There are so many different ways to make a smoothie, your kids should never be bored.  While not packed full of fruits and veggies, this smoothie sure made a great treat. We called it the Orange creamsicle smoothie.  I’ve seen different versions on many different websites, but I kept ours simple:

• 1 Cup vanilla yogurt
• 1 cup Orange juice
• 24 ice cubes

Put all ingredients in a blender.

  And drink

(Those are sunglasses that the lenses broke out of. She loves to wear them and “trick” people into thinking she wears glasses.  She wants braces too. Remember those days?)

Something is stuck UNDER my crappy camera lens.  I took the whole camera apart thinking I could somehow get access in between the lenses, but all I got was shocked!  And the lens never came off.   Anyone have ideas on how to fix this?

Every picture I take has a “soft focus” edge on the bottom of the picture. I don’t know what to do. I’d get a new camera for Christmas, but I already got this laptop for Christmas.  So, I’m out of luck until next year!

Anyway, I’m in some sort of root vegetable craze.  Not only do I love Russet Potatoes, and red potatoes, but I really love Sweet potatoes!  For any meal, they are so filling.  My kids really don’t need to eat anything else.  So here is a little potato 101.

Our grocery store sells two varieties of sweet potatoes.  Although BOTH are technically sweet potatoes, they call one a sweet potato, and the other a yam.

Have you ever noticed a difference?  Here is how we use each:

SWEET  POTATOES:  (with white flesh)

• Just like a baked potato (butter, salt etc.)
• As Sweet Potato salad.

YAMS: With the orange flesh

• Sweet potato fries
• In a casserole with brown sugar.
• As a baked potato with sweet stuff on it like cinnamon and brown sugar.

Is one healthier than the other?  YES! Yams, with its rich orange color has more vitamins.  The more colorful your fruits or vegetables are, the more nutrients they have.

Because several of you wanted to know what our “Orange Treat” was, I decided to share that first.

Its actually pretty simple.  But isn’t simple what every parent is looking for?  I know I am.  Have I mentioned lately I’ve bit off more than I can chew this fall?  You would know if you came over.  My house is a disaster, my daughter is out of underwear, and I’ve been waking up at 4:00am to study!

But back to my simple treat.  I do have to hide the oranges so I  have them when I’m ready to make it.  The recipe is derived from one of my favorite books, The World’s Healthiest Foods.  I’ve changed it slightly to use what I had on hand already.

• 2 oranges
• 1/2 tsp grated orange zest
• 1 1/2 TBL lemon juice
• 2 TBL honey  (they call for cream honey)
• 2 1/2 TBL low-fat plain yogurt  (they call for vanilla yogurt)

Simply whisk together the last four ingredients, and pour over sliced oranges.  I peeled the membrane off the orange to make it easier to eat, and the yogurt honey could permeate the orange.

Sorry I can’t linger.  I have another Organic Chemistry test today at 1:00.  Have a great day!

Eating actual meals (rather than from the bag, or standing at the refrigerator) not only is better for you, but also keeps your house cleaner.

My kids will stand at the pantry, take a handful of Cheerios, and walk away, leaving a trail of Cheerios on the floor, and at the pantry door.  In literally makes me insane.  As soon as I step on Cereal on the kitchen floor, I know they’ve been eating from the bag.

In a span of 30 years, you will most likely eat 30,000 meals!  According to The Pleasure Trap, “anything you are likely to do 30,000 times cries out for efficiency and organization”

The following is our menu plan for next week.  Head over to my sidebar to find the printable version along with the shopping list.  Happy Cooking.

Next week I will post some pictures and recipes to a few items on this menu.

Do you love to plan your menu’s?  Traditionally on a quiet Sunday afternoon, I like to take cookbooks in my room and write our meals for the week.   So, for now on I’m going to start posting my menu plans for you all!

On Friday’s I’ll post a menu plan and shopping list, with a printable version on my sidebar, labeled with the date.  In the shopping list, if I know the best price for something, I will certainly list that too.

To kick off menu planning, I want to share a cookbook with you that I love!!

The Vegetarian Family Cookbook is having their 5th Anniversary Blog Tour!  I love this book!  I highly recommend this book!  Not only does it have great recipes, but tons of great ideas.

Right away I wanted to try the Homemade Nut Butter! I love peanut butter and almond butter, but the healthy versions can be super expensive!

This homemade version was sweet, salty, and so delicious, I had to stop myself from eating the entire bowl with a spoon.

And with permission, I get to share this  recipe. (with my photo’s embedded to show you how easy it was)

Honey/Vegan option

Homemade Nut Butter

Makes about 1 cup

Making fresh nut butter isn’t hard to do, and is a great kitchen project to do with young children, who actually enjoy the process of shelling peanuts. Ideally, use organic nuts. Conventional brands of peanut butter (far and away the most commonly consumed nut butter) almost always contain partially hydrogenated fats and high fructose corn syrup, two unhealthy ingredients. Some brands also contain cottonseed oil, which comes from one of the most heavily sprayed crops on earth. Natural-style nut butters contain the nuts only, and are obviously a better choice, but their flavor and texture are often too intense for younger children.

