It’s not that I make everything our family eats from scratch, but I do try to make as many of the sweet treats my kids eat as possible. I recently realized that Kenya had never eaten a graham cracker before. How is that possible?! Graham crackers are like a total cookie rite of passage for kids! When I was Kenya’s age, I think I ate them every day of my life. So, my next recipe challenge was born.

It’s not that I’m against pre-packaged cookies or crackers (I’ve definitely bought a few boxes in the past two years), but it’s so much more fun to make them with your kids. I have to say this is one of my favorite new sweet treat recipes, especially when it comes to school lunch. Not only does the recipe make a TON of cookies, but you can cut them out and freeze them to bake as you need them. It takes no time for me to make the dough, roll it out and then let Kenya take over, using mini cookie cutters to pop out the sweetest, crispiest graham crackers I’ve ever tasted. They reminded me of the ones I used to eat as a kid, but even better!

Homemade Graham Crackers (Makes A LOT, depending on the shape you cut them in)

1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar, packed
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Cup Butter, chilled & cubed
1/4 Cup Honey
1/4 Cup Water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a food processor or mixer combine the first 6 ingredients.
3. Add cubed and chilled butter to the mix and pulse/mix until it resembles coarse meal.
4. Add honey and water and continue to mix until it all combines.
5. Remove and shape the dough into a flat disk and place between two pieces of parchment paper.
6. Roll dough out until 1/4 inch thick. Cut into crackers or shapes.*
7. Place cookies on a Silpat or parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
8. Cool and serve.

*To Freeze: After step 6, place the cut out cookie shapes on a baking sheet and freeze for 20 minutes. Remove, place in a Ziploc bag, label and freeze for up to 4 months. When ready to bake, follow steps 7-8.

Every Sunday when I was little, my parents took us to church. After Sunday school the entire congregation would gather for conversation, juice and cookies. Without fail, all the kids would run up to the table to grab handfuls of pre-packaged, jelly-filled thumbprint cookies. But even as a kid that loved sugary sweets, the mere thought of the jelly in those cookies grossed me out. I would scrape the jelly out and throw it away because it tasted more like strawberry glue/gel than the “all natural” preserves advertised on the package.

Wanting to improve on yet another childhood memory that’s still vivid in my mind AND keep with this week’s Peanut Butter and Jelly theme, I came up with these PB&J Thumbprint Cookies. I’ve recreated many of my unhealthy childhood favorites here in the pages of weelicious, only I always try to come up with a healthy version. What strikes me is how easy it is to make healthy desserts your kids will love without sacrificing taste! Instead of the hydrogenated fats and untold amounts of sugar that comprised the cookies I ate as a kid, I added naturally sweet honey, fiber-packed oats, protein-rich peanut butter and then topped them off with fresh preserves for a tasty, real fruit touch.

My kids were so excited when I put the plate of these fresh baked cookies in front of them, but the best part for me was watching Kenya react just like his mommy used to: by digging out the preserves first. The only difference was that he put them right into his mouth!

PB&J Oatmeal Thumbprint Cookies (Makes about 60 cookies)

1/2 Cup Butter (1 Stick), softened
1/2 Cup Agave Nectar OR 1/2 Cup Honey
1 Large Egg

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Peanut Butter

1 1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour

1 Cup Old Fashioned Oats

1 Tsp Baking Soda

1/2 Tsp Salt
Jam, Jelly or Preserves

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place the butter and agave (or honey) in a bowl or standing mixer and beat for 1 minute.
3. Add the egg, vanilla and peanut butter and beat another minute on medium speed or until smooth.

4. In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and mix to combine.

5. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix to incorporate.
6. Drop 1 tbsp of the cookie dough onto a silpat or parchment-lined cookie sheet and using your thumb (or index finger if you prefer), make an indentation in the center of each cookie.
7. Fill the indentation of each cookie with about 1/2 teaspoon of jam.
8. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
9. Cool and serve.

“I don’t like beets”! That was my darling son’s response when I told him I had made Sweet Beet Cookies. I thought sandwiching the word beet between sweet and cookie would serve as sufficient enough distraction for Kenya. Not so much. And since I never want to trick my kids into eating foods that are good for them and hope they learn to love them on their own, simply calling this recipe something like Red Cookies was out of the question.

But if the name itself wasn’t a selling point, the site of these cookies was. As soon as Kenya actually saw them, his eyes lit up. “They’re beautiful,” he said. “I love beets!” As Kenya will now attest, not only are these cookies gorgeous, perfectly sweet and super crunchy, they’re also packed with folates and vitamin C. They’re the kind of treats that make everyone happy. Beet that!

