Whining 'N Dining

Try This: Sabra Hummus from Costco

On your next trip to Costco, grab yourself a tub of this Sabra Hummus. Delicious hummus that you can buy at bargain prices and will feed your family for weeks. (Thanks to Elise & Aaron for this tip!)

Don't forget about hummus for school lunches. You can send it with whole wheat pita or pita chips or carrots or put it in a sandwich or lavosh/tortilla roll up.

You'll find rave reviews across the Internet. Once you experience its robust flavor and super creaminess, it's hard to embrace another hummus in your life. See this review of hummuses on the market and see why Sabra comes out on top.

Healthy Popcorn for an After School Treat

Need a healthy after school treat? My daughter has been on a popcorn kick every since we took her to her first movie in the theater (Wall-E). She has talks about it almost every other day. I decided to experiment with how to make a healthier variety of buttery popcorn for us to enjoy at home.

Here's what I did:

One bag of plain microwave Newman's Own Organic Popcorn

1-2 Tbsp. of Earth Balance butter spread melted

1 Tbsp. ground flax seed

Salt to taste

She LOVED it, and I did, too. You couldn't even taste the flax. It just melded right to the popcorn as if were meant to be there all along.

Tortilla-Crusted Cod Cakes

Need a quick weeknight dinner. Check. Need for junior to develop more of a taste for fish. Check. Need something for the whole family. Check. This recipe from Real Simple has got your bases covered.

Note: Althought this recipe uses cod, you can certainly substitute with salmon or crab.

Tortilla-Crusted Cod Cakes

Ingredients

1 medium red onion
1 bunch fresh cilantro
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped
1 1/2 pounds cod fillet
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup finely crushed tortilla chips (from 3 cups chips)
2 oranges, peeled and thinly sliced into circles

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350° F.
2. Finely chop enough onion to measure 3/4 cup and enough cilantro stems to measure 1 tablespoon (reserving the leaves).
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in an ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, cilantro stems, and jalapeño and cook until softened, 4 minutes.
4. Pulse the cod, egg, salt, pepper, and the onion mixture in a food processor until combined but not pureed.
5. Form 8 cod cakes. Coat each cake with the chips.
6. Wipe out skillet. Heat 1 tablespoon of the remaining oil over medium heat.
7. Add 4 cakes and cook until golden brown, 3 minutes on each side. Transfer to a baking sheet. Wipe out skillet and repeat with 1 tablespoon of the remaining oil and the last 4 cakes. Bake until cooked through, about 10 minutes.
8. Thinly slice the remaining onion. Toss with the oranges, 1/2 cup of the cilantro leaves, and the remaining oil. Serve with the cakes.

Serves 4.

NUTRITION PER SERVING: CALORIES 380(26% from fat); FAT 15g (sat 2.5g); CHOLESTEROL 120mg; CARBOHYDRATE 27g; SODIUM 1,090mg; PROTEIN 34g; FIBER 4g; SUGAR 9g

Try This: Mexican Black Bean Dip

This week, my nanny gave me a brilliant idea for trying to get my ever so finicky daughter to eat veggies. She's been making bean dip with veggies in it. In fact,  I just polished off a batch that I found sitting in my fridge. I melted some cheese on top and ate with some tortilla chips. Yum!

This is a great recipe for school lunches as you can send this along with tortilla chips, pita chips or carrots & celery for dipping. And you'll know that your kid will be happily eating his or her veggies as they nosh on this tasty dip.

Ingredients:

1 15.5-ounce can black beans or white beans

1/3 cup mild or medium-hot salsa

1/3 cup of fresh or frozen mixed veggies (i.e. carrots, bell peppers, peas, etc)

1/4 cup cilantro leaves, plus extra for garnish (optional)

4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

l small garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon of cumin

Salt to taste

Directions:
1. Drain and rinse the black beans.

2. Cook the veggies (I like to sauté them).
2. Combine the black beans, salsa, veggies, cilantro leaves, lemon juice, garlic, cumin and salt in a food processor. Blend until smooth.
3. Garnish with cilantro leaves, if you like. Makes 1 1/4 cups and serves 4 to 6.

