Back to School Baking

As parents we all prep for back to school in our own ways. A friend of mine spent the night before school ironing and matching all of her daughter's clothes - down to the hair bows! I, however, spent the evening cooking and baking.

I'm not a morning person so I can't even get it together to take those all-important "First Day" photos. I normally cheat and take pictures on another day - after school.

I get clothes laid out and backpacks packed the night before. If the girls are taking a snack or lunch I pack it and put it in the refrigerator ready to go.

Morning madness includes getting fully awake, brushing two girls' hair and fighting tangles. (I'm so happy that we donated Amanda's hair to Locks of Love and I only have one with really long hair!) We struggle to eat a good breakfast in the short amount of time we have before the bus comes or we have to hop in the car.

My kids aren't very hungry in the morning so I really have to pack in the nutrition. Smoothies are always an option. You can buy bags of frozen strawberries, blueberries, etc. so you'll always have fresh fruit on hand. I make ours with plenty of protein. In addition to fruit, milk or juice and yogurt I add a scoop of whey protein powder or Instant Breakfast. 

I also use protein powder in my baking. If you use protein powder in baked goods you can usually add 1/3 cup of protein powder for every 1 cup of flour in the recipe. To keep them from being too dry, also add an extra 2-3 tablespoons of liquid. I don't use soy protein powder because Amanda is allergic to soy. However, I use a mix of flour and whey protein powder fairly often. When I use protein powder I reduce the other dry ingredients in a recipe slightly.

I try to provide make-ahead breakfasts. In addition to making my own whole grain waffles and pancakes and freezing them, I freeze batches of breakfast burritos and mini muffins. My girls also like granola bars and breakfast cookies. A few minutes in the microwave or toaster and they have a hot, homemade breakfast! And they can take it with them if we are running late...

Rice Krispie Apples - a cute first day treat for snack or after school!

• 1 bag of marshmallows
• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 5- 3/4 cups Rice Krispies
• 2 scoops vanilla protein powder
• 1 package of red Jello (we used strawberry) 
• red food coloring, optional
• Tootsie Roll midgies (for stems)
• green gumdrops or other gummy candies (for leaves)

Melt butter and marshmallows together. Stir in Jello (and food coloring if using.)

Add Rice Krispies and protein powder. Spray hands with cooking spray and form mixture into balls. Decorate with half a Tootsie Roll and a bit of green candy for a leaf.

 No Bake Chocolate Granola Bars

• 1/4 cup butter 
• 1/4 cup honey or corn syrup
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar 
• 1 3/4 cups quick cooking oats {not rolled oats!} 
• 1 cup crispy rice cereal 
• 2 scoops protein powder
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 
• 4 tablespoons chocolate chips

Melt butter, brown sugar and honey together. Boil about 2 minutes to soft ball stage. Test by dripping a little from a spoon into a cup of cold water. If it turns into a ball, it's ready.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients (oats, cereal, protein powder & chips). If you don't have protein powder use 2 full cups of oats.

Combine butter mixture and dry ingredients. Stir until coated. The chips will melt. Spread onto a lightly greased pan. Press down hard. Allow to dry at room temperature for 2 hours.

Banana Berry Mini Muffins

• 1 small overripe banana
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup plain Greek or regular yogurt (vanilla, banana, coconut flavors also work)
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 large egg - room temperature
• 1 cup  flour (whole wheat if you have it)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 5 medium strawberries, chopped - or 1/3 cup wild blueberries (available frozen)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease mini muffin pan.

In a medium mixing bowl, mash the banana until no lumps remain. Whisk in the sugar, yogurt, oil, vanilla extract, and egg until combined.

Add in the flour, baking soda & powder, and salt. Mix just until combined. Fold in berries.

Spoon the batter into prepared pan.  If you have empty spots, add a little water to each to help the muffins bake evenly. Bake for 10 minutes.

This was originally a strawberry banana muffin recipe, but since Amanda is allergic to strawberries we changed it. Turns out that both girls like the blueberry version better!

Oh, I also made an herbal hair detangler. Let's hope it works!!

• 8 ounces filtered or distilled water
• 1 tsp aloe vera gel
• 8-10 drops of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice (for blondes)
• 2-3 drops glycerin
• 1-2 drops of essential oil (I used lavender)

The original post called for grapefruit seed extract instead of the ACV, but i have some concerns about it. I think it was there as an acidifier  to lower the pH, which strengthens the bonds between the keratin molecules in the hair, smoothing and tightening each strand. That's why vinegar rinses work.

NO amount of fancy bows can hide those tangles!

So, what do you do to prep for back to school?