Every time I go to the grocery store these days it costs more than it did the last time. My eating habits have definitely changed and it is reflected in the cost of our food. Eating healthy fruits and vegetables is expensive, as is whole grains, and other real food. Whole milk costs more than non-fat milk. Real maple syrup costs more than the fake stuff. The list goes on and on, and for a family who is very careful about our money and trying to live paycheck to paycheck it's rough. I keep saying it's for our health and it's worth it, and I know it is in the long run, but right now the pinch at the store hurts.
On the bright side the kids have stopped asking me to buy Shells & Cheddar or Mac & Cheese. I'm sure when summer vacation starts and they go back to shopping with me they will remember all their old favorites and beg me to buy them, but at least for now the asking has stopped. I'm trying to let us life with the 80/20 principle. 80 percent of the things we eat will be of real food and the other 20 percent can be somewhat unhealthy fake food. Actually I'd prefer the numbers were closer to 90/10, but we're not there yet.
I'm excited that school is almost out meaning I can stop worrying so much about having freshly made bread for sandwiches. I am excited to not have to pack lunches for a couple of months. The downside is having the kids home with me every day of the week and trying to help them stay entertained. They are not as creative as kids were back in my day.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Friday, May 24, 2013
The Sunny Patch Garden delivers!
We are finally beginning to reap the fruits of our labor now that the produce in our garden is finally ready to pick, and eat! Today I was able to harvest four yellow crook neck squash from our garden. YUM! I cannot wait to drizzle them with a little olive oil, sprinkle them with some spices, cook them up, and eat them! We have tomatoes galore and two of them are actually turning red. I am not a fan of eating raw tomatoes, but my hubby and daughter are. Healthy, fresh grown produce from our own backyard. Love it!
Our family has been steadily making positive changes to our lives. We now go on a family walk a few nights a week. We eat as much real food as possible on a daily basis. I think my husband still has a ways to go in changing his eating habits when he's out of the house (he opts for fast food a couple of days a week) and he has an addiction to diet soda. Even I need to break the soda habit. It will be better for our health and our finances. Water and tea please.
The kids are almost out of school and we have some summer activities planned. We'll be hosting both a game night and a swim/bbq party in the next month. I am trying to build a menu that appeals to both young and old, while still being healthy. The kids are my issue. We usually do hot dogs. But hot dogs are full of nitrates and garbage. I need to do some research and see if I can find a "healthy" hot dog, or else abandon that idea for something else kid-friendly.
The good news about school being almost out means that I no longer will have to struggle with what to feed my kids for lunch every day. Always making sure they have homemade bread of some sort has been a challenge. I will still need to make bread but not with the same frequency.
We're making small changes every day to live a healthier lifestyle. It isn't happening overnight but by the end of the year I have a feeling that we will be amazed by how far we've come.
Our family has been steadily making positive changes to our lives. We now go on a family walk a few nights a week. We eat as much real food as possible on a daily basis. I think my husband still has a ways to go in changing his eating habits when he's out of the house (he opts for fast food a couple of days a week) and he has an addiction to diet soda. Even I need to break the soda habit. It will be better for our health and our finances. Water and tea please.
The kids are almost out of school and we have some summer activities planned. We'll be hosting both a game night and a swim/bbq party in the next month. I am trying to build a menu that appeals to both young and old, while still being healthy. The kids are my issue. We usually do hot dogs. But hot dogs are full of nitrates and garbage. I need to do some research and see if I can find a "healthy" hot dog, or else abandon that idea for something else kid-friendly.
The good news about school being almost out means that I no longer will have to struggle with what to feed my kids for lunch every day. Always making sure they have homemade bread of some sort has been a challenge. I will still need to make bread but not with the same frequency.
We're making small changes every day to live a healthier lifestyle. It isn't happening overnight but by the end of the year I have a feeling that we will be amazed by how far we've come.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Let's be honest
Let's be honest here. Eating real food is hard. You have to plan ahead. You have to figure out what you're going to cook every day and not only that but finding recipes for food that isn't full of preservatives and junk isn't easy. Then you head to the grocery store and there are hundreds and hundreds of easy prepackaged foods ready to go, but no you don't want that. So you stop and scrutinize, and put things back once you realize that the Prego sauce you wanted is full of crap food, as well as the "real fruit" popsicles. It can get downright discouraging. Some days you want to say "Screw all this work, I'm going back to the easy way of doing dinner". But then you'll have a moment that makes you remember why you started down this path in the first place. I had one of those moments tonight with my nine year old.
