Category: Nutrition
Turtles in the Snow Cheesecake Bars
In our house, my soon-to-be 15 year old son is our dessert connoisseur. That is why I collaborated with him on a new recipe to enter in an online contest. We did come up with a great recipe for the contest (we’ll have to wait to share that one). Our favorite recipe was eliminated because it took longer than 30 minutes to prepare. I decided to share it with you all because I am sure you won’t mind waiting for this one to chill. It is definitely worth the wait!
Head over to Titus 2 At the Well where I am sharing my Turtles in the Snow Cheesecake Bars recipe!
Oven Baked Potatoes
The potato was burned black outside, but inside it was white and mealy and a most delicious baked-potato smell steamed out of it. They let it cool a little, and then they gnawed the inside out of the black crust, and it was the best potato they had ever eaten.
~Laura Ingalls Wilder, Farmer Boy
One of my favorite foods is a baked potato smothered in butter, sour cream, and cheddar cheese (it is even better with bacon bits and chives). But for some reason my baked potatoes never tasted as good as the ones at the BBQ restaurants.
Until my mom stayed with us last summer…
I realized that most of my problem was the fact that I had only made them in the microwave, which is fine for a quick meal, but not so fine for a tasty one.
From now on, all our baked potatoes are made in the oven. It does take a bit longer (like 2 hours longer), but it is worth the wait. If you have never made oven baked potatoes, I would urge you to at least try them!
Oven Baked Potatoes
1. Wash and scrub baking potato. Poke it several times with a fork or knife.
2. Place on a rectangle of tin foil. Pour a bit of oil over potato, then cover with salt. Note: add more salt than you normally would so that it can penetrate the potato.
3. Place wrapped potatoes in baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. The time it takes to bake can vary greatly depending on how large the potatoes are and how many you are cooking. I check the potatoes by sticking a knife through them. When it is easy to pierce, I consider it done.
4. I let the potatoes sit for a while after taking them out of the oven.
Curried Chicken and Rice Salad
Several years ago I had the privilege of having a friend that had the gift of hospitality. She always knew when someone was in need and was quick to serve in so many ways. She always had a meal ready for those who were sick or had new babies. I have several great recipes from her simply because she cared enough to bring meals during times of trial.
This is one she shared.
Thank you Suzanne…for the recipes and the memories!
Ingredients
- 2 cups chicken, cooked and diced
- 3 cups rice, cooked (I use brown rice)
- 1 cup celery, sliced
- 1 cup apples, diced
- 2 medium green onions
- Sauce:
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 3/4 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Mix sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
- Mix chicken, rice, celery, apples, and onions in large bowl.
- Pour sauce over salad and mix well.
- Can be served warm or cold.
Tips on Getting Your Kids to Eat Healthier
Our crew had dental cleanings this past week and two of them had small cavities.
Several years ago we had the same problem. I was told that it was largely hereditary and there was really nothing I could do about it. I didn’t feel like that was totally accurate. It was about this time that we began changing up our diet to a more “whole foods” diet. For years the kids were all cavity free.
Until now.
It seems we have fallen off the healthy eating wagon. Little by little I have let “junk” seep back in to our diets. Part of it may be the fact that we moved to a foreign country and then back to the states (because of medical issues) within such a short time frame. I feel like I am just now catching my breath from it all.
To add to it, I have been having my own medical issues (currently waiting on results for celiac testing). It is time for this family to get back to eating healthier foods.
By the way, my friend Kerimae has a wonderful podcast on the topic of preventing and healing cavities. I listened to it again this week after our dental visit!
Most of you know that I am studying to become an herbalist. I truly believe that the Lord has blessed us with many plants for our healing. However, our first line of defense against disease and illness is a solid offense. The Lord has provided an abundance of wonderful foods, created to work with our bodies to maintain health.
I thought it was very timely that the High Five Moms topic this month was “getting your children to eat healthy foods”. This is a “practice what you preach” topic, that’s for sure!
