Cooking Class, Week 3

I have sorely neglected this blog lately. We have been doing some lighter summer school and field trips, so I have lots of posts to catch up on. Today we returned to our cooking class schedule. The theme today was "Snacks." When we made our plan for the classes, I emphasized with the boys that we should plan our snacks to be mostly healthy and not just desserts in between meals.

On the menu today:

• Whole Wheat Zucchini Pineapple Bread (a Prudence Pennywise recipe)
• "R" family dip with veggies from the garden and potato chips (another PP find)
  
• Fruit Smoothies

I had originally planned on pumpkin bread, but since we are growing zucchini the size of Argentina, we switched to zucchini bread. I am honestly checking the vines every day, so I'm not sure how this one got away--when I discovered it yesterday and brought it inside, Kimball insisted on comparing it to Bronwen. She didn't want to cooperate with standing back-to-back with a squash; instead, it looks like she's trying to play it like a clarinet.

Since two of the recipes are from Prudy's website, I'll send you over there to take a look at them. We love anything Prudy makes, so feel free to take note of other recipes there that you'd like to try.

As for the fruit smoothies, here's the recipe I typed up for the boys (most of you don't need a recipe to make a smoothie, but just in case:).

Fruit Smoothies

These are fabulous as a snack or with breakfast, lunch, or dinner. If you use the right fruit, there’s no need for sugar. Nature has sweetened it for you. For a sugarless smoothie that you’d never guess were good for you, choose grape juice or bananas as part of your personal concoction. This recipe can be adapted with any fruits you like. Just make sure that at least one of the fruits is frozen.

Ingredients

• 1 cup juice, milk, or soy milk
• 1 cup frozen berries
• 1 frozen banana
• other fruit as desired
  
• 1 handful spinach (optional, but you won't taste the spinach, so it's a great way to sneak it in there if you don't enjoy it raw--or your kids don't.)
• 1 tablespoon toasted wheat germ or milled flax seed

Step 1: Get out your blender

Step 2: Put in liquid, fruits, and spinach if desired. Put the lid on the blender.

Step 3: Turn the blender on high and allow to mix well.

Step 4: Adjust the liquid as needed. If the smoothie is too thick, add a little more. If it is too thin, add more fruit or ice.

Step 5: Add the wheat germ or flax seed. Blend some more.

Step 6: Taste to make sure it’s okay. Add more of something if you need to.

Step 7: Pour into glasses. Enjoy!

Our zucchini bread stuck to the pans a bit (because I was all out of the Baker's Joy--spray with flour,) but the boys didn't mind the imperfect loaves. "They still taste good," they congratulated themselves. As for the dip, well my boys weren't impressed. Spencer did like it, though. And I had to stop myself from licking to bowl clean.

Bronwen was thrilled to get some smoothie, which I finally relented and gave to her after about 10 minutes of "pleeeeeze"s interspersed with less polite shrieks. You may already know how much I love a food mess on my kids.

I could tell that she wanted to climb into the cup to get the last bits of juicy goodness. So like her mother, that one!