Our First "Live" Podcast Guest

"Cousin Andrea," perhaps one of our biggest fans out there, was the first "live" guest on Cooking with the Moms this week (www.MealMakeoverMoms.com). Ever since our weekly radio podcast launched back in May, 12-year old Andrea (Liz's niece) has been a devoted listener. In fact, every Wednesday when we post a new show to iTunes and our website, Andrea rushes home from school (or camp), runs straight to her computer, and listens to the show.

This summer, Andrea spent two weeks at Camp Medolark (www.Medolark.com) near Camden, Maine. On her way back to Connecticut, she stopped by the Moms' "studio" and sat in on our Frozen Treats show. You'll love hearing her talk about her adventures at camp (she got to take cooking classes!) and her thoughts on our Trio of Pops.

We hope you'll listen in each week just like Andrea does! In the meantime, here's a recipe for Watermelon Pomegranate Pops to whet your appetite for our August 6th podcast

Watermelon Pomegranate Pops
Makes 4 Servings

1 1/2 cups cubed seedless watermelon
1/2 cup Pomegranate blueberry juice

Combine the watermelon and juice in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into four 3-ounce popsicle molds and freeze until firm, about 3 hours. To remove the pops from the molds, run under warm water to loosen. If you don’t have popsicle molds, divide t he liquid between four paper cups. Cover each cup with foil, insert one craft stick through the center of each foil, and freeze.

* We like Minute Made Enhanced Pomegranate Blueberry Juice

Nutrition Information per Serving: 30 calories, 0g fat (0g saturated), 0mg sodium, 9g carbohydrate, 0g fiber, 0g protein, 15% vitamin C

Fruity Chicken Kebabs

Maureen M., a supermom of four boys from Massachusetts sent us an email with these adorable photos. As you can see, her kids were thrilled when she let them create their own fruit and chicken kebabs for lunch. The photos inspired us to feature our Fruit & Chicken Kebab recipe in this week's Cooking with the Moms radio podcast. Tune in and listen as we share recipes and ideas for lunch box makeovers.

Here's what Maureen had to say:

"Thank you Meal Makeover Moms! I tried the kabob idea that I saw on your website and it was a HUGE hit! My little men so enjoyed creating their "stick lunches" and gobbled them all up! I took pictures to share with you. You are Brilliant!"

We'd like to thank Maureen for getting in touch and sending photos. We hope more of you will do the same! To watch a video demo of this recipe click here.

Juiced Over Jigglers

We recently received a blog post asking us if we had any makeover ideas for Jell-O Jigglers. We've had a lot of fun in the kitchen the past couple of weeks and wanted to share what we came up with. In case you don't know, traditional Jell-O Jigglers, according to the directions on the back of the box, are made with four packages of fruit-flavored Jell-O and water or apple juice. When you crunch the numbers, it turns out that each small, hand-held Jiggler square has 3 teaspoons of added sugar plus a laundry list of artificial colors. To make this recipe healthier and all natural, we used plain gelatine, real, 100% fruit juice, frozen fruit and just 1 tablespoon of sugar for the entire recipe (our squares have just 1/8 teaspoon of added sugar).

We made two versions: one with frozen mango and mango juice and the other with strawberry kiwi juice and frozen strawberries. Here's what our kids had to say about the recipe:

Leah: "Absolutely, super fab-u-lo-so. They're just too good."

Simon: "These are addicting. Can I have them for a snack in my lunch box tomorrow?"

If your kids love Jigglers you'll love this easy makeover. With real fruit in every squishy, squiggly, bite this is one recipe where you'll want your kids to ask for more!

Juicy Strawberry Jigglers

Makes 24 Jiggler Squares

1 1/2 cups strawberry kiwi juice, divided

1 cup frozen strawberries

2 envelopes unflavored gelatine

1 tablespoon sugar

In a blender, blend together 1 cup of juice and the frozen fruit until smooth. Pour into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir occasionally to break up any frothy bubbles. Meanwhile, place the remaining 1/2 cup juice in a large bowl. Sprinkle the gelatine over the juice and let stand 1 minute. Add the hot juice and stir until the gelatine completely dissolves, about 5 minutes. Stir in the sugar. Pour the mixture into an 8 X 8-inch pan. Refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours. To serve, cut into squares (use an off-set spatula).

