Perfect Bacon Every Time

I am a bacon-aholic. I could polish off an entire package by myself in one sitting and not even feel bad about it. When I was 17, I took a small trip into the land of vegetarianism. It lasted exactly one month. My whole family was having a big Sunday morning breakfast, complete with pancakes and eggs and sausage and, you guessed it - bacon. I couldn't take it any more. Bacon brought me back.

Since then, I have spent years slaving over a hot, popping pan, getting burned by bacon grease at every turn. My forearms were covered in mini burns. I started wearing long sleeved shirts to cook my beloved bacon. I ruined several shirts this way - oil spatters are hard to get out! I relinquished the job to Andrew for a while. Until the day I took back the bacon! "I'll use the oven," I said. "It will be perfect," I said. And it was. And we all lived happily ever after.

High Protein Pancakes

I produce string bean children. It doesn't matter how much weight I gain during pregnancy, or how much I feed them after birth, or how many extra calories I pack onto their favorite foods - my offspring seem to be genetically predispositioned to be tall, lanky, all arms and legs and not an ounce of fat anywhere. Don't get me wrong, they're very healthy kids, but a strong breeze could knock them over.

That being said, I'm always looking for ways to get some extra protein in their diets, and that powdered whey stuff you turn into milk shakes... well, we'll save that for the bodybuilders - it freaks me out. I wouldn't drink it myself, and so I'm sure as heck not pumping my kids full of it. THAT being said, I'm super excited whenever I figure out a natural way to add an extra dose of protein to a food I know they are going to love, and that's exactly what we have here for you today! I surprised even myself with how good these are - I hope you like them!

Everything-but-the-flour Cookies

I am always on the lookout for meal cookies. You know, the ones that don't have added sugar and have lots of healthy ingredients so they can be eaten for breakfast on those mornings when your alarm clock goes on strike and you wake up 3 minutes before the school bus shows up. Or they can tide your kids over when they are starving and dinner isn't quite ready yet. Or they can keep you going on those days when you're so busy you forget to eat. 

So I was super excited when I came across this recipe over at My Whole Food Life. A few tweaks later and we were in cookie heaven. The base of the cookie itself is soft and chewy, with bits of sweetness from the raisins and chocolate chips. Healthy and satisfying, these cookies are a win-win! 

Oatmeal Almond Fruit Bars

I recently went to Trader Joe's for the first time. Among a million other cool things, I picked up a jar of Organic Super Fruit spread. It was hiding in a row of cute little jars on the very bottom shelf under the specialty peanut butters and I just had to have it. We brought it home and tried a tiny bit straight out of the jar to see how it tastes. While it was really, really good, it seemed a little too sophisticated for plain old peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I had no idea what I was going to do with it, so it sat on the counter while I waited for my muse. Then I remembered we used to eat a lot of toaster pastries and breakfast fruit bars. I thought this might be just the thing I needed to create a homemade version that was versatile enough for breakfast or dessert. OMGosh - where have these been all my life??

3 Grain Marshmallow Crispy Treats

Crispy treats are one of the greatest inventions ever. Think about it - you take a cereal that no one would ever eat without 3 pounds of sugar sprinkled on top and turn it into something totally edible by mixing it with sugary marshmallows. Suddenly kids everywhere are clamoring for the things. 

It has been my experience that most all natural cereals that are actually good for you don't taste all that great on their own (think fiber twigs). I have also learned that if you bring some buttery marshmallow goodness to the party, everything tastes better - even cereal that resembles tree bark. Even so, I left the fiber twigs at the store and made these with three simple puffed cereals that resembled the originals enough to make any kid happy.

French Toast Sticks

Between sports, music lessons, doctor's appointments, and everything else busy moms need to take care of these days, boxes of processed food and the local drive-thru seem like much easier options when it comes to feeding the family. I know because that is how we used to eat. But if you plan ahead, you can have homemade food ready whenever you need it.

Chocolate Pumpkin Mini Muffins

We love my Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins, but they are a little too big to fit in K's bento-style lunch box. Besides, him and dairy aren't getting along at the moment so that means the chocolate chips were a no-go. I reworked the recipe to make smaller muffins that skip the chips. They worked out beautifully and he can have them whenever he wants - breakfast, lunch, after school, or as a bedtime snack. The cocoa makes them decadent, the pumpkin makes them moist, and the oats make them a "healthier" option. You (and your kids) are going to love them!

Make Your Own Oat Milk

In case you're new here, I eat a LOT of oatmeal. And I'm not shy with the liquids when I make it either. Most people like a little milk with their oatmeal; I like a little oatmeal with my milk. Hot or cold, quick or old-fashioned, I thoroughly drown the poor stuff. I tend to make it with less liquid so it's really thick, then I cover it with milk, just like regular cereal, and break the bigger chunks up. It really is odd.