I did the grocery shopping thing today and it was long and arduous. Gone are the days when I can just breeze down the aisles and put anything I want into my cart with no regard to what it's made of. I came home and put our food away, mainly vegetables, meat, and dairy. Tonight my hubby works late so I planned to make whole wheat pancakes for the kids. and we were going to try out the brand new, expensive as hell, real maple syrup.
I made a ton of whole wheat pancakes and I asked the girls what they'd like on them. My nine year old asked for chocolate syrup and powdered sugar. Now I am trying to get rid of the chocolate syrup because I just got a good recipe for homemade chocolate syrup that I want to try, but we are not so rich that I can just throw the old stuff away, so the kids are using it up, and then it won't be bought again.
Anyways I fix her pancake and she eats it with gusto and then she asks for another pancake. I ask her what she wants on this pancake and she says she'd like to try it with butter and the real maple syrup. So I fix it up as she requested and hand it over to her. I expected her to grumble and complain that it doesn't taste like the normal syrup. We've had issues with this in the past in regards to macaroni and cheese, and shells and cheddar. However to my surprise she tells me that she LOVES it. She scarfs it down in no time flat. I was amazed by how quickly she ate it, and before I knew it she was asking for another because butter and real syrup has suddenly become her new favorite way to top her pancakes. WOO HOO! Small steps people, small steps.
Yeah some days are going to suck and you'll feel like your busting your ass making everything by scratch for very little praise or acknowledgement. But sometimes you get a winner and you realize that even a small step in the right direction is a victory!
I did the grocery shopping thing today and it was long and arduous. Gone are the days when I can just breeze down the aisles and put anything I want into my cart with no regard to what it's made of. I came home and put our food away, mainly vegetables, meat, and dairy. Tonight my hubby works late so I planned to make whole wheat pancakes for the kids. and we were going to try out the brand new, expensive as hell, real maple syrup.
I made a ton of whole wheat pancakes and I asked the girls what they'd like on them. My nine year old asked for chocolate syrup and powdered sugar. Now I am trying to get rid of the chocolate syrup because I just got a good recipe for homemade chocolate syrup that I want to try, but we are not so rich that I can just throw the old stuff away, so the kids are using it up, and then it won't be bought again.
Anyways I fix her pancake and she eats it with gusto and then she asks for another pancake. I ask her what she wants on this pancake and she says she'd like to try it with butter and the real maple syrup. So I fix it up as she requested and hand it over to her. I expected her to grumble and complain that it doesn't taste like the normal syrup. We've had issues with this in the past in regards to macaroni and cheese, and shells and cheddar. However to my surprise she tells me that she LOVES it. She scarfs it down in no time flat. I was amazed by how quickly she ate it, and before I knew it she was asking for another because butter and real syrup has suddenly become her new favorite way to top her pancakes. WOO HOO! Small steps people, small steps.
Yeah some days are going to suck and you'll feel like your busting your ass making everything by scratch for very little praise or acknowledgement. But sometimes you get a winner and you realize that even a small step in the right direction is a victory!
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Back-in-time
It's been a busy week around here. I haven't forgotten my blog, I've just been so busy I haven't had time to blog much. Busy doing what you may ask? Busy making things from scratch.
I started off the week making homemade ice cream. This is a delicious creation I had forgotten the taste of until I had my first bite of homemade again. Why do we buy that store ice cream at all when it is clearly inferior? I also made orange dreamsicle popsicles. They were super easy to make and I had one last night and it was delicious! It reminded me of being a kid again.
I also made my first batch of whole wheat bread in the bread maker. It turned out great! Everyone loved it. Sure it takes five hours to cook but it's worth it. Just the smell alone was enough to make my mouth water. I also made some Iced Oatmeal cookies. My husband told me last night that they taste better than the Mother's brand Iced Oatmeal cookies. That made me feel great! The recipe made a ton, so I froze a bunch. Lastly yesterday I made two loaves of cinnamon bread. This bread didn't require the bread maker, and boy what a treat it is! YUM!
I'm changing my mindset about food on the whole. I've been reading anything Real Food that I can get my hands on, as well as hitting up my favorite Real Food blogs. I'm much more likely to stay home and cook a meal, instead of us going out to eat now. My husband and I have both started losing weight because we're no longer eating the processed garbage. We're also just being healthier on the whole as a family, by taking long walks in the evening together, or hikes in the mountains when we can. It feels great to make such a good change for our family. I can see us sticking to this for a very long time.
