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One cannot speak of wellness without consider emotional and spiritual health. After all, we are not just a body – we are a spirit and a soul, too! And the three work together, inseparable. I am so honored that Leigh Ann of Intentional By Grace is sharing with us about spiritual and emotional wellness today. You will definitely enjoy her post!
The beds lay unmade for the fifth day in a row. Laundry piles atop the kitchen table waiting to be folded. Men’s work shirts call from the corner chair begging to be ironed. The work sits by the computer waiting to be finished. The checkbook lies open on the counter with the rent check still in place. It should have been mailed yesterday. A lot of things should have been finished yesterday, and yet today is almost gone.
Sometimes, things are just hard.
Sometimes, everything around me just feels out of place and chaotic.
Sometimes, I just wish I could crawl into a closet, plug my ears, and sing Jesus Loves Me until the cows come home.
Recently, the hard days have far outweighed the easy days. The days filled with tears take first place in my mind while the days filled with laughter feel like a distant memory.
Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. Psalm 30:5b
In my own strength, I am failing. In my own strength, I fail to believe God’s promises, and I fail to rest beneath His wings.
Sure, I am in His eternal rest, Heaven, because of the blood of Christ, but I am not able to experience His earthly, spiritual rest that He has offered me because I’m working out of my own strength.
For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:10
Canaan was the earthly rest that was offered to the people of God in the Old Testament. Unfortunately, an entire generation did not get to experience it because they hardened their hearts, even after going through Egypt, the Red Sea, and Sinai! They rebelled against God. They tested God. They failed to believe Him, and as a result, they perished in the wilderness and were prohibited from entering God’s rest.
What’s sadder than this Old Testament story is how many of us come right up to the edge of entering into freedom and fullness and fruitfulness in Christ, and then our hearts are hardened. We look at giants. We look at our circumstances. We quiver in fear, and we say, “We’re not going forward. We’re not believing God.”
Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. Hebrews 3:12
As a wife and a mom, I have found the days are hard sometimes, and more often than not, I fail to believe that God is capable of providing me with the much needed rest that I long for. But, I must put off unbelief. Instead, I need the shield of faith, faith that holds firm to Jesus Christ all the way to the finish line. I cannot accomplish my goals on my own accord, with my own plans, with my own ideas of success. I must instead say that Jesus Christ is enough. My greatest need has been met, and because of this, God has promised me a present rest, a life of freedom and fullness and fruitfulness in Christ.
The life of rest is a life of faith, faith in Christ and Christ alone. We will not experience rest here in this life – the peace, the abundance, the freedom, the fullness, the fruitfulness –as long as we are striving in our own effort to be who God wants us to be. It has to be Him at work in us for us to experience peace that surpasses all understanding.
So I must ask you. Are you resting in the peace that God has offered you today, or are you striving to accomplish all of your work in your own strength? My friends, Christ longs to carry the burden for you. It’s hard enough being you without carrying that which was never meant for you to carry.
For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God? Psalm 18:30
Leigh Ann’s life goal is to create a home where it is impossible to not think about God. At Intentional By Grace, she blogs about her journey of intentional living in order to make this goal a reality.
She is the wife of three years to the man of her prayers, Mark, and mama to a loveable little boy, Samuel. She takes joy in spending her days creating memorable moments with her husband, conducting kitchen experiments, researching every natural alternative known to man, and making her little boy laugh. She does it all by the grace of God.
Today, Susan is sharing with us two quick and easy recipes chock full of vegetables for the busiest weeknights. Susan is a single mom of two from New Zealand who blogs about her observations on life at mighty acorns.
I have a core list of recipes that are sure fire winners in my house. There’s one adult and two (relatively palate-adventureous) children, and I endeavour to get something green into them every day. My maxim is: prepare and present in 30 minutes or less, aim for 5+ a day (veges/fruit), no leftovers on the plate.
On the particular busy nights, – scouts, dancing, playdates – I often have soup, made with a pumpkin and what ever other veges come to hand. Pureed smooth with my stick mixer – seriously the best gadget in the house – I can usually get the kids to eat at least a couple of mugfuls, soaked up with some home made bread.
