Flaxseed hermit cookies

Prep & cooking time: 25 minutes
Makes 28 cookies

These delicious cookies are guilt-free as flax is a super-good source of omega 3 and 6 fatty acids and cranberries are chock-full of antioxidants. Junior chefs like LeeAnne's daughter below can help by mixing and spooning cookie mixture onto baking pans. You can store flax meal in your freezer to maintain freshness.

1/2 cup each: butter and packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup molasses
1 tsp vanilla
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup old fashioned style oatmeal
1/3 cups flax meal
1/2 tsp each: baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and combined. Beat in eggs, and then add molasses and vanilla.
3. In separate bowl combine flour, oatmeal, flax, soda, spices and salt. Mix into creamed mixture, thoroughly combining. Stir in cranberries and chocolate chips.

4. Drop tablespoon balls of cookie dough onto prepared pan. Leave about one and half inches between balls to accommodate spreading.
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until firm to the touch. Let cookies cool on baking sheet a few minutes before moving to cooling rack.

Make ahead tip: Double the recipe and safe half for later. An easy method is to freeze individual cookie balls on a baking sheet then once frozen, toss the balls into a freezer bag. Pop frozen cookies onto a sheet pan and bake. Or freeze baked cookies and put frozen cookies into lunch bags as needed.

Super Salmon Tacos

Prep & cooking time: 20 minutes
Makes 4 servings

Who says super nutritious can’t be super fun and delicious? These tangy “fried” tacos with deconstructed mango salsa feature salmon and avocado which are both chock-full of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

Junior chefs can help with coating the fish in bread crumbs and picking off coriander leaves.



1/2 barbeque sauce or ketchup
1 cup bread crumbs
1 lb skinless salmon, cut into 1/2- inch strips (about 8 strips)
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 tsp lime juice, (1/2 lime)

1. Preheat oven to broil.
2. Pour barbeque sauce into a shallow bowl.
3. Spread bead crumbs on a plate.
4. Dip fish into sauce then roll in bread crumbs to coat.
5. Place on lighted greased sheet pan. Spray fish lightly with oil extra crisping.
6. Broil just prior to serving for 3 minutes a side or until fish is crisped and golden brown.
7. While fish is cooking, mix together yogurt and lime juice to drizzle over top of taco filling.
8. Break up fish strips into chunks and divide between warmed tacos. Set rest of add-in in bowls for passing at the table.

Mango Salsa Add-Ins:
1 each: avocado & small mango, peeled, pitted and diced and combined in a bowl, drizzle with lime juice from remaining half to prevent avocado from browning
1/4 cup coriander leaves
2 green onions, finely sliced
8 hard or soft taco shells

Also, last week a reader Oz asked Recipe Diva LeeAnne to recommend a non-cow's milk cheese that melts well. LeeAnne replies: "I would look at some great sheep's milk cheese to add to the mac and cheese. Two of my favourites are Manchego and any Pecorino varieties. Manchego is a Spanish sheep's milk cheese with a dark waxed covering that looks like it has a basket weave design pressed into it. The taste of Manchego changes from a little bit bland to a sharp nuttiness as it ages. It would go well with the sweetness of the squash. There are many varieties of Pecorino which literally translates from Italian as "little sheep". Pecorino Romano is a fabulous hard grating cheese with tons of flavour. Mixing a younger Pecorino with some aged cheese will give you a nice melting blend."

Feel free to send your food and recipe query to LeeAnne at recipegirl@rogers.com

Super Mac and Cheese

Prep & cooking time: 20 minutes
Makes 6 servings

This macaroni might not actually be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but the addition of nutritious butternut squash qualifies it for super-food status for moms and kids alike.

Serve it with last week’s healthy, mini turkey meat loaves and kids will be so pumped they’ll feel like heroes. Junior chefs can help by making the cheese sauce and mixing pasta and sauce altogether.

300 gr. whole wheat with flax cork screw (rotini) pasta (4 1/2 cups)
2 cups frozen diced butternut squash
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 cups grated cheddar cheese (7 oz)
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, optional

1. Bring of large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package instructions adding the squash in the last three minutes of cooking time. Drain well and return to pot.
2. Melt butter in microwave in a medium sized glass bowl. Whisk in flour then stock. Microwave 3-5 minutes, whisking every 60 seconds until sauce has reached the consistency of pudding.
3. Stir in cheddar cheese and microwave another 60 seconds or until cheese has melted smoothly into sauce.
4. Stir sauce into pasta and squash, add parmesan cheese if using and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Turkey Veggie Mini Meat Loaves & Apricot Glaze

So many superfoods!

Whole grain shredded wheat, zucchini and lean ground turkey make these meat loaves a triple threat. Your Junior Chef can flex super muscles grating, crushing and even mixing the meat loaf.

Prep and cooking time total only 45 minutes leaving you lots of time to in indulge in a glass of wine - my personal favorite superfood. Makes four servings.

3 tbsp apricot jam
1 tbsp mustard
1 lb ground turkey
1 small zucchini (5oz), grated on smallest hole on box grater (about 3/4 cup)
1 onion, grated, (1/2 cup)
1 tsp finely minced garlic (jarred)
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cups crushed shredded wheat (2 muffets crushed)
1 egg
1 tsp salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 375F. Spray sized medium sized 8-muffin tin lightly with oil. (just over one-third cup capacity in each muffin holder). Mix together jam and mustard in small bowl. Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Divide meat into tin. Bake for 25 minutes then generously spread jam mixture on top of each meat loaf. Continue to bake another 10 minutes.

To pump up the nutritional value even more you can serve these bad boys with whole wheat pasta Super Mac and Cheese, which - wouldn't ya know it - will be our featured recipe next week.

See you then - happy cooking!