Here are a few of the recipes I used this week to make these delicious foods.
Iced Oatmeal Cookies:
Cookie Dough:
(This recipe made about 22 fairly large cookies)
2 cups old fashioned oats
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
Frosting:
1 cup powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and generously grease your cookie sheet (use butter or a good amount of cooking spray to help the cookies spread).
In a chopper, food processor or even your coffee grinder (cleaned of course) pulse the 2 cups of oats to a coarse meal, you do not want to go as far as a fine powder. Dump into a large bowl and add the flour, baking powder/soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix and set aside.
In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the melted butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat on medium until the sugars are combined and the mixture is creamy. Add in the eggs, one at a time. Next, drop your oat/flour mix into the butter mixture and beat until thoroughly combined.
Place heaping Tablespoon fulls onto your prepared cookie sheets and bake, for 14 minutes or until golden, turning the pan half way through baking.
Let the cookies cool for a couple of minutes on the cookie sheets before transferring to a cooling rack. Let cool completely before frosting.
Mix your frosting ingredients together in a small bowl. Take the cooled cookies and dunk the tops into the frosting. Continue until all of the cookies are frosted and set aside to harden.
I started off the week making homemade ice cream. This is a delicious creation I had forgotten the taste of until I had my first bite of homemade again. Why do we buy that store ice cream at all when it is clearly inferior? I also made orange dreamsicle popsicles. They were super easy to make and I had one last night and it was delicious! It reminded me of being a kid again.
I also made my first batch of whole wheat bread in the bread maker. It turned out great! Everyone loved it. Sure it takes five hours to cook but it's worth it. Just the smell alone was enough to make my mouth water. I also made some Iced Oatmeal cookies. My husband told me last night that they taste better than the Mother's brand Iced Oatmeal cookies. That made me feel great! The recipe made a ton, so I froze a bunch. Lastly yesterday I made two loaves of cinnamon bread. This bread didn't require the bread maker, and boy what a treat it is! YUM!
I'm changing my mindset about food on the whole. I've been reading anything Real Food that I can get my hands on, as well as hitting up my favorite Real Food blogs. I'm much more likely to stay home and cook a meal, instead of us going out to eat now. My husband and I have both started losing weight because we're no longer eating the processed garbage. We're also just being healthier on the whole as a family, by taking long walks in the evening together, or hikes in the mountains when we can. It feels great to make such a good change for our family. I can see us sticking to this for a very long time.
Here are a few of the recipes I used this week to make these delicious foods.
Iced Oatmeal Cookies:
Cookie Dough:
(This recipe made about 22 fairly large cookies)
2 cups old fashioned oats
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
Frosting:
1 cup powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and generously grease your cookie sheet (use butter or a good amount of cooking spray to help the cookies spread).
In a chopper, food processor or even your coffee grinder (cleaned of course) pulse the 2 cups of oats to a coarse meal, you do not want to go as far as a fine powder. Dump into a large bowl and add the flour, baking powder/soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix and set aside.
In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the melted butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat on medium until the sugars are combined and the mixture is creamy. Add in the eggs, one at a time. Next, drop your oat/flour mix into the butter mixture and beat until thoroughly combined.
Place heaping Tablespoon fulls onto your prepared cookie sheets and bake, for 14 minutes or until golden, turning the pan half way through baking.
Let the cookies cool for a couple of minutes on the cookie sheets before transferring to a cooling rack. Let cool completely before frosting.
Mix your frosting ingredients together in a small bowl. Take the cooled cookies and dunk the tops into the frosting. Continue until all of the cookies are frosted and set aside to harden.
Orange Julius Popsicles |
Ingredients
- 6 oz thawed orange juice concentrate
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- In a bowl, stir together orange juice concentrate, milk, water, sugar and vanilla until well mixed.
- Pour orange mixture into Popsicle molds and wait until frozen.
- Eat and enjoy!
CINNAMON BREAD
(makes 2 loaves)
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk or 2 cups milk plus 2 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
Cinnamon/sugar mixture:
2/3 cups sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
Cream together butter, 2 cups of sugar, and eggs. Add milk, flour, and baking soda. Put 1/2 of batter (or a little less) into greased loaf pans (1/4 in each pan). Mix in separate bowl the 2/3 c sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle 3/4 of cinnamon mixture on top of the 1/2 batter in each pan. Add remaining batter to pans; sprinkle with last of cinnamon topping. Swirl with a knife. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 min. or until toothpick tester come clean.
Cool in pan for 20 minutes before removing from pan.
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