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.

Peas of Mind in Utah!!

Peas of Mind can finally be found in Utah... Look for Peas of Mind organic food for kids at Whole Foods in Park City! Hap-pea Eating!

Whole Foods Market

1748 W. Redstone Center Dr.
Park City, UT 84098

ph: 435.575.0200

Fava Fundip

Fava Beans are and excellent source of fiber and folate. Folate is necessary for the production and health of new cells and is needed to make DNA and RNA. Kids will love to help you shell the fava beans (at least for a little while ;) )

Fava Fundip:

• 1 lb unshelled fava beans (this equates to 1 cup of shelled beans)
• 3 tbl veggie stock
• 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp chives, chopped fine
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparing your fava beans:
Fresh favas need to be husked. Shell the bean by pulling on the stem of the pod and "unzip" them on both sides. This will remove the outer shell and expose the bean. The beans have a waxy coating that needs to be removed. Remove by dropping beans into boiling water for 1 minute, then quickly plunging into ice water to stop the cooking process. Now remove the waxy outer coating.

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.

CAUTION: Do not eat raw fava beans. The risk of eating raw fava beans is small, but some have a reaction.

We're now in Royal Oak Michigan at HOLIDAY MARKET!!

Strawberry Season!!

Strawberry season is here...YUM!! Since we're right in the season, they're sweet and delicious and perfect the way they are. So why mess with perfection? Because in some cases you can make perfect even more perfect! Chocolate covered strawberries! Here's a little help creating your perfect seasonal treat. This kids will love to help dip.

60 large fresh strawberries with stems left intact
1 (12-ounce) package semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup half and half cream
1 to 2 tablespoons brandy, your favorite liqueur, or 2 teaspoons prepared coffee

Line a baking sheet or cookie pan with waxed paper.

Wash the strawberries and pat dry thoroughly with paper towels; set aside. NOTE: Make sure the strawberries are completely dry. Even a drop of water in the melted chocolate can cause it to "seize" and turn the entire mixture into a grainy mess.

If you use refrigerated strawberries, allow them to come to room temperature a few hours before dipping it in the melted chocolate. If you use cold fruit, condensation will form and that will prevent the chocolate from sticking.

Using one of the below methods, melt the chocolate chips:

Methods of Melting Chocolate:

Double Boiler:

• In the top of a double boiler over hot water, not boiling water (don't let the bottom of the bowl touch the water, melt chocolate; add cream, stirring until smooth. NOTE: Be careful boiling water may cause steam droplets to get into chocolate which can result in "seizing," when the chocolate becomes stiff and grainy. NOTE: If you don't have a double boiler you can improvise one by placing a glass or stainless steel bowl over a pot of simmering water.
  

• Remove from heat and blend in brandy, liqueur, or coffee. Let the chocolate cool slightly, but it should not set.

Microwave Melting Chocolate:

• In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate chips using either the defrost setting or 10-percent power in the microwave.
  

• Microwave for 1 minute, then check and stir. If you need more time, do it in 10-20 seconds intervals and check and stir after each addition of microwave time. Remove the container from the microwave and stir the chocolate until completely melted. Baking chips and baking chocolate may appear formed and un-melted after heating but will become fluid after stirring. Blend in cream, brandy, liqueur, or coffee

HOW TO DIP:

• Grasp the stem or green leaves of the strawberry and dip into the chocolate and swirl in chocolate to partially cover. Give the strawberry a little shake as you withdraw it from the chocolate (this will fill in all the cracks and leave a nice even line of of chocolate at the base.) When the strawberry is completely withdrawn from the chocolate, swirl it in a quick, clockwise motion to let the excess chocolate drip off. Place on the prepared cookie sheet. Repeat with the rest of the strawberries.

• Either place strawberries into refrigerator or set aside to allow the chocolate to harden, about 30 minutes. Transfer fruit onto a serving platter to serve.

Button Cookies!! Sooo cute

I came across these super cute cookies while surfing the web. It would be a great addition to any party, especially wedding and baby showers. It's such a sweet idea and super easy, the kids will love to help out with the decorations. Thanks to blogger Lorraine Elliott from "Not Quite Nigella!"

Click here for the recipe:
http://www.notquitenigella.com/2009/05/07/shortbread-buttons/

Pizza Sandwiches!

We've combined America's favorites!

