Not too big, not too sugary, just enough for a grab-n-go breakfast or snack.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup frozen squash – we used a frozen package of cooked squash and let it defrost in the fridge the day before)
• 1/4 cup sugar (ours is Sugar in the Raw)
• 1/4 cup milk (ours is organic skim)
• 2 TB cooking oil (ours is canola)
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1 large egg
• 2/3 cup (heaping) flour (ours is whole wheat)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp honey

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a bowl, combine squash, sugar, milk, oil, raisins, and egg. Mix to combine.
(You can also add a few raisins on top instead of mizing in 1/4 cup here.)

3. In separate bowl mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg.

4. Add squash mixture to dry ingredients and stir until just blended.

5. Add honey and stir once more.

6. Spoon into muffin pan and bake at 350 for 28 minutes.

Makes 4 jumbo muffins, 6-7 small muffins.

As spicy as you want it to be! This soup is an easy vegetarian dish - or toss in shredded chicken if you prefer.

Ingredients

• 4 carrots
• 3 TBS olive oil
• 1/2 orange bell pepper
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1/2 Spanish/yellow onion
• 6 sprigs of cilantro
• 28 oz crushed tomatoes
• 32 oz broth (chicken or vegetable)
• about 8 oz corn
• about 8 oz black beans
• 2 TBS salsa verde
• Salt and pepper if desired

Instructions:

1. Chop 4 carrots into bite size pieces and brown them in a large skillet with a few tablespoons of olive oil. Stir occasionally and in the meantime…

2. Chop into small pieces:

• 1/2 Large orange bell pepper
• 1 large green bell pepper
• 1/2 Large Spanish/yellow onion
• 6 sprigs of cilantro

3. After the carrots lightly brown and can be easily poked with a fork (around 10 min) add in your peppers and onions and saute all veggies.

4. In your soup pot, add crushed tomatoes and broth. Stir until blended over med/high heat

5. Once your veggies have softened, add them to the pot.

6. Now add black beans and corn to soup.

7. make it spicy - Add 4oz salsa verde OR jalapeno peppers without seeds OR chipotle peppers without seeds.

Add salt and pepper if desired.

8. Let simmer for 10-20 minutes.

May be made ahead and refrigerated.

When serving, ladel into bowls and top with crushed tortilla chips, sour cream, cilatnro and shredded cheese.

Find other HOW TO’s on Island Life’s Group Writing Project.

Smoothies are a great way to eat fruit and still feel like you are having a treat! You can also hide ingredients in a smoothie that the drinker might not get in their diet otherwise. (Flax, quinoa flakes, spinach, etc…)

In this one-and-a-half-minute “Mini Mess”, Wendy tells us what she put in her delicious mixed berry smoothie. (Lucky for her we had a drop of gelato left in the freezer.) She let me hide some quinoa in it. Not only does this add fiber, but also helps to thicken up the smoothie. (Yes, moms, she is a picky eater!!)

Here is a smoothie maker with a fun Disney look: