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?

What do you get when you roll potato slices through starch, fry them, and then freeze?  Your grocers frozen fries!  Thought you were doing good when you bought a frozen bag of fries, so you can bake them.  Don’t be fooled, many times, they pre-fry these fries, so although you are baking them, they’ve already been soaked in grease.  Check your labels.  You don’t need a manufacturing plant to cut potatoes for you.  Tonight we cut up our own.  This was less work than I anticipated. We had one of those fry slicer that cut my potatoes into nice thin strips. I soaked the fries till dinner, coated with olive oil and baked with a little salt.  Quicker than a fast food trip.

To make them a little more gourmet, I wanted to add some parmesan cheese. I’m really into cheese right now, but who can afford the good stuff?  A brick of parmesan that you shred yourself was 17.99 per pound at my CHEAP grocery store!  My goodness, my kids sneakers don’t even cost that much! 

I don’t know if I’ll ever buy frozen fries again. The kids ate them up, they were easy, and although frozen potato products can get dirt cheap, I still think it’s cheaper and tastier to make the real thing.  If you are super busy, cut the potatoes up in the morning, keep in a bowl full of water in your fridge all day, then you just have to bake prior to eating.  They did take a good 20 minutes at 450 per side! So baking took a while.

Ricotta cheese is great high-quality protein.  Substitute it for sour creams or heavy creams in recipes. Light- Ricotta is low in fat, yet high in calcium and protein. I had some leftover from Manicotti night, and wanted to try something new. What I made for dinner tonight, really should have been classified as a dessert! I figured my kids would flip for these.  I made crepes filled with berries and ricotta cheese.  They had never had crepes before, but they love pancakes. 

The crepes turned out perfect, and it was even a first attempt for me.   The filling I used was a mix of  ricotta cheese, raspberries, blueberries,  sugar and vanilla.  Pretty fantastic, right? Dessert for dinner is excellent, right?  My kids didn’t think so.

Cereal boy ate it dutifully, remarking, “I wish I had syrup instead of this stuff inside.” But since I said syrup wasn’t an option, he ate two of them.  

The flip-flopper said, “thumbs down! Can I have some chocolate milk instead.”  I didn’t know chocolate milk could substitute for dinner?  I confess, she got some.

Ketchup boy said, “It’s good when I put it in my mouth, but when I start chewing, it starts to get bad.”

So I ate everyone’s, and now I’m sick.

Other ways to use up the ricotta:

• Manicotti or lasagna
• You can mix some spices with it, stuff it into tomatoes and bake.
• Top a pizza with it.
• I think tomorow I may try a Zucchini Ricotta Frittata (It’s just fun to say)
• Mix into any freshly cooked pasta.
• Scoop over a potato casserole.
• Stuffed mushrooms
• Mix with broccoli, eggs, cheese, and ricotta and bake for a breakfast casserole.

I’ve read a million and one “fun” ideas to liven up your kids brown bag lunch for school. But I’ll be honest…I don’t have time for most of them. Here’s some of our problems:

• Problem:  Wake up with no bread to make sandwhiches.
• Solution:  Sent tupperware with dry cereal, they buy school milk, and have a bowl of cereal for lunch.
• Problem: I never saw both tupperware bowls again.  Still a good idea, they loved having cereal for lunch, but need a disposable method.

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• Problem: Thirsty
• Solution: Send water bottle with lunch.
• Problem: A regular water bottle ALWAYS leaks in their backpack.  A sealed water bottle, they can’t open when they get to lunch.
• Solution: Empty water bottle they fill at the water fountain.

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• Problem: Too busy to help them pack a lunch.
• Solution: They pack it themselves.
• Problem: Cereal boy had two cookies and a bag of pretzels. I asked him 2 minutes before bus arrives, “Did you make yourself a sandwich?” He says, ” Yes, cheese sandwich,” although the cheese never made it out of the fridge all morning I knew he was lying!”
• Solution: Make a list for the inside of the pantry like this:

Fruit or Fruit Juice:   Apple, applesauce, orange, 100% fruit leather, fruit cup, 100% fruit juice boxes, grapes, strawberries.

