3-Ingredient Tropical Green Smoothie

I did the math: over a few fervent years in the mid-2000s, I drank around 1,500 green smoothies. We lived in San Diego at the time, where for a dollar, you could buy a bunch of organic parsley the size of a broom. I'd fill our grocery basket with strawberries and Valencia oranges and misty, sparkling bunches of spinach and kale. Then I'd strap everything to the back of my bike and ride home along the Pacific Beach boardwalk. Oh, those memories! Misty and sparkling indeed.

We were years from starting a family, but I knew I was drinking green smoothies for the sake of our future kids. Smoothies were a gateway to healthy eating for me, and they can be a powerful tool for kids, too, on their path to enjoying dark green leafy veggies.

Here's one of my favorite smoothie combinations, which provides a delicious and effortless serving of fresh fruit and greens. It's rich in Vitamin K, folate, fiber, and Vitamin C, and its tropical sweetness will win over all of kid-kind. You do NOT need a high-powered blender for this recipe; the spinach leaves are tender enough that any old lemon will grind them up.

Drink up, little ones! Cheers to Spring!

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3-Ingredient Tropical Green Smoothie
Makes ~ 1 pint

1 frozen banana
1 cup fresh pineapple
2 packed cups fresh, raw spinach (more if you like!)

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor with 1/2 cup of cold water.  Blend until completely smooth and enjoy immediately.

Tamari Tofu Steaks

10:30pm. Dinosaur footie pajamas. Darwin is still awake, sitting backwards in a chair, watching me make tofu. I whisk the glossy marinade with a fork, then press dry each tofu slice with a flour sack towel.

"Mama's making tofu," Darwin calls down the hall to his Daddy. Bedtime isn't happening, but we're making do: I'm getting ahead with food prep while Triceratops Toes chatters and stalls. Someday he won't want to hang out with me when it's late and he's fighting sleep. I remind myself of this while I slip the fragrant pan into the oven.

I set the oven timer. Waiting time.

What is tofu, really? Don't laugh. I always forget and have to look it up. Tofu starts when whole soybeans are soaked, ground, and mixed with water. The resulting soy milk is coagulated with a salt (magnesium chloride) and the curds are pressed and cut into blocks. That's it. Even though it looks suspiciously modern and geometrical in its little plastic bathtub, tofu is a traditional, minimally-processed food, and one with tasty potential.

This recipe is our favorite preparation. The little steaks are sweet and salty, chewy and quick-to-make. We like them best cold, cut into rectangles and skewered with a food pick. They're a convenient, sustaining and sustainable protein, perfect on a snack plate of veggies or at breakfast-time, in place of eggs.

It's 11:15pm now, and somewhere between the flipping of the tofu and its cooling en route to the fridge, Darwin has wandered back into his room and fallen asleep. The monitor in the baby's room reports silence. The day is almost done.

So here it is: my Put-The-Kids-To-Bed, Bang-Out-A-Batch-Of-Tofu recipe. Everyone has one of those, right? No? Well, have mine.

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Tamari Tofu Steaks
Makes ~12 tofu steaks

1 14-16oz container firm tofu
2 Tbls. tamari or soy sauce
1 Tbls. sesame oil
1 Tbls. unsweetened rice vinegar
1 Tbls. honey or real maple syrup
dash onion powder
dash garlic powder

Preheat the oven to 400, and line an aluminum cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Drain tofu, and slice into thin rectangles.

Using a clean flour sack towel or a few paper towels, press the slices of tofu gently but firmly, until they give up most of their water.

In a small bowl, whisk together all remaining ingredients.

Dredge each piece of tofu in the marinade, then place it on the cookie sheet. Space the steaks roughly evenly. Save any leftover marinade.

Bake for 15 minutes, then flip the steaks and drizzle any remaining marinade on them. (Try to avoid letting the marinade pool on the baking sheet; it will burn.)

Bake for another 15 minutes, then remove the steaks and let them cool slightly before serving. Or, cool completely and chill for later.

Sweet Potato Peanut Butter Whip

Mamas and Papas with infants, this short, sweet post is for you!

When our son was an infant, our pediatrician gave us this standard advice: avoid feeding your baby peanuts during his first year, to protect him from developing a peanut allergy. But a new study out this week found that babies who eat peanuts regularly throughout infancy have an 80% LOWER risk of developing peanut allergies.

Reading the news, I began reminiscing about the sweet, whipped snack that Darwin loved to eat as a young toddler. It comes together in a minute and offers a miniature hit of Vitamin A, protein, and healthy fats. The creamy sweet potato tames the stickiness of the peanut butter, so even young babies can gum and swallow it easily. And if it helps prevent peanut allergies, too? Awesome!

My daughter Nova still breastfeeds exclusively, but I think she'll love this colorful little meal when the time comes for solids.

