This summer Hannah took the initiative and joined our library’s book club and fun summer classes.  She loves reading and learning and didn’t want to stop over the summer. I am lucky to have two wonderful proactive kids.

Today after I picked her up from the library she told me she is doing a project to show kids that “being a vegetarian is cool and fun.”  I couldn’t be more proud of my little girl.


Of course I helped her come up with some ideas.  She wanted to make a “fun facts” poster and bring in a vegetarian snack to share.  Her idea is that if the kids see how happy and fun she is because she eats some vegetarian meals, maybe they will want to try and have their parents try too.

Although some of the facts seem obvious, she chose them on how they will relate to other kids.

1. People become vegetarian for all different kinds of reasons.
2. There are all different kinds of vegetarians.  One might better suit you than the other.
3. Many animals are vegetarians and you are caring for animals
4. It is good for the world and nature around us.
5. There are many restaurants that offer vegetarian options.
6. Meat is expensive, having a plant based diet helps save money
7. The world is nearly ¼ vegetarians.
8. By not having meat in the freezer you have more room for ice cream.  (Hannah’s Favorite)
9. You can buy almost all your food at the farmers market
10. You learn how to cook better and more delicious food

She is making a really cute collage of her favorite fruits and veggies with the lyrics to the Meat Free Monday song too.

On Friday before she goes to the library to present her poster and song we are going to make Almost Raw Cookie Dough Balls to share with the other kids.  Here is our easy and fun recipe.

Ingredients- 
• 1 cup oats
• 1 ripe banana
• ½ cup grated dry coconut
• 3 tbsp. maple syrup or agave syrup, your choice
• 2 tbsp. coconut oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ cup vegan chocolate chips

Instructions-
• Add oats into a food processor and pulse for 20 seconds to break them down a little.  Add the rest of the ingredients, except the chocolate chips, and pulse until fully combined.

• Stir in the chocolate chips and refrigerate for 10 minutes to slightly harden.  Roll dough into balls then place back in the refrigerator for 1 hour.  Enjoy the doughy goodness!



I love how Hannah always jumps to challenges and loves sharing her lifestyle with her peers.  I hope that maybe Hannah’s passion will inspire you to try a few vegetarian meals a week.

Go green and stay keen,

Julie

I have been slacking about posting my Kids Cook Monday Meals.



We have been keeping up with it and participating since my first post.  My mind just goes to other topics when I sit down to write.  I have had way too many other good topics to share with you guys :)

Good news is I remembered tonight! My kids and husband helped cook dinner tonight! It was so wonderful.

We made Confetti Stuffed Bell Peppers and Chilled Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cookies for desert.

We had so much fun cooking and our meal tasted delicious.  I think we spent the entire time cooking, laughing at Liam, he had a comment for everything; silly kid!

Here are the recipes that we used!

We actually found the Confetti Stuffed Bell Pepper recipe at the Kids Cook Monday website.

Confetti Stuffed Bell Peppers

Ingredients-

• 4 large bell peppers, cut in half lengthwise and seeded
• 1 bag (12 oz.) frozen mixed vegetables, cooked according to the package directions
• 1 bag (10 oz.) whole grain brown rice, cooked according to package directions
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• ½ cup parmesan cheese
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1/8 tsp. black pepper

Instructions-

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
• Lightly grease a 9x13-inch shallow baking dish with nonstick cooking spray
• Combine mixed vegetables, brown rice, ½ cup mozzarella cheese, ¼ cup parmesan cheese, tomato sauce and black pepper in a large bowl.
• Arrange peppers in prepared pan and spoon mixture into peppers.
• Pour ¼ cup water into pan around the peppers. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes, until peppers are tender.
• Remove foil and evenly sprinkle peppers with remaining cheeses.  Bake uncovered 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
• Enjoy!

For dessert we made no-bake, Chilled Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients-

• 2/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• ¼ cup honey
• ¼ cup light corn syrup
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• ¼ cup chocolate chips
• 2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa
• 3 cups corn flakes, lightly crushed

Instructions-

• Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• On a small skillet add cocoanut and toast for about 3 minutes then let cool.
• In a medium sauce pan combine honey, corn syrup, and peanut butter on medium heat.  Keep stirring until mixture begins to bubble.  Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips and cocoa.  Stir the mixture until the chocolate chips have melted and then add the cereal and toasted coconut and stir until coated.
• Spoon balls of mixture on to parchment paper and refrigerate until hardened, about 15 minutes.
• Enjoy!



