One of the most timeworn food challenges for parents is getting kids to eat their vegetables. It certainly hasn’t gotten any easier for us moms and dads over the years. Our generation of kids is exposed to a wider variety of unhealthy foods now than at any point in history, with hundreds of millions of marketing dollars targeted specifically at our defenseless little ones. For many parents it’s just too much of a battle to keep their kids away from prepackaged junky foods. Many finally give in, saying their kids are “picky eaters” or simply that they “don’t like vegetables”. It’s a tough and seemingly endless struggle for us parents, but once you resign yourself to the “well, they just don’t like to eat their greens”-type labeling of your little ones, the junky food has won out and kids feel like if they resist you enough — no matter what the food — they will eventually get their way. It takes a lot of patience and persistence to change their behavior, but with a few fun tips and always leading by example, my experience has shown that even the pickiest of kids will eat their veggies.

One of my favorite tips is to serve raw or steamed veggies with dips. When food is interactive for kids, it becomes a lot more fun for them to eat. I started making this versatile dip for myself years before I had my kids. I still eat it with steamed artichokes and even on grilled fish. With just a shake, squeeze and stir, you can turn plain ol’ yogurt into something that tastes just like Ranch dressing (only it’s much better for you).

Whether you put a small serving of this alongside pieces of red bell pepper in a school lunch or serve it with an assortment of carrots, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and green beans at dinnertime, this dip will help inspire the veggie lover in everyone!

Veg-Wee Dip (Makes 1/2 Cup)

1/2 Cup Plain Yogurt ( I use Greek yogurt)
1 Tsp Spike Seasoning
1 Tsp Lemon Juice

Accompaniments: raw or steamed veggies such as baby carrots, celery, cucumber, fennel, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, or jicama

1. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir.
2. Serve.

When the seasons change and all the new crops of fruits and vegetables return to our farmer’s market, I get totally excited — and when strawberries start showing their face again, I feel like I’ve gone to heaven.

Yes, beautiful strawberries are back and they’re tasting sweet, juicy and delicious (and getting better week after week). When strawberries are in season, I love making the family Strawberr-wee Popsicles and Strawberry Preserves, but this year I wanted to add a new strawberry recipe to my repertoire. When I suggested to Kenya the idea of making strawberry muffins for breakfast the other morning, he begged me to do it.‬

You may be pleasantly surprised to hear that these big red berries contain more Vitamin C than some citrus fruits as well as being high in fiber, folate and potassium. A 1 cup serving provides kids with a whopping 140% of their recommended daily dose of Vitamin C! Now, I’m not suggesting that you let your little one scarf down half of this recipe in order for that to happen, but in the event they do love these muffins that much, at least you’ll know that what’s baked inside these sweet little gems is doing their bodies good!‬

Strawberry Muffins (Makes 18 Muffins)

2 Cups All Purpose Flour
3 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Large Egg
3/4 Cup Milk (low fat or whole cow’s milk, almond, rice or soy milk will work)
1/4 Cup Vegetable or Canola Oil
1/2 Cup Honey or Agave Nectar
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Tsp Lemon Zest
1 1/2 Cups Strawberries, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a bowl, combine the first 3 ingredients.‬
3. In a separate bowl, whisk egg and add milk, oil, honey, vanilla, and lemon zest and stir.‬
4. Using a standing mixer or hand mixer, slowly combine the dry ingredients with the wet until incorporated (try not to over mix the batter).‬
5. Add the strawberries to the batter and slowly combine.‬
6. Line or grease muffin tins and fill 2/3 of the way with batter.‬
7. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick tester comes out clean.‬
8. Cool and serve.‬

* If you want to make mini muffins, fill 36 muffin cups and bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

One of the best ways to get kids excited about what they eat is to plant your own garden together. It doesn’t require a lot of room — a window box works beautifully — what’s most important is allowing kids to take part in every stage of the process, from planting the seeds through preparing the meal. My favorite part of having a garden is picking the produce when it is ready with my family and figuring out together what we should make with our harvest.

Summer is fast approaching, and that means basil will be growing abundantly in our garden. Most herbs are relatively easy to grow, but basil in particular grows like a weed — which is good news because I love cooking with it. Basil is a great compliment to so many foods, but the thing I like to make all summer long is pesto. It’s a great recipe to prepare and eat together as a family. It’s also extremely kid-friendly because of it’s nutritional balance — the greens, nuts and cheese provide plenty of protein and are packed with vitamin A and magnesium to boot.

