A Summer of Healthy, DIY Cooking

I like to borrow cookbooks from the library, especially ones that show you how to do-it-yourself instead of buying the prepackaged version. These cookbooks usually start with an introduction that say something like this:

When I was young, I would look longingly at my friends as they ate their Wonderbread sandwiches and drank Kool-aid. They went home to cookies from a box, while I had snacks of homemade seaweed chips or zucchini brownies. Now that I'm older, I thank my mom for filling me with what she thought was best.

Maybe someday my kids will write something like that.

In the past five days, I've made a gluten-free quinoa chocolate cake, quinoa strawberry-banana muffins, vegan apple bread, a polenta pie, a vegan noodle casserole, and spinach-strawberry-banana-orange smoothies. Don't worry, we've also had steak, chicken, frozen yogurt, popsicles, and other more normal sounding foods.

But I'm sure my kids are really missing their boxed macaroni-and-cheese right now. And I haven't totally given up on that yet.

That's because, after reading several books, talking to several people, and observing others, I've decided not to conform to any particular diet. Not the low-carb diet, not the high protein diet, not the veggies-only diet. I've decided not to make food my idol. When the 'experts' all claim something different, I think moderation and good-ol'-fashion- homecookin' is the best answer. Besides, by limiting what my family eats, it also limits our interactions with other people. I'm accommodating to people when they come over for dinner, but I can't expect everyone to do that for us. And what I have seen are moms tensing up at other people's houses because they don't know "what's in the food," or isolating themselves from gatherings (eating out is almost impossible on a strict diet) because they can't eat what other people eat.

And I don't want that.

But I still want to cook healthier this summer by cutting back on meals centered around meat and diary (my husband has high blood pressure, and his doctor's solution is to put him on medication for the rest of his life) and learning how to make yummy, healthy snack foods for the kids (like DIY cheese crackers! check out this link: cheese-crackers-recipe).

So let me share with you a recipe that my friend Amanda gave me. She is a mom, a vegetarian, and one of the best DIY at-home cooks I know! She likes to double this recipe and put the extras in the freezer for a quick grab-and-go snack for her husband or daughter. Last week, I made a single batch, fed half to the kids, and now have the other half reserved for a busy day.

Enjoy! And I hope to share more recipes as I play around!

NUTRIGRAIN BARS

1 cup butter (room temperature)

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups oats

1 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract

strawberry preserves (or any other type of fruit jam)

Cream sugar and butter together. Mix in flours, oats and extract. Press half of mixture into a greased 9x13 dish. Spread fruit filling onto the mixture, then spread the rest of the mixture on top (you can crumble it too).

Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes.