Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins

When I was at the flea market on Sunday I found a cook book called "Deceptively Delicious" by Jessica Seinfeld (yup, Jerry's wife). The recipes all have a hidden ingredient of some kind of veggie puree. This one has carrot puree. Just steam some carrots and stick them in the food processor with some water until they are pureed. Since I do this for Sophie's food anyway, it's kinda convenient. I made these as a special breakfast treat. Enjoy!!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins

non stick cooking spray
1/2 cup peanut butter (creamy)
1/2 cup carrot puree
1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons trans-fat free soft tub margarine spread (yeah, I don't buy this stuff. I used about a tablespoon of slightly melted butter and they were fine)
1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt (I used a tad more to make up for the lack of margarine)
1 large egg white ( I accidentally dropped the yolk in there and it came out fine)
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup low sugar strawberry, blueberry, or grape preserves (I used raspberry. This is perfect for cleaning out the fridge and using those jellies that you have no clue how long they have been in there for. They are getting cooked, right, so that will kill anything>LOL)

Preheat oven to 350. Coat a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line with paper baking cups.

In a large bowl, beat the peanut butter, carrot puree, sugar and margarine with a wooden spoon until well combined. Stir in the yogurt and egg white.

Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir until just combined, but do not over mix- there should be some lumps in the batter.

Divide the batter among the muffin cups and drop a spoonful of preserves on top of each.

Bake until the tops of the muffins are lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center, 20-25 min. Cool on wire rack.

Store in an air tight container for up to 2 days, or wrap individually and freeze for up to a month.

Wordless Wednesday

All summer I have been picking up random pieces of laundry off the ground under the clothes line. I was starting to think I needed to invest in new clothes pins. Well, the other day I looked out the window and saw this:

My cat Chloe attacking the laundry!

A Must Have For The Cook Book Shelf

I am a cook book addict. I check out every new cook book that comes into my library. Usually, I will find one recipe I like and will take the time to copy it down. Maybe, I will even get around to trying it. Well, my library books are due tomorrow and this is one that I don't want to return. I have already renewed it, twice, so it's time to say good-bye. We will meet again.....when I get my own copy.

"Whole Grains For Busy People", by Lorna Sass, is a must for anyone interested in cooking with whole grains. And not just for the recipes. The first chapter is a guide to whole grains. LOVE it. This is one reason why I need my own copy. Too much information to write down. Too many pages for my lazy butt to photo copy. There are actually charts in this cook book that show "at a glance" the different types of whole grain pastas, breads and flours. For example, the whole grain flour chart, has headers like "Easy to Grind at Home?", "Taste", and "Texture in Baked Goods". Since I try to make most of my families food from scratch, this is awesome! Sass even shares her formula for substituting white flour with wheat flour in recipes. I haven't tried it yet, but will share if it works. Wait, can I do that or is that a copy-right thing?

The second reason why I need to get this book is because of the mix and quick bread recipes. There are 'make ahead and refrigerate mixes' recipes for pancakes, biscuits, and muffins, among other things. We are a big breakfast family so I LOVE this idea. I am also a recovering Bisquick addict and am going to try the biscuit mix as a substitute.

The other recipes aren't too shabby either, and they are all easy and quick. Most call for ingredients that are already in the house, or are easy to substitute with what you do have on hand. Since my little guy is on a pasta and rice kick, these recipes have come in handy.

Well, I think I'm going to have to start typing up a couple of recipes tonight to hold me over until I get my own copy. And I think it's gonna be cold enough in the morning to try one of the oatmeal recipes for breakfast. HMMMMM, maybe Chai-Spiced Oatmeal....

FYI, I am not getting anything for this "review" if you could call it that. Nor was I asked to do this. This is just me, sharing my new cook book discovery. When you find a book you like, don't you just want to tell everybody?!

Homemade Laundry Soap

I started making my own laundry detergent a while ago. I found this recipe and it works great. I am saving money- costs less than $10 for the ingredients. The boxes of Borax and Washing Soda make at least 5 batches (I think I am under estimating here). Only one tablespoon of this soap is needed for a regular load, 2 tablespoons for a large or extra dirty load, so a batch lasts a while. I am also lessening my carbon footprint, as I am no longer buying a plastic bottle of detergent every other week. I use it in my He machine, but I do NOT use it on my cloth diapers. I am afraid that the soap might leave a build up on the diapers.

 

Ingredients:

1 Bar of Fels Naptha Soap (I have found this soap in the hand soap aisle and the laundry soap aisle of the grocery store)
1 Cup Borax
1 Cup Washing Soda (not the same as baking soda)
1/4 Cup Oxy Clean powder (optional, I don't use it)
Oil for scent (I use lavender oil, but I'm out right now)

Other:
Grater
Bowl
Large spoon
Something to store final product in

Grate the soap using the holes on the grater that are this size, or close:

After grating 1/2 the bar, I stop to check on Sophie.......