You will be amazed at how versatile this pesto is. I normally make a big batch and keep it in the freezer so I have it on hand year-round to use as a spread on sandwiches, toss with pasta, put on fish or shrimp or dip chicken in it and roll in bread crumbs like these delicious Chicken Pesto Tenders!

Chicken Pesto Tenders (Serves 4)

1/2 Cup Bread Crumbs
1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
1/2 Tsp Salt
1-1 1/4 Lb. Chicken Tenders, cleaned and rinsed
1/4 Cup Pesto (recipe follows)

1. Preheat broiler.
2. Combine first 3 ingredients in a bowl.
3. In another bowl, combine chicken tenders and pesto and toss to evenly coat.
4. Bread each tender with the bread crumb/parmesan mixture and place on a cooking rack with a foil-lined cookie sheet under it.
5. Broil for 2 minutes on one side, turn tenders over and broil another 2 minutes then take them out.
6. Cool and serve.

Pesto (Makes About 1 Cup)
2 Cups Fresh Basil
1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
1/4 Cup Pine Nuts
1 Garlic Clove
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/4 Cup Olive Oil

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth.
2. Serve.

I try to shy away from creating recipes for weelicious that may come across as being too gourmet or adult (for lack of a better word) for kids. Part of the reason for that is because a lot of parents I know don’t think their kids will like foods that seem too “grown up” and so they don’t even bother trying to see how their kids will like them. I’m not talking about having a go at getting your kids to eat buffalo for dinner, but the occasional recipe outside of their comfort zone can be really fun, refreshingly delicious, and, who knows, maybe a new family favorite.

I’m always a bit shocked when I encounter kids who love olives, but when you think about it, what’s not to love? Their lightly salty, briny flavor can be addictive for some people and when the pits are removed, they’re perfect for packing into a school lunch or making into a spread (or tapenade) like this one. There are tons of variations on tapenade that I’ve tried throughout the years, but I added some grated parmesan to this one knowing that the addition of cheese will sell almost anything edible to my son. As per usual, I let Kenya help me measure out the ingredients, whiz them together in the blender and then spread it on bread with cream cheese for his school lunch. But the real surprise was what a big hit it was with my wee one. I couldn’t believe how much Chloe loved this recipe from her first bite. In fact, you can watch her introductory taste here.

Whether you’re serving this to adults on toast points for a get together, to your big kid as a spread on a sandwich or to your one year old as baby food, I find it’s an uncommon treat that everyone will love.

Wee- Tapenade (Makes 1 1/2 Cups)

1 1/2 Cup Pitted Kalamata Olives (or 1 12 oz. jar, drained)
1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Garlic Clove
6 Fresh Basil Leaves
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice

Serve with Bread, Toast or Crackers

1. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth.
2. Spread on toast points, crackers, or on a sandwich and serve.

If you follow weelicious on Facebook (and if you don’t, you should — it’s so much fun!), you know how passionate I am about trying to make tasty school lunches. Everyday I post a picture of Kenya’s lunch, hoping to inspire parents with new ideas. Sure, it feels sort of nerdy to be hunched over my son’s lunch box with a camera, photographing what he’s about to eat, but I so know the feeling of what it’s like to get stuck in that rut making your kids the same old thing for lunch day after day.

Grilled cheese? Done it….a hundred times. Nut butter and jelly? Really, again? Cream cheese and avocado….wait, that’s new! Kenya loves cream cheese and avocado, so combining them in a sandwich was a no brainer. I like this vegetarian lunch option because it’s packed with protein from the cream cheese, and avocados contain 20 essential nutrients including fiber, potassium, vitamin E, B vitamins and folic acid. I cut Kenya’s sandwiches with a cookie cutter, which makes eating more fun for him (it’s hard to tell from the picture above, but the sandwich is shaped like an old fashioned car — what little boy doesn’t want to eat a car?). I’m pretty sure if I let Kenya, he would ask for this meal everyday. See how it does in your lunchtime rotation!

Cream Cheese & Avocado Sammie (Makes 2 Sammies)

1 ripe Avocado, cut in half and sliced
1/4 Cup Cream Cheese
4 Slices of Bread (I know the bread in the picture above looks like white bread, but it’s not. It’s sourdough from our local farmer’s market. You can use any kind of bread you like, though.)

1. Spread the slices of avocado on one slice of the bread.
2. Spread the cream on the other slice of bread.
3. Press into a sandwich.
4. Serve.

There’s nothing as magical as your child’s first birthday party. I’m sure that Chloe won’t remember much from her big day, but I’ll certainly remember every moment.

We decided to do something simple to celebrate — just a bunch of babies Chloe’s age lounging around on blankets, musical instruments scattered about for playing, pink and white balloons hovering in the trees above, bubbles drifting through the air and of course, some delicious weelicious food! The party was called for late in the afternoon, so I figured light snacks seemed appropriate: Benedictine Sandwiches, Fruit Kabobs, Chewy Granola Balls and finally, these Mini Vanilla Cupcakes. For the cupcakes, I really wanted something white, light, airy and tiny in size. I literally spent weeks working on the perfect recipe, which also had to be simple enough to be weelicious. I first tried using agave to sweeten them, but that was a big ol’ flop. Then I experimented with different combinations of eggs, flours and sugar, but still nothing tasted quite right until I arrived at the balance for this version.

I love making miniature cupcakes for kids’ birthday parties, because they’re the perfect size for small hands, and even if your little one goes back for seconds (or even thirds), it’s still won’t equal the amount of one regular size cupcake. Plus, I’ve tried so many vanilla cupcake recipes over the years and I’m always taken by how overly sweet they are. These came out sweet — but not too much. Just the perfect amount in my opinion.

When you’re looking for an unforgettable cupcake recipe that will only add to the magic of your little one’s special day, try these minis and experience maximum deliciousness.

Mini Vanilla Cupcakes (Makes 36 Mini Cupcakes)

1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/4 Tsp Salt
3/4 Cup Unsalted Butter, softened
3/4 Cup Sugar
2 Large Eggs
1/2 Cup Whole Milk
1 Tsp Vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 2 minutes or until light and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs one at a time and vanilla and beat on low speed until combined.
5. Slowly add some of the flour mixture and then some of the milk, alternating until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as you go.
6. Pour the batter into mini muffin cups (I like to use a mini ice cream scooper) lined with paper or foil liners until 2/3 full.
7. Bake for 15 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the middle of the cupcake comes out clean.
8. Cool and frost.

*Refrigerate cupcakes after frosting

Cream Cheese Frosting (Makes About 1 Cup)

4 oz Cream Cheese, softened
4 Tbsp (1/4 Cup) Butter, softened
1 Cup Confectioner’s Sugar
1 Tsp Vanilla

1. Place the cream cheese and butter in a bowl and beat for 30 seconds on low to medium speed using a hand mixer.
2. Add the confectioner’s sugar and vanilla and continue to beat for 1 minute or until frosting is smooth and creamy.
3. Frost the cupcakes and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Whenever I want to make an inexpensive, healthy snack, popcorn almost always comes to mind. Kenya and I make popcorn together at least once a week, but last week I decided to change things up a bit for snack time and turn this simple treat into something even more fun and special.

I loved eating popcorn balls when I was growing up, but most recipes for them are loaded with sugar and thus not a great choice for kids. These weelicious popcorn balls are made with high protein nut butter and brown rice syrup, so they’re still plenty sweet like the old fashioned recipe, but much more nutritious and delicious in my opinion.

Popcorn Balls (Makes 28 1 1/2 Inch Balls)

7 Cups Popcorn (to make popcorn, you can follow the “cheesy popcorn” through step 3)
1/2 Cup Almond, Sunflower or Peanut Butter
1/2 Cup Brown Rice Syrup (found at most health food stores)

1. Place the nut butter and rice syrup in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until warm, about 1 minute. You don’t want the mixture to cook or boil, just loosen up a bit so it becomes spreadable.
2. Pour the mixture over the popcorn in a bowl and with a rubber spatula or using your hands, coat the popcorn with the nut butter mixture.
3. Take a small portion (a little less than a 1/4 cup) of the popcorn mixture with slightly wet or damp hands and roll into 1 1/2 inch balls.
4. Serve.

