My mother used to make the most delicious zucchini bread. Whenever friends were coming over to our house or she needed a culinary gift, it was one of the most popular recipes in her repertoire. It’s amazing to me that a bread starring a vegetable (technically, zucchini is a fruit, but try convincing your kids of that fact) was so appealing to a kid like myself, but it was. So, if you have a little one who is normally zucchini averse, this bread may turn them around on it for good.

I don’t know why so many people have emailed me recently asking for a healthy zucchini bread recipe, but I’m happy to oblige with a weelicious version. There are a lot of zucchini bread recipes out there loaded with white or brown sugar, so I decided to make mine using agave nectar instead. I also opted to bake them in muffin cups instead of a loaf shape so it’s more kid friendly. Zucchini is a good supplier of potassium and vitamin A and it has a consistency that makes for a deliciously moist bread. When I made a batch for breakfast last week, Kenya turned into a muffin eating machine. It was then that I realized that it wasn’t important if zucchini was a fruit or a vegetable. To him, it was simply delicious.

Zucchini Muffins (12 Muffins or 24 Mini Muffins)

1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Salt
2 Eggs, whisked
1 Tsp Vanilla
1/3 Cup Vegetable or Canola Oil
2/3 Cup Agave Nectar
1 1/2 Cups Zucchini, shredded (about 2 small zucchini)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
3. Place the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl and whisk to combine.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and stir just until the ingredients are combined.
5. Pour the zucchini mixture into large or small muffins cups (I like to use a small ice cream scooper to make spooning into the muffin cups easier).
6. Bake 15 minutes for small muffins and 20 minutes for large ones.
7. Cool and serve.

Growing up in Kentucky, we ate a lot of pork. Whether it was bacon, chops or tenderloin, I loved it. My mother was always a healthy cook and considered pork “the other white meat”, and pork tenderloin was one of her favorite things to make.

When you’re looking for a healthy recipe that basically cooks itself, turn no farther than this dish. Just pull out your slow cooker, quickly sear the pork, and place everything in the pot. While you’re running errands, playing with the kids or helping them with their homework, this meal will do all the cooking for you.

Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin with Apples and Sauerkraut (Serves 6-8)

1 Tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Oil
2 Pork Tenderloins (about 1 lb. each), trimmed of any fat and silver skin
3 Apples, peeled, cored and sliced in eighths (I use an apple corer)
1/2 Cup Apple Cider
2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tbsp Fresh Thyme or 1 Tsp Dried Thyme
16 oz Sauerkraut, rinsed and drained

1. Heat the oil in a large saute pan over high heat.
2. Season the pork with 1 teaspoon of salt.
3. Add the pork to a saute pan and evenly brown all sides for a total of 4 minutes.
4. Transfer the apples and remaining ingredients to a slow cooker, stir, and top with the pork tenderloins.
5. Cook on low heat for 2 hours or until pork reaches 155 degrees on a meat thermometer.
6. Remove tenderloins and allow them to rest for 10 minutes.
6. Slice the meat and serve.

We used these to make this recipe:

Oxo Good Grips Apple Corer and Divider

This Parchment Paper Tofu recipe is not only fast to prepare, healthy and easy on the wallet, kids love to help make them and then eat them up!

Whenever I’m trying to come up with a fast recipe that’s healthy, easy on the wallet and entails little cooking and clean-up time (if that’s even possible) I make these tofu packets. They take only minutes to prepare and since every person you are cooking for gets his own packet, it makes the dish all the more special. If you want the preparation to be even faster, you could chop up the raw vegetables in the morning and keep them refrigerated until you’re ready to make the packets for dinner.

One of the greatest challenges for a parent is trying to make dinner and keep the troops happy and occupied at the same time. This recipe perfectly satisfies both of those requirements by providing a quick and delicious meal and getting your kids happily involved in the cooking process. Just place the parchment “books” in front of your little one and let them help you layer the veggies and sauce into each one before you fold them up and pop them in the oven. This way kids have a little more control over their dinner because they actually got to help make the food they will put into their bodies. They are the authors of their own books!