This homemade version is a perfect compromise, both for flavor and health. For another great peanut butter alternative, see Silken Peanut Spread, page 000).

1 cup shelled roasted peanuts, almonds, or cashews

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon honey, maple syrup, or brown rice syrup

1. Place the nuts in a food processor. Process until the nuts begin to hold together.

2. Add the oil, salt, and honey, and continue to process. Scrape the sides of the container from time to time, and continue to process until the nut butter is at the desired consistency.

3. Transfer the nut butter to a lidded container and keep refrigerated. For easier spreading, microwave for a few seconds before using.

Per tablespoon:

Calories: 64 Total fat: 5  g Protein: 2 g Fiber: .8 g

Carbohydrates: 3  g Cholesterol: 0 g Sodium: 35 mg

TIPS:

• For peanut butter, dry-roasted peanuts from a jar work just fine, but using freshly shelled roasted peanuts results in a more vivid flavor.

• If children other than your own will be partaking of this snack, make sure that none are allergic to peanuts—it’s a more common allergy than you’d think, and can be quite serious.

• This won’t work in a blender—a food processor is a must.

Isn’t that a great recipe!  All her recipes are easy and family friendly.  So, now the giveaway!

One reader will get their own copy of The Vegetarian Family Cookbook!  Leave a comment and I’ll choose a winner this weekend!

A friend of ours at a recent soccer game had a bag of sunflower seeds.  She offered some to my kids who readily accepted the offer.

I had not realized that I had never purchased sunflower seeds still in the shell!  This became apparent when my 11 year old began eating the whole seed! Husk and all.  He even thought they tasted OK. I couldn’t wait to get to the store to teach my kids how to eat sunflower seeds!

Now I take them to every soccer game.  What a great little treat. My friend Kristins 2 year old was enthralled with the seeds for the entire hour.  He kept coming over to me, asking for a specific number of seeds.

“I need one seed.”  and then he would walk to his grandpa sitting under a tree, and his grandpa would teach him how to open it. Then he would come back for more.  It was so cute!

Plus shelled seeds are cheap! I got a bag for 1.99. They’ve lasted me 5 soccer games!

SHK news: I’ve added links to my sidebar for all the Super Healthy Kids social media links.  Become a fan on facebook, subscribe in a feed burner, or keep track on Twitter! I hope to update at least once a day with general healthy living tips.

Looking ahead: GIVEAWAY TOMORROW!!!

Need to get organized?? Hop over to my sisters blog . She’s giving away a FRANKLIN COVEY organizing system.  Awesome!  A $90 value.

WEDNESDAY: Dinner

If I post alot about beans, it is because I literally try to think everyday how  I can add beans to our dinner.  I think beans are amazing and taste so delicious (sorry Cathy-who disagrees)! We used to NEVER eat beans.  Then about 2 years ago, knowing what a food powerhouse they were, I’ve been trying to include them more and more. 

So, with my recent love of beans (literally the last few years), I’ve been experimenting with beans.  But this was my first attempt at a Minestrone soup.  I’ll be honest, the kids did pick through their soup and ate the parts they liked.  I could have chopped the zucchini up a bit more.  But Wade (my husband) thought it was literally the best dinner I had ever made!  EVER!  Quite frankly, I was shocked.  Here is the recipe.

To accommodate the carnivore, I browned some ground beef separately from cooking the soup.  When dinner time came, I asked each child, meat or no meat in your soup?  One chose meat and I put it at the bottom of his bowl, and poured the soup on top.  The other two chose no meat, and so did I. 

Kids like having choices, even at dinner. It doesn’t mean you have to cook up a separate meal for them.  But giving them options usually makes meal time less contentious.

TUESDAY: Lunch

Most parents are glad when summer arrives so they could quit making sack lunches.  I still make them!  If I’m cleaning up the kitchen in the morning, I prefer to fix lunches, then I don’t have to get food out twice.  Then we are also ready to go somewhere at the drop of a hat, and we can bring out lunch. 

For our brown bag lunches, I usually include a sandwich, fruit, vegetable, and a treat, like a granola bar!  Like THESE granola bars.  I splurged on some mini Reese’s baking bits.  As you could imagine, they were delighted to get these granola bars in their lunch.

Having these lunches packed were perfect the other day, as we got invited to a Bring Your Own Meat BBQ at the last minute.  I didn’t want to bring any meat (Wade was at work and he was the only one that cared), so instead we Brought out own Sandwiches.  Here is the flip-flopper enjoying her sack lunch on the yard.

