Breakfast muffins and kids

 

 I thought I should post a picture of two of the kids.  This first picture is Jack and another boy in the homeschool group at our monthly meeting.  They were playing a Mexican jumping bean game.

Audrey washing her carrot

  

  
Ayden was checking the garden.   He, like the other two, loves to be outside.  He loves to eat the cherry tomatoes too!

And I will end the post with a recipe. . .   I made these Oatmeal Blueberry Applesauce Muffins from "Annie Eats."  They are a pretty healthy breakfast muffin: whole wheat flour, oats, applesauce, low fat buttermilk, 1 egg, and only 2 TBS of canola oil.  (hmmm, next time I think I will use the coconut oil instead.)  If you want the recipe, click on the link above.  For some reason, I had to cook mine for much longer, just looking at them, they seem to need more oats.  I used a jumbo muffin tin, so I expected to have to cook it longer but not THAT much longer.  If you make these, just cook them for the recommended time and then use a toothpick to check if they are done.  If not, keep adding 3 min at a time.  Ours were pretty gooey but they were cooked and delicious.  The kids gobbled them up!

I used spark people's nutrition calculator,

Nutrition Facts User Entered Recipe   12 Servings Amount Per Serving   Calories 148.1   Total Fat 3.7 g       Saturated Fat 0.6 g       Polyunsaturated Fat 1.2 g       Monounsaturated Fat 2.0 g   Cholesterol 15.8 mg   Sodium 162.4 mg   Potassium 135.7 mg   Total Carbohydrate 35.1 g       Dietary Fiber 3.6 g       Sugars 14.6 g   Protein 3.6 g   Vitamin A 0.7 %   Vitamin B-12 1.0 %   Vitamin B-6 1.9 %   Vitamin C 0.8 %   Vitamin D 0.8 %   Vitamin E 3.5 %   Calcium 5.5 %   Copper 6.7 %   Folate 3.1 %   Iron 5.9 %   Magnesium 8.3 %   Manganese 42.6 %   Niacin 1.2 %   Pantothenic Acid     2.7 %   Phosphorus     11.6 %   Riboflavin 3.4 %   Selenium 0.7 %   Thiamin 8.8 %   Zinc 5.0 %

Healthy Habits

As many of you know, my husband and I have dedicated ourselves to a healthier lifestyle.  We have been working out every day for the last 45 days, and we intend to keep going till we can go no more!  I have also decreased the number of Pioneer Woman recipes that I prepare and increased the healthier recipes.  I love love love PW, but I am not a rancher, so I probably shouldn't eat like one every day :o) 

I have also become a beachbody coach.  I love being surrounded by so many positive and encouraging people.  Working out and living healthy has changed our lives so much already, and I want to spread that knowledge and help other people live healthier lives.

How have we changed?  Besides the obvious. . . losing weight (although I haven't lost much since I didn't have a lot to lose).  1. We have more energy.  Neither of us have that afternoon crash where you just want to take a nap.  2. Our moods are much better.  3. I have lost 11 inches all over my body (not quite sure how many Bryan has lost) 4.  Bryan was diagnosed with degenerative disc and had a herniated disc in his lower back--this has disappeared!  And I have scoliosis in my lower back from birth and lost my cervical neck curve from a car accident, when I have back pain, the stretching in the workouts gets rid of the pain.

Now many people have been asking for help with healthy meals and snacks.  I have been posting my healthy dinners.  But I haven't touched on other meals.

Breakfast: we like to mix it up.  Eggs, cold cereal, oatmeal, yogurt and granola, pancakes or waffles, english muffins. . .  and we usually have some fruit.

Lunch: usually leftovers or sandwiches.  Sometimes I will make chicken nuggets or fish sticks or hot dogs or homemade mac and cheese.  I know that these aren't exactly healthy, but in moderation they can't be that bad.  I make sure that the kids are getting an appropriate serving.  Lunches get a veggie and a fruit: raw carrots, celery, cooked green beans, corn, or broccoli; apples, grapes, bananas, mangoes, raisens. . .

Homemade fat free sugar free yogurt with Homemade sugar free strawberry preserves

Snacks: smoothies are a big hit in our house (I use yogurt, fruit (preferably frozen), and a liquid)  if the fruit isn't frozen then you need some ice.
 The general rule of thumb with snacks is to keep them small and to combine food groups.  For instance, you could have pineapple and pistachios, (Read the label and find out what 1 serving of each is!!!)  or apricots and almonds or raisins and peanuts.
Another good combination is cheese (string cheese, cottage cheese, laughing cow wedge) and apples
Whole wheat crackers and cheese or peanut butter
Sliced veggies and hummus, or low fat ranch, or a yogurt based dip.  Or celery with peanut butter
Hard boiled eggs

Last but definitely not least, Shakeology.  This is a powerhouse of goodness! 

Final thoughts: 
1. Always check the portion size.
2. When you buy fresh produce, wash it and cut it up as soon as you get home from the store.
3. Only buy the amount of fresh produce that you will eat in a week--the rest will go bad!
4. Keep track of your calories if healthy eating is new to you.  My Fitness Pal is a great resource!

Do you have any great tips?  Anything I am missing??  I love to hear what everyone else is doing!

Pork Chops with Dijon Herb Sauce

Oh. My. Goodness!!!!  These were delicious--I can't believe I have had two pork recipes in a row that I have actually enjoyed!!  The sauce calls for "herbs."  I happened to have parsley and chives in the garden, so that is what I used. 

I served them over a bed of buttered whole wheat egg noodles.  I just tossed the noodles with a tablespoon of butter, a splash of chicken broth, salt, pepper, and some left over diced asparagus. 

If you eat pork, I definitely recommend heading over to Skinny Taste and trying out this quick, easy, and delicious meal!

Meal Recap

  

Yesterday, we had Greek Turkey Meatballs and a Greek Tomato Salad.  I also made the Skinny tzatziki.  I followed her recipe to a T and it was delicious.  The tzatziki has to sit for a while so I recommend making this in the morning or even a day ahead.  I didn't have to strain my yogurt out since I used my home made yogurt that I had already strained to "yogurt cheese" consistency.
The salad was the best part of the meal.  I used Creole Tomatoes from my garden, cucumbers from my garden, olives, and feta cheese.  Then I tossed it lightly with salt, pepper, and Wishbone Greek Vinaigrette  dressing.

Everyone enjoyed this meal.  Audrey really loved dipping the meatballs in the tzatziki.

Tonight we had Bangin Good Shrimp.  This recipe, I did change up quite a bit, as the original sounded a little bland.  This meal is so quick and easy!  Just put greens on your plate (I had romaine and green cabbage). Lightly drizzle the greens with Newman's Own Lowfat Sesame Ginger dressing. In a medium sized bowl, put 1/4 cup cornstarch, 1/4 tsp cayenne, 1/2 tsp seasoned salt, 1 tsp granulated garlic, 1 tsp minced onion, and fresh ground pepper.  (I don't actually measure my spices, so those are all guesstimates.)  Toss 1 lb of peeled/ deveined shrimp in the cornstarch.  Heat 1 tsp canola oil in a fry pan.  When the pan is hot, toss the shrimp in and cook until the shrimp are pink (about 3 -5 minutes).  Keep your pan hot to get a good sear!  Put the shrimp on top of greens and top with scallions.  (I forgot them)

This was delicious!  Everyone except Audrey liked it.  She kept telling me it was too hot.  I think it was a little spicy for her.  The dressing has a little kick to it and the cayenne on the shrimp might have been a bit much.

Sugar Free Strawberry Preserves

 Somehow this week really got away from me.  I have had all this pictures in my camera but I haven't uploaded them.  

On Monday, I took the kids to pick strawberries.  (Which, by the way, wasn't cheaper than buying them in the store, but they are delicious and we had a lot of fun.)  I came home with a flat of strawberries and decided to make preserves.  But I didn't want any sugar in them.  I couldn't find a recipe online for truly sugar-free jelly/jam/preserves so I just did my own thing.

Step 1: Wash and hull your berries.  I used a straw to hull.  Just push the straw through the berry from the bottom to the top.  All of the leaves should come right off.

