This morning I couldn’t wait to start Sari’s Sugar Detox so I cooked up a breakfast recipe that was inspired by the Couldn’t Be Pareve website. I omitted the sugar and replaced it with a little bit of honey. This recipe is gluten free, soy-free, and vegan. I really enjoyed this warm nutty quinoa. It really made me feel like I was finally giving myself a great start to a long day. You may have to play around with the amount of cinnamon or honey that you prefer, but feel free to add a variety of fruits or ground flax seed. This quinoa recipe is large enough for at least 2 people so make sure to share it with a family member or just cut the recipe in half.
I can’t guarantee that your kids will say that it tastes as good as a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but you can give it a try! Enjoy ! Marlene
Warm Breakfast Quinoa With Almond Butter and Cinnamon:
kosher recipe ingredients:
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/4 cup water or almond milk
1 tablespoon almond butter
1/2 tablespoon of honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup cooked quinoa
dried fruit and nuts for topping
honey for topping (optional)
Combine the first five ingredients (apple sauce through cinnamon) in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until the almond butter and honey are melted and the mixture is hot. Add the quinoa and stir until hot. Divide between two bowls and top with dried fruits and nuts. Drizzle with honey if desired.
As some of my Jewish Hostess readers may know, I am involved in interviewing many elders for The Sephardic Heritage Museum which has really forced me to think about what memories my kids will take with them as they go on with their own lives. Many of the elders that we interviewed, recalled great anticipation for Tu B’ishvat during their childhood in Syria. They all reminisced about how their mothers would sew them a cloth bag with a drawstring, and their parents would collect treasured “exotic” fruits such as pineapples and grapefruits, and Syrian pastries until giving it to them on the day of Tu Bishvat. Kids would savor their treats, and share and trade with friends for weeks afterwards. Can you imagine this year, Tu Bishevat 2012, handing your kid a home-sewn velvet bag filled with kiwi, papaya and almonds????? lol- this year, a baggie with some fruit rollups and apple sour sticks just might do the trick!
Growing up in Brooklyn, in the 70′s, my friends and I still joke about the the inedible rubbery brown carob stick that they used to dole out to students on Tu B’shevat at The Yeshivah of Flatbush. Well, I can just imagine my kids tossing that carob right into the trash can if I tried it on them today!
As my quest for a modern day Tu Bishvat continues, here’s a list of some holiday ideas to try with your kids. Use your imagination and send in your great ideas and traditions to me so that we can all share it on The Jewish Hostess:
1- Watch the video above to appreciate the beautiful flowering country of Israel. When you are done watching, You may just book a one way ticket to Israel!
Tzedakah via internet. Perfect for kids with short attention spans!
3- Grape Juice Sangria-
Let your kids pick out which fruits they like and let them help chop and mix.
Grape Juice Sangria
1 medium bottle of kosher grape juice
1 cup pomegranate juice (optional)
1 cup orange juice
¼ cup lemon juice
1 pear cubed
1 apple cubed
1 orange pith removed and cubed
3 cups carbonated plain or lemon-lime beverage
1 cup of red grapes cut in half
Mix all ingredients in a pitcher and refrigerate for several hours. Be creative but only use the fruits that you know your kids will like! Serve in your prettiest fruit cups.
4- Make Tu B’shvat Pomanders out of fresh oranges . Use these decorative balls as centerpieces in a bowl on your breakfast table. Creative Jewish Mom has easy projects for your creative kids.
Orange Pomander
5-Does you kid love the combo of sticky wood and glue? Make a Fruit Crate and display it on your dinner table with a bunch of grapes, some dates, and a cut up pomegrante. What a centerpiece! Click HERE for easy instructions.
Let’s start some new Tu Bishvat traditions in our homes this year, and maybe one day, in about 2020 or so, our grown kids will be planting a seedling in their kitchen, making grape juice sangria, sending money to plant a tree in Israel, or creating their own Tu Bishvat centerpiece with their own little ones…..
!
