Watermelon Caprese Salad

Are you looking for a refreshing summer salad? 

Natalie has the perfect one for you!  She calls it the Watermelon Caprese Salad. 

Cut up the watermelon, mix in cherry tomatoes, add a little basil, a little balsamic dressing, a little sea salt and then you can throw in either mozerella cheese like a traditional caprese salad, or you can try it with cottage cheese.  Mix it all together and you have a FANTASTIC salad!! 

Protein Pancakes

What kid doesn't love pancakes?  I have two secrets I want to share with you about making pancakes for kids.  First of all, I premake them.  Second of all, I have a special key, nutritious ingredient.

Whip the egg whites in a small bowl until fluffy and set aside.  Mix all the other ingredients together in a big bowl.  Pour both bowls of everything in a blender and blend for a minute or two. Now with everything blended, we have a great pancake batter!  Pour straight from the blender into a pan sprayed with Pam or your choice of non-stick spray and cook on medium heat. I like to make small, kid-size pancakes, but you can make them any size you want.

If you're feeling like a really nice mom, you can even put some chocolate chips in the pancakes.  My kids LOVE this!  I just add them right on top.  Wait about 1 to 3 minutes (depending on the size of the pancakes) or as soon as you notice the top starts to bubble evenly.  Use a spatula to carefully flip them over.  They should be golden brown. Continue to bake on the other side for another 1 or 3 minutes or until the pancake moves easily on the pan when you touch or move them.  Remove from the pan, top them with fresh cut strawberries, blueberries or your choice of fruit!

My final tip is to make extras!  Put them in ziplocks, freeze them and they're ready in the microwave in 10 to 15 seconds.