Sweet Beet Cookies (Makes about 50 – 1 inch square cookies)

1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
2 Tbsp Sugar
1/4 Tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Raw Beets, shredded fine*
2 Tbsp Oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine the first four ingredients and stir to combine.
3. Using your hands, add the beets to the flour mixture coating the beet pieces with the flour.
4. Add the oil and work with your hands to bring the dough together (the salt and sugar will fall to the bottom of the bowl so make sure you knead the dough well to combine everything — the outcome will be a smooth dough).
5. Form the smooth, sweet beet dough into a flat rectangular disk and roll it out 1/2 inch thick on parchment paper or a dry clean surface.
6. Using a knife, cut the dough into squares or use small cookie cutters to cut out shapes.
7. Bake on a Silpat or parchment-lined cookie sheet for 15-17 minutes.
8. Cool and serve.

*You can only use RAW fine shredded beets for this recipe. Using canned beets will not work because of the thickness of the beets and they are already cooked.
*These cookies are best stored on the counter in an air-tight container.

We used this to make this recipe:

Microplane Medium Ribbon Home Series Grater

Coming up with this recipe was a happy accident. I was working on some exciting new Peanut Butter and Jelly school lunch recipes and thought the idea of Peanut Butter Pancake Sandwiches (coming soon) with preserves in the middle sounded like something I would have flipped for as a kid. I ended up testing them several times to arrive at the perfect combination, but I still had a ton of batter leftover. I hate wasting food, but I was also too lazy to make 100 pancakes. So, just to see what would happen, I poured it all into mini muffin tins and popped them in the oven. I couldn’t believe the results. Why hadn’t I thought of this before! They had become the perfect “muffin” as Chloe called it or “cupcake” as Kenya chimed in. Inspired to take things one step further, I whisked together some strawberry preserves and cream cheese to make “icing” and — voila — the Breakfast Cupcake was born!

They’re light and fluffy like a pancake and with the airy “frosting” it’s a treat that you can happily serve any time of day and your little one will adore them. The best part is that you’ll have a new good morning surprise for your family and they’ll never know these cupcakes aren’t loaded with sugar. Accidents happen and aren’t they delicious!

Peanut Butter & Jelly Breakfast Cupcakes (Makes 20 Mini Cupcakes)

1 1/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/4 Cup Peanut Butter (you can also use almond, cashew, or sunflower butter)
1 Large Egg
2 Tbsps Sugar
1 1/4 Cup Milk (low fat or whole)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whisk the first 3 ingredients in a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the peanut butter, egg and sugar until combined, then whisk in the milk until incorporated.
4. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined (you don’t want to over beat the mixture).
5. Grease or line mini muffin tins and fill 2/3 of the way up with the batter.
6. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Cool.
8. Spread the top of each cupcake with frosting (recipe below) and serve.

*This batter can also be used to make pancakes

Jelly Frosting (Makes about 2 cups)

1/2 Cup Whipped or Regular Cream Cheese (softened in a microwave or at room temperature)
1/4 Cup Jelly, Jam or Preserves

1. Place all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until throughly combined (you want the mixture to be smooth like frosting).
2. Spread on cupcakes and serve.

The ice cream making bonanza has begun again at our house this summer! Last year it was all about letting Kenya help us make Honey, Cinnamon and Honey Gelato. This year the flavors have changed, but not the fun! Coconut milk is smooth, creamy, and refreshing and it makes for a rich ice cream — without the addition of either eggs or dairy — that is perfect in the August heat.

Coconut Ice Cream (Makes 6 Servings)

2 13 oz Cans Coconut Milk, unsweetened
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1/3 Cup Agave

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine.
2. Pour the mixture into a ice cream maker and freeze (churn) according to manufacturer’s instructions (my batch took 1 hour 45 minutes).
3. Transfer to a container and freeze for 2-3 hours or until firm (I like to save used ice cream containers for this recipe, but you could also fill a loaf pan and cover with plastic wrap).
4. Serve.
* If you don’t own an ice cream machine, you can pour the mixture into 8 popsicle molds and freeze for 3-4 hours. Refrigerate the remaining mixture for up to one week if you run out of mold space. Or, just half the recipe if you don’t want extra.

Now that Kenya is 3 1/2 years old, he’s extremely aware that desserts exist. Between birthday parties, the bakery counter at our local supermarket and just in the course of everyday life, sweet treats seem to be everywhere Kenya looks — and he loves them! I try and avoid buying cake, cookies, candy or ice cream at the grocery. Nor do I bribe my kids with these food (although, sometimes I would like to!). One of my food heroes, Michael Pollan, says in his recent book “Food Rules”, that food manufacturers have made sweets so cheap and readily available that we consume them constantly, whereas if we only ate treats as much as we were willing to prepare them, we’d eat them far less. I couldn’t agree more with Mr. Pollan, plus I find it a lot more fun to bake with the kids because the cooking is usually as much fun as eating the final product!

