Quick No Bake Fourth of July Cakes!

Happy Fourth of July Weekend!  What are your plans?  Are you headed out to a bar-b-que or hosting one?  If you're like me, you probably want to keep it simple. Here's my shortcut to a festive Fourth of July dessert if you don't have time to bake.  

Ingredients:

               -Red and Blue Berries

                           (boysenberries, blueberries/strawberries or raspberries)

               -Any cake

                           (Pound cake, Angel Food Cake, Cheesecake)

               -Whipcream/Frosting or Sourcream (if you're using cheesecake)

Here are some examples of flag cakes.  The first one is more professional looking.  Use pound cake/angel food cake slices, put them in the pan, then spread a thin layer of whip cream/frosting.  Lay out the blueberries in a square in the left corner.  Then put on the red berries in stripes (raspberries shown in 2 rows, but you can also use strawberries in one row). Then use whipcream in a can for the stripe design in between the berries and the stars.

  

If you want to make it even easier you can try this design. Just spread the whip cream and lay out the blueberries in the corner and use sliced strawberries for stripes.

If you like the red and white theme for Fourth of July, but think a flag cake is a little too much, then you can go for this design! I like using a frozen cheesecake covering it with a layer of sourcream, then topping it with fresh berries in this circular design.  If you are using angel food cake you can also cut it in half and put a layer of whip cream in the middle, then put the top back on, spread more whip cream on top and then cover with berries.

Low fat/Gluten free option-Don't use cake at all.   Follow the first or second design.  Substitute the cake with banana slices.

Tips-If your using whip cream make sure you don't leave it out too long before you serve it or it may melt.

Happy Weekend!

Eat Your Veggies!

Now that my son is 19 months old...he's stopped eating vegetables. So how do you get them to eat a balanced diet if all they want are carbs and pizza bites? I still steam broccoli and carrots and put them on his plate, even though it's a pain when all my hard work ends up on the floor. Sometimes I'll make sure he's real hungry and them give him only the veggies first before dinner and he will eat them, but I can't count on it. So two of my favorite ways to make sure he's getting what he needs are make him drink it or hide it in another form.
1. Amazing Grass Superfood
It has 3 servings of fruit and vegetables per serving, mostly organic. It's a mix of dozens of greens and fruits from wheat grass and broccoli to guavas and blueberries and it tastes like chocolate! I usually mix a spoonful with about 4-6oz of milk, soy milk, whatever liquid you want.

2. I make super nutritious muffins. Pumpkin, Apple, and Banana are great, but to get some greens into my son I like this recipe. I took a recipe from the book Super Babyfood and added even more goodies. Yes, they are superhealthy, not as tasty as regular zucchini muffins I would make for myself, but my son loves them. I freeze the batch and reheat them for a healthy snack.

-Super Zucchini Spinach Muffins
Makes 12 muffins
Preheat oven 350 degrees. Mix in this order:

2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
(add 1 tablespoon Nutritional Yeast and 2 Tablespoons Soy Flour for Super Nutrition)
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 c melted butter/oil
1 8.75 oz can of crushed pineapple not drained
1/2 cup plumped raisins
1/2 grated zucchini (1 cup)
(chopped spinach, 2 Tablespoons wheat germ, 1 Tablespoon molasses)

Pour into greased muffin tins and bake 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.