Cool Treats

 It is hot hot hot in the middle of America right now.  And I love hot weather so I am not complaining.  The only thing about hot weather that upsets me is that I hate to turn the oven on, which is sort of a stumbling block for someone that is a food and cooking blogger.  So I have been cooking less big meals and working hard to come up with nutrient-packed snacks for us to eat to keep us cool. 

One thing I have found myself hooked on is sassy water.  I’ll give you a moment to stop laughing because yes, I just said I drink something called sassy water.  Now, sassy water is a drink that women everywhere are drinking because of the claims that it will all make us look like this.  99% of me doesn’t buy into the sassy water claims, but the 1% of me that does is hoping that it works.  And if it doesn’t work, oh well….at least I am staying hydrated.  And actually, it’s really tasty, unlike other all-natural weight loss beverages.

Sassy Water

• 8 1/2 cups water
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1 medium cucumber, sliced thin
• 1 large lemon, sliced thin
• 12 mint leaves

My minis love sassy water too.  I don’t let my tiny mini drink too much of the sassy water because her sassy tank seems to be overflowing already. 

My minis love popsicles.  I have been making smoothies for myself each morning.  I usually make a double batch and pour my smoothie into popsicle molds for the minis to enjoy later in the day. 

Heids McGhee’s breakfast smoothie and Mini popsicle

• 1 mango, cut into chunks (can use fresh or frozen)
•  ¼ cup frozen raspberries
•  1 frozen banana
• 1/8 cup blueberries
•  Fresh ginger (add less or more, depending on your personal preference)
•  ½ cup plain greek yogurt
• Spash of orange juice
• ½ cup protein powder
• 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed

1.  Blend.

2.  Drink half for breakfast, pour the other half into popsicle molds.

Another snack we have enjoyed is banana-sicles. 

Mini McGhee’s banan-sicles

• One banana
• 1/3 cup plain greek yogurt
• Dash of cinnamon
• Drop of vanilla extract
• Crushed walnuts
• Popsicle stick or skewer

1.  Mix cinnamon and vanilla extract with greek yogurt.

2.  Slather banana with yogurt mixture.  (If you can find a neat way to do this, please let us know).

3.  Sprinkle with crushed walnuts.  Stick popsicle stick in the end of the banana.

4.  Freeze for about an hour. 

Stay cool!  Drink your sassy water!

Puppy Mama Drama

So we've been taking our puppy to puppy preschool.  She's been learning lots of really important things like how to walk on a balance beam and jump through hula hoops.  And we are patiently waiting for them to start covering the lesser important things like how to stop jumping, biting, and peeing everywhere.  For now, we are overlooking all of these things and enjoying our puppy for what she is....a jumping, biting, peeing, sweet little ball of love.

My tiny mini loves her puppy.  We told her she is the puppy's mommy and she is owning that role.  And, like most new mommies, she worries constantly that her puppy is hungry and not eating enough.  So, she sneaks into the garage and gets handfuls of puppy food and puppy treats and hides in the corner and hand feeds her baby.  

Mr. McGhee and our tiny mini took her baby to the vet last week.  And guess what?  Our puppy is overweight.  And puppy's mommy (AKA tiny mini) did not take the news well because her baby is perfect just the way she is.  And since we let our 3 year old mini call the shots, we decided.....we're going to have an overfed puppy.  Because how can you say no to a mommy that does this.....

If you're wondering what my puppy drama has to do with my unprocessed cooking blog, I apologize.  The two are pretty much unrelated except for the fact that I was worrying about my fat dog yesterday while I was cooking these granola bars for my skinny minis.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces old-fashioned rolled oats, approximately 2 cups
• 1 1/2 ounces raw sunflower seeds, approximately 1/2 cup
• 3 ounces sliced almonds, approximately 1 cup
• 1 1/2 ounces wheat germ, approximately 1/2 cup
• 6 ounces honey, approximately 1/2 cup
• 1 3/4 ounces dark brown sugar, approximately 1/4 cup packed
• 1-ounce unsalted butter, plus extra for pan
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 1/2 ounces chopped dried fruit, any combination of apricots, cherries or blueberries

1.  Butter a 9 by 9-inch glass baking dish and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  Spread the oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, and wheat germ onto a half-sheet pan (I added some ground flaxseed as well). Place in the oven and toast for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3.  In the meantime, combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, extract and salt in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook until the brown sugar has completely dissolved (and mixture starts to get foamy).

4.  Once the oat mixture is done, remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 300 degrees F. Immediately add the oat mixture to the liquid mixture, add the dried fruit, and stir to combine. Turn mixture out into the prepared baking dish and press down, evenly distributing the mixture in the dish and place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Use a buttered spatula to push down the mixture. 

I added some dark chocolate chips as well.  These are tasty and a great snack option for parents and minis.  Just keep them away from chubby puppies.  

Pretzels!!!

