Green Polka Dot Box (And how to get a FREE membership!)

I just wanted to let you all know about something I recently found out about that I think some of you might be interested in. I'm pretty excited about it myself! I know some folks live in areas where health food stores are hard to come by (or are simply nonexistent), making your food choices limited if you're searching for certain foods that convential chains might not typically carry. Some of you might be interested even if you are near good health food stores because the prices can be high for some of the foods you want/need to purchase. I've got great news for all of you! :)

There is a new "membership discount" store that is opening up in just a week or so, and if you get in now, you can actually get a one-year membership for free this year. Think Sams Club, Costco, BJ's (whatever is in your area)...except that the focus of this store is organic, whole foods! It's called Green Polka Dot Box. As far as I know, this is the first store like this. I've even been wondering when something like this would get going and am surprised it's taken so long, but...at least it's starting now. This is actually just one store at the moment, located in Utah, but you will be able to order online, as well, with good shipping prices (and free for orders over $150). I know when we go to BJ's we can TOO easily spend over $100 at a time, since you're buying in bulk (even with the discount prices). Same would go for here, I'm sure - buying in bulk you can easily spend that much a couple times a year but come away with some really good savings.

Product Review & Giveaway: Today I Ate A Rainbow!

Have you heard of this company yet?? They're pretty awesome. I can't remember how I stumbled upon the website, but I'm really glad I did! I'm pretty sure it was through a facebook page that mentioned their kale chip video... Anyway, I'm kind of hooked!

I posted a few days ago on how we get our kids eating more fruits and vegetables. Well, Today I Ate A Rainbow! is just one more way to help out - and a really fun and interactive one at that!

"Eat Your Veggies!!"

Ever said that to your child? Your spouse? ...Yourself? I thought I would post some of the ways we get folks around here to eat fruits and veggies. And I would love to hear your tips for success, as well. Or your struggles. Both, perhaps. I know we have a mix, depending on the day!

Here are some tips that many of us might have already heard. The last one is our newest and most successful... We have to keep stocked up on many of these veggies now because they just get eaten so quickly! What a great problem to have, huh? Most of my tips are for veggies, but if it's fruit you have a hard time with, the same methods would apply. We happen to have fruit-lovers in this house, so we don't have a problem in that area. My kids are fairly very good eaters, but there is always room for improvement. And even with good eaters, there are still complaints when certain foods get put on their plates...

My Ideal Comfort Food

This is comfort food to the max for me, which is kind of surprising because I have such a sweet tooth...and this is not a sweet dish, quite the opposite, in fact.

My mom used to make this dish when I was younger. I don't remember loving it or hating it. I just remember that it was served here and there, that I think it was usually served with green beans (not my favorite veggie, but when I think about this dish, it seems to need to be paired with green beans because I remember it that way), and I would put ketchup over both the beans and the dish. So, I guess it probably wasn't my favorite thing at the time. I would use ketchup with the green beans, since I didn't care for them all that much, and maybe that's why I put ketchup over the dish, as well? I don't know.

What I do know is that I love this dish now. To me, it screams comfort. Maybe it has to do with the memories of my mom making it or that it's a warm, soft dish. Whatever it is, I love everything about it, and it makes me feel so good. And I love that it happens to be good for me! The lentils, the beef...some great sources of protein and iron. It's very low-fat. Simple ingredients. And cheap to make, as well. There's not much I don't like about this recipe.

Green Smoothies

I've been making the family green smoothies for a while now, at least a year. We were instantly sold when we started because...well, they taste just like regular smoothies! I get lots of questions about how I make them, lots of requests for my "recipes." Well, I'll give it a go...but I'll warn you... I don't really follow an actual recipe. And once you get started you'll see why.

And because of this, hopefully this post won't be all over the place and will make some sort of sense!

Why are green smoothies important? For one, who doesn't like a good smoothie?! Secondly, how many of you consume a lot of greens on a daily basis? Greens are so nutritionally dense, but most of us do not eat them daily or even often. They're packed with all sorts of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, proteins, fiber, phytonutrients...just such an incredible amount of goodness!! And if you don't eat them because you don't like them... Or if you only eat them on occasion in a salad here and there, which isn't as much as you should be getting... Green smoothies are the perfect way to get the goods and enjoy your food!

What's on our plate... Baby Meatballs and Fruit Kebabs

We had this for dinner the other night, and I just thought I would share. I can't link to the recipe. It came from my KIWI magazine, but they don't have it online, so I'm going to post it here. (Side note - I just became a Mom Ambassador via KIWI mag. So excited! Local mamas can look forward to trying out goodies soon, I hope!) We all think it's pretty yummy. Well, all but Aiden. He enjoyed helping to make it, but he doesn't like meat on its own, so...him not liking it doesn't really say anything about how it tastes.

Baby Meatballs
2 small shallots, peeled
2 garlic cloves, peeled
8 fresh small mint leaves (we happen to have two plants on our porch, but you could leave this out, and it would be fine)
1 pound ground chicken (tastes good with ground turkey, too)
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp oregano
1 1/2 cups chicken stock

We also added some spinach that needed to be eaten. Great way to add in some extra greens! You can always throw in some spinach, kale, or other greens to things like this. I would have added a bit more than what we did, but I was just using up the little bit we had left, so I only used a small handful - since that's all we had.

You can easily vary the spices and other add-ins to make this yours. I've only made it a couple times so far, so I haven't messed with it much. And it's just so darn easy!

• In small food processor, blend shallots, garlic, and mint (and greens, if adding!)
• Mix together the shallot paste, chicken, and spices.
• Moisten palms with water and roll mixture into about 35 small balls, about half the size of a golf ball. OR you can do what I do...use a *small* ice cream scoop. This is cleaner, faster, and you get the same size each time. The first time I made these, I used the scoop but still used my hands to smooth the balls. This time, I did not. Just scooped and added to the broth. They don't come out perfectly rounded, but...who cares about that? I don't.
• In a deep, wide pan, bring the stock to a boil. Add meatballs to the broth; cook for 3-4 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook for about 8 minutes. Remove and cut open one meatball to check for doneness. When cooked through, remove meatballs with slotted spoon. Serve with marinara sauce or other dip. 

Camden liked this with marinara. Ryan and I use another dip, suggested in the magazine. It's really fancy. Use equal parts ketchup and vegenaise (or mayo). See? Fancy. Camden's not a big ketchup or mayo fan, so he didn't like that. Aiden didn't even try it. What's up with that whole "if they help cook it, they're more likely to try/like it"?? That doesn't really work for him. He helped make this entire meal, yet he wouldn't try the sauces and finally tried one tiny bite of a meatball (and spit it right out - I think it's a texture thing with him and meat). He was all talk while cooking, but it did not spill over into the eating part.

We served this with fruit kebabs and peas. I'm not sure why, but I like serving the baby meatballs with other round foods. Just for fun.

The magazine suggests using honeydew, strawberries, grapes, and mozzarella balls on the kebabs with a dip on the side (or poured over the kebabs). We made ours with cantaloupe, grapes, and mozzarella. Honeydew was over $6 for one at the store - no thanks! The sauce...I'm not sure why I made it. I should have known better. We like fruit AS IS, and none of us cared for the fruit with the sauce. We all tried it and then went back to eating the kebabs plain. I won't bother making it again...

But if you are a sauce person and want to try it, here's the recipe. We just used the oj, honey, soy sauce, and olive oil... But you can make it how you want!

1/3 cup orange juice
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp honey
1/2 tsp peeled gingerroot, minced (optional)
1/2 tsp orange zest
1/4 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp soy sauce

Combine ingredients in jar. Close lid and shake. (Great job for the little ones!) Chill for an hour to let flavors meld. Serve with fruit kebabs!

