A mother emailed me the other day and asked, “why don’t you ever do anything with raspberries, especially since they’re in season now?” Actually, for the 4th of July last year I did do a Red, White and Blue Parfait with raspberries that Kenya still loves to this day, but I’m really glad that mom emailed me. We always need more great recipes with raspberries!

This summer, Kenya’s been on a major popsicle kick. He’s even eating popsicles for breakfast! So, last weekend I went to the Farmer’s Market, got some gorgeous raspberries and broke out my popsicle molds. After a lot of thought, I made these raspberry frozen yogurt pops. They are tangy and sweet and loaded with vitamin C and protein packed raspberry seeds.

Everyone in our house was dying to try them, so I pulled them out of the freezer after only 4 hours and we all licked away. Delicious! Our tummies were very happy that the mother who emailed me had made the raspberry suggestion. And Kenya thinks I’ve come up with the perfect breakfast popsicle!

Raspberries Frozen Yogurt Pops (Makes 6 Popsicles)

1 Pint Raspberries
3 Tbsp Agave
1 7 oz. Containers Greek Yogurt (I used 2%, but you can use 0% or whole milk yogurt)
1/2 Cup Milk (I used vanilla rice milk)

1. Place all the ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.
2. Pour the raspberry mixture in the popsicle molds.
3. Freeze for 4 hours or more.
4. Serve.

We used these to make this recipe:

Kidco Healthy Snack Frozen Treat Trays

Recently the nice people at POM Wonderful sent me a case of pomegranate juice. They had seen our “how to open a pomegranate” video, liked it and got in touch with me — not realizing what a big fan I already was of their product.

If you read weelicious enough, though, you’ll know that I’m not a big advocate of juice for kids. Most juices sold in supermarkets are generally full of sugary calories and fill kids up when they should be eating and getting the benefits from the actual fruits themselves. Even for adults, I always suggest diluting juices with a little sparkling or flat water so they don’t pile on unwanted calories.

I love POM for several reasons, though. One: it’s delicious and it contains 100% pomegranate juice with no added sugars. Two: ounce for ounce it contains more antioxidant properties than most other juices and beverages. Three: it makes an awesome jello flavor because of it’s intense natural flavor.

Kenya had never even seen jello before I came up with this recipe. For a 2 1/2 year old, food that jiggles is better then a toy. He had so much fun slurping it, pulling it, throwing it (boy, that was fun to watch) and finally, eating it. It’s a healthy dessert that is big on entertainment. Or, instead of giving your kids juice, try putting POM in a recipe like this one a make it a real treat!

Pomegranate Strawberry Jello (Makes 4-6 Servings)

2 Cups (16 Oz) Pomegranate Juice
2 Tbsp Agave Nectar or Honey
2 Envelopes Unflavored Gelatin
1/2 Cup Strawberries, chopped

1. Bring 1 1/2 cups of pomegranate juice and agave just to a boil.
2. In a separate bowl place the remaining 1/2 cup of pomegranate juice. Sprinkle with the gelatin and let it stand for 1 minute.
3. Add the hot pomegranate liquid to the cool pomegranate juice and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved.
4. Pour into molds or an 8×8 pyrex dish and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes to cool. (Keep an eye on the jello. You don’t want it to firm up or the strawberry pieces won’t sink into the jello).
5. Place pieces of strawberries in the molds and continue to refrigerate another 20-30 minutes or until set.
6. If using a mold, dip the bottom of the pan in hot water making sure not to submerge it and shake it to release on to a plate. If you made them in individual cups, eat straight out with a spoon.
6. Serve.

I find it close to impossible to find good cookies and chips that don’t have a pound of garbage in them. On the other hand, it’s also difficult to find cookies and chips that are healthy that kids also find yummy enough to eat. I’ve tried GoRaw products before, but now they have 6 new flavors of chips and cookies that are addictive and super healthy. With flavors like Chocolate Super Cookie, Spirulina “Super Chips” (Kenya’s favorite), Pumpkin Super Chip, “Pizza” Flax Snack, Gingersnaps, Pumpkin “Super Chips” and Original Super Cookies (my personal favorite), there’s a flavor for everyone. Made without any added sugar, oils, animal products or flour, these treats are also perfect for anyone who has allergies to gluten, wheat or nuts.

Of course I made the mistake of letting Kenya see all 6 bags of chips that I bought right before his dinner time. Major mistake. He wanted to eat from each bag….and tried! At least I knew he was eating something that was good for him, so I didn’t feel as guilty when he wasn’t as hungry for his dinner (which of course I ended up eating).

