Apples, apples and more apples

Taking the kids apple picking is one of my favorite things in the world to do. There is a farm near us that is wonderful, hay rides, easy ladders for them to climb on and DELICIOUS apple cider donuts! We get their early, grab a cup of coffee and donuts and then meander through all the different trees.

However, when we get home I am always trying to figure out what to do with the seeming bottomless bag of apples. I do have an apple corer/slicer/peeler thing that is great! Here are some quick and EASY things that we do with them:

1. Baked Apples -

Simply core the apples, leaving the skin on and pop in 1/2 stick of cinnamon, a teaspoon (or so) of brown sugar and butter and then bake at 350 for about 30-45 minutes. It is a great dessert alternative and the kids can do it themselves for the most part. If I have it on hand I make some whip cream and put the sauce from the bottom of the pan on top.

2. Apple Sauce

I like this because it cooks in the slow cooker and again, the kids can do this themselves for the most part.

10 McIntosh, Granny smith or Macoun apples (cored and chopped)

4 Peaches (pitted and chopped)

2 teaspoons of cinnamon

Plop it all right in the slow cooker and cook on high for 3 hours and then on low for 2.

3. Apple Crisp -- This is Ina Garten's recipe that I LOVE (though I must admit, I don't always go with the "fresh" oj and lemon juice -- I just use whatever I have on hand, even if it is in a carton.

Ingredients

• 5 pounds McIntosh or Macoun apples
• Grated zest of 1 orange
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• For the topping:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup oatmeal
• 1/2 pound cold unsalted butter, diced

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 14 by 2-inch oval baking dish.

Peel, core, and cut the apples into large wedges. Combine the apples with the zests, juices, sugar, and spices. Pour into the dish.

To make the topping, combine the flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal, and cold butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the mixture is crumbly and the butter is the size of peas. Scatter evenly over the apples.

Place the crisp on a sheet pan and bake for 1 hour until the top is brown and the apples are bubbly. Serve warm.

Selling online, social media style

Sue Zimmerman is focused again! Here is some of what she learned this summer on the Cape, I thought it was a great read for those of you who might be interested in mom related businesses!

Remember when the must-have for every small biz was a web site? You weren’t a legitimate business if you couldn’t also be found on the Web. Well, today you gotta have a fan page if you have a business. And, curiously, once you do – and you successfully cultivate an active fan base like Sueb.do’s – you’ll find that you’ve come full circle again to also really needing that web page that allows you to sell products and services online.

And that’s right where Sueb.do sits, Sueb.do’s doors on the Cape are closed for the season. I’m busy planning the launch of a new Sueb.do online store this Winter.

What’s interesting is that I’m finding my Facebook fan page allows me to have conversations with customers before, during and after sales. Furthermore, it has actually created the need for adding an online store to the sales mix. Making customer conversations transparent to everyone via social media is proving to be an effective way to create demand for products that are best fulfilled through an online store.

So I’m formulating the 2011 Sueb.do sales and marketing plan a’la social media. And to help me implement it, all summer I’ve been:

• Asking each customer for their email address as a routine part of the payment and checkout process
• Maintaining separate email databases for each different Cape sales location to be used in future targeted email marketing campaigns
• Telling customers about the Sueb.do Facebook fan page; asking if they are on Facebook; and, if so, getting their exact Facebook handle so that I can follow up with them on Facebook
• Taking photos showcasing customers wearing and purchasing products and then posting them for all to see and talk about on Facebook
• Creating videos from my Flip
• Using the Facebook fan page link to and activate a new, soon-to-come Sueb.do online store!

BACK in action by Tara Downie

Our resident fitness guru has some more tidbits to share. Stay tuned next week for our next business entry.

We can be so focused on getting a flat, tight tummy that we crunch, crunch, and crunch all the time! Focusing on only your abdominals can put your back at risk. Strengthening the back- particularly the lower back- will help you prevent injury, perform everyday tasks without pain and age gracefully. There are many exercises out there for strengthening the lower back. To list them all for you would be an overdose of information. Therefore, I have listed my three favorites. See below.

