Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Nourishing Smoothies My Kids Actually Love

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You’ll read in this post about how I have to cheat just a little bit in order to make these smoothies for my kids. But at least these are still nourishing smoothies, and my kids all love them! Even my high schooler.

As you know, Matt and I drink our salads – loading our smoothies with a huge amount of greens, then blending in frozen fruit and milk. We don’t add any sweeteners, and we are good with that. The fruit sweetens these enough for us, and at the end of the day, we are simply trying to get as much nourishment as possible during these days that it’s very difficult to even find time to eat at all.

Our kids though? They aren’t huge fans. Who can blame them? They like their smoothies sweeter than we do. And the truth is the amount of greens that I put in “the adult smoothies” is pretty substantial. Spring mix in that amount does change the taste of the smoothie and indeed, green (greens) and red (fruit) make brown. So our smoothies aren’t pretty. :)

When there is this much sweetness going on at our house,
why would Matt and I need to add sweetener to our smoothies? Ok then.

How to Make Nourishing Smoothies that are Kid Friendly

Back when I “only had four kids” who weren’t all babies at the same time, I took the time to add separate ingredients to my smoothies. Goodness, somehow I even had a freezer full of fruits that we had picked, prepared, and frozen ourselves!! (How in the world did I ever have time to do all that work!?) I sweetened those smoothies with maple syrup or honey, and my kids guzzled them down.

But now.

I know it may sound silly, but as I’ve shared so many times lately, I’m often preparing food with just one hand as I am almost always holding one of our babies. So getting a bunch of different ingredients out of the fridge or freezer to add to the blender? Well, I’ve just found that I have to keep everything to a minimum.

The solution I’ve found is a bit of a cheater method. I buy frozen mixed fruit in bulk from Costco (which is totally not cheating – those good fruits are there to save us all, amen!). Bags of mixed fruit make it easier to give us a variety without pulling out several different bags. One bag. Two or seven fruits. Beautiful!

But here’s the cheat part: I use containers of Vanilla Yogurt. I add around 16 ounces to our blender, along with milk. This covers three ingredients with one grab from the fridge (vanilla, yogurt, and sweetener), so the vanilla yogurt sweetens the kids’ smoothies and flavors them too. Yes, it adds sugar to their smoothies. I’ve decided that I don’t actually care. THIS IS HOW I GET MY KIDS TO EAT SPINACH.

Oh yeah. Because I put fresh spinach into my Blendtec when I make these too. Not as much as I do when I make smoothies for Matt and me. But enough to be sure they all get a nice serving of fresh greens. Between the tasty fruits and the sweetened yogurt – every single one of my kids will drink a big cup full of smoothie and some of them ask for more.

They even know there’s spinach included and I think they are kind of proud. (And probably relieved that they aren’t being forced to eat a salad with dinner.)

These cups hide weird smoothie colors

If I add greens to the blender along with frozen blueberries and strawberries, the dark color of the berries hides the greens. But if I add greens to the blender along with bananas and peaches, the smoothies turn out…not pretty. No matter! All the kids drink their smoothies better from cups with lids and straws anyway. These cups make it fun (except for when they argue about who gets which cup, oy).

Nourishing Smoothies My Kids Actually Love

Here’s “the recipe” even though we all know that measuring ingredients into a smoothie isn’t a real thing. So add the words “give or take” to any of these as you make smoothies based on what you have and what you can put into your blender with one hand.

Nourishing Smoothies My Kids Actually Love
 
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Serves: 5 servings
Ingredients
  • 2 cups fresh spinach
  • 3 cups frozen fruit (any combination of blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, bananas, peaches, pineapple, oranges, or grapes)
  • 2 cups vanilla yogurt
  • 2 cups milk
Instructions
  1. Blend ingredients together in a high power blender until smooth.

