with the
reigning champion of Beef Noodle Soup. Flown in from Taiwan to share his
secrets, Chef Hou captured the appetites of noodle soup lovers ranging from amateur chefs to the honorable Narsai David of food-critic fame. Next week I’ll share my twist on this
delicious soup that’s sure to warm your soul and win you bonus points for
trying a new food: Chinese Broccoli!
Craving more new
recipes to try? Catch up on last week’s recipe: Slow cooker curry.
About the author: Jennifer Tyler Lee is a
mom of two children and the creator of Crunch a Color™ -- the
award-winning game that makes healthy eating fun. Like most parents, she
struggled to get her kids to eat healthy, balanced meals, so she decided to
make it into a healthy eating game and she’s giving back to support Jamie
Oliver’s Food Revolution, FoodCorps, and Alice Water’s Edible Schoolyard. Watch
her picky eaters tell the story of how they turned into healthy eaters playing the
game. Follow @crunchacolor and #52NewFoods to tune into Crunch a Color's healthy eating adventure
and Jennifer’s tips and kid-friendly, easy recipes.
Read More
Posted by Jennifer Lee on February 11, 2012 5 Comments
Winter days call for
cozy meals. Load up the healthy ingredients, relax
and get ready to enjoy a wholesome, easy dinner that will have your whole
family eating healthy -- Slow Cooker Curry from The Family Dinner.
The kids are comfortably settled in school, the holiday rush
is over, but life continues to feel frantic. Imagine yourself stumbling into
the front door after a long day, groceries and book bags overflowing from your
arms. What could me more satisfying than to be greeted by the wonderful aroma
of a healthy meal calling, “Dinner’s ready!”? Thank goodness for the slow
cooker! My new best friend – he stays home all day, carefully simmering and
flavoring our dinner so we can come home to a relaxed meal together as a
family. That’s the kind of easy, healthy eating I need.
Feature Recipe: Slow
Cooker Chicken Curry from The Family Dinner
The Family Dinner is a fantastic source of easy dinner ideas
that will get your whole family eating healthy. Adorned with beautiful pictures
of delicious and easy recipes, it was hard to pick just one to try! Then I
spotted it: Slow cooker curry. Paired with freshly prepared Naan and a side of
spicy green beans, chicken curry ranks in the top 10 of my favorite winter dishes.
Sadly, it’s been a solitary dish, as my two kids tend to shy away. Could The
Family Dinner provide the answer to my food dilemma: How to cook a curry my
whole family would love?
Crunch a Color Kids
Vote: Delish! (Mom’s side note: jaw dropping)
What we liked: I
really couldn’t believe that my picky eater liked this dish. When she bravely
tried a “taster”, then asked for a serving, and bellied up to the bar for
seconds I knew I had a winner on my hands. The flavor in this dish is mild,
making it easy for my kids to love. As for ease, this recipe knocks it out of
the ballpark. Prep was under 15 minutes and I came home to a delicious healthy
feast my whole family loved. I’m adding this family-friendly recipe to my list of favorites and making a special place on my shelf for this fantastic cookbook.
Next up: Bok Choy
When I arrived home from the hospital as a naïve new mom, my
very good friends showered me with meals. It was exactly what I needed, and I
continue to pass it forward. Each time I visit a new mom, I bring a helping
hand and a hot meal! The most memorable of all those wonderful meals was
clay-pot chicken. I hope you’ll tune in next week when we make A Family That
Eats Together’s Easy
Claypot Chicken. Will it get my kids to try Bok Choy? We'll see!
Craving more new
recipes to try? Catch up on last week’s recipe: Sunbutter bites.
About the author: Jennifer Tyler Lee is a
mom of two children and the creator of Crunch a Color™ -- the
award-winning game that makes healthy eating fun. Like most parents, she
struggled to get her kids to eat healthy, balanced meals, so she decided to
make it into a healthy eating game and she’s giving back to support Jamie
Oliver’s Food Revolution, FoodCorps, and Alice Water’s Edible Schoolyard. Watch
her picky eaters tell the story of how they turned into healthy eaters playing the
game. Follow @crunchacolor and #52NewFoods to tune into Crunch a Color's healthy eating adventure
and Jennifer’s tips and kid-friendly, easy recipes.
Read More
