New Tuesday Series... Healthy Recipe Tuesday

My goal is to someday make my own cookbook. I am very passionate about children eating healthy, and for my whole family. I really believe that eating poorly can cause so many health issues, including depression. You would be surprised how much crap is in our food. Dyes, chemical preservatives, hydrogenated oils, and my favorite, high fructose corn syrup. All of these can cause health problems and behavior issues . When my brother went to Europe he said the food tasted so good because they don't use all this stuff. Hydrogenated oils are banned from their food and they don't use chemical preservatives. In place of food dyes they use real vegetable and fruit extracts for color. In fact cosmetics that are made in the US are banned from parts of Europe because of what we put in them like arsenic and formaldehyde. So I want to feature a healthy recipe for you all to try with your kids and recommend a cookbook or a website that I have used.I believe kids should be able to eat all kinds of yummy food including cupcakes and cookies as long as they are made with healthy ingredients. I will probably do these posts on Monday. I totally forgot to do this yesterday. So here it goes:


My cookbook pick of this week is my favorite and I have gotten so many ideas from this book. It is called The Sneaky Chef to the Rescue by Missy Chase Lapine. She also has 2 other books and they are all really good. She uses fruit and vegetable purees hidden in her recipes. I love this book because it talks about individual ingredients and explains why they are good for you. I think Riley's favorite recipe is the brownie one. If you only buy one healthy cookbook for kids, this is definitely the one to buy.



The recipe I will be posting today is the yummy 4th of July cupcakes that everyone liked this weekend.

Wave The Flag Cupcakes

1 package of yellow or white box cake mix

1/2 cup wheat germ

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

*1/3 cup of pureed sweet potatoes

3/4 c of water

3 egg whites

3 c of fresh blueberries

2 c of fresh strawberries sliced about 1/4 inch thick or less

1 8oz package of low fat cream cheese

1/2 c of powdered sugar

1 tsp of vanilla extract

*Tip- Roast sweet potatoes at 400 degrees for 55 minutes. Then puree in a food processor. Keep these in your fridge and add to oatmeal, pancakes, and french toast batter. You can also use vegetable purees in place of oil or butter in baking recipes.

Directions:
Mix the cake mix and wheat germ together
In a separate bowl mix the egg whites, applesauce, sweet potatoes, and water together and then add to dry.
Beat with a mixer on low for 30 seconds and then on medium for 2 minutes.
Spoon batter into muffin cups
Bake for 18-22 minutes or go by directions on box.

to make icing:
put cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar in a bowl and beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth.

After the cupcakes are cool, ice the tops and decorate with the blueberries and strawberries to make a flag. Good Luck and enjoy!