WEETABIX ?

I have to say this one took me by surprise.  When I purchased a box of reduced Weetabix the last person I pegged as eating them was C Monster.  Here he is enjoying Weetabix with vanilla yogurt and a little honey.  He also likes them with just a little milk.

I wanted to also take a minute to talk about cereal in general.  I am very particular about what cereal we buy in our house.  Our food is no longer 100% organic that is a decision we had to make when we decided to purchase a bigger house.  Bigger house = bigger mortgage = cutting cost in various locations.  However we do not buy food that is full of additives and chemicals.  So what do I look for in a cereal?

1. Sugar content must be 6g or bellow; ideally between 0g and 4g
2. It can not contain any preservatives or ingredients that one would not find in a well stocked kitchen pantry
3. It is on sale. As cereal is a treat in our house we only buy it when it is on sale. 

If have to say once you follow all these rules there is not much left out there one can buy; so I was delighted when C Monster decided that he LOVED Weetabix.

PEAR POMEGRANATE POPSICLES

As summer approaches I really get into popsicle making.  I find this is a great way to get C monster to eat more fruit.  The flavour of the week for popsicle is pear pomegranate.

It's very easy just mix in with emersion blender or regular blender 1/2 cup pure no sugar added pomegranate juice with 2 cups packed no sugar added canned pears.

I make my own canned pears to avoid the BPA in the can liners; if you do not want to use store bought pears just measure out about 4 cup pears and cook them until soft. You can boil them in a little pear juice or water. You can bake them in the oven. Use your imagination.

Once the mixture is complete just pour them into your favourite popsicle mould freeze overnight and enjoy!

GETTING CREATIVE

Earlier this month I bought some of those sandwich cutters to remove the crust from the bread.  I though the C Monster would love them as he pretty much never eats his crust.  To my surprise it back fired; as he put all in tears : "mama I have no crust to hold on to my fingers are going to get sticky" 

However the next sandwich I made he said I want a butterfly but with crust.  Here it is a butterfly with crust accompanied by a little raisin and sandwich kite.

That same day he also had an edamame boat.  The sail is made from a bread stick and a 1/4 sheet of nori.

Tomato bean soup

I have not been posting as much these days because well we have been busy. For those of you who read Wiseman Conspiracy you know we have recently moved....  Last night I made the most amazing soup that C Monster actually ate.

Ingredients:

4 Small Red Onions Chopped
1 Tbsp Butter
2 1L Jars Chopped Canned Tomatoes and their juice
1 540mL Can Beans Drained and Rinsed (I used Romano)
2 Cups Chopped Kale
1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
1 Generous Tsp Marjoram
1 Vegetarian Bouillon Cube
Salt To Taste

 Directions:


On medium to low heat melt butter once melted add red onions and cook until soft until soft. Add all remaining ingredients except for beans.  If their is not enough liquid from the beans add a little water. Bring to a boil on high heat then reduce and simmer for 10 mins. Add beans and simmer an additional 10-25 minutes until kale is cooked.

Once the soup was cooked I removed 1 cup and blended it smooth with my immersion blender.  C said it was one of the best soups I have ever made.

C Monster enjoying my soup along with black bean and cheese quesadillas 

MEET ASTRO NUT

The C Monster loves nuts; he even loves them more when they still have shells on.  I had been looking for a kid friendly nutcracker for him and well we adopted Astro Nut.  He is our friendly little nut crunching robot (as C describes him).  I found him at IQ Living on the Danforth.