But when pumpkins (and time) are not so plentiful, I tend to fall back on my micro-garden. My entire vegetable garden is only about 4 square foot, but along with a number of fruit trees, it keeps us in the fresh ’5+ a day’ way for most of the year. The easier and faster to grow the better, and so I have given over around half of the garden space to herbs. Parsley, mint, basil-mint, chives, dill, rocket, thyme and shallot. These all grow with hardly any effort and care and easily transform something bland into something grand with minimum effort.
Whilst I can see the benefits of adding vege purees to food to top up on vitamins, I have been reluctant to do that too much, as I really want the children to get a taste for individual flavours, and also to appreciate the texture and colour that the ‘whole’ variety offers.
Here are two of my kids’ favourites:
Surprise pie.
This is absolutely a cheaters recipe but the children (and me…) love it.
Make up enough instant mash for however many you are serving. I use milk to make it, and then add a slosh of olive oil:
Heat the milk, then quickly beat in the flakes. When it’s at a smooth and stiff consistency, add:
one grated carrot
a few florets of broccoli finely sliced.
2 – 3 tablespoons of finely chopped herbs (i use parsley and chives most)
half a cup or so of grated cheese.
mix that all through with a spoon.
Put it into a greased pie dish and then stick in the microwave for 3 or 4 minutes – this will reheat the potato, melt the cheese and par-cook the carrot and broccoli.
When it’s piping hot, sprinkle with some more cheese and a bit of olive oil and flash under the grill til the top is browned.
It will firm up and easily then be scooped out. Sometimes for variety I put shredded deli ham on the top and grill that too.
The kids will devour a whole plate of this- it’s quick, easy and contains 3 veges. good for all!
PASTA in SAUCE
in a frying pan, cook one finely chopped onion in a little olive oil. Add a chopped clove of garlic or 1/2 tsp of garlic powder.
Add two tins of chopped tomatoes.
Add at least three tablespoons of chopped herbs (parsley, thyme, chives)
I also add some chopped olives as my kids love them.
Grate in a carrot.
Thicken with tomato paste.
cover and Leave to simmer about 10 minutes whilst you cook short pasta.
While I’m here learning about blogging better at the Fitbloggin Conference, Jessica Pherson of Healthy Mommy, Healthy Baby is filling in for me with a fabulous guest post on Thai-inspired food. A treat for you, since I rarely delve into Asian foods here on my blog (even though I love it; I just can’t cook with soy or sesame which pretty much cuts out most Asian foods); and another treat: her version is vegetarian, something else I don’t do very often (or ever).
One day I was on my way to a Meet-Up in NYC (back when I was single and without child and could do things like that) and I realized I had arrived in the neighborhood of my destination a little early, early enough, in fact, to get a bite to eat. I saw this cute little Thai place on the corner and decided to give it a try. I ordered something I’d never had before because I was feeling particularly bold that day, and it was a dish that I’ll never forget.
It was vegetarian-style Thai red coconut curry and it was so aromatic and warm and full of so many different intense flavors. My taste buds were dancing and it was quite filling, but not overly so. Also, it cost me less than $10!
Luckily, I was able to reproduce it the best I could and now I’m passing the recipe on to you! The cost of the ingredients will run you less than $15, maybe even less than $10 depending on where you live and what’s available.
Thai Red Coconut Curry
Ingredients:
1 14 oz package tofu drained and sliced into triangles* (or chicken, shrimp, or fish)
1 cup chopped broccoli florets
1 cup chopped spinach
1 chopped avocado
1 red bell pepper seeded and sliced into strips
2 carrots peeled and sliced
1 14 oz can coconut milk
2 tbsp red curry paste
1 tbsp olive or canola oil
1 tbsp lime
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp blue agave syrup** or brown sugar (to taste)
2 tbsp chopped cilantro for topping
* How to drain and cut tofu into triangles: Remove the tofu from the packaging and wrap in 2 paper towels, then place on plate with another plate on top of it for at least an hour. The pressure from the plate will slowly drain any excess liquid from the tofu. Once drained, slice the block length-wise 3 times then in half width-wise. Then cut each half diagonally so you get 12 triangles altogether. Feel free to make smaller if desired.