Here are a few things that have helped us in the past and will be re-implemented this week (We are traveling to the San Antonio Christian Film Festival this week, but we are still going to work toward better choices even on the road!).
Healthier Snacks
This is probably our biggest problem area. I have a child that is a wonderful dessert chef. He can whip up so many yummy, sweet concoctions. I was just telling him that he needs to write an e-book entitled “Carni Lovers Cookbook” — he made funnel cakes yesterday. Ok, I am side-tracking I know. See this is why I have so much trouble eating healthier!
1. So, our new food choices will include much more fresh fruits and veggies. My children really don’t have a problem eating these as long as I make sure to have them on hand. They love ranch dip, I just need to make sure and make my own so that we don’t get all the yuckies from the powdered packages. For fruit, I will sometimes mix up fresh lemon/raw honey for them to dip it in.
2. My friend Brandy at The Marathon Mom has a ton of granola bar ideas. My kids like the granola I make, but it is more of a cereal rather than a snack bar. I am going to try to make more granola bars to have on hand, especially when we are on the go and need to grab a snack to take with us.
3. We also like to make smoothies. I like them because it is easy to add in lots of healthy “stuff” and it still taste yummy. On my to-do list is start a batch of kefir. It has been years since we made our own kefir, but it is time to start back up. If you don’t know what kefir is, here is a brief description from kefir.net…
Kefir is a cultured, enzyme-rich food filled with friendly micro-organisms that help balance your “inner ecosystem.” More nutritious and therapeutic than yogurt, it supplies complete protein, essential minerals, and valuable B vitamins.
Sounds like pretty good stuff, huh?
Healthier Meal Times
It doesn’t really matter how healthy you cook or prepare foods, if your kids don’t eat it. Some simple “rules” we have at our house concerning foods…
1. Each child gets one food item to dislike (one item over all, not at each meal). They don’t ever have to eat this one item (although sometimes they have learned to eat their one item, they are not forced to do so). All other food items they must eat at least some of when they are served.
2. No picking out foods. They can take out their one item if we are eating something that has it in it, but other than that they don’t make a habit of taking things out of their food. Generally I try to not include their item on their plates, but sometimes it can’t be helped.
3. When making foods that aren’t necessarily favorites, I try to pair them up with other foods that are well liked. This allows them to eat a bite of something not so tasty, then take a bite of something more appetizing. For instance, I like to make fresh asparagus when I make baked salmon. Some of the younger kids are still learning to enjoy the asparagus, but they readily eat the salmon. By serving them together, it seems to ease the transition.
4. Start off with small amounts of new foods, or ones that aren’t well received. Most of the time the kids will eat a small amount of foods they dislike without complaining. This is also good training for times that you may be eating at someone else’s house or at church. I teach the children that if they don’t like something (or if it doesn’t look appeasing) just ask for a small amount rather than say “I don’t like that” or “I don’t want that”.
5. I don’t usually make “kid meals”. 99% of the time, the foods I make are for all of us and they are regular meals. I don’t make chicken nuggets and macaroni type meals just so the kids will eat (nothing wrong with healthy homemade chicken nuggets and macaroni, just using it as an example). Rather I choose the best meals for the entire family.
Brandy at The Marathon Mom
Keri Mae at The Happy Home
Stacy at A Delightful Home
Andie at Happy Andersons
Butter Cookies
When my older children were younger, we would often make “sugar” cookies for the different holidays. We had all sorts of cookie cutters. The kids loved rolling out the dough, cutting out their cookie, and then of course loading it down with a ton of icing and colored sprinkles.
Then I went through my healthy eating phase (ok, not so much a phase as a new way of life) and out went all the cute cookie cutters. I couldn’t let my kids eat “sugar” cookies, especially with all that icing and decorations. So for the last few years my poor younger children haven’t experienced the joys of rolling out cookies and decorating them…
until this week!
