You CAN do healthy for kids

Something I have learned in the almost 4 years I've been parenting: Cooking for 3 1/2 year olds is hard. Cooking for 21 month olds is even harder. Does anyone else have a hard time cooking for their little ones?

Nope? Just me then? ;)

I think it is hard. Unless you are a chicken nuggets and french fries kind of person...which I am not. Finding cookbooks that carry recipes that kids will eat is even harder. My kids are just plain picky. They won't eat veggies, and sometimes they skip dinner altogether. I will admit, for lunch, I usually feed them pb&j because I know they'll eat it and it's not all together unhealthy (I make my own jam and we eat peanut butter just about every day around here in some form or fashion). But they don't graze all day, they are not offered anything other than what I have cooked for dinner, and I always offer veggies, even though they rarely ever eat them. Feeding my family healthier food options does take a little more time, energy and money. And my kids don't always cooperate. One day they'll like something and then the next, they won't. But it's worth it. Once in awhile we'll have a box of mac n cheese, or processed hotdogs and I don't feel guilty about that. But I have honestly enjoyed cooking healthier for my family. It's been a great journey, and what I've realized most is that it CAN be done. You can feed your family healthier and actually enjoy it. My hope is that you will realize this too, sometimes you just have to be creative and think outside the box. 

If you are like me and constantly have to tell yourself things like: they will eat if/when they're hungry; its not the end of the world if they never ever eat greens (or if you have to be sneaky about getting their greens in their diet somehow); milk is good for them, even if its all they ever eat or drink; then you are not alone. And listen up, because I came across this super awesome cookbook that has yummies that adults will eat, as well as kiddos.

Cooking Light The Ultimate Kid-Approved Cookbook

I actually found this from the library for free, but you could buy it if that blows your skirt up. It's worth it. (Let me say that I received no compensation for plugging this cookbook. Cooking Light has no idea who I am and probably wouldn't care if they did. I know you all were wondering... :)) Not only does it have mostly kid-friendly recipes that are actually healthy, it has jobs that younger chefs can do as well as older chefs, if you like having your kiddos help you in the kitchen. 

A huge perk to this cookbook is that there's more than just recipes in it. There's a whole section on the different food groups, what are the best choices of foods in that food group, what are ok choices and what to limit the amount given to your kids. There's a meal plan, which is good to have as a goal, but I'm not going to stress myself out if my kids don't get the set amount every day. And this was one of my favorite things, they have a whole section on physical activity, how important it is, how much is needed for different ages, and examples of great activities that will help them get their energy/exercise out! Activity isn't just about using up all that energy these kiddos have. I always thought it was. It's also about living a healthier lifestyle, and to be healthy, you have to incorporate exercise somehow. 

Also things I love about this book: There's a page on how to get your kids involved in living a healthier lifestyle, with things like, exploring new foods, take them shopping with you, plan meals together, start a garden, be active together, consider a screen time limit, and more.

The practical things I will take away from using the cookbook:

• Make more smoothies. My kids will eat anything if its in liquid form, and they loooove smoothies. 
• Eat more popcorn as a snack. Popcorn is actually somewhat healthy. I should probably pop my own instead of getting the bags. I may do that in the near future.
• Cook with beans more. Ross doesn't like beans, but my kiddos do. They're chocked full of protein, and dry beans have WAY less sodium.
• Consider letting Jude help me in the kitchen. I will admit, it is way harder to cook with him in there with me, so most of the time, I send him out. Sometimes I need to get over it and let him help. They actually learn a lot, and its a fun way to learn!

Can you tell I love this cookbook? I love just about anything that is helpful, that I can actually implement, and will make my life somewhat easier. This does all of those! 

Too much info!

I was at the library last week with my boys, looking for cookbooks. First, I want to say that this is frustrating. There are 40billion cookbooks out there, but most of them have things like vegetable curry, or pan seared chicken shallot something-or-other. The dishes have so many ingredients and half of them I wouldn't even know where to look for them in the store. Not to mention my kids would never eat that mess. However, I did find a cookbook that I love and will share with you tomorrow!

Anyway, off of that soap box and onto the next. 

While I was looking for cookbooks, I came across this book:

I thought it looked right up my alley, since I've been looking for ways to live more chemical/crap-free. I was pumped to start it...and by page 5, I was thoroughly freaked. I think I'm beginning to understand the term that you can know too much. 

