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Spinach Pesto and the Power of Preparing Foods in New Ways

April 2, 2015 By Jessica Braider Leave a Comment

Spinach Pesto and the Power of Preparing Foods in New Ways

I am currently co-teaching a cooking class to a group of 6-9 year olds. Our goals have been helping all of the kids to gain confidence in the kitchen, introducing them to new healthy foods, and exploring new foods and food preparations.

Over the course of the past weeks we have been working with them to be open to trying new foods, even if the foods being offered are ones that they would normally be resistant to eating. We have done this in a few ways….

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Filed Under: Cooking with Kids, Dinner, Feeding Kids, Freezer Cooking, Picky Eaters, Quick Dinners, Tips and Tricks Tagged With: Easy, healthy, parmesan, pasta, pizza, Spinach, Vegetables, vegetarian, walnuts

Who Needs the Box? Real Mac ‘n Cheese

November 25, 2013 By Jessica Braider Leave a Comment

Who Needs the Box? Real Mac ‘n Cheese

For most of us, there are two types of macaroni and cheese: the special occasion casserole with a crispy crust and soft, cheesy, creamy base and the box of mac ‘n cheese (Kraft, Annie’s, etc.) that was likely a common meal in our house growing up and often is in our homes now, too.

…

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Filed Under: Dinner, Family Dinner, Feeding Kids, Lunch Tagged With: cheese, Easy, pasta, vegetarian

Baked Pasta and Multitasking in the Kitchen: Making Time Count

October 7, 2013 By Jessica Braider Leave a Comment

Baked Pasta and Multitasking in the Kitchen: Making Time Count

Whenever I am in the kitchen to make a big meal, like I often am on Sunday afternoons, I like to try to make that time really count. This often means that while I am cooking one big dish, I also take on some simple side dishes or meal prep that will help me save time later in the week. So yesterday when I pulled out the veggies I was going to put into a big baked pasta that would last us for at least one dinner and two or three lunches, it was also time to roast the remaining broccoli and brew my chai (spiced tea) for the week.

There are a couple of tricks that I have learned over the years that help this kind of multitasking work well:…

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Filed Under: Dinner, Family Dinner, Feeding Kids, Sides, Tips and Tricks Tagged With: broccoli, carrot, feta, healthy, mozzarella, pasta, time management, Vegetables, vegetarian

Basic Tomato Sauce: A Vehicle for Vegetables

September 24, 2013 By Jessica Braider Leave a Comment

Basic Tomato Sauce: A Vehicle for Vegetables

As is true in many households, Italian food is one of our go-to cuisines.  Pastas and homemade pizza are often on our weekly food plan. One of the reasons I like these options so much is that they are very flexible—I can almost always come up with a way to use whatever I have left in the house at the end of the week in an Italian dish of some sort. The leftovers of a meat can be added to a sauce or as a topping for a pizza.  A little bit of ricotta can be used as filling in a pasta or put on pizza. And then there are the veggies as toppings on pizzas, as an extra crunch in a sauce, roasted and mixed in, the possibilities are endless!

And I have learned a trick that enables my Italian obsession: make the sauce ahead of time. There are a number of reasons why this has been such a breakthrough for me: 1) I save a lot of money not buying the jarred tomato sauces, 2) dinner is made a lot faster and there is a lot less stress because I always have the sauce on-hand, 3) I can incorporate a lot more vegetables directly into the sauce than are usually in the jarred stuff, and 4) it tastes SO MUCH BETTER!…

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Filed Under: Dinner, Feeding Kids Tagged With: healthy, pasta, pizza, tomato, Vegetables

Jessica Braider

Hi! I'm Jessica. I love delicious food that is simple and easy. As a busy mom, I am always on the lookout for ways to make life easier and tastier! Read More…

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