Easy, Healthy, & Delicious Breakfast

OK, so I rarely make an entire meal from scratch. But I do try to make all our meals healthy. Breakfast is particularly challenging because we are usually rushing to get to school on time (typically failing in that endeavor) in the face of a four-year-old's daily protests against totally mundane and completely necessary morning tasks, i.e. putting clothes on, using the potty, eating, walking out the door, and climbing into the car.

Consequently, it is of epic importance that I keep breakfast preparation simple and quick. The following idea falls into that category very nicely.

If I have the time, I juice up enough oranges for two 8-ounce glasses - one for my son and one for me. Nothing like drinking freshly-squeezed O.J. (or, as we call it, "sunshine") first thing in the morning. Otherwise, pre-queezed organic O.J. does just fine.

Before firing up our little Krups "sunshine" maker, I pop a couple frozen blueberry waffles into the toaster oven and warm frozen organic blueberries and raspberries with a touch of organic maple syrup on the stove top. 

Then I slice the crisp and warm waffles with my indispensable kitchen shears (best cooking tool ever), dress with plain organic yogurt, and top with berry compote. Tasty, quick, nutritious. Done and done! Bon appetit!

A Play Date BORDERing on Perfect

Credit for this play date idea goes to my mama friend, L. She is expert on all things downtown, as far as I'm concerned. And she is the one who introduced me to this fun eating/playing combo at The Border Grill and Bonaventure Hotel - both on Figueroa, connected by a fun little bridge that our kids love to race across to see who wins.

Usually first up is a meal at Border Grill. Happy Hour is pretty hard to beat - excellent options for grown-ups and kids alike, wait staff and management are delightful, and parking is validated (or, if you're feeling really adventurous, take the Metro - up the cool factor with the kids). Can't go wrong with kids bean and cheese tacos, poblano quesadillas & chopped salad for parents, and creative cocktails (with or w/o alcohol) like minty lime cooler or pomegranate lemonade.

Once our little ones have filled their tummies, run around and charmed the employees, gotten multiple tours of the kitchen, and used bathrooms where "you don't have to press the button for the soap, it just comes out automatically," we say our goodbyes, zip up a quick escalator (or elevator) and over the bridge that spans Figueroa, and land on the grassy area at the base of Bonaventure Hotel.

There the kids run their fannies off, plop down on their backs to take in impressive glass pneumatic-tube-like elevators that glide up and down (verrry Blade Runner-esque) the hotel's shiny exterior, and chat with the guys washing sidewalks with their super cool, ginormous water machines until they're almost too out of breath to talk.

Last but not least, we and our tuckered tikes mosey into the hotel and hop onto the elevators, which could be a ride at Disneyland for all they care. We go up and down a few times - as much as my motion sick stomach can take - and it is utterly thrilling. Honestly, the views are pretty awesome. On a clear day, you could definitely see the ocean.

Give this a whirl some day. You won't be disappointed!

Learning to LOVE Brussels Sprouts

Those mini green heads of cabbage never appealed to me growing up. They ranked as low as lima beans in my opinion back then. Now, however, I feel like their number one fan. So imagine how surprised and thrilled I was to discover that my kid gobbles up Brussels sprouts like they're going out of style. I attribute that to the way I cook them - sliced in half and roasted with a light coating of olive oil (you can also try olive oil infused with herbs, especially rosemary), a sprinkling of salt, a pinch of pepper, and a liberal amount of chopped fresh garlic in a 350-degree oven for about 30 minutes. Then, voila, out comes an irresistible caramelized, crispy concoction you can eat like popcorn or get fancy-ish and incorporate into dishes like pasta, frittatas, pizza, and more.

Recently I served the fam roasted Brussels with spaghetti and lentils, which provide a nice source of protein. The combo turned out to be a huge hit. It was even good the second day cold, right out of the fridge.

