Just 2 Ingredient Popsicle...

Summer means lots of Ice creams, Smoothies, Juices and POPSICLES. One afternoon I was shopping and was all tempted to buy a box of popsicles. In fact I had put that box in my cart and was standing at the cash counter when my inner voice screamed "What are you doing? Do you have any idea how much sugar is in it?", I replied "I know, there is much sugar but that's fine. We are not going to eat that a lot". To this my inner voice laughed, "Really?" and I ended up NOT buying that box. Too bad. Why does this healthy eating ghost hover us all the time?

The same evening, Aanya asked me if I can make Popsicle for her. I said I don't know how to make it. "Then check the recipe on your laptop", she replied. I did not check but called her in the kitchen to do an experiment. And here's what we did...

1. Squeezed out juice of 2 oranges and half filled the popsicle mold with the orange juice
2. Put it in the freezer for about 30 min
3. In a blender, blended a few pieces of watermelon and filled the rest half of the popsicle moldwith watermelon juice.
4. Put it in the freezer overnight.

The result.... A super colorful, super yummy and a super happy face!!

Making Popsicle at home is definitely a better idea. Please folks, Do let me know a couple of more tried and tested simple recipes....

And....Have a great week ahead!

Nutty Chocolate Chip Cookies...

One day, we went to a friend's place and she had baked some yummiest chocolate chip cookies ever...
Normally, Aanya don't like nuts in a cookie, but surprisingly she ate them happily without fuss. What's the secret, I asked my friend. Like an experienced Mom, she said she had finely chopped pecans which is hardly recognizable.
And then, back home, Aanya insisted me to bake the same yummy cookies. Though I didn't have the same recipe but I did add nuts to my recipe and it turned out to be equally delicious.

Chocolate Chip Cookies with chopped Nuts.

Here is the recipe for the easiest Chocolate Chip Cookie. No special equipment. No creaming and perfect cookies to do with kids.

Ingredient ( for about 35 cookies)

1/2 cup + 1 tbsp (1 stick + 1tbsp) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 tsp fine salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, or chunks
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour ( Yes, I made with whole wheat flour)

1/2 cup very finely chopped roasted Pecans or walnuts or almonds (I used walnut and almonds)
(almost like a coarse powder)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper 

2. Put the butter in a microwave safe bowl, cover and microwave on medium power until melted. (Alternatively melt in a small saucepan.) Cool slightly. Whisk the sugar, eggs, butter and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth.

3. Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in another bowl. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with a wooden spoon; take care not to over mix. Stir in the chocolate chips or chunks.

4. Scoop heaping tablespoons of the dough onto the prepared pans. Wet hands slightly and roll the dough into balls. Space the cookies about 2-inches apart on the pans. Bake, until golden, but still soft in the center, 12 to 16 minutes, depending on how chewy or crunchy you like your cookies. Transfer hot cookies with a spatula to a rack to cool. Serve.

Carrot Oat Muffins!...Weekday Surprise :)

5:00 am.

The time I woke up this morning. My husband, who rolled out of bed at 4:30 am, was already at work and my daughter, Aanya who usually wakes up around 6:30 was up well before 6:00am.
Yes, we are one silly family who are early risers...

But there is one good thing about rising before the sun. You get things done. By the time, the sun was starting to peek through the window, I had already made lunches and these Carrot Oat Muffins for breakfast.

My kitchen was warm and filled with scent of cinnamon, a load of laundry was freshly dried and dishes from morning baking were done. And having spice filled muffins bursting with carrots and oats were a very nice change of pace this cold morning. My family was surprised and we all for a change had breakfast together on a weekday.

Muffin with plain cream cheese

And now for the recipe, for those who are interested :)

Yield: 12 Muffins, Prep time: 10 min, Cook time: 20 min

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups coarsely grated carrots
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 egg
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking power
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare a muffin pan by lining with cupcake liner.
In the bowl of a food processor, add the carrots, both sugars, canola oil and egg, and process until just combined. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and baking powder. Add the carrot mixture to the flour and mix until combined.
Divide the batter evenly in the muffin pan.
Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

My Dates and Almonds Laddos....

Come winter and our body starts craving for rich food that provide warmth and nourishment. I love how our winter foods are loaded with natural oils and vitamins ( in the form of nuts), good fat (that comes from ghee) and other nutrients. Laddo, Gajar Halwa, Moong Dal Halwa are delicacies that my mother always used to prepare during winters. They were all packed with ghee, ghee and more ghee :) Having soaked Almonds with Milk in the morning was a ritual. Undoubtedly, the best thing about winter is comfort food.

So, today I decided to make Dates and Almond Laddos. I absolutely love dates and almonds. And the best part is, it was ready in 15 minutes. That's it.

Ingredients
1 cup Almonds
1/2 cup Whole oats
1 cup Madjool dates
1/8 cup Chia seeds
2 tsp Ghee

Method
1. Coarsely grind Oats and Almonds.
2. Remove seed and chop Dates.
3. Heat a pan and put Ghee. When hot, stir in Dates till it becomes mushy.

4. Add Oats and Almonds and mix it well.

 5. Spread the mixture on a place and let it cool. Then add Chia seeds and mix it well. You can use your clean hands to do that. Roll into small laddos( balls) and it can be stored in an air tight container for a week.

I love these little balls that are full of all the good stuff I want Aanya to eat–nuts, dried fruit, whole oats. The only problem is I need to figure out a way to make her eat ;-)