One of the greatest challenges when it comes to making kids snacks or desserts is coming up with recipes that are actually both healthy and something kids WANT to eat. As a parent, you want what they eat to have nutritional value, but still also have eye and taste appeal. From the moment Kenya saw these Chewy Granola Balls, I knew I fulfilled both criteria.

Loaded with whole grains, protein and fruit, these granola balls have just the right amount of sweetness and a crunchy, chewy texture that kids seem to love. I brought a batch of them to my informal “focus group” of classmates at Kenya’s school and play groups and I didn’t have enough to fulfill the demand for seconds. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you, when the crowd is happy, so is mommy!

Chewy Granola Balls (Makes about 30 Balls)

1/2 Cup Almond Butter
1/2 Cup Rice Syrup
1 Cup Rice Crispys
1 1/2 Cups Granola or Wee Granola
1/4 Cup Dried Cranberries, Cherries, Blueberries and/or raisins, chopped

1. Place the almond butter and rice syrup in a small saucepan over low to medium heat and warm for 2 minutes or until it becomes smooth and combined.
2. Place the remaining ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine.
3. Pour the warm almond butter mixture into the bowl with the granola mixture and stir to combine.
4. Roll into 1 inch balls (I used a mini ice cream scooper to scoop out each portion, but you could also use a tablespoon) .
5. Serve.

As I’ve written here many times before, we love hummus. Actually, I find most kids really enjoy the smooth creaminess of hummus as a spread on sandwiches, as a dip for veggies or just on it’s own. Traditional hummus is made from garbanzo beans, tahini, olive oil and lemon juice, but there’s no reason that you can’t get creative and come up with an array of new hummus flavors using different types of beans or nuts.

For this recipe, I wanted to do a Mexican inspired hummus with flavors I know my family likes, so I chose pepitas (pumpkin seeds), black beans, cumin and cilantro. And just to keep everything homemade, instead of buying fried chips at the store, I decided to make my own healthy, crispy ones. Both dishes are easy to make and kids have fun breaking up the tortillas into chips themselves.

Whether you’re inviting friends over for a party, want a protein-packed school lunch box snack for your little one or just need something healthy and delicious to nibble on throughout the day, this Mexican hummus delivers. Olé!

Black Bean Hummus with Toasted Corn Tortillas

1/3 Cup Pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1 Small Garlic Clove
1 15 Oz Can Black Beans, rinsed and drained
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Water
Juice of 1/2 a Lemon
1/2 Tsp Cumin
1/4 Tsp Salt
1/4 Cup Cilantro, chopped (you can use the stems — they have tons of flavor)

1. Place the pepitas in a dry sauté pan and toast over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring halfway through, or until the pepitas start to turn golden.
2. Place the pepitas and garlic clove in a food processor and pulse for 1 minute.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and puree until smooth.
4. Serve.

Toasted Corn Tortillas

1 Package Whole Corn Tortillas (about 12)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place corn tortillas directly on oven racks and toast for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and golden.
3. Serve whole or broken into chips.

Hummus is a food that no matter what age people are when they first discover it, they fall in love. OK, maybe not everybody, but I certainly find hummus to be an “everybody loves….” food among people I know. Kenya loved it from his very first bite at 12 months and my father-in-law still devours it at age… well, I can’t tell you his age, he’s my father in law. For those of you who haven’t discovered this delicious dish yet, hummus is a Middle Eastern spread made from chickpeas. It’s healthy, full of flavor and versatile — I use it as a dip, as a spread on sandwiches, or just enjoy it on its own.

One of Kenya’s favorite snacks is edamame, so I thought I’d try a variation on the classic hummus recipe and make it for him with edamame instead of chickpeas. Kenya was in heaven with the final result — the bright green color and creamy texture has a ton of eye and taste appeal for kids. And I was thrilled knowing it’s a great source of iron, vitamin C and protein for my growing boy. With kids, I find hummus very useful as a dip. it’s a great way to try to get even the most resistant little ones to take their veggies and dunk away!

Edamame Hummus (Makes 2 1/2 Cups)

2 Cups Edamame, hulled (I use frozen and defrost it)
2 Tbsp Tahini
Juice of 1 Small Lemon
1/4 Cup Water
1 Small Clove Garlic
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Cumin

1. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and puree.
2. Serve.