Did You Know?

I made some hard boiled eggs the other day to snack on at work. When I went to peel one for lunch half of the egg white peeled off too and stuck to the shell. How many times has this happened to you? How annoying!

After some research, I found out that this happens when you hard boil fresh eggs, there is a ton of science behind it (see this link) so we will just leave it at: fresh eggs are not as porous as older eggs. As the egg ages, air is absorbed through the shell which helps to release the egg white from the shell.

So most importantly, here is how to avoid egg whites from sticking to their shell:
-hard boil eggs that are 7-10 days old
-run eggs under cold water immediately after hard boiled
-peel under cold water

Cinnamon Sugar Snack Mix

Who doesn't like a snack that is both sweet and salty to satisfy both cravings?! Try this simple reci-pea, for Cinnamon Sugar Snack Mix, which is packed with protein (like nuts) but without all the fat.

We made our snack mix using 2 different kinds of beans: the more traditional garbanzo and the less traditional small white bean. They are easy to make and have on hand when your kids want to grab a bag of chips or cookies.

Cinnamon Sugar Snack Mix
• 1/2 cup dried garbanzo
• 1/2 cup of dried small white beans
• 1 Tbl olive oil
• 1 Tbl sugar
•1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1.5 tsp salt

Soak the dried beans in cold water overnight in the refrigerator. Drain them in the morning and dry them well.

Preheat the oven to 330 F

In a medium bowl mix the olive oil and the salt. Toss in the beans and coat them well.

Spread the beans in a single layer on an baking sheet. Bake them in the oven stirring them every 15 minutes to prevent burning. Bake for about 45-55 minutes until they are crunchy and no longer tender in the center.

Mix the cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl. Toss the beans in the cinnamon sugar mixture when they come out of the oven. Let the beans cool completely and eat!

Make Your Own... Fruit Leather

In need of a naturally sweet treat for your child's lunchbox or your own? Make your own fruit leather at home! Fruit leathers provide the Vitamin C, fiber, iron, calcium, and magnesium of real fruit in an on-the-go, chewy, satisfying snack. 

Using frozen fruit makes perfectly ripe fruit leathers any time of year. Use a total of about 1.5 pounds of any one or several fruits (about 3 1/2 - 4 cups chopped). We like using strawberries with cherries, but the fruit possibilities are endless! 

 

Homemade Fruit Leather

• 2 cups frozen strawberries; about 1lb, thawed
• 1 1/2 cups frozen sweet cherries, about 1/2lb, thawed
• 1 tablespoon sugar (optional, to taste)
• juice of a lemon (optional, to taste)

Puree the thawed fruit in a blender until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a medium-sized pot. Bring the puree to a boil. Simmer, stirring occassionally, until reduced to about 1 and 1/4 cups, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat. Taste. Add sugar and/or lemon juice to taste if you feel your fruit needs a little extra! 

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with silicon baking sheet liner or parchment paper and spritz lightly with pan spray. 

Transfer the hot puree onto the lined baking sheets and spread thinly across baking sheet, about an 1/8 inch thick, using a spatula. Dry the fruit puree in the oven until the surface is smooth and only slightly sticky, about 30 minutes to 1 hour. 

Let leather cool completely at room temperature, about 1 hour. Lightly spritz an additional sheet of parchment with pan spray. Press it on top of the leather, then flip the leather over and remove the pan liner. Roll the leather and then cut the roll into 1" strips. Store in a sealed container at room temperature for up to a month or refrigerated for up to 3 months.

Homemade Crackers for Pennies on the Dollar

Here is a great reci-pea that you can make with your kids, customize to your tastebuds, and feel good about the snacks they are eating because you made them!

This highly versatile recipe comes together from just four essential ingredients. To customize: add 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese to make cheese crackers. Mix rosemary into the dough and sprinkle coarse salt on top for a gourmet snack. Add sesame seeds to the dough for added nutrients. The possibilities are endless for crackers healthier and tastier than any boxed brand!