In the meantime, my son polished off this serving after I finished taking pictures. "We should have this more often, Mama."

Deal.

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Sweet Potato Peanut Butter Whip
Makes one baby meal

1/4 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato
1-2 tsp. creamy, natural peanut butter (look for an ingredients list with only peanuts and salt.)

Heat the sweet potato gently, and stir in the peanut butter. For babies new to solids, you may thin the mixture with a small amount of water or breast milk. Serve immediately.

Chicken-Veggie Quinoa Bake (Gluten Free)

Most of the time, my family prefers simple, plant-based foods. We like beans and vegetables and whole grains, accented by a small something rich, like cheese or meat or homemade bone broth. We appreciate simplicity and humbleness from our meals. Most of the time. Like, 80% of the time.

The other 20% of the time, we want, well, something exactly like this. It's not humble. It's not stylish. It's not a culinary adventure. It's a big, creamy, chicken-y, heartland casserole. (Who am I kidding calling it a "bake." We all know it's a casserole, in all it's 1960's glory.) Give it to us.

And you should try it, too, because it's delicious. And because, despite its indulgent nature, its seemingly impossibly coziness, this creamy casserole dishes out a happy array of whole foods you want in your family's belly: cruciferous veggies (two of 'em!), carrots, celery, onions, full-fat dairy (why?), and 100% whole grains.

This quinoa bake (please let me try to be cool) is so very rich, I always serve it with some crunchy, raw, salad-type thing on the side. My son can't get enough balsamic vinegar, so a little bowl of cucumbers and bell peppers in vinaigrette is just the thing.

Then it's time to dig in...

Enjoy!

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Chicken-Veggie Quinoa Bake
Serves 4

2 cups cooked quinoa
1 + 1/2 cups cooked chicken, diced
1/2 a large sweet onion
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
2-3 celery stalks, chopped
1 cup broccoli florets, chopped small
1 cup cauliflower florets, chopped small
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar (we shred fresh from a block)
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 cup stock or water
1 cup whole wheat or gluten-free bread crumbs (We make our own from oven-dried Ezekial bread--do try!)
roughly-chopped fresh parsley, to garnish

Preheat the oven to 375.

In a large, deep-sided pan over medium heat, saute celery, onion, and carrots in a swirl of EVOO until they begin to soften, about 7-10 minutes.

Add the garlic, broccoli, and cauliflower to the pan, and cook until the crucifers soften, another five minutes or so.

Stir in the quinoa, chicken, dried herbs, and salt, and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine the cheese, sour cream, and stock or water. Whisk, then pour the mixture over the quinoa, stirring well to combine everything.

Spoon the casserole into a baking dish (For one big casserole, try a 9 x 13 dish. I usually make several "personal" casseroles.)

Sprinkle breadcrumbs across the top and bake for 20-30 minutes, until the casserole is bubbling and the breadcrumbs are toasted.

Scatter with parsley and serve immediately.

Fruit-Sweetened Granola Gorp

“Gorp for dinner, gorp for lunch, gorp for breakfast, gorp for brunch. Gorp for every single meal, why can’t we have some GROP!” Darwin laughs each time we sing him this nonsensical riff on Misfits lyrics. He accuses us of singing it wrong at the end: “No, it’s GORP!”

Truthfully, I don’t think he’d complain if we served him this toasty, whole grain, energy-dense snack at every meal.

As the holidays approached, I went on a hunt for a truly healthy, delicious granola that I could gift in mason jars to friends and family. I tried a batch of Mark Bittman’s “Good Morning Gorp,” but it didn’t excite me. I still love you, Mark. But I wanted more flavor and richness from my gorp. I added virgin coconut oil, extra nuts and seeds, more flaked coconut, vanilla, and a pinch of cinnamon. Then I threw the whole mess into the oven to toast and set those flavors, and bingo: a brilliantly filling, protein-rich, whole-grain, fruit-sweetened cereal that tastes wonderful on top of whole plain yogurt or in a bowl all by itself.

This recipe has thrived beyond its origins as a holiday gift. The gorp jar is a permanent fixture in our own fridge now, replacing store-bought muesli. And since gorp-making is all about scooping and dumping and stirring and ingredient-munching, it’s great fun to include little ones in replenishing the family's supply.

Enjoy.

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Fruit-Sweetened Granola Gorp
Fills 1 quart jar

1.5 cups dry rolled oats
1 cup nuts (raw or dry-roasted peanuts, almonds, pecans, walnuts, etc.)
⅓ cup raw pepitas or sunflower seeds
½ cup unsweetened flaked coconut
1 cup dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, cherries, chopped dates, chopped apricots, etc.)
¼ cup virgin coconut oil, warmed to liquid
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch cinnamon
sprinkle of sea salt

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large mixing bowl, toss oats, nuts, seeds, and coconut.