 

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Decadent Simple Paleo Pudding

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Decadent Simple Paleo Pudding

by Tasha Hackett

I was Surprised by my Love of Paleo Puddings 

I’ve been eating a paleo diet since December 20th. Do some math there—it’s been a few days! And for most of that time, there was no pudding. Truthfully, I was blindsided at first: No sugar of any kind, no grains of any kind, no legumes of any kind, and no dairy of any kind. Quickly I discovered a whole new world of food that has brought delight to my family as well. One of our favorites is Salisbury steak with a mushroom gravy and mashed potatoes and asparagus. I’m drooling just typing about it. 

coconut vanilla pudding

Yum

paleo vanilla pudding

And Then There was Coconut Vanilla and Pumpkin Pudding

Most winters I make Laura’s vanilla and other flavored soothers for my family. Instead of hot chocolate when they come in from the snow, they get a protein packed healthy version.

My paleo version, I believe is even healthier, doesn’t have any dairy, hardly any sweetener, and a solid amount of healthy fat for growing kids and all of us using up so much energy trying to stay warm this winter. 

Dairy-Free Paleo Pudding Special Ingredients

Coconut Cream  

I ordered a case of this from my local grocery store for a small discount. It’s not cheap. But I found I can get it for much cheaper from Azure Standard. (Currently $2.30/can.) Though I haven’t tried the Azure ordered cans yet, it will be coming on the truck in a couple weeks! Canned coconut milk has a higher percentage of liquid and less of the fat/oil. You can use that in this recipe instead of canned coconut cream, just factor in the extra liquid. You may need to add more thickener. 

Coconut Milk in a jug

I buy the jug in the cold aisle and go through about one a week. Be sure to buy unsweetened and check labels if there are options at your grocery and get one with the fewest amount of added ingredients. I use this in my coffee, smoothies, baking, and pudding! It is much yummier than almond milk. I’m just going to pretend I didn’t even mention almond milk, because I like to pretend it doesn’t exist. Almond Milk in my opinion is one of the most disgusting . . . blech. So, don’t even. Get yourself some unsweetened coconut milk from the jug. 

Egg Yolks

You can make this recipe with whole eggs, but I’ve had better luck just using the yolks. Egg whites will curdle and get chunky if you heat past 165* and nobody in my family wants to eat curdled pudding. Save the whites in another bowl because you can use them in baking or scramble with a few other eggs. Go ahead and store them in the fridge for a few days. 

Arrowroot Powder

I ordered a bag of this years ago and use it in place of cornstarch. If you’re not on a restrictive diet, cornstarch will work. Or you can skip this entirely if you want to drink your pudding. A healthy gelatin powder, or collagen works to thicken puddings, but they thicken upon cooling. To recap: if you use gelatin to thicken pudding, it will not thicken on the stovetop!

Sweetener

My preference is maple syrup. For the vanilla pudding recipe, I only used one tablespoon. I think the natural coconut cream is quite sweet. The vanilla extract needs the sweetener, I think. If you wanted to try this with NO syrup, I suggest going very easy on the vanilla extract. The pumpkin recipe calls for two tablespoons to counter the spices and vanilla. Start with less, you can always add more. Feel free to experiment with honey or stevia or other sweeteners of your choice. 

Simple Paleo Vanilla Pudding

  • Four egg yolks
  • One 13.6 oz can of coconut cream
  • 13.6 oz of coconut milk from the jug (use empty can to measure)
  • A couple dashes of salt

Mix those three together in a pot and then turn on the heat. Be careful not to boil.

Scoop out a ¼ cup of pudding and mix a slurry with ¼ cup of arrowroot powder and stir it back in the pot.

Once it begins to thicken, turn off the burner and add in:

  • One teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • One tablespoon of maple syrup. 

Taste and adjust sweetener if necessary. 

Either drink warm or chill for pudding. 

Frequently I serve this chilled for breakfast with toasted shredded coconut and pecans, blueberries, sliced bananas, apples, or any other toppings to create a full breakfast. We love this for a make-ahead breakfast. My kids can’t get enough. 