The School Lunch Idea List

Now that summer is officially over (sigh), my daughter has her first day of preschool tomorrow. To help me (and hopefully, you), I'm creating a master school lunch list. I know some of these items are kind of a no-brainer, but given the fact that I am in the latter stages of pregnancy, I've just gotta write stuff down. Think of this as a working list; one that I will continue to update. I hope that you will chime in with your suggestions below, so this can be the greatest school lunch resource guide ever created!!

Sandwiches:

·   Cheese, avocado, and sprouts

·   Grilled cheese with cucumber or sprouts

·   Leftover grilled vegetables (bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, eggplant, zucchini) with sliced cheese, goat cheese, or pesto sauce

·   Cheddar or mozzarella cheese with apple slices

·   Brie cheese with mustard and sprouts

·   Cheese, tomato, sprouts or lettuce, and pesto sauce

·   Leftover turkey loaf with tomatoes, and lettuce or sprouts

·   Sliced leftover chicken or turkey, cranberry sauce, and lettuce

·   Sliced leftover chicken or turkey, honey mustard, tomatoes, and lettuce or sprouts

·   Sliced leftover beef with mayonnaise or horseradish, sliced tomato and cucumbers

·   Chicken salad made with celery, lettuce, and tomato

·   Tuna/cucumber/green pepper salad with tomato

·   Salmon salad with lettuce or sprouts

·   Shrimp salad with lettuce or sprouts

·   Lowfat cream cheese, and smoked salmon (with tomato, and red onion)

·   Almond butter and honey in a whole wheat pita

·   Roll-up sandwich on lavosh with hummus, cucumber, tomato, sprouts

Sandwich

Spreads:

·   Almond butter

·   Cashew butter

·   Apple butter

·   Soy butter

·   Fruit spread

·   Mashed avocado

·   Mashed banana

·   Hummus

·   Mashed banana and cream cheese

·   Veggie cream cheese spread (stir in diced veggies / spices in cream cheese)

·   Pesto

·   Honey

·   Goat cheese

·   Pumpkin butter

·   Tomato sauce

      Other Non-Sandwich Ideas:

·   Homemade pizza

·   

Turkey

slices

·   Ham slices

·   Diced hot dog / turkey dog / veggie dog

·   Mac 'n cheese

·   Sliced rotisserie chicken / grilled chicken

·   Chicken nuggets

·   Pasta salad

·   Sauteed tofu

·   Cheese tortilleni

·   Pasta with red sauce

·   Pasta with pesto

·   Buttered noodles

·   Polenta with red sauce & mozzarella cheese

·   Chicken salad with whole wheat pita

      Fruit/Veggies:

·   Steamed carrots

·   Sliced apples

·   Veggie sticks (carrots, cucumber, bell peppers) with hummus, ranch dressing, or other dip

·   Fruit salad

·   Dried fruit

·   Box of raisins / Craisins

·   Sliced cucumbers with a splash of rice vinegar or other Asian vinagarette

·   Fruit slices to dip in yogurt

·   Melon slices

·   Steamed yams

·   Roasted new potatoes

·   Edamame

·   Blueberries

·   Grapes

·   Diced strawberries

·   Sliced peaches

·   Sliced pears

·   Sliced plums

·   Banana

·   Sliced mango

·   Steamed asparagus

·   Orange slices

·   Clementines (pre-peeled for preschoolers)

·   Cherries

·   Diced pineapple

·   Dried pineapple

·   Freeze-dried mangos **Trader Joe's

·   Kiwi

·   Steamed broccoli/ cauliflower

·   Leftover grilled / roasted veggies

·   Steamed snap peas

·   Oven-baked fried zucchini

·   Ants on a log - spread celery with cream cheese and top with raisins

Snacks & Treats:

·   Applesauce

·   

Berry

applesauce

·   Banana chips

·   Trail mix

·   Granola bars

·   Snap Pea Crisps

·   Graham crackers

·   Graham crackers with peanut butter or other nut butter

·   Veggie Booty / Pirate’s Booty

·   Fruit roll-up

·   Baked chips

·   Whole wheat pita chips with hummus

·   Whole wheat crackers with cheese

·   Whole wheat crackers with veggie dip

·   Dry cereal

·   Banana muffin / bread

·   Zucchini muffin / bread

·   Strawberry muffin / bread

Happy Back to School

Hope you have a good start to school! And hope you can treat yourself to a beautiful, yummy latte like this one (from T he Little Next Door in West Hollywood) to celebrate and/or console.