First time making this dish...

And our second time... We'll be keeping this in our meal rotation. It's super yummy! And very versatile, too!

As you can see, the meatballs in the first picture are smoother because I took the time to smooth them out with my hands after using my scoop. I did not in the second. They taste just the same, it was faster to make, and my hands didn't have to get all messy! The bottom ones have more color due to the added spinach - could have used more if I hadn't run out! Our fancy dip is shown in the top bowl, leftover marinara from making lasagna in the bottom bowl.

Aiden helped with all parts of making this dinner, of course. That kid will not let you do one single thing in the kitchen without helping! He brings over the chair himself and just insists on helping, no matter what you are doing. He begs to help cook, he begs to help wash the dishes. And trust me, we are not about to tell him no!! Why would we do that? Sure, it takes longer sometimes. And sometimes (well, often) it means the mess is bigger. But no way are we going to deny his wish to help. One day he won't want to do it, and we would rather encourage his help while he likes it! One morning...he even helped me make my coffee. That's how desperate he was to help! And of course, I let him.

He'll be cooking our dinners before we know it, right?

Cherries!

I mentioned in my blueberry post that my awesome hubby volunteered (well, actually suggested and then followed through) to get extra cherries for me and a new cherry pitter. Whole Foods was having one of their one-day sales, which I love. They'll put one item on sale for a wonderful price just for that one day. We've gotten whole chickens, grass-fed beef, organic blueberries, and lots of other items on sale this way. It's a great way to stock up, and I always get plenty to freeze for later! If you haven't signed up for their newsletters, you should so you'll know about their one-day sales. They happen maybe once a month? You can also find out about them on their facebook page (here's the main store one and our local store's page). This time, it was organic cherries.

Cherries is another item we try to only get organic. It's not one of the dirty dozen, but it does fall at #16 this year. (I have seen them included in the dirty dozen many other times, though. The list changes slightly each year.) Click here to find the list, and then click "full list" to go to...the full list (not just the dirty dozen and the clean fifteen). But they are pretty pricey, so it's a special treat for us when we can get our hands on a bunch.

AND....I LOVE cherries. I really do. It used to be just tart cherries. Growing up, there were two huge cherry trees in our back yard. I have very fond memories of climbing the trees to collect all those juicy, tart cherries. I would go as high as I possibly could to get as many as I could reach; I was such a tomboy and miss all that running around, climbing trees, getting dirty! Thinking back on it all makes me so happy. And sad that I don't have that yard now. We had the cherry trees and a humongous strawberry patch - I mean, it was huge! (Not to mention the rest of Mom's incredibly huge garden, but that didn't excite me at the time.) ;) What I wouldn't do now to have it ALL in my own backyard... Anyway. Back to the cherries. When I was pregnant with Aiden, I could hardly eat anything because I have hyperemesis gravidarum (meaning: SEVERE all-day sickness - it's actually a disorder, not just getting sick every now and then). So, anything I *could* eat and keep down, I did. For some reason, strawberries and cherries were on that short list. Off-season, Ryan would often be headed to Whole Foods for organic strawberries, so I could eat them every day. Since I was pregnant, we started trying to stick to organic, especially with the dirty dozen list. Can we say expensive?? Bless his heart. Then in the summer, it was cherries. And organic cherries are even more expensive. I didn't get them every day, but I got them when I could. Before this, I didn't like the sweet cherries as well (but that's what was available!), but they grew on me, and I loved them in no time. They're probably one of my favorite summer fruits. So, when they had a one-day sale on organic cherries, I was there, baby.

I bought about almost 7 pounds of cherries when I went. After we got home, Aiden and I could not stop eating these things. He must have gotten his love for them in the womb, seeing as I ate so much when I was pregnant. Haha! (Ryan does not share our love for cherries.) I told Ryan I already regretted not getting more cherries because they were incredibly good! But I was trying to stick to our food budget, so I hadn't bought more...but oh, how I wished I had! That wonderful man I married offered to stop by on his way home, even though it was definitely not on the way, and get some more. He showed up with about 8 more pounds. And he found a pitter on-line, then went and bought it in the store the next day.

I really love this man.

The last couple years, when we have bought some cherries, I've commented that I wonder if we should invest in a pitter. I can eat them fine without one, but I have to pit Aiden's cherries, obviously. But we never really bought enough to make it worth it, and it didn't seem necessary. This year, that child couldn't stop eating them, and I intended on freezing a LOT, which meant a lot of pitting. I'm so glad he bought the pitter! It turns out to be a really nice one, too, so if you're in the market... We recommend this one. I thought based on the picture that it might be kind of cheap, but it really is not. And it works so well. There's even a video on the website showing how it works. It does exactly what it says it does - too easy! A purchase I definitely do not regret. Every time I used it, I couldn't help but thinking, "I love this thing!" No kidding.

Pitted cherries ready for the freezer. The only mess is from cutting them in half, and, as you can see...it's hardly a mess.

These have already been pitted. See how nice they still look! Also, notice all the pits. It took me a few minutes to pit that many cherries. This thing is awesome.

No fancy recipes for cherries, folks. Most fruits, honesty, we prefer to eat just as nature intended...on their own, not messed up with anything else. That really is our favorite way. The cherries we didn't freeze, we just ate. And ate. The ones we froze will most likely be used in smoothies. Maybe some muffins or scones. Or Aiden really likes to eat them frozen. He really does. You should see what he does to the frozen blueberries when I get out a bag to add to smoothies. I've never seen someone eat frozen fruit the way this kid does!

I will add, though...a little bit of homemade vanilla ice cream, some cut up cherries, and a bit of hot chocolate sauce on top. Oh, you cannot resist that. Or I can't, at least. So delicious. If you ever go to Goodberry's around here, I highly recommend getting it with tart cherries mixed in (and then more tart cherries on top!), with or without the hot fudge. It's really equally good, either way. And now I seriously want some. It really is a good thing we don't live just down the street from them anymore... Being able to walk there in a few short minutes was nice but dangerous. *Sigh*

These are waiting to be devoured. They won't have to wait long. At all.

 

28 Days

They say it takes 28 days to make/break a habit. Today marks 28 days exactly that I have been drinking my coffee sans sugar. And I just have to toot my own horn a bit.

While that may not sound like a very big deal to many of you out there, it's a pretty big deal for me. While it's always kind of annoyed me when people say it (because these types of sayings just annoy me in general), I have to admit, I'm one of those people that someone will see me making my coffee and say, "So, you like some coffee with your sugar, huh?"

For the longest time now, I could get by with just two spoonfuls of sugar (sometimes those spoonfuls were more FULL than others...), but I still know how bad it is for me to be taking in all that extra, unnecessary sugar every day, even if I stick to one cup a day. I was trying to gradually cut back on the sugar, but, um...that just doesn't work with me. I'm sure it might work for some, but add just a little bit less sugar than the day before, and I can tell big time. There's no fooling this girl! I don't do artificial sweeteners. That stuff is worse for you than regular sugar! I've tried agave and stevia...no thanks; those didn't work. And I'm not going to put honey in my coffee, even if it is delicious with tea. I was running out of options...

I finally got up the nerve to just go sugarLESS. As in sugar-FREE. It was not an easy decision. Seriously. I don't drink coffee because I need that caffeine each morning. I drink it because I like the TASTE of it. So, I clearly have to think it tastes good, or else it's just not worth it. (And I didn't want to give up my coffee just to give up the sugar.) In case you don't know me well enough - because if you know me, you know this - I have such a sweet tooth! But. I. Did. It. One morning I decided that was the day. I made my coffee. And skipped the sugar.

