Healthy Recipe Tuesday

Yesterday I logged on to my computer only to see this headline.
" Doctors urging for a safer,choke free hot dog"

Are you kidding me? That is what the American Academy of Pediatrics thinks is so important? What a waste!!!! With all of the !&*% that is in our kids foods I can't believe that this is there concern. Why aren't they demanding that hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup be taken out of our foods, or how about food dyes and chemical preservatives that are known to cause hyperactivity, allergic reactions, and behavior problems. Or even better, why don't they fight to make sure that companies that use GMO foods in their products HAVE to indicate so on the labels. What a crock!!!!!! Oh please Mr. Hot Dog Maker, can you please make hot dogs a different shape so my children won't choke on them because I can't possibly take the time to cut them up myself or to make the choice not to give them to my child because he/she is not old enough to chew them without choking. Sorry if that sounds mean, but really, we as the parents should ALWAYS make sure that are children have the ability to chew and swallow before giving them food that requires it. You don't give children under the age of 2 peanut butter because of the risk of allergy, and you don't give children under 1 honey because of the risk of bacteria in the honey. If we are going to blame the hot dog makers we might as well sue the cow's ass that it came from too! :)

Ok, now that I have gotten that out, I will tell you a funny story. We let Riley watch a movie on Nickelodeon a couple weeks ago and were not aware of how many commercials and marketing there was directed at children. We usually watch Noggin and there are never any commercials like that. There was a commercial for Pop Tarts and it was very colorful and had cool music so of course Riley was like," Mommy can we get those?" . Jesse and I explained that we didn't eat that kind of food because it wasn't healthy for our bodies and he dropped it. A week later he went to my mom's house while I went and watched a movie. On our way home that night he said, " Mommy I did something bad." He always tells us when he does , it's so cute and I am glad that he feels comfortable telling us. He said," I asked Grandma if she had any pop tarts and she did. I tried it because I wanted to see if it was organic, but it wasn't." Some of you are probably thinking that we really have our kid brainwashed, but to us, it is really important that we teach him how to make healthy choices when eating. Someday I will not be around him and he will have to make a choice on his own. My mom told me later that he told her he was allowed to have them , ate half of it and then threw it across the table and said," I'm not allowed to have this". The important thing was that he was honest with me and I am glad that he tried it. He knows when something has yucky ingredients because he always ends up with a stomach ache later. I don't think that he will try it again so I decided to find a recipe for a healthy pop tart. Turns out they are pretty easy to make. You do have to make your own pie crust though. But really that is pretty simple if you have a food processor. Here is the recipe. I will post pictures when I make them tomorrow for him.

Healthy Pop Tarts

1 1/4 c whole spelt flour
1 Tbsp sucanat (or brown sugar)
1/2 tsp salt
7 Tbsp of butter chilled in the freezer(for vegan, substitute earth balance sticks)
4-6 Tbsp of ice water
Fruit preserves sweetened with fruit juice not sugar

Pre heat oven to 450 degrees
In a food processor add the flour, salt, and sugar. Pulse a few times.
Cut the butter up into small pieces and add to the food processor.
Pulse 1o one second pulses. The butter should look like peas.
Sprinkle 4 Tbsp of the ice water over mixture and pulse a few more times . If still dry add more water one Tbsp at a time until it comes together. Make sure it does not get too wet.
Transfer dough to a clean counter top and form a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 20 min.
Take dough out and roll out on a floured surface. Cut out 3 in squares. Place half of them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Put 1-2 tsp of the fruit preserves in the center of each square. Dip your finger in a bit of water and paint around the edges. Take the other squares and place on top of the ones with the preserves. Crimp around the edges with a fork to seal. poke a few holes in the top of the pop tart.
Bake at 450 for 7-8 min or until brown. Let cook on a baking rack.

Icing
1 c of powdered sugar
2-3 Tbsp of milk or non dairy substitute. ( We use vanilla flavored oat milk)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Mix the sugar in a bowl with 2 tbsp of milk. If still stiff, add more milk 1 tbsp at a time until smooth and creamy. Add sprinkles on top if you want to decorate them. Enjoy!

You could also cut up some green apples and cook them with a little agave, cinnamon, and butter and then use that as the filling. That would be my favorite. Let me know if any of you try these.