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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.

I’m always trying to think of new recipes using the healthiest, most nutrient-packed foods available. Which raises a good question: what are the foods we should be eating? Dr. Jonny Bowden, nutritionist and author of “The Healthiest Foods on Earth”, created this list of essential foods and the reasons you should be eating them. The New York Times recently re-ran the list as one of its most-viewed stories for 2009. It’s a really great resource. To help inspire you to add these foods into your family’s diet, I amended Dr. Bowden’s list with some weelicious recipes that feature these ingredients. If you see an ingredient below that doesn’t have a weelicious recipe and link next to it, rest assured I am working on one!

1. Beets: Think of beets as red spinach, Dr. Bowden said, because they are a rich source of folate as well as natural red pigments that may be cancer fighters.
How to eat: Fresh, raw and grated to make a salad. Heating decreases the antioxidant power. Weelicious Red Beet & White Bean Hummus or Roast Beet Squares

2. Cabbage: Loaded with nutrients like sulforaphane, a chemical said to boost cancer-fighting enzymes.
How to eat: Asian-style slaw or as a crunchy topping on burgers and sandwiches. Weelicious Chin-Wee-Se Chicken Salad

3. Swiss chard: A leafy green vegetable packed with carotenoids that protect aging eyes.
How to eat it: Chop and saute in olive oil. Weelicious Green Treat

4. Cinnamon: May help control blood sugar and cholesterol.
How to eat it: Sprinkle on coffee or oatmeal. Weelicious Fruit on the Bottom Yogurt, Moroccan Chicken or Baked Maple Bananas

5. Pomegranate juice: Appears to lower blood pressure and loaded with antioxidants.
How to eat: Just drink it. Weelicious Pomegranate Strawberry Salad

6. Dried plums: Okay, so they are really prunes, but they are packed with antioxidants.
How to eat: Wrapped in prosciutto and baked. Wee-Granola (* just add dried plums to this recipe)

7. Pumpkin seeds: The most nutritious part of the pumpkin and packed with magnesium; high levels of the mineral are associated with lower risk for early death.
How to eat: Roasted as a snack, or sprinkled on salad. Weelicious Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

8. Sardines: Dr. Bowden calls them “health food in a can.” They are high in omega-3’s, contain virtually no mercury and are loaded with calcium. They also contain iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper and manganese as well as a full complement of B vitamins.
How to eat: Choose sardines packed in olive or sardine oil. Eat plain, mixed with salad, on toast, or mashed with Dijon mustard and onions as a spread.

9. Turmeric: The “superstar of spices,” it may have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties . (Working on it!)
How to eat: Mix with scrambled eggs or in any vegetable dish. Weelicious Tofu Salad

10. Frozen blueberries: Even though freezing can degrade some of the nutrients in fruits and vegetables, frozen blueberries are available year-round and don’t spoil; associated with better memory in animal studies . Weelicious Blueberry Cream Cheese French Toast
How to eat: Blended with yogurt or chocolate soy milk and sprinkled with crushed almonds.

11. Canned pumpkin: A low-calorie vegetable that is high in fiber and immune-stimulating vitamin A; fills you up on very few calories.
How to eat: Mix with a little butter, cinnamon and nutmeg. Weelicious Pumpkin Waffles

(This list (minus the weelicious recipes, of course) was originally published on June 30, 2008, and recently appeared on The New York Times’ list of most-viewed stories for 2009.)

This recipe only take minutes to prepare, it’s healthy and your kids will fall in love with it! We make Baked Maple Bananas for breakfast, a snack, even dessert. Get your kids in the kitchen with you to help and have some fun!

Every time I turn on the “cheesy” popcorn video for Kenya to watch, he just cracks up. He loves the beginning where we pop around like popcorn kernels getting popped. Even better than watching the video for this recipe though, is making this recipe itself. Kids and adults alike will empty bowl after bowl. It’s the perfect thing to make for an afternoon snack while you play board games, watch an old movie or cuddle up and read a good book.

