Fruity Healthy Salsa (Super Kid Friendly!)

Salsa is a great afternoon snack as the summer starts to wind down. 

At the beginning of this month we talked about foods that promote healthy eyes in children. We all know how hard it can be to get kids to eat foods, but who could resist this delicious looking fruity salsa! We are sure your kids will enjoy! 

This salsa is bright and colorful and includes yummy things like bell peppers, tomatoes, and cantaloupe. These are excellent sources of Vitamin A and C, as well as carotenoids which are the compounds that give some fruits + veggies their yellow, orange, and red pigments, these are also thought to help decrease the risk of many eye disease. 

Your kids will love this fruity combination of tomatoes, cantaloupe, apples, and a hint of lime. If you want to tone down the heat, use just one seeded jalapeno or none at all. Packed with lycopene from the tomato, vitamins A and C from the melon, and fiber from the apple, this healthy and delicious snack is a big winner.

Best of all if you decide to make this as a "grown" up snack you can adjust the heat of the salsa by adding more jalapeno. 

Augusts Topic: Kids Eye Health

Babies, children and teenagers have different eye health needs than adults. Some problems, like amblyopia, that can be treated in babies and young children, become irreversible once a child is older. Once a child's best eyesight is established, it's crucial to protect their sight from injury.

Vision doesn't just happen. A child's brain learns how to use eyes to see, just like it learns how to use legs to walk or a mouth to form words. The longer a vision problem goes undiagnosed and untreated, the more a child's brain learns to accommodate the vision problem.

That's why a comprehensive eye examination is so important for children. Early detection and treatment provide the very best opportunity to correct vision problems, so your child can learn to see clearly.  Make sure your child has the best possible tools to learn successfully. 

Here are some of the most nutritious foods that support healthy vision:

Fish 

Cold-water fish such as salmon, tuna, sardines and mackerel are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which may help protect against dry eyes, macular degeneration and even cataracts. If you don't eat seafood, you can get a good supply of omega-3s by using fish oil supplements or taking vegetarian supplements that contain black currant seed oil or flaxseed oil.

Leafy Greens 
Spinach, kale and collard greens, to name just a few, are packed full of lutein and zeaxanthin, important plant pigments that can help stem the development of macular degeneration and cataracts. Broccoli, peas and avocados are also good sources of this powerful antioxidant duo.

Eggs 
The vitamins and nutrients in eggs, including lutein and vitamin A (which may protect against night blindness and dry eyes), promote eye health and function.

Whole Grains 
A diet containing foods with a low glycemic index (GI) can help reduce your risk for age-related macular degeneration. Swap refined carbohydrates for quinoa, brown rice, whole oats and whole-wheat breads and pasta. The vitamin E, zinc and niacin found in whole grains also help promote overall eye health.

Citrus Fruits and Berries 
Oranges, grapefruits, lemons and berries are high in vitamin C, which may reduce the risk of cataracts and macular degeneration.

Nuts 
Pistachios, walnuts, almonds — whichever type tickles your fancy — are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E that boost your eye health.

Colorful Fruits and Vegetables 
Foods such as carrots, tomatoes, bell peppers, strawberries, pumpkin, corn and cantaloupe are excellent sources of vitamins A and C. And carotenoids — the compounds that give these fruits and vegetables their yellow, orange and red pigments — are thought to help decrease the risk of many eye diseases.

Legumes 
Kidney beans, black-eyed peas and lentils are good sources of bioflavonoids and zinc — and can help protect the retina and lower the risk for developing macular degeneration and cataracts.

Fish Oil, Flaxseed Oil and Black Currant Seed Oil 
These super supplements contain omega-3 fatty acids and have many eye health benefits, including helping to prevent or control dry eye syndrome as well as reduce the risk of macular degeneration and cataracts.

Sunflower Seeds 
Help keep your eyes healthy and disease-free by snacking on sunflowers seeds, which are excellent sources of vitamin E and zinc.

Beef 
In moderation, lean beef in your diet can boost your eye health. Beef contains zinc, which helps your body absorb vitamin A and may play a role in reducing risk of advanced age-related macular degeneration.

We know some of these foods can be really hard to get your kids to eat, so all this month we will be posting recipes that are super healthy, and sneak these foods into things your kids will love to eat!

Trick or Treat? Healthy Halloween

Halloween doesn't have to be about candy, and unhealthy foods. We scoured the internet rounding up what we think are some pretty creative and healthy alternatives for this halloween. Any of these would be great for parties, kids, or just a little treat for yourself. If you find your self loving these treats check out our full collection on our Pinterest board of the month!

Candy Corn Popsicles 
Originally from Girl Inspired

Ingredients: 
Yogurt (plain or greek) 
Orange Juice
Pineapple Juice
Honey/Agave
Optional: Food Coloring

Directions:

• Mix honey/agave with yogurt.
• In a popsicle mold layer yogurt mixture, and let freeze 4-5 mins. 
• Add Orange juice layer and let freeze 4-5 mins.
• Add Pineapple juice and let freeze until all layers have hardened.  (Optional: you can add food coloring to the orange juice and pineapple juice but it looks fine with out as well.) 
• Enjoy! Pretty simple, but super healthy. 