Am I the only one here that can barely pull into a parking space at the mall before I hear, "I'm hungry.  Can we get a pretzel?"  And I always say, "Seriously, Mr. McGhee.  Why didn't you eat something before we left the house?"  My minis are also crazy about those buttery and salty pretzels, so I've been on a mission to find a homemade recipe for months now.  


Mission Complete.  I made these pretzels this morning, and they are delish.  In fact, my minis even said they taste exactly like the mall pretzels.  They are super easy to make, just make sure you have enough time to the dough rise.


Auntie Anne's Copycat Pretzel recipe

• 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
• Kosher salt for Topping
• 1 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon butter (melted)
• 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1 1/4 cups + 2 tablespoons warm water

1.  Prepare yeast as instructed on the packet  (I added 1 1/4 cups of warm water to 1 tbsp and 1/2 tsp of dry active yeast.  I let it sit for about 10 minutes).

2.  Add oil to the yeast and stir.

3.  In a separate bowl mix place powdered sugar, butter, flour and salt. Mix. Place yeast mixture into the dry ingredient bowl.

4.  Flour a surface and knead the dough for about 10 minutes.

5.  Place dough in a covered bowl ( I use plastic wrap) and let it rest for about an hour at 80 degrees.  Dough should double in size.

6.  Preheat oven at 425F.  

7.  Take dough and cut into 8 sections. And roll into a long rope.

8.  Prepare a baking soda water bath with 2 cups warm water and 2 tbsp baking soda. ( It will give the pretzel that wonderful brown color).

9.  Dip each pretzel into the bath.

10.  Place pretzel on to parchment paper on top of a baking sheet.

11.  Bake for about 10 minutes or until pretzel is brown.

12.  Blush melted butter (optional ) onto each and sprinkle salt on top.

Wait until dough has doubled in size.

Cut dough into 8 sections.

Stretch dough.

We found whipping the dough around in circles gave us the best stretching. 

Fold into a pretzel shape.

Dip into baking soda and water. 

Ready to bake.

Finished baking.

Brush with melted butter and salt.  Enjoy while hot.

Next time I will make half with salt and the other half with cinnamon and sugar.  Delish!

Food Be Thy Medicine

I've been getting emails and messages today from readers telling me, "Heids McGhee, there is no way I can do this.....I am too busy/work full time/have children/can't cook/live with picky eaters.....to take on what you are doing".  OK, readers, I am not going to let you give up on this before you even begin! 

If the thought of giving up processed foods sends you spiraling into a panic thinking your family is going to starve, you need to re-think what you are eating.  If your daily diet is a bowl of cereal, a lean cuisine/lunchable, noodles with some Ragu sauce, and then a bag of microwave popcorn while you watch Modern Family, then you need to join me!  This is about prioritizing your health and preventing disease.  Hippocrates said it best, "Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine by thy food."  Take care of yourself people!!!

So, I have a challenge for you....re-think the way you eat.  Throw out your processed food and replace it with something else.  Bread, biscuits, muffins, crackers, cereal, tortillas, chips, pop tarts, granola bars. lunchmeat....your body does not need them.  So, don't stress over replacing them with homemade from scratch recipes.  Replace them with nature's food....your mealtime should be a protein (probably a meat), vegetables and fruit.  Fill up on that, and you won't even miss your Cheez-its, I promise!  Now, while you are working on that, I will work on coming up with fast, easy recipes that you can encorporate into your busy life. 

I encourage you (and your families) that the next time you are hungry, to head to the fridge.  Avoid the pantry.  Remember, we need to eat food that expires quickly.  When you are grocery shopping, shop the perimeter of the store....produce, meat, eggs, dairy.  Overwhelmed with going completely unprocessed?  Pick one meal to go unprocessed.  I suggest breakfast, it's going to cost you about 10 minutes extra each morning, but what better way to honor your body and your family than to begin each day with a healthy start? 

Change the way you and your children snack.  Next time your kiddos are starving, give them these options:

• raw baby bell peppers dipped in hummus
• cucumber slices with lime juice and sea salt
• homemade granola (sorry...you're not allowed to complain about this one, it takes about 5 minutes to make)
• homemade whole wheat muffins
• hard boiled eggs
• fruit kabobs
• plain greek yogurt with frozen fruit mixed in (defrost the fruit and it will mix well)
• celery with peanut butter and raisins (ants on a log....it's still a hit!)
• core an apple and slice it real thin, use the apple slices as "bread" and make a peanut butter sandwich
• cheese and grapes
• nuts
• smoothies (milk, ice, frozen fruit)

I'm going to leave you with a recipe that I want you all to try for kale chips.  Kale is a great veggie that packs tons of nutrients. 

• 1 bunch of kale
• olive oil
• seasoned salt

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F
2. Line a cookie sheet with foil.
3. Using a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner.   (or buy the bag of pre-cut kale....who says all convience food is processed?)
4. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt.
5. Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.               

We had kale chips for dinner tonight with tilapia and a couscous salad. 

Now, I've got to get to work.  I realized I've got the attention of lots of people with this little project I started.....so, I am working for you guys now!