That was 28 days ago. The past few mornings I've noticed that I haven't been noticing the lack of sugar. Hopefully that made sense... I drink my coffee, enjoyed it, was a bit sad when I realized I just drank the last drip out of the cup, and then realized....I didn't even notice there was no sugar! That's pretty awesome.

I have had a little help, I guess. One friend suggested trying some cinnamon in my coffee. I'm not a huge cinnamon person, but I figured it didn't hurt, and it wasn't that bad. The only problem was cinnamon doesn't dissolve, which she had mentioned, so you had to stir it every now and then, and cinnamon stayed on the top while you were drinking it and then in the bottom of the cup when the coffee was gone. Then another friend said she knew someone who drank it with cinnamon, but they added it before brewing. Aha! I use a one-cup filter...the kind that sits on top of the cup with the coffee grounds in it, and you pour in the hot water...and it drips the coffee right into your cup. Simple, and it works perfectly for me. So, after I put in my grounds, I give the cinnamon a little shake. Just a shake, not much. You get the flavor without the mess. It makes the coffee a little less bitter but doesn't make it really taste like cinnamon. It's actually pretty darn good. You should try it sometime!

I have noticed I like coffee from some other places less because it's stronger or more bitter than what I have at home (and typically would mean I add more sugar...), so I end up taking my own coffee more often. That's not so bad anyway. It's fixed just how I like it that way.

I do think I feel a bit better without that extra sugar. Maybe not as sluggish some mornings (or afternoons...because sometimes that's when I get around to actually drinking my coffee!). And I *know* that stuff is bad for me. I don't mind having a little sugar here and there on certain foods, etc. But knowing that I was consuming so much every day via that cup of coffee was a little unsettling. I can enjoy the coffee that much more now, knowing that I'm not harming my body with extra sugar that I really don't need. A little coffee is good for you. Cinnamon is good for you.

So, there it is. I now drink my coffee black. Yay for me. :)

I told Ryan he's next, but I don't think he's biting...

Blueberry Season!

I love summer. I think one of the main reasons I love it so much is all of the fresh produce that is suddenly available...all the fruits and veggies you can find at the Farmer's Market and local Pick-Your-Own farms. And yeah, the grocery store, too. I told Ryan the other day, I think the way to my heart is fresh, organic produce. After buying some cherries and wishing I had more, he bought some on the way home and even found (and purchased the next day) a cherry pitter that pits four cherries at once. I was beyond thrilled. Yes, it's definitely the way to this girl's heart...

I'm finally getting him on board with picking our own fruits from some of the local farms, too. Not that he loves doing it, but he's getting better at enjoying it. His biggest complaint is the heat, of course. And then there's the fact that it's "work." And then I have to mess up the kitchen washing the fruit, flash-freezing it in batches, and getting it into containers to freeze, etc, etc. But he's seen the payoff from the last couple years, especially with how cheap it is, so he's much more on board than he was when he first started this tradition I have...

I already wrote a post about what we do with all of our strawberries from the spring. In the summer..it's time for blueberries! We found a couple not-so-nearby places that have pesticide-free blueberries, the closest being about 25 minutes. Blueberries take longer to pick, being so small and on bushes. And with it being smack in the middle of summer, it gets hot, so we go as early as possible! I've discovered it's good to have two parents around when taking a toddler, mostly due to the time issue, the more open fields, and the fact that it's a bit more tedious than strawberry picking. Those berries are much smaller, so it takes longer to get enough! But oh man is it worth it! Fresh blueberries you've picked yourself are just so much better than store-bought (or even those from the Farmer's Market - they're just that much fresher!). Even after freezing and thawing, they're still yummy to just pop in your mouth. And you can't beat the price when you compare picking your own to buying them at the market or the store (esp if you're getting organic - and keep in mind, blueberries is on the Dirty Dozen list, so we get organic).

I freeze most of the berries to use throughout the year. We go through a LOT of frozen blueberries...for muffins, to toss into oatmeal or things like that, in smoothies (we make lots of smoothies!), etc. Aiden loves to eat them frozen when he gets the chance. I also like to make blueberry sauce. It's delicious over ice cream, pancakes and waffles, or in yogurt. And here is the recipe.... Actually, two. One is a sweeter version, and the other uses honey instead of sugar (and much less). Both are good, but I will be honest in that I prefer the first. Yes, it has more sugar, but I easily use less of it because it is sweeter.

Blueberry Sauce
From Barefoot Contessa, Back to Basics
Makes 2 cups.
This recipe is for the whole 2 cups, but I always halve this recipe. And it still makes more than enough - and lasts us quite a while! A little goes a long way.

3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (or as we do, store-bought, because really...)
2/3 cup sugar (you can use a bit less)
1 Tbsp cornstarch
4 half-pints fresh blueberries (why doesn't she just say 2 pints??)
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (I never ever remember the lemon ingredients...)

Combine the orange juice, sugar, and cornstarch in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. When the mixture is translucent and thickened, stir in the blueberries and simmer for 4-5 minutes, just until a few berries have burst but most are still whole. Stir in the lemon zest and lemon juice and cool.

And the recipe with less sugar...

Blueberry Syrup
From cleaneatingmag.com
Makes 1/2 cup

3/4 cup fresh blueberries
2 Tbsp raw honey
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp arrowroot powder

In a small saucepan, bring blueberries, honey, lemon juice, and 1 Tbsp water to a boil on high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 2-3 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small dish, combine arrowroot powder with 1 Tbsp water to form a slurry. Whisk or stir arrowroot mixture into blueberry mixture until incorporated. Simmer for 1 minute or until just thickened, carefully mashing blueberries with a fork to extract juice. Remove from heat and cool. 

Obviously the second one is a bit healthier for you, with less sugar. And really, both are good. When I use some to flavor Aiden's yogurt, I can use a very small amount (very) of the sauce made with sugar, but I need to use a larger amount to get a good flavor when using the honey-based version - and he doesn't need it to be very sweet, either..I just need more to get the blueberry flavor coming through well. Regardless, both are great! Try one, try both and see which you prefer. Or if you know you want the "clean" one, just make it and you won't know any better! ;)

Here are some pictures to get you motivated...

Homemade ice cream with homemade blueberry sauce. Hard to resist!

He didn't even try to resist. ;) In fact, he didn't think he would like it because he's used to plain ice cream. Once he got over the fact that it was on his ice cream anyway and he tried it, he was sold!

On top of gluten-free pancakes (finally found some that taste amazing - you would never guess they were gluten-free...from King Arthur Flour!)

Takes barely any sauce to give the yogurt a great flavor!

Of course, as mentioned above, we don't just serve blueberries via the sauce around here. That's just a special treat here and there. And honestly, our favorite way to eat them...is by the handful. Plain. There's not much better than ripe fruit on its own.

One more picture... While blueberry picking, Camden was playing with a roly-poly, and Aiden was quite interested!

And for more blueberry fun... Here are pictures from our blueberry picking trips this year.

Blueberry Picking

What is your favorite way to eat blueberries??

Meal Plan

These posts are really supposed to be part of the whole "Meal Plan Monday" thing...but I never get them up on Mondays. I am tonight, though!

Here's what's on the menu this week...

Beef and Lentils with green beans and corn. One of my favorite main dishes ever! Growing up, I always ate this with green beans - or that's how I remember it, at least. They're not really my favorite vegetable, but they just seem to fit with beef and lentils now because of that. We had roasted potatoes on the menu, but it was all on the computer Ryan takes to work, so...I forgot, realized something was missing, and threw in some corn at the last minute.

