simple summer vegetables

I love simplicity.  It usually provides the most pleasing results. Last night I was whipping up a pretty easy dinner - grilled chicken and flat bread, and decided I wanted vegetables instead of salad (we've been eating that a lot lately). This is a great recipe for you gardeners with an abundance of squash! Eat it as is, toss it with some pasta and parm, load up a baguette and broil it with some havarti or provolone - these roasted vegetables are so delicious and so easy, you're gonna love them as much as I do.  

All you need:

3 medium zucchini, thickly sliced

8 oz crimini mushrooms, sliced in half

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Toss everything together in a pie plate.  Bake at 450 degrees F for 20 minutes.  Toss gently, and return to the oven for about 10-15 minutes.  

Make it even simpler and do it in your toaster oven, like me. 

**For older babies, you can just do zucchini, blend it in the food processor, and mix it up with avocado and even a little wheat germ for a super nutritious meal!

a new treat for the boy

If there is one thing that I could get him to eat everyday, it's yogurt.  Up until now, it's been Yo Baby, which he absolutely loves and I feel pretty good about.  It's organic, so that's a plus.  The drawbacks, two years into his yogurt eating, is that it's pretty pricey and has 13 grams of sugar per serving. 

So this week I tried something new.  I bought my favorite yogurt, Nancy's Honey Yogurt.  It's made with whole milk and has less than half of the sugar of other yogurts.  It is not at all sweet, so for my little one, it needs a little doctoring.

I add less than a teaspoon of blue agave syrup (use honey if you'd rather), and 3-4 large strawberries, chopped finely, to about 1/2 cup of yogurt.  You can use any fruit your kiddo prefers.  If they like yogurt, they are going to gobble it up, and it is sweet enough without being overly so, and has half the sugar of any yogurt you'll find on the shelf.

Want to make it a meal or an extra special treat?  Add some plain cheerios (I used the generic Trader Joe's brand).  That is a favorite breakfast around here.

Got any other mix in ideas - let me know!

my new (old) love... and an explanation

I know I have been MIA for awhile... and I can finally explain.  I have made three fully homemade meals in the last 7 weeks.  Isn't that pathetic?  Thank you, Lord, for the creative genius behind Trader Joe's and their frozen food section.  Otherwise, I would be ridden with guilt.

I am 11 weeks pregnant.  And the thought of cooking has been, well... bleh. Thankfully, things are looking up.  The heartburn has yet to die down, but the nausea is dwindling.  Again, thanks Lord.

So, enter my new (old) love.  I am not a regular partaker of protein bars. But in my baby's interest, I picked up a few this week so that I am eating something besides fruit and noodles.  And cereal.  Tonight I opened up a Carmel Nut Brownie Luna bar.  Oh heaven.  Crispy, chocolatey goodness.  With protein, folic acid, the whole nine yards.  Everything good for the little one.  And man, they are tasty.

healthy hobbies

Spring is here. Finally. We have had consistent sunshine for three whole days here in the northwest - is that a record for April? And for those three days, I have been to the nursery, prepping my garden, and getting my containers ready.

I have never ever been into gardening. I definitely wouldn't say I have a green thumb. But last year I decided to try my hand at a few flowers, some herbs and a tomato plant. I was pretty successful.  I give some of the credit to a book I picked up, You Grow Girl, which is also an extensive gardening blog. Totally inspirational!

This year I am stepping it up a notch: strawberries, beets, zucchini and carrots. We'll see what happens!  I'll try to keep you updated - maybe I'll even incorporate some of my goods into some recipes.

Being healthy extends beyond diet and exercise. How do you unwind? Express creativity?Get involved in the world around you? Are you a knitter? A seamstress? A cook or a baker? Do you teach classes, volunteer, try to learn something new on a regular basis? I want to hear from you and what keeps you going.

And if you want a little more gardening inspiration, you can also check out the Pioneer Woman... she is good at giving you the lowdown on the basics. Growing stuff is easy - and it's so fun to watch it happen!

helpful articles

Wondering what to eat when you're out an about?  I read these articles online today and found them pretty helpful:

America's 10 Best Fast Food Restaurants

The 15 Worst

Foods for a Flat Belly

healthy snacks - preschool edition

I don't know about your kids, but mine has made up his mind about what he likes, and what he doesn't.  He doesn't even need to taste something to know his aversions.  While we encourage him to try new things, it's hard to talk to a two year old logically about the benefits of eating carrots. This can make mealtime frustrating.  Anyone else been there?

I used to stand in front of the fridge and think, "What in the world should I feed him?"  I decided to sit down and make a list of the things I know he likes (it actually was a lot longer than I thought it'd be).  That made mealtime a lot simpler.

But I also needed to get creative.  So I wanted to share some snack ideas that have gone over well, and they are sneakily healthy.  

Smoothies.  He would drink one everyday and they come together in less than 5 minutes.  I start with about 3/4 cup of milk, 1/2 cup of fruit (usually 1/2 of a banana and some frozen berries), one teaspoon of nut butter, a teaspoon of wheat germ and some kind of vegetable.  This week it was 3-4 florets of raw cauliflower.  Sometimes it's a few tablespoons of frozen spinach.  The trick letting it blend for 3-4 minutes so that it is smooth and velvety and no veggies are detected.  

Avocado and cottage cheese.  Protein, vitamins, and calcium.  This is a power pack.  Add a teaspoon of wheat germ for an extra boost.  He won't even try cottage cheese on it's own, but if I mash it up with 1/2 an avocado, it's gone in a flash.  

Monkey Sandwich.  This one is pretty obvious, but the name is what appeals the most to my kiddo.  Whole wheat bread (crusts removed, if need be), organic peanut butter + thinly sliced banana.  Protein, potassium, fiber - and it's a naturally sweet treat!

I have more to share, but first - what works for your kids?  Are they picky or will they eat whatever you put in front of them?  What tricks do you have up your sleeve?

my favorite... couscous

I love this dish.  I found it on allrecipes.com and adjusted it to our taste. I've made it several times over the last year or so - it is so refreshing and light and good for you... I think you're gonna like it.  This time I stuffed roasted red peppers with it, just for a little flair.  Pretty darn good.

1 cup of uncooked couscous (I used whole wheat and you can't tell the difference)

1 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth

3 T olive oil

2 T fresh lemon juice

1 t red wine vinegar

1/2 t ground cumin

4-5 sliced green onions

2 medium tomatoes, diced

1/4 cup chopped cilantro or fresh parsley 

1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 green bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup reduced fat crumbled feta (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

Pour hot chicken broth over couscous and stir well.  Cover and let stand for five minutes.

Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar and cumin.

Add onions, tomatoes, parsley, black beans and bell pepper to the dressing.

Combine couscous, vegetables, and feta.  Stir well.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

If you are stuffing peppers, slice in half and fill with couscous.  Serve chilled or at room temperature.

This tastes even better the next day - it's sorta hard for me not to eat the whole batch.

a meatloaf makeover

My newest obsession is library cookbooks.  I could spend hours looking through them for ideas.  I don't, because I have a two year old and my time of pouring over books leisurely is limited to nap time.  And because our trips to the library usually consist of me running after him as he explores the ins and outs of every row of books.  But I digress.

Awhile back I checked out a copy of one of the Cooking Light cookbooks and found a lot of recipes I wanted to try.  The only one I actually did was the Barbecue Meatloaf.  I have never been a huge fan of meatloaf (I mean, just the name is enough to scare you off...), but this was really good.

As usual, I changed it up, mostly by adding a few nutritious extras to make it even more worth eating.  This is a really good dish - my husband absolutely loves it (he asked me today if it was okay to eat for breakfast).  So here it is, folks.  Enjoy!

1.5 lbs extra lean ground beef (ground turkey is great, too)

1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I quickly put one large slice of multigrain bread in the food processor)

2 T wheat germ (optional)

1/2 large onion, roughly chopped

1/2 cup shredded carrot

1 garlic clove

1/2 cup barbecue sauce, divided (watch labels for high fructose corn syrup)

1 T prepared mustard

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 large egg white + 1 whole egg

cooking spray

Put onion, garlic and carrot in the food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Or mince by hand if you don't have one.

Combine meat, crumbs, wheat germ, onion mixture, mustard, salt, pepper, eggs and 2-3 tablespoons of the barbecue sauce.

Line an 8x8 pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.  Shape mixture into a loaf.

Pour remaining sauce on top and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until a meat thermometer registers at 160 degrees in the middle.

Let stand about 10-15 minutes.  Slice into 10-12 slices and serve!

(makes great leftover sandwiches... or breakfast)

Enjoy!

blogging with a purpose

Thank you, 5th Sister!  I am honored that you gave me this award!

And now I shall pass it on to some of my favorite blogs.

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great attitude and/or gratitude.
3. Be sure to link your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know they have received the award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received this award.

Our Daily Blessing...Life

Yesterday's Tomorrow

Domestic Fashionista

Restyled Home

Pam-Fried Family Life

The Ordinary Housewife

Mamma Talk

INfertile Myrtle

5th Sister

Muddy Runner

Check these blogs out - they all offer something different... and they will all bless your day in some way.

a really satisfying sandwich

This delicious baguette was inspired by one of the many consumed on our trip to Paris.  Today is Ash Wednesday, which for us is a day of partial fasting and abstaining from meat (apart from the spiritual significance, of course).  This sandwich was the perfect end to my day - so simple, and so delicious.   You don't want to miss out on this one.

Here's what you need.

1 fresh baguette

3 hard boiled eggs

1 medium tomato

12-15 thin slices of cucumber

3 green leaf lettuce leaves

3 oz sliced provolone

3 tablespoons hummus 

salt and pepper to taste

Slice the baguette lengthwise.  You can hollow it out a bit to make room for the fillings, if you want.

Spread both sides with hummus (you can also use mayo - that's what we had in France. Hummus gave it great flavor, though - and it is much better for you).

Layer cheese, cucumber, and tomato.

Thinly slice eggs with a sharp knife.  Layer on top of the tomatoes.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and top with the other half of your baguette.

Slice into quarters and enjoy!

Mmmmm.