**Blue agave syrup is a little healthier than refined sugar in that it’s plant-derived rather than overly processed sugar cane, but it also costs a little more. You’ll use about 25% less agave than you would sugar though, so it’s up to you if you’re more interested in keeping it extra healthy or extra cheap.
Whisk the red curry paste, lime, turmeric, agave or brown sugar, coconut milk and cornstarch together in a bowl then set aside. Heat the oil in large skillet or wok then add tofu and cook until slightly browned. Add all the vegetables except for the avocado and cook stirring for about 3 minutes. Add the coconut curry sauce and bring it all to a boil, then add the avocado and simmer over medium heat until vegetables are tender. Serve sprinkled with the cilantro over brown rice. Sooo good!
You can also serve with lime wedges for an extra squirt of citrus, or over Asian-style noodles. A light salad with ginger dressing is a great starter with this as well. You can also get creative with the veggies, adding or subtracting things to your liking. Some other good additions are zucchini, bamboo shoots, bok choy and eggplant. You can also make it with meat or fish just the same as you did with the tofu, just add chunks of chicken, shrimp or white fish like tilapia.
I’ve never tried making my own curry paste, although I am sure it makes a HUGE difference taste-wise as making things fresh is always rewarding to your palette. If you are brave enough to try it and have a local Asian market near you that carries items like lemongrass and fish sauce (soy sauce can be substituted and keeps it vegetarian), here’s a link from about.com. Otherwise, just use store-bought like I do, like Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste.
This is one of the few Thai dishes I’ve been able to make as many of the ingredients can be difficult to find. I used to live in an area of Brooklyn where a lot of normally rare Asian foods are more common. Now I’m back in New Jersey, the state I grew up in, and learning to work with what I have available. That’s really what it comes down to when you’re trying to cook quick, easy, cheap and healthy- learning to create delicious meals with what you got.
Jessica Pherson is a first-time mom with a daughter named Lily. She started blogging when she was pregnant and has been doing it ever since. She enjoys cooking healthy and delicious meals, reading a good book, being outdoors and the arts. She works from home for an ethical jewelry company and her favorite food is chocolate.Her blogs are: Healthy Mommy, Healthy Baby, Garden of Jessica
There’s still time to enter the East Coast Eco Bakery giveaway! Win some yummy delicious treats for your own celebration… or just because! And no guilt, because they’re made with healthy ingredients.
Thanks to Kristina of Icing and Crumbs, we don’t have to find out. She is the honored guest at my party because she is bringing the cake! Well, at least the recipe. And what a cake! Chocolate Mud Cake. I’m definitely going to have to try this one because chocolate and I are like *this* (imagine my fingers twisted tight).
Friends, ice cream, cake, chocolate. My birthday is complete!
(Note: Before Kristina gets started, let me just say you really need to check out her blog. She starts each post with a quote from a children’s book, story, song or poem. Having been a kindergarten teacher in a past life, and currently mom to little munchkins, I have a soft spot in my heart for children’s books, especially good quality ones that employ beautiful language and ignite the imagination. Kristina’s blog feeds little tummies… and little minds!)
“I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a freshtry, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewherebehind the morning…”
(Joseph Priestly)
A friend of mine posted some pictures of her birthday recently… a day spent outsidehiking on Black Mountain… the skies clear, the air crisp, surrounded by family andfriends… and a beautiful birthday cake. To me, this looked like the perfect birthday –recognising a special day by connecting with nature and feeling part of it’s freshness– a new start for another year.
