Even though it’s still cool outside, it’s nice to at least pretend that you’re away in the tropics — even for a few minutes each day. These popsicles are so easy to make and a perfect activity for kids to take part in. All you have to do is let your kids put the ingredients into the blender, turn it on, pour the mix into molds and freeze. Simple!

The taste is incredibly creamy, but these pops are also great for kids that are vegan or can’t have dairy or gluten. And the best part for everyone is, they’re homemade!

Hawaiian Popsicles (makes 8 popsicles)

1 13.5 Oz Can Coconut Milk (you can use regular or light)
2 Cups Fresh Pineapple or 1 14 Oz Can, drained
1 Banana

1. Pour ingredients into a blender and puree.
2. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze at least 4 hours.
3. Serve.

We used these to make this recipe:

Kidco Healthy Snack Frozen Treat Trays

I’ve been getting tons of emails from parents asking for healthy cookie recipes. That request is actually a lot harder than you would think. The words ‘healthy’ and ‘cookies’ rarely go into the same sentence. And for good reason. But we here at weelicious are up for any challenge. Not only are these little almond cookies super fast and easy to make, you only have to keep a few ingredients on hand in order to whip them up on a moment’s notice!

The day I made them, Kenya and I had a few and were in heaven. He kept begging for more, but I always try to limit him to one or two. I wish I could say the same thing for my girlfriends. They came over to watch the Bachelor finale (yes, I do love some mindless television now and then), and not only did the ladies enjoy them, they finished every last one! Next time I have to remember to make a double batch.

By the way, these cookies are delicious even if you eat wheat and dairy.

Vegan Almond Cookies (makes about 40 1 inch cookies)

1/2 Cup Almond Butter (I used raw, creamy, unsalted from Trader Joes, but you can use any type of almond butter you find. If you open the jar and the almond butter has separated, you’ll need to mix the oil back together with the almond butter and then measure.)
2 Cups Almond Flour/Meal
6 Tbsp Honey or Agave Nectar
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
Slivered Almonds, for decoration

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Place all the ingredients in a bowl and stir to thoroughly combine.
3. You can either roll the dough by hand into 1 inch balls and lightly press down with a fork or your fingers OR you can pat into a large square and cut into smaller 1-inch squares.
4. Place the cookies on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet.
5. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden. The cookies will crisp as they cool.
6. Allow cookies to cool and store in an airtight container.

We used these to make this recipe:

Silpat 11-5/8-by-16-1/2-Inch Nonstick Silicone Baking Mat

To me, rice pudding has always felt like one of those foods on the school cafeteria dessert menu that didn’t really feel like dessert or a treat. It was always gelatinous looking and tasted as if it came out of a can or box. It wasn’t until several years ago when my mother-in-law told me about her passion for homemade rice pudding that I considered making it myself. I was in culinary school at the time, so it felt like a fun challenge. My mother-in-law loves it creamy with a sweet vanilla taste, so I aimed to please and she approved of the result.

Now that we offer Kenya dessert once in a while, we try to give him things that will satisfy his sweet tooth, but are also healthy and nutritious. This rice pudding recipe, which is a weelicious spin on my other version, is heaven. It’s so easy to make and you can easily double the recipe to feed a crowd or just to have some in the fridge all week — though every time I make this, it doesn’t last that long.

Creamy Rice Pudding (Serves 4)

3 1/2 Cups Milk
1/2 Cup Short Grained Rice (or Arborio)
1/2 Vanilla Bean or 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Tbsp Agave

1. In a pot, bring the milk and rice to a boil.
2. Slice the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape both sides with the edge of a knife to remove the vanilla seeds. Place the seeds and vanilla bean in the pot with the milk and rice (If using vanilla extract, add it in the last few minutes of the cooking time).
3. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover. Cook for 40 minutes stirring occasionally.
4. Add the agave and stir to combine.
5. Can be served warm or chilled.

Tofu is one of those amazingly versatile foods that you can use in so many different ways. It’s flavor is neutral, allowing it to take on and absorb the flavors of whatever you are cooking with. Using it as a base in dips and sauces is delicious, but have you ever made a creamy pudding out of it? This chocolate tofu pudding is so silky and tasty, I guarantee your kids will never notice that it’s not the Jell-O kind from the box. Even Bill Cosby would be proud.

We tested this recipe 6 times with different brands of tofus and cocoa powders. At the end of the day, we decided that most brands of silken, or soft, tofu in your grocery store refrigerator section or “Mori-Nu silken firm un-refrigerated tofu” (sold at most healthy food stores) are the best options. Both tofus produced super smooth pudding results. We also played around with the amount of cocoa powder. You can use more or less cocoa then the amount called for in the recipe, but 1/3 cup seemed to produce a perfectly chocolaty pudding that wasn’t too light or too rich.

This recipe is also a great option for parents trying to watch their waistline. It’s low in fat and calories since there’s NO fat in cocoa powder and it’s not laden with sugar. My girlfriend came over for dinner and she and Kenya were hilarious digging into the pudding together and swallowing it so fast their dishes were empty within seconds!

Chocolate Tofu Pudding (Serves 4-6)

1 14 Oz Package Soft Silken Tofu (I like House Foods soft silken or Mori-Nu firm silken)
1/3 Cup Pure Cocoa Powder
1/3 Cup Agave Nectar (feel free to use a little more if you want it sweeter)
1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract

1. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend to combine.
2. Scrape down the sides of the food processor and blend again to make sure everything is incorporated.
3. Serve immediately or chilled.