Simple Paleo Pumpkin Pudding

The same as the vanilla pudding, except add in:

  • A can of pumpkin,
  • 2-3 teaspoons of pumpkin spice
  • An extra tablespoon of maple syrup to counter the spices 

I poured this one in a paleo pie crust and pretended I was eating pumpkin pie for breakfast and had enough for six small servings for the next day. (No, it wasn’t as thick as a traditional pumpkin pie. But it was just as good!)

paleo puddingpumpkin puddingpumpkin paleo pudding

Psssst! All of these great ingredients can be purchased from Azure Standard!

Paleo isn’t a Prison

Clearly I’m not saying everyone must eat the way I do, but I have found it to be more freeing than I ever expected. My motivation for staying on this diet is different than most. If you’re curious about that, ask any questions you have! I’d love to chat about it. I’ll just briefly explain, though some people have found great success losing weight with this meal plan, that is not my goal. I’ve suffered headaches for over a decade, and recent lab results show evidence of chronic inflammation and infection among other things. In a nutshell, the paleo diet eliminates all foods that are prone to causing inflammation, as well as cutting out any processed foods that add toxins that prevent my body from healing itself. 

God is Greater than Paleo

While I 100% agree that love is better than food and who even cares about free-range chicken anymore? I know I’m on the right path. Laura spent years developing simple recipes and then they were there for her when she needed them! I believe the same has happened to me, for the first time in my life I have the budget to purchase more meat, vegetables, and nuts, to fill in the extra calories I’m no longer receiving from grains and beans and other “cheap” fillers.

Honestly, two years ago I fed my family on $200 a month. Six months ago it was about $450 a month. Paleo food for six (thankfully three of them are still tiny) is costing me $900 a month. If a doctor had told me to eat this way three years ago I would have cried. Point is: Food isn’t everything. Do what you can. Love your people. Love yourself.

Right now, for me, loving my people and myself means spending more time in the kitchen figuring out how to make paleo simple. For Laura, it means spending less time in the kitchen and more chicken nuggets. And we are not trying to confuse you. Ha! 

toddler messes

And just in case you think I have my act together, this salad-dumbing disaster, in some form, happens daily. Canned chicken on salad is a go-to lunch for us and that is not the face of a repentant toddler.

What’s your greatest struggle in the kitchen right now? Are you spending more or less time in the kitchen these days? Have you ever been put on an elimination diet of some form?

Paleo Coconut Vanilla Pudding
 
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Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Breakfast
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1 13.6 OZ can of coconut cream
  • 1 13.6 OZ of coconut milk from the jug (use empty can to measure)
  • A couple dashes of salt
  • ¼ C arrowroot powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 Tablespoon real maple syrup
Instructions
  1. Mix egg yolks, coconut cream, and coconut milk, in a medium-sized pan.
  2. Add a few dashed of salt.
  3. Heat mixture on the stove being careful not to boil. Stir constantly.
  4. Remove ¼ cup of the mix and make a slurry with the arrowroot powder. Mix it all together in the pot.
  5. Keep stirring and just as the mixture begins to thicken, turn off the burner and add in the vanilla, and maple syrup. Taste and adjust sweetener if necessary.
  6. Drink warm or chill for pudding.
  7. Serve chilled pudding with a variety of toppings for breakfast or snack: sliced apples, bananas, cherries, blueberries, toasted coconut, pecans, etc.

Try both and tell us your favorite!

Paleo Pumpkin Pudding
 
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Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Breakfast / Snack
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1 13.6 OZ can of coconut cream
  • 1 13.6 OZ of coconut milk from the jug (use empty can to measure)
  • 1 can of pureed pumpkin
  • A couple dashes of salt
  • ¼ C arrowroot powder
  • 3 teaspoons of pumpkin spice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 Tablespoon real maple syrup
Instructions
  1. Mix egg yolks, coconut cream, and coconut milk in a medium-sized pan.
  2. Add a few dashes of salt.
  3. Heat mixture on the stove being careful not to boil. Stir constantly.
  4. Remove ¼ cup of the mix and make a slurry with the arrowroot powder. Mix it all together in the pot.
  5. Keep stirring and just as the mixture begins to thicken, turn off the burner and add in the vanilla , spice, and maple syrup. Taste and adjust sweetener if necessary.
  6. Drink warm or chill for pudding.
  7. Serve chilled pudding with a variety of toppings for breakfast or snack: sliced apples, bananas, cherries, blueberries, toasted coconut, pecans, etc.