Salmon with strawberry salsa, roasted broccoli...and we'll add in the roasted potatoes here, too.

Salsa Chicken with rice, tortilla chips, fruit. This is such an easy dinner! Thanks to my friend, Leigh Ann, for the recipe. :) Chicken, corn, black beans, and salsa...cook in crock pot; shred chicken as it cooks. Add in block of cream cheese during last hour; serve over rice. Yummy!

Sandwiches one night... We had this plan a while back to take one night a week to eat a cheap, cheap meal. We use the savings to add to what we give to a specific few charities.

Grilled chicken, potatoes, roasted broccoli. This is at the end of the weekend, so even if it seems like we're overdoing it on the potatoes and broccoli, we're not. Most of our meals give us leftovers... And like I said, I'm doing this broccoli often until these kids love the stuff!

Mango, avocado, and black bean salad with lime dressing. This is lunch for me. 

I also made this gluten-free Quinoa Breakfast Cake. Oh yum. Everyone wants it! Seriously, I am ALL about this website lately! Everything I have made has been delicious...and not just as gluten-free food. It's delicious food. Period. Last week I also made the strawberry rhubarb crumble...so good. Next time, I'm making the balsamic vinegar version.

Meal Plan

The week is almost over, but I thought I would post it anyway. It's been harder and harder to find time to get on here to blog, but I do have lots of things to post when I get the chance... Some day...

Instead of putting up our schedule, here's a quick (or not-so-quick) run-down of what we're having this week.

Spaghetti with quinoa noodles & salad. We're really liking the quinoa noodles (they're made with a mixture of organic quinoa and corn flours). They taste just like regular noodles, quinoa is really good for you, and you can't tell they're gluten-free. My only complaint is that (with the spaghetti noodles, at least) there's only enough for one night with a little bit of noodles left over. We make meals to last at least two nights, so... I'm glad the quinoa noodles are good because Aiden still doesn't like things with marinara sauce. I don't get it. This time I was smart enough to give him noodles by themselves and some sauce on the side. He ate the noodles.

Salmon, asparagus, and corn... Well, this meal got scrapped, actually. We were supposed to grill burgers Sunday night, but we ran late at the grocery and grabbed burgers on the way home. Kind of ironic to go to Whole Foods, load up on whole, organic, healthy foods...and then get fast food to eat for dinner. But that's what we did. So, we did the grilling on the night we were supposed to have salmon. We were supposed to also keep the asparagus on the menu, but mama just forgot all about it. So, we'll put it with another meal this week - probably tonight. We got the asparagus at the Farmer's Market on Saturday, and it still looks fabulous! We also are going to a different FM now...the big one in Raleigh might be big and open every day, but there is one in Morrisville that is much smaller BUT seems to mainly have either organic produce or produce grown without pesticides (meat at both places are primiarily grass-fed with no added hormones/antibiotics, but there are actually more folks with meat at this FM). While we found a couple places that had pesticide-free produce at the big FM, most of the vendors seemed to react negatively when we questioned their use of them - not to knock that FM, really. But...we're going where the good stuff (and *more* if it) is.

Tacos, rice, fruit salad (with strawberries, champagne mangos - man, I *love* those things!, and kiwi).

Veggie Lentil loaf, mashed potatoes, and...we'll put the asparagus with this meal instead of the frozen peas we were going to have. I found the recipe for the veggie lentil loaf (like meat loaf...but no meat and gluten-free) in KIWI Magazine. Surprisingly Camden saw it on the menu and even saw the recipe...and didn't make any nasty comments and is curious to see how it tastes. Score! Also, I've been wanting to try out this magazine. I guess you could say it's kind of like a Parenting/Parents mag, but it focuses on more organic, eco-friendly kind of things...you know, right in line with me! My friend, Becky, saw one of those deal-of-the-day sites offering it for a great price (it's not the cheapest magazine...not super expensive, but when you realize it only comes out every two months, it's not too cheap), I jumped on the chance to subscribe. I've only gotten one magazine so far, but I *love* it! Totally my kind of magazine, and I'll definitely want to keep subscribing!

Sesame chicken, rice, roasted broccoli. This was a homemade version of sesame chicken, meant to be healthier b/c it wasn't breaded or fried. More like stir-fry type dish. I got it from my Food Network magazine, a recipe by Ellie Krieger (who is known for making healthier versions of things). And I didn't have chili paste and didn't want to buy it to try out a dish for the first time (I might try to find it for next time, though). But we really liked it! Aiden ate it up, too - and he's not always keen on dishes made primarily of meat (except for burgers). It's definitely a weekend dish for me because the prep work isn't all that fast. I'm also getting addicted to this roasted broccoli dish. I could eat those babies just about everyday! The boys think they're ok...and I'm hoping with keeping it on the menu fairly often, they'll soon love it, too.

Let me know if you want any of the recipes for dishes with no links. A couple were from magazines, and I couldn't find them online but am happy to share!

We're also doing a new thing with veggies. I'm keeping sliced raw veggies, such as carrots, zucchini, bell peppers, celery, etc in the fridge and pulling them out every night at dinner. If the kids aren't loving what we're having, they have those on the table to pick from. I put out hummus and some dressings, too. Both boys have been eating them up like crazy! Even veggies they normally wouldn't really be crazy about...just having them there to eat if they want (we put them out but say nothing about it - it's within everyone's reach, and they grab what they want!). Camden eats a lot of carrots and zucchini. Aiden eats a mix of stuff with hummus. It's pretty great. Plus, they have less reason to complain if they don't like dinner. And since there's no pressure, they eat more than they normally would. I'm definitely going to keep this up! We usually eat these veggies throughout the week, but I noticed very quickly last week that we suddenly were going through these veggies a LOT quicker than we usually do.

Who says Gluten-Free can't be delicious? Breakfast Bars you simply MUST try!

I was writing this JUST before that tornado hit...just hadn't added pictures and hit publish yet. But here it is now. The yummiest thing I've eaten in quite a while!

I made a new gluten-free dish the other day. It sounded good, the picture on the website looked good, and I hoped it would be good. You just never know... But oh man, it exceeded my expectations by...well, a LOT.

And I even left out the chocolate.

Goodness. That's what this is.

I linked to this recipe in last week's menu plan, but I wanted to devote a whole post to it. If you eat a gluten-free diet, you HAVE to try this. Actually, regardless of eating GF or not, you should have this. I'm not sure how many non-GF folks have things like xanthan gum in their house, though. The ingredients in it are easy to find at a local health food store, like Whole Foods, but xanthan gum isn't the cheapest thing to get, esp for just one dish. Just being realistic... If you have it, though, or don't mind forking over the $8 or $10 for it, then make this. [Edited to add...Just rechecked the price for xanthan gum at Whole Foods. Here it was $11.99. So...if it's something you won't use otherwise, find someone who already has it in their pantry instead of buying it for this recipe. It only takes a teaspoon.]

Please.

I followed directions exactly, being the first time I made this. With a few modifications....so it wasn't exactly followed, I guess. I did use eggs. I did not use chocolate because we wanted Aiden to be able to enjoy this, too. (We aren't giving Aiden chocolate yet. Go on, tell us we're depriving our child. Like he won't have YEARS to eat the stuff. Children's taste buds and food habits are formed mostly in those first few years. So, we're trying to make them the most healthy possible. Trust me, he gets sweets. Just ones we decide are ok. We ARE the parents, after all. And he is not deprived, I assure you.) :) Plus, this is a breakfast dish, and I'm not too keen on regularly giving the kids chocolate for breakfast. Me, on the other hand... We used dried cranberries and chopped walnuts instead, which were great. I don't have vanilla powder; she says you can use whatever vanilla you want in the same amount as called for, so I used vanilla bean paste, which was also gluten-free. It does have a bit more sugar than I would like, but I think using a bit less would be fine. I'll use a little less each time I try it to see how low I can take it.