It often amazes me how much energy my young daughter puts into planning her nextbirthday… for the last ten months she has been discussing her party – who is coming,what games they’ll play, how many candles she’ll have, and which cake she’d like.We have been playing “birthday parties” and making mud cakes in the yard; we havebeen singing Happy Birthday and creating pretend invitations… For kids, birthdayscreate extra excitement – a special day full of friends and presents… but I think as weget older, we realise that the real present is the gift of a new day – a fresh start… achance to grow from there.
But no matter how old we are, or how we choose to celebrate our birthday, there isalways cake… The recipe below is great to make with kids – they can help measurethe ingredients, sift the flour, and mix everything together… they will also offer to lickthe bowl!
(This recipe has been adapted from one found in a book several years ago.)
Chocolate Mud Cake
You need:
375g (13 1/2 ounces) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups of brown sugar
3 eggs
2 cups of plain flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
2/3 cup of cocoa powder, sifted
200g (7 ounces) of dark chocolate, melted
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 cup of sour cream
You do:
Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius (320 degrees F). Grease and line the baseof a 22cm round springform tin. Cream the butter and sugar until the mixture is lightand fluffy. Add the eggs and beat well. Mix in the chocolate. Gently fold in the flour,baking powder and cocoa powder. Stir in the milk and sour cream. Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 1 hour or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Leave thecake to cool in the tin.
This cake is lovely on its own, or it can be iced with a dark chocolate ganache, andthen served with cream or ice-cream.
And while the cake is baking, there is time for a story… A Birthday Cake forLittle Bear, by Max Velthuijs, is a humourous tale about a group of friendsworking together (sort of) to make a cake for Little Bear’s birthday… or Moira’sBirthday, by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Michael Martchenko, about a young girl whose birthday party plans go a little bit too far…
Kristina blogs about sharing her love of cooking and reading with her children at Icing and Crumbs.
Today, you are in for a treat. You get to hear from someone else for a change.
I thought you would like that.
Today’s guest post-er is Lydia, “a recent college graduate who is interested in healthy living; getting enough exercise, eating right and enjoying my favorite baked goods in moderation.” Sound familiar? I think she and I are on the same page, and I think you will enjoy her tips and her perspective.
Read on…
I recently moved out to California, and besides wanting milder weather (I left Minnesota) and being closer to my friends, one of my main reasons for coming here was the avocados. All the fresh produce, but mostly the avocados. I pictured myself eating delicious meals of all local and organic foods. However, I have found it hard to make this vision a reality.
I am trying to balance my desire to eat nutritious, high-quality foods… and still pay the rent. I recently read an article about supermarket secrets that claimed you could survive on $3.52 a day by eating a “junk food diet” while a “healthy diet” costs $36.32. This is a terrifying assessment for someone on a budget, as well as the implications for socio-economic health disparities. However, this article does not name the source of this statistic or what qualifies as “healthy” so I’m hoping they are wrong (there must be a way!). Another article about how eating healthy ranked food using the Alternative Healthy Eating Index found that a healthy diet could cost as little as $4.62 a day. Now that sounds more reasonable!
So how do I do it? How do I balance my desire for wholesome, less environmentally impactful food with my small budget?
The first solution I have found is buying bulk. Buying grains and beans in bulk is a great way to stock up (so you don’t need to go to the grocery store as often) and it usually costs less than buying packaged bags or cans. Working with dried beans just takes a little more planning than their canned counterparts. For most beans you just have to soak them overnight, and then let them simmer in water for a few hours.
At first it can be overwhelming to buy all the basics. As I was stocking my new kitchen I was wary of all the pounds and money I was spending on rice, pasta, oats, beans and lentils. But I haven’t had to restock in months! Most nights I just pick out the veggies that sound most appealing and know that I can pair it with a variety of bases without more planning. This simplicity keeps me from cutting corners like buying packaged meals (less healthy) or going out (costly and less healthy).
The biggest struggle for me is finding fresh produce, hopefully with a small carbon footprint, that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. My best solution for this is buying my vegetables at a farmers’ market. These weekly markets are becoming more popular and easy to find. Also there are a lot of markets where you can use food stamps. You use your EBT card to get tokens that are good at all the stalls. To find out about farmers markets near you that accept food stamps find your state’s listing on the USDA website.