Vegetables: Bag of carrots, sliced celery, peppers, cucumbers, fresh peas or beans.

High Fiber Grains: Whole wheat bread sandwhich, granola bar, cereal, cold pasta, cold rice, soup.

High protein food:Nuts, hard-boiled egg, meat for your sandwhich, peanut butter for your sandwhich (or dipping).

Non-fat dairy: Yogurt, cheese, milk.

Since we never eat out, and our grocery store doesn’t have one, my kids had never been to a Salad Bar.  So I made our own for dinner.  I told them they had to try three toppings on their salad. Cereal Boy said, “Can we try more than 3?”  “Of course,” I said.  They enthusiastically built their salads, putting much more toppings on it than I thought they would.  We had broccoli, carrots, cheese, ham, hard-boiled eggs, cucumbers, peas, croutons, and mushrooms.  And all of those things we already had in our fridge. Nothing to go to the store for. The beauty of it is you can use whatever is leftover in your fridge.

They did not eat it as enthusiastically as they built their salad, but they did try it.  And it did give them much needed exposure to what a salad bar is.    I had three different dressings out, and ketchup boy says, “can I have ketchup on mine?”  Crazy kid!  He did put ketchup on the side to dip his salad leaves into, although he never did.

In May’s Fitness magazine they reported, “In a UCwLA study, elementary-school kids gobbled more fruits and vegetables when there was a salad bar in the cafeteria.”  Does your school have a salad bar? Ours doesn’t!

Mildly adapted from watching Ellie on the Food Network, I made some won ton chips. Just as much as I love bread dough and uncooked tortilla’s, did I mention I love raw Won Ton wraps?  I ate a whole stack of them as I was putting them on my cookie sheet.
I spread out the won ton wraps, sprayed with cooking spray (Ellie drizzled canola oil), sprinkled salt and baked at 375 for 9 minutes.  I broke them up and set them out as chips.  They were actually meant to top some cooked cabbage with, but it turned out, none of us are really fond of cooked cabbage. So we just tried eating the “chips”.  I thought they were SOOOO good. The children didn’t like those, but they liked my variation sprinkled with cinnamon, so did I.

You must be careful of one thing. They go from lightly browned, to overdone in a matter of a minute.  So keep your eye on them.  The won ton skins are better than tortilla’s for this for the fact, 4 skins have 80 calories, 3 grams of protein, and no fat.

I love this picture of my daughter, and I love running races with my kids.  They are so excited to come across the finish line and truly feel that sense of joy and accomplishment.  Without a doubt the best thing I’ve taught my kids is that I love to exercise. They know we don’t go anywhere until I’ve been on the treadmill. They don’t nag me while I’m on it, because I’ve done it since they were born.  They know how much I enjoy it.  I have never complained to them that I HAD to exercise. It’s a privilige!  They aren’t allowed on my treadmill yet, and they can’t wait until they are old enough to get on it! 

Brianna Grant has written a children’s book called We Are Girls Who Love To Run written to “inspire girls to build healthy habits and acheive goals”.  Exercise builds confidence and accomplishment in kids and it makes me so sad when parents spoil it by complaining about exercise.  Do your kids a favor and don’t complain about exercise in front of them. They truly will grow up to be just like you!

Find a 1  mile race in your hometown this summer.  Your family will have a great time with it.

Here is another idea to help your family get fit.  I will just paste the message I got, since they say it better than I can.

With childhood obesity rates on the rise and a newfound desire to foster and maintain a healthy lifestyle for both children and adults, it’s important to find a way to make exercise fun and engaging. Physical education expert Len Saunders has just the solution to this difficult challenge.

May 7th, 2008 will mark the 20th anniversary of Len Saunders’ Project ACES (All Children Exercise Simultaneously). The event unites millions of children from the United States and beyond who are going to exercise simultaneously to promote healthier lifestyles for children. ACES provides a great opportunity to get kids motivated about their health. Please visit the Project ACES web site at: www.projectaces.com for more information.