I'm not an "ignorance is bliss" type person, but I definitely don't want to know everything there is to know about what all can harm you...especially when there's nothing I can do about some of it. 

In this book, she talks about how our furniture has chemicals in it, our mattresses, our clothing, our floors, in just about everything. Don't forget that we shouldn't use candles because of the toxic fumes they put off. Cook with non teflon pots/pans, and never, ever microwave any of your food in a plastic container, unless you want a heavy dose of BPA in your food. And this isn't even the half of it.

Whew. That exhausted me just writing about it. I was left thinking, this is just crazy! Who has that kind of money/time/energy to do ALL of this? Am I going to get cancer tomorrow because I burn candles in my house? I understand the need to be more aware and more wise with our choices, but there is a point where it can be taken too far...in my opinion. And she cusses a lot in the book. I don't have anything against a cuss word or two, but when bad language is used frequently (even the word GD was used), I find it very distracting, and really just pointless. I'm not trying to judge, but personally speaking, its a turn-off. 

I will say that there was a lot of helpful information in this book. I did not realize that our kitchen sponges carry more bacteria in them than our toilets. There are lots of helpful tips on how to have your own vegetable garden, and kill pests the natural way. There is a whole write-up on how to compost (which I may try some day). And I was reminded of things I had forgotten about, like how important it is to clean your makeup brushes.

Overall, I don't recommend this book, unless you want to be totally freaked out and grossed out. Or you are just a glutton for punishment. We do need to be more wise with how we live...we do not, however, need to go crazy with it. 

I want to leave you with the sweetest image ever. I love watching these boys love on each other!

And congratulations to my sweet sister and brother-in-law on the birth of their second baby today. Welcome to the world, Lainey Adele! I am so excited for them and can't wait to meet her...hopefully in a few weeks! 

Informal playtime

I have lost my homeschooling mojo. I haven't devoted the time to it that I would like. I need to do that this week; just get some crafts and lessons together. Even though we haven't done anything "formal" (and I'm really not stressing myself out over this), we did do some reading and playing today. 

These books are awesome:

There are others also. We have the animals one that we are going to read tomorrow. Jude and I went through this one today and he loved it. He loves being able to find each picture and I am sure it works on cognitive skills somehow. I know it helps them pay attention to detail, which Jude is not very good at. He did well, though, finding the different pictures. We also read a couple of other story books too, and he liked those as well. 

We played hide and seek, which they loved, and was Jude's idea. And we wrestled, of course. Can't have playtime without wrestling! 

This book was really cute:

There was some rhyming in it, which my kiddos always like. I personally loved the story and the ending. I always love children's books where it seems as though things are a certain way and then it turns out they are not. It makes me think of how we perceive things, and how that perception is usually wrong. Living in reality is always best!

Today is a bread making and laundry day, so that's what I've been doing besides tending to the kiddos. Its been a busy day, but a good one...for a Monday!  

DtD Challenge #4 - Spending habits!

Isn't this centerpiece idea gorgeous? I love fall colors and I love this centerpiece. BHG has some great ideas...(I just wanted something pretty in this post)

Wow, this weekend has been busy. I was retreating with some awesome ladies from my church, and I was one of the speakers on top of that, so I was extra busy. Not to brag that I am awesome because I was busy, but those things made it hard to write this weekend...and my boys were having mama withdrawals, so they got most of my attention. So did the hubs, don't want to leave him out.

On with the post...

This week was kinda hard, I'm not gonna lie. I knew it was going to be hard though. I love to spend money, mostly on small things because we don't have a lot of extra money to spend on random stuff these days. And I did cheat......a little. Hey, I never said I was perfect. :) 

So, I was able to refrain from buying a bunch of random crap (what I usually do) and stick to the budget for the most part. Notice I said for the most part. I did buy 2 small things that were not necessarily needs, one being a set of pens from Office Max that are my very favorite pens ever; but let me justify with the fact that all my others had run out of ink, therefore I was in need, and I was already given permission to get them before I decided not to spend any money for a week. So there. The other thing was I bought a bottle of witch hazel to put in my almond oatmeal facewash to help with my breakouts. So, I guess $10 isn't all that much extra, although I am a little disappointed that I failed in my mission of not spending anything outside of wants. I won't harp on it too much, but I will be more aware of spending in the future.

Updates:
Laundry - Still using the laundry detergent and LOVING it.
Hair - I started doing a baking soda wash every 3 days and I like it more than the Castile Soap/coconut milk mixture. We'll see how it goes, which will determine if I continue to do it or not.
Skin - still doing the almond oatmeal homemade wash in the morning and the honey wash at night. Love it!!

Challenge for next week:
Using 2 new recipes this week. They're on my menu plan that I posted the other day, but sometimes things don't turn out the way you plan them, so, this is me holding myself accountable. Going for PW's Caveman Pops and a new salmon pasta dish. I'll let you know how they turn out! 

Healthy snacks!

I received this email today from Runner's World and I thought it was worthy to share. I know we all get hungry between meals from time to time, and, well, I always want to grab the easiest thing I can find. Or the thing that tastes the best. Definitely not the most healthy option...I mean, who wants to eat celery, or raw carrots? Blech. And most of us wonder what in the world we should feed our kids for snacks?! There's so many snacky foods out there, but most of them aren't healthy. What I love most about these suggestions is that you can also feed them to your little ones, (except for maybe the peanuts, depending on their age). 

Here are my 2 snacky options that my kids and I frequently have:
I enjoy a cup of Greek yogurt (usually plain and I add a little honey myself) and granola (I LOVE Cascadian Farms Oats and Honey organic granola cereal. I can't get it every grocery run because of budgetary purposes, but when I can get it, it's my favorite). We eat yogurt 3+ times a week in my house. It's almost like having a little dessert. 

We also make smoothies. You can put just about anything in a smoothie and its usually pretty good. My next one to try is PW's pumpkin smoothie, yeah! 

I also liked the suggestions in this article, so here they are!


YOU CRAVE SALT
EAT: POPCORN
High in fiber and low in calories, popcorn is also a heart-healthy food. In a study presented at the 2009 American Chemical Society national meeting, University of Scranton researchers tested a wide range of whole grains for polyphenol count. Polyphenols are antioxidant plant chemicals that may protect your body from cell and tissue damage linked to heart disease and certain cancers. Researchers found that among snack foods, popcorn has the highest polyphenol level.
HEALTHY TIPS: 
POP YOUR OWN
Plain kernels contain no extra calories and taste fresher. Add herbs, spices, or nuts.
WATCH THE FAT
Choose prepackaged popcorn that's 90 percent fat-free. Or go with nonbuttered brands and add a touch of butter spray.

YOU CRAVE SWEETS
EAT: DARK CHOCOLATE
Juggling family, work, and training is challenging, and too much stress may raise your heart-disease risk. According to a 2009 study, dark chocolate may help. Researchers gave participants 1.4 ounces of dark chocolate (the size of a matchbook) daily for two weeks. The chocolate reduced stress-hormone levels in anxious participants. There's also evidence dark chocolate may help lower blood pressure—another key to reducing heart-disease risk, says Shulman. But keep an eye on calories. "It's like red wine," says Nisevich Bede. "It can provide health benefits but should be consumed in moderation."
HEALTHY TIPS:

BUMP UP CACAO
The higher the percentage, the more antioxidants.
AVOID ALKALI
Also called Dutch-processed, alkali destroys nutrients.
PASS ON OILS
Bars with vegetable or hydrogenated oils are of poorer quality.

YOU CRAVE SOMETHING CRUNCHY
EAT: ROASTED PEANUTS
A study published in the journal Food Chemistry discovered that the longer peanuts are roasted, the higher their levels of antioxidants. The extra-long roasting preserves more manganese and vitamin E (which helps protect your bones and red blood cells, respectively) than lightly roasted or even raw nuts. Peanuts are rich in protein, fiber, and healthy unsaturated fats—three nutrients that help keep you feeling full. Store small bags of peanuts in your desk drawer, or make your own trail mix with peanuts, dried fruits, cereal, and pretzels, says Nisevich Bede.
HEALTHY TIPS:
GO FOR DRY ROASTED
Other methods that add oils or sugar up the fat and calories.
LOOK FOR SKINS
Peanuts with their skins contain high levels of antioxidants.
SKIP THE SALT
Presalted peanuts often have added oils.


YOU CRAVE A COLD DRINK
DRINK: TART CHERRY JUICE
Tart cherries have been shown to help relieve soreness; they might also be good for your heart. In a study in the Journal of Nutrition, participants drank about eight ounces of tart cherry juice or a placebo twice a day for two weeks. Researchers found the juice reduced oxidative damage, which can contribute to heart disease. The juice's protective qualities come from its high level of antioxidants. "Your body creates antioxidants," says Shulman, "but it's important to eat and drink foods rich in them, too." Although juice lacks the fiber of whole fruit, "it's an excellent source of carbohydrate," says Nisevich Bede, making it a good choice for recovering after a run.

HEALTHY TIPS:STICK WITH CHERRIES
Tart cherry juice is often blended with sweet fruits. For the most cherry antioxidants, choose brands without other fruits.
AVOID SUGAR
Buy "100 percent fruit juice" so there's no added sweetener.

YOU CRAVE SOMETHING FILLING
EAT: CEREAL AND MILK
Turns out the breakfast of champions can help speed recovery after a tough workout. In a study published in 2009 in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, cyclists rode for two hours and then ate whole-grain cereal with fat-free milk or drank a carbohydrate sports drink. Several days later they repeated the test. Researchers found the pantry staple replenishes energy stores equally as well as sports drinks. Milk also provides quality protein, which is ideal for muscle recovery postrun, says Shulman—making this less-expensive (and less-processed) option a smart postrun snack.
HEALTHY TIPS:

UP THE FIBER
It should have at least three to five grams of fiber per serving.
GO WHOLE
Look for whole wheat or other whole grains in the ingredients.
AVOID SUGAR
It should have fewer than seven to nine grams per 100 calories.

EAT BETTER: When buying cereal, skip brands that have sugar listed as the first or second ingredient. Those products contain too much sweetener to be healthy.

Menu planning

Two things have come to my attention recently. The first thing is that I'm a bad menu planner. Is anyone out there with me? I normally just go to the store, pick out some stock ingredients and meats and put something together every night based on what I bought. This brought me to the second realization, that we eat ENTIRELY too much chicken. Chicken is great, don't get me wrong. It's healthy, inexpensive, and there's a billion things you can do with it...IF you plan right, which I just confessed that I haven't been. So, that tells me a change needs to happen. I decided that I needed to be more intentional with what we're eating and only buying ingredients that we need for that week...which also might reduce the amount of food waste that we have every week. And it'll force me to look for new recipes, because we are so darn tired of eating the same stuff. It's a win-win, right? I sure hope so. 

With that being said, here is my menu plan for the week!

Thursday

Homemade chicken pot pie

Friday

I will be out of town, so I am getting something easy for Ross to fix for the boys

Saturday

Homemade pizza

Sunday 

Broccoli cheese soup, bread and spinach salad

Monday

Salmon pasta with a pesto sauce and corn salad (new recipes!)

Tuesday

PW's caveman pops (roasted turkey legs), mashed potatoes, green beans and leftover spinach salad

Wednesday

We eat dinner with our small group, so I will take something

Thursday

Chicken tacos

Want to menu plan with me, or already do so? Share your ideas with me, I'd love to hear them! 

Post Halloween tiredness

I had a hard time getting up this morning. I think it must have been all the candy we ate last night. Sugar hangover, anyone? Well, that, and the fact that Ross and I stayed up way too late watching our new favorite show, The Walking Dead. But man, do I love the candy. Turns out, so do my kiddos. They went to bed with their tummies full and their faces smeared with chocolate. (not really, I did actually wash their faces and hands) We had a great time with great friends, and there's tons of leftover candy to last us all quite awhile. Hopefully my waist line won't change too much...although I'm thinking it probably will. 

Jude enjoyed being a pirate. Here he's making a pirate face...

Ross and our little blonde headed mini-pirate

Jude and his little friend Peter Pan, aka baby Warren

We had a slow start to the day today, but I have done some laundry, the boys and I cleaned their rooms, we eventually read our Bible story, read a couple of library books and Jude colored and painted Ross a cute picture. I need to be more motivated to get some school stuff together so we can do some actual learning this week. Maybe tomorrow?