A Mouthful from The Creative Kitchen

Aloha! Grilled Ham and Pineapple Pizza

Picture your family on a tropical island, the blue water of the Pacific sparkling in the sun and the palm trees swaying in the breeze...and then your ideal daydream is interrupted by your toddler playfully pouring sand into your drink... So, maybe the beach isn't such a picture perfect idea after all. 


Instead try bringing a little tropical inspiration to your family dinner table without the sand! We just love this spin on a Hawaiian pizza , the kids will loooove the sweetness of the pineapple and they may even get a giggle out of having fruit on their pizza! This tropical delight was prepared and reviewed by Matisse Reid, a food-saavy 11-year-old who knows what's cookin'! Matisse and her jury of tough critics (her friends and family) tell it like it is so you'll always know just how kid-friendly a recipe truly is.  

In the July issue of Cooking Light,  Matisse's grilled ham and pineapple pizza earned rave reviews among her peers.  In fact, it was such a huge hit that Megan, age 11, gave it 100 out of 10 --  "It was so good, she added an extra zero!"  Now, if that's not a seal of approval, I don't know what is!  

Check out A Kid in the Kitchen on Cooking Light for the full review and this tasty recipe!  Aloha! 

Time for Kids Big Book of What?

Time for Kids: The Big Book of What?

The Big Book of What: Book Review


Do your kids ever ask why jello is jiggly? Or what is an Adam's Apple after all? Do your kids often ask you questions that leave you stumped?


Well keep those noggins thinking, learning and growing with this razzle- dazzling, mind tingling caboodle of 801 facts, that kids of ALL AGES want to know!


From the Eyes of a Kid:
I never knew some foods were created by accident! 


From the Mind of a Parent: 
Both my child and I find the book fascinating! The book has a wide range of information and facts from food, to the human body, to the environment and weather, animals, and even inventions.


Icing on the Cake 


Good to Go?
This hard bound book is perfect for transporting, without the worry of bending or ripping! And although filled with 801 facts this book is narrow, small on size, and light weight enough to fit right into a backpack or the back seat pocket of the car. 

Recipe: Earth Balance Organic Coconut Spread

Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes 

With Ginger-Lime Peanut Sauce

The Creative Kitchen loves Earth Balance Coconut Spread, as can be seen in our Parent Picked Kid Approved Review! We know that kids love butter, sweet potatoes and peanut butter so, what better way to combine these ingredients than in one yummy recipe?!

Ingredients

Potatoes

3 medium-sized sweet potatoes, halved
2 tsp. melted Earth Balance® Coconut Spread Filling
1 Tbs. Earth Balance® Coconut Spread
1 small onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup fresh sliced shiitake mushrooms
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch kale or other leafy greens, chopped into bite-sized pieces (about 3 cups)
1/2 cup water

Sauce
3/4 cup hot water
1/3 cup Earth Balance® Peanut Butter
2 Tbs. coconut aminos or tamari
2 Tbs. freshly squeezed lime juice (1 to 2 limes)
1 tsp. fresh grated ginger
chopped peanuts for garnish
minced cilantro for garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Rub potatoes with Earth Balance® Coconut Spread. Place cut side down on a baking sheet and bake 30 to 40 minutes, until a knife easily goes through the potatoes. Remove potatoes from oven and set aside. Leave the oven on.

To make the filling, melt Earth Balance® Coconut Spread in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook 3 to 4 minutes, until lightly browned. Stir in mushrooms and garlic, cook 2 minutes longer.

Add kale and 1/2 cup water, cover and cook 4 to 6 minutes, until kale softens; uncover and set aside.

To make the sauce, whisk together hot water with peanut butter, coconut aminos or tamari, lime juice and ginger to taste. Add more water, as needed, to create a sauce. Set aside.

Scoop the flesh out of each potato, leaving about 1/4 inch around the inside of the potato. Stir sweet potato flesh into the vegetable mixture with about half of the peanut sauce. Spoon the vegetable mixture back into the potatoes, place potatoes on a baking sheet and bake 15 minutes longer.

