afternoon treat for the 4th of July: watermelon spritzers

When we roll in from the swimming pool this afternoon I know everyone is going to be hot and in need of some downtime. So, this morning I prepped some watermelon puree for an afternoon treat that's cooling, healthy, hydrating and fun. My girlfriend, Jeannie, mentioned that she was having this the other day. I tried it shortly thereafter to rave reviews around here, so it's one worth passing along. It's the easiest "soda", "spritzer", and parent/kid-pleasing drink treat ever + it's perfect for the 4th with it's red hue!

Watermelon Spritzers

(or Watermelon Soda if you want to call it that)

chunks of watermelon
juice of 1 lime (optional)
selzter (any flavor is great, pick your favorite)


Pulse the watermelon chunks in your blender until pureed. Combine with seltzer until desired level of sweetness and fizziness. Voila!


I pulsed my watermelon earlier, and set it aside for this afternoon. You'll see that the pulp separates from the juice if you do the same, so simply give it a stir or a quick whiz of the blender again right before serving. 

Hope you all have a wonderful 4th with family + friends!! - Eila

breakfast fit for the 4th

Healthy-- and quick-- start to our 4th of July holiday!

Today's 4th of July smoothie: organic strawberries + blueberries + banana + raspberries + 2 cups of organic greens (spinach this time) + 2 cups of water.

And scrambled eggs with sun-dried tomatoes + a side of red and blue berries. (Lots of berries going down little hatches today.)

This is the only meal I am cooking today, as we're out and about. But, if you're looking for other festive and healthy red-white-and-blue inspiration I recommend:
blueberry-yogurt muffins
"flag" cake
mini fruit skewers (adding in blueberries too)

Hope you have a wonderful day with family + friends!

healthy Valentine's snack idea: mini red fruit skewers

To balance out the (really good homemade, but still really sugary) cookies I was sending into school, I picked up a few different kind of red fruit and some long(er) toothpicks.

I don't need to tell you that this mini fruit kabob making effort could have gone a lot more quickly had I just done it after the kiddos were bathed and in bed...

but it was worth having the kids help at the end of the day. They excitedly came up with a pattern and carefully poked each one together, announcing that "[their classmates] were going to love this Valentine's snack". He's probably right. Even plain fruit is exciting when served on a stick!

festive potluck offerings for the Fourth

Hope you're having a fabulous long weekend. The rain here in CT has made for a much more mellow day than we'd planned...which is sort of nice after a late night sinking our toes in the sand watching fireworks. (I apologize to anyone sitting near us...I did not realize our 4-year-old was going to excitedly emcee the details of every sparkling blast.) Anyway, tomorrow's supposed to be gorgeous again, so I wanted to quickly re-post two of my favorite offerings for any Fourth of July potluck: deviled eggs (aka "eggs with the devil in them") and a berry studded flag cake. (You don't have to make Annie's Grandma's Carrot Cake...your favorite cake will do). Bring one of these along and you'll surely be invited back next year!

Cooking with Kids: Blueberry Muffins

Baking's not really my thing. I much prefer to improvise with a little of this and a little of that, rather than follow a recipe with the right proportions. But my younger child loves to help out in the kitchen, and at his age, baking is a better gig than hovering over a hot pot or using sharp knives together. So, this morning we whipped up some blueberry muffins, putting the bounty of berries on the counter to good use. I did the measuring, he did the dumping into the bowl, washed the blueberries, used the hand mixer with reckless abandon and wiped the counter down as I filled the muffin cups.

Blueberry Muffins
Yields 12 Muffins
(adapted from a Stonyfield advertisement, which was sort of pointless since I didn't have any yogurt on hand*...)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
between 1/2 to 2/3 cup of sugar (depending upon how sweet you want them)
1 cup of sour cream* (which was supposed to be yogurt, but I didn't have any)
2 eggs
1/4 cup butter, room temp
cinnamon
vanilla
lemon zest
1 1/2 cups of blueberries
Turbinado sugar (optional, to sprinkle on top before baking)

Preheat oven to 375 and spray muffins tins with cooking spray (which we didn't do, so ours are, um, stuck but still taste good). In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except blueberries. Using a hand mixer, blend on low speed until combined. Fold in the fresh blueberries. Spoon into twelve muffins cups. Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes (depending upon your oven, mine always takes longer) until tops are lightly browned and toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

For the first year that I can remember, someone else will be doing the cooking this Fourth of July. So, this might be as festive as my cooking gets this weekend? But for those of you looking for a festive treat idea to make (and one that is great for little helping hands to get in on the action), I'll send you back to last year's posts from the 4th here and here!

Festive Treat for the Fourth

Here’s a simple and festive treat for those of you bringing dessert to your holiday gathering. You’ll note that I gave each of my kids their own edible canvas….my 6-year-old totally dug the idea and was beyond thrilled to share his handiwork with his camp counselors as a thank you for a great week. My little one was more of a minimalist…until he realized you could chuck handfuls of berries onto the gooey frosting and they’d stick. I wish I’d taken an “after” picture of his masterpiece before we gave it to his camp counselors as a holiday treat.

You can always go the store bought route for a cake, or if you like carrot cake you must try this recipe that was passed on to me by one of my friends Annie when I lived in New York City. Annie R and Annie B, tell me which one’s grandma this recipe comes from and I will surely give the woman credit, as it’s the best one I've had!

Annie’s Grandma’s Carrot Cake

1 ¼ cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar (I used turbinado)
4 eggs
Vanilla (I probably put in about 2 T)
2 cups of flour (I used King Arthur’s white whole wheat flour)
3 cups of shredded carrots (this needn’t be exact so I threw in a 10 oz bag from the produce section, and didn’t measure—close enough)
Cinnamon (I probably put about 4 T in)
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder

Preheat oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl, I first beat the vegetable oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Then I added the remainder of the ingredients and beat in with a hand mixer on low speed until combined. Pour into desired pan, coated with a bit of vegetable oil to prevent sticking (unless you’re using a non-stick pan). I baked the cake in a large sheet pan but it makes enough batter for 3 8 inch pans if you’d prefer to go a layered route. The 8” pans will need to bake for about 30 minutes, the sheet pan for about 40 minutes. Once a toothpick comes out clean, that baby is done.
Top with copious amount of my favorite cream cheese icing, and decorate with blueberries and raspberries for the fourth of July!

Also, for those who have been asking for good cake recipes for their children’s birthdays (to make various themed cakes) this one holds up well and is very moist. As long as you don’t tell the little guests it’s “carrot” cake, most of them will happily inhale it!