We recently featured a product I came across called Amazing Grass Kidz Superfood and I got tons of emails from parents afterwards asking for recipes using it. Kenya (frighteningly) loves to eat the powder on its own (something I wouldn’t recommend because of the mess — but it is delicious and nutritious)! I love making smoothies like this Frozen Chocolate Berry one with Kenya because it gets him involved in the cooking process. He loves peeling the bananas, pouring the chocolate powder into the blender and then switching the “on” button to whiz it up.

Getting your kids involved in cooking, in my opinion, is the the most fun and reliable way to get them to eat all of the yummy creations you prepare!

Frozen Chocolate Berry Smoothie (Serves 2)

1 Cup Frozen Mixed Berries
1/2 Cup Milk (any type will do)
1 Scoop Amazing Grass Kidz Food (it’s chocolate flavor)
1 Banana, peeled

1. Place all the ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.
2. Serve.

Eating and making Rice Krispy treats are a cooking right of passage for all kids — even the ones who don’t like to cook. It’s a lot of fun to do and making sweet, gooey goodies doesn’t get much easier than the that. Still, just take a minute to look at what’s in a regular Rice Krispy treat and your head will spin. Don’t get me wrong, I love the old fashioned kind, but the thought of marshmallows made with cups of corn syrup made me think twice about making them for Kenya.

Still, the thought of him missing out on this kids classic broke my heart, so we came up with a version that’s actually healthy without giving up any of the flavor of the original. Recently, I brought a batch of the weelicious version for Kenya and his friends to have after their sports class. Normally I would feel guilty about showing up so late in the afternoon with sweet treats for the kids (I hate getting the evil eye from other moms), but these snacks are different. Since they’re made with peanut butter, almond butter and brown rice, that means they’re packed with protein and a healthy carbohydrate. So, the next time you want a sweet treat that you secretly know is good for your kids, try making these and watch the huge smiles all over everyone’s faces!

Brown Rice Crisp-Wee Treats (Makes 16 Squares)

2/3 Cup Rice Syrup
1/3 Cup Peanut Butter
1/3 Cup Almond Butter
3 1/2 Cups Organic Crispy Brown Rice Cereal

1. In a large sauce pan, heat brown rice syrup, almond and peanut butter over low heat and whisk until melted and combined, about 2 minutes.
2. Remove from the heat and pour over rice crispies in a large bowl.
3. Stir with a plastic spatula until completely combined.
4. Pour into a greased 8 x 8 inch pan and press down to flatten the top (sometimes I put a zip lock bag on my hand like a glove, to press into the pan and flatten the treats).
5. Cool for 5 minutes and cut into bars.
6. Serve.

Recently, my mother-in-law, also known as Viv, was at the Larchmont Farmer’s Market here in LA, and couldn’t resist buying us a box of 5 large cheese crackers (yummy, yes, but at $8 they were no bargain). When she gave them to us I told her they were known in Italy as frico. What is a frico you may ask? Basically, it’s grated parmesean cheese baked on a cookie sheet which melts in the oven and then cools to become crispy, light “crackers”. The best part is that it only takes minutes to whip up and kids LOVE it!

There are a lot of fun ways to serve frico. While it’s still warm you can mold the pieces into all kinds of shapes. You can drape them over the bottom of a bowl until they firm up into little cups and then fill them with grapes or olives; fold them over a rolling pin and put strawberries inside; roll them into a tuille or let them cool flat and place on a bowl of soup or eat them just as they are. No matter what you decide to do, they’re fun to make with kids and even better to eat!

Cheese Crisps (aka Frico)

1 Wedge Parmesan Cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Shred the parmesan wedge on the large wholes of a box grater.
3. Place 2 tbsp of the shredded cheese on a parchment or silpat lined cookie sheet and flatten the cheese with your finger tips into a 3 inch circle.
4. Bake for 7-8 minutes.
5. As soon as they come out of the oven remove with a thin spatula to an upside down cup or ramekin. You could also roll them into tuille or lay over a rolling pin.
6. Fill the cheese cups with your little ones favorite fruit, olives, nuts, salad or just munch away as they are!

We used these to make this recipe:

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

Oxo Good Grips Box Grater

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked through the refrigerator section of Whole Foods supermarket looking for new, fun (and not expensive) products for our family to try. I must have walked by the Mochi a thousand times and not paid it any attention but the other day something caught my eye. One of the stockers was arranging different varieties on the shelf and I asked him if he had ever tried it. He should be hired as the publicist for their company, Grainaissance, because his passion for mochi made me want to try some right then and there.

Mochi is a rice snack made from whole grain brown rice. Since it’s gluten, dairy and wheat free, it’s perfect for kids with certain allergies. It also comes in endless flavors such as Raisin-Cinnamon, Sesame-Garlic, Super Seed, Chocolate Brownie, Cashew-Date, Original, Wheatgrass with Mugwort, and Pizza, so there’s something for everyone.Kenya and I just baked some up yesterday and had so much fun doing it. I cut the big square of mochi into 1 inch pieces and Kenya placed them all on a cookie sheet. We turned on the oven light and watched the little morsels puff up into tasty little bites. After they cooled, we dipped them in almond butter and had a delicious dessert. Whether you bake them for dinner, sauté them for lunch or even pop them into a waffle iron for breakfast, they make a yummy treat!

