Feeding Kids Healthy Meals...Oh, the never ending battle!!

Well, fall is upon us and this means absolute craziness for our family. We have dove head first into football and cheer season! Both my hubby and I are coaching our kids so we have some type of practice or game every night which makes meal planning and cooking quite a challenge. Yes, it's so easy to eat out when I'm too tired to cook but it makes me cringe to think of how unhealthy my family is eating. While we do indulge ourselves with some fun nights out (especially if we're celebrating a "win"), I try my best to cook a healthy meal as much as I can. My son is the awesome eater while my daughter is picky so that's another challenge in itself. I did try a new recipe last night...Broccoli Bites that were a hit with the kiddos (they normally would never touch broccoli) so I thought I'd share...

Broccoli Cheese Bites

16 oz. package of frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained of liquid (I used fresh steamed broccoli)
1 1/2 cup of grated cheddar cheese
3 eggs
1 cup of seasoned Italian breadcrumbs

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.
With your hands, form small patties and lay on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake at 375F for 25 minutes, turning the patties after the first 15 minutes.

I plan on making an extra batch this weekend that I can freeze and use those nights when there's no time to spare cooking. Hope your family enjoys these too!

New Recipes

I just made a few new dishes and got a "thumbs up" from the family so I thought I'd share. I got these off Pinterest...where else??

Crunchy Peanut Slaw

1 big bowl of slaw, serves at least 8
1 medium head green cabbage, outer leaves removed
1 1/2 cups roasted, unsalted peanuts
1 bunch green onions
1 cup chopped cilantro (about two big handfuls unchopped)
Salt and pepper
Dressing:
1/2 cup light oil, like canola
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar (or more, to taste)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon soy sauce (or more, to taste)
Shred the cabbage very finely. The fineness of the shredded cabbage is really what makes this salad; you want it in in threads, almost, and with the threads chopped into bite-size lengths. Toss with the peanuts in a large bowl. Chop the scallions, including the green and white parts. Toss the scallions and chopped cilantro with the cabbage, seasoning very lightly with salt and pepper.
Whisk the dressing until emulsified, then taste and adjust to your own preferences of sweetness and saltiness.
Toss with the cabbage. Garnish with a few more peanuts and serve.


Brown Sugar and Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:
1 (2 pound) boneless pork loin
1 teaspoon ground sage
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 cup water

Glaze
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions:
Combine sage, salt, pepper and garlic. Rub over roast. Place in slow cooker with 1/2 cup water. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. About 1 hour before roast is done, combine ingredients for glaze in small sauce pan. Heat and stir until mixture thickens. Brush roast with glaze 2 or 3 times during the last hour of cooking. Serve with remaining glaze on the side.

Easy and Awesome! Enjoy!

Back To School

WOW! It's been almost 2 months since I've posted...Sorry! We've been so busy (I know, who hasn't?) Summer was crazy and fun! We took a trip to Germany and Denmark to visit family, attended a bazillion kid camps, bought a beach house (love it) and managed to fill up all the remaining minutes of our day with miscellaneous activities. Needless to say, the summer flew by!

My kids are now settled back into school so I've had a few days to breathe and get my routine down. Organizing and scheduling just makes me happy and helps me to relax. With football and cheerleading now up and running, I've had to get back into my weekly meal planning so I can make sure my family is eating properly. I came up with a list of lunch ideas so I'm not so overwhelmed in the mornings trying to decide what to make. As most of you know, my son is gluten-intolerant so making lunch is sometimes challenging. I know so many of you have lunch ideas already (there are a million ideas online) but I thought I'd share mine...

Lunch Ideas

Main Items
Peanut butter banana sandwich on raisin bread
Peanut butter and sliced banana on bread (roll up and then slice like sushi)
English muffin pizza (tomato sauce and cheese)
Hot dog
Annie’s Mac & Cheese
Wheat cracker peanut butter "sandwiches”
Soup
Wrap with Hummus, Turkey, Cheese & Lettuce
Applegate Chicken Nuggets & Ketchup
Homemade Lunchable (sliced meat, low fat cheese and whole grain crackers)

Fruits & Veggies
All cut fruit (can add peanut butter yogurt dip)
Carrots & Ranch
Celery & Peanut Butter
Edamame
Salad
Natural Applesauce

Additional
Popcorn
Pretzels
Yogurt
Cheese
Pita Chips & Hummus
Veggie Crisps
Sugar-free Pudding
Sugar-free Jello
Graham crackers with Nutella
Hard boiled eggs

So many of you have more ideas and I'd love for you to share them here with everyone! The best advice I can give you is to TRY to stay away from putting a lot of pre-packaged foods in your kids lunches. Read labels. Watch sodium and sugar. Most of all, pack them lots of water...keep them hydrated! Pinterest has tons of ideas too...BEWARE...it can become addicting! Proceed with caution!