Then, one day while I was making my sixth batch of almond milk in 5 days, I started wondering what else I could make milk out of. Then it hit me - I could make oat milk. It would be like oatmeal on top of my oatmeal! What more could an addict like me want??

Hint of Strawberry Scones

When I lived in Utah, there was this awesome little restaurant called Sconecutters. They served everything from sandwiches to fried shrimp platters, but they were most known for their scones. It was kind of like a west coast version of Dunkin Donuts, serving combo meals like two scones and a coffee. They were open 24/7, they had a drive-thru window, and I simply couldn't get enough of them. What's a scone, you might ask? Well, if you've never had one before, they are this crazy cross between a biscuit and a sugar cookie. Not too sweet, dense but flaky at the same time, and completely addictive.

Make Your Own Soy Milk

If you or someone in your family is lactose intolerant or otherwise allergic to regular milk, you know how expensive the alternatives can be. I'm not too crazy about all the weird additives they throw in there either. I figured there had to be a better way, and there is. Did you know you can make it yourself? It takes just a few simple (real) ingredients and it tastes way better than anything you can get in the store. Come on, I'll show you how.

Apple and Pear Crisp

There is usually a ton of fruit in our house - fresh, frozen, and canned. If nothing else, we always have lots of fresh apples and pears on hand. I even had to get a second fruit basket just for them. Because we eat so much of them, I am always trying to come up with special ways to use them up. An alternative to a labor-intensive pie, I love this crisp. It comes together quickly, it's not overly sweet, and it tastes just as good right out of the oven as it does cold the next morning.

Make Your Own Almond Milk (and Almond Meal)

I don't know where you live, but around here, almond milk is $4 for a HALF gallon ($3 if you catch it on sale). That's insane. They must be charging for all of the additives, because I can turn a 2-pound $8 bag of almonds into 6 quarts and it only takes 2 ingredients. Even if you don't do it on a regular basis, I think everyone should try it at least once. Bonus - you get a bunch of almond meal as a by-product of the process. That stuff is $8 per bag here. I couldn't love this anymore right now!

Cold Oatmeal (Muesli)

My name is Lisa and I am addicted to oatmeal. I eat it every day, sometimes twice a day. I used to buy the flavored packets of instant oatmeal, but then I moved onto canisters of quick oats, then old-fashioned, then the really hard stuff - steel cut oats. It was bad.

Ham and Asparagus Quiche

Quiche has been one of my favorite foods for as long as I can remember. When I lived with my grandma, we would buy the little 5-inch personal quiches in all the flavors the grocery store had. Then we'd take them home and split them between us. Our plates would be full of different quiche halves and we'd eat every crumb. Ham and cheese, spinach, plain - they were all amazing. But now that I know how easy they are to make, I don't have to run to the store to get this eggy deliciousness. This one's for you MomMom.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

The first year I had my big garden, I planted a lot of zucchini. Apparently, you only need one plant per person in your family. No one told me. We had three people; I planted eight zucchini. Eight! We had SO much zucchini that year - I was giving it away daily and still had 10 on my counter at all times. I learned how to make a lot of zucchini recipes that summer. But I sure wish I knew this one back then.

The Dr. Seuss Special

Since we're on the subject of sneaky foods kids love, I present to you The Dr. Seuss Special. When I used to babysit my sisters, this was one of their favorite breakfasts. Back then I used green food coloring, but not anymore. I found a natural alternative that works just as well. It's...

Nutty Breakfast Cookies

Isn't it every kid's dream to have cookies for breakfast?

Isn't it every mom's dream to have kids who don't fight about what you serve them and actually finish their morning meal before the bus comes?

Well, have no fear, Foodie Mama is here! Healthy enough to make you happy, cookie enough to make them happy. Serve these. Tomorrow. And you could be, like, "the best mom EVR"!

Cinnamon Vanilla Biscotti

To me, biscotti has always been a fancy treat, a special kind of cookie best left to the pros. I would have never considered making it from scratch back in the day. But it was on my 2013 bucket list, so I did it. It was so easy, I laughed at myself for avoiding it for all those years. It uses ingredients I'll bet you already have in your pantry, so there's no excuse for paying for overpriced, rock-hard cookies from the store.

Apple Pie Yogurt





So the organic apples I buy are usually upwards of $8 a bag, and this past weekend, they were on sale for $5.79. Score! However, this means that a lot of my recipes in the next few weeks will be apple-based. If you love apples like we do, come in, take a load off, stay a while. If not, feel free to come back in a few days when I have gotten it all out of my system. This has been a public service announcement.

Mini Breakfast Pigs-in-Blankets

The only way to make pancakes better is to serve them up with sausage. Or around sausage. I love going to places like IHOP and getting savory pork sausage wrapped up in sweet fluffy pancakes and dipping the whole thing in some warm syrup. Move over Campbells, this is mmm, mmm, good.