Making breakfast great (again?)

 I've been sharing with friends that I had gotten into a happy state of letting the kids make their own breakfasts.  They had boundaries of choices-healthy choices.  But I found that as we went through the day people were either hungry very early in the day (9:30-10) or found that they had forgotten completely to make their breakfast!  So I'm mixing it up!  

I have been a strong advocate for a high protein, low sugar, moderate balanced fat breakfast from the beginning.  My husband is happy with some left over veggies and scrambled eggs for breakfast, but the kids were not going for that as much....

This was what I needed:  good amount of protein, low sugar, balanced fat, tasty, easy to cook, ability to make ahead during meal prep the night before, cooks for an hour or less,  and EVERYONE must like it! Is this too much to ask?  

So this month I have chosen to find breakfasts that I can make the night before.  All the prep can be done and all that is left is the heating or baking in the morning.  I like to exercise and pray a bit before the day, so I wanted something that I could pop in the oven before I head out for a walk...or something that takes just a little heat attention.  I wanted the breakfasts to be ready by 7am so we could begin school by 7:30. 

Does this sound like something that you want too?  

Here are the recipes:

Spinach white bean quesadillas

Kale and tomato egg bake

Sweet Potatoes Hash

Blueberry Breakfast Cake

Crustless Quiche

Here are the recipes that we tried and the ways they were able to help us get up and get going and stay going until lunch!  Hope they help you too!  

(Should I share like this for our lunches and dinner too?  I have had a few requests for meal planning help.  It can be quite the decision fatigue to make a menu over and over!)

See my stories on IG for photos.  

 

Slow. Savor.

This week we busily collected the sap from five maple trees.  

And began the slow process of making syrup.  

Colleting from the hanging buckets.  The clear liquid tastes so bland!

But after hours and hours of cooking outside, reaps liquid gold.  

Three generations working together to make the syrup.  Now we've got pancakes to make.  And family meals to savor.  

Soup and Stories

Join me, won't you?  Lets have fun reading and cooking this Lent.

On the first day of October

We will have steel cut oats that we put in the crock pot last night with 1/2&1/2 and dried cranberries.  It should be very rich.  We will pretend the cranberries are little roses.

And then we will read a little about St. Therese whose feast day is today.

I'm making up another crockpot with chicken and tomatoes with spices.  I'll make pasta or rice right before dinner.  Maybe even add a little sour cream.

And after breakfast the kids will self teach....as I'm not myself and need to take a nap.

We made pretzels this week...

Lenten Evening Meals (meat free and dairy free)

a few sample meals of things we've enjoyed in the past:

Red lentils and tomatoes (white wine, veggie broth, chili powder)
Baby spring lettuce salad with cucumbers, green peppers, tomatoes and carrots
Red grapes
Whole wheat bread


Tilapia tacos-grilled or broiled fish with cabbage, red peppers and guacamole in tortillas
Green Salad
Blueberry claufouti (almond milk)

Brown Lentil Soup-with carrots and a little rice and spinach
Crackers (cheese for small children who need more protein)

Frozen shrimp egg rolls
Edamame
Basamati Rice
Red Raspberries or pink grapefruit

Spaghetti marinara (meatballs for small children who need more protein)
Mixed Vegetables or Zucchini with olive oil
Bread

Quinoa and Black bean burritos
Asian salad--Nappa cabbage with red wine vinegarette, asian noodles
Mandarin Oranges

Roasted Red and Plabano peppers on a bed of hummus
Pita Bread
Klamata Olives
Falafel
Persimmions

Salmon steaks (lemon jc and dill)
Asparagus or Zucchini
Jasmine Rice
Cuties

White beans and Barley (sage and veggie broth for flavor)
Green Salad
Tropical Fruit Salad

Veggie Soup-black beans,fresh mushrooms, fresh tomatoes, corn, zucchini in veggie broth
Garlic Naan
Strawberries

We eat...

I've been making our own breakfast granola for years....in fact it's a treat if I actually buy cereal.  I might buy it when we are on vacation or if a child has a specific request.

This week I fulfilled a request.  And what did he want for breakfast?  Store bought granola!  Without berries and nuts!  LOL

Chia-Plus-Chia-Coconut-Granola

I'm going to have to try some variations on my recipe to copy this.  YUM!

And lastly, I'm so picky on our tomatoes.  When you've grown your own heirlooms for years, you just don't like the tomatoes in the stores in January (or any month for that matter!).  This week I tried the Kumato.  and WOW.  It's a hybrid (not an heirloom), but it's not a GMO.  So now I'm willing to have a little fresh tomato in January.  

How about you?  Any new foods tried recently?

Cooking with Kids...

A repost:

When I get frustrated at how much time it takes to cook with kids "helping", I remember...

Granola Bars revisited...

I remade the granola bars this past week with a variation.

They turned out great!  Here's the fall version of my "I wish I was a Clif Bar" granola pumpkin bars.

2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup ground flax seeds
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup honey
2 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla (try homemade!)
1 cup mini chocolate chips (semi-sweet)
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray a 9x13 glass pan with cooking spray.  Mix all ingredients together in large bowl.  Pat mixture evenly into prepare pan.  Bake 18 minutes.  Cool completely before cutting into bars.

If these bars are not eaten in less than 5 days, I typically store them in layers of waxed paper in a container in the fridge or freezer.

Adjusting to new circumstances: home management meet food changes

I might be one of those people who like change.  It mixes things up a little.  Rearranging a room makes it feel new.  Eating breakfast for dinner allows you to taste the food a little longer than a quick hurried morning.

I'm adjusting to being pregnant again.  I've gotten past the yucky nauseated days of the first trimester and moved to the energetic second trimester.  But in those first 12 weeks my ability (and the difficulty of cooking during Lent) had left me with meal struggles.  (and actually quite a few other struggles, but more on that later)

You know those days when you feel like eating something less than healthy, but it's not in the house.  The kind of days when you want to just have a meal prepared and ready when your eyes see the light of day.  The shear exhaustion you feel at 3pm when you realize you have not planned for seven hungry mouths and the whining that ensues from the need for satiety.  (and one of those mouths is your own.)

So I'm here adjusting to these new circumstances of knowing that in a few short weeks I will meet my huge pregnant self and not want to cook....again.

I am a picky eater.

I like very fresh healthy meals.  No thanks to those happy meals.  No thanks to those basic American hamburger meals and baloney sandwiches.

Perhaps I did it to myself by getting an education in nutrition.  Maybe it was working in fast food during high school.  Or worse being employed in the institution food system at college.  No, it was the kitchen work at the hospital during my internship.  Layer upon layer I've created an eater who needs lots of taste in my foods and lots of nutrition.

And where do you find lots of taste?  At home.  And once in a while at an ethnic restaurant with fresh ingredients.

And then to add to it pregnancy.  The constant desire for food.  The insatiable need for nutrition.

So this past week I found myself looking for more healthy meals that can be frozen for myself when I get to the uck of pregnancy again.  Meals that adjust for my pickyness and need for freshness.

On my night stand (who really has the strength to read in bed these days?) are these three books.

Make-Ahead Meals Made Healthy

Feed Your Family for $12 a day

Naturally Nutritious: Heathy and Delicious Recipes using Whole Grains, Cocoonut Oil, Agave Nectar and Stevia

So we are going to change things up a little bit.  Rearrange the way mom attacks the meal routines around here.  Think pro-actively and keep frustration at bay.

This week we've tried:
Healthy Bran Muffins with Blueberries.  Made a double batch and froze the rest.  Two thumbs up.

Layered Bean Dip with home made tortilla chips  Fifty thousand thumbs up.  Wow.  All fresh Mex.

Whole Grain Bread and Turkey Sausage Bake.    Froze half of this in individual containers for quick breakfasts.

Chicken Salsa with Rice

Greek chicken in the crock pot.

And those staples that are quick to make up we kept on the menu.  Home made falafel, homemade hummus, homemade whole wheat mac and cheese, granola bars with pb and pepitas.

Watch for other ways that home management will be re-arranged in the coming weeks.

Granola Bars

Most days we need a pick me up in the afternoon.  School is over.  Chores are done.  Mom is trying to work on dinner that won't be until 6 when dad arrives home.

What shall we eat?  When I have the ability to shop at Trader Joe's, I buy bars there.  They are inexpensive and unfortunately don't last very long in this house.  We go through a box a day.

So when I take the time I make my own granola bars.  These are similiar to CLIF bars and go over well here.

Granola Bars (or I wish I was a CLIF Bar)
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup ground flax seeds
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup honey
2 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
2 teaspoon vanilla or 1 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup chocolate chips (can be omitted)
1/2 cup nuts (slivered almonds, walnuts, or pecans)
1 cup dried fruit (raisins, chopped apricots or cranberries)

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray a 9x 13 pan.  In a large bowl, mix together the ingredients.  Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.  Bake 18 minutes.  Let cool completely before cutting into bars.  (I usually cut mine into 24 bars).

Our favorite mixes are almonds with cranberries or apricots with pecans.

I like to keep mine in the fridge in the chance that they last longer than five days...
From start to finish is less than 1 hour.

(this recipe was given to me by my friend Christina)

Gingerbread House edition 2011

Advent memories...

I hope this finds you preparing well for Christmas.  We are enjoying more music, little to no studying, standing around the piano, spending more time praying, playing and going to Mass, eating making cookies, and the like...

Well, see for yourself.

cooking edition

We are baking more often now that the weather has cooled.  And it never seems to last long around here.  Chocolate Bundt Cake with Chocolate frosting and dusting of powdered sugar by 12 year old.  

Pumpkin Cranberry Bread.  This too was quickly eaten up.  

Salad.  I've just finished my greens from the "greenhouse" in the back yard.  

I cannot get enough of these delicious dates!  I took a suggestion to try them from a local Mediterranean Market owner.  He was correct that they are delightful!

And the 9 year old asked me to take a photo of the counter after lunch.  She's on kitchen duty this month and is keeping it (mostly) very clean.  

Term 1 is officially over.  We are on Thanksgiving Break for a few days and then will be on Advent Break for the following 4 weeks.  

to the berry patch

first discoveries are photo worthy.  

see our other trips to berry picking and other first discoveries.