The baking pan I used, a gift from my wonderful mother-in-law

And I don't have an 11x9 pan, so I used a 13x9. I did have to cook it a bit longer, but I'm not sure if that was pan size or what (I would have expected to cook it a bit less when considering the different pan size, so it must have been some other factor). I was worried the edges would burn when I kept having to cook it longer after so many times checking the middle, but it came out *perfect* and did not last long at all...due to being so ridiculously yummy.

Taken out of the oven at 9pm Thursday night; this is what was left by 2pm Friday...

For the recipe and directions/tips/etc, please visit the original post from Gluten-Free Goddess, found HERE.Check out some of her other recipes while there - she has LOTS, and they all look incredible! I intend on trying out loads of them, especially after this success.

Not only did this exceed my expectations, but I couldn't believe how moist and soft it was. It wasn't dense or grainy or gummy, like some gluten-free goods can be. It didn't have that tell-tale taste of most gluten-free flours. Really, you cannot tell this is gluten-free at all! I will be making it again very soon. I would have made it again this week if it hadn't been for no power. It's back on by now, of course (every time I open the fridge, Aiden exclaims, "Look! We have POWER!"), and I will be enjoying this again before the next week is over. This or maybe the banana bread recipe from the same website... I hope you try it, too!

Meal Plan

Finally getting back into this...
I haven't really planned lunches out for specific days this week. I'm making some chicken broth in the next day or two, so I'll use some of the chicken to make some chicken salad. We'll have some pasta and peas for another day. Some avocado to go along with whatever else another day... And then there are leftovers. Etc, etc. Oh, another favorite of Aiden's is a "regular sandwich." The boy who doesn't really even like sandwiches... One day he said he wanted a "regular sandwich" for lunch. We weren't sure what in the heck he meant by that, so we went through a list of all the types we would normally offer him. He finally said yes to a turkey and cheese sandwich. What makes this so funny is that he NEVER eats turkey and cheese. So, it's not really "regular." Toddlers...

Camden's away visiting family over his track-out, so we're having some meals we like that he might (haha - he WOULD) normally complain about. ;) Here's what's on the menu this week.


Sunday
Lunch: Leftovers - Choose from taco soup or lasagna toss. Thanks to my friend, Becky, for sharing the lasagna toss recipe. It was a big hit, especially with Camden!
Dinner: cheese burgers on the grill, roasted potatoes and beets, and yellow mango. YUM.

Monday
Beef and lentils, roasted broccoli (we tried this recipe while my mom was visiting, thinking the kids would like it...not so much, but us adults LOVED it; to be fair, I don't think Aiden even tried it. Camden said it was better than regular broccoli but that he still didn't really like it.), and corn (because you've gotta have something you KNOW the little kid likes, though he usually does just fine with the beef and lentils dish, but you really never know). 

Tuesday
Beef and lentils leftovers

Wednesday
Bean Soup and cornbread - trying a new recipe that uses white beans, lots of carrots, and turkey sausage. We want to see if we think Camden might like this version better than the other we usually make...which is a very basic bean soup.

Thursday
Deconstructed broccoli and cheese stuffed chicken breasts (using chicken left over from making broth, so they're not breasts but chunks of chicken - I like it better this way, anyway, and it's actually a lot easier to make!) and sweet potatoes.

Friday
Leftover bean soup.

Saturday
Lunch: whatever is in the fridge, leftovers, sandwiches... I'll actually be at a friend's baby shower having brunch, so the boys get to fend for themselves. :)
Dinner: leftover broccoli/cheese/chicken, sweet potatoes

AND I'm now, once again, on a gluten-free diet, so we're making adjustments for that... We're trying to keep it easy and plan *around* gluten so we don't have to rely on a lot of substitutions (or so we don't have to buy a lot of extra flours, etc, just yet). BUT....oh, but we ARE going to make THIS. It just looks so good. We got the ingredients we didn't already have today. For some reason, silly girl that I am, sent my mom back home with a lot of my gluten-free things, which actually included some of the necessary ingredients for this dish. Yes, very silly. Oh well. Monday happens to be my birthday, and since Whole Foods didn't have this incredibly awesome gluten-free cake that my mom and I got while she was in, I'm making these babies. By the way, if you are ever at WF and see in their bakery section...where they keep the cakes...and they happen to have their gluten-free chocolate carrot cake - GET IT! It in no way tastes gluten-free, and whoever thought of making a chocolate carrot cake?! OMGoodness it is the best thing ever! But hopefully the quinoa breakfast brownies will be good, too...

Then later we're calling WF to try to reach that bakery buyer to see if she'll order a cake for us. Maybe they'll have it in time for Ryan's birthday. We're exactly a week apart, so that would work. :)

Oh wait....I just did a search to see if I could at least link up to this awesome gluten-free chocolate carrot cake..and I found it! You can order it from their site, too. And looks like they're in Asheville, NC. Now, we bought a much smaller cake at WF, so it wasn't this big or expensive. Ours...you could just barely (maybe) wrap your two hands around it - that's how small it was. And they also had some regular g-f carrot cakes. I want to get one of each next time to compare. But if you want to check it out, HERE is the "World's Best Carrot Cake"...and it might just be. Really.

Meal Plan

The week is nearly over, but we did have a meal plan for the week. I have just barely had any time even near a computer this week, it seems. Or last week. Anyway, here it is...

Sunday
Dinner: Italian Sausage Soup. Not as great as we were hoping. Camden picked this one out of a recipe book we have, and it does sound pretty good. Maybe with a different sausage it would be better? Really the main flavor comes from the sausage you use. I couldn't help but think of fennel when I was smelling or tasting the soup. And I'm not really a fan of fennel. Not that I'm saying it was in the stuff...but that's what came to mind. Now, it wasn't as bad when we actually sat down to eat as what I thought it would be when I was cooking, but it still wasn't *great* either. Still, I'm glad Camden picked out something...other than some of his typical picks...and something that was pretty healthy, too.

Monday
Dinner: Apple, bacon, cheddar sandwiches with red onion mayo, carrot raisin salad. Doesn't sound like much, but the sandwiches are pretty filling!

Tuesday
Lunch: Chicken salad, crackers, and I was attempting to get some kefir smoothie in Aiden b/c he was getting over a virus. He ate the chicken salad and drank some electrolyte drink that I added probiotic powder to, so at least he got something... He did have some of the smoothie at some point.
Dinner: Deconstructed Broccoli & Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts, corn, mayo rolls. While the previous link is where you can find the recipe, I first found it on Once a Month Mom, who made it into a larger meal to be frozen (for four meals). I make two meals out of it and cook it in a 13x9 pan. We've made the stuffed chicken dish before, and while it's good...it's work. This is much easier. And instead of using chicken breasts, I used chicken that I already had in the freezer after making chicken broth from a whole chicken...I take it all off and freeze it in different amounts. I just used a couple cups' worth for this dish - and it was super easy and already in bite-sized chunks of chicken, so it was even easier to eat! The only problem...while Ryan and I really like it, the kids don't. WHY I have no idea! Aiden won't really try it, to be fair. This toddler phase is a lot of fun....