When I cook, I like to build big flavor and to that end I tend to use ingredients like garlic, herbs, vinegar, dressings, etc. For this Brussels sprouts dish, I used chopped onions during the roasting process and that added a whole other dimension of flavor - very tasty! I warmed up pre-cooked, packaged lentils from Trader Joe's on the stovetop and mixed in about 2 tablespoons of pre-made pesto from Whole Foods. I also splashed on a little red wine vinegar and olive oil dressing from Joe's. Before tossing everything together, I coated the cooked spaghetti (note about making pasta: always add a tablespoon of olive oil to the boiling water to prevent the pasta from sticking to itself after it's drained - my sis taught me that trick) with more dressing. I then threw everything into a big bowl, stirred it up, sprinkled on some grated parm and the masterpiece was complete. Easy, healthy, simple ingredients.

Here are some pics . . .

Super Sunday Morning, Part 1 - Malo es Bueno

Sundays for us tend to be slow and easy. Sometimes we venture over to the Hollywood Farmers' Market, but only if we get up early enough and it's not too hot out.

Otherwise, we'll hang at home and make breakfast or head out to a local restaurant. That's what we opted for today, and Malo in Silver Lake was our destination. We've found over the past year that Malo is kind of a secret in the busy, chaotic world of weekend brunching. It's never crowded - today we arrived at 9:15, stayed until almost 11 and had the place to ourselves. The food is good, service decent, we sit outside, and kids can make a ruckus with little or no backlash. Plus, they offer a reasonably-priced kids menu with more variety than most restaurants.

A glimpse of the patio, which is covered so you're not blasted by the sun.

Kids menu.

"Echo Park" fruit salad (seasoned with chili powder, lime juice and sea salt). Not as exciting and flavorful as it used to be. Sadly, a little short on melon choices, and I'm not a fan of jicama.

Children's French toast - Mexican style. Sabroso!

One of the breakfast burritos, modified with no grief. But did forget to add cheese. Oops. Still was yummy.

Last but not least, my personal favorite: potato eggplant taco.

"I Want My Tempeh Reuben"

So said my 4-year-old son at Flore Vegan in Silver Lake during lunch today when he thought I took his sandwich. The kid is hooked! He craves not only the vegan version of that classic NY deli specialty, but also the tempeh bacon Flore serves up, which is sublime as either a side or part of their BLTA (tempeh bacon, lettuce, tomato & avocado). At Flore, even the most devout meat eater can find something to savor, as the menu is choc full of creative and innovative vegan offerings. There is a kids menu but we always just share the BLTA and tempeh reuben and order 2 "Basic Green" fresh-pressed juices (a quick, yummy way to feed a kid his or her leafy greens). For dessert my son usually chooses a lemon poppyseed cupcake. Delish!

close-up of BLTA

kids menu

dessert case - cakes & cupcakes, some wheat-free, all vegan

BLTA & our favorite flore bev: basic green

Gratitude and Daisy

In pursuit of kid-friendly restaurants, L & I are always game to try new places that seem appealing to us in one way or another.

Being that both of us are vegetarian (my son is, hers isn't), our options are a bit limited but that makes for an interesting and fun challenge.

Today happened to be a 2-restaurant day for us. We hit Cafe Gratitude for an early lunch, as L had to grab something at Not Neutral and the two places are right next to each other. 

11:00 am (right when they open) is the perfect time to arrive at Cafe Gratitude if you're dining with children. There's no wait then and you'll be grateful you can slip right into your seat.

The kids menu is nothing to write home about but there are plenty of offerings on the main menu that should suit a youngster with adventurous tastes. Also, the smoothies are perfect for instant fortification.

Later in the day, we were out in Pasadena and L had been to Daisy Mint many times so we set off in search of tasty Thai food.

We were not disappointed. The kids particularly loved the sticky rice with peanut sauce. L & I were gaga over the spicy eggplant (ordered mild so the kids could also try) and pad see ew with tofu and no egg. Their tea selection is just lovely so everything totally hit the spot. Plus, we were in and out within an hour and able to ferry the children off to an early bedtime.

Done and done!

~ C

Veggie pad see ew - peppery and delicious!

Get your FIX

An easy little lunch spot that we've recently started patronizing is The Fix in Silver Lake, located at 2520 Hyperion Avenue. It's small, simple and super tasty. We're not carnivores but this burger joint serves up huge, flavorful veggie burgers so that suits us just fine.

Great for kids. Can get in and out in a flash. But no "kids" menu, per se. Check out their offerings here.

~ C