I tend to go to the farmers’ market on Sundays and pick out whatever looks most appealing. This past weekend I found the largest beets I have ever seen! Each beet root was the size of my foot, but still buying two bunches cost me only $4. They took a LONG time to cook, but they were delicious. Beets are one my favorite veggies.
If I am willing to lower my desire to buy local vegetables, or know their source reliably, I have found that produce at ethnic grocery stores tend to be cheaper than the larger, chain stores. I once found my beloved avocados at a Mexican grocery store at 4 for a $1! I was in guacamole heaven.
One of the cheapest, most comforting meals I like to make is a lentil-rice dish that my friend Rose introduced to me. For years I would call her every time I wanted to make it, because the recipe I remembered seemed too simple. All it takes is two onions, a cup of lentils, a cup of rice, water, salt and pepper. It is surprisingly flavorful and even more delicious the next day. Usually I have all the ingredients for Rose’s lentils, as I like to call them, so I can make it last minute and I would estimate that it costs $2 to make four hearty servings (potentially four meals).
I am still trying to figure out the best practices to eat well and save money. As I get more acclimated to the city I am hope that will I find the best places to shop for my ideal produce. For now I will continue to struggle between keeping my budget and meeting my desire to eat environmentally responsible, healthy food.
For Rose’s Lentils
1 cup green or brown lentils, rinsed and picked through
1 cup rice (you can use any variety you might just have to adjust water)
2 onions diced
Olive oil
S+P
Sautee the onions with olive oil in a large sauce pan. Set onions aside and sauté the lentils briefly in olive oil (3-5 minutes) then add water. Bring the lentils and water to a boil then lower to a simmer for 15 minutes. Add rice and onions, keep simmering for 30-40 minutes, add salt and pepper to taste (this is where you might need to add more water depending on the rice, it should become a porridge consistency).
Thanks, Lydia! I am going to have to try this recipe with my Certain Little Someone. He wasn’t too fond of the last lentil dish I foisted upon him, but he likes rice, so maybe I can fool him. ::wink wink::
I hope all of you mommy readers had a fabulous Mother’s Day. I know I did, thanks to my sweet DH, who made it a very special day for me. When I woke up, I was greeted by my Certain Little Someone with “Happy Birthday to you!”. Upon explaining that it was mother’s day and not my birthday, he cheerfully amended it to, “Happy Mother’s Day!”. Of course, that was also at the prompting of my DH, so I owe him that, too:).
And you are in for a treat! You get to read all about our delicious Mother’s Day Dinner, made very lovingly for me, my sister-in-law, and my mother-in-law, by my DH, his brother, and his father. The trio of men did a great job fixing a wonderful dinner for us, and we weren’t allowed to step foot in the kitchen to help. It was wonderfully relaxing. And what’s even better, my DH has agreed to write about it for us!
Enjoy…
This Mother’s Day the men decided to try and cook their DW’s lunch (or dinner depending where you are from). For some crazy reason, I told my DW (I usually think of Darkwing Duck when I hear DW but that has nothing to do with this post) I would do the Mother’s Day post. Please do not quit reading this blog because of my lack of blogging or cooking skills. Have no fear Anne shall return.
The menu for today had one theme. Simple, Quick and Easy. I also did try to do the meal for as Cheap as possible. I guess three out of four is not too bad. Healthy was not in my vocabulary before I got married (I am working on this).
As the main course we had Spaghetti with Tomato or White Sauce. (Quick)
White Sauce was Philadephia Cooking Creme with some chicken stock in a sauce pan. I then put in some Basil and Italian Seasoning. I also put some salt and pepper to taste. (Easy) Squash and Zuchini Sliced up and roasted. I got the recipe from The Gracious Pantry. (my attempt at Healthy) Steamed Carrots. (Easy) Garlic Bread that I bought for .69 cents. (Cheap) Salad from mixed greens that I put fresh tomatos and cucumbers in. (Another attempt at Healthy)
For dessert I made cupcakes that were not Healthy but I think they tasted good.