Serve drizzled with extra peanut sauce and topped with chopped peanuts and cilantro.

Nutrition Info

PER SERVING: 200 CAL; 7G PROTEIN; 10G TOTAL FAT
(2G SAT FAT); 24G CARB; 0MG CHOL; 352MG SODIUM;
4G FIBER; 2G SUGARS

Earth Balance Organic Coconut Spread

Adding the natural sweetness and benefits of organic, extra virgin coconut oil into your diet just got a whole lot easier (and tastier). This satisfying, spreadable sensation smoothly goes where no other coconut oil product has gone before—everywhere you traditionally use butter. Cook with it. Bake with it. Just go nuts.

From the Mouth of a Kid:

Yum!  Tastes like butter and sweet like coconut!

From the Eyes of a Parent:

Lactose-free, gluten-free, non GMO, soy-free, made with extra virgin coconut oil and no transfat. 

Flavorful features

The Icing on the Cake:

Spreadable, melts like butter, great for baking and cooking.

Time to Eat?!

Anytime! 

Mix It Up!

For an additional flavor component to a traditional stir fry try substituting the oil for Organic Coconut Spread.  

Check back this afternoon for a great recipe idea using this product!

www.earthbalancenatural.com
facebook.com/earthbalancenatural

Taste Matters with Mitchell Davis

The Creative Kitchen loves giving advice on how to engage kids in the Kitchen!

This week's Taste Matters episode was all about the kids! Cricket taught Heritage Radio Network listeners some creative and fun ways to engage kids in the kitchen and get them eating more healthy foods like fruits and vegetables. Find out how different age groups react to different educational approaches, and why tricking kids into eating good food is not the answer. Cooking should be fun, and Cricket is here to remind you of that! 

Listen to the Full Episode here.

"You learn more when you're having fun. You use all your senses while you're cooking. The reward is built in, you get to eat what you've made."

"I'm not a huge fan of the sneaky vegetable tricks. You hear about people hiding squash puree in mac n cheese. I think at the end of the day fruits and vegetables are colorful and delicious and should be exciting for kids!" 

"Most children's menus don't incorporate ANY vegetables. It's tragic."

 

                                                          This show was sponsored by Fairway Market. 

Lifeway: Probugs Push Pops

Now your kids can enjoy their favorite Probugs Kefir in a fun new frozen pop! Probugs Frozen Kefir is a creamy, nutritious and delicious dessert that packs 10 live and active probiotic cultures. Made with all natural ingredients and packed with excellent sources of protein and calcium, your little ones will love this tart and tangy treat! 

From the Mouth of a Kid: 
 It's sweet, tart and yummy...my hands a little cold! I have to eat it fast!    

From the Eyes of a Parent: 
It's a perfect cool down summertime snack that is not full of added sugar--with the nutrients of yogurt. 

Flavorful features

The Icing on the Cake: 
There are protein, calcium and live active probiotic cultures in every push pop.

Time to Eat?!
Perfect at snack time or for dessert.  

Mix it Up!
Squeeze two tubes together and mix 'em up to make your own yummy flavor!

www.lifeway.net

Summer Snack Tips

The Creative Kitchen loves nutritious and balanced snacks!

This summer snack on fruits and vegetables! Cut pieces of fresh fruits and vegetables to make delicious, refreshing, satisfying and nutritious snacks. 

Slice naturally sweet yellow peppers and pack them in a bag, or fill a container with blueberries to carry along ... and leave the bag of chips for the birds!  

For more easy ways to encourage your little one to eat more fruits and veggies, click here! 

And don't forget to wash down all these healthy snacks with a glass of Organic Valley milk!  

