FamilyEducation Blogs

October 22, 2009

Up and Around

R’s back at school, G’s doing pretty well and I have to say I am feeling loads better than just a few days ago. My energy is still dragging, but compared to Monday, I feel like a rock star. [more]

September 3, 2009

The Best for Last Bread

One last quick bread recipe for you this week before the Sweet Peas pack up and head out to visit some family for a long Labor Day weekend.

This quick bread recipe is my absolute favorite of the bunch. There is no added fat to the recipe (no oil, butter, etc) and if you use egg whites, you can make it virtually fat free. And yet, it is moist, delicious and has a good hidden vegetable: pumpkin.

I actually made up a batch last night to bring along with us on our trip back East. While the recipe below does not have any mix-ins, you can easily add dried fruit or nuts to your liking. [more]

June 8, 2009

Slow Melt Popsicles

Have you seen or tried slow melt popsicles? I hadn’t until a few weeks ago when a friend of mine had them in her freezer and whipped them out for the kids after dinner. I was skeptical but G, who at two years old is still mastering the art of eating frozen desserts, was able to eat his popsicle without a single drop or stain on his shirt. I was sold. [more]

May 15, 2009

PB&J on the go

Years ago I was in a gift shop in rural Virginia that sold little packets of what they deemed “peanut butter and jelly on the go.” Little bags of Oyster crackers, raisins and peanuts, it was a clever way to market their unique brand of snack packs.

It was with this idea of portable peanut butter and jelly in mind that I slightly altered a recipe we have used many times to come up with a healthier and tastier play on the classic PB&J. [more]

March 5, 2009

Cloud Mix

Later today we are heading to Houston for an extra-long weekend visit with some of our closest friends from our days living in DC. We haven’t seen them in two years, and to say we are all excited is an understatement.

R: “I told K at preschool today that we are going to Texas!”

Me: “What did K say?”

R: “He said, ‘I know, R, you told me yesterday.’” [more]

January 20, 2009

Wheat Crisps

We’re huge fans of crackers in the Sweet Pea home. More often than not, if any of us had our druthers, snack time would involve crackers. I love them, so I can hardly fault the boys for craving the same carb overload snack as their mom.

So it was with a good deal of anticipation that we found a cracker recipe to try. A girlfriend had told me they were easy to make, and the recipe seemed easy enough, so I decided to give it a crack.

Wheat Crisps

1-½ cups of whole wheat flour
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
½ cup water [more]

December 11, 2008

Gifts from the Kitchen

If the word “canning” conjures up images of your grandma in a steamy-windowed kitchen all day mixing chemistry and culinary arts, I am about to challenge your notion of it.

Up until last year I was weary of canning, as I thought it would require a whole bunch of equipment and items that I didn’t want cluttering up my kitchen.  Lo and behold, canning can be done with normal, everyday items, without a huge fuss. [more]