These Mini Phyllo Cheesecakes are so simple to prepare and much more healthy than most of the sugar laden cheesecakes you can buy at the store. They’re light, beautiful, and tiny, which makes them perfect for little kids’ hands AND mouths. The best part, though, is instilling in your little one the joy of satisfying his or her sweet cravings by making their desserts themselves, rather than just tearing into a box, bag or container of goodies that has heavens only knows what in it.

Mini Phyllo Cheesecakes (Makes 18 Mini Cheesecakes)

8 oz Cream Cheese, at room temperature
1 Egg
2 Tbsp Sour Cream
1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
3 Tbsp Agave Nectar or Honey
2 Packages Mini Phyllo Shells (30 mini shells-I use Athens Brand (found at most groceries in the freezer section)
Raspberries for garnish (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Using a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese in a bowl on medium speed until creamy, about 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the egg, sour cream, vanilla and agave or honey and continue to beat until combined.
4. Place the mini phyllo cups on a baking sheet and pour about 1 tbsp of the mixture into the cups.
5. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until set.
6. After the cheesecakes have cooled to room temperature, chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
7. Serve plain or topped with a raspberry.

The best and worst news these days is that we have tons of information about the food we eat that wasn’t around 30 years ago. It’s easier than ever to educate yourself about what to feed yourself and your kids. The bad part is that you may scare yourself when you realize what you’ve been putting in your own body over the years. I can’t even imagine how much culinary poison I consumed in my day, but my hope is that armed with knowledge and a love of food, my kids won’t make the same mistakes I did. I believe it’s a huge responsibility for myself and other parents to make sure we give our kids healthy foods free of additives and chemicals that are potentially going to be toxic in their little bodies — like artificial food dyes. The challenge for us is that kids respond strongly to bright colors and so many unhealthy foods in the marketplace target our children by dyeing their products colors that can only be created in a lab. I recently read an article on Healthy Child, Healthy World’s website called “Just Say No To Blue, Green, Red and Yellow” that points out a lot of the common and dangerous coloring food producers use. I’m not saying that it’s always easy, but avoiding food colors and dyes can be easier then you think.

My kids love popsicles (what kid doesn’t), so one simple thing I do is make these vivid Mango Pops. Not only are they a naturally vibrant orange-yellow that rivals any artificially colored popsicle, but they’re also sweet, delicious and perfect during the summer heat. My kids enjoy making them almost as much as they love eating them. Instead of buying a box of popsicles made with additives that you probably can’t even pronounce, have your kids help you whip up a batch of these mango pops. You’ll know you’re doing their bodies good and give yourself some peace of mind. Color yourself impressed!

Mango Pops (Makes 4 Cups-8 Popsicles)

2 Mangos, peeled and chopped
1 Cup Rice Milk
2 Tbsp Honey

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until pureed.
2. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze.
3. Serve.

Kids running around in swimsuits eating popsicles. That is summer to me. And when those popsicles happen to be red, white and blue? Well, that can only mean it’s the Fourth of July! I vividly remember being a kid, playing with my friends at our local swimming pool and sucking on Bomb Pops (big, red, white and blue rocket-shaped popsicles that seemed all the rage in the 70’s) to cool down in the summer heat. I adored Bomb Pops, looking back, I can’t imagine how much food coloring and sugar I must have ingested over the years. And while those popsicle memories are great, but how can I share them with my own kids without also exposing them to all those unwanted additives and chemicals? There has to be a way to make your own version of those sinfully delicious iced treats — full of eye appealing color — but also healthy at the same time.

I use fresh fruits and yogurts to make festive popsicles that are nutritious as well. And for the Fourth, blueberries and raspberries make it easy to celebrate the holiday. Packed with antioxidants, Vitamin C, dietary fiber, calcium and more, these Red, White & Blue Popsicles seem like a much better idea than the sugar and corn syrup laden ones infused with Red Dye #17 and Blue Dye #26 you’ll find in the store. I don’t want my kids eating that. Not when they can enjoy homemade colorful pops whose colors come straight from nature, not a laboratory.

So when your kids are looking for something refreshing that will impress them at the same time, make a batch of these pops. You won’t mind at all when they ask for seconds and thirds. In fact, you’ll encourage it!

Red, White & Blue Popsicles (Makes 8 Popsicles, depending on the size of your molds)

1 12 oz Bag Frozen Blueberries, defrosted
6 Tbsp Agave, divided (you can also use honey, but I prefer agave for this recipe)
1 Cup Plain Yogurt
1/4 Cup Vanilla Rice Milk (you can also use cow’s milk, almond or soy)
1 12 oz Bag Frozen Raspberries, defrosted

1. Place defrosted blueberries and 2 tbsp agave in a blender and puree until smooth.
2. Pour the blueberry puree a 1/3 way up each popsicle mold and freeze for 30-45 minutes.
3. Combine yogurt, rice milk, and 2 tbsp of agave in a bowl and whisk until smooth.
4. Pour yogurt mixture 2/3 way up the popsicle molds on top of the blueberry mixture, and freeze for another 30-45 minutes.
5. Place defrosted raspberries and 2 tbsp agave in a blender and blend until smooth.
6. Finish the popsicles by pouring the raspberry puree over the yogurt, place sticks in and freeze.