Wednesday
Lunch: Chicken salad, smoothie (same one from yesterday - apparently it was better today)
Dinner: Veggie beef soup (from the freezer - my favorite kind of meal!), peanut butter (sunbutter for Daddy) with honey sandwiches. I couldn't believe Ryan had never had a honey and PB sandwich...and I'm sure he's glad I'm saying that on here for all to read. ;)

Thursday
Lunch: Believe it or not, there was a tiny bowl of chicken salad left. Basically, Aiden eats this entire recipe on his own. I get a few bites here and there. He finished it off today.
Dinner: Leftover broccoli, cheese, chicken, corn and bread. I just made a loaf of bread yesterday for dinner and had to make another today just to have enough for tonight's dinner! I normally don't have to make it that often...

Friday
Lunch: banana slices with peanut butter, some kind of green smoothie (we're out of pineapple, which I always use, so I'm going to have to do something different...), and we'll see what else.
Dinner: Pigs in a blanket, zucchini slices, and roasted potatoes. This is all Camden. (Well, his idea. I'll be doing most of the cooking, if not all. Not because he can't help but he'll probably be at soccer practice.)

Saturday
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Cheese burgers (should be nice enough to grill!!!), baked fries, smoothies. We'll see if the fries get done. Mama will be volunteering at a consignment sale some friends run, and Daddy will be in charge of dinner. He's quite capable...but he's not made the fries before, and, of course, I don't do it exactly by the recipe. I'm sure he'll do just fine, though. :) I should be arriving home just in time for dinner!

PS - Locals should come out to the consignment sale! More info HERE! :)

Menu Plan

Monday
Lunch: Strawberry soup, banana dog bites, raisins. Now...the banana things aren't anything too out of the ordinary. Camden's even tried to take a banana wrapped in a tortilla with peanut butter. But his complaint was that the banana kept slipping out! Sometimes it takes a smack..or someone posting on their website...to have the light bulb go off: slice it! Aiden, who won't eat anything that involves a tortilla (no quesadillas...seriously!) and is iffy about peanut butter..who also will beg for a banana and then eat a couple bites and play enough with the rest that it's trash...that kid loved these things! He ate every single bite, except for the one I had to try it. (I'm sitting here right now eating the mama-version...nutella instead of pb. Oh it's yummy. Though really...I would be happy eating a banana with nutella on a spoon. Or just the nutella.)
Dinner: Veggie stir fry w/ rice, apple slices. (And yeah, technically this isn't vegetarian, since it uses chicken broth..but you can switch that for a different broth to make it really veggie.) ;)

Tuesday
Lunch: Strawberry soup (I always make enough for Aiden to have two meals and for Camden to take it on the second day, too), and either more banana dog bites or pb on bread with raisins. I'm guessing Aiden will go for the banana bites.
Dinner: Mini-meatloaves (pulled from the freezer, already cooked), asparagus, and the yummiest roasted potatoes. Camden goes crazy for these potatoes. Seriously. It's a Pioneer Woman recipe - doesn't that automatically make it delicious??

Wednesday
Lunch: Quesadillas, avocado, green smoothies. Ok, Camden will have quesadillas. So will Mommy. Aiden...I'll try, but he'll probably turn his nose up at it.
Dinner: Taco Salad

Thursday
Lunch: Wait and see. Aiden's egg-challenge and allergy testing is this morning, and there's no telling how long we'll be there - a couple hours minimum.
Dinner: Lentil Veggie Soup, "really big biscuits" (from Family Feasts for $75 a week - great biscuits!), fruit

Friday
Lunch: There should be some leftovers in the fridge by now...
Dinner: Italian Sausage Soup (a new recipe we're trying from the Family Feasts book mentioned above). This is one of Camden's picks for the week.

Saturday
Leftovers!

Over the weekend, I made the pumpkin apple muffins, and they have been a huge hit. Aiden loves muffins of any kind pretty much, but he's smitten by these. I have a feeling I'll be making them again before the week is over. I used honey instead of agave as the sweetener - it's cheaper, for one thing.We also had the chicken tortilla soup last week, and everyone really liked it, even the kids. I added black beans, and I already had cooked chicken chopped up and frozen from when I recently made chicken broth (which decreased cooking time). Next time I'll definitely be making a double batch so we at least get a couple meals out of it.

What's on your menu this week?

Meal Plan

Here's the run-down for the week...

Sunday 
Dinner at Maggiano's for our neighbor's birthday. Was our first time there, and we took advantage of their buy one get one for home deal. Here's some more info on the deal if you're around one of these and have been wanting to try them out!

Monday
Lunch: Pasta, peas, and parmesan; banana slices with peanut butter and currants. Aiden is not the biggest pb fan, but he *loved* having it this way! I just put a dab on each banana slice and topped it with some currants (a few, since they're so little - those things are so cute, though!). He could not get enough!
Dinner: Leftovers from Maggiano's. And there was still some left!

Tuesday
Lunch: More Maggiano's leftovers. Bread. Aiden really loves just plain bread!! And some green smoothie.
Dinner: Mini-Meatloaves (I need to post the recipe sometime because these things are GOOD), butternut squash puree, and sauteed asparagus. I didn't get to make rolls or anything, so we had some naan bread that we had on-hand. I love that the meatloaves are so freezer friendly. It makes 8, and since we're only using it for one meal this time (and I'm banning Ryan from eating more, as much as he wants to), I'll freeze the rest for another week. And I gotta say...I'm not a fan of squash (any kind - I keep trying and really want to like it, I do!), but this puree is pretty tasty - as in *really* good! Camden knew he wouldn't like it and admitted it was better than he expected. Aiden, who scarfed down multiple bowls last time I made it, wouldn't even try it. UGH. If he had, he would have loved it. I know it. So frustrating when they do that. This is my favorite meal of the week (so far, at least) - it's just SO bright and colorful! The meatloaves are red from the glaze on top, the bright orange squash, and the green asparagus...just so pretty!

Wednesday
Lunch: Tuna, apple, raisin salad on mini-pitas (that we've had on the menu forever and still haven't had), avocado.
Dinner: Chicken tortilla soup (that we had on last week's menu and didn't make)

Thursday
Lunch: Tuna, apple, raisin salad on mini-pitas
Dinner: Pizza casserole - adding in some extras this time (mushrooms, bell pepper, some pepperoni), apples.

Friday
Lunch: Strawberry soup, Pita or crackers with peanut butter and raisins
Dinner: Either pizza casserole leftovers, or we'll freeze the leftovers and eat taco soup (that is in the freezer). We'll see.

Saturday
Lunch: Various leftovers.
Dinner: Cheeseburgers (I've been wanting to try to make some veggie burgers - I have a recipe I found in a magazine, but if anyone has a recipe you know is great, please share! - but Camden made sure to request just regular beef burgers this week. Ha!), baked "fries," and smoothies or fruit.

I'm also wanting to make these pumpkin apple muffins and have had them on the menu for a couple weeks now. Hopefully we'll get to them this week!

For snacks, Aiden has been begging for "snack-a bars," so I finally made some more. He LOVES these things. Camden not-so-much. And Ryan likes them, too. Plus, they're nut-free so Daddy can have them. They're super easy, too!

Meal Plan and other things...

I'm getting around to it, finally.  Made this up on Saturday for grocery shopping, but we've had an interesting weekend... Aiden started coming down with a cold suddenly on Saturday, and be evening, he was feeling warm. He had a fever all night, threw up around midnight and then when he ate breakfast, and he was up all throughout the night sneezing. The throwing up was not a stomach bug but was due to all the mucous he was dealing with... Every time he sneezed, snot launched a couple feet. I kid you not. He ran a fever all day Sunday and was pretty pitiful. Still launching snot all day and throughout the night Sunday night. He's been fever-free since Sunday evening, but he still is sneezing, coughing, and just has a ton of mucous bothering him. Nobody is sleeping well b/c he's constantly waking from the coughing or sneezing, all of which seem to hurt him. Mama's sinuses haven't been feeling great ever since Sunday. Aiden and I haven't hardly slept for the last three nights (Ryan's been up a bit, too; just not quite as much as mama), so we're all pretty exhausted.

