| August 2005
 A Message From The Moms
Can you believe it? It’s that time of year again when parents scramble to get their children ready for back to school. Ready or not, here comes the daily routine of stuffing backpacks, making lunches, carpooling, and supervising homework. Well, since we’re here to make your lives just a tad bit easier -- and sweeter -- we created a recipe for an A-plus lunchbox or after-school snack. Our Zucchini Squiggle Squares get high marks because they’re nutritious (the zucchini, banana, whole wheat flour, and ground flaxseed take care of that) and they’re incredibly delicious. Cook up a batch and you’ll see what we mean!
We hope your summer was as fun as ours. Both of us had the opportunity to travel to Canada in July. First, Janice spent several days in Saskatchewan with a dozen other food writers and culinary experts. The group met with scientists and farmers, toured canola fields and explored the nutritional and culinary benefits of canola oil. Meanwhile, Liz and her family traveled to Prince Edward Island (PEI). The food was incredible -- from steaming bowlfuls of PEI mussels, to an all-you-can eat Sunday Supper at Shaw's Hotel, to one of the best cups of coffee ever at the Coffee Factory in the village of Victoria. She even got to visit one of Wyman’s wild blueberry farms and attend the musical, Anne of Green Gables!
Now, speaking of travel, Janice will be touring through Texas the week of September 12th hitting Dallas, Ft. Worth, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston. While there, she’ll be at Central Market (a hip supermarket for foodies) teaching cooking classes on fast and healthy meals for families. We hope all of our Texas Meal Makeover Moms will have an opportunity to sign up for a class and meet Janice in person! Check out www.centralmarket.com for more info.
Before we sign off (you’ll hear from us again in early October with healthy Halloween treat ideas), we would like to congratulate Kim A., a mother of two from Las Cruces, New Mexico, for winning last month’s Chef’s Choice knife sharpener giveaway. Be sure to click here to enter this month's giveaway. Four lucky winners will each receive an awesome gift box filled with must-have school lunch essentials including a lightweight, plastic-insulated lunch box, lots of colorful plastic containers (ideal for portion control), a thermos for hot stuff, an ice pack for cold stuff, and a very cool plastic water bottle!
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If you’re like us, you probably have a decadent, no-fail brownie recipe that was passed down from your mother or grandmother. And if you’re like us, your old family recipe is probably loaded (and we mean loaded) with lots of butter. Amy, a Connecticut mom whose 9-year old daughter loves grandma’s homemade brownies, asked us to lighten up her recipe without taking away the luscious chocolate flavor. Of course, we gladly took the challenge by replacing the butter with canola oil and then tossing in some wholesome, nutritious ingredients … because we just couldn’t resist.
Zucchini Squiggle Squares
Makes 18 Squares
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup ground flaxseed or 1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa, sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, beaten
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup 1% lowfat milk
One 10-to-12-ounce zucchini, peeled and shredded
(about 1 3/4 gently packed cups)
1 ripe banana, mashed
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil or coat a 13 x 9-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. Whisk together the flour, whole wheat flour, flaxseed, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, canola oil, and milk until well blended. Stir in the zucchini and banana. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir until just moistened. Mix in the chocolate chips. Spoon the batter into the prepared baking pan, using a rubber spatula to spread evenly. Bake about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool before slicing and serving.
Nutrition Information per serving:
180 Calories, 9 grams Total Fat, 1.5 grams Saturated Fat, 0.9 grams Omega-3 fat, 4.4 grams Monounsaturated fat, 23 grams Carbohydrates, 2 grams Fiber, 4 grams Protein, 120 milligrams Sodium
* If you would like us to give one of your favorite recipes a healthy makeover, Click Here.
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Our Web Site:
www.MealMakeoverMoms.com
Email the Moms:
moms@mealmakeovermoms.com
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