* Mochi can be a choking hazard. Make sure to cut the mochi into bite size pieces before giving to children, preferably 2 1/2 years or older.

I was kind of shocked when I discovered that in Brazil and other South American countries, avocados are used primarily in sweet dishes like ice cream and dessert mousses. In America, I feel like we’re much more accustomed to them popping up in savory dishes like guacamole or sliced on a sandwich. Hmm. What could I make that’s sweet using avocados? How about a shake?!

I never have to twist Kenya’s arm when it comes to eating avocados or making smoothies. He’s always game, so he was the perfect guinea pig (well, he always is!). I let him peel and break up the banana and pour the milk into the blender (with my help), while I scooped out the ripe avocado and dropped the ice into the blender. I added a little agave to sweeten it up, but honestly, if you have ripe bananas, you don’t need it. It turned out delicious and it felt like as soon as I filled up Kenya’s cup, mere seconds would pass before he was clamoring, “more”!

This mean, green, vitamin-packed drink is the perfect sweet snack for any time of the day!

Avocado Shake (Serves 2)

1 Ripe Avocado, peeled and pitted
1 Cup Milk (I used unsweetened vanilla rice milk)
1 Large Ripe Banana
1 Large Hand full of Ice

1. Place all ingredients in a blender and puree
2. Serve.
*This recipe is for a thick shake. Add more milk if you want it thinner.

We’ve been buying preserves from Harry’s Berries at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market for years, but my husband always complains that there’s too much sugar in them for him. Harry’s consistently has the most incredible strawberries I have ever tasted, hands down, so my husband can’t comprehend why they feel the need to use so much sugar in their preserves. I tasted several brands of strawberry jam and preserves from our local grocery and they too all had a really sugary aftertaste.

I love preserves that taste like pure strawberries with just a touch of added sweetness, so I decided to come up with my own recipe substituting agave for sugar. The real trick, though, to this recipe is using the best berries you can find, and no one beats Harry’s (I’ve made preserves using berries from the grocery and they’re also delicious. Just go with what you like)! Every morning we’ve been eating these vitamin C packed, gooey, chunky preserves. No matter whether you spread them on a rice cake with a little cream cheese, place a dollop on top of yogurt or a spoonful served on top of oatmeal or pancakes, it’s pure heaven in every bite.

Strawberry Preserves (makes 1 1/2 Cup)

2 Pints Strawberries (about 5 cups), stemmed and halved
Juice of 1 Lemon
1/4 Cup Honey or Agave Nectar

1. Place all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat to medium/high and cook uncovered for 50-60 minutes, stirring occasionally until most of the liquid has evaporated (you want the preserves to have little chunks of strawberries).
3. Cool and serve.

When I was a little girl, our sweet 80 year old next door neighbor, Mrs. Wolf, used to invite me over to her house all the time. I would frequently spend hours talking with her, playing with her dog, Mugsie, and eating the yummy snacks she would serve me. My favorite thing she made was her savory Chex mix. She would bake huge cookie tins full of it and send me home with pounds of it to munch on all week.

Some mornings Kenya isn’t ready to eat breakfast by the time we need to leave for his gymnastics or music class, so I always have to have a go-to snack on hand that is easy for me to grab on a moment’s notice and even easier for Kenya to eat while in his car seat. And, of course, it’s got to be healthy. So, I decided to revisit my childhood and make a breakfast style Chex mix. This recipe is a great way for him to get carbohydrates, protein, fruit and fiber all in one snack before he heads out for a busy morning of play.

I can imagine Mrs. Wolf would be happy to know she inspired me to send off Kenya as happy well-fed as she used to send me.

Breakfast Chex Mix (Makes 22 1/2 Cup Servings)

2 Cups Wheat Chex
2 Cups Rice Chex
2 Cups Bran Chex
2 Cups O’s Cereal
1 Cup Slivered Almonds
5 Tbsp Butter
1/3 Cup Honey
2 Cup Dried Bananas, Blueberries, Cherries, Raisins

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Place all the cereals and nuts in a large bowl. Toss to combine.
3. Place the butter in a 13 x 9 inch pan and melt in the oven.
4. Once the butter has melted, add the honey to the butter and whisk together.
5. Pour the cereals into the butter/honey mixture and stir to combine.
6. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and let cool.
7. Add the dried fruit to the cereal mixture and toss to combine.
8. Serve
* Store in a sealed container