Step 2: Mash the strawberries so that you have roughly 4 cups.  I left mine with big chunks because I like it that way.  If you wanted it smooth, I guess you could use your blender or food processor.

 

  Step 3: Put the strawberries in a saucepan, add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of water and bring to a simmer.  Add honey to taste and 1 packet of unflavored gelatin.

Step 4: Put the strawberries into a sterilized canning jar, put the lid on and immediately turn it upside down for 5 min.  Flip it right side up and cool completely.  The top is sealed if the center is sucked down (you can't push it up and down).

Enjoy!!  Since I didn't use pectin, it didn't really gel up.  I don't know if it would gel better if I used 2 packets of gelatin.  My next batch, I will cave and use pectin.

Mmmmm, homemade strawberry preserves on top of homemade yogurt!

What is on the menu this week?

It is late and I am tired.  Maybe I will come back tomorrow and fix this.  We'll see. 
This week I included a traditional German meal for my German husband: rouladen.  Rouladen is basically a little beef roll-up.  It is a very thin piece of top round with onions, pickles, and bacon rolled inside.  The rolls are cooked in a sauce of carrots, onions, and tomatoes.  I will post a recipe for it later.
I will also be making cheese ravioli in a mushroom ragout.  This is a crockpot meal and it is vegetarian.
As for my healthy meals, I will be making Greek Turkey Meatballs, served with a greek salad (hopefully I will have enough garden tomatoes for it), Chicken Piccata, served with rice and steamed broccoli, and Bangin Good Shrimp, served with rice.

We are off to pick strawberries tomorrow!  So hopefully I will have some cute pictures and lots of yummy strawberries.  I am hoping to make strawberry preserves.

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

This recipe for Spinach Lasagna Rolls was quick and easy to make.  We all really enjoyed it except Jack because he doesn't like ricotta cheese.  I knew he wouldn't like it so I made him a side of plain pasta with sauce. 

When I make a traditional lasagna, I do not precook the noodles.  I just make my sauce a little runny (usually add 1 can of water).  The lasagna noodles will cook when the lasagna is covered with foil, and they will be delicious bc they really absorb the sauce. 

These rolls are not submerged in sauce when they cooked so I had to precook them.  All I did was put the noodles in the lasagna dish, cover them with boiling water, and cover the dish with plastic wrap.  They cooked while I mixed the spinach filling.

As for servings, one roll is a serving.  I thought I would eat 2 rolls, but I was quite satisfied after just one roll.  You could serve the lasagna with a salad and easily eat the 1 roll serving.  I thought Bryan would eat 3 rolls, but he was satisfied with 2.

Home Made Greek Yogurt

 

I have always been curious about making yogurt.  I used to make "yogurt cheese" which I would spread on toast or use as a substitute for sour cream.  Making yogurt cheese is super easy.  All you do is buy a container of plain 'ol yogurt, line a colander with cheese cloth, or a tea towel, or a coffee filter, put the colander over a bowl, dump the yogurt into the colander, put plastic wrap on top, and put it in the fridge overnight.  The longer you leave it, the thicker it will get.  Leave it for just a couple hours and you get greek yogurt.  Leave it 8+ hours and get cheese.

Recently, I found a recipe for "crock pot yogurt."  All you need to make yogurt is milk (ANY kind of milk), and a small amount of yogurt.  My neighbor gets commodities, so she gave me a TON of powdered milk.  So that is what I used to make this yogurt.  So this batch of yogurt cost me 48 cents!!!  And it made a large container of greek style yogurt, plus I left some in the colander draining to make yogurt cheese.

Now, when you strain yogurt, you get a lot of whey.  I used to just throw that away, but I found a recipe for lacto-fermented mayonaise that I am going to make with some of the whey and I will use the rest of the whey to make my own ricotta cheese.  How cool is that??? I also read that you could put it in your garden to fertilize your plants.  Anyway, I am getting a lot of product out of 48 cents.

As for taste. . . I like the yogurt mixed with some honey and maybe a splash of vanilla.  But the kids like things a little sweeter.  This yogurt is mixed with Blackberry All-Fruit Preserves.  Audrey kept asking for more :o)