It ended up being a fantastic kid’s cook Monday!  We were so full after our meal we went on a walk around the neighborhood to digest it all.  The meal and the walk put the kids right to bed.  When we got back they sat on the couch for 15 minutes and went straight to bed.  Great end to a great evening.
Go Green and Staying Keen,

Julie

Rhubarb is one of my favorite vegetables that is seasonally spring.  It is so delicious and makes, in my opinion, THE BEST desserts.  Don’t get me wrong, I like to add rhubarb to main courses, but it doesn’t get much better than a good old fashioned rhubarb pie.  I wanted to share my love for this seasonally sweet vegetable with a few of my recipes.  I hope they seem just as delicious to you as they do to me!

Ingredients-
• 1 ½ pound of rhubarb, just into small slices
• 2 cups of raspberries or strawberries (or if you are feeling crazy, both)
• 1 ¼ cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons of instant tapioca
• ½ tsp. grated orange zest
• 2 tbsp. fresh orange juice
• A dash of salt

Ingredients for topping-
• 6 tbsp. softened vegetarian butter
• ¼ cup packed light-brown sugar
• ¼ tsp. orange zest
• 1 cup flour
• Dash of salt

Instructions for topping-
• Mix butter, brown sugar, orange zest in a large bowl, electric mixers work great.  Mix until creamy.  Add flour and salt, work mixture until it forms coarse crumbs.

Instructions for Rhubarb-
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Mix rhubarb, berries, sugar, tapioca, orange zest, orange juice, and salt in a large bowl.
• Divide rhubarb mixture into six small, one cup baking dishes and top with topping.
• Bake for about 30-35 minutes until golden brown and it is bubbling a little bit.
• Let cool and serve, Enjoy!




Ingredients-
• ½ cup vegetarian butter
• 1 ½ white sugar
• ¼ cup soy yogurt
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. bake soda
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 cups chopped rhubarb
• 1 tbsp. flour
• ¼ cup vegetarian butter
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 cup packed brown sugar

Instructions-
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
• In a large bowl, mix together butter, sugar, yogurt and vanilla until creamy.
• In another bowl sift 2 cups of flour, baking soda, and salt.  Add the buttermilk and combine with creamed mixture.
• Toss the rhubarb with 1 tbsp. flour and stir into the batter.  Pour the batter into a buttered 9 x 13 in pan and smooth the surface.
• In a separate bowl, blend together ¼ cup butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar.  Sprinkle evenly over the batter.
• Bake for 45 minutes, let cool and enjoy!


Ingredients-
• 4 cups of chopped rhubarb
• 1 1/3 cups white sugar
• 6 tbsp. flour
• 1 tbsp. butter
• Pie Crust (Homemade or bought, your choice)

Instructions-
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F
• Combine sugar and flour and sprinkle a ¼ of it over the pie crust.  Heap the rhubarb over this mixture and sprinkle the remaining sugar and flour over the top of the rhubarb.  Chop up pieces of butter and sprinkle over the top and cover with top crust.
• Bake for 15 minutes then reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and continue baking for 40-45 minutes.
• Enjoy your fresh rhubarb pie!


Go Green and Stay Keen,

Julie

• Almond milk is a safe milk option for people with food allergies or a lactose intolerance like me.  It does not contain any dairy, lactose, soy, eggs, cholesterol, gluten, MSG, or whey (milk proteins).

• Soy milk is my favorite non-dairy alternative.  It has the best source of protein compared to other substitutes.  It has about 7 grams of protein and has a similar fat content to dairy milk.  Most of the fat in soy milk is unsaturated, providing the body with healthy fats.

• I don’t often use Hemp milk, but it is also another alternative.  Hemp seeds are high in plant based omega-3 fatty acids which help keep cholesterol and blood pressure under control.  It also has 10 essential amino acids making it a good source of protein.