Olive oil is seen to have one of the best fat profiles. It has only 2 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon. Olive oil is ideal for sauces, marinades, salad dressings, dips, or sauteing. We ususally use it to saute our vegetables and stir fry’s.
This dinner was chicken, tofu, and mushrooms, sauteed in olive oil and drizzled with balsamic vinegar at the end. Served over rice. I thought it was delicious. The kids picked out the mushrooms, but didn’t notice the tofu.
Cereal boy LOVES rice and wants to have it every night for dinner. They add a tiny bit of saturated fat butter, and a touch of salt and pepper. The chicken and rice never touch, which is why they need the fat to flavor up their rice a bit.
Olive oil comes in different forms. Extra-virgin, virgin, and pure olive oil. The most intense flavor is in the extra virgin because it is only been through one pressing. For a less strong flavor, your pure olive oil is ideal. If you have loads of money to drop, besides sending it to me, you can also use olive oil as a skin softener.
How sweet is this. The flip flopper made me breakfast for mothers day. Especially sweet since it was my one day to sleep in all year, and I was awoken for the sake of breakfast in bed. Strawberry yogurt with cheerios, whole wheat toast, broccoli, carrots, and water! She watched me to make sure I ate everything. I was trying to avoid the vegetables (I don’t usually eat broccoli for breakfast) but she called me on it. “Why aren’t you eating your vegetables?” So I had to. She made it all by herself. Gotta love mothers day.
A WORD ON FAT: I keep trying to prepare baked goods by substituting the fat for applesauce, and always my cookies turn out cakey. Instead, it would be OK to replace the bad fat with good fat. Replace butter or shorteing with oil by using 1/4 less fat than the recipe call for! The result will still be high in calories, but instead of artery clogging, it could be cell padding and organ protecting.
There is good, better, and best when it comes to fat. What determines where a fat can sit on this scale depends on the makeup of three types of fat. Saturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, and monounsaturated fat. (Click on image..sat fat is the last bar) 
Saturated fat is the bad fat and is difficult for our body to process, poly and mono are actually good fats for us.
Look at your labels and see how much saturated fat you are getting.
Too much saturated fat increases cholesterol and puts you and your family at risk for heart disease. You should limit saturated fat to no more than 7% of your total calories. For example, if you or your child takes in 1500 calories per day, you should be eating no more than 11 grams of saturated fat. But aim for as low as possible.
My kids will not go anywhere without food. I guess that’s my fault. I always take food with me, in case we are gone a long time, but they will take food if we are driving a mile to the church.
So last Saturday when grandma and grandpa lovingly agreed to take the kids to a carnival, I was too busy getting ready for a obligation, I did not oversee their preparations. Apparently they each packed a lunch for the day (without prompts from me). My mom told me they had brought cut up apples, granola bars, water bottles, fruit leather, and carrots. It’s good to know that I stock my cupboards with things I’d be glad they are taking. Quickly, my soap box about fruit snacks. It’s candy! Don’t even call them fruit snacks. If you must buy them, save them for dessert!
Other good road snacks:
- String cheese
- Baked Pita chips
- Dried apricots
- Dried bananas
- Rice Cakes (the flavored mini ones are tasty, not filling though)
- Pretzels
- Homemade mini muffins
What does your family bring when you go out? Or am I the only one who can’t be gone for an hour without food?
Some of the day’s my husband is off of work, he will make the yummiest breakfast for all of us. He cuts up some potatoes. Cooks those in a skillet. Adds some onions, cracks some eggs, and cooks it through with a little salt and pepper on top. It is quite divine. Other times he’ll add peppers, mushrooms, or cheese. OK, often he will add cheese, and I’ll take my serving before the cheese is added. And of course Ketchup boy will add ketchup to the top. If we are out of potatoes, frozen shredded potatoes work well, and it makes for quicker prep time.
Here is the finished product:
Zucchini, mushrooms, and broccoli! I dipped in egg whites, rolled in bread crumbs with parmesan, and baked! Super yummy. Cereal boy didn’t love it, but as with everything else in his life, he obediently ate it. He is very obedient. The flip-flopper actually liked it. And here is ketchup boy 1 hour after we all were finished eating, still deciding whether he would try it or not. He tells me, “mom, i just did eenie-meanie-mine-mo…you are not it. and it pointed to the broccoli, so I can not eat it. It told me to and it’s the master.” The he tells me he threw up in his mouth. That’s why I didn’t know, cause it never came out.
A good dip idea for the breaded vegetables is pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce. You can add a few shreds of mozarella to your vegetables prior to baking.
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I’m trying to use up some zucchini from my freezer before we plant more in the next few weeks. I tried a low-fat version of my favorite zucchini bread recipe. A total flop. I tried cutting half the fat out, and half the sugar. It turned out like dense rubber.