This may not have been a gourmet meal but we did our best and I think the mothers were happy to not have to cook. I guess I kind of did hit four out of four if you are counting loosely. (Quick, Easy, Cheap and sort of Healthy)
I want to thank my DW for being such a wonderful mother to our two very active boys. I cannot thank her enough for taking the time to cook healthy meals for her family even though all her boys (this includes her DH) have different food issues. She is also willing to limit her diet for her new son. I Love my DW very much.
I will end with part of Proverbs 31:10-30 which describes my DW perfectly.
Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
Love DH
Awww, isn’t he sweet? I think he’s a keeper!
PS. We totally planned to include pictures, but alas and alack, we both forgot to bring the camera. Oh well. Next time!
Today Amy from A Little Nosh, is sharing her Cinco de Mayo menu with us! But before we get started with that, just a reminder that we have ONE package of GreenLine Green Beans left to give away. All you have to do is leave a comment on my Facebook page!
I live outside of Washington, D.C., a veritable melting pot of cultures. My son goes to a preschool with kids from many different nationalities, backgrounds, religions, and skin colors. I love to see him experiencing the diversity that I didn’t have growing up. I love that my son is exposed to a beautiful cross-section of people. To me, an important part of parenting him includes exposing him to different cultural celebrations.
Cinco de Mayo is a perfect opportunity to discuss Mexican culture, and what better way to start the lesson then with a delicious meal? But first, I needed to find out what exactly Cinco de Mayo is.
Did you know that, contrary to popular belief, it’s NOT the Mexican day of independence? Nor is it a holiday created by the good folks at Corona. It’s actually a celebration of the victory of the Mexicans over the French in 1862. Who knew??
Anyway, we like to keep things pretty simple here at A Little Nosh. Some bean dip and quesadillas are a perfect backdrop for discussing and celebrating this important day in Mexican history.
Bean Dip
Half of a 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper
1. Put black beans in a Magic Bullet or food processor and process, adding water as needed, until desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Does it get any easier? Also, I ran out of tortilla chips so I just made my own by cutting tortillas into triangles, spraying with cooking spray, dusting with salt, and baking at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. This works best with corn tortillas.
Chicken Quesadillas
1 Tbsp taco seasoning
1 Tbsp water
1 boneless skinless chicken breast, but into small thin strips
1 cup (or less) Mexican blend cheese
A mixture of red peppers, green peppers, and onions, cut into small thin strips
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp vegetable oil
Medium sized flour tortillas
1. Combine taco seasoning and water, and toss with chicken to coat.
2. While chicken is marinating, heat 1 Tbsp oil in a saute pan and add veggies, cooking until peppers and onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
3. Using a grill or a grill pan, cook chicken 2 minutes on each side, or until cooked all the way through.
4. Heat 1 tsp oil in a nonstick skillet. Place a tortilla in pan, and sprinkle with about 1/4 cup cheese. Add some chicken and veggies and top with more cheese. Place another tortilla on top. Place a lid on the pan and heat quesadillas for about 5 minutes, flipping halfway through, or until tortillas are golden and cheese is melted.
5. Top with salsa, sour cream, more cheese, whatever floats your boat. I like to use a pizza cutter to cut the quesadilla into quarters.
This recipe is meant mainly as a guide, as quesadillas can be personalized in a zillion different ways. Instead of taco seasoning, marinate your chicken in salsa. Instead of peppers and onions, substitute broccoli. Add more cheese, less cheese, more filling, less filling. Experiment and see what you like. You can’t do this wrong.
Enjoy and have a great Cinco de Mayo. And a special thanks to Quick Easy Cheap and Healthy for allowing me to quest post. Happy birthday!
Amy is a mom to a three-year-old who keeps her smiling every day, wife to a handsome, funny, smart husband, and a full-time title insurance underwriter (exciting, huh?). She lives in the Washington, DC suburbs in a tiny condo, with an equally tiny kitchen. She doesn’t have time (or space) for fancy schmancy recipes, so most of what you’ll see on A Little Nosh are very simple and user-friendly recipes.
