Whole Grain Cheese Gougères
Kids Food / Lunch Box / On the Go / Snacks

Whole Grain Cheese Gougères

At a cooking class up in Sonoma, California a few weeks ago, I learned how to make a Pâte à Choux from chef and culinary instructor, Christa Resing-Colardo.  As she taught us how to create this versatile dough used for a number of pastries such as profiteroles, churros, eclairs, beignets and Gougères, my mind immediately began to churn.  Kids love anything “mini” and if enriched with whole grain flours, this dough could become the packaging for lunch box sandwiches, snacks, mini treats…the possibilities were endless. (more…)

2 Comments
03/31/2012
Kids Food / Sweet Treats

Kicking Off Out of the Box Food’s Holiday Cookie Month!

I love the holidays.  The air gets cold and crisp, colored lights twinkle from trees, the kids get excited and I get to bake! There is just something magical that happens when the kitchen is warm from the oven and the house is filled with the sweet smell of vanilla and cinnamon.  But do the crisp cookies and sumptuous cakes need to be unhealthy?  Not at all!  With a few simple adjustments, our holiday treats can be both delicious and nutritious. (more…)

5 Comments
12/04/2011
Breakfast Table / Kids Food / Lunch Box / On the Go

Pumpkin Muffins – A Fall Breakfast Treat

The first day sugar pumpkins were displayed in the market, my children HAD to have them.  They couldn’t wait to make Pumpkin Pasties ala Harry Potter, pumpkin pie, and all the delicious fall pumpkin treats.  So we bought them…and made lots of pumpkin puree.

After reaching out to my Facebook community for Sunday morning breakfast ideas, Joelle’s suggestion of a pumpkin loaf reminded me that I had tons of pumpkin puree in the refrigerator.  It was time to create a new pumpkin treat for my family.  Muffins are great warm, right out of the oven, but they’re also a delicious addition to the lunch box and I’m always in need of lunch box ideas!  These Pumpkin muffins are paired with another ingredient I turn to often in the fall, pure maple syrup.  The combination of the pumpkin and the maple really come together to make a delicious, lightly sweetened muffin. (more…)

7 Comments
10/16/2011
Ahoy Mateys! The Healthy Cookie Conundrum.
Kids Food / On the Go / Sweet Treats

Ahoy Mateys! The Healthy Cookie Conundrum.

Cookies are such an easy treat.  They can be packed in a lunch box, stuffed in a mouth or held in even the tiniest of hands.  But why fill those little hands and mouths with hydrogenated oil and high fructose corn syrup when you can bake an easy, fresh, and delicious treat which, by the way, tastes even better warm with a tall glass of milk!

Packaged cookies are a convenience that I’d guess most (if not all) of us have purchased at one time or another.  They must be a viable money maker based on the number of brands and varieties that fill nearly an entire supermarket aisle.  Yet, when I compared the ingredients on packaged cookies to those we can make fresh…well, there is no comparison. (more…)

2 Comments
02/13/2011
Kids Food / Sweet Treats

Ice Cream Sandwich and Pimple Cream: The Common Ingredient

You ready for this one?  I’m not even sure if I’m ready to write about it, but it is DEFINITELY a food story that needs to be told.  Over the summer I took my boys to a popular indoor playground in Los Angeles.  You know the ones where your kids climb, swing, slide and basically wreak havoc for several hours in a padded room while you try desperately to tune out the constant drone of screaming?  Yup, that’s the one. (more…)

4 Comments
10/03/2010