By Tara Benwell •
September 16, 2008
I think “muffin” was one of my son’s first words. He says it even before he fully wakes up from a nap and it’s hard to keep him down to one per day. I’ve been baking muffins for many years, but I only learned recently that the trick to jumbo muffins is to fill the tins over the top (not 2/3 full as most recipes suggest).
My favourite recipes are those that can be adapted in so many ways that they almost never taste the same. To keep it healthy (and kid friendly), whenever a recipe calls for flour I use a combination of whole wheat, all purpose, and wheat germ, plus some flaxseed. I keep a large bag of this combo flour in my fridge and use it in cookies, pancakes, bread, and muffins. My husband was recently diagnosed with high blood pressure, and was told to cut salt out. I was surprised to learn that you could buy no sodium baking powder and baking soda. We use Featherweight.
My preschooler is going through a meataterian phase (can a phase last two years?). She won’t eat fruit or vegetables in their bare naked state. These muffins have both, plus no added sugar or salt. I call them Cinnamon Muffins, because my daughter associates cinnamon with yummy. (When it’s time to add the cinnamon, make sure your picky eater is around to help!)
Recipe for Jumbo Cinnamon Muffins after the jump.
By Beth Bader •
March 7, 2008
Guest authors for this post are nationally recognized experts on children’s health, Laura A. Jana, MD, FAAP and Jennifer Shu, MD, FAAP. Both are pediatricians, parents, and award-winning authors whose most recent book is Food Fights: Winning the Nutritional Challenges of Parenthood Armed with Insight, Humor and a Bottle of Ketchup (American Academy of Pediatrics, Oct. 2007). Menu recipes are from Eat. Drink. Better. author Beth Bader.
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, many families celebrate by having green food. While it may be tempting to artificially color your way to a green St. Paddy’s day dinner, health-conscious parents can achieve a better result by choosing locally grown green herbs and produce and throwing them into the mix.
My kids don’t like green foods, you say? Let’s take a step back and see why this might be. Just about all naturally green foods are vegetables. And a large number of vegetables happen to be green. That said, it can’t just be a vegetable’s green color that leaves so many kids sticking to their story that they just don’t like vegetables? Given the opportunity, very few kids will turn down green SweeTarts or Skittles, so we’re clearly not just dealing with shades of green. It must then boil down to the fact that vegetables - and green ones in particular - unintentionally (or intentionally) be given bad press by children’s most influential role models—their parents! Add to that the fact that green foods don’t get much love in television commercials or in casual conversation amongst friends and classmates—two other important influencers in children’s lives – and we seem to have identified the root of the problem. (Picky eater tips and St. Patrick’s Day menu after the jump).
I think “muffin” was one of my son’s first words. He says it even before he fully wakes up from a nap and it’s hard to keep him down to one per day. I’ve been baking muffins for many years, but I only learned recently that the trick to jumbo muffins is to fill the tins over the top (not 2/3 full as most recipes suggest).
