Healthy Family Hangout

Two weeks ago we took Alexander raspberry picking.  He dressed up in long sleeves and pants to protect his legs from the raspberry vines and his rainy day boots in hopes of a puddle to splash in.           

A couple of weeks ago we decided to stain the front deck and surprisingly both kids were eager to help out. They did an awesome job!  It was great to be outside and to be productive. Later in the day my cousin dropped by with a selection of fresh picked vegetables from their garden.     It is fair to say that I have no excuses for not eating salads as I have a great supply of mixed leaf lettuce.   We decided to sautée the Swiss chard with balsamic vinegar, sliced garlic, and sunflower seeds to add some crunch.  We had decided to try cooking the stems as well, but they were pretty strong.  Maybe next to we'll stick to the leaf only, like we usually do.

This is a meal that we had last week that was entirely planned using Pinterest.  Thoe of you who know me well are well aware of my addiction to Pinterest.  Yes, addiction.  It has even been said that I need a Pin-tervention.  :)   I cannot help it though, I not only enjoy looking for recipe this way, but I have found it very helpful in meal planning.  I now even have weekly menu boards created on Pinterest to organize my weekly meal plans.  It has become a great tool.  So I guess you could say that this meal, in a small way, does prove that I actually do make recipes that I find on there. :)   Anyway, I was in the mood for a different kind of bbq meal so I choose to make Asian Grilled Drumsticks , Asian Cabbage Mango Slaw , Tricolor Thai Salad with Zucchini & Yellow Squash , and plain white rice.   Early in the day I put the salads together and because there were so many vegetables it involved a bit of prep work.  Plus l thought it would be a good idea to get the vegetables mari

Chicken drumsticks are always a hit at our kitchen table.  During grilling season we usually turn to bbq sauce, but this time I was on the hunt for an Asian dish.  I wish I had read thru the entire recipe early in the day and noticed that it was recommended to marinade the chicken for at least 8 hours.  Despite the fact that it only had 2.5 hours in the marinade mix, these drumsticks came out really tasty.  We will try this recipe as directed to see how it turns out.   Asian Grilled Drumsticks   1/4 cup soy sauce 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice 1/2 cup honey 1/4 cup sesame oil 2 tbsp garlic, minced 2 tbsp ginger, minced 2 tsp dried chili pepper flakes black pepper 2 green onions, chopped 10 chicken drumsticks 1/4 cup peanut oil seasoning salt   Whisk together soy sauce, lemon juice, honey, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, pepper flakes and pepper.   Add the green onions.   Put drumsticks in a large zip lock bag.  I find it helpful to fold the the edges

I saw this recipe and knew that we had to try it!  Actually, this recipe was my inspiration behind having an Asian-inspired BBQ meal.  The idea of mango in my slaw felt very summery to me and it was a great way to have a BBQ side without the calories of our typical mayo-based salads. It was a pretty simple dish to make.  Below, you'll see everything tossed in the bowl.  FYI, I shredded the cabbage with a knife and the carrot with a box shredder.    The marinade called for rice vinegar (which I didn't have), but I had just learned that I could sub with white wine vinegar.     Mixed it all up and threw in some sesame seeds and it was ready.  I put it in the fridge for a few hours, but I could've just given it 15 minutes to let the flavors marinade a little.     Asian Cabbage Mango Slaw (6 servings.  Serving Size 1/2 cup)   2 cups shredded cabbage 1/2 cup shredded carrots 1 mango a bunch of green onions, chopped 3 tbsp rice vinegar, I use

We love zucchini and yellow squash however we've ever only cooked them.  We've cooked them in butter, cooked them with canned tomatoes, and grilled them, but raw?  I was unsure about making a salad with them raw, but was willing to give it a try. So, I cut half a bell pepper, half a zucchini, half a yellow squash into matchstick pieces, 1/2 tablespoon of chopped mint and chopped half a teaspoon of cilantro. If you like cilantro you could probably add more. The dressing recipe that I had called for rice vinegar, but I didn't check before I went grocery shopping - I had none! A quick google search and I learned to use white wine vinegar as a substitute. Also, I needed chili garlic paste. I only had straight up chili paste so I added some minced garlic to the dressing instead.   Mixed it all together and stuck it in the fridge until supper.   The bright colors made the salad very appealing to the eye and it taste so nice and fresh.  The little hint of mint he