Bread Pudding (twist on date & nut bread)

Make Date & Nut Recipe, add mashed banana; plenty so it's mushy. Place in baking dish & bake as recipe suggests. When ready to serve, make a BIG deal about special Bread Pudding you made that needs to be eaten with a spoon..

Date and Nut Bread

This is a terrific, very delicious, recipe that you can change the fruit up a bit (based on what you have in your fruit bowl) or make as muffins. I encourage you to experiment with the fruits and/or different types of flour. The ingredients below are what I used in a recent successful "experiment". VERY moist because of the yogurt. I found this recipe on Cooking Light (Original Cooking Light Recipe) and converted it to Not-So-Cooking-Light by using Whole Greek Yogurt. However, if you want to lighten just switch back to Non or Low-Fat Yogurt.

Yield: 2 loaves

Ingredients
Streusel:

• 2 1/2  tablespoons  brown sugar
• 2  tablespoons  whole-wheat flour
• 1 1/2  tablespoons  coarsely chopped almonds or walnuts
• 1  tablespoon  chilled butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/8  teaspoon  ground cinnamon

Bread:

• 1  cup dried figs or dates
• 1/2  cup  boiling water
• Cooking spray
• 1  tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 2  large egg whites
• 1  large egg
• 1  cup applesauce
• 1/3 cup whole Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 cup almond meal (you can replace with the addition of another 1/2 cup flour, but this add add'l nutrients/calories/protein)*
• 1/3 cup chopped almonds or walnuts, toasted**
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

* Be creative with this, you can stick to regular flour or use other flour-like things you have in the pantry. replace with a bit of wheat germ and/or ground flax seed as well.
** Toasting is not essential, just adds add'l flavor. To toast, just put in a dry skillet on med-high heat and stir until a bit aromatic. Being careful not to burn.

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. To prepare streusel, combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring with a fork until crumbly; set aside.
3. To prepare bread, combine figs (or dates) and 1/2 cup boiling water in a small bowl; let stand 30 minutes. Coat 2 (8-inch) loaf pans with cooking spray; dust with 1 tablespoon flour. (replace with muffin cups if you prefer)
4. Place egg whites and egg in a medium bowl; stir well with a whisk. Add applesauce, yogurt, oil, and almond or vanilla extract; stir well. Add sugar; stir well.
5. Combine flours and remaining ingredients in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Drain figs/dates, and coarsely chop. Add figs/dates and applesauce mixture to flour mixture, stirring until just combined*. Divide batter between prepared pans. Sprinkle streusel over batter. Bake at 350° for 55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 15 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.

*I've added apples, cherries, etc to the  mix. I've even completely omitted the dates/figs when I didn't have them handy. This recipe is a good base for many different kinds of fruits/nuts. 

Cranberry-Orange Soup

This is an easy & fun twist on soup. "Jett, come look what mommy made. Fruit soup!"

Ingredients

• Fresh whole cranberries
• Chopped orange peel (next time you peel an orange, tangerine, etc. keep the peel. You may find a use for it!)
• Sugar/Honey
• Greek yogurt (whole)

Place cranberries & orange peel in a pot just covered with water. Bring to a boil. Let boil for 10 minutes. Pour entire pot into blender and puree until smooth. Place back in pot and add honey and/or sugar (your preference) to taste; dissolve. You don't want it too sugary, but enough that the little nipper will eat it. That's it - you are done.

Place in soup bowl, stir in a a spoonful Greek yogurt, present as 'fruit soup'. Dream up other ways to use the left overs (smoothies, topping for yogurt, pancakes, etc.).

Why am I blogging about ADHD & Eating?

My kindergarten son was placed on medication for ADHD at the end of 2010. Within a few weeks, no matter how hard I tried to feed him, the loss of appetite (during ~9am - 3pm) has caused him to continue to lose weight. I've had to change my entire approach to grocery shopping, cooking & preparing foods. While still trying to keep foods incredibly healthy for him, I am learning to change my approach to:

• Finding ways to cook delicious food (that a 5 year old will eat) that

1. Are calorie & nutrient dense
2. Full of good fats
3. Taste fantastic
4. Will fatten him up!

This blog is both an attempt to document foods I've created that meet all 4 criteria above (so I can remember what I've done!) as well as to share with others that may for various reasons need to get their kids to eat. Oh, and to have fun while doing it! And, yes, I really enjoy this!