 

 

Tasha HackettTasha Hackett, friend of Laura and author of Bluebird of the Prairie, a Christian romance releasing Spring 2021, is fueled by sunshine, paleo pudding, or hot chocolate—whichever is more readily available. Though she often pretends to be a ballerina while unloading the dishwasher, her favorite thing is writing with hope and humor to entertain and encourage women. Her time is spent with four chatty children and an incredibly supportive husband. They give her the kind of love people write books about. You can connect with her at www.tashahackett.com or Instagram @hackettacademy or for Laura @heavenlyhomemaker.

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Simple Recipes We’re Using to Help Our 5-Year Old Learn Kitchen Skills

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We’re starting over at our house! Just like we did with our “first set of kids” we are teaching our new 5-year old Bonus Boy how to cook. Here are the favorite simple recipes we are using to help him learn kitchen skills!

Hopefully, you won’t get too tired of hearing me encourage you to teach your kids to cook. :) Obviously, it’s more important that you teach them to love the Lord and love people. Focus on that first.

But also, eating is something we must all do every day of our lives. Your kids need to know how to prepare simple foods (or complicated foods, if you are my 19-year old). It’s a much-needed skill, and guess what?

After putting in hours of effort, making lots of messes, and having a blessed mixture of frustration and fun with my oldest four kids – they can all cook. It is fantastic. The work involved was entirely worth it. And when all is said and done, we made a lot of awesome memories (and Monkey Bread).

Sometimes now, they feed me. Often they feed themselves. They will someday feed their wives and children. This is beautiful!

Now, we’re starting all over again. This little one moved in with us when he was four. He has become the 5th Coppinger Boy! If I have the audacity to make food without him, he can’t possibly understand why. “But I wanted to help you!” Well, who am I to argue with that?

He cracks eggs, makes messes, helps measure ingredients, makes messes, stirs carefully, makes messes – well, he’s also learning how to use a broom and dustpan. ;)

Teaching Kids to Cook is MessyYum

So what? I like a clean kitchen, but now that I have teen and adult kids who can cook, I realize more than ever that the messes from when they were little are just part of the teaching process. If I expect a mess from the little one in training, then I’m less frustrated when a mess inevitably happens. If we happen to crack, pour, and stir correctly so as to avoid a mess, well, that’s a bonus.

Ready for some kid-friendly recipes?

Simple Recipes to Help Kids Learn Kitchen Skills

Here are some of our favorite simple recipes we are using right now to help teach our 5-year old basic kitchen skills. He helps measure, pour, and stir. As we work, I talk through everything we are doing so that he learns the vocabulary of cooking and the reasons we do what we do.

In addition, he helps:

  • Crack eggs for Scrambled Cheese Eggs (he cracks it, then hands it to me to open it into a bowl).
  • Put frozen fruit and mixed greens into the blender for Smoothies.
  • Do whatever he can with whatever I’m making because he really wants to be a part of all of it! So if possible, I always try to find him a job while I’m cooking or baking.

Looking for more help and recipes as you pull your kids into the kitchen with you?

If you really want to go all in and teach your kids to cook this summer, I encourage you to invest in Katie Kimball’s Kids Cook Real Food eCourse. I used this course with Malachi and plan to use it with Bonus Boy too. It is FANTASTIC!!! Get the details here. And pick up her awesome FREEBIE —>

What are your favorite foods to make with your kids?

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The Easiest Frozen Yogurt Cups

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This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

When I say that these are the Easiest Frozen Yogurt Cups, I truly do mean that they are the easiest!

The “recipe” I’m about to share with you is going to entirely amaze you. Where has this been all of our lives? Why have we never thought of this before? We should have been making these for years!!

This is the time where you gently interrupt and say, “Laura, I figured this one out a long time ago. You are the only one who didn’t know. Bless your heart.”

Heh.

Well, either way, let’s all talk about making these Frozen Yogurt Cups right now. It’s the easiest thing in the world. And the result is super fun and refreshing on a hot day!

The job of making these Frozen Yogurt Cups has been turned over to our 5-year old. He’s thrilled to be our biggest kitchen helper, and we love that he is starting to learn basic cooking skills!

Of course, in the case of these Frozen Yogurt Cups, there is no cooking involved. This is perfect for a 5-year old!

I do need to interrupt myself now and say that I have actually made a variety of these Frozen Yogurt Cups before. But now I’ve discovered a cheater way to make them, which is why the 5-year old has found himself a kitchen job, and why I am left wondering why I never thought of this before now.

What’s the cheater way to make these Frozen Yogurt Cups?

Well, as you know, I’ve started buying a few cheater foods at the grocery store. Why? Well, now that our family is doing foster care and have started over raising Littles, all while keeping up with the Bigs, and navigating all the meetings and such involved with foster care – my time in the kitchen is more limited than before. And that’s saying something.

So yeah. Sometimes I buy ready-to-serve yogurt. It’s sweeter than what I could or would make myself if I always made or bought it plain and added our own good ingredients. But I’m pretty happy with the pre-made Whole Milk Yogurts I’ve found. So for now, we settle for this yogurt compromise.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

——> Need some re-assurance that compromising on perfect foods is just fine and dandy? Read my post called Beyond the Free Range Chicken. Be encouraged! Be free! Buy the yogurt. (Or not. Because we’re all in a different place and God will lead us each in how to feed our families.) <——-

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, in the land of store-bought yogurt and 5-year old chefs, may we now present to you the lovely idea you are going to thoroughly enjoy this summer!

First, if you don’t already have them, I highly recommend that you invest in these lovely silicone muffin cups. With these jewels, you can make this Frozen Yogurt Cup “recipe” and many more. I love them and don’t know how I got by without them!

Other Recipes to use with your Silicone Cups:

Simple No-Bake Cookie Cups

Simple Strawberry Cheesecake Cups

Honey Sweetened Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Healthy Peppermint Patties

The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups


There you go. Just in case you didn’t believe me when I told you that I use my Silicone Cups very frequently!

Now, where were we? Ah yes…

The Easiest Frozen Yogurt CupsYum

While this is hardly a recipe, I’ll write it in recipe form, just for fun and ease. Hand this one to your kids and let them enjoy making this awesome treat!

The Easiest Frozen Yogurt Cups!
 
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Author:
Ingredients
  • Your favorite yogurt
  • Muffin Cups or Silicone Muffin Cups
Instructions
  1. Spoon 3-4 Tablespoons of yogurt into muffin cups.
  2. Freeze for about 2 hours or until frozen solid.
  3. Store in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container.

P.S. Want to help your kids learn to cook? Great!

Need some resources to help you know where to start?

We have this great eCookbook package that is a huge help!

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Better yet,  I highly recommend this incredible Kids Cook Real Food eCourse! We used it with Malachi and it was a lifesaver!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

40+ Real Food Muffin Recipes

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Muffin lovers, unite! And bring your chocolate chips when you come. Some of the 40+ real food muffin recipes we’re about to share are going to need them.

40 + Real Food Muffin Recipes

For eleven years now, I’ve been posting muffin recipes here to share with you. We decided it would be nice to list them all in one place for you to access! But first, two of my favorite muffin-making tips…

  1. Make Muffin Batter ahead of time!

    Follow this tutorial to easily freeze muffin batter for later. I love this time-saving trick.

  2. Make Muffin Mix!

    Make a big batch of Muffin Mix so you can easily whip up a pan of muffins without getting out all the ingredients!

And now it’s time to share our favorite muffin recipes. These are all either whole grain or grain free!

40+ Real Food Muffin Recipes

My boys’ favorite muffins are the Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins. Matt’s favorite is the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffin. My favorites are any that are topped with cheesecake!

What’s your favorite kind of muffin?

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Simple Popcorn Chicken

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There is no popcorn involved in the making of this Popcorn Chicken. You can simply pop it into your mouth as if it is popcorn, and it is definitely coated in butter. But otherwise, it is nothing like popcorn. So sorry for any confusion.

This Popcorn Chicken recipe was one of the very first I shared here back in 2009. I’m sharing it again today and adding it to our Simple Recipes list because this is one of those recipes we all need in our hip pocket!

You can make these ahead and freeze them. You can eat them in a variety of ways. They are super kid-friendly, which is a plus whether you have kids or not. (What? Some grown-ups really like kid-friendly recipes, am I right?)

This Simple Popcorn Chicken tastes good hot or cold. I do prefer it hot, but made ahead and packed cold in a lunch box? Still great!

We love eating this Popcorn Chicken as-is with a few fruits and veggies on the side. But it’s also amazing in a tossed salad!

Simple Popcorn Chicken

Simple Popcorn Chicken
 
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Author:
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 3-6 large boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
  • ¾ cup whole grain flour (I use freshly ground white wheat, but you can use any flour you like!)
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • butter
Instructions
  1. In a medium-sized bowl stir together flour, salt, and garlic powder.
  2. Using kitchen shears, cut chicken into tiny bite-sized pieces.
  3. Toss chicken in flour mixture to coat well.
  4. Smear a thick layer of butter on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
  5. Pour coated chicken into the dish, spreading so that they are in a single layer.
  6. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Stir chicken and bake another 10 minutes.

Need some dipping sauce to go with your Simple Popcorn Chicken? Here are our favorites:

Want More Simple Recipes?

We’ve got a huge list, and it keeps growing!

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How We Get Our 5-Year Old to Eat Fruits and Vegetables

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Ah yes. We’ve got a 5-year old in the house again. Slowly but surely, we’re adding more fruits and vegetables into his diet. Interestingly enough, his teenage brothers who were raised in this house from the beginning have become more of a struggle than the little one. I don’t want to talk about it.

It won’t be long now before our Bonus Boy will officially be a Coppinger and I can show you pictures! But for now, just imagine lots of cuteness behind some gorgeous brown eyes and a giggle that turns all of us into mush.

When he first moved in with us, I knew he loved hot dogs, and that was all I knew. Man (or boy) can not live on hot dogs alone, so we began doing some trial and error to see what he might like.

First fruit success: Applesauce Pouches

Where were these gems when my other boys were little?

Yes, they are more expensive than canned applesauce or homemade. Yes, I still make homemade applesauce when I have the chance. But seeing as life has taken a major turn toward the more busy side of things (we have an infant boy living with us now too!), splurging on Applesauce Pouches has been very much worth it! Bonus Boy loves them, the teenagers love them (so there), and as an added delight, they can be eaten without making a mess.

We get them from Aldi, Walmart, or Amazon; and when they’re on sale, I grab varieties that have veggies added too.

Second fruit and veggie success: “Milkshakes”

Everyone knows that Smoothies filled with fruits and greens are a great way to easily get kids to eat (or drink) nourishment. Indeed.

However, if we said, “Would you like a Smoothie??” our Bonus Boy turned up his nose. Inspired, I said, “How about a Milkshake?” Aha! He thought that sounded delicious.

Call it whatever works – we now make “Milkshakes” all the time. Bonus Boy makes them with me, and we’re not even hiding the fact that they are filled with goodness. HE PUTS THE FRESH SPINACH INTO THE BLENDER HIMSELF. Then he adds the strawberries and frozen banana chunks. I pour in milk and a little maple syrup. He pushes the button on the Blendtec.

