Posted by Jennifer Lee on August 31, 2012 2 Comments
Homemade granola bars
are an easy and tasty lunchbox treat. This nut free granola bar recipe is made
with lots of love and no refined sugar, because your little ones are sweet
enough as they are!
Do the math. How much do you spend on the packaged organic granola
bars that regularly appear in your kids’ lunchboxes? Conservatively, it’s about
$100 per child per year. Then stop and look at the ingredients list. It’s less
healthy than you think. “Convenience!” you reply, and I completely understand.
As a busy parent, I need a grab and go solution some mornings too. But when I
discovered this simple recipe for homemade granola bars I was surprised at how
easy, tasty and simple it is to make your own granola bars at home for a
fraction of the cost.
Homemade Granola Bars
This nut free, homemade granola bar recipe is fun and easy for
kids to make. Although it’s a sweet treat, it is free of refined sugars. It can
easily be modified to feature your favorite fixings. My kids added dried
cranberries. Raisins or dates could easily be used as well. Have fun mixing it
up!
Ingredients:
4 cups oats
¼ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
1 cup dried cranberries (or any other dried fruit)
½ tsp kosher salt
½ cup grapeseed oil
½ cup honey
*Cooking tip: Add the oil, then the
honey, using the same measuring cup. The oil will make it easy for the honey to
slip right off into the mixing bowl.
Directions:
1.
Preheat the oven to 325 F.
2.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, flour,
coconut, and salt.
3.
Add the oil, then the honey to the dry mixture.
Stir to combine.
4.
Add the cranberries and mix well.
5.
Grease a baking sheet (or add parchment) and
press the granola mixture into the pan.
6.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
7.
Cool, then cut into bars.
Crunch a Color Kids Vote: Grab and go!
What we Liked: These homemade granola bars are crunchy and crumbly. When you’re done
cutting them, the baking sheet will be filled with tasty chunks of yummy
granola. Perfect for sprinkling over yogurt parfaits!
* Do you have a favorite recipe for making homemade
granola bars?
* What ingredients do you like to add to your mix?
Craving more new recipes to try? Catch up on last
week’s recipe: Easy Spanish rice.
About the author: Jennifer Tyler Lee is a mom
of two children and the creator of Crunch a Color -- the
award-winning nutrition games that make 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. Winner of the Dr. Toy and Parent Tested, Parent Approved
awards, Crunch a Color has been featured by Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution,
Laurie David’s Family Dinner, Kiwi Magazine, Dr. Greene, and Yum Food & Fun
For Kids, among many others, as a simple, fun and playful way to get kids to
eat healthy and try new foods! Jennifer’s passion is making mealtime fun, easy
and healthy for busy families. Her easy recipes, quick tips, and new food
adventures are regularly featured at Pottery Barn Kids, Jamie Oliver’s Food
Revolution, The Huffington Post, and on her weekly recipe blog at crunchacolor.com.
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Posted by Jennifer Lee on August 18, 2012 0 Comments
Easy Spanish Rice: Transform a few simple ingredients
found at a convenience store into a tasty side dish.
Last week we took our
healthy eating challenge to the convenience store. Our goal was to prove that
with a little effort (and creative thinking) you can eat healthy on the road
even when healthy choices are few and far between. Along with black beans we
served up a side of easy Spanish rice and mixed veggies.
Easy Spanish Rice
Prep time: 5
minutes
Cook time: 20
minutes
Makes about 6
to 8 servings
Since we were limited to the
ingredients found in a convenience store, and the only fresh produce we could
find was a lonely banana, we had to work in a few extra spices to infuse flavor
into our Spanish rice recipe. The convenience store only offered canned tomato
paste, but if you can find them it’s always better to use fresh tomatoes and
onions when making this dish.
Ingredients:
2 cups medium grain rice
3 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1) Heat a saucepan over medium high heat, then add the olive oil and heat for a
minute or two. Add the rice and cook until lightly browned, about 3 to 4
minutes.
2) In a separate saucepan, whisk
together the tomato paste, chicken broth and garlic powder, then add the rice.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes.
3) Serve with a side of
black beans and colorful veggies.
What we Liked: We could certainly make
this meal healthier by eliminating the BPA-laden cans and using farm fresh
tomatoes from a roadside stand. Better than a corn dog and a soda? You bet! It was encouraging to show my kids that even when
fast food choices seem like the only option, there is always a way to eat
healthy if you try.
*What are your favorite, easy ways to serve Spanish
rice?
Craving more new recipes to try? Catch up on last
week’s recipe: How to cook black beans.
About the author: Jennifer Tyler Lee is a mom
of two children and the creator of Crunch a Color -- the
award-winning nutrition games that make 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. Winner of the Dr. Toy and Parent Tested, Parent Approved
awards, Crunch a Color has been featured by Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution,
Laurie David’s Family Dinner, Kiwi Magazine, Dr. Greene, and Yum Food & Fun
For Kids, among many others, as a simple, fun and playful way to get kids to
eat healthy and try new foods! Jennifer’s passion is making mealtime fun, easy
and healthy for busy families. Her easy recipes, quick tips, and new food
adventures are regularly featured at Pottery Barn Kids, Jamie Oliver’s Food
Revolution, The Huffington Post, and on her weekly recipe blog at crunchacolor.com.
Read More
Posted by Jennifer Lee on August 17, 2012 4 Comments
Stopping at a convenience store on our road trip, the
healthy food choices were scarce. But nestled between the canned spaghetti and
corn chowder we found a healthy friend: black beans.