My best friend and I lived together for years and I think if I didn’t cook for her I think she would have starved. The only food she EVER bought for herself at the grocery was this tapioca pudding from some eastern European company that was gelatinous and had a really bizarre texture, but she loved it. Finally one day I broke down and made her homemade tapioca pudding and her eyes bugged out of her head! It was the same face my husband and son made when they tasted it yesterday for the first time.

I’ve tasted and cooked a bunch of tapioca pudding recipes over the years and I get frustrated by all the confusing directions. Why must it be so difficult?! Really delicious and creamy tapioca pudding is super easy to make and the perfect dessert for the entire family.

Tapioca Pudding (Makes 4 Servings)

2 1/2 Cups Milk (I like using whole milk, but it worked great with rice milk too)
1/3 Cup Tapioca (not quick cooking)
2 Tbsp Honey or Agave
Pinch of salt

*I topped the pudding with blood oranges segments

1. Bring the milk and tapioca to a boil.
2. Reduce to a simmer and cook uncovered for 30 minutes stirring occasionally.
3. Add the agave and salt. Cook another 5 minutes.
4. Serve warm or cool and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Every winter, when I was a kid, my grandparents would send us huge boxes of grapefruit from their trees in Arizona. I remember how excited I would get when the shipments arrived. The grapefruit were so big, pink, sweet and — most of all for me — fun to eat. My Mother used to cut them in half and use a special knife to section them for me, and I lived for scooping out the sections with a spoon..

I loved the idea of trying this for my own family’s breakfast, but I wanted to kick it up a bit and came up with this recipe. Now that grapefruit are in season, I can buy tons of them at the farmers market for Kenya to enjoy every day. I add just a touch of agave or even some brown sugar and leave it for a few minutes under the broiler. This transforms regular grapefruit into a special morning treat — or even dessert!

Broiled Grapefruit (Serves 2)

1 Ruby Red Grapefruit
1 Tbsp Brown sugar OR 2 Tsp Agave Nectar

1. Turn on the broiler in your oven.
2. Cut grapefruit in half, crosswise.
3. Cut around the edge of the grapefruit and between the individual sections so the segments can be easily removed with a spoon.
3. Sprinkle the halves with brown sugar or drizzle with agave.
4. Cover a sheet tray with foil, place grapefruit on the tray.
5. Place in oven, 6 inches under the broiler, for 3-5 minutes or until the sugar/agave starts to bubble and caramelize.
5. Remove from oven and allow to cool before serving.

Growing up in Kentucky, the winters were long and seriously cold. The bonus was having loads of snow days off from school, playing outside and coming in to hot cups of cocoa. I still remember the Hershey’s can of powder sitting on the counter as I sipped away warm and comforted.

There aren’t many cold days in LA, but when they do come around cocoa is one of the first things I crave. I make it a point to not give Kenya sugar or chocolate, but I’m also not an advocate of total deprivation. I feel like kids need to be kids and experience things like hot chocolate now and again. You should have seen Kenya’s face when I presented him with his own mini-mug of it with 3 tiny marshmallows on top. To say he loved it would be an understatement.

My version is slightly “healthier,” substituting agave for sugar, but you could also add honey or any other healthy sweetener you enjoy. Sharing a cup with your little one will bring back so many fun memories of your own childhood, sipping away on a chilly winter day. This is a treat not to be missed.

Wee One’s Hot Chocolate (Makes 1 Serving)

1 Cup Skim, Low Fat, Whole, Soy, Almond or Rice Milk
2 Tsp Agave
1 Tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1. Bring the milk to a near boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer.
2. Whisk in the cocoa and agave until throughly combined.
3. Serve.

I’m a total sucker for holidays. I love decorating, baking, and doing things as a family that reflect the happy spirit of whatever the holiday is for. Valentine’s Day always was THE Hallmark holiday to me, but now that I have kids, I have a whole new perspective on it and it’s even more fun celebrating love.

I’ve made more cookies and cakes over the years then I can count, so this year I wanted to do something a little different. Ruby-red blood oranges are in season, so I thought that it would be fun to come up with a recipe for them. Granitas are like shaved ice or snow cones, except these aren’t made with sugary corn syrup. Instead, they use the sweet juice of the blood oranges and just a touch of agave. In honor of the holiday, I served this batch up in the skins of the orange which I thought was pretty and fun for kids to eat from. Kenya loved taking his fork and scraping the granitas as the little crystals formed. It was so cute to watch and even more fun to eat with my Valentine.

Blood Orange Granita (Serves 4)

4 Cups Blood Orange Juice, reserve several of the orange peel “shells” for serving.
1/4 Cup Agave

1. Combine the blood orange juice and agave in a 8×8 inch Pyrex dish and whisk to combine.
2. Place in the freezer for 1 hour.
3. Remove from the freezer and scrape with a fork to break up pieces.
4. Place back in freezer for 1 hour.
5. Remove from the freezer and scrape with a fork to break up pieces.
6. Repeat this process over several hours until granita is similar to shaved ice.
7. Serve in orange peel “shells” or in bowls (cover the pan with tin foil to keep in the freezer).