Recipe: Mina's Purely Divine All Purpose Baking Mix

Ingredients:

              

¾ cup (112.5 g) Mina's Purely Divine All Purpose Baking Mix

1 Tbsp (12.6 g) sugar

1 Tbsp (12 g) baking powder

½ tsp (3 g) salt

¾ cup (176 g) milk, almond, coconut or soy milk

¼ cup (56.5 g) vegetable oil

1 large egg (50 g)

Preparation:

              

1. Combine baking  mix, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.

2. Mix in another bowl, milk,vegetable oil and egg.

3. Add the set aside dry ingredients.

4. Stir till just smooth.

5. Let batter rest for 15 minutes.

6. Heat griddle or frying pan on medium heat until hot.

7. Add butter or oil to griddle and scoop 1/4 cup size batter onto the hot pan.

8. Cook until bubbles form on top of the cakes.

9. Turn over and continue cooking until done.

              

              

Yields: 8 x 4" pancakes.

             

Mina's Purely Divine Gluten-Free All-Purpose Mix

Established in 2010, Mina's Purely Divine is committed to delivering safe, versatile, allergen-friendly products that produce gourmet gluten-free baked goods for your family to enjoy.

From the Mouth of a Kid:

Light and fluffy, just like pancakes should be! 

From the Eyes of a Parent:

Dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free and bean-free.

Flavorful features

The Icing on the Cake:

Forget those cardboard flapjacks, you can't beat these light and fluffy, sure-to-be-gobbled-up-at-breakfast pancakes!

Time to Eat?!

Breakfast.

Mix It Up!

Fill two cookie cutters or pancake rings for quick, homemade sandwich rolls.  

Check back tomorrow for a great recipe! 

www.minasgf.com

The Kids Food Festival partners with Cooking Light to educate families about making balanced food choices.

NEW YORK, July 12, 2012—

The Kids Food Festival™, a premier family-oriented food event, and Cooking Light, the nation’s leading epicurean magazine brand, announced today a partnership to educate families about making balanced food choices through an expanded event series.  The new series, The Kids Food Festival™, in partnership with Cooking Light will offer family-friendly cooking classes, food demonstrations, food sampling, and entertainment to help create wholesome lifelong eating habits for both kids and parents.   

“We are so excited to be working with Cooking Light to expand the footprint and offerings of The Kids Food  Festival™ this fall in New York City and beyond,” says Cricket Azima, The Kids Food Festival™ Founder. “The mission of both organizations are so closely aligned that it made sense to join forces to educate families about making balanced food choices."

Cricket Azima,  Founder

“At Cooking Light we understand the importance of instilling healthy eating habits at a young age and we’re always striving to deliver creative recipes to our consumers who want to feed their families healthy, delicious meals every day,” says Karla Partilla, Cooking Light Publisher. “Partnering with The Kids Food Festival™ allows us bring to life our philosophy of healthy, delicious food through hands-on classes, sampling, and activities the whole family will enjoy.”


The Kids Food Festival™, in partnership with Cooking Light is proud to continue working with the James Beard Foundation, which helps to develop and execute many of the chef led hands-on kids cooking classes throughout the festival.

Chef Jehangir Mehta, Mehtaphor

The Kids Food Festival™, in  partnership with Cooking Light gets cookin’ in New York City on November 3 and 4 and will expand to Washington, D.C. in April 2013.

A portion of the ticketed class proceeds from The Kids Food Festival™, in partnership with Cooking Light will benefit FoodCorps (www.foodcorps.org), the event’s featured charity.    

Balanced Plate Scavenger Hunt

For more information about The Kids Food Festival™, in partnership with Cooking Light go to: www.kidsfoodfestival.com and check the event out on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/KidsFoodFestival.  For the latest information about the event follow us on Twitter: @KidsFoodFestNYC.

For more information about sponsorship opportunities, please contact Founder Cricket Azima at cricket@kidsfoodfestival.com.

# # #

About Kids Food Festival
The Kids Food Festival™, a premier family-oriented food event, is presented by The Creative Kitchen™, LLC, a company that teaches children about food and how to cook in a fun, safe, and educational manner.  Targeting families with children ages two and older, the company focuses on teaching, writing creative content and curriculum, special events, recipe development, spokesperson work, webisode production and consulting to present educational content through food-related activities. The founder, Cricket Azima, inspires children to express themselves creatively through cooking, social studies, arts and sciences.

About Cooking Light
At 25 years, Cooking Light is the nation’s leading epicurean magazine brand with the largest audience and most epicurean editorial.  Cooking Light is the only epicurean brand positioned at the intersection of great-tasting food and healthfulness, serving an important and growing consumer need.  The brand delivers innovative recipes, nutrition advice, and resources to live a healthful lifestyle via its magazine, Web site, and portfolio of cookbooks; across all tablets; through the highly-acclaimed Cooking Light Quick and Healthy Menu Maker app; and on social media platforms including, Facebook (Facebook.com/CookingLight), Twitter (@Cooking_Light), Pinterest (Pinterest.com/CookingLight) and Instagram.  Cooking Light is part of the Time Inc. Lifestyle Group, a division of Time Inc., the largest magazine media company in the U.S.

Media Contacts
Stephanie Hacker, The Kids Food Festival™, media@kidsfoodfestival.com, (716) 499-5638
Erin Clinton, Cooking Light, erin_clinton@timeinc.com, 212-522-2710


Photos courteous of: Ghazalle Badiozamani Photography

Baking Around the World

Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake baker's man, buy this cookbook as fast as you can! Ok, so maybe that's not quite how it goes... 

Baking Around the World, the latest from The Handstand Kids Cookbook Company, is a great addition to your cookbook collection. Not only does it introduce kids to the wonderful world of baking, but it also comes with a kid-friendly whisk and reusable silicon baking cups! Talk about a Baker's Dozen!

Recipes include: Red Velvety Beet Cupcakes, Mexican Chocolate Cake, Bella Biscotti Cookies, Raspberry Rugala and Cupcakes in a Cone.

Author Yvette Garfield is one cool cookie, she is giving Creative Kitchen fans 20% off when you check out HERE with coupon code: cupcake. Whoever said "the icing on the cake" must have been talking about this sweet deal!

Heard it Through the Grapevine

When the temperature rises, we just love to keep meals light and fresh. So you can imagine how excited we were when we found these perfect summertime recipes. You could even say we heard it through the grapevine!

We were also pleasantly surprised to learn that Concord grapes contribute to healthy circulation and provide some memory benefits.

Check out to great ways to enjoy the heart-healthy goodness of Concord grapes... short of serving wine to kids! Eeek! Serve them up at your next summer cookout, you're guaranteed to get rave reviews! After all, have you ever met a kid (or adult!) who doesn't love grape juice?

Berry Sensation Salad

Ingredients

3.5 oz. mixed greens

¾ cup Welch’s ® Berry Medley

½ cup chopped pecans

½ cup Gorgonzola cheese

3 Tbs. balsamic vinegar

1 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbs. Welch’s 100% White Grape Juice

1 Tbs. honey

½ tsp. salt

Preparation

In a large bowl, toss greens, Berry Medley, pecans and cheese. In a separate bowl, mix remaining ingredients and stir vigorously until blended. Drizzle dressing over salad, toss and serve.  

Serves 4

¼ cup of Welch’s Dried Berry Medley= 1 serving of fruit.

Get Moving : Don't Drop the Cabbage!

At the Creative Kitchen we are all about healthy, balanced diets but it's also important to take care of our bodies by staying active. You're never too young or old to flex those muscles, so what are you waiting for?  Let's get moving! 

Our friends at Energetic Juniors showed us some fun ways to pick up the pace this summer.  When was the last time you had this much fun with cabbage?! 

DON’T DROP THE CABBAGE

This is an eye-hand coordination game that also helps improve catching and throwing skills… and takes playing catch to a new fun level! You and your child start very close, facing each other. Toss the ball back and forth, while saying “don’t” then “drop” then “the” and finally “cabbage.” After completing the sentence you both move one giant step back. Whoever drops the “cabbage” (the ball) must then do a fun exercise or movement. For example, hop, gallop in a circle, jump and lift the ball overhead or simply do a push-up or sit-up.

Have FUN!

To find out more contact bonita@energeticjuniors.com or visit www.energeticjuniors.com