Over the next couple of weeks, we will be posting recipes you may have seen before as we transition into our newly designed site. Thank you for your patience, and feel free to use this as an excuse to try recipes you may have missed the first time around.
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…)
Who doesn’t love cookies? I’m a big fan of the cookie and here’s a cookie that’s been around for almost one hundred years: Mother’s brand Oatmeal Cookies. Well the cookie itself hasn’t been around that long, (though with preservatives these days…) I digress. Mother’s brand cookies have been a staple on supermarket shelves for nearly one hundred years, yet their ingredients are anything but wholesome. (more…)
Spring is here, and with it comes one of the most recognizable candy confections to grace the supermarket shelves…Marshmallow Peeps. Those little pastel colored puffs of artificial flavor fill many Easter baskets and young tummies each year. But perhaps it’s time to consider what those little bunnies and chicks are actually made of. As we discussed last week, it’s also important to recognize artificial colors and their suspected effect on children. The pink Marshmallow Peeps are colored with Red 3, which according to Ruth Winter, M.S. in her book A Consumer’s Dictionary of Food Additives, “in 1996…was found to be a cancer-causing additive and may contribute to breast cancer.” Apparently, according to the same book, the FDA has considered removing Red 3 as an optional food colorant, but has yet to do so. What are they waiting for? (more…)
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…)
Well, 2011 is officially here and we are now faced with endless possibilities for the upcoming year. In previous years my New Year’s resolutions had been pretty consistent, but this year they have finally changed. They used to include, “lose five pounds”, “exercise more” and “fit into those old jeans again”. This year, though I’ll keep my “exercise more” resolution, the purpose and direction of the rest of my resolutions directly follow the path I’ve been taking on this Out of the Box Food journey. These resolutions won’t necessarily get me to my old “lose five pounds” goal, but they will provide my family and I a healthier way of treating our bodies. (more…)
A few nights ago we took our boys to see the holiday light displays on “Candy Cane Lane”. As we rolled our minivan slowly through the streets behind the rest of Los Angeles, we spotted a neighbor selling hot cocoa to benefit the Eagle Scouts. What’s more festive than a cup of hot cocoa, brightly colored light displays and holiday music on the radio, right? We bought each of the boys a cup and as they sat cozy in the back, sipping the warm drink and slurping the marshmallows out one-by-one, I realized that it was probably time to take a deconstructed look at instant hot cocoa. I was pretty sure those drink packets weren’t as innocent and idyllic as they seemed. Turns out I was right.
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Last week I mentioned that we’d delve into a couple of well-known holiday marshmallow traditions. Rice Crispy Treats are definitely up there on the list of the go-to recipes for cookie exchanges, school holiday parties, and as a treat for Santa after he’s made it down a few chimneys. But I’d bet that if Santa knew those treats contained a chemical banned in eleven countries and an additive suspected to cause abnormalities in the brain, hyperactivity in children and cancer, he’d probably pass. Just a hunch. (more…)
A couple weeks ago my son pulled an old bag of marshmallows from the pantry. With a look of pleading on his face, he asked if he could “Puhleeez have one” of the stale puffs of corn syrup. I found myself staring at that bag I’d had in the pantry since the first summer campfire more than eight months ago and realized that in addition to being an integral ingredient in summertime s’mores, marshmallows also play a big role during the holidays. They top sweet potato casseroles on Thanksgiving, are mixed into holiday fudge and cookie recipes and make a fun dreidel craft/dessert when pierced with a pretzel and dipped in chocolate. They also top our cups of hot cocoa as we wait for Santa to come, and are an important ingredient in the ever-present rice crispy treats that grace our school bake sales and holiday parties. (more…)
As the sun rises on Thanksgiving day, I will reflect on my life’s blessings. Above all else I am thankful for my husband and children who bring constant moments of clarity to a sometimes unclear world. I am thankful for the support of my family, the laughter and comfort of my friends, and those special moments of peace, when I can center myself, breathe, and appreciate all these gifts in my life. (more…)