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   As it turns out, there are lots of yummy add-ins for waffles and pancakes. Somehow that never even occurred to me until about a year ago. And to think, all this time I’ve just been eating plain old waffles! Not any more. Please add your own ideas as a comment to this blog post.

Directions:

These turn out equally well with either homemade batter, box mix, or multi-grain pancake mix.

1. Make your pancake or waffle batter as you normally would.

2. Mash up and add any wet ingredients that you are going to use as an add-in (such as bananas)

3. Let your kids stir that in.

4. Stir in half of your dry add-in (such as nuts).

5. Put your batter in the pan or waffle iron, as desired.

6. Quickly sprinkle in a little more of your dry add-in ingredient in the places that are missing some.

7. Cook until done and enjoy!

NOTE: These freeze extremely well so save yourself some time in the future by making a double batch. Let them cool and them place them in a zipping freezer bag. Write on the bag what kind of pancakes / waffles you put in there. For morning breakfasts during the week, just pull out what you want to eat, place on a paper plate and pop in the microwave to heat. It usually takes less than 45 seconds to heat them for 1 person’s plate. Breakfast isn’t going to get any faster than that!

Add-in Ideas:

These are all really great waffle and pancake additions. Sometimes I will split the batter and make 2 different kinds on the same morning. Enjoy and don’t forget to post your own ideas as a comment!

Banana & Walnut Pancakes – Mash 1 banana with fork. Put in batter. Sprinkle in some walnuts. Sprinkle in more after you have the better in the pan.

Pecan Pancakes – Sprinkle in large pieces of pecans.

Cinnamon & Pecan – Sprinkle in ground cinnamon and pecan pieces.

Apple & Cinnamon – Grate up some granny smith (or other sour apple) with your box grater. Sprinkle just a bit of sugar over them and toss.  Then put about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of this into your batter depending on how much of an apple taste you would like. Sprinkle in cinnamon to taste.

Blueberry Waffles – This is really great with fresh blueberries as the taste comes out a little stronger. Frozen blueberries still turn out pretty well though. (I don’t defrost them first.) Pour in about 1/4 cup of blueberries into batter. Sprinkle in a few more immediately after putting in waffle iron or pan if you have any large empty spots.

Chocolate Chip Waffles – Pour your batter and then sprinkle in semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Strawberry Pancakes – Mash up some strawberries and put in batter. Cook as usual. After they are done, slice extra strawberries and place on top. Either top with a little whipped cream, pure maple syrup or nothing!

Open Faced Meatball Sandwiches

   Ok ladies, you might as well print this one out to keep stashed somewhere in case you ever need it. It was a spur of the moment creation that turned out fantastic!

   I made meatballs for the first time and had way too many leftover. The kids weren’t interested in a spaghetti re-run so I came up with this instead. We called them “Captain’s Sandwiches” after perhaps the captains on a ship carrying Sponge Bob. In any case, my 6 and 3 year old kids had clean plates within 5 minutes. “Two thumbs up“, my son said with a big smile. ‘Nuff said!

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes (max)

Ingredients:

Leftover meatballs and some leftover spaghetti sauce, if meatballs are dry

Slices of heavy bread (I used 12 grain bread)

Grated cheddar cheese (you could also use sliced american cheese, if that’s all you have)

Optional Ingredients:

I mixed in a little bit of leftover Rice-A-Roni to finish it up (which was tasty)

Next time, I’d like to try smothering the whole thing in mushrooms, peppers, and onions that have been sauteed. (Then, put the cheese on top of that.) Lots of added veggies would help to up your intake for the day.

Directions:

Turn your oven on the broiler setting, so it’s starts to heat up. Get out your meatballs and cut them down into small bitesize pieces. Place slices of bread onto a cookie sheet. (An adult female will probably eat two of these, so number your slices according to that.) Place meatball pieces on bread. You’ll need to top with a little bit of leftover spaghetti sauce if your meatballs don’t have any left and are a little dry. Layer on veggies or rice, if using. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Place in oven under broiler and watch carefully. Mine were done in less than 5 minutes!

Enjoy!

   I am always coming up with new, creative things to do with my little ones (3 years and 6 years). Playing with food is a wonderful, tactile medium to use with kids, not to mention that they usually eat their creations! I put my son in the kitchen with me when he was about 18 months old (mostly to keep him from destroying the living room as I prepared /cleaned up from dinner). It’s amazing how much they can help you in there, if you let them. He loved it! He still does at 6 years old and can help fix quite a few things now.