                                                                             
                                                                 ......and to switch grating arms.

When done grating, soap will look like this:

 

Add rest of ingredients. It will look like this when done:

Sophie will look like this when done:

I store my final product in this:

 

Enjoy!

Take Action : What's for Lunch?

One of the goals of this blog is to inform. I hope that by bringing up and informing on issues that I feel passionate about, I can incite in my readers that same passion. If I can get just one person to act, I feel I have made a difference in the lives of future generations. So blah, blah, blah, here it goes....

Today, that issue is nutrition. More specifically, the nutrition of our children as provided and protected by the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 and the Richard B. Russel National School Lunch Act of 1946. Both of these Acts are now up for review, and both contain parts that will expire Sept 30th of THIS YEAR (that's just weeks away, people!) without Congressional action. It is important to know what is going on, especially when our children are at stake! Congress meets on Sept 8th to discuss this, just a few days away!!

The objective of the Child Nutrition Act, according to the Act itself, is "to safeguard the health and well-being of the Nation's children, and to encourage the domestic consumption of agriculture and other foods, by assisting States through grants-in-aid and other means, to meet more effectively the nutritional needs of our children". To read the Child Nutrition Act (CNA) in it's entirety click here. Yeah, it's long and technical, but in a nut shell, the CNA includes the implementation of:

The School Breakfast Program
The School Milk Program

The Special Nutrition Programs for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), including the WIC Farmers Market Program, School Wellness Programs, and the Program to Promote Breastfeeding.

Are you still with me?  The Richard B. Russel National School Lunch Act of 1946 can be read in it's entirety here, but again, in a nut shell, it includes the implementation of:

The National School Lunch Program
Nutritional promotion and education
The Reduced/Free Lunch Program
The Summer Food Service Program
The Child and Adult Care Food Program
The After School Snack and Meal Programs

So what's the deal? All of these programs EXCEPT National School Lunch, The School Breakfast, and School Milk Programs are set to expire on Sept 30th, without Congressional action. Now I highly doubt that the other programs dissapear, but they are up for review and could be modified. There are several issues that are of focus, including:

The need for the implementation and enforcement of policies to guarantee that school meals are following recent updates to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans

The need for an increase in the funding received by States to cover the increase in food costs, and to cover the higher price of healthier foods in school meals.

The proposed elimination of the "Reduced" lunch program. Groups such as the School Nutrition Association, are stating that even the "reduced lunch" price is too much, suggesting that there be only "free" and "paid" lunches. Read more on this here.

The need for the strengthening of the School Wellness Program and the support and strengthening of the WIC program with the assistance of Congress. For more details on this click here.

The need for the strengthening of policies to support farm to school initiatives. Farm to School is a program that forms a link between local farms and schools to provide healthier food for school menus, and to improve nutrition through education. For more info, click here.

Ok, now if you are still reading this, you probably want to know what YOU can do to see that these issues are considered on Sept 8th. Here are some ideas:

Take part in "A Time for Lunch" National Day of Action Eat-In on Labor Day, Sept 7th. An Eat-In can be as basic as a group of people having a picnic in a public place while having a "sit-in". The purpose of this Eat-In is to get REAL food into schools. You can find an Eat-In near you, or host your own by visiting Slowfood.org. There is also a petition here you can sign.

Visit HealthySchoolsCampaign.org to send a form email to your Legislators. This is as easy as typing your name and clicking to send!

Go to USA.gov to get your Legislators email address or phone number and give them a piece of you mind. They work for YOU!

Hope that wasn't too borring!!!!! Let me know what you think. I know there are more aspects to these Acts and proposed changes than I touched on. This was just the Cliff Notes.

Where I got my info, and where you can go if you want more:
The National Farm to School Program
National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity (NANA)
Child Nutrition Act of 1966
School Nutrition Association
Healthy Schools Campaign
Frame Works Institute
Frac101: Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act
United States Department of Agriculture

GovTrack.us

Wordless Wednesday- Cliff Walk, Newport RI

The Cliff Walk is a 3.5 mile public access walkway that goes along the Newport, Rhode Island shoreline. You get a great view of the Atlantic Ocean, and a peak into the backyards of historical mansions. We only walked the part of the Walk that is stroller friendly.

The Breakers, also known as the Vanderbilt's summer "cottage".

Diaper Washer Back In Action!

So the hubby finally made it to the basement today to see what's up with the washer. Apparently, the only thing I didn't check was the lever that turns the water flow on/off to the machine. YUP, that's all. He insists he did not turn it off. I didn't turn it off. I suggested maybe one of the cats hit it (because they are always climbing the walls in the basement?!), but it's hard to turn. That means we now have a ghost. Sweet.