Dairy-Free Recipes for Kids Finding nutritious dairy-free recipes that the kids will actually eat can be a challenge—so much kids food has so much cheese!—but I hope this list helps you to have a few more options for easy toddler meals and kid-friendly recipes. There is almost always a substitution available to make a recipe dairy-free, but there are also so many delicious recipes and foods that naturally don’t contain any dairy....
Calcium for Kids I know there are specific nutrients parents worry about and calcium is one of them. The good news is that once you learn which foods have calcium, it’s pretty easy to be sure you’re offering enough throughout the week. So know that this post is not meant to stress you out or make you keep a running tally of servings or numbers, but rather to inform you and arm you with basic info so you can feel more confident that the kids are getting what they need!...
The next time you’re wondering what to cook for dinner, this is it! Skillet chicken meals are always a hit around here. My personal favorite might be Smothered Chicken (since I’m from the South), but I have plenty of other great ones like Creamy Chicken Skillet, Spanish Chicken and my Mediterranean Chicken Skillet. Today’s recipe doesn’t have any specific regional theme. It’s just something I threw together some time back with some basic seasonings, a few herbs and a little lemon....
This vegan chai spice loaf cake is the perfect sweet treat. It’s soft and tender, full of masala chai flavor, easy to make, and so delicious! My favorite way to enjoy this is (obviously) with a cup of steamy, milky chai. A thick slice of cake, a hot cup of tea, a cozy blanket, and your pick of a good book or your favorite Netflix show complete the scene. It’s such a good cake, and hard to stop at just one slice!...
This Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup with Egg Noodles is comfort food at it’s best! When cold weather hits, nothing tastes better than a bowl of classic chicken noodle soup. But the store-bought versions are always so bland and sad with limp noodles and not nearly enough chicken or vegetables. My version elevates the classic by using plenty of hearty vegetables, tender chicken, and homemade noodles and dumplings for the best, most delicious chicken dumpling soup you have ever tasted!...
We love to add extra flavor to rice, making it a little more special and nutritious than the plain white version. Pair this simple side with Cafe Rio Black Beans, Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Barbacoa, and Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing for an at-home Cafe Rio experience whether you prefer their salads or burritos! I love going to Chipotle and ordering a burrito bowl with barbacoa, guacamole, black beans, salsa, and of course their Cilantro Lime Rice....
I don’t know about you, but we eat soup all year round! It’s one of my favorite foods and pretty much the original one-pot meal. Serve it up with a nice salad or some crusty bread and everybody’s happy. And the leftovers always make the absolute BEST lunch the next day! Every time I make this corn chowder, my family raves about it. It’s thick and creamy, but with plenty of chunks of tender potato and lots of corny flavor from the corn kernels, which also add a wonderful texture....
Broccoli Pesto Most kids, mine included, love pasta and pizza so I love to find small ways to make them with flavorful sauces that have veggies in the mix. This broccoli pesto, which has two cups of fresh broccoli plus a cup of vitamin-rich parsley, is our current new favorite sauce. Along with Roasted Frozen Broccoli and Broccoli Pasta Sauce, it’s one of the broccoli recipes we make most often. It’s easy to mix together and doesn’t require any cooking....
Uncrustables Before becoming a mom to three kids, I would have laughed so hard if you told me that I’d ever make PB&J sandwiches ahead of time to stash in the freezer. Ah, but then life happened and I realized that having such a simple food ready and waiting in the freezer for easy meals is GENIUS. You can pull them out and pack in a lunch and they’ll thaw by lunch time, you can fill them with anything you want (so they are easy to adjust for allergies or preferences), and you can make them with any kind of bread you like....
Apples are the one fruit I always have on hand, and they are the fruit that seems to be left after all the “good” fruit is eaten. (I say that in jest, but berries and melon often seem more fun than apples!) I’ve started using them in smoothies and with great results. They are easy to blend up, are perfect in fall when you might have more fresh apples on hand, and are a nutritious base in a smoothie for kids....