AND then there's Camden...Now, last week on Valentine's Day, Camden comes home with a hurt finger. He was picking up his books at school (at 11am), when someone happened to trip and fall on his finger in a funny way. When he got home at 3pm, it was still swollen twice its size, and he couldn't move it. A trip to the urgent care center showed no break but a really deep bruise, and he came home with his finger in a splint. This made things a bit more challenging for him b/c it was the hand he writes with...but turns out a finger in a splint wasn't so bad, after all. Fast forward to Sunday afternoon, and Camden comes in from playing soccer in the cul de sac. He was playing with some friends that he plays with all the time. They don't play rough, don't tackle, and it's rare anyone gets hurt at all. This time, some boys Camden normally doesn't play with joined in. He normally doesn't play with them b/c they're so rough. So, one of them side-tackled Camden and knocked him down. Trying to catch himself, Camden ends up putting out his arm and bends his elbow in the wrong direction, hyperextending it. Talk about being in pain - he was in *severe* pain. It was hard seeing him in so much pain. :( Back to the urgent care center for x-rays before they close... While it's hard to tell based on the x-ray, they're sure there is a fracture. They set his arm up in a semi-cast and sling with instructions to call an orthopedist in the morning. Got in to see the orthopedist, and they say the same thing...seems to be a fracture, but they can't say for sure yet. They put on another cast that has his arm at a better angle, and we'll return next week for more x-rays, by which point it should be easier to see if there is a crack, after it has had some time to heal and for swelling to go down. If there is a crack, he'll have a better cast put on.

This injury happened on the same arm as his finger injury. Poor kid. And doing things like homework, showering, eating, and all sorts of things have suddenly become more interesting, challenging...and call for parental participation a heck of a lot more! Ha.

So, needless to say, we've been spending a lot more time on some other things around here. And things that can get put off have gotten put off.

But if you're interested, here is what's on the menu this week.

Sunday
Dinner: Egg-free pancakes. Finally found a successful way to make them egg-free. These are really good! Fried potatoes (oh yum - I felt the need to fit these into our menu this week), and chicken/apple sausage. OJ to drink. The website that had the pancake recipe has a lot of allergy-friendly dishes...I'm eager to try some of her other recipes! Some look and sound really yummy.

Monday
Lunch: Sweet potato and apple casserole. Camden, who hates sweet potatoes, LOVES this dish. It smells like apple pie, and he says it tastes like it, too. I'm not sure I entirely agree because it does have sweet potatoes. But if anti-sweet potato Camden loves this dish, that's saying something... Aiden happens to be quite happy with just plain baked sweet potato and sliced apples. I'm happy with those on their own as well, but I also want Camden to find ways to like sweet potatoes, so I'm sure to make this dish for his lunches sometimes, too! :) We also had some hummus and pretzels.
Dinner: Beef & Lentils, green beans, bread, and apple slices. So, this is one of my most favorite dishes ever. Ever. This is the ultimate comfort food to me, for some reason. I should probably post the recipe soon...but think ground beef, lentils, a bit of rice, some seasonings including cumin (this is the dish to blame for my love for cumin - I smell that stuff and immediately think of beef and lentils, which is a good thing to me). My mom made this when I was younger, and I remember eating it with green beans and ketchup. I still eat it that way. I took the recipe my mom based hers on and made it into a crockpot dish. I was so proud when I finally got it just right, all on my own. ;)

Tuesday
Lunch: Well, we ate finger foods on the way to my afternoon (meaning right at naptime - had no other choice) doctor appt. Since the little guy has not been sleeping at night, he took his nap shortly after 10am, and I had to wake him to leave in time for the appt. He ate on the way and then snacked while there. Puffs, banana, apple, and an allergy-friendly snack bar (that he loves but is expensive, so we only pull them out on special occasions where we need him to be quiet...).
Dinner: Slow-cooker Vegetarian Chili with Sweet Potatoes (thanks for passing this on, Katie!!). I thought this was really good, and it helped to have a crockpot dish, since we weren't sure what time we would be home from our dr appt. Ryan thought it was good, Camden didn't really care for it, and Aiden never even tried it (toddlers can be so much fun sometimes...). We also had pb sandwiches with the chili. Added sour cream, cheese, and then ate tortilla chips with the chili. I added some corn to the chili (trying to get the kids to like it more) and added a bit of sugar, too. I didn't quite have the right amount of chili powder, and Ryan thought the chili was too bland, so I should at least be sure to have the proper amount of seasonings next time, huh? ;)

Wednesday
Lunch: Sweet potato and apple casserole, avocado, and maybe some green smoothie
Dinner: Beef & lentils, some veggie yet to be determined, and some fruit. Maybe some rolls, too.

Thursday
Lunch: Tuna, apple, raisin salad
Dinner: Parm chicken with pasta, zucchini boats (new recipe a friend sent a while back and I've been wanting to try)

Friday
Lunch: Tuna, apple, raisin salad
Dinner: Chicken tortilla soup (trying it out)

Saturday
Leftovers!!

I'm starting to notice how many weelicious recipes I make every week, especially now that I'm linking to recipes that are online in these posts... Obviously we're a fan. ;)

Homemade Chicken Broth

Why make your own chicken broth? There are a number of reasons that make it more than worth the time and (little bit) of effort. It's cheap. It's fresh. It's healthy. It's tasty. It's cheap (oh, did I already say that one?).  And it's easy.

Are those enough?

Your house will also smell wonderful while simmering the broth.

Should be plenty of reasons.

I'm sure there are tons of recipes out there, and this is just the one I use. I looked up a number of them before going for it. This one was easy with few ingredients, most of which I always have on hand. Since I started making it more than a few months ago, I haven't even considered buying it from the store.

Meal Plan

I'm kind of glad this is a bit late b/c we've had to change the menu just about every day since Saturday... That's how it goes some days. Or weeks.

Saturday
Instead of Hot Browns, we went for Goldenrod Eggs. We had a dozen eggs after buying them for Aiden's egg challenge...that got rescheduled at the last minute. Since it's not for another month now, might as well use up the eggs. We take some sauce out before putting the eggs in, so Aiden can have some egg-free. He's not a fan of that, though... He's right. It's just not the same. Assuming he can have eggs before long (surely), he'll learn to love the stuff. It's a family recipe that's been passed down several generations. Anyone in the family kind of has to love this stuff. (How could you not?!)


Sunday
Lunch: The best sandwiches ever. Ryan and I had that. Camden had a sandwich of his own, and Aiden had the makings of a sandwich, just not in sandwich form.
Dinner: Leftovers.

Monday
Lunch: Avocado, cheese, apples, hummus, pretzels...and some other stuff I can't remember now.
Dinner: Turkey Salsa. Well, really it's supposed to be Salsa Chicken, a recipe my friend Leigh Ann gave me, but, for some reason, I always say it backwards. Camden used to correct me every time, until I told him I officially change the name so that I'm right (so, in our house, it's now Chicken Salsa). And instead of chicken, we used turkey we had frozen, leftover from Thanksgiving - the advantage to getting a bigger turkey than you need. We froze a ton of it. Anyway...easiest yummy meal ever. Chicken (or turkey...), salsa, black beans, and corn tossed into the crockpot. Oh, and cream cheese near the end. We put it over rice and eat it w/ tortilla chips.