I’m so excited to share with you today a guest post from Megan of Food and Whine, with her tips for feeding picky children. I love her ideas and am definitely going to start instituting the one-bite rule with my Certain Little Someone who has begun to assert his independence in the area of food! The muffin tin is another fabulous idea I will have to try. And when you’re done reading her tips here, go check out my guest post, Making the Most of It (how to use every last bit of your citrus fruit) at her blog today!
As you can probably guess from the title of my blog (Food and Whine), I’ve dealt with my fair share of whining from my children over the food I serve. Fortunately, I’ve discovered some helpful tips along the way for encouraging children to eat healthy foods.
Dips
One thing I’ve learned is that my kids will eat just about anything if there’s dip involved. Hummus is a great healthy choice, because chickpeas are an excellent source of protein and fibre. Try serving it with whole grain pitas and veggies. Another dip I like to make for vegetables is a simple combination of light sour cream, light mayonnaise, and a shake or two of Mrs. Dash seasoning. For dipping fruit, I like to use yogurt. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy; any kind of flavoured yogurt will do the trick for a quick snack when served with fruit. My older son has even dipped vegetables in his yogurt, which I think is a little strange, but if it gets him to eat vegetables then I’m all for it!
Sips
Never underestimate the power of smoothies. They’re fun for kids to drink, and you can hide all sorts of healthy things in them so that they become pretty much a meal in themselves. Typically I make them with yogurt, some variety of fruit, milk, flax seed, protein powder, and spinach. Yes, I said spinach. You really can’t taste it or even see it if you’re using a brightly coloured fruit. Serve it with a funny straw, in a sippy-cup, or even in a shooter glass.
Involve your Kids
Kids like to have control over what they eat. When we place dinner in front of them without giving them a say about it, it’s no wonder they often reject it. There are plenty of opportunities to involve your children in every aspect of meal-time from menu planning, to food preparation, to serving the meal.
I started asking my older son to help me select meals when preparing our weekly menu plan. I set out cookbooks with photos and he flips through them and picks out what looks appealing to him. I still choose some of the meals of course- otherwise we’d probably eat pancakes or pasta every night- but I make sure to include some of his choices as well.
When I’m preparing food, I like to get my kids to help when they can. Pizza is probably our favourite thing to make together. My boys love rolling out the dough, spreading on the sauce, and adding on all the toppings (while sneaking a bite now and then!). Sure, the pizza might not look perfect, but the kids will most often eat it because they helped make it.
When it’s time to serve a meal, sometimes it helps to allow your children to pick what goes on their plate. Obviously this won’t always be practical, since they may decide to fill their entire plate with one thing instead of selecting a balanced meal, but in some cases it can work well. For instance, at lunch-time I often take a muffin tin and fill each cup with different things, like baby carrots, grapes, crackers, cheese, etc. I put the muffin tin in the middle of the table and let them choose what they want. If you offer a variety of healthy choices, then hopefully they’ll find at least some nutritious foods that they like to eat.
Appearance
When it comes to kids’ food, appearance is everything. It can be the tastiest food imaginable but if it doesn’t look appealing to your child, then it doesn’t stand a chance. In attempts to get my kids to at least try the food I make for them, I’ll often resort to decorating it or arranging it in some fun way. You could make a funny face with vegetables on top of a tuna melt, or use cookie cutters to cut food into fun shapes, or make pancakes in the shape of letters to spell your child’s name. Get creative!
One-Bite Rule
I’ve tried many (oh so many) tactics for getting my kids to eat their dinner, but the one that works best for us is the ‘one-bite rule.’ Basically this means that everyone must try a least one bite of every kind of food on their plate. If they like it, then I encourage them to eat more of that food. If they don’t like it, then I don’t force them to eat any more of it. I do, however, like them to sit at the table while the rest of the family finishes eating and join in the conversation. If they refuse to try at least a bite of food, then I don’t force it, but I don’t offer them anything else either. I just put their food in the fridge and if they ask for something to eat later I’ll offer to reheat their dinner for them. I’ve found it best not to make dinner a power-struggle, because kids can be stubborn and will dig their heels in if you try to force something on them.