The Rules & Lessons 

  So, let’s start with some basic structure for kitchen play. Rule #1, think of everything as a lesson. The lessons that you are trying to teach will depend on the age of the child, of course. The younger the child the simpler the lesson will be. For instance:

My 3 year old:

My 6 year old:

• Learning how to properly fill measuring cups and level them off with a butter knife.
• Learning how to fill glass measuring cups for measuring liquids.
• Cutting up items like tortillas into smaller pieces with close, over the shoulder supervision, of course.
• Learning how to wash fruits and vegetables for consumption.
• Filling bowls for dinner.
• Making sure that there are just enough plates, cups, silverware for everyone for diner.
• Decorating items like cookies, cupcakes, pizza, etc..
• Coming up with new ideas for foods, that we then follow through with. (Even if it sounds like a somewhat yucky combination), then talking about the results. Remember, that experience comes from having mistakes too!
• Using cookie cutters
• Filling molds 

   Rule #2, have lots of hand towels, paper towels, and a box of diaper wipes or some washcloths for cleanup. Messes are going to happen, but after doing this a few times, you will slowly get over the adult need to not spill, drop or plop anything on the floors or counters. After you see just how much your kids actually learn in the kitchen, it really relaxes you a lot. Math, science, fine motor, feeding their curiosity about how things work, vocabulary – it really leaves no stone unturned for learning.

   Rule #3, try to let each child create their own masterpiece instead of one family masterpiece, if you can. It lessens the fighting over taking turns, who gets to do what, etc.. not to mention it encourages each child’s individuality and creative expression.

   Rule #4, and this can be a tough one to follow. Keep your mouth quiet about your kids actually eating their creations. Taste your creation, make some ooohs and aaahs about how good your food is, and about how you really like this or that. “Mmmm” from mom goes a long way for encouraging your picky / reluctant eaters. The more you try to force them (”Come on, just try it, just one bite, oh what’s the matter! You never want to try anything new!) the less chance you are going to have that they will eat it.

The Ideas

Flatbread pizzas: We bought a package a flatbread and couldn’t use them all up so I decided to use them to make our own mini pizzas. (This will also work with totrillas, split english muffins, french bread, and small pizza crusts). Plop on some storebought pizza sauce; use bagged, pre-mixed Italian blend of cheeses (for something different than straight up mozzerella); put out plates full of chopped up veggies of different colors and cut up in different ways; and let your kids create faces, lions, house shapes, dinosaurs, cars, Sponge Bob, Curious George, or whatever they like.

   We have used plates of onion strips, green pepper (strips and diced), sliced mushrooms, pepperoni (cut into whatever shape was needed to help finish a picture), baby spinach leaves (washed well), sliced olives, jarred pimentos, red bell peppers, orange bell peppers, purple / red cabbage,  bean sprouts, artichoke hearts (canned in water and cut-up), cheddar cheese (used to add color where needed), feta cheese (in moderation because of the saltiness), tomatoes (slices and diced), carrots (sliced into circles which are great for eyes), pineapple (chunks or rings), etc.. Think in terms of shapes and many various colors. Cut up the same item in different ways so as to give a variety of shapes to build with. Forget about taste, at least to some extent.

Rainbow cupcake frosting: Buy a box of food coloring and some white frosting (we like cream cheese frosting instead of just vanilla) and make some cupcakes. We’ve made lemon poppyseed cupcakes, spice cake cupcakes, yellow cake mix, devil’s food, and marbled cupcakes. Then we put the frosting into a large bowl and doled out small amounts at a time into a smaller bowl and colored just enough to frost 2 or 3 cupcakes. Start with a light color and then see how you can change it. Make it darker, totally change the color to something else by adding a few drops of a different food coloring, etc.. We ended up making a whole rainbow of cupcakes. This kitchen experiment was a huge hit!

Custom sugar cookies: Get some refridgerated sugar cookie dough or make your own. Then get out a butter knife and let your child cut out any shape they like. Remember, your child will learn alot from watching you so make sure that you make one of your own so they can get some ideas! Rocket ships, houses, cars, bears, our family (mom, dad, 2 kids), smiley faces, butterflies, bugs, lizzards, etc.. You are really looking for a strong outline instead of lots of details. When it cooks, tiny details typically will melt away, so keep the ideas kind of big. Add details when you’re done with color sugars (available in the cake isle of the grocery store or at a party /specialty cooking store)

Fruit shapes: Cut up some watermelon, cantaloupe, and honey dew into large wedges and help your child build ABCs, numbers, boats, etc.. on a plate. Use cherries, raisins, nuts, shredded coconut, mini marshmellows (I wouldn’t use those with kids under 4 or 5 years old though.), etc. to help complete the decorations. Canned whipped cream makes for a great flourish at the end that the kids get really excited about.

Valentine’s houses: I bought a gingerbread house kit at Walgreens around Christmas time, except that we were so busy that we didn’t get around to fixing it then. We made it around the first week in February for a Valentine’s house. There are a ton of shaped candies around then. We also hit a local candy store for some tasty items that would make for good design editions. We will definately repeat this art project next year. Make sure you take lots of pictures of this one!