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour, more as needed

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup water

Optional additions for inside or on top of the dough:

herbs like rosemary and thyme, coarse salt, cracked pepper, sesame or poppy seeds, minced garlic or onion, parmesan, cheddar or other cheese, etc. We love adding a tablespoon of wheat germ for its nutty flavor and nutritious crunch!

For added richness, an equal amount of milk, half and half or cream can be used in place of the water. Butter can be used in place of the olive oil.

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or dust lightly with flour.

2. Combine flour and salt in the workbowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add oil all at once and then do a few quick pulses until oily clumps form. Do not over-process. Add about 1/4 cup of water and process with several longer pulses. Continue to add liquid a teaspoon at a time until mixture holds together but is not sticky. The dough should have streaks of oily parts of dough and wet parts dough which will make tender, flaky layers in the crackers.

3. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface until 1/4-inch thick or even thinner, adding flour as needed. Transfer sheet of dough to prepared baking sheet (drape it over rolling pin to make it easier). Score lightly with a sharp knife, pizza cutter or a pastry wheel so you can break crackers into squares or rectangles later on. Sprinkle with salt or other topping if you like.

4. Bake until lightly browned, about 8-10 minutes. Cool on a rack; serve warm or at room temperature or store in an air-tight container for a few days.

How to Choose Perfectly Ripe Produce

When facing baskets of fresh figs or a bin full of onions, how do you make your selection? What are the marks of quality produce?

'Compact' and 'heavy for its size' are universal qualities to look for when selecting produce.

Below are more specific traits

Vegetables:

• artichoke: compact, with firm, fleshy, tightly closed leaves.
• asparagus: tight, dark green or deep purple tips with firm slender stalks, preferably less than 1/2" in diameter.
• eggplant: tight, smooth skin. small or medium-sized ones have fewer seeds (examining the scar on the blossom end to select 'male eggplants' is bunk! They possess both male and female parts and can self-reproduce.)
• garlic: plump and compact with tight skin
• onion: tightly-closed neck, firm and dry all over with crackly skin. all varieties should have a mild smell; a strong scent indicates rotting.
• peppers: firm, tight glossy skin. heavy ones have thicker walls and therefore more juicy flesh.

Fruits:

• passion fruit: large and heavy. ripe when deeply wrinkled.
• persimmon: deep color; more red than yellow.
• fig: deep color. white cracks and a slight leathering effect indicate extreme sweetness!
• lychee: redder the fresher/better. with stems attached.
• citrus: firm and round with smooth skin.

1. pomelo: heavy, fragrant.
2. grapefruit: flattened ends, skin that is not puffy.
3. lemon: bright yellow, not greenish.
4. lime: dark green ones taste freshest; yellowing indicates the degradation of tartness and overall flavor.

• melon: slight softness and fruity aroma. look for a 'ground-spot' (slightly flattened, side where the skin is lighter in color where the melon once rested on the ground.) The more distinct the ground-spot is, the more time the melon spent ripening on the vine.

1. cantalope: golden under the netting, not dull green.
2. honeydew: freckles on the skin indicate sweetness.
3. watermelon: ground-spot should be yellow, not white.
   

* The Wellness Encyclopedia of Food and Nutrition by Sheldon Margen, M.D., University of California, Berkeley, Random House Inc., 1992.

Homemade Wheat Thins - YUMMY and healthy!

Makes 18
1 1/2 cups fine whole-wheat flour
pinch salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cup coarse oatmeal
3 tbsp granulated sugar
1 1/2 cup unsalted (sweet) butter, chilled and diced

Preheat Oven 375F

Put all ingredients in food processor and process until the mixture starts to clump. Tip out on to a floured surface, gather the dough together with your hands and roll out.

Stamp out your desired shape using a cookie cutter or other device. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes until just beginning to color on the edges.

Leave to cool the transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.