Even with all of these tips you will find that sometimes your kids just won’t eat, and that’s okay. Children often go through phases where they won’t eat much at all for days, weeks, or even months at a time. The best thing you can do is not to stress about it. All you can do is keep offering healthy foods again and again. They’ve got to eat eventually, right?
Megan writes Food and Whine, a blog that shares her adventures making healthy and tasty food to please her whole family. Megan lives in the suburbs of Vancouver Canada with her husband and two young sons.
I hope all of you out there in blogland are doing well! I am doing well myself but my family is another story. My Certain Little Someone ended up in the hospital for dehydration due to a terrible stomach virus… which he picked up at the hospital a few days earlier because he was having trouble breathing due to a respiratory virus. Baby Boy has a lingering cough from the same respiratory virus, and now my DH is in bed with the stomach virus. Me? So far so good.
But that’s why I’ve been silent the past few days, in case you were wondering.
I hope to be back in the swing of things tomorrow, but in the meantime check out my post on hosting Make-Ahead Parties for those with food allergies and sensitivities at Eastside Make-Ahead Mamas!
If you’re visiting from Money Saving Mom, thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoyed my guest post there! Please browse around, and if you like what you see, you can find links on the sidebar to the right for subscribing or following via Google, Facebook, or Twitter. I hope you stop by again soon!
Guest posting is in the air today! You can find my guest post at Money Saving Mom about frugally feeding your family even when encumbered by dietary concerns and restrictions here.
Meanwhile, here at home, I am hosting Sara of Thriving Mama! She blogs about living frugally and contentedly and I love how her recipes are wholesome and healthy. Be sure to check out her blog, where she has a companion post to the one below.
Roasting Pumpkin Seeds
Roasted pumpkin seeds have been a hit or miss fall snack. Often they end up a little more chewy and a little less crunchy. This year, I ended up with great, crunchy roasted pumpkin seeds and only wish I had more seeds to roast. There are a couple extra steps but they are, easy andSOworth it for a great cheap snack! Here goes.
While the artists are carving up their pumpkins, separate out about three cups of seeds. Or save the seeds from any winter squash you are chopping up for your meals. I’ve done this with butternut seeds and they had a slightly different flavor, but were fantastic! Separate the seeds from the pumpkin guts and rinse them.
Next, Boil a salt water solution of 1 tablespoon of salt per 2 cups of water. Add the pumpkin seeds and allow to boil for 20 minutes. Drain in a strainer and rinse one more time.
Lay the seeds out on a cookie sheet and let them dry overnight. It’s ok if they’re still damp in the morning. Mine didn’t dry completely.
Mix your marinade: Combine 1 Tablespoon of honey, 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil, ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg, ½ teaspoon Ground Cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon of ground Cloves thoroughly. If you like stronger spices, feel free to add more.
Toss your pumpkin seeds in your marinade. Spray your cookie sheet with non-stick spray and spread your seeds back out on the tray.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30-60 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes. Once seeds seem “dry” and golden brown, remove a couple from the oven and let them cool. If they are crunchy, they are done. Let the batch cool and enjoy! Store in an airtight container, if they last that long!
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Thanks, Sara! I wasn’t going to roast any pumpkin seeds this year, because, believe it or not, I still have some leftover from last year, but I definitely have to try this recipe. I have 2 little pumpkins sitting on my counter waiting to be cooked and pureed… and now seeded!
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QECH
* QUICK - because who has time for anything more?
* EASY - because I'm no gourmet.
* CHEAP - because who has money for anything more?
* HEALTHY - because you are what you eat.
Leigh Ann’s life goal is to create a home where it is impossible to not think about God. At Intentional By Grace, she blogs about her journey of intentional living in order to make this goal a reality.
