The Akers

(from a Hy-Vee summer magazine)

• 1 cp sugar
• 1/4 cp canola oil
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cp canned pumpkin
• 1/4 cp water
• 2-1/4 cp flour (we substitute 1/2 cp whole wheat flour for part of the flour)
• 1-1/4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or make your own with 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp ground cloves)
• 3/4 cp mini chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Stir together sugar, oil, eggs, pumpkin, and water. Set aside.

3. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.

4. Stir in pumpkin mixture, then stir in chocolate chips.

5. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter and bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Makes 9 large muffins. 380 calories per muffin. 13 gm fat, 70 mg cholesterol, 270 mg sodium, 24 gm sugar, 7 gm protein, 60 gm total carbs, 80% RDA vitamin A

Jack and Maddy Druker

Editor Karen: Grandma Rose Druker made scrambled eggs unlike any I’d ever tasted. They were light and fluffy, redolent of butter. The secret is under cooking and stir, stir, stir, using only eggs, butter and absolutely no milk or water. Serves 3.

• 6 eggs, beaten
• Salt
• Pepper
• Butter

Cook on medium – medium high. Stir continuously. Take off stove while still goopy. They will cook a bit more while you are getting to the table.

Donna & Dan Holman

We buy a sack of over-ripe, brown spotted bananas, which have the most taste and natural sugar, at the grocery store for $.25 a pound. We peel them and put them in the deep freeze. When we want a smoothie, we put 1 banana, 1 C. milk and 1T. carob powder in the blender, and blend for 45 seconds. Delish! Refreshing! Healthy!

Peg Harvey-Sweeney

I visited Portland last summer, and the kids took me to Costco to buy a Vitamix 5200–the Rolls Royce of blenders. Normally $565, Costco was having a “sales event” and priced them at an unbelievably low $379, sales tax-free in Oregon! We watched a demo and the salesman prepared Tortilla Soup (yes, the Vitamix even heats things because of the speed of the blade), Fruit Sorbet, and this Green Smoothie. I came in to purchase ONE Vitamix, but the kids were so impressed by the razzle-dazzle of the Vitamix demo that they begged me to buy one for each of them! (Their Christmas and birthday presents for the next five years). This makes a great breakfast smoothie, with five servings of fruit and one of vegetables to start your day off on the right nutritional path. Don’t overlook the slice of unpeeled lime; it’s an important ingredient for just the right taste. Organic fruits and veggies are always recommended, if available.

• 1/4 c. white grape juice
• 3/4 c. water
• 1/2 banana (peeled)
• 1 orange (peeled)
• 1 slice pineapple (peeled)
• 1 slice lime (not peeled–important!)
• 1 large handful spinach
• Agave or Stevia to taste
• 1-2 cups ice (add on top of all the above)

Blend on high speed 60-90 seconds.