Tofu Packets (Serves 4)

1 14 oz Package Firm or Extra Firm Tofu
1/4 Cup Miso
2 Tsp Sesame Oil
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce (I use low sodium)
1 Tbsp Rice Vinegar
1 Tbsp Honey
4 Scallions, sliced thin
1 Red Bell Pepper, sliced thin
5 Shiitake Mushrooms (3.5 oz. package)
Sesame Seeds to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Drain the water off of the tofu and wrap in a kitchen towel or paper towels and place something heavy on top of the tofu for 10 minutes (this is to remove as much liquid as possible from the tofu).
3. Combine the miso, sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar and honey in a bowl and stir to combine.
4. Place 4 12 inch pieces of parchment on a counter top and fold in half like a book.
5. Quarter the tofu and cut each quarter into 5 equal slices (you will have 20 total).
6. Layer 5 slices of tofu with a quarter of the scallions, red bell pepper and mushrooms on one side of the parchment paper.
7. Drizzle with the sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds to taste.
8. Place the top of the parchment over the ingredients closing the “book”.
9. Starting at one end of the parchment, fold the edges of the paper over several times continuing to make creases all around the tofu until it’s completely enclosed and no air can escape.
10. Place on a cookie sheet.
11. Bake for 15 minutes.
12. Cut open top to let out steam. Be careful, it’s hot!
13. Serve.

As most of you know, I’m a big proponent of eating seasonally because you get the freshest, most delicious fruits and vegetables at the best price. But in today’s age of being able to get whatever you want, whenever you want it, you can usually go to your local market at any time of year to get whatever produce you want, even if it is not being grown at that time of year — say, an apple in the middle of summertime. If you live in the United States, that apple has likely been flown thousands of miles to your supermarket via South Africa (don’t get me started on how much fuel and money is spent just for that to happen).

But it is fall now, and all across the country, sweet potatoes and apples are in season. If you live somewhere in the northeast like New York or Vermont, you can probably find over a dozen different varieties of apples at your local farmer’s market. I’m in southern California and I counted six different varieties at mine last weekend . Most of the kids I know love apples and sweet potatoes so I decided to make a super easy and delicious side dish for the holidays. It only takes minutes to prepare and if you’re having people over, doubling or even tripling the recipe is simple.

And remember, in more ways than one: ’tis the season.

Sweet Potato and Apple Casserole (Serves 4)

2 Large Sweet Potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2 Large Apples (Gala, Fuji, or other sweet cooking apples), peeled, cored and cut into chunks
2 Tbsp Butter, melted
3 Tbsp Maple Syrup
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Cinnamon
1/4 Tsp Nutmeg
1 Cup Apple Juice

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine.
3. Place the sweet potato/apple mixture in a buttered 13 x 9 inch baking dish.
4. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
5. Uncover, stir and bake an additional 20-30 minutes or until tender.
6. Serve.

No matter how much you try to impose moderation in your home, when it comes to Halloween and kids — it’s all about the sugar. You can hope for the best that your neighbors will be pushing dried fruit over M&M’s, but if you’re a realist you’ll accept the fact that chocolate and candy will be the treats of choice and that this is one day of the year that is very likely out of your control.

When you know your kids are going to be overdosing on the sweet stuff, you also want them to get something healthy and delicious in their little tummies. Making the foods you give them fun and exciting enough to compete with all those sugary sweets will definitely help your cause. These pumpkin milkshakes are really easy to prepare and a great way to get your kids (and you) involved in making something festive for the holiday.

Pumpkin is packed with vitamin A, potassium and beta carotene which is important for eyesight (especially important for little ones when they’re out chasing candy in the dark!).

So, when you want to make a special treat for your little pumpkins this Halloween, think like a pumpkin and try whipping up some of these milkshakes. They won’t cure your kids of their cravings for candy, but they should disappear just as quickly.

Pumpkin Shakes (Serves 2)

1/2 Cup Pumpkin (I used canned)
1 Cup Rice, Almond or Cow’s Milk (I used vanilla rice milk)
Pinch Cinnamon
Pinch Nutmeg
1 Tbsp Agave Nectar

1. Place all the ingredients in a blender.
2. Puree until smooth.
3. Serve.

After watching this video, you’ll see how easy it is to make steamed artichokes!

I never really thought about giving kids artichokes until Kenya saw me prepping them for my dinner one night and demanded that I let him help. I had bought some gorgeous baby purple artichokes at the farmers market and I let Kenya pull off the outer leaves while I prepped the bigger ones. I’m a big believer that if you get kids involved in what you’re making by giving them an activity, they’re more likely to try the end result. Kenya had a blast and was actually a big help to me at the same time.
I make artichokes almost every Sunday night. They’re especially delicious this time of year and their sweet meat tastes even better when dipped into this yogurt sauce. I love serving them with steamed or grilled fish so you can dip the fish in the sauce, too. The more things to dip, the happier kids will be!

