Honey Gobblers

Today I introduced my kids to a treat that I used to have as a kid. I remember one of my sisters and I making them and enjoying them with with enthusiasm. They couldn't be simpler to make and a great way to get some great protein and some great vitamins, including vitamin E. I don't have exact measurements and I don't even know if we used any as kids.

Mix together peanut butter, honey and wheat germ. Taking a little (I find the amount to be bigger than a grape but smaller than a ping pong ball to be nice sized), roll it in the palm of your hands until you have a ball. If it sticks to your hand too much, add more wheat germ.

You can keep them in the fridge for quick addition to their snack or for a little treat.

Day 4: The Only Thing Better Than Making Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup...

...is feeding it to your family and having them ask for second and thirds and gobble, gobble, gobble it all up! In fact, the leftovers were supposed to be for lunch today but there were none. They got pb&j instead. LOL!  I used the leftover juices and bones from the crockpot chicken on Tuesday to create the broth. I put it in a pan with regular organic chicken broth and simmered them for a while and then strained the broth into another pot. Then I added the noodles (I did gluten free although the recipe calls for whole wheat) and added more than was in the recipe. The end result was that there was more noodles than broth but it worked out great for the kids who aren't huge soup fans. The chicken was also leftover from Tuesday night's dinner. To go with the soup I made some whole wheat biscuits and I was told those were pretty good, too.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Whole Wheat Biscuits

Being the end of the week we are low on food. Without the soup and biscuits for lunch as planned, I did a little scrambling this morning. I could have fancied it up with my punches and what not but, honestly, I didn't have time since I had to do Halloween make up and all that before school.  Here it is, nothing special but it works and it's healthy!

Peanut Butter* and Plum Jam (made by a neighbor) on Honey Whole Wheat (Great Harvest),  peaches*, apples*, carrots*

Day 3: Dinner Makes a great Lunch

Last night for dinner we had quesadillas on homemade corn tortillas* and crockpot refried beans*. The kids ate everything on their plate and then some. Since it was such a hit I decided to make some more fresh tortillas this morning and use some leftover beans and cheese for the main entree of their lunch.

The tortillas were crazy simple to make. It was my first time and I had no idea! 2C of Masa Harina and 1 1/2 cups hot water (this could vary depending upon which brand you have), and a big ole pinch of salt. Mix it all well, kneed it, let it sit for a few minutes and then take out about a golf ball sized piece. Then roll it into a ball and place it between 2 sheets of wax paper on your tortilla press, peel off the paper and toss it into a dry frying pan to cook. It's about 30seconds-1 minute on each side. I preferred the tortillas to be a little thicker so they took a little longer to cook but they peeled off the wax paper in one piece easier. It took me about half a batch to get the hang of it but now it's easy.

Lunch: fresh corn tortillas* rolled up with refried beans* and cheese* (in the tin foil),  leftover zucchini muffin*, apples, carrots* and cucumbers*

For Breakfast today the kids had Honey Whole Wheat toast (from Great Harvest) w/ peanut butter* and a smoothie made with milk*, banana*, cocoa*, maple syrup and ice. 

Dinner tonight will be homemade chicken noodle soup* w/ whole wheat biscuits*

Here are some recipes from yesterday and today:

Crockpot Refried Beans

Chicken Noodle Soup

Happy Eating!

Kim

*organic

Day 2: Leftover Creations

We woke up to snow this morning. The kids were so excited that the 2 year old had her boots, jacket, hat and mittens on and was out in the snow just after 6am. Her brothers joined her shortly after.

In between "fix my glove" "my hands are cold" and "my neck is wet" I managed to make their lunch and breakfast. Breakfast was Oatmeal* with peaches*.  For the main lunch entree I took leftover chicken and quinoa from dinner last night and added some peas and carrots as well as some shredded veggies (that I had leftover from making the pancakes last night) and sauteed it all together with some Bragg's Amino Acids. If you've never had Bragg's, it is a lot like soy sauce but 1/3 the sodium and has the added benefit of amino acids. The kids love it and even put it on their popcorn. 

Fried Quinoa w/ veggies and chicken*, edamame*, whole wheat zucchini muffins*, walnuts, apples and a date*

Dinner tonight will be refried beans in the crock pot and veggie quesadillas on homemade tortillas. I've never made tortillas so wish me luck!

*organic (I got tired of typing it each time!)

Hmm? I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you over all the face-stuffing.

