Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Another way to use the flour blend recipe (posted today). If you don't want to use the flour blend, you can still make these whole wheat choco chip cookies. They are delicious! You would never know they differ from a regular chocolate chip cookie. And the extra whole grains make them healthy - right?!?! Enjoy!

p.s. this recipe is NOT from Sneaky Chef, but rather inspired by allrecipes. The Sneaky chef called for white bean puree. I'm not sure I am THAT adventurous with my baking!?

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 6 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups Flour Blend (or - use 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup AP flour)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper (or grease).
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars until smooth (at 2-3 minutes). Stir in vanilla and egg.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour blend, baking soda and salt. Gradually add the blend flour mixture into creamed mixture. Try not to over-stir. Fold in chocolate chips.
4. Drop cookie dough by round spoonfuls, or roll into balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, or until just browning on edges. Allow to cool on cookie sheet before transferring to wire rack for cooling completely (*TIP FROM HEALTHY MOMMA - I like to put my cookies away slightly warm.....that way they will stay moist and not go crunchy! Just leave the container slightly open for about 30 minutes, so the moisture can escape.) Serve and ENJOY!

Corn (and Veggie) Muffins

Okay, sticking with the theme of sneaky chef today! Here's their recipe for "Complete Corn Muffins". I modified it slightly, since my puree was a bit different than called for. I took their tip and added a few chocolate chips on top (which the boys placed on themselves) as a luring method to get my boys to eat these! It worked and they were gobbled up. Big D can expect these as his snack at school tomorrow! Enjoy!

Corn (and Veggie) Muffins

• 1/2 cup Flour Blend (see previous recipe OR use 1/4 cup each AP flour and whole wheat flour)
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 cup sneaky puree (see recipe from Sept 7th)
• optional toppings - chocolate chips, shredded cheese, etc

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line or grease muffin tin (I used a mini muffin tin).
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour blend, cornmeal, baking powder and soda, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, oil and puree until well combined.
3. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry and mix just until flour is moistened.
4. Scoop batter into muffin cups until just about full. Top with chocolate chips or cheese (or nothing). Bake big muffins for 22-24 minutes, mini muffins for 8-10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean.
5. Let cool, serve and ENJOY!

Flour Blend

Here's a recipe straight from the Sneaky Chef. You can substitute this flour blend in recipes that call for AP (or whole wheat) flour. The addition of the wheat germ adds extra nutrients and fibre. Once mixed, store this blend in a sealed jar or bag.

Flour Blend

• 1 cup AP flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup wheat germ

1. Whisk together flours and wheat germ in a bowl. Place in storage container, add to recipes and ENJOY!

Sneaky Pasta Sauce

So my first attempt at sneaking some extra veggies in went relatively well. I didn't mind the taste, Big D inhaled his pasta, Little D was impartial, but M caught on instantly that something was off and gagged slightly when he discovered the addition to be carrots. He's not a fan of cooked ones IN something. A little parm cheese helped and he ate his meal right up. So this is the recipe for the sauce. It uses leftover sauce from last night's chicken, with the addition of my first sneaky puree. Enjoy!

Sneaky Pasta Sauce

• 1 lb penne noodles, cooked
• 2 1/2 cups Fresh Tomato and Basil Sauce (see recipe from Sept 6th - OR use any homemade tomato sauce)
• 1 cup Carrot and Cauliflower puree (see previous post)
• 1/4 cup fresh parmesan cheese, grated
• s&p (optional)

1. In a large pot, stir together tomato sauce and puree. Heat over med heat until just starting to boil. Add in cooked penne noodles and heat an additional 2 minutes.
2. Serve pasta on a large plate, top with some parm cheese and s&p if desired, pair with bread, salad, and/or wine and ENJOY!

Sneaky Puree

I was recently at the library with my boys and we were perusing the cookbook section. We were searching for kid friendly cookbooks, when I stumbled across The Sneaky Chef. I have heard of this before but never paid too much attention, since my boys are generally pretty good at eating their veggies. I did of course instantly think of the blog, so grabbed the book and gave it a quick once over. The first section has a bunch of different purees you can make, each sorted by colours. These various purees are called for in the next section, as additions to the recipes. I took a look at what we had on hand and made a puree of my own (I didn't go with similar coloured veggies, as you'll see). It reminded me of my babyfood making days! Tonight I added this puree to our pasta sauce, and reserved the rest in the fridge. Watch for it in some upcoming recipes. Perhaps you need a little help getting veggies in your kids', or even husband's, tummies. Sneaking them might just be the answer ;) Enjoy!

Carrot and Cauliflower Puree

• 4 cups cauliflower florets
• 4 cups chopped carrots, peeled
• 3 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

1. Steam cauliflower and carrots until tender. Place in food processor, add lemon juice and water, then puree until completley smooth. Add to receipe or eat as is! ENJOY!

Fresh Tomato and Basil Chicken

Here's another way to use up those garden tomatoes! I made this sauce using 4 different kinds of tomatoes. So fresh and so yummy! Enjoy!

Fresh Tomato and Basil Chicken

• 6 large tomatoes, quatered
• 10 basil leaves, ripped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp EVOO
• s&p
• 2-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil casserole dish.
2. Place all ingredients except chicken into food processor. Process for 20 seconds. Transfer sauce to a resealable container. Chill until ready to use (you can make this sauce ahead of time).
3. Lay chicken breasts in casserole dish. Top each breast with 1/3 cup of the sauce. Reserve any extra sauce in the fridge (and use tomorrow on top of pasta for a quick dinner!).
4. Bake chicken in preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until chicken is fully cooked.
5. Serve over pasta or rice and ENJOY!

Oat 'n Bran Raspberry Muffins

Today I was feeling inspired to make some healthy snack options for the boys. I decided to make muffins, and chose raspberry, since all the boys in this house love baked goods with raspberries. M really likes berry bran, so I took a recipe for regular raspberry muffins and modified it to be "healthier". Not only are these muffins healthy, they are REALLY tasty, too! Enjoy!

Jenno's Oat 'n Bran Raspberry Muffins

• 1 cup spelt flour
• 3/4 cup quick oats
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup oat bran
• 1/4 cup spelt bran
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup fresh raspberries

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with paper cups, or lightly grease.
2. In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients, except raspberries, until well combined. Stir in raspberries at the end. Gently break the raspberries while stirring/mixing them into batter.
3. Scoop batter into muffin tray, filling each cup 3/4 of the way. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until toothpick in centre comes out clean.
4. Let cool slightly, serve and ENJOY!