Then he guzzles down two full cups with a lid and a straw. Milkshakes for the win. Smoothies though? He doesn’t like them. ;)

Third veggie success: Cheesy Taco (aka Green Salad with Shredded Cheese)

I don’t even remember how this came about. I think I had made Taco Salad for the rest of us that day and decided to see if he’d eat any or all of it. I knew he loved tacos, so I told him this was “sort of like a taco.” I tore mixed greens into his special bowl, tossed in plenty of cheese (his favorite food of all time), and stirred in homemade French Dressing (ketchup for the win). He ate it all with a spoon and asked for more.

None of my other little guys ever ate salad at this age, and here this kid is eating his and asking for seconds and thirds. Sweet!

Fourth veggie success: Orange French Fries

Our whole family has learned that Sweet Potato Fries are the best way to eat sweet potatoes. Bonus Boy discovered without any argument that Orange French Fries are pretty tasty dipped in ketchup! Nice!

Fifth veggie success: Yet to come

None of us likes everything, and we can’t expect little kids to love all the green food we know is good for us. Green beans are a no-go for Bonus Boy. Peas, not so much. Carrots, neither raw nor cooked nor when one is pretending to be a bunny. Broccoli “trees” are only fun to talk about, but are not fun for eating. So we’ll stick to what is working, and we’ll try new veggies as the months go by.

Fruit is mostly a winner

Not all fruit, but he does like clementines, apples, kiwi, bananas, frozen blueberries, and a few others – especially if the big boys are sitting at the table eating them too.

It’s important to remember that adding fruits and veggies to a kid’s diet is a process. I remember liking more and more as I got older; I bet you do too.

If your child struggles with eating many fruits or vegetables, don’t fret or give up. Keep experimenting to see what works. Find a new way to cut or serve it. Call it a milkshake instead of a smoothie. Enjoy the ride and know that any fruit or veggie nourishment is better than none at all. You’ll get there!

What are your kids’ favorite ways to eat fruits and vegetables?

 

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17 Real Food Recipes That Use Pumpkin Spice

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Pumpkin Spice recipes tend to be full of sugar and empty carbs. So today, how about I give you 17 Real Food Recipes that use Pumpkin Spice? They are low in sugar, nourishing, and absolutely tasty!

Pssst! Not into Pumpkin Spice? Here are 36 fabulous Chocolate Recipes. Hey, I’m here for ya.

Did you see this list of 40 Real Food Fall Recipes? That list includes many of the recipes listed here. But I thought it would be fun to pull out the recipes that featured pumpkin and pumpkin spice!

Before diving into the Pumpkin Spice recipe list, you will first need my Pumpkin Spice Recipe. In a pinch, you can substitute 1 teaspoon ground cloves, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg for 1 Tablespoon of Pumpkin Spice. But to make life easier and the holiday season more delicious, bookmark and pin the following:

Pumpkin Spice Recipe

Now that you have that, you can make any and all of the following fabulous recipes. These are great for breakfast, snacks, desserts, parties, holiday feasts, and any time of the day you have a cup of coffee or tea in your hand.

17 Real Food Recipes That Use Pumpkin SpiceYum

  1. Overnight Pumpkin Spice French Toast Casserole (Such a wonderful recipe to put together at night, then bake and serve to guests in the morning!)
  2. Super Moist Sour Cream Pumpkin Bread
  3. Pumpkin Spice Roll-Out Cookies (Simple and sweet, one of my favorites!)
  4. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
  5. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
  6. Pumpkin Donuts (I make these all year round as an excuse to feed my kids a vegetable for breakfast.)
  7. Warm Pumpkin Custard (Oh yes, you should drink your pumpkin.)
  8. Simple Pumpkin Pancakes
  9. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake
  10. Pumpkin Pecan Pie Squares (Such a fun combination of two holiday favorites.)
  11. Pumpkin Pie
  12. Pumpkin Breakfast Cake
  13. Pumpkin Cheesecake (Making life better, one delicious bite at a time.)
  14. Pumpkin Pie Bars (These are a Thanksgiving tradition at our house.)
  15. Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
  16. Easy Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins (With chocolate chips on top. Amen.)
  17. Flourless Pumpkin Muffins (Flourless and fabulous!)