Then I was in a zucchini mood, so I bought some fresh zucchini. I tried stir-frying it with some feta cheese. This tasted wonderful (to me and the husband.)
Here was my ideal meal: (grilled cheese sandwhich on whole wheat bread pictured)
But what the kids got was this after the fit they threw: (after the first one started gagging, the second one touched the zucchini BARELY with his tongue and then began spitting wildly in the air… to which I responded apathetically and sarcastically: “Whatever! I don’t care any more! You guys don’t know what your missing! More for me!” And I walked away frustrated by my unappreciated effort.
Olives taste so much better eaten right off your own fingertips.
I added a bowl of olives for the kids to add to their taco soup if they wanted. Ketchup boys eyes got wide when I put them on the table. “If I eat all my dinner, can I have some olives?” he said.
“You can have the olives during dinner! It’s part of our dinner” I responded.
“Rock on!” He said. He’s 5, I have no idea who he ever heard say, “Rock on!” from.
Olives are beneficial because of the monounsaturated fat as well as their vitamin E. This good fat from olives is necessary to line the membranes of our cells protecting the cells 
from damage and inflamation. Like sending your little ones out in a snow storm without a coat! Don’t send them to school without protecting their cells.
For those who care:
Albertson’s has select General Mills cereal on sale till Saturday for $1.00 when you buy 10. If you have a coupon, it makes them $0.50. This includes Cheerios!
Do you get confused at the grocery store? So many manufacturers are out to trick you with their gimmicks. Don’t be fooled. Know these terms the food people are required to follow when creating their packaging. Teach them to your kids. Taken from my “Nutrition Now” textbook):
- Low fat = 3 grams or less of fat
- Low saturated fat= 1 gram or less saturated, 0.5 grams or less trans fats.
- Low sodium = 140 mg or less of sodium
- Percent fat free = specific percentage of fat on a weight basis.
- Reduced = 25% less calories, cholesterol, or saturated fat and transfat than the regular product.
- Trans fat free = less tahn 0.5 grams trans fat and less than 0.5 saturated fat.
- High = 20% more of the daily value for a particular nutrient (i.e., “High in vitamin C”)
- Lean = fewer than 10 grams of fat, fewer than 4.5 grams of saturated fat and trans fat combined, and fewer than 95 mg cholesterol.
- Less= 25% less of a nutrient than comparable food.
- Light or lite = 33 % fewer calories or half the fat as regular product.
- Low calorie = 40 calories or fewer per serving.
- Low cholesterol= 20 mg or less cholesterol.
- Good source = 10-19% of the daily value for a particular nutrient.
- Free = no negligible amounts of sugars, sodium, or fat.
- Fat Free= less than 0.5 grams of fat
- Extra or more= at least 10% more of the Daily Value of a nutrient per serving than in a similar food.
- Extra lean = Fewer than 5 grams of fat, fewer than 2 grams saturated fat, and trans fat combined.
My kids loved their first try of pita pockets. I don’t beleive it’s that much healthier than other breads, but it does allow you to mix things up a bit, and experience different tastes and textures.
OK, so I was the only one who tried the pita bread with hummus. This time I got a garlic variety. It was really yummy. Flip-flopper put ham and cheese in hers. She loved it. Ketchup boy tried some flavored cream cheese. He said, “It doesn’t taste like anything. And when things don’t taste like anything, I don’t like it.” Whatever that means. I think he just thought it was too bland for his hyper desire for all things sweet. Cereal boy just had cheese in his and liked it a lot.
Other Pita bread ideas:
- Eggs and salsa
- Peanut butter and banana
- Tuna
- Chicken salad
- Peanut butter and jelly
- sloppy joes
- spinach and feta
- pizza sauce and mozarella cheese
My kids love pancakes. But pancake mix (especially the whole-wheat variety) can cost quite a bit, and for what? A little flour! Give me a break. It kills me to spend money on mixes when it only saves a few steps. However, I’ve long been a fan of the book “Make a Mix Cookery”, where you make your own mixes. My copy old, pages falling out, but I love it! So my pancake mix recipe is 2 cups whole wheat flour, 3 cups white flour, 1 1/4 cup powdered milk, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/8 Cup baking powder, and 1 TBLS salt. I store it in an airtight container, and write the recipe to make pancakes right on the box.
These are the best pancakes we have ever had! Cereal Boy ate 4 huge ones! Then he tried to eat everyone else’s. I have some “lite” syrup with half the sugar, yet no fake sugar. And they are truly divine.
Here are some add-in ideas for pancakes:
- Berries mixed into the batter prior to cooking
- cinnamon and apple chunks
- finely chopped nuts
- poppyseeds and lemon zest
- chocolate chips
- coconut and bananas
I always top my own pancakes with yogurt. What’s your family’s favorite way for pancakes?
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