Construct a fruit salad: Mix your chosen items with strawberry yogurt. (Blueberries will turn vanilla yogurt kind of purple, which is also fun.)

Shredded coconut, fresh pineapple, cut-up apple (with at least some skin left on), seedless grapes (red or green), raisins, cherries, chopped walnuts or almonds, dried cranberries, fresh cut pears, orange segments, strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, starfruit, etc.. all make wonderful additions. Try to choose some things that your child doesn’t normally have. Also, make sure that at least 2 of these things are in their fresh (not canned / processed) state. My children were totally fascinated with fresh pineapple, cherries, kiwi, and starfruit!

   We make a big deal out of going to the store or local farmer’s market to get the items. Then come home, cut it in half and let them look inside. We talk about where it comes from , and for my 6 year old, I get out a world map and show him where that place is on the map. We talk about what the temperature is like there and the weather in general is like there. We also talk about why that particular item will not grow here (too wet, too dry, not enough cold / heat, etc..)

   In general, we try to think outside of the box where possible. We play with it all, come up with new ways to get the shapes / colors we want, etc.. It’s as much play for me as it is for them. It’s a fun, satisfying experience for all of us. Enjoy and don’t forget to post food art ideas that you have tried!

“That which gets measured gets managed” 

   Hard times seem to be here for now. Gas is currently $4 per gallon and there is speculation on all of the money/financial shows that it is going to go to $5 per gallon. People are trading in their large SUVs and Suburbans as fast as they can get to the dealership and everyone seems to be starting to cut back, if even just a bit.

   I was talking to a friend the other day on the phone about the kind of food that I used to eat when I was first out on my own. We swapped a few basic recipes and that got me thinking, just how would I feed my family now if hard times were to really come again and money was truly scarce? You know, when you’re 18 through at least 28 or so you don’t think a lot about nutrition. But now that my kids are here I’m always thinking about how I can balance their meals overall.

   Here is my basic nutritional checklist for my kids (ages 3 and 6):

1.  Make food fun! Build your food. Play with your food. Get your hands into your food. (Wash your hands first!!!)
2. Vegetables everyday. No exceptions. Even if it has to be hidden.
3. Eat the colors of the rainbow. Blue/purple, red, green, orange/yellow, white.
4. Potatoes don’t count unless they have the skin on them and are not fried.
5. Olive oil where possible. Then canola oil. Then butter. This one is important!!!
6. Reduced sodium /no salt where possible.
7. Unsweetened where possible (this is a tough one!).
8. Protein everyday.
9. Limit red meat to some extent.
10. Fish at least once per week. (Working on getting that up to 2 – 3 times per week.)
11. Fruit once per day if possible but definitely multiple times per week.
12. Whole grains where possible.
13. Healthier cereals where possible. (Cheerios, Raisin Bran, Honey Nut Cheerios, Kashi, etc.)
14. Meatless meal once per week.
15. Less pepperoni, lunch meat, and bacon.
16. Eat from the local Farmer’s Market as much as possible for veggies.
17. Let them grow something out in the yard or in a pot outside that they can eat! (Touch it, see it, nurture it, play with it, prepare it, eat it. This really works wonders for picky eaters. It worked on my pickiest eater!)
18. More fresh food, less packaged / processed.
19. Water and low-fat milk to drink. (2% for now; skim as they get a little older)
20. Some juice but less juice overall. More whole fruit instead.

   So, tons of Ramen noodles will not fit the nutritional bill although throngs of people live their entire 20’s existing on little else. Here’s what I would perhaps serve my kids to keep it balanced.

Check prices to see which version is cheaper at the time you are shopping: fresh, frozen, or canned. Definitely check to see what’s on sale and in season. It will be cheaper. Bags of onions, potatoes, carrots, and beans would be essential. Bags of rice (preferably brown rice, but we’re still getting used to that) and boxes of pasta are also cheap staples.

• Cream of chicken soup, egg noodles, a little Ms. Dash, and a veggie thrown in. (Green peas work great for this.)
• Purchase fresh, whole chicken when it is on sale. (I’ve seen it as low as 39 cents per pound!) Bake them in the oven with some simple seasoning on them. Have dinner then cut up and shred what’s left. Freeze in small containers, covered in diluted chicken broth.
• Purchase cheap cuts of beef and put the slow cooker to work making it fabulous.
• Ditto for the pressure cooker.
• I would definitely try to grow things that we eat often. Cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, green beans, squash.
• Not too many people freeze or can their foods anymore but freezing foods for later is quick, easy, and pretty cheap. Buy food items when they are in peak season and cheap and freeze them for later. Look up “food preservation” for more information.

   What are your healthy but cheap meal ideas? Think of the single moms, working moms, and big families that you’ll help by leaving a comment with your ideas and recipes!

   I look forward to seeing what your family is eating when eating on the cheap!