*Because all popsicle molds are different sizes, you may have left overs. You can refrigerate the remaining berry purees and use as toppings for yogurt, granola, pancakes, etc.

Having two young kids, I find it kind of funny how one will voraciously eat a certain food without pause and the other turns their nose up at it after the first bite. This happens a lot in our house, specifically when it comes to plain yogurt. My husband, Kenya and I each eat at least one container of Greek yogurt a day — Kenya without any added toppings at all. Chloe, on the other hand, will just flat out say “noooo” when she sees plain yogurt unless there’s something to liven it up like a scoop of Apricot, Peach and Golden Raisin Puree.

I like to keep frozen berries on hand, primarily because Kenya thinks they’re the best breakfast AND dessert known to man. He loves eating them on their own, but recipes like this Raspberry Sauce is one he always makes an exception for. It only takes me minutes to prepare and it is so unbelievably delicious, it makes an impression on even the littlest of kids.

Raspberries are a powerhouse of nutrition, boasting magnesium, Vitamin C and plenty of dietary fiber. Since they only have 61 calories per cup, this is a perfect sauce for mom to drizzle on her favorite foods too.

When Kenya and Chloe watched me making this the other day they both oohed and ahhed as I poured the finished product into a glass jar. The gorgeous red color is almost hypnotic, and when they tasted it on their yogurt, they both went crazy. Even my husband who, like Kenya, likes his yogurt unadorned has been pouring this on to the point that there’s more sauce than yogurt in his bowl. Whether you decide to serve this on some protein-packed yogurt, ice cream, waffles or even on a sandwich with a spread of almond butter or cream cheese, it’s a treat that you’ll soon want to become a staple in your fridge. That’s one thing everyone can probably agree on!

Raspberr-wee Sauce (Makes 1 1/2 Cups)

1 Bag Frozen Raspberries (about 12 oz)
1/4 Cup Water
1 Tbsp Cornstarch
2 Tbsp Honey or Agave Nectar

1. Add one bag of raspberries and 2 tbsp of honey (or agave) to a pot, stirring to combine and smashing raspberries with the back of a spoon.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.
3. Whisk 1 tbsp of cornstarch and 1/4 cup of water in a separate bowl.
4. Add the cornstarch mixture to the raspberries and stir until the sauce thickens (about 2 minutes).
5. Cool and serve over yogurt, ice cream, pancakes and more!

** Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

Tater Tots! Just the name itself sounds kid-friendly. I’d bet that in 1953 when Ore-Ida came up with how to make use of the leftover slivers of cut-up potatoes and created these little bites, they realized the name alone would be a huge selling point. Especially for kids. Accorfing to the company, Americans eat approximately 70 million pound of Tots each year and based on how often I ate them in my youth, I can only imagine that kids comprise a big part of that figure. Whether you remember them from the frozen food aisle at the grocery or your own school cafeteria, I’m sure you consumed at least a few of these crispy, deep fried potato nuggets in your day.

I’ve got nothing against the frozen tots that I grew up on, but this homemade recipe is really easy to make and so much more healthy and delicious then the frozen kind (no frying for starters — these are baked). But if you’re still nostalgic for frozen tots, just grab some more potatoes, double the recipe, and you’ll have plenty extra to freeze and enjoy at a later date. No more heading out to buy fried potatoes in a bag. Now your kids can discover all the joy of tots without you having to worry about all the fillers and additives of store bought brands. It’ll be like reliving your own youth — only healthier!

Tater Tots (Serves 4)

2 Large Potatoes (about 1 lb), cut into 2 inch cubes (they don’t have to be perfect)
Salt
1/2 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1 Egg, whisked
1 Cup Panko Breadcrumbs (white or wheat)
Canola Oil Spray

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Boil the potatoes in salted water in a pot for 12-15 minutes or until fork tender.
3. Drain off all the water and cool the potatoes.
4. Using the side of a box grater, grate all of the potatoes into a bowl.
5. Place the flour, whisked egg and breadcrumbs in THREE separate bowls.
6. Take about 1 tbsp of the potato mixture and shape into “tater tots”.
7. Roll the tots into the flour, followed by the egg, then the panko bread crumbs, coating lightly.
8. Place onto a silpat or parchment lined cookie sheet and coat evenly with cooking spray.
9. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden.
10. Cool and serve.

*Shape them into tots and freeze before you bake them – After freezing, just pop them in the oven from the freezer adding at least another 3-5 minutes baking time.