Healthy Family Hangout

Last night I was determined to follow through on my breakfast menu for today. I was pretty consumed watching playoff hockey, but during intermission I managed, with my wonderful hubby's help, to make the bagel sandwiches. It worked out great. This morning when I got up I popped one in the microwave for Christian for 40 seconds. While it was heating I cut an orange into wedges and Voila! Breakfast was served. He gobbled up his sandwich, but never touched his fruit or his milk. Hmmm... I don't want to start the morning out with mommy demanding he eat his fruit so maybe next time I will serve him half a bagel with his fruit to see if he is more inclined to eat the fruit then. :) And oh, I can't forget about this. I love this little kitchen gadget. It is perfect for frying a perfectly round-shaped egg to fit on a bagel or an english muffin. Yes, it's the little things in life that make me happy. :)

I love Taco Night. Not only does it taste great, but it leaves little kitchen work for me that day. Usually when we buy meats Millard breaks out the food saver and vacuum seals batches to freeze. Recently, he cooked the ground beef with taco seasoning, portioned, sealed, and froze. So taco night was a breeze for me. All I needed to do was take the taco meat out of the freezer, thaw, reheat and preheat the oven for the taco shells. Then I chopped and diced the veggies and put in this neat tray that we bought years back at a dollar store. Last, we assembled our own tacos which as you can see comes with a little mess of an 8 year old, but he really enjoys it.

Breakfast continues to be the most challenging meal for me to get right. I've already went through the basics of a healthy breakfast and know that I should be including protein, dairy, & fruits and veggies. It's an easy concept, but following through is a different story. Perhaps the fact that I am not a morning person has something to do with it. So if that is my excuse then I know the answer... advance meal planning. I've preplanned a week's worth of dinner time meals for the family but that's as far as I got. I got to thinking that maybe it is time to go back to my home child care days and plan out an entire menu for the week, including breakfast. And that is just what I have done for the rest of the school week. Thursday: Egg, Cheese & Ham Bagel Orange Sections Milk Friday: Stuffin' Egg Muffins Apple Milk I am hoping that by having a game plan that I can keep on track and perhaps getting up a few minutes early, as originally planned, will hel...

Each day after school Christian bursts through the door with a raging appetite. Dinner isn't usually served until 5:30/6pm so he needs something to hold him over for a few hours. Many days he'll have a bowl of Quaker Oats o r a bowl of cereal. Today I decided to mix things up a little bit... literally! I pulled out the blender and sear ched for a smoothie recipe that would be easy for him to help make. Finding just th e right recipe took a little searching. Most smoothies call for orange juice, but bec a use of Christian's acid reflux I had to strike those ones out. Finally I found the o ne at FunSchool for a Strawberry Smoothie (recipe below). I got everything ready and laid out on the counter just minutes before he got home, including a print-out of the recipe. The recipe c alled for sugar, but sugars tend to bother Christian's acid reflux so I went with Splenda. Strawberry Smoothie Use your measuring skills for this kids recipe and create your own fruity smoothi...

We all have times when things just don't work out as planned. Well, Monday was one of those days for us. I am sad to admit that our dinner yesterday evening went from lean to mean in the blink of an eye and oh did it ever taste good! The original plan was to have BBQ Chicken, Greek Spinach & Rice, Glazed Carrots, & Corn, but temptation set in. Despite this foggy, wet weather my hubby was in charge of firing up the grill and bbq'ing the chicken. One thing lead to another and next thing I knew I was assisting him with the toothpicks as he wrapped mouthwatering bacon around each boneless skinless chicken breast. I know, I know... as soon as I saw the bacon in his hands I should've shunned him back to the fridge with it, but I am weak in the presence of the almighty bacon. It was only 3 slices per chicken though so that's not too bad, right? I totally messed up on the rice. I had found a Weight Watchers recipe for Greek Spinach & Rice at Dotti'...

Sometimes leftovers serve as a great lunch box meal. This week, Tuesday's lunch box was half of Alexander's leftover Turkey-Ham-Cheese-Avocado Panini. I was worried that Christian wouldn't like it after being refrigerated overnight, but he assured me that it did taste good. :) I also tossed in a cheese string and strawberries. Today he has cafeteria lunch because Wednesdays are usually 'soup day'. Christian is a big fan of chicken noodle soup.

Now that we`re over the Easter break it`s time to hop right back on track. Monday I really didn`t feel like cooking a real meal so I opted for sandwiches. I made Turkey-Ham-Cheddar-Avocado Panini`s. Normally we`d have potato chips or french fries on the side, but I made smashed potatoes instead that I found on the back of 'Compliments Brand Red Petites Potatoes' Roasted Smashed Greek Potatoes 2lbs red mini potatoes 1 head garlic, peeled 4 sprigs oregano 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice Toss raw potatoes together with garlic, 2 sprigs of oregano, olive oil, saltand pepper in a roasting pan. roast in a 400 degree F oven until tender, about 40 minuntes. Transfer to a bowl and lightly smash potatoes. Stir in feta cheese, remaining leaves of oregnao and lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm. I can`t believe that I made potatoes without butter! And I can`t believe that they turned out tasty and overall was a ...

Chicken nuggets are something we don't have very often anymore so last week I decided to make my own. My hubby had made them before, but this was my first attempt and it was easier than I anticipated. I diced up boneless, skinless chicken breast and then prepared the coating. We have these plastic shallow plates that are perfect for dipping so I dug them out. I combined 1 egg with 1/4 cup of milk to dip the chicken in first and then thawed some frozen breadcrumbs and added Italiano Seasoning and parsley and just a pinch of salt for the coating. I followed the advise I hear on cooking shows so often and used one hand for wet dipping and the other hand for dry. I successfully dipped the chicken in both wet and dry ingredients without getting my hand all messy and clumpy. Woo hoo! I baked the nuggets in the oven on 375 for approx. 30 minutes and they turned great. I remember when I first decided that I would make nuggets I immediately thought 'Shake n Bake' which would...