Healthy Family Hangout

We have been fixin' to make homemade granola bars for weeks. After some searching I found a recipe by our favorite Food Network star, Alton Brown. We made a list of the ingredients we needed and several weeks ago we took a trip to the Bulk Barn. Christian really had fun bagging up the ingredients. He insisted on filling the bags himself (with some help from daddy). He was very careful and didn't make any messes in the store. :) The ingredients have been sitting in the pantry for weeks until finally, this past long weekend we made the bars! Christian was so excited when he came in the kitchen and saw everything laid out and ready to go. He washed his hands and dug right in helping, measuring, mixing. The recipe called for Almonds, but Christian don't like nuts in stuff so we substituted with pumpkin seeds. We put the oats, seeds, & wheat germ on a pan and in the oven for 15 minutes. I stirred them around every few minutes as directed. It was closing in on th...

Last weekend we went to get groceries. Most of our shopping trip was spent in the produce section. We stocked up on everything from apples to carrots. One thing that I hope will help us eat up our fruits and veggies is to have them in the fridge ready to eat. When we got home Millard washed everything & put it out to dry. Then he peeled & diced the honey dew melo n and pineapple to store in containers... ready to eat. Our fridge looked so colorful and inviting with all the colorful produce. My brother, who is also trying to eat healthier, mentioned to me that he read that produce loose it's vitamins once they are cut so I googled it. What I learned is that this is true, however it takes up to 5 or 6 days to show any major vitamin loss. Our fruits were eaten up by then. :)

How many times have you bought the ingredients for a certain recipe, stick it in the cabinet or fridge and that's as far as it got? We've all done it and I am certainly most famous for it! This week I am all about digging out those goodies from the fridge and pantry and putting them to good, healthy use. I had zucchini sitting in the fridge for maybe a week. I bought it with the intention of making zucchini bread. Of course I never got around to it until this past weekend. Thankfully on Saturday when I pulled them out of the crisper they was still in perfect condition. Whew, money not wasted! I was gonna use a Chocolate Zucchini Bread recipe shared by a friend of mine, but used a Splenda recipe instead. Not only is Millard a diabetic, but sugars and chocolate really affect Christian's acid reflux. I tried 2 variations of the recipe... (1) as is, and (2) with only 1/2 cup of Splenda because Millard don't like things overly sweet. Also, the recipe called f...

Back in April we made Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. I have no idea right off hand where I found the recipe, but it is listed at the end of this post . I did my usual and took out all the needed ingredients & items before Christian got home from school. This way as soon as he walks in the door and washes his hands we can get started and the cookies can be baking while we start homework. Measuring the Vanilla Extract. Notice the Vanilla spilled all over the counter top. He was very careful, but accidents happen. He went and got a towel to throw over his shoulder to be prepared for any possible future spills. Pouring out the oats. Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. Finished. Christian's taste test. Alexander's taste taste. Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies Ingredients 2/3 2/3 cup cup (150 mL) (150 mL) butter , softened 1 1 cup cup (250 mL) (250 mL) packed brown sugar 1 1 egg eggs 2 2 tsp tsp (10 mL) (10 mL) vanilla 1-1/2 1-1/2 cups cups (375 mL) (375 mL) l...

I had bought an angel food cake one day and to prevent us from eating it all up I decided to section it up, some for now and some for future dessert/snack ideas. I took one chunk and cubed it and strung it on a skewer with some strawberries. It was pretty darn easy and made a great after school snack for Christian that day. I took another piece and used my Pampered Chef Cutters to make mini shapes for the kids. I took my mini skewers and made small skewers of the flower shaped cake with strawberries for another day. Then I took a big section of the angel food cake and sliced relatively thin slices, about the thickness of a slice of bread. I grouped them into 4's, bagged them, and stuck them in the freezer for future desserts and snacks.

Last Wednesday was basically the only day that we ate healthier. Christian had been practically begging for Chinese Buffet. Instead he settled for a home cooked Chinese meal. I have been searching for a healthy Sesame Chicken recipe that we all like and found a new one at Squidoo to try that didn't involve the deep fryer (the recipe is below). I added some broccoli stems and florets. I served it with veggie stir-fry and rice. Christian liked this version, but it still wasn't what I was looking for. I would make it again, but I will continue to find another sesame chicken recipe... or something similar. Sesame Chicken Ingredients 6 boneless skinless c hicken breasts 1/4 cup honey 1/4 cup soy sauce 1/2 cup water 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1/2-1 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2-1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional) 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds Directions: Cut chicken breast into 1 inch strips or bite size pieces. Heat a large non-stick skillet that has been sprayed wit...

We have discovered the secret to a quick breakfast... prep it the night before. Last night Millard scrambled some eggs and fried just a little bit of bacon, put it in a container and stuck it in the fridge. This morning breakfast was as simple as popping it in the microwave and sticking a slice of whole wheat bread in the toaster, buttering it and spreading some PC Blue Menu, no sugar added, mixed berry jam on it.... and breakfast was served! And again, no matter what I put in a glass Christian will not drink in the mornings.

Tuesday night's menu called for Chicken Fajitas. I thawed, cut, and fried boneless skinless chicken breasts with fajita seasoning. I sauted the orange peppers and onions in the seasoning, but did them separately because Christian don't like onions. I used a 'Great Value' brand of Fajita Seasoning and although it taste good, it was way too salty... and we don't need that extra sodium in our diet. Next time I will either buy another brand or make the seasoning from scratch. I grated just a little cheese, shredded what lettuce we had left, and scooped out a heaping tablespoon of sour cream for each of us. The rice was simply Minute Rice with a little salsa and jarred pimentos stirred in. The corn was canned with pimentos added and some cajun seasoning mixed in. Both the rice and corn were tasty. I served our plates as pictured above with the whole wheat tortillas on the side. Christian is independent and enjoys when we do 'build- your-own-meal' n...

I did it! On Tuesday morning I got up 20 minutes early and started breakfast. I kept it simple with french toast sticks (1-slice of bread cut into 3 pieces), strawberries (which I prewashed Monday night) and yogurt with muesli. I know it sounds silly, but I was proud of myself to serve Christian a 'real' breakfast instead of boxed cereal with a banana or with a a cut orange. Tuesday morning my boy sat and enjoyed his breakfast thoroughly, then turned and said "Thanks mom, that was good!". Ahhh... now that is encouragement to keep it going.

On Monday we cooked a ham, one of Christian's favorite foods. A while back I made a school lunch sandwich with left-over ham for Christian, but he surprisingly didn't like it too much. This time I decided to do a kabob instead with chunks of ham and melon balls that I did myself with my Dollar Store melon baller :) I prepped it on Monday night, strung the food on and put it in the container, so that Tuesday morning all I had to do was take it out of the fridge and stick it in his lunch bag. I also cut up some celery sticks and tossed in some pretzel sticks to go with it. This time Christian gave positive feedback.

Last week was not a good week. We never just fell off the bandwagon... we got ran over along the way! Without rehashing everything we ate let's just say the words 'take-out', 'deep fryer' and 'junk food' hit our weak spot last week. Honestly, most of it was bad planning on my behalf. A health oven baked cod recipe with veggies turned into a battered, deep fried version. This week we are back on track. We have a full dinner recipe written out on our kitchen whiteboard and a breakfast plan on paper. And all of that unhealthy eating, coupled with forgetting Christian acid reflux medicine on Saturday caused Christian a bad reflux flare-up on Sunday. We have learned our lesson, have regrouped as a family, and are ready to restart and face the weeks ahead.