Tummy Cakes

Maria has been having lots of "tummy cakes" lately. When she's full, or thinks she's full (maybe she  is full, I mean really, what do I know?!) she claims to have a tummy ache. She's smart because she knows that if she says she's done when there is still food on her plate, or cereal in her bowl, I will try to convince her to eat more but if her stomach is hurting I can't argue with her especially since she calls these "pains," "tummy cakes" which to me has so much more meaning than just a grammar error.

First and foremost one does not simply correct a three year old when they say cute things like "tummy cakes," so please don't try. Us parents, us parents of toddlers, we live for "tummy cakes" and other little cute things. At this age we're dealing with so many tantrums and failed negotiations that when we get a cute moment out of them we hoard it. Hoarding cute moments is a respectable practice in the parenting community, akin to having secret stashes of chocolate. Hello guilty indulgence!

Yup "tummy cakes"and Ritter Sport, that's kind of what I live for these days. You?

Since I only get to spend a few precious hours with Maria I try to soak up her awesomeness as much as I can. Lets' just skip the part where I apologize for being biased; I am talking about my daughter so the fact that I'm a little obsessed with her is a given. Moving on. Maria is a hoot! If you come over to my house for dinner she will tell you jokes. Her favorite, "Why did the pencil cross the road? To get to pencil-vania" followed by "Why did the pencil cross the park? To get to the other slide." I mean really, she still doesn't have all her baby teeth in but she has a repertoire of jokes.

And then there's the fact that she's bilingual and 3 which actually means she's monolingual in a language that mixes Portuguese and English but when asked what she speaks she'll tell you it's Spanish. The only people who fully understands her language is me, Christian, and Enzo but mostly just Enzo and thankfully Enzo has some language hiccups of his own so he doesn't ruin everything by trying to correct her.

I'll leave the parenting part where I try to discipline her about not wasting food and being responsible for what's on her plate for another day. Today I have a tummy cake I need to take care of.

Eliza's First Summer

I'm at the point where I just don't care if she gets dirty. She'll get messy and there's very little I can do to stop her. Funny how we care so much about the little things with our first child. Now with my third I care but not in the same way I cared with Enzo. With Eliza I want her to indulge. You only have your first summer once, and she's in such a delicious age where she can sit by herself, feed herself, and experience so much. Watermelon juice dripping down your neck and your scruptious baby belly is definitely something worth experiencing don't you think?

Homemade Biscuits

Warm biscuits are the classic comfort food. They go great with home made gravy, to make egg and cheese sandwiches, or just to eat plain with butter and honey. Although I'm lactose intolerant and baking doesn't really break down the lactose, I can usually eat baked goods made with milk, as long as it's in moderation. You can also try low-fat or fat-free milk which can make it even easier to digest for some people.

I think this is probably because there's not that much milk in any individual biscuit serving or you can always substitute regular milk with fat-free or lowfat lactose-free milk. More importantly, milk provides a great texture for baked goods, it helps to keep them soft and moist.  I regularly use milk for bread, dinner rolls, cakes, muffins, pancakes, and, of course, biscuits.

Here is our tried and true recipe.

Homemade Biscuits
Makes 16-20 biscuits

4 cups flour

2 tablespoons sugar

6 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons salt

1 cup shortening

1 1/2 cup milk (or substitute with low-fat, fat-free, or lactose free milk)

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Mix all of the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt) together.
3. Cut the shortening into the flour mixture. This can be done by repeatedly cutting the shortening into small peices with two butter knives or a pastry cutter. In the end the shortening should be cut into pea sized balls and coated in the flour mixture.
4. Finally, add the milk and mix until the dough is slightly sticky.
5. Knead about 8 or 10 times, just enough to stick everything together. Do not over knead. The kneading will provide the layers so the biscuits can be split open nicely.
6. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface so that it is about 1/2 inch thick. Cut out the biscuits with a circular cookie cutter. Be careful not to roll the dough too thin, the best biscuits with lots of soft layers are usually a little bit thicker.
   
7. Put the biscuits on a cookie sheet and bake for about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them because they bake very quickly and oven temperatures may vary.

This post was written while participating in my partnership with the National Dairy Council, and as always my opinions are my own.

Banana Chocolate Nut Energy Bars with Vi-Shape Nutrional Shake Mix

I had been wanting to make energy bars as an afternoon snack for the kids but hadn't gotten around to it. The great thing about energy bars is that it ties them over until dinner time. If they don't get a good afternoon snack then 20 minutes later they're back asking for another snack, and another and another.

When I was contacted by Vi-Shape to develop a recipe with their nutritional shake mix, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to develop an energy bar recipe. Their shake mix is loaded with all kinds of vitamins, fiber, protein, and nutrients and the sweet cream taste combined really well with the nuts and oatmeal.

I started with my basic granola recipe but added a little bit more flour, the Vi-shake mix, and the bananas to make it into more of a bar but still with the hearty, chunky granola texture. The end result was awesome, everything you want in an energy bar with only a fraction of the sugar that you usually find in store bought brands. This is a recipe that is meant to be experimented with so don't worry if you are missing some ingredients. Use whatever nuts or dried fruit you have lying around or even try adding some chocolate chips or coconut for a different variation.

Banana Chocolate Nut Energy Bars with Vi-Shape Nutrional Shake Mix

Makes roughly 20 bars.

3 cups whole oats

1/2 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup Vi-Shape NutrionalShake Mix Sweet Cream Flavor

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup ground cacao nibs

1/3 cup almonds

1/3 cup pecans

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup honey

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 over ripe bananas

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees
2. Mix oats, flour, Vi-shapeNutritional Shake Mix, cinnamon, salt and cacao nibs
3. Chop the almonds and pecan into large pieces and add together with the sunflower seeds to the oat mixture
4. In a microwavable bowl or small saucepan, mix brown sugar, peanut butter, honey, vegetable oil, coconut oil, and bananas together. Mash the bananas and mix well with the other ingredients. Microwave on high for a minute or two or heat over the stovetop until almost boiling. It's ok if there are still a few banana lumps but it should be mostly mixed up. (It's also OK to get help with this part if you have some little people around).
5. Add the wet ingredients to the oat mixture and mix well.
6. Pour into a greased 9 by 13 inch glass dish and bake for 25 minutes.
7. Cut into bars and enjoy with a cold glass of milk.