Happy New Year 2014!

Happy New Year!

With the new year, we have spent some time trying to determine how best to "simplify" our schedules.

2 nights of the week, we only have 2 boys at home and 2 nights we have activities and need a quick meal opportunity.

So, we have standardized the "quick meal" nights and they will be the same thing each week, with little variety.  The boys are able to fix those meals and we will make "salad in a jar" at the beginning of each week, to accompany those meals (Salad in a jar is it's own entry to follow).

The other two nights have been divided between Taylor and Noah, and they "own" dinner for those nights.

This week Noah has chosen the following meal:

• Black bean veggie burgers on whole wheat buns
• home-made baked potato chips
• salad
• chocolate shake for dessert

Tayor has chosen a family favorite:

• Home-made Pizza
• salad
• a surprise for dessert

Since we have another "snow day" tomorrow, Matt is going to make a dinner for us (he has decided to "play it by ear".

The next few blogs will cover each of these quick, easy and healthy meals that are so simple they can be made by the young ones in your family!

Stay tuned....

Home-made Granola

Home made granola is such a wonderful treat... great for snacks and lunch boxes...and it makes the house smell so good when it's cooking!  Matt uses it to top his Almond Breeze yogurt in his lunch container each day.

This is super easy to make and quite in-expensive.  There a lot of ways you can experiment to get just the right flavor combinations for your family.

 

 

Our favorite Recipe:

4 cups of Oats

1 cut sliced/chopped almonds

1/2 cup raw sun-flower seeds

1/2 shredded coconut

1/2 cup sweetener (apple juice, honey, agave, pure maple syrup)

1/2 cup - 1 cup dried fruit (raisins, cherries, cranberries etc)

1 TBL of olive oil (I usually just drizzle, IF I use it at all)

1/2 teaspoon of sea salt

sprinkle cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom to taste (opt)

 

Mix all ingredient except dried fruit and spread onto baking sheets (non-stick spray first).  Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, turning the ingredients a few times.  Take out and add dried fruit and let cool.  Easy storage in mason jars in the fridge.  A little goes a long  way!  Yum!

Marinated Mushrooms

One of the most "meat-like" veggie substitutes is the portabella mushroom-- especially when using the right flavors!

I have learned some good tips on how to store and use portabella mushrooms.  After purchasing portabellas, don't wash them, but rather just brush off any dirt particles.  Scrape the gills (the black things shown below) off with a spoon.  They can be used immed in a dish to give it a dark, almost fishy flavor.  Usually, I discard them.  With this done, I store the mushrooms in an open container in my fridge and can be kept for wk or longer.  After about a week, they may start to dehydrate, but they are still good to use.  If they smell fishy or absorb moisture and get soggy, it's time to throw them out.

These mushroom are so versatile-- they can be marinated whole and eaten on a bun like a burger.  My favorite way to fix them is to chop them up, stem and all and marinate them.  They are fantastic in salads or stir fry this way.

But, if you want a really nice meat substitute, dehydrate them after marinating them... oh my!... it tastes similar to beef jerky!

There are so many marinade recipes you can try, but I'll list the ingredients for my favorite below... you can experiment with amounts to get it just the right flavor for your family.

Recipe:

• Several portabella mushrooms (de-gilled and chopped)
• Low Sodium Tamari
• Water
• Sometimes I'll throw in a little Braggs Liquid Aminos
• Garlic powder or granules
• and the secret ingredient... Thyme!!

The mushrooms absorb quickly, so they can be ready after marinating for 30 minutes.  I generally leave them longer and if I am dehydrating them, I might even marinate them overnight in the fridge.

Green Lemonade

The boys have been drinking this juice, or a variation, since they were 6 months old.  It is a powerhouse of nutrition!

We use either apples or pears for a base... the picture below includes pears, because we were given a lot of local, organic pears from my father-in-law.  The greens we use vary, but we always try to include light and dark greens. Some light greens could be cucumbers, celery, romaine.  For the dark greens, kale or spinach are good choices.  We have been juicing the entire lemon, without peeling it.  Experiment and see if that works for your taste buds.  If it's too bitter, peel most of the skin and that should reduce bitterness.

I absolutely love ginger, and so I juice that at the very end of the process, because most of the other members of our family don't like it.  I pour all their juice first, then juice ginger and mix it with what is left over for me.

You'll have to experiment with the amounts of fruit vs the greens to get the right blends that your family will drink happily.  Then you can work to add more greens to the mixture.

School Lunch Salads

We alternate between sandwiches & salads for school lunches. 

This day the boys had orzo salads.

• Orzo
• Cucumbers
• Tomatoes
• Spinach
• Basil
• Cilantro
• Red Onions
• Sweet Red Pepper
• Sun-dried Olives
• Sea Salt
• Garlic powder
• Corn
• Sun-dried tomatoes

Maple Glazed Salmon

The recipe for this fantastic meal came from The Raw Food Detox Diet by Natalia Rose.  I made some variations, due to ingredient limitations and taste. So, I'll list the way we made it, because it was SO good! 

There was such a positive response from the boys, we've had it once or twice a month since.  The whole family likes it, even Jeff!

Recipe:

• 1 cup Tamari
• 1 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 4 to 6 fresh or frozen salmon fillets, well rinsed

Mix all ingredients but the salmon in a blender.  Use the mixture to marinate the salmon for 1 to 24 hours.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Place salmon in a baking dish with marinating mixture and bake for about 18 minutes.

I made zucchini noodles with our spiralizer and stir fried them with some other veggies for a side dish.
We started the meal with a small salad.  Ta-da... restaurant style!!!

School Lunches 2012/2013 school year

We've made some additions to our school lunch menus this year.

I found these nifty containers for lunches (Bed, Bath & Beyond)... they work great for sandwhiches and snacks.

Cheese sandwiches have been added to our menu a time or two per week.  We use either sprouted grain buns or bread, raw goat cheese and organic condiments.

The smoked cheese is amazing!  It is my favorite, but the boys prefer the mild cheddar.