Also remember….another key element to protect and strengthen your back is to work all the supporting muscles as well. These include the lats, upper back, abdominals and transverse abs (obliques). Exercises like dumbbell rows, reverse fly’s and pullovers work the supporting back muscles.

1. Begin on your hands and knees. Simultaneously raise your right arm and left leg until they are parallel to the ground. Hold for 2 seconds and come slowly back to starting position. Repeat with left arm and right leg, alternating 10 times.

2. Lie facedown; arms extended overhead, palms on floor. Simultaneously raise arms and legs a few inches off the floor. Hold for 10 seconds and return to start. Repeat 10 times.

3. Lie flat on your back. Hug your knees to your chest and at the same time, bring your chin to your chest. Hold for 2 seconds and repeat 10 times.

Strong lower back muscles and abdominals work together to maintain a pain-free and healthy back. Theses exercises will help strengthen the muscles of the lower back. It is important to start slowly and increase levels gradually.

Welcome to our nutrition expert - Lindsay Hill.

Welcome to our newest contributor, Lindsay Hill. We went to college together and I am super excited to collaborate with her. She wonderful mother and is also a nutrition counselor and board-certified health coach. I have been following her blog and it has a ton of great recipes - be sure to check it out (http://inhabithealth.blogspot.com)!

Your Kid Might Not Eat This, But He Just Might Eat That

I am pretty sure that the powers that be punished me with a child who throws vegetables on the floor just to remind me that I can’t control the universe’s eating habits no matter how educated I become about nutrition. While I am not a total health nut, I do eat things like kale and quinoa, and I have just been certified as a holistic health-coach so you can imagine my horror when my son throws his peas to the dogs every time. Admittedly, perhaps having a son who savors the non-flavor of refined carbohydrates is a healthy thing for my brain, even if it’s not actually healthy for his body because it has forced me to a) relax a little and b) be more creative (a trait that can suffer under the duress of repeated episodes of Thomas The Train).

The best thing you can do is start with the healthiest version of a food when you introduce it. For example, do not assume that your child won’t eat multi-grain bread or seed crackers and offer him the Sunbeam and Saltines from a young age. And don’t introduce an Oreo as a cookie (just don’t introduce an Oreo period!) when for all you know the kind from the famers market made with molasses and arrowroot might make her just as happy (or she may associate cookies with something mediocre and not develop a taste for them). Remember, your child has not tasted Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia so he or she might think low fat, organic frozen yogurt topped with berries is heaven in a cup.

It is also important that you not inflict your own tastes and preferences onto a child. Just because you deem homemade oatmeal raisin cookies to pale in comparison to the double chocolate chunk variety, does not mean that your child will feel the same way. Just because you think whole-grain flaxseed pancakes are for hippies, doesn’t mean your child might not prefer the heartier, nuttier taste. So, put your child’s needs before your own tastes or assumptions. Start with the healthiest version of a food (even if it’s something you do not like) and work backwards if necessary.

So while my son still eschews most forms of protein and won’t even look at a vegetable, by following the two rules above, I have gotten him to eat some surprisingly healthy things. He will eat Lara bars (made only of nuts and dates), gluten-free seed crackers (Mary’s Gone Crackers is our favorite brand), and ginger snaps I found at Whole Foods made from spelt, olive oil and just a touch of raw honey. He will also eat Ezekiel bread (made from a variety of grains and beans and really high in protein) as long as it has a touch of nice butter and jam on it. To him, these are just bars, bread, crackers and cookies – he doesn’t know they are loaded with healthy ingredients, and he also doesn’t know that unhealthy versions of these foods lurk around every corner. I may not be able to control what he gets his hands on in the future, but I can at least help him develop good taste buds so that hopefully he will one day find Wonderbread as appetizing as cardboard (which is also its nutritional equivalent).