Nutrition Information per Serving:
10 calories, 0g fat, 0mg sodium, 2g carbohydrate, 2g sugar, 1g protein, 10% vitamin C

Juicy Mango Jigglers

Makes 24 Jiggler Squares

1 1/2 cups tropical mango juice blend, divided

1 cup frozen mango

2 envelopes unflavored gelatine

1 to 2 tablespoons sugar

In a blender, blend together 1 cup of juice and the frozen fruit until smooth. Pour into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir occasionally to break up any frothy bubbles. Meanwhile, place the remaining 1/2 cup juice in a large bowl. Sprinkle the gelatine over the juice and let stand 1 minute. Add the hot juice and stir until the gelatine completely dissolves, about 5 minutes. Stir in the sugar. Pour the mixture into an 8 X 8-inch pan. Refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours. To serve, cut into squares (use an off-set spatula).

Nutrition Information per Serving:
15 calories, 0g fat, 0mg sodium, 4g carbohydrate, 3g sugar, 1g protein, 10% vitamin C

Valentine Treat

Chocolatey Raspberry Pudding

Makes 6 Servings

2 cups lowfat chocolate milk, divided

1 cup frozen raspberries

3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg yolk

Fresh raspberries, optional

Place 1 ½ cups chocolate milk and raspberries in a blender and process until smooth. Strain the mixture into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Whisk together the cornstarch, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl until well combined. Whisk together the remaining ½ cup chocolate milk and the egg yolk and add to the cornstarch mixture, stirring well. Slowly add half the hot milk to the egg yolk mixture, stirring with a whisk. Return the milk/cornstarch mixture to the pan and bring back to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring constantly, for 1 minute or until thick. Spoon the pudding into 6 small bowls, cover surface with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator. Serve with fresh raspberries on top as desired.

Nutrition Information per serving: 146 calories, 5g fat (2g saturated), 157mg sodium, 22g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 5g protein, 10% vitamin C, 10% calcium

Halloween Party Ideas

Add a new twist to your Halloween gathering by serving some good-for-you goodies. Kid-friendly suggestions: sweet potato chips, all-natural cheese curls, popcorn, dried fruits such as apricots and cranberries, Chocolaty Pumpkin Bars , pumpkin seeds, and chocolate milk. You can even try these fruit kebabs, presented in a pumpkin!

Frighteningly Delicious Fruit Kebabs

Makes 25 kebabs

1 honeydew melon, cut into cubes

1 cantaloupe, cut into cubes

1 quart strawberries

1 small bunch seedless red or green grapes

Mini marshmallows

25 ten-inch wooden skewers

Thread fruit and marshmallows onto skewers. Stick ends into pumpkin (to make inserting the wooden skewers easier, use something like a metal meat thermometer ... or even a drill bit ... to poke the holes). For an added element, use a marker to create a funny or scary face.

Nutrition Information per Kebab: 25 calories, 0g fat (0g saturated fat), 0mg sodium, 6g carbohydrates, 1g fiber, 0g protein, 35% Vitamin C

Summer Camp Kebabs

Summer is in full swing and by now, some of you may have come to the realization that YOU'RE STILL PACKING LUNCHES for the kids! If PB&J is all you can muster up (let's face it, after a school year of stuffing lunch boxes, you may be a tad bit fried), try our Fruity Chicken Kebabs. With the season's freshest berries, grapes, and melon, these fun kebabs add flavor, fun and great nutrition to any camper's lunch box.Visit our new website, http://www.mealmakeovertv.com/ and be sure to watch our video of Fruity Chicken Kebabs to see how easy they are to make.

A Patriotic Dessert

Get ready for the 4th of July with one of our favorite easy-to-make desserts, Apple Blueberry Walnut Crisp. Made with red delicious apples and blueberries and then topped with vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt, this red, white, and blue dessert is the perfect ending to any July 4th feast. The fact that it’s bursting with great nutrition makes it even better!
Watch us cook up this mouth-watering dessert at http://www.mealmakeovermoms.com/flash/tvAppleBlueberryCrisp.html

Apple Blueberry Walnut Crisp
Makes 6 Servings

Filling:
3 large red or golden delicious apples (about 2 pounds), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 pint blueberries (1 cup) or 1 cup frozen wild blueberries

Crisp Topping:
3/4 cup walnuts, very finely chopped
1/4 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons canola oil

Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Combine the apples, brown sugar, flour, vanilla, and cinnamon in a large bowl and toss to coat. Gently toss in the blueberries. Place the apple mixture in an 8 x 8-inch baking dish and set aside.
To make the topping, combine the walnuts, oats, brown sugar, whole wheat flour, flaxseed, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the canola oil and stir until the dry ingredients are well coated.
Spread the topping evenly over the fruit mixture. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, or until the fruit is tender and the topping is golden brown (cover with foil if the topping browns too quickly).

Nutrition Information per Serving: 260 calories, 16g fat, (1.5g saturated, 2.3g omega-3), 105mg sodium, 30g carbohydrates, 4g fiber, 4g protein, 10% vitamin C