Anyway, we also love salads for lunch if we are home.  This Berry Slaw was a HIT with my kids! In fact, they all had several helpings.   Wade didn’t like it so much, but I think he’s just doing some sort of vegetable rebelion thing. 

This is the Triple Berry Slaw before the dressing, just so it could look nice.

This has to be made ahead of time, so the dressing has sufficient time to marinate the cabbage.  I also tried chopping a head of cabbage, but even after a full day marinating in the fridge, the cabbage still seemed too tough for me.  The shredded cabbage made a better salad.   RECIPE HERE!

This salad is especially great if you use Greek Yogurt! Have you tried it yet?  Its so divine.  Some plain greek yogurt with a drizzle of honey is one of my favorite treats.  The awesome people from Stonyfield had this to say:

Stonyfield Farm makes Oikos Organic Greek yogurt.  It can be used:

• in cooking –
• in baking, as a substitute for sour cream and mayonnaise,
• in dips and sauces and to create tasty low-fat dishes.

About Stonyfield Greek yogurt in general:

• Greek yogurt is strained, making it thicker and more versatile in recipes than regular yogurt.
• Oikos is organic, which means it’s made without artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners, and it’s made from organic milk produced without the use of toxic persistent pesticides, chemical fertilizers, antibiotics, or artificial growth hormones (rBST).

I know you’re dying to try some, right???  Stonyfield wants to give someone coupons for

• 1 free 16 oz Oikos,
• 2 free 5.3 oz yogurts,

• and another $4.00 in other Stonyfield product coupons.

So, leave me a comment if you need some of the best yogurt made, and I’ll choose a winner on Friday.

Wednesday: Dinner

As a mom with young kids, dinner is the meal you can’t get out of.  Breakfast can slide (toast/ cereal), lunch can be thrown together in a hurry with whatever you have on hand.  But most kids (and husbands) expect something a little more substantial for dinner.  I keep thinking, once they all move out of the house, I will be able to eat salad every night and no one can complain… Ahhh the life!

Here is how dinner shakes down at my house.  I make a delicous, one pot dish.  Some will eat it altogether, but there is always one (usually ketchup boy) who must have everything seperated after its completed. 

For this dinner I had bow tie pasta

This one pot dish had

• walnuts
• bow tie pasta
• chicken
• feta cheese
• celery
• and red onion.

The dressing was

• Orange juice
• Lemon juice
• olive oil
• dried mustard
• sugar
• salt
• and rice vinegar

Of course, all of it had to be seperated when it hit ketchup boy’s plate.  Thank goodness for divided plates!  This meal would have been so much better without the red onion. Its much too strong for my kids.  The flavor kind of took over the entire dish.

This dinner was Crusted Chicken, mashed potatoes, and another sweet salad.  The crusted chicken was

• chicken thighs
• dipped in a mix of egg whites with dijon mustard
• Then dipped in a bread crumb/ parmesan cheese mix. (for a tutorial on making your own bread crumbs, go here.

For the salad dressing I used:

• 1/2 cup pureed strawberries
• 1/2 cup raspberry vinegar
• 1 TBL honey
• 1 TBL olive oil

I’m working today because my husband is home.  Its the one day a week I get a break from making dinner.  He always has something delicious waiting for me when I get home.

Tuesday: Lunch

I forgot how difficult it is for me to stop eating when I’m home all day. During school, it seems I had somewhere to be every morning, kids come home, we do homework, have dinner, end of day. 

Today however, the kids were out playing with friends all day, leaving me home to stare at the cupboards and snack away.  Its going to take every ounce of strength in me to not gain 10 lbs this summer.

This ought to help. Delicious, yet filling lunches.

While my kids won’t quite eat all the vegetables I enjoy on a pita they can at least see me eating one.

Then, I make them a similar lunch, but with some Almond butter, and a fruit spread, instead of the vegetables.

Many days I prefer a salad for lunch. Sometimes the kids will eat one with me, other times they turn it down.  But, you know how I love a good berry salad!

I have been experimenting with different dressings and have found one I LOVE.  I have been casually looking for a strawberry vinegar or raspberry vinegar and haven’t found either.  Not even at my health food store.  When suddenly, some raspberry vinegar showed up at my local Macey’s.  Hooray!    Its so delicious I could drink it.  That alone poured over lettuce would satisfy me.

But for this dressing,  In the food processor I mixed

• 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt with
• 3 TBL raspberry vinegar 

 Then poured it on the berry salads.  I was so happy with the taste.  The kids LOVED the dressing.   We tried one with all spinach leaves, and one with spinach plus leafy greens.  The all spinach did NOT taste as good. I think it needs the green leaf lettuce or other lettuces.

And then, we watched the saddest thing.  This bird landed in our garage with a broken wing.  We literally watched it die.  So sad.

 OK, off to do my first Independent study Chemistry Lesson.