Emily’s shinanigans  work better than I thought. I didn’t think playing games would work on my kids, but I was wrong! I was tired of meal time dragging on longer than necessary.  So I tried a game I’d heard before with ketchup boy where he would close his eyes and I took a forkful of either chicken or broccoli salad, and he wouldn’t know which one he was getting.  Then he’d eat it and guess what he just ate. Simple I know, and he’s 5 years old. I thought he would be too old, cause it’s not like I was tricking him.  But you know what, it was terrific. He finished his meal first. Never complained. just kept laughing asking for the next bite!  Who would have guessed. Thanks Emily.

When I make Broccoli Salad, I usually omit the red onion.  I literally loathe cutting a red onion.  I cry so hard my kids think I’m pregnant.  It is so incredibly more pungent than regular onions.  But studies show there are many benefits to including red onions in your diet. Including lower risk of colon cancer, improved blood circulation, anti-inflammation, anti-bacterial, helps bones, I could go on and on.  So I decided to take out my $25 food processor from Costco. Cut a piece of red onion off and chopped it in there. It was fabulous! No crying!

The verdict.  The kids ate the whole broccoli salad. The red onion was small enough, they didn’t even try to take the pieces out.  They used their arms as a scale of good to bad, and put their taste meter right in the middle.

For any interested in some fabulous vitamins I’m testing right now. You can get some free!  I have been taking them for a week and have felt so great! Energy up, lost 2 lbs, and in a really good mood.  Click here for details.

This was yummy!  Just like they make at fancy Italian restaraunts.   It is totally easy if you purchase some whole wheat rolls or bread. I like to make bread, a lot.  May sound gross, but I really love eating bread dough.  The whole time it’s rising, I keep picking at it.  I usually have to double the recipe so there is enough for baking.  Enough about me and my twisted love for anything doughy.
This is olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and a shake of pepper. It is sooo tasty as a dip for breads.  My kids liked it, and it’s a good way to get some of that heart healthy olive oil in them.  Serve with any meal. It’s quick, easy (if you buy the bread), fun to dip, and the whole family will love it.

The blind man (my father-in-law) will add salt to EVERYTHING he eats.  However, being blind he can not see how much salt he is adding. It usually ends up being a whole pile of it.  If you try to slow him down, by saying, “STOP! Too much salt!” He will give it a few more shakes! He loves salt.  Leads me to wonder, how much salt are my kids getting in our mostly healthy diet.  Some things were shocking to me.  A can of green beans that say “Healthy Habits” with a sesame street character had 390mg for 1/4 cup of the green beans! Holy Hannah!  If you ate fairly healthy food, you would probably get between 600-1000 mg of sodium a day.  American’s average 4000 mg per day. Equal to 2 tsps of salt.  So the goal is somewhere in the middle. About 2000 (almost 1 tsp) would be OK, less is better. Here is what my kids ate today, Thursday (numbers based on our packaging) :

1. Cereal:   135 mg
2. Yogurt:   60 mg
3. Milk:       120 mg
4. Strawberries: Less than 5 mg
5. Granola Bar:  90 mg
6. Top Ramen:   600 mg
7. Carrots:      88 mg
8. Applesauce:  5 mg
9. Dried fruit:   less than 5 mg
10. rice with a shake of salt and butter:   100 mg
11. Chicken marinated in Yoshida sauce: 300 mg
12. Salad:  less than 5
13. Goldfish crackers:  260 mg
14. Banana:   less than 5

Total: 1773 mg of sodium (equal to sucking down a 3/4 teaspoon of salt).  Not bad. We could definitely do without the Top Ramen!  What I found in looking at labels was all of your packaged “dinner helpers” were LOADED with sodium.  It would be difficult to stay under 2000 mg of sodium if you used them daily.  Eating out would be even worse because you wouldn’t even know. If we are going to prevent the next generation from getting Hypertension before they turn 18 years old, we need to cut back on the salt! Dial it down, they don’t need things so salty!

One thing to avoid: Macaroni Grill’s Twice baked lasagna = 3900 mg sodium!!!!!

• 1/4 tsp salt = 600 mg sodium
• 1/2 tsp salt= 1200 mg sodium
• 1 tsp salt = 2400 mg sodium