Big Vanilla Members now have the opportunity to share their favorite healthy recipe with others. Just submit them to our online Recipe page for consideration and it may get posted. Requirements are that the recipe must result in a healty and delicious food, whether snacks, dinners or baked goods. Submit your best Big V Healthy and Delicious Recipes along with your name and phone number to Ariadne at genedeems@yahoo.com You may see your recipe on this very page!

Healthy Pumpkin muffins
By Christina Van Valkenburgh

1 cup applesauce
3 eggs, beaten
1 16 ounce can pumpkin (or you can use a can of pumpin pie mix but don’t add the spices)
3 ½ cups whole wheat flour
2 tsps baking soda
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp salt
nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves to taste
2/3 cup water
2 TBS ground flax seed
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together ingredients well, pour into 2 well greased and floured 9 x 5 loaf pans. Bake for 1 ½ hours, until loaves test done. Can also be made into muffins, pour into well greased and floured muffin pans, bake 20 – 30 minutes, depending on the size of your muffin pans. ENJOY, your kids are eating something healthy!!

MIRACLE BROWNIES

If you don’t tell them what’s in it, they’ll never know!

Ingredients:
1 Box (21 oz.) of your favorite family style brownie mix
1 Box (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed
¼ cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup carrot juice, or you can use 1/3 cup of the vegetable/fruit juice blends now on the market
3 eggs

DIrections:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9” x 13” pan with cooking spray. Squeeze out liquid from thawed spinach. Place spinach, eggs, vegetable oil and carrot juice in blender and puree. In a large bowl, combine spinach mix with brownie mix and stir until well blended. Spread batter in prepared pan and back approx 35-40 minutes.

THE BEST SMOOTHIE
By Regina Mattern

My children are very bad to eat to i have to put the healthy vegetables wherever i can . this is one of the recipes that goes down a treat with them.

2 cups of yogurt
half a squash
half a carrot
cup of strawberries
banana
cup of milk
some ice
some juice(any kind that doesn't have red or blue color in them, they make children very hyper)

Blend it all together and serve it up to the children, if it seems to be a little too thick add some more liquid, either the milk or the juice, I never measure anything so i am guessing here. In the summer i make this up and put them in the popicle holders and put them in the freezer and the kids love them as a treat and without realising it they are eating squash and carrots. It takes really good and its a great way to start the kids off to school in the morning.

THAI GREEN BEENS
By Patty Mitchell, Big Vanilla Pasadena Group Fitness Instructor

Blanch fresh cleaned green beans in boiling water until bright green and still crisp.
Drain and place on dry towel to absorb excess water.
Heat olive oli in a very hot, heavy (preferrable an iron) skillet.
When the oil is hot (ripply) cover the bottom of the pan with the green beans and toss letting tham scorch (turn black) in places.
You can remove these to a bowl and do another batch if you have a large amount of beans.
Sprinkle with SEA SALT after scorching.
After all beans have bean scorched place them back into the skillet and pour "garlic chili sauce" over them.
This will smoke alot! Toss for a minute or two and serve hot or cold.
D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!

Parents,

Are you trying to get your kids to eat their veggies and having no luck? Try sneaking some into their dessert, that's right, dessert. Try these 3 recipes that Chris, our Kids Fitness Instructor, has tried out on her class to rave reviews.

Chocolate Cake (with Beets)

1 box of your favorite Chocolate Cake mix
1/2 cup pureed beets
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

In order to puree the beets you will need at least 2 beets, cut off the greenery, wrap them in aluminum foil and roast at 400 degrees for about 1 hour. They are done when you can pierce them with a knife. Wait until they are cool and then peel and puree in a blender until smooth

Follow the directions on the box of Chocolate cake mix, substitute the beets and applesauce for oil, if eggs are called for use only 1 egg an d the rest you should use egg whites. Bake as directed.

Beets are a great source of folic acid, vitamin A, antioxidants, and potassium

Baked French Toast

4 egg whites
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 1/2-inch thick slices nonfat whole grain
Pinch of ground nutmeg

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Calories Per Serving: 79
Fat: .05 g
Cholesterol: .5 mg
Protein: 6 g
Carbohydrates: 13 g
Dietary Fiber: 0g
Sodium: 161 mg
Weight Watchers Poitns Per Serving: 2

Prehead oven to 450 degrees.

Combine milk, egg whites, vanilla and nutmeg in a shallow bowl.

Dip the bread into the milk mixture, coating both sides.

Spray a baking sheet with vegeable cooking spray or line with a nonstick baking liner. Arrange bread on baking sheet in a single layer.

Bake for 6 minutes or until French Toast is lightly browned. Turn bread ove and bake for 5 minutes more, or until lightly browned.

Makes 4 servings.

Recipe Source: Disney

Chocolate cupcakes (with avocado)

2 avocados - pureed until smooth
1/2 cup applesauce
1 box of your favorite chocolate cake mix

Follow the directions on the box, but instead of oil and butter, use avocados and applesauce. Substitute 1 egg and 2 egg whites for eggs in the recipe.

Avocados are the only vegetable loaded with monounsaturated fat, which is the good kind of fat that your body needs, they are also full of Vitamin E and soluble fiber.

Chocolate Brownies (with spinach)

1 box of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
your favorite chocolate fudge brownie mix
1/3 cup carrot juice or vegetable/fruit juice blend such as V-8 Fusion
1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil
1 egg
1 egg white

combine spinach , carrot juice, eggs and oil in a blender and puree until smooth. Combine spinach mix in bowl with chocolate fudge brownie mix, pour into pan and bake as directed on the box.

Spinach is a great source of Folic acid and iron, both of which growing children need and don't usually get enough of. It's also high in potassium and magnesium, and the carrot juice adds a nice punch of beta carotene!

Enjoy watching your kids eat dessert, but don't tell them what's in it, or do, but wait until after they've already eaten.

Don't forget, Kids Fitness is every Tuesday at 4:30 and every Thursday at 5:30 at the Big Vanilla in Pasadena. Kids ages 6-12 are welcome, and it's part of their membership, so there is no extra fee.

Submit your Big V Healthy and Delicious Recipes to Gene at genedeems@yahoo.com