I love that Kenya’s into eating sandwiches for his school lunch. I also love that figs are in season right now and they are SO naturally sweet and delicious. Figs are really cheap at our local farmers market, so I’ve been buying tons of them to eat and put in recipes throughout the week. I made a huge batch of fig puree for Kenya and Chloe to put on their yogurt and just to eat plain as a snack, but it’s so flavorful I wanted to figure out something else to do with it.

These fig and goat cheese sandwiches are heavenly. The creamy tang of the cheese mixed with the sweet of the figs, all sandwiched between two pieces of whole grain bread, makes for a magical combination and these sandwiches only take minutes to make.

If you were to send your little one off to school with one of these sammies in his lunchbox, I guarantee he’ll be the envy of all the other kids.

Fig and Goat Cheese Grilled Sandwiches (1 Sandwich or 4 Mini Sandwiches)

2-3 Tablespoons Goat Cheese
3 Tbsp Fig Puree
2 Slices of Bread, preferably whole grain
Butter (if desired)

1. Spread one slice of bread with goat cheese.
2. Spread the other slice of bread with fig puree and place the filling sides of the bread together to make a sandwich (lightly spread a bit of butter on the outside of the bread if desired).
3. Heat a panini press or a sauté pan to medium heat.
4. Cook for 3-5 minutes (on both sides if using the sauté pan, flipping half way through) or until the cheese melts.
5. Cool and serve.

At this time of year when kids are headed back to school, most moms are focused on a million things, among them, trying to put together healthy school lunches that their kids will hopefully enjoy. Though possibly even more important than what’s for lunch, is offering your little ones a meal first thing in the morning that will give them a boost of energy to get them out the door and stay focused in the classroom.

Oatmeal is not only nutritious, but also inexpensive and a real “stick to your ribs” food. It’s delicious with a bit of honey or a touch of maple syrup, but why not add some blueberries for added vitamins and sweet flavor? Berry Delicious Oatmeal is not only bright and colorful, it’s a breakfast that will send your kids off to school with a smile on their faces.

Berry Delicious Oatmeal (Serves 2)
1 Cup Water
1 Cup Milk (almond, rice, soy or cow’s milk)
1 Cup Old Fashioned Oats (Five Minute Oats)
1 Tbsp Honey, Maple Syrup or Agave Nectar
1/2 Cup Blueberries, Blackberries and/or Raspberries (fresh or frozen)

1. Bring the water and milk to a boil.
2. Add the oats, reduce to a simmer over low to medium heat, stirring occasionally, and cook for 5-7 minutes or until thick and creamy.
3. Add the honey, maple syrup or agave and berries, cook an additional minute or until the berries are warmed-through and start to pop (I like to add frozen berries so the oatmeal cools faster for kids to eat).
4. Serve.

*If serving to a baby under 1 years old, don’t use honey

It’s amazing how positively kids react when you do something as simple as changing the shape of one of their favorite foods. There’s obviously nothing that needs improving when it comes to a delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwich, BUT try mixing a bit of cream cheese into the jam, spreading it onto a flat piece of lavash, rolling it into a cylinder and then cutting it into wheels, and it becomes a totally new take on a lunchtime classic that’s even more fun to look at and eat!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Pinwheels (Serves 4)

1/4 Cup Regular or Whipped Cream Cheese
2 Tbsp Jam, Jelly or Preserves
1/3 Cup Peanut Butter, divided
Lavash, preferably whole wheat (can be found in the bread section at your grocery)

1. Place the cream cheese and jam in a bowl and combine until smooth.
2. Spread 1/2 of the peanut butter on a piece of lavash and top with 1/2 of the cream cheese/jam mixture.
3. Roll the lavash lengthwise into a roll and slice into bite-size wheels, about 1 inch each.
4. Continue to make the second pinwheel sandwich and slice.
5. Serve.

Don’t know where to start when it comes to packing a delicious and healthy school lunch. These tips, tricks and ideas will help you think outside the lunchbox making the process a breeze!

“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

The tips in this video will make preparing these Carrot Snack Sticks a total breeze even if you have no idea how to cook!

We used this to make this recipe:

Microplane Medium Ribbon Home Series Grater

“Muesli in a smoothie? That’s silly mommy!” I love that Kenya instinctively knew that this recipe was an unlikely combination, but since he loves muesli and smoothies, he was game to try it.

Muesli, is a breakfast cereal made from rolled oats, fruit and nuts, and lately, Kenya has been eating it twice a week for breakfast. Since I always top it with either milk or yogurt, I thought why not toss it all into a blender and make something nutritious, creamy and perfect for breakfast? You never know. The oddest combinations can create something that everyone will love. Not so silly now, mommy. Right?

Muesli Smoothie (Serves 2)

1 Cup Milk (Rice, Almond, Soy or Cow’s Milk are my favorites)
1 Banana
1/3 Cup Plain Yogurt (I use Greek Yogurt)
1 Cup Mango, chopped
1/2 Cup Muesli

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

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.

One of our favorite stands at our local farmer’s market is Peacock Family Farms. Kenya has been madly in love with the woman who helps run it since he was 8 months old — so much so, his name for her is “girlfriend” (he’s such a little flirt). Beside the gorgeous raisins, walnuts, almonds and peaches they sell, they also grow THE most incredibly delicious eggplant, which I love almost as much as Kenya loves “girlfriend”. With it, I make Baby Ghanoosh and Ratatouille for the family, but I bought a ton of it last week and wanted to make something special and different that I knew the kids would really enjoy.

These eggplant sticks turned out shockingly delicious. I say “shockingly” because even a couple of people I know who aren’t normally fans of eggplant ate almost all of my test batch. Crispy on the outside and creamy and tender inside, I bet even kids that say they don’t like veggies will devour them — they’re like eggplant French Fries!

I guess the biggest reason I love going to the farmer’s market as a family is that there’s always something (or someone) to fall in love with.

Eggplant Parmesan Sticks (Serves 4-6)

1 Medium Eggplant, peeled
1/3 Cup Flour
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Bread Crumbs
1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
2 Large Eggs, whisked
Canola or Olive Oil Cooking Spray
Accompaniments: 1 Cup Weelicious Tomato Sauce (or your favorite jarred Marinara)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut the eggplant into 1 inch wide by 2 inch long sticks* (1 medium eggplant makes about 40 sticks).
3. Making an “assembly line” of three bowls, place the flour and salt in the first bowl, the beaten egg in the second and bread crumbs and parmesan in the third.
4. Dip the eggplant sticks in the flour mixture, followed by the egg and then in the bread crumbs.
5. Place on a cooking rack over a baking sheet and lightly spray with cooking oil spray.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until soft inside and golden outside.
7. Serve with red sauce on the side.

*I placed the cut eggplant sticks on a paper towel for 5 minutes to absorb any moisture before dipping them.

Steamed Zucchini? Boring! Fried Zucchini? Unhealthy! Baked Zucchini Coins? Crunchy and delicious!