In a separate, small bowl, stir together oil and vanilla.

Drizzle oil and vanilla mixture over oat mixture and toss to combine.

Sprinkle the oat mixture with cinnamon, and spread thinly on a cookie sheet. (I use an aluminum cookie sheet lined with a silicone mat.)

Bake for 5 minutes. Toss the mixture around a bit, then bake for 3-4 minutes more.

Transfer oats back to the mixing bowl and stir in dried fruit. Sprinkle with sea salt.

Cool and eat; refrigerate the leftovers.

Stovetop Baked Beans

Does time move quickly, or slowly? How many years ago did I bike down the boardwalk of San Diego's Pacific Beach, past miles of sunbathers and crystal waves, to Trader Joe's on Garnet Avenue, to buy my favorite baked beans?

How many months ago did I slump in my wintry Long Island kitchen, plagued with morning sickness and craving those tender, syrupy beans I had only ever eaten from a can?

Darwin, former dollop, former question mark, seems to catapults toward his fourth birthday. Our second baby rolls in my belly, nine weeks from her due date. Time slides back and forth like a Matchbox car on the kitchen floor.

I'm starting to plan ahead some freezer meals, so we can try to eat together and well in the dazed, early weeks after the baby arrives.

Space is limited, but these baked beans have earned their spot in the freezer. I modified the recipe (heavily) from this one, shortening the cooking time and halving the amount of molasses to no ill effect.

The beans are deliciously smooth and flavorful. Navy beans simmered from scratch have the best mouthfeel, if I can borrow some wine-speak. Plus, they offer lots of fiber, protein, and a double hit of iron in combination with the molasses.

Here are a few reasons to make baked beans from scratch, rather than opening a can:
You can drastically reduce the amount of added sweeteners.
You can use iron-rich molasses instead of empty-calorie sugars like HFCS or brown sugar.
You can minimize your exposure to toxic can-liners like BPA.
You can make a big, hearty batch for big broods or freezing.

The bacon is totally optional, but a little fat rounds out the meal. Shredded cheddar melted on toast is another good accompaniment.

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Stovetop Baked Beans
Serves 6

1 pound dry navy beans, soaked overnight, rinsed and drained
1 sweet or yellow onion, chopped small
1 cup tomato sauce (we like Muir Glen)
1/4 cup unsulfured molasses
2 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbls. butter
2 bay leaves
cooked bacon, for garnish (optional)

Cook navy beans until tender, along with the bay leaves. We do this in a pressure cooker, but you may also simmer them in a heavy pot with water for about an hour. Drain the beans, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking water.

In a large, heavy pot, sauté the onion in the butter on medium-low heat until starting to brown and caramelize, 15-20 minutes.

Add the drained beans, tomato sauce, dry mustard, salt, and molasses, and stir to combine.

Simmer beans for ten minutes to blend flavors. If the beans seem dry or begin to stick, add the reserved cooking liquid.

Serve as is, or top with bacon or shredded cheddar cheese.

Whole Fruit Frozen Yogurt Bites

If you shop in a supermarket, you know there's an utterly dizzying selection of flavored yogurts out there. You've seen the tubes and pouches, the fruit-on-the-bottoms, and the rainbow cups topped with helmets of chocolate and sugary granola. These products are heavily-marketed (Probiotics! Fruit! Low Fat!) and designed to make us feel like good eaters and good parents, if only we buy them. They are rosy, cozy, Thomas Kinkade, Painter of Light yogurts. Are you suspicious yet? You should be.

You have to stoop to pick up the good stuff, because it's usually on the bottom shelf, only the lid visible. Whole, and plain. Tart, rich, and creamy with the fat that belongs in it. A milk-white, empty canvas. Because yogurt shines when YOU doll it up a little, in your own kitchen, with simple, fresh ingredients.

On a hot day, these treats hit all the right notes: frosty, fun, and colorful, fruity and sweet-tart. They start to lose their shape out of the freezer fairly quickly, so I like to grab a few at a time and put them into a little dish for Darwin. The worst-case scenario is your shapes melt, and you have to eat a thick swirl of real-food soft serve. Torture!

If you have any leftover mixture, pour it into a glass and stick a straw in it. Do.

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Whole Fruit Frozen Yogurt Bites

1 ripe banana (frozen is OK)
1 cup whole plain yogurt
1/2 cup frozen fruit (blueberries, raspberries, cherries, mango, etc)
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1-2Tbls honey, optional for babies over one year

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor, and blend until smooth. Pour mixture into candy molds or make dollops on a parchment-paper lined cookie sheet. Freeze and enjoy.

Here is a link to the molds that made the yogurt bites pictured. A word of caution: it is a very, very tiny mold, so you don't get much yogurt in these shapes without making several batches, or owning several molds.