Dinner was pretty darn tasty and it will go in the "make again" file for sure. I thought I'd stick with recipes for the beginning of the challenge even though I often go without. First up was a chicken in the crockpot. Seeing as this 4.5lb bird was more expensive than my diet coke habit from McD's I was a little nervous about flubbing it. Need not have worried. The recipe couldn't have been easier and the meat was fall off the bone tender. I even have enough left over for some fried rice for tomorrow's lunch and for some homemade chicken noodle soup later this week. Along with the Chicken (organic) we had Vegetable Pancakes (organic) . I would probably call them a fritter but, whatever they are called, they were g.o.o.d!  I ran out of time for the brown rice so I made up some quinoa (organic) in some chicken broth (organic).

The recipes are from 100 Days Of Real Food

Crockpot Whole Chicken

Vegetable Pancakes

I wish I had a photo for you but it was crazy before dinner and then all the veggie pancakes got eaten!

P.S. I've given up the McD's Diet Coke habit as of today. Be nice to me or you might inadvertently get hurt.

Gluten Free and/or Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread Muffins

I didn't want to be left out of the muffins today so I made a batch of gluten free muffins and a batch of whole wheat ones for the kids. The recipe I got from 100 Days Of Real Food and I just made a minor adjustment.

Ingredients:
3 Cups Whole Wheat flour (for GF I used Bob's Redmill all purpose baking mix)
1 TBL cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 eggs
3/4 cup oil (she used coconut, I used canola)
3/4 cup honey (I ran out so for the WW ones I used half honey and half maple syrup and for the GF ones I used all maple syrup)
1 tsp vanilla
3 Cups grated zucchini
1 Cup chopped nuts (optional...I left these out since my kids aren't huge fans)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees  for small loaf pans or 325 degrees for large loaf pan or muffins.
2. Blend dry ingredients.
3. Make a hole in the center and pour in the eggs, oil, honey and vanilla. Stir just until mixed- do not overmix.
4. Fold in the grated zucchini and chopped nuts if using. Pour batter into greased loaf pan(s) or muffin holders and bake until a toothpick comes clean in the top/center of the loaf or muffin.

*If using smaller pans bake for 30-40 minutes.
*For one larger loaf pan bake for 50-60 minutes.
*For muffins bake for 15-20 minutes.

Clean Eating Challenge

Years ago we learned how dye affects our eldest kiddo and eliminated it from his diet. Since then we have also seen it affect our middle child as well. We are well aware of how food effect our kids behavior so it was only natural that when our oldest started having behavioral issues again we take a look at our diet. In doing some research, I came across a fabulous blog called "100 Days Of Real Food".  Looking at this blog, and knowing what I do about the effects of food, I decided to put our family on a diet of "real food" for 2 weeks to see what would happen. Will A's behavior be better? Will N sleep better? Will Z's cradle cap clear up? Will I lose weight? Ok, that last one wasn't really one of the reasons but it would be awesome anyway!

So what is the challenge? To eat only fresh and natural food. Anything that may come in a package should be in it's natural state (like dried beans or oats) or have fewer than 5 natural ingredients (and no artificial ones).  I made my menu for the week and my shopping list and hit Vitamin Cottage, a local natural store.  I got organic for most things and, surprisingly, my total was WAY less than my usual shopping trip. I'm sure I will have to go to the store for fruit and a couple of other things partway through the week but it is certainly still less than I was spending.

I will try and keep up with our daily menu, with recipes and how things are going.

This morning for breakfast the kids had smoothies (organic milk, organic frozen peaches, banana, a couple of dates for sweetening), honey whole wheat toast from Great Harvest Bread Co. w/ fresh peanut butter made from organic peanuts.  The bread is thinner than usual sandwich bread but it is so much more dense. The boys were fine with just one piece and the peanut butter. They had a little of the smoothie but weren't overly thrilled with this one as much as they have been with others.

Lunch for the boys at school was supposed to be egg salad sandwiches but I ran out of time. Instead it's more finger food; hard boiled eggs (organic), walnuts, Babybell cheese (using up what I had), cucumbers (organic), carrots (organic), hummus, strawberries (organic) and an organic Halawi Date as a sweet treat. Snack at school was sliced apple and after school will be popcorn w/ Bragg's Amino Acids and Olive Oil.

Dinner tonight is crockpot chicken (organic fed...most expensive thing I bought!), veggie pancakes, and brown rice.