Artichokes with Yogurt-Lemon Dipping Sauce

4 Large Artichokes
1/2 Cup Yogurt (I like to use Greek Yogurt, whole milk, 2% or 0%)
Juice of 1 Lemon
1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
1/2 Tsp Salt

1. Place a steamer insert into a large pot filled with 2 inches of water.
2. Bring to a boil.
3. Cut top 1/4 and bottom stem off of large artichokes with a serrated knife. If leaves have prickly or barbed ends, trim them off with scissors. If you are using baby artichokes, remove some of the tough outer leaves, until you hit the pale green leaves (about 10-20 leaves). Trim off top and bottom stem of baby artichokes.
4. Place large artichokes in the steamer pot stem end up, cover and cook over medium-high heat for 30 minutes or until the leaves peel off the artichoke easily and the base of the artichoke is tender when pierced with a knife. Cook the baby artichokes in the same way for 10 minutes or until the stem is easily pierced with a knife.
5. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and whisk.
6. Serve the artichokes with the yogurt dip.
*When eating the large artichokes, you want to pull off the leaves and eat the “meat” off of the bottom half of each leaf, discarding the leaves. Once you’ve eaten all of the leaves, you will have the artichoke heart remaining. With a knife or spoon, scrape out and discard the inedible fuzzy part (called the “choke”) covering the artichoke heart. The remaining bottom of the artichoke is the heart. Cut into pieces and dip into sauce to eat.

Today I met a weelicious mom with two beautiful 15 month-old twin boys. She is fairly new to the site and asked me to recommend some past weelicious recipes that her kids might enjoy. Baby Frittatas were the first thing that came to mind. We’re observing President’s Day at my house, but since I was inspired today, I thought I’d post this “oldie” but goodie. Enjoy the holiday and eat well!

Baby Frittatas (Makes 12 Baby Frittatas)

3 Large Eggs
2 Tbsp Milk
2 Tbsp Parmesan, grated
1/4 Cup Asparagus, diced
3 Sun Dried Tomatoes, packed in oil and diced

1. Preheat the oven 375 degrees.
2. Spray or grease mini muffin tins with oil or butter.
3. Whisk the eggs and milk together. Add the cheese, tomatoes and
vegetables.
4. Add a heaping tablespoon of egg/vegetable mixture to each muffin cup.
5. Bake for 12-14 minutes.
6. Cool and serve.

How many of you remember your mom or dad opening a can of Campbell’s vegetable soup for you when you were little? I still vividly remember the sound of the can opener popping the top off, seeing the orange grease on the inside rim of the can and watching it plop it into the soup pot to be heated. Minutes later I would be swirling my spoon in the soup trying to figure out which letter or number was which and trying to eat (or save, depending on the day) my favorites. I also remember actually finding it to be “fun food”.

Well, no more Campbell’s for me, thank you very much. Just look at the side of the can and look at all of those unnecessary ingredients. I can’t even pronounce half of them! Surprise, surprise, I make my own, especially since this recipe takes no time to prepare, freezes beautifully and is perfect on cold winter nights. It’s also a great choice when you’re trying to get your kids to eat vegetables, but they’re being resistant. I find soup in general to be a great way to get kids to eat and alphabet soup is especially fun for them because they can actually learn and participate in their meal. Kenya is just shy of 2 years old and can’t spell yet, but he definitely took notice of all those recognizable letters that he’s used to seeing in his books. He chugged this yummy soup like it was a glass of water. Need I say more!

Alphabet Soup (Serves 6)

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Small Onion, finely diced
1 Stalk Celery, finely chopped
1 Large Carrot, finely chopped
1 Yukon Gold or Waxy Potato, peeled and chopped
1 Tsp Salt
1 14 Oz. Can Diced Tomatoes
1 32 Oz Box Vegetable or Chicken Stock
1 Bay Leaf
1/2 Cup Letter Pasta
1/2 Cup Corn (I used frozen)
1/2 Peas (I used frozen)

1. Heat the oil in a medium sized pot and saute the onion, celery, carrot, potatoes and salt for 4 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes, stock and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce and cook for 15 minutes.
3. Bring the heat back to a boil, add the pasta and cook for 5 minutes. Add the corn and peas and cook for an additional 5-6 minutes or until pasta is tender.
4. Serve.