Chloe’s just over 5 months old now and we’re gearing up for an exciting end of summer and fall full of baby food purees. I’ve just started freezing purees using peaches, nectarines and mangoes and we’re gearing up for butternut squash, cauliflower, sweet potatoes and so many other delicious fall fruits and veggies. I made one of Kenya’s favorites, Plum & Banana Puree, so I could freeze a batch for Chloe and put a few spoonfuls on yogurt for my little guy.

This is Chloe’s weelicious debut! I hope you like the recipe.

I want to thank you for all of your suggestions for how to make weelicious even more user friendly. When I first started weelicious, ease in navigating the site was as important a goal for me as promoting healthy eating habits. Your ideas have been great and we’ve been working hard to improve all the features you’ve asked about and more. Here are just several new things to make your time here more productive:

• Check out the new “SEARCH WEELICIOUS HERE” box on the right hand side of the screen. Now when you type in a word such as “chicken”, a list of all the weelicious recipes containing chicken will be listed. All you have to do is
click on the recipe of your choice and you will be automatically guided to it.

• If you haven’t noticed by now, there’s also a new video section in the upper right hand corner of our home page which features some of the most recent cooking videos on the site. Hopefully, these easy to find videos will show you how much fun it is to cook with kids, as well as teach you great tricks and tips for tons of delicious weelicious recipes.

• Starting later today (MAKE SURE TO CHECK BACK IN!) there will be weekly menu plans, special school lunch recipe suggestions for “back to school” and printable grocery lists to make shopping for your ingredients both simple and more cost effective. With this new feature you can select some of your favorite recipes, organize them into personalized plans and know exactly what you need to pick up while you’re at the supermarket. We’re also going to start spotlighting a “food of the week”, showing you how to make several dishes using just one main ingredient, such as chicken or rice. The goal is to help you save money, waste less, make diverse recipes featuring the same ingredient and still impress your family.

• And finally, the thing I am most excited about is our “Countdown to Chloe”! Yes, weelicious baby #2 is ready to
follow in her big brother’s footsteps and enter the exciting word of solids. With Chloe starting to eat purees any day now and Kenya off to school this fall, all I can think about is baby food, school lunches, and fast and easy meals that will leave the whole family happy.

Thank you again for all of your incredible feedback and please keep it coming. We can always make the site better and we love to hear from you!

Getting kids to eat healthy foods is one of a parents greatest challenges. I recently appeared on Ali Landry’s show, Spotlight To Nightlight, to discuss food, kids and tips for feeding little ones. It was a lot of fun to do and I hope you enjoy it!

There are THE most beautiful Santa Rosa plums at our local Farmer’s Market right now. I have to say that of all the fruits I love, when stone fruit is in season I could not be more excited. The dark purple hue of the plums is so beautiful and the meat is sweet and when pureed, perfect for a baby. I like adding banana to this recipe because it thickens the puree, adds extra nutrients such as potassium and makes a sweet food that babies adore.

You could easily peel the skin off of ripe plums and skip the step of pushing it through a sieve, but just in case your plums aren’t super soft, my directions call for simply cutting up the fruit, tossing it in the food processor and whizzing it up.

No matter how you make it, I guarantee your baby will love it!

Plum & Banana Puree (Makes 6 Baby Servings)

2 Plums, chopped and pitted
1 Banana

1. Place the ingredients in a food processor and puree.
2. Place the puree in a sieve over a bowl and using a spoon or ladle, push it through so the puree is in the bowl and plum skins remains in the sieve.
3. Serve.

We used these to make this recipe:

Cuisinart DLC-2 Mini Prep Plus Food Processor

One of the first episodes:

For the past couple of months I have been fortunate enough to have taken part in a super secret food project and I’m so excited to be able to finally share it with you!

Good Bite is a new internet show produced by Deca TV, the company that brought you Momversation. Good Bite approached a group of food bloggers to contribute video and share simple and delicious recipes. We bloggers share our ideas in “round table” discussions on all sorts of topics from easy holiday recipes to cooking for a crowd. There tends to be something for everyone in each episode and I really love my new blogger buddies! I’ve listed all of their sites on “sites we love”….because we do!

If you’re a big foodie or just want more healthy, fun and inspirational recipes, ideas and videos, check it out!

Good Bite “Meet the Contributors” Video: