Kids Food / Snacks / Sweet Treats

Real Strawberry Lemonade

What is Strawberry Lemonade?  If we asked the restaurant where we had lunch last weekend, they would tell us it’s lemonade with three pumps of artificially flavored strawberry syrup.  Ugh.  After watching my son slurp down this horrible concoction, I knew I couldn’t let that be his lasting memory of Strawberry Lemonade.  I needed to give him a fresh alternative.

When we got home, I got to work with my kids in the kitchen.  We pulled a basket of strawberries from the fridge, picked some lemons from the tree in the backyard and started mixing.  This is not your average pump-of-strawberry-syrup Strawberry Lemonade.  This thirst quenching treat is chock full of organic strawberries and fresh squeezed lemonade. (more…)

2 Comments
08/03/2011
Fresh Squeezed Lemonade – Just a Pinch of Sugar
Kids Food / Snacks / Sweet Treats

Fresh Squeezed Lemonade – Just a Pinch of Sugar

With summer comes childhood memories of long afternoons running through sprinklers, playing quietly in secret forts underneath the thick shady branches of trees, and hours of endless planning  and construction of the perfect lemonade stand.  Do you also have memories of sitting at the end of a driveway, collecting dimes and the occasional quarter as you poured Dixie cups full of cool lemonade for neighbors and passers by?  I’m not sure how many times I actually followed through, but I certainly remember the planning and thought while underneath the shade of a tree – and I definitely remember drinking most of the profits.

Now that I have my own kids, I know those hours of lemonade stand planning are just around the corner.  But I don’t want to turn to the old frozen-lemonade-from-concentrate standby.  I want to make it fresh and natural.  For the cost of a half dozen lemons and a bit of sugar, you can make fresh squeezed lemonade with your children which will be a healthy part of a fun activity and memory with you. (more…)

2 Comments
07/31/2011
Breakfast Table / Snacks / Sweet Treats

Red, White & Blue – And Chocolate Too

Happy 4th of July!  Though we are still in the process of updating our site in the redesign, I wanted to share a fun, kid friendly breakfast/dessert (yes, you read this correctly) that my son created in an attempt to convince my husband and I that he needed dessert the other night.  His creation was so delicious and nutritious, that it earned proud placement as this week’s post.  Enjoy! (more…)

2 Comments
07/03/2011
What’s in McDonald’s French Fries?
Dinner Table / Kids Food / On the Go / Snacks

What’s in McDonald’s French Fries?

McDonald’s French Fries.  As American as apple pie and corn on the cob.  As common as state fairs in the summertime.  I actually think it might be difficult to find an American who has never popped (or more accurately, crammed) those spears of crisp, salty potato into their mouths.  If you are one of those people, I applaud you.  I wish I could say the same.  Back in our McDonald’s days, (I’m happy to report my family is now MDPF – McDonald’s Product Free), I would feed my children those little nuggets of “chicken” making sure they had eaten a few fries to round out the meal (I literally gag as I remember).  One of the many things I didn’t know then is how many ingredients actually go into those puffs of salty decadence.   French Fries should contain potatoes, oil and salt.  They may not be a health food, but they should be natural.  McDonald’s French Fries are as natural as…well, they’re just not. (more…)

15 Comments
06/30/2011
Dessert Turned Main Dish – Whole Wheat Strawberry Cake
Kids Food / Lunch Box / Snacks / Sweet Treats

Dessert Turned Main Dish – Whole Wheat Strawberry Cake

One of the not-so-guilty pleasures of being a food blogger is the ability (and necessity) to set aside time to peruse many of the fabulous food blogs out there.  Today I happened upon Fork Spoon Knife and Smitten Kitchen.  What beautiful sites filled with mouth-watering food photography and delicious recipes.  Both sites had photos of similar desserts that caught my eye.  Fork Spoon Knife had one for a Strawberry Buttermilk Cake while Smitten Kitchen had photos of their Summer Strawberry Cake.  In both sets of photos the strawberries peeked out of golden brown puffed cakes, just begging to be eaten.  I knew then and there, that we would be the ones to eat them.  I had strawberries and buttermilk just waiting in my fridge for a good use.  But there was only one problem – we didn’t need dessert, we needed dinner.  So what’s a mom to do?  I upped the nutrition ante of course! (more…)

2 Comments
05/29/2011