Moistalicious Banana Apple Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

With two rambuncious pre-grade school boys on my hands, I never seem to have the time to bake. But a combination of guilt and necessity dominate my thought process at some point, usually by the end of each week. As a stay-at-home mom of two, aren't I obligated to "bake cookies?" Isn't it the requite activity of moms and young children? Further, I am continually faced with the challenge of feeding my vegetarian boys healthy snacks with nutritional value but without heaploads of cane sugar found in store-bought products. In addition, these treats have got to be vegan  -- made without eggs, butter or milk  -- since my younger one breaks out in hives after eating a crumb-sized bite of anything with dairy in it.

Below is the latest conconction to come out of my latest spontaneous Friday afternoon baking session. Without wanting to over tout my mommy baking skills, I must say that these mini muffins might just be the best-tasting healthy kiddie treat invention of mine yet! (Feel free to replace types of flour used here with whatever you have in your pantry - whole wheat flour, oat flour and soy flour are also nutritious options).

3/4 cup white flour, organic
1 1/4 cup spelt flour, organic
1/2 corn meal, organic
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup apple juice, organic
1 large or 2 small extra ripe bananas, organic (mashed)
1/4 unsweetened apple sauce, organic
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup honey
1 Tbs white vinegar
1 cup grain sweetened chocolate or carob chips

Mix wet into dry, then add chocolate chips. Bake in mini muffin pan for 15 minutes. (Makes 24 mini muffins.) Let cool then munch away. So moistalicious that you and your kiddie (s) had better eat your fill then hide them from yourself and/or share them with neightbors before they dissapear completely in one sitting!

Creamy Ground Beefless Tomato Sauce With Pureed Spinach (Your Baby Will Love It!)

I'm being presented with the quagimire of many new mothers: my one and a half year old is a picky eater; he will gobble something up one day, then toss it on the floor while laughing mockingly the next.

And my food challenges are more difficult than average since I am raising my boys on a vegetarian diet, not to mention the fact that said baby is allergic to all dairy, which means that he is essentially vegan. I recently stopped breast feeding him, so I am more concerned that ever that he is getting the nutrients he needs on a daily basis.

To add to my food feeding ails, Mr. Baby will not eat vegetables; this poses a yet even more difficulty  for a vegan child. A mother recently recommended that I added pureed spinich to tomato sauce. I know about the pureed thing, yet, for whatever reason, had not tried this combo yet. So I went to work ASAP creating a pasta sauce that's as easy as possible to make, since I usually find myself rushing through the cooking process. I came up with this hearty, high protein topping for the pasta of your choosing that both baby and carnivorous daddy ate to the last bite.

16 ounces organic tomato sauce, home-made or store bought
1 container (8 ounces) ground seitan (wheat gluten) or 1/2 cup textured vegetable protein (TVP), soaked in water
1/2 cup soy milk
2 cups spinach, washed or prewashed, blanched then pureed with 1/4 cup water
3 gloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup grated cow's milk cheese, soy cheese, or vegan cheese (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and cook at medium-low heat for 20 minutes. Pile a top the pasta of your choice and eat till you're stuffed!