Happy Back To School To Everyone!!

Skinny Mom

I've got a fantastic new website for all you Moms out there!!!

http://www.skinnymom.com

It's an online community with a free daily newsletter for fit moms and mom-to-be everywhere! Fitness model and expert Brooke Griffin created the site to help busy mothers maintain a fit lifestyle while raising children. There a tons of recipes, blogs, videos of exercises and much more! Check it out!

Summer Recipe

I just found this recipe on Pinterest...my new addiction! I thought it sounded so easy and yummy and the perfect snack for my kiddos during this HOT summer! We spend lots of time by the pool and I always need a healthy snack to serve.


Fruity Peanut Butter Yogurt Dip

Ingredients (Makes 6-8 servings):
• 1/2 cup fruit-flavored yogurt
• 1/2 cup natural runny peanut butter
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• Fruit/veggies for dipping
Mix together all of the ingredients completely making sure there aren’t any clumps. Move to a serving dish. Serve with chopped fruit and vegetables.

I know you'll enjoy it as much as I will!

Summer

Wow! The year flew by...it's finally here...SUMMER! Yeah! I'm so happy to have the kids home, a little extra time to sleep in and a lighter and less crazy schedule. I'm not happy that my kids will be bugging me on a daily basis to keep them entertained. I'll hear "I'm Bored" countless times over the next few months...agh!!!

I've been trying to put together a daily schedule that will remain posted in plain sight for all to view. My son constantly needs a timeline for the day (where does he get that from???-he he!)
I did find an idea on the internet for an "I'm Bored" Jar...

Inside the jar I placed pieces of paper with fun ideas and also chores. A few ideas are...
Wash the car
Clean the studio
Clean your room
Odie Day (take the dog to a dogpark)
Invite a friend over
Movie
Library

The ideas are endless! Everytime I hear "I'm Bored", the complainer has to pull a piece of paper not knowing if it will be a fun idea or a chore. They are so excited about it so we'll see how it goes!

Our summer evenings are often filled with swimming, dinner outside on the patio and movie time by the pool. We also have a firering so S'mores are a frequent snack for the kiddos. I decided to make my life easier and put together "S'more Jars" that are always full and ready to go. They are a hit!

I'll happily post any other fun summer ideas I come across and would love to hear yours as well. Happy Summer to ALL!!!

What A Month!

I can't believe it's been a month since I've last posted...and what a month it's been! So much has been going on and it all started with a health scare with my mom. I won't go into details but she has been through a lot including surgery and there were many ups and downs. Thank God all has turned out well and she has a clean bill of health!

In the beginning, I made the decision that no matter what, I was going to go through this journey with my mom every step of the way. She has always been there for me and is my rock so I wanted to help her through the bumps in the road. During her surgery and recovery, I often had time to sit and reflect. It's been a crazy year full of so many activities and I sometimes find it hard to even breathe. I admit to taking life for granted, living in the fast lane and not stopping to smell the roses. With so much "downtime" (aka sitting in the hospital or at home hanging out with my mom) the last few weeks, I was able to read some fun books, work on some craft projects and do some thinking. I decided life is too short and goes too fast. I want to spend more time with my family, doing things I love and stopping to smell the roses a time or two.

Summer is right around the corner and I'm ready to hang out with my kiddos, travel and hopefully relax (and, yes, train my awesome clients too). I have even been smelling the roses and other flowers too...literally! Last week, I cut roses from my own bushes and made an arrangement. Today, while grocery shopping, I bought myself a $4 arrangement of flowers and placed them in a spray painted mason jar with decorations (pictured above). How can that nnot bring a smile to your face? I hope you take the time to enjoy life a bit and smell the roses (or whatever flower you like) too.

I leave you with one last thought...

You are constantly changing, growing and becoming.

Love yourself along the way.

Believe in you!

Jan Bethancourt