As far as getting the vegetables in, you may have to go the route of deception. Most of you are probably familiar with Jerry Seinfeld’s wife’s book about making purees to sneak into her homemade breads and pastas so that her kids get vegetables in their daily diet. Well, those of us not married to Jerry Seinfeld might need a timesaving alternative. With young kids, try sneaking organic pre-made baby food into some of their favorites. It always helps if the color is similar. The frozen purees you can find in most health food stores (Yummy Spoonfuls and Happy Baby are both popular brands) are preferable to the kind in jars, but a jar will do in a pinch. I am certainly not discouraging you from making your own purees if you have the time, but using prepared organic baby food is a quick and easy alternative. I sneak pureed butternut squash or sweet potato into his macaroni and cheese. I also puree or mash avocado and mix that in banana yogurt (trust me, it tastes kind of good). My son is a fruit lover but if your child is not, almost any fruit puree, purchased or homemade, disguises nicely into yogurt or oatmeal.

Feel free to post some of your own ideas for getting kids to eat healthy foods. As mom, we can always use the friendly advice!

To find out more about private health coaching, visit www.inhabithealth.com or to learn more about Lindsay’s personal nutrition philosophy, visit her blog http://inhabithealth.blogspot.com.

Introducing Christina!

Here is a customer of mine who has some great advice to share! If you or anyone else would like to join the BabyKeyes "team," let me know!

With Labor Day behind us, summer is officially over. The kids are back in school and maybe you’re even experiencing some cooler temperatures. How do you feel? Happy to be back to a routine? Or are you having a hard getting the kids off to school every morning? Maybe you’re anxious about getting dinner on the table every night? If you are anything like me, the thought of fall is stressful because that means snow is not too far off!

But whatever anxiety I feel as the sky begins to darken earlier and earlier, I try to re-establish some of the tried and true rules in my house – at least a few days a week! More balanced dinners during the week, the same bedtime every night, and less trips to our neighborhood ice cream parlor.

Experts say consistency is very important for kids. They learn best through repeated exposure. I am sure you have heard that if you put broccoli in front of your kids enough times, eventually they’ll eat it? I am still hoping for that!

What about routine? Experts say that establishing a routine for children will help create peace around the house and a sense of security in the child’s mind. Establishing a good bedtime routine for infants will help when the child is three and can suddenly manipulate you into staying up later. And not always buying your kids something at Target will teach them important rules about earning things, whether they save their money, or help out around the house for that new toy.

As I write this, I feel overwhelmed already! But then I tell myself, baby steps. Not every parent can be a perfect parent every minute of every day. Try out a new recipe once per week – that’s a realistic goal. And with that said, here is my easy, go-to dinner. I make it regularly for my family, as well as for my “new mom” friends. Dinner is the best gift after having a new baby.

Turkey Tacos

½ onion, chopped

1 pound ground turkey breast

1 tsp. cumin

1 tbsp. chili powder

1 small jar prepared salsa (I like to get a chunky mild salsa)

Chopped veggies such as red pepper or mushrooms (or whatever your kids will eat!)

Brown onions in non-stick sauté pan with a tbsp. of oil or cooking spray. Add turkey and cook until no longer pink (about 8-10 minutes). Add cumin and chili powder and mix well. Add salsa and mix well. I often will then add a few tablespoons of water and mix well. Let simmer for 30-45 minutes, mixing a couple of times. Add any chopped veggies you want and cook thoroughly, about 10-15 minutes. Serve with soft or hard taco shells and any sides – shredded lettuce, cheese, black olives, sour cream or guacamole.

If I have time, I like to make this about 2pm, and simmer on very low, mixing every 30 minutes until dinner time. This allows the meat to really soak up the flavors.

And if you wondering, this recipe doesn’t taste as good with ground beef!

Enjoy and Happy almost Fall!

Christina Ramon

Mommy Wisdom

www.mommywisdom.net

We're BAAAACK

So, this summer I decided to take a break from "work" and enjoy spending time with my kiddos. I must say, with one back in school last week and two off next week, I am going to miss summer. That being said there is a season for everything. I feel so lucky to have my own business with such great and understanding customers with slightly delayed orders and am excited to ramp back up this fall. I've got a couple great new contributors and am excited to share their articles with you.

Happy fall and all that brings -- football, school, apples and much much more!

Ruth