This is a great “converting” recipe; kids don’t even notice they’re eating brown rice.

I started making my own granola because the store-bought ones usually have too much sugar. Besides, I like my granola chunky: it’s easier for kids to hold, and less messy to take on the go.

This is a variation of a classic Indian dish that my family loves! The traditional version includes saut

Active Work Time: 10 minutes
Time to Taste: 1:45 hours
Servings: 8
No: gluten, dairy, eggs, soy

ingredients

• 2 cups brown basmati rice
• 1 cup wild rice (optional, or use 3 cups of basmati)
• 8 whole cloves
• 2 tsp. ground cardamom
• 1 large cinnamon stick
• 1 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 bay leaf
• 5 1/2 cups water
• 2 cups frozen carrot and pea mixture
• 3/4 cup raisins
• sea salt to taste
• ghee, optional

how to make it

1. Rinse rices and put in crockpot along with the spices and water.
2. Turn your crockpot to high, and cook for about an hour and a half or an hour and forty-five minutes. Water should be absorbed and rice should be ready to eat. (Times will vary according to crockpot, age of rice, etc.)
3. Stir gently and remove the cinnamon stick and the bay leaf. Add the veggies (you can actually add them while they are frozen if you keep your crockpot turned on low) and raisins, and stir.
4. Taste, and add a little sea salt if you like, and ghee, if you’re in the mood. (I love ghee, so it always goes in ours!)

helping hands

Because there is no initial heat to burn or even a knife involved, this is a great recipe for kids to help with as much as they (or you!) want.

notes

• This is another great recipe to get kids off of white rice (which does not have any nutritional value).
• Both cumin and cardamom are good for digestion.

This is a Smart Foods Healthy Kids recipe. Get more yummy, healthy, kid-friendly ideas at www.smartfoodshealthykids.com.

Studies show that most kids prefer pizza over pretty much any other food. By calling this “pizza” (albeit in a bowl), kids are less likely to turn up their noses at buckwheat. It’s so much healthier than what the delivery person brings, and doesn’t take that much effort. (A word of caution: buckwheat is not a white, bleached product, so be ready for a little “natural grain” color—light brown—to be the base for your pizza.)

This is probably the best “grain” we can eat (it’s not technically a grain, but it acts like one for cooking purposes). It provides complete protein, manganese, magnesium (think improved heart health and potentially fewer migraines), and copper in pretty impressive doses. It’s not expensive, and it cooks up pretty fast.