Stuffed Jack-O-Lantern Peppers

Originally from citronlimett 

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups cooked brown rice
• 4 medium bell peppers
• ¾ pound ground sirloin
• 1 cup chopped onion
• ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 cup bottled tomato-and-basil pasta sauce, divided
• ½ cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• ½ cup chicken broth

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. Wash the peppers. Cut jack-o’-lantern faces into the peppers with a sharp paring knife, making triangle eyes and nose, and pointy-teeth smiles. Slice off the tops of the peppers and scoop out the seeds and cores.
3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef and the next 5 ingredients (beef through allspice); cook 4 minutes or until beef is lightly browned, stirring to crumble. Remove from heat. Add rice, ½ cup pasta sauce, and cheese to beef mixture, stirring to combine.
4. While beef cooks, combine ½ cup pasta sauce and chicken broth in a small saucepan; bring to a boil.
5. Spoon about ¾ cup beef mixture into each pepper. Place peppers in a 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray; add chicken broth/sauce mixture to pan. Cover with foil and bake for about 35–40 minutes. Uncover; bake an additional 5 minutes.

Jack-O'-Lantern Fruit Bowls

Originally from Frugal Coupon Living

Ingredients: 

3 Medium Navel Oranges

1 Cup of fresh mixed fruit- your choice!

Directions:

• Slice off the tops of the oranges.
• Using a spoon, scoop out the pulp of the oranges.
• Cut out faces on each orange to resemble a jack-o-lantern.
• Fill each orange with mixed fruit and serve. 

Delicious Snacks for Back to School

Back to school is such an exciting time of the year, but with school comes early mornings which some may not enjoy when they have come a custom to sleeping later. We have gathered up some yummy and creative ways to have fun when it comes to snacks, treats, and meals. 

 1) An Animal Snack Attack from sugarpop.com
There are 17 awesome works of art that are easy to create at home, while we can show you all 17 here are a few of our favorites. The only down side to these wonderful images is there are no recipes to go off of, however everything seems to be able to be recreated from just looking at the images. Have fun making these delicious treats!

2) Blueberry Pancakes from Baker by Nature
We might be a bit bias on this one, but blueberry pancakes are a great way to start the day! 

Ingredients:

• *Makes about 14 pancakes
• 3 large eggs, separated
• 1 cup full-fat sour cream
• 3 tablespoons whole milk
• 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2/3 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
• 4 tablespoons butter, for the pan
• Maple syrup, for serving

Directions:

1. In a large bowl whisk together the egg yolks, sour cream, milk, sugar, salt, vanilla, and baking powder.
2. In a separate large bowl add flour and blueberries and toss to combine, making sure berries are fully coated in the flour.
3. Add flour mixture to the wet milk mixture, and stir just to combine; do not over mix! The batter will be thick, so don't worry if there's a lot of clumps left.
4. Add egg whites to a large bowl or the body of a stand mixer. Beat using a handheld mixer or the whisk attachment until the whites begin to form soft peaks.
5. With a rubber spatula fold egg whites into flour/cheese mixture, stirring until fully incorporated.
6. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
7. Ladle 1/3 cup scoops of the batter into the skillet, only cooking a few at a time so they don't blend together.
8. Cook pancakes until the edges begin to brown and the top of the batter bubbles, then flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Repeat for all pancake batter.
9. Top pancakes with syrup and extra blueberries, or anything else your heart desires! Serve at once.

3) Homemade Goldfish Crackers

Sure you can buy them at the store, but if you make them at home, you can make them organic, and healthier. Adapted from food4tots

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (120g) plain flour.As an alternative you can use 1/4 cup plain flour, and 3/4 cup coconut flour (or even certified organic flour or certified organic coconut flour).
• 8oz (220g) sharp/extra sharp certified organic cheddar cheese, shredded.
• 60g cold butter cut into cubes
• 1/4-1/2 teaspooon sea salt
• 2 tbs cold water

Directions:

1. Using a pastry blender, cut butter into the flour until it forms coarse crumbs.
2. Add sea salt to mixture.
3. Add shredded cheese and cut into the mixture.
4. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
5. use hand to form dough and divide into 2 portions. Wrap them in plastic and chill for 20 minutes (or longer).
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking trays with parchment paper. 
7. Take out one portion of the dough from the fridge. Work with one portion at a time. Place dough in between two sheets of wax paper or cling wrap. Roll dough out to 3mm (1/8 in) thickness. Cut out shapes with your choice of cookie cutters and transfer to baking tray. 
8. Use chopstick or toothpick to make the eye balls, and the prong of a for to carve a curvy lip. (this step is optional)
9. Gather all the trimmings and re-roll. Repeat until all the dough is used up. 
10. Bake or approximately 15-17 minutes, until the crackers are crispy and golden around edges. Timing will vary according to size and shape of your crackers. Cool for 10 minutes on baking tray before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Sore in an airtight container. 

Notes: 

1. You can substitute it with 50-100% whole wheat flour.
2. Shred the cheese finer than what is shown in the photo so that you can easily cut them into the mixture.
3. Get orange cheese if you can.
4. If you have food processor, pulse everything (except water) together until the dough resembles coarse sand. Then follow with step 4.
5. Thinner dough means crispier crackers; thicker dough means puffier, more bread-like crackers. But, the dough must not be too thin or else the crackers will be difficult to handle.
6. Crackers will turn soft pretty fast even they are kept inside an airtight container. Best to be eaten immediately or within a day or two. To extend them for a week or so, I keep them in the fridge. Lightly warm them up in the toaster oven when I want to eat them.