Convenience stores are a
frequent stop on any road trip. Notorious for their unhealthy food choices,
they are usually a place I try to avoid. But we were on a different mission
this vacation. Amongst the candy bars and cranked up sodas, we were determined
to find a healthy choice. Our goal: prove that if you try, you can cook a
healthy meal even if you’re limited to foods found at a convenience store.
Hidden at the back of a
dusty, low shelf was the ticket I was looking for: black beans. Packed with protein,
and budget-friendly, we decided to make black beans our new food of the week.
Bonus points for trying a new food and managing to find a healthy choice among
a raging sea of salt and sugar.
How to Cook Black Beans
Prep time: 5
minutes
Cook time: 8
hours
Luckily, the place we were
staying on our trip had a well-stocked kitchen, so we decided to learn how to
cook black beans in the slow cooker. You can just as easily use a good ol’
fashioned stockpot.
Ingredients:
1 lb bag, dried black beans
6 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 Tbsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1) Sort the black beans, removing any debris or broken beans. Soak in water
overnight. Be sure the water fully covers the beans.
2) Drain the beans, then add
to your slow cooker along with the chicken broth, the garlic powder, and a dash
of salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
3) Set the slow cooker to
low and cook the black beans for about 8 hours, or until the beans are tender.
4) Serve warm with a little
bit of corn and a sprig of parsley or mint for garnish.
Crunch a Color Kids Vote: Hello Mr. (Black) Bean!
What we Liked: Learning how to cook black beans was easy and made a healthy,
inexpensive meal. They would also make a great addition to a healthy lunchbox. We
served our black beans with a side of mixed veggies and Spanish rice. Tune in
next week when we show you how we transformed a few other simple ingredients we
found at the convenience store into these healthy side dishes.
* What are your favorite recipes featuring black
beans?
Craving more new recipes to try? Catch up on last
week’s recipe: Eating Healthy on the Road.
About the author: Jennifer Tyler Lee is a mom
of two children and the creator of Crunch a Color -- the
award-winning nutrition games that make 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. Winner of the Dr. Toy and Parent Tested, Parent Approved
awards, Crunch a Color has been featured by Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution,
Laurie David’s Family Dinner, Kiwi Magazine, Dr. Greene, and Yum Food & Fun
For Kids, among many others, as a simple, fun and playful way to get kids to
eat healthy and try new foods! Jennifer’s passion is making mealtime fun, easy
and healthy for busy families. Her easy recipes, quick tips, and new food
adventures are regularly featured at Pottery Barn Kids, Jamie Oliver’s Food
Revolution, The Huffington Post, and on her weekly recipe
blog at crunchacolor.com.
Read More
Posted by Jennifer Lee on August 04, 2012 9 Comments
Our family may be taking a vacation, but our healthy eating habits are not. How we plan to keep eating healthy on the road.
Camera. Check. Sunscreen. Check. Blankies. Check, check. We’re geared up
and ready for our big summer adventure. But as much as we want to take some
time off for summer fun, we don’t want our healthy eating habits to take a
vacation. Eating healthy on the road is notoriously difficult, with unhealthy
choices at seemingly every turn. How to resist? Make it a game! This month, our
new food adventures are all about finding the healthiest food on the road.
Eating Healthy on the Road Tip #1: Pack Your Own
You know how you’re always better at eating healthy in the morning? Same goes for eating healthy on the road. You need to start on the right foot! We packed a healthy lunch in our nifty PlanetBoxes for the first leg of our journey. Green beans with nut free basil pesto for dipping, a cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread, and blueberries and strawberries for dessert. Three colors, plus a protein and healthy grains earns us lots of Crunch a Color points! The objective: resist the lure of fast food joints at the airport. We also packed some reserves – whole-grain bread sticks, natural peanut butter, almonds, some fresh fruit, and water – so if we’re in a pinch we can still choose a healthy snack. We’ll just need to remember to take a break from all the exciting sights and sounds to power up!
* What are your tips for eating healthy on the road?
Share your comments.
Craving more new recipes to try? Catch up on last
week’s recipe: Strawberry Lemonade.
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. Winner of the Dr. Toy and
Parent Tested, Parent Approved awards, Crunch a Color has been featured by
Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, Laurie David’s Family Dinner, Kiwi Magazine,
Dr. Greene, and Yum Food & Fun For Kids, among many others, as a simple,
fun and playful way to get kids to eat healthy and try new foods! Jennifer’s
passion is making mealtime fun, easy and healthy for busy families. Her easy
recipes, quick tips, and new food adventures are regularly featured at Pottery
Barn Kids, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, The Huffington Post, and on her
website, www.crunchacolor.com.
Read More
Posted by Jennifer Lee on May 29, 2012 0 Comments
Kids lunch boxes can be the worst offenders when it comes to waste. But a few simple changes can help you green your lunchbox. Swap disposable plastic baggies for BPA-free, reuseable lunch containers. Use cloth napkins instead of paper. Only pack what you really think your kids will eat to minimize food waste.
A Few Reasons Why We Need to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Did you know...
On average, Americans use 20 million plastic baggies a day.
100,000 sea turtles (and other marine life) die each year by ingesting plastic bags.
According to the EPA, each child generates 67 pounds of waste each year.
Packing a bag free lunch saves over $2000 per year.
You and your kids can make a difference with a few easy changes and by keeping the 3 Rs in mind: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!
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