Russian food is perfect for colder weather as it is ultra-comforting and satisfying. Our Best Ground Beef Stroganoff Recipe is perfect if you’d rather use beef than chicken, and our Russian Chicken is tangy, sweet, and baked to perfection! When the cold weather sets in every year, we are all about comfort. Blankets, sweaters, soups, and pasta dishes are all things you’ll find in our house. Even in early spring, like now, you may find me sipping on hot cocoa, waiting for that California sun to really take the winter chill away!...
Easy Recipe for Peppermint Bark When I make peppermint bark at home, not only is it less expensive, but I can combine my favorite things about my two favorite brands. I can use my favorite high-quality chocolate, and I can mix some of my crushed candy cane pieces into the white chocolate, just like Ghiradelli peppermint bark. But I can also make it as thick or thin as I like, break it up into rustic-looking shards, and bedeck the top of the peppermint bark with even MORE candy cane bits for extra sparkle and crunch like Williams-Sonoma peppermint bark....
Creamy squares of cheesecake covered in salty sweet caramel are the ultimate dessert for sharing in these Salted Caramel Cheesecake Bars! These are great for making ahead and less finicky than traditional cheesecake! Caramel, especially salted caramel, is one of our favorite dessert flavors! Be sure to check out some of our other caramel recipes like Carmelitas, Chocolate Salted Caramel Whoopie Pies, and Homemade Caramel Apples! I love cheesecake, but I don’t always love dealing with things like springform pans and water baths....
Sesame Green Beans I’m always looking for easy ways to keep the kids interested in eating veggies and while they’re fans of cooked green beans with just butter and salt, they also like this more flavorful version too. These Sesame Green Beans are easy to make and they boast just enough flavor to keep things interesting for the kids and the adults. They’re one of my favorite go-to side dishes to make when I don’t have a ton of time....
I love adding mashed sweet potato to all sorts of recipes to add creaminess and natural sweetness and this hummus recipe is a great example! It’s super simple with only a handful of ingredients and pairs really nicely with a range of foods. We like it with crackers and toast, and veggies like cucumbers, sliced carrots, and snap peas. TIP: You can serve this as a dip or as a spread on tortillas, wraps, toast, and sandwiches....
Baby-Led Weaning Recipes Starting solids with baby is a fun milestone but it comes with a large side of, “wait, now what?” To help, I’ve put together all of my favorite baby-led weaning recipes in this one post so you can easily find ones to make for your little one. You can find the best first foods and a primer on how to start Baby-Led Weaning (also known as BLW). For breakfast-specific options, head to this Baby-Led Weaning Breakfasts post....
Healthy Strawberry Muffins I love it when I find berries at affordable prices at the store, either fresh or frozen. And while my kids tend to gobble them up fresh, I love to bake with them when there are extras. These easy Strawberry Muffins pack in a lot of nutrition but are also tender and naturally sweet enough to nourish and please the kids. They have a nice hit of lemon flavor, which is so good with the fresh berries....
Strawberry Recipes Whether you go strawberry picking and have an excess to use, or you want to try a new way to serve them, these strawberry recipes are my favorites. I’m including recipes for smoothies, yogurt, cakes, popsicles, muffins, and more so you have a range of options—and can pick the one that works best for your family. Unless otherwise noted in the recipe, these can all be used with fresh or frozen strawberries so you have the most flexibility....
We love peanut butter and always have some on hand for making some of our favorite desserts! Some of our other favorite peanut butter recipes are No-Bake Peanut Butter Pie, The Ultimate Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies, and Peanut Butter Blondies. When I was brainstorming foods that Massachusetts is famous for as part of my American Eats series, fluffernutter sandwiches were one of the first things that came to mind. If you have never had or heard of a fluffernutter sandwich, it’s just white bread with peanut butter and marshmallow fluff, much like peanut butter and jelly....
Canned cranberry sauce is fine and all but it tastes, well, canned. If you want to level up your cranberry sauce this holiday season, try making this easy, no-fail recipe and taking it to Thanksgiving dinner. Your mother-in-law will be impressed. Why we love this Homemade Cranberry Sauce You can control the level of sweetness. If you prefer it less sweet and more tart, go ahead and cut back on the sugar by 2-3 tablespoons....
