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?

Easy Curried Veggies recipe

Sometimes I'm in the mood for something a little different than boring old steamed veggies.
Like today, I had been craving Indian food, but didn't want to spend the money to eat out, so
I took a basic recipe I had for Potato Masala and made a bunch of changes to make it my own.
This recipe is totally easy to make, I promise you cannot mess this up.

Ingredients:
1 lb cauliflower- cut into florets
8 oz potato- cubed
2 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic- minced
1/8 t ground ginger
1 t salt
1 14oz can diced tomatoes with liquid
2 t Curry powder (or more if you'd like but don't over do it)

Directions:
Heat oil in large pan on medium heat. Add garlic, ginger & salt.
Stir about 30 seconds (don't you burn that garlic, you hear me?!)
Add tomatoes, cook for about 1 minute.
Add Curry powder.
Add potatoes & cauliflower.
Stir so everything is incorporated well.
Bring to boiling, then reduce heat to low.
Simmer, covered for about 30 mins. or when veggies are tender (but not mushy!)

You could add tofu or chickpeas to make it more of a complete meal if you'd like, or prepare it as an accompaniment to your main course, or just do what I did & eat it the way it is.
Yummy!

Healthy meals ARE Happy meals

Is everybody watching the new Jamie Oliver show?  God, I love him.
Remember the "Naked Chef"? That used to be my favorite show on the Food Network.
I love the way he has a bit of a lisp but when he gets excited or emotional the lisp goes into overdrive.
It is the cutest freaking thing ever. Oh, my husband is gonna kill me, haha!

Anywho, last Friday the kids & I were totally bored so I took them out to lunch at the Sunflower Drive In in Fair Oaks.
Smookie & Shrinky were totally hooked up with a kid's meal which included a sandwich, drink & vegan cookie, costing just $3.50 and everything was all natural and good for them.  (Not to mention the fact that Sunflower is super close to drive to and Old Town Fair Oaks is just a really cute, funky area to hang out.)
So, later Friday night while watching "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution" I started thinking about the totally bogus myth that healthy food is too expensive and how people use this as an excuse to feed their kids garbage.
When it comes to eating out, all it took was a little Googling & checking around Yelp to find out that I can get my kids a healthy meal that makes them happy for $3.50 and it's not going to give them diabetes, high cholesterol, or childhood obesity like the fast food options do.  No more fast food for us!
Everybody likes to eat out on occasion, but if you just take a minute to do some research before you head out the door, you can save your family a stomach ache and eat with a clear conscious.
Do it, you'll be amazed how nice it is to eat without the guilt!