[lunch love: sweet & healthy treats for kids]
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Love is in the air! Sweet hearts are being exchanged and another candy filled holiday is upon us. We have some alternatives to marshmallow and chocolate chip sandwiches. Ugh, our stomachs hurt just thinking about that. Cupid will never see you coming!
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Cupid’s Sweet Treat
Keep them going with this morning snack. It gives the necessary burst of energy from natural sweeteners and the hard working protein to keep them focused until lunch. Did you know granola couldn’t be easier to make? And when you make it - you control the ingredients.
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• 2 c of oats
• ¼ c of raw sunflower seeds (If using roasted: 1/8 c – roasted have lots of salt!)
• 1 c of your favorite nuts
• ½ c wheat germ (get it in health (I like sliced almonds) food or grocery stores)
• ¾ c honey
• ¼ c dark brown sugar
• 2 oz unsalted butter
• 2 tsps vanilla extract
• 1 tsp of pumpkin spice
• ½ tsp salt (NO salt if using roasted seeds)
• 1 c of dried blueberries, apricots and chopped dates (or your favorite dried fruit)
• ½ c grape nuts or bran flakes
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Spray or butter a 9x9 pan generously. Preheat your oven to 350. Using a cookie sheet – toast the oats, sunflower seeds, wheat germ and nuts in the oven for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. (Don’t toast roasted sunflowers seeds - add them later with the cereal)
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Meanwhile, combine the honey, sugar, butter, spice and vanilla on the stove over medium heat until the sugar melts. When the dry ingredients are toasted add them to the wet along with the fruit and cereal and fold in until combined. Press into your 9x9 pan using clean hands or gloved hands and bake for 25 minutes at 300 degrees.
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Banana Mania Sandwich
• 1 Loaf of Banana Bread (see recipe below)
• 1 c of your favorite peanut butter (natural will offer more protein & goodness bang for less sugar bucks)
• 1 3oz package of cream cheese
• ¾ cup of your favorite dried fruit (cherries, cranberries, white raisins)
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Cream the cheese and peanut butter together with your mixer. Using a spatula, mix in the berries. Spread mixture between two slices of banana bread for a sweet treat lunch that is homemade.
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Banana Bread
There are any number of quick bread box mixes that can be used. If you go that route, add a mashed ripe banana for some extra richness. But banana bread is the easiest bread to make, and it freezes beautifully. So make a few loaves at a time and freeze them up for future use!
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• 1 c sugar
• ½ c shortening
• ½ tsp lemon juice
• 2 lg eggs
• 1 ½ c mashed ripe banana
• 2 c flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 ½ tsp pumpkin spice
• 1 ½ c nuts (optional)
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Mix it all up together and bake at 350 for 1 hr (or cake tester is clean when piercing the middle). Let cool, wrap well and freeze. Great for lunches, breakfast and snacks!
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Light Lovely Dessert
No meal is complete without dessert!
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• Florida Strawberries
• Cantaloupe
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Slice and mix together with a sprinkling of cinnamon and store in your favorite air-tight snack cup for up to a couple of days.
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Contributing food editor Kimberly Walters went from the dog-eat-dog world of Manhattan finance, to dipping into her creative energy and total love of cooking and eating great food. She is a member of the United States Personal Chef Association (USPCA) and Women Chefs & Restauranteurs' (WCR) and in good standing of the Personal Chef International Code of Ethics (PCICE).
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