What are your favorite Pumpkin Spice recipes?

Chocolate Pumpkin Cake Recipe!!

Check out our fun video, showing you how to make one of our latest Pumpkin Recipes!

Get our Chocolate Pumpkin Cake Recipe!

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Easy Peaches and Cream Muffins Recipe

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Once upon a time I had a box full of fabulous peaches. So I used a few juicy peaches to make these Peaches and Cream Muffins and the family declared them to be delicious. Good talk.

Allow me to share a few secrets to making the most deliciously moist muffins – even if you are baking with whole grain flour!

  1. Use whole grain pastry flour. I grind soft white wheat, which turns into a lovely, fine, fluffy flour. I love that it acts like white flour while actually being whole wheat! (Read more about whole wheat pastry flour here.)
  2. Stir in some sour cream. This makes the muffins moist instead of dry and crumbly. So yum!

One of my favorite, favorite tricks to making these Peaches and Cream muffins even easier to whip up is to use the Muffin Mix recipe in this Simple Mixes to Save the Day eBook. Use 4 cups of Muffin Mix in place of all the dry ingredients in the recipe, and you’ve just cut out much of the work involved in stirring together these muffins. I LOVE having all those homemade mixes on hand!

This recipe is quite versatile! Sub out peaches for berries or apples. Stir in some cinnamon. This recipe is fun to play with!

Easy Peaches and Cream Muffins

Easy Peaches and Cream Muffins Recipe
 
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Serves: 18-24
Ingredients
  • 3 cups whole grain flour (I use freshly ground soft white wheat)
  • ½ cup sugar (sucanat, brown, white, or raw)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt (Or use 4 cups of Muffin Mix from Simple Mixes to Save the Day eBook instead of these dry ingredients!)
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • ¾ cup milk
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup melted coconut oil
  • 3 fresh peaches, pealed and diced
Instructions
  1. Stir together dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
  2. Add sour cream, milk, eggs, and melted coconut oil and stir until just combined (do not over-stir).
  3. Fold in diced peaches.
  4. Scoop batter into 18-24 prepared muffin tins.
  5. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 18-25 minutes or until muffins are golden brown.

Be sure to check out Simple Mixes that Save the Day. They truly do save my day – many days a week!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Lunch in a Jar: Tuna Salad & Crackers

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It’s one of the most basic, simple foods. But still, Tuna Salad & Crackers is one of my favorite lunches to pack in a jar and take on the road.

You might remember that I shared our favorite Tuna Salad recipe last month when talking about these Tuna Salad Wraps. I’ll share the recipe again below, just to make it simple for all of us to quickly stir together tuna salad!

Lunch in a Jar: Tuna Salad & Crackers

Lunch in a Jar: Tuna Salad & Crackers
 
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Serves: 1-2
Ingredients
  • 6-ounce can tuna in water, drained
  • 3 Tablespoons mayonnaise (I use Hain Safflower mayo)
  • 2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish
  • Dash of sea salt
Instructions
  1. Mix tuna, mayo, pickle relish, and salt until well combined.
  2. Transfer to 4 or 8 ounce jars to pack in lunches.

Send along your favorite crackers with the jar of Tuna Salad. Crackers are great tuna scoopers! I love this lunch with a side of fresh fruits and veggies!

Our Favorite Ingredients to use in Tuna Salad:

Best Jars to use for Tuna Salad in a LunchBox:

—-> Did you see the fun list of supplies and jars I recommend for packing lunches? <—–

Great add-ins to your Tuna with Crackers Lunch in a Jar

Not a fan of Tuna Salad? Use this same idea but make Chicken Salad instead!

We’ve got 10 super fun Lunch in a Jar ideas to share this month – perfect for your Back to School lunchbox! Subscribe here so you won’t miss a post!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!