Apples take over

We are blessed with an abundance of fruit growing freely in our backyard. Three apple trees, a plum tree, a peach tree, and grapes that travel over our fence line from our next door neighbor's yard. There is also a grapefruit tree growing in the abandoned yard directly behind our house, where I like to take the kids and liberate the tart little orbs.

This year our apple trees are producing like I've never seen, so I needed to find something to do with the plethora of green fruits. 

Thus, my first attempt at applesauce.

picked fresh today!

I poked around on Pinterest for a recipe, and found (of course) dozens of crock pot applesauce pins. I decided to Frankenstein a couple recipes together to come up with my own.

Step one:

Peel, core & dice 6-8 apples (depending on size.)

after this, I just gave them a really rough chop. not too small.

Step two: Stir together 1/2 Cup water, 1/4 Cup brown sugar, 1 1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Step three: Add cut apples to crock pot, then pour liquid mixture evenly over apples. 

omg yum.

Step four: Set crock pot to "Low." They cook for about 4 hours total, but halfway through, I gave them a stir. (Ok, maybe I just wanted to get a really good whiff up close, cuz man oh man, did this smell amazing!)

Step five: turn crock pot off and mash apples with potato masher. Let cool & refrigerate. Or serve warm! Whatever you want! 

I'm thinking about making some pie dough & making dumplings with the mixture. Or topping my waffles with it. Or my ice cream, or stirring some into my oatmeal.....

The possibilities are endless :)

Breakfast hoedown

For the longest time, every Saturday without fail, my husband has made us pancakes. The kids LOVE pancakes. They get so excited when they see their plates and then they gobble up their pancakes like they're going out of style. That's great, I love to see them enjoying food, but I HATE pancakes.
It has gotten to the point that if I have to eat another pancake, I might seriously run away.
Which is exactly why it's a good idea to have something different in your breakfast arsenal.
Because you don't really want your family members to run screaming from the house.
Luckily, my husband Jude is a smart guy who figured out a way to keep the kids happy and me from fleeing the breakfast table.

Johnny cakes are made with corn meal and similar enough to a pancake for the kids to not shy away, but different enough to please a bored palette. They don't seem as heavy as a pancake, and the texture is SO. GOOD.

I like to eat mine with butter & honey but you can put anything you'd put on a pancake (syrup, berries, whipped cream, etc) & it'd work out deliciously :)
The recipe Jude used comes from the Martha White website which he tweaked just a bit to make his own.
Johnny cakes are really simple to make, just like a pancake is, but they're more fun because you can call them Hoecakes.  Who doesn't like saying Hoecake? I mean seriously, for that reason alone they are a total WIN.

What you feed your kid says a lot about you.

We all know how important it is to eat healthy, right?  I have been so disturbed recently to find out the way that children are being fed across this Country. I cannot imagine never feeding my kids vegetables, or sending potato chips in their lunch bags. Pop tarts for breakfast, and candy for snacks. It makes me sad, and actually a little bit angry.  Desserts are fun, and I love a good cupcake but they should really be reserved for special occasions, not served in place of a nutritious meal.
It really only takes minimal effort to provide your kids with healthy, enjoyable food.
Take it from a busy mom of 4:
It can be done!

Here's a typical breakfast for my 2 year old:

-Frozen peaches (we love these, it feels like dessert even though it's not)
-Heart-shaped whole wheat toast (no butter. why give your kids the extra fat?)
-Scrambled egg w/ salsa (Tomato is a "super-food" but ketchup is loaded with high fructose corn syrup)
-Low fat cottage cheese
-Water (kids need water. juice will rot their teeth)
The only thing on her plate I had to make was the egg and all I did was cook it in the microwave.
Of course, when I have more time, like on the weekends, I cook it the "correct" way.

On to my 7 yr old's lunch:

-Natural peanut butter & small bit of honey on whole wheat bread, cut in a circle (young kids LOVE things cut into shapes. Don't try this with your teen, haha)
-Cut apples
-Edamame & mozzarella cubes (I don't know any kid who doesn't like edamame once they try it)
-Carrot sticks (no salad dressing. kids need to know that veggies are good the way they are)


I cooked & shucked the edamame & cut the carrots the night before, which saves me time in the morning, and all I had to do was make his sandwich & cut the apple which took maybe 5 minutes at most.

I'd like to point out that the "lunchbox" my son uses was purchased for a mere $2 at our local Grocery Outlet store, and so was the majority of food, which makes eating healthy very affordable.

If you're confused & don't know where to start, there are a lot of great resources available for you.
You can contact your local W.I.C. office for nutrition advice and help with paying for groceries if you qualify.
There are also Food Banks in almost every community, you just have to be willing to take the time to look for them.
And if you're just looking for some great meal ides, check out some of these links:

Laptop Lunches
Easy Lunchboxes
Vegan Lunch Box

Please think about the food that feed your family.  Show them that you care about them enough to make the small effort it takes to provide them with healthy meals, not junk food. Nutrition=love.
Teaching kids to eat right is teaching them to respect their bodies, and how can that be bad?

Breakfast of Champions

I've never been big on breakfast. Growing up, that meal usually consisted of over-cooked scrambled eggs drenched in ketchup, greasy bacon, and those awful frozen hash brown potatoes. Blech.
So, obviously I didn't have a great representation on how good breakfast could be.
Since having kids, I have found out how important a good start to the day really is.
I cannot send my kids to school with a sugar-heavy "granola" bar in good conscious.
Within an hour or two, they'd crash from the sugar high and be starving and tired.
So, I try to send them off with something a little more nutritious than just a bowl of cereal.

Today, we had homemade Banana Bread & scrambled eggs with sauteed garlic & zucchini, topped with salsa.
It was simple & delicious and the kids ate every bite.

Now, I don't want to get all preachy about what I think kids should be allowed to eat & drink, but come on, folks.  You can't feed your kid a Pop Tart for breakfast & a Fruit Gusher for snack every day and be surprised when he ends up with 9 cavities and diabetes.
Kids can be picky, I know. My 2nd youngest has PDD-NOS and is very particular when it comes to what and how he eats, so I totally understand how hard it is to get kids to try new things......especially green, healthy things. But that is why it's SO important to start when they're young, when they first begin to grab for food off your plate, shove the beets in their direction instead of the mashed potatoes.
Don't get me wrong- a treat every now & then isn't going to kill anyone, but doesn't it make that treat more exciting when it's reserved for special occasions?
Even I, the completely pastry obsessed, know that you can't eat a cupcake every day and not pay the consequences.

Ok, now that I've ranted a bit, I'd love to hear from you.
I've altered my banana bread to contain less sugar & oil than the original recipe but I'd like to see your tried & true healthy version.
So please, send in your recipes! You can click the "Contact Me" link at the top of the page or simply post it in a comment below.