Tuesday
Lunch: Turkey Salsa leftovers.
Dinner: Frozen pizza. Ugh. Camden was happy about it, at least. Not my favorite. Aiden's apparently not a huge fan, either. We did have apples and ants-on-a-log (celery, pb, and raisins) to health it up a bit.

Wednesday
Lunch: Lunch kind of got skipped today. Aiden fell asleep on the way home from a playdate, so I got him to bed right after we got home. He had a good snack afterward....
Dinner: Bean soup, beets, and cornbread. Kids had some veggies, pretzels, a little bit of green smoothie, and other stuff... Camden has to eat a bite of the soup, and we give Aiden a bite, too (but he doesn't actually eat it, and being a toddler, we're not forcing him to do so).

Thursday
Lunch: The BEST chicken salad. Aiden LOVES this stuff. I'm replacing part of the vegenaise with greek yogurt. We'll see what he thinks about that. This recipe makes a big bowl, but it doesn't last long with Aiden eating it.
Dinner: Rest of the bean soup, beets, and cornbread.

Friday
Lunch: Chicken salad, crackers, and probably some green smoothie.
Dinner: Taco Soup. We usually make a ton to freeze some for later, but this time we're making a ton to give some to a friend and her family since she's having surgery. This is a great dish to make for sharing! Add some sour cream, cheese, and tortilla chips. YUM.

Saturday
Lunch: Leftovers or sandwiches.
Dinner: Taco Soup.

And then on top of that, there is a bunch of extra cooking...
Instead of canned beans, we buy dried beans in bulk, cook them, and freeze them to use in recipes. This week...black beans, pinto beans, and garbanzo beans, since we needed some of each in recipes I was making.
Made homemade hummus for the first time. Much better than bought (and this coming from someone who doesn't like hummus...). A bit too much lemon juice, and later I added some cumin and coriander to help lesson some of the lemon taste (plus, I like cumin). Edited to add: I also used sunflower seeds instead of tahini, since I didn't have any and didn't to shell out $8 for a jar when this was the first time making this. A comment in the recipe link mentioned using sunflower seeds - a coupe teaspoons, and it worked just fine!
Made some fruit and oat bars for the boys to have for breakfast. They came out crumbier than I hoped, but they are still *really* good! I baked them for the lower of the recommended time range, but I'll take it out sooner next time and see if that helps. Ryan will just have to wait until he's at work and eat it from a container (which he should anyway!).
Chicken broth, homemade. This stuff is so good. I'm thinking about a separate post for this, with the recipe. I haven't bought any since I started making it several months ago. Cheap, easy, and delicious.
And then bread and some other things. I pretty much live in the kitchen. I think I should require our next house have a super nice kitchen, since that's the room I'll be in the most...

And I almost forgot...Aiden and I made these for Valentine's Day. These were really good, and Aiden's decorating made them just perfect. :)

What's on the menu at your place this week? Any great recipes?

Meal Plan

I'm still not sure if I want to do this before or after the week the menu is for... Makes sense to do it before b/c it's about the whole planning part, but in our house, things don't always go as planned. Plus, I try a lot of new dishes and would want to say whether or not something worked or what I would change, etc. Eh, I'll figure it out. Anyway, here is this week's menu...

Sunday
Lunch: Frozen pizza and apples. We're usually in a hurry b/c of grocery shopping after church, so we make it home just in time for lunch. (We go to the early service.) Aiden ate while the pizza was cooking and had some pasta with parmesan cheese and peas, but he was already pretty tired, so he didn't eat much and went to bed.
Dinner: Vegetable Lentil Soup. My friend that started posting about meal planning, giving me the idea...she got the idea from one of her friends (that I do not know). I looked at said friend's blog, saw this recipe, and thought it sounded really yummy. It was. Very. I added cumin...because I have a thing for cumin with lentils. I used 1/2 tsp this time but will try it with 1 tsp next time to see if I like that better. I think next time I might add some more carrots, too. I also use homemade chicken broth - I'll have to post the recipe for that soon. It is so much easier than I would have thought, is much cheaper than the organic broth we used to buy (even getting a free-range chicken from either the Farmer's Market or Whole Foods), and tastes sooooo good!Anyway, we will be making this soup a lot more. So good. Try it.

Monday
Lunch: Leftover pizza, leftover vegetable lentil soup, and walnuts. Might not be things that typically go together, but we managed. ;) We had some mozzarella cheese on the soup, and it was really yummy. Aiden ate about half of his. He never spit it out, so at least he doesn't hate it. I think he normally would like it, but he's in that fun toddler phase where something being new automatically makes it suspicious. Aiden is pretty crazy about walnuts, which I am loving. He will eat at least three handfuls at a time! And we're not talking Aiden handfuls but MAMA handfuls. That's a lot of walnuts!PS - Do you really know how good walnuts are for you? Check this out to learn a bit more than you might already...
Dinner: Corn Chowder (my friend Sonia's recipe - so good!) from the freezer, mayo (vegenaise for us) rolls. We had this on the menu last week but put it off until this night. Like I said, things never go just as planned. Aiden and I also made some zucchini coins. Apparently Aiden loves raw zucchini! While making the coins, he kept eating the zucchini by itself. The rest of us liked the baked result just fine (and I'm not a fan of cooked zucchini), but he preferred them raw. Guess I know what we need to buy more often!

Tuesday
Lunch: Pasta with parmesan and peas. This is always a good meal for Aiden. We had some leftover pasta, so this is a great way to use it up. He'll have some fruit with it and maybe something with hummus. That kid *loves* hummus. I want to. I really do. But I don't.
Dinner: Vegetable Lentil Soup, bread. This stuff is really filling. When I served it on Sunday, I kept thinking we didn't have enough to eat. Not true. Even hubby, who always goes back for seconds, no matter what we have or how full I fill his plate...even he agreed it didn't take much to fill up with this meal. It's those little lentils. :)

Wednesday
Lunch: Either pasta w/ parm and peas (if there's any left) or strawberry soup w/ bread, pb, and raisins.
Dinner: New recipe - Pizza casserole. Figured we needed to throw something in there that was more kid-friendly. Camden's excited to try it. I'm not sure how Aiden will feel (remember he has this problem w/ pasta and marinara...).

Thursday
Lunch: Strawberry soup, bread w/ pb and raisins.
Dinner: Pizza casserole

Friday
Lunch: Leftovers...
Dinner: Veggie Stir-Fry w/ Sweet and Sour sauce. YUM. This is the best ever. We add in way more veggies than it calls for and never regret it. I can't get leftovers out of this dish because everyone eats it all up, no matter how much I make! We'll be making it w/ bell peppers, mushrooms, carrots, onions, maybe a bit of spinach...

Saturday
Lunch: Whatever leftovers are in the fridge or sandwiches.
Dinner: KY Hot Browns. Oh, yes. I just hope making these are as good as the ones I've gotten at some favorite places in KY. The recipe is from my Food Network Mag and is supposedly from the original recipe from the Brown Hotel (though I've never eaten at the Brown). We're leaving out the egg. I'm excited to make it...I've never made it before, and it's been a while since I had one! I'm already drooling thinking about it. Here's the recipe on the Brown Hotel website. It's actually a bit different than what is in the magazine, even though it states it's the recipe from the hotel...so, really, it's not. But we bought ingredients for the FN version, so...

And I just have to add, last week I made Sweet Beet Cookies...and Aiden ate them like they were the BEST things EVER. Seriously. He couldn't eat them fast enough and was signing for more while he chewed, very enthusiastically. I'm going to have to make a big batch next time and freeze some (Catherine, from weelicious, told me on facebook to freeze before baking, if you want to try these out.)

What's on your menu this week?