This bread smells just like pizza! It's super easy, low in fat, and makes for a great substitute when the kids want pizza for the 3rd night in a row. It slices up great and is perfect as sandwich bread. Skip the mayo and try our Spinny Tomato Sauce; it's full of Vitamins K and A for strong bones, smart brains, and healthy immune systems!

Pizza Bread:

• 3/4 cup shredded cheese (cheddar or mozzarella)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of your favorite pizza sauce (smooth not chuncky)
• 2 Tbl olive oil
• 1 large-sized garlic close, chopped
• 1 tsp fried basil
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano

Preheat over to 375F. In a large bowl combine the cheese, flour, baking powder and baking soda; set aside. In a medium bowl lightly beat the eggs then add pizza sauce, olive oil, garlic, basil, oregano and mix together. Add the sauce mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir only until the dry ingedients are moist. Generously grease a bread pan and pour batter into pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. When finished, turn onto cooling rack.

Spinny Tomato Sauce:

• 1 cup of frozen spinach (or for added protein, grind up 1 Eat Your Greens Puffet instead)
• 1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes
• 3 Tbl organic ketchup
• 1/2 tsp salt

Puree all the ingredients using a food processor or blender. When bread is cool; slice bread and spread Spinny Tomato Sauce instead of mayo. Add lettuce, tomato, cheese, and veggie pepperoni. Cut in half, and your kids will love your new Pizza Sandwich creation!

Candied Lemon Peels!

Peas of Mind is based out of San Francisco, California. Although, there are times we miss the seasons of the Midwest and East Coast, there is one thing that we never get sick of-amazing fresh produce!

We are very lucky to have some of the best fruits, vegetables and nuts growing, literally, in our own backyard. Last week a friend of ours was kind enough to deliver hand picked lemons from one of her trees, and of course we accepted with open arms.

We had so many lemons; we made lemon bars, lemonade, and our favorite was candied lemon peels. They are super easy, high in Vitamin C, and satisfies the sweet tooth without the artificial flavors and yucky high fructose corn syrup found in store bought candy.

• 3 Lemons
• 1 cup sugar (add a little extra for sprinkling)
• 1 cup water

Using a vegetable peeler, peel the rind off each lemon in strips (from stem to bottom of lemon). Avoid the white part of the rind, called the pith, because this will make the candy bitter.

In a small saucepan, boil lemon rinds in water. Boil until the rinds are tender, about 15 minutes. Remove rinds, submerge in cold water for 2 minutes and pat dry with a towel.

While your lemon rinds are boiling, begin your candy mixture. Mix together 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water in a non-stick saucepan. Bring this mixture to a boil then add lemon rinds. Leave rinds in the mixture until they are translucent, about 10-15 minutes. Carefully remove rinds with tongs and set them on a plate to cool. Sprinkle a little raw sugar on top for texture, and allow the lemon peels to cool for about 2 hours. these little gems are fantastic on top of frozen yogurt, which of course, is sitting on top of a piping hot Banana Puffet!

Coupon Almost Expired!

Hurry hurry, the Peas of Mind coupon on Facebook is almost expired. We wanted to do something special for all of our Facebook fans and decided to post a coupon that will expire on 4/30/2009! So if you're reading this, and want to get $1.00 off Peas of Mind, become our fan on Facebook TODAY! Click here to see our Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/business/dashboard/#/pages/Peas-of-Mind/24658975178

Peas of Mind - YUMMY Healthy Food for Kids with Organic Ingredients!!

Just had to Share!

We saw this while reading Tablehopper by, Marcia Gagliardi!

Peas Visitor of the Week!

We've been lucky enough to have a wonderful little gem with us for the week. She's been keeping us smiling and our laps warm. It's amazing what a little puppy love can do to warm things up a bit. Here's little Yum Yum, turns out she's a fan of healthy food for kids too :) Thanks for letting us keep her for a bit Mercer!

FDA Food Recalls--Stay ontop of the Craziness!

We have bets in the office. We're wondering which nut will be recalled next!?

Food recalls are nothing new, and when you're in the business of producing healthy food for kids, you've got to stay on top of food recalls constantly. After noticing so many shocking recalls, we decided that there should be a super easy way for everyone to keep up to date on FDA food recalls.

That's why we developed the Peas of Mind food recall widget. You can download the widget for free and post it to your blogs, websites, and social network pages like Facebook and Myspace. See the widget on the right side bar, and simply click on "Share."

We hope that you find it as useful as we do and would love to hear your comments on the FDA food recall widget!

Peas Out!