Join me over at The Marathon Mom where I am sharing a delicious Butter Cookie Recipe!
The Great Cheese Ball Link Up
One of my favorite memories of Christmas time is the cheese balls my grandmother and great-grandmother would make every year. Us kids would sit around snacking on them, waiting on Christmas dinner to be done.
There were two cheese balls that I remember very distinctly. One of the two I make every year for Christmas, or any other time we need a special snack. I changed up the recipe a bit from my grandmother’s recipe. I added in the cheddar cheese to give it a bit more substance–and to make it last longer!
Ingredients
- 8 oz. cream cheese
- 8 oz. cheddar cheese, finely shredded
- small can crushed pineapples, drained
- 2 tablespoons bell pepper, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon Lawry's season salt
- 1 cup pecans, chopped
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients, except pecans.
- Roll into ball.
- Roll in pecans until covered.
- Chill until firm.
The other cheese ball I grew up eating was a mystery cheese ball. I asked my grandmother for the recipe a couple of years ago, but she didn’t have it and couldn’t remember how to make it. This Christmas I was determined to find a recipe for the mysterious cheese ball. I googled and googled. None of the recipes sounded like the one I remember.
Then one day I received an email from my aunt saying she thought she had found the recipe online at Homesick Texan. This would make sense, as I am sure this recipe was probably passed around the state where I grew up.
By omitting one of the ingredients, I had found the winner!
Ingredients
- 2 cups of sharp cheddar cheese, finely shredded
- 8 oz. package of cream cheese
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp minced onions
- 1 tbsp chili powder
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients except chili powder.
- Roll into ball.
- Roll in chili powder.
- Chill until firm.
Seeing as how I love a good cheese ball, I thought it would be fun to collect cheese ball recipes throughout the year (in preparation for next years festivities!). If you have a cheese ball recipe, please link below so that we know where to find the recipes. Make sure the link goes to the recipe post and not your homepage.
Monday’s Menu Link Up
I haven’t planned out my weekly meals in quite a while, and consequently we have been eating out way too much. I don’t know about you all, but one of the hardest aspects of getting dinner done is deciding what to have. If I don’t plan ahead, I find myself trying to throw something together with half the ingredients missing.
So here I am back at it. That’s the nice thing. Even if you haven’t planned your meals in a while, you can just pick up where you are and plan for the next few days, or week, or month.
I am also thinking that I should start planning for the Christmas cooking and candy making. The cooking doesn’t require too much planning just because we have the same things each year. It’s the finding time to get it all done that requires the planning.
Some of our favorite goodies include:
Lucero’s Magic Bars (these are my son’s favorite, so he is in charge of making them)
Millionaires (my great-grandmother and grandmother always made these — now it’s my turn)
Fudge (no frills here, just the recipe on the back of the marshmallow creme)
Pecan Pineapple Cheeseball (another recipe from my great-grandmother, although we have tweaked it a bit)
We had the cheeseball this week so that I could get pictures to share (look for the recipe in a few days). Not sure if I will make it again for Christmas. I am looking for a cheeseball recipe where the cheeseball is covered in chili powder. My grandmother made it when we were little, but doesn’t have the recipe anymore. Maybe I should do a cheeseball linky…
Menu for December 12-18
Monday — pork stir fry with cabbage, brown rice
Tuesday — fish sticks, hushpuppies, salad
Wednesday — crockpot pork chops, mashed potatoes, spinach
Thursday — vegetable stew, cornbread
Friday — caroling (bringing snacks to fellowship)
Saturday — enchiladas, beans, rice
Sunday — leftovers
Now it’s you turn! Share your weekly menu or favorite recipe.
Please make sure that you link to the specific post (your menu or recipe) and not your homepage. At the end of your post, please include a link back to this post so that others can join in as well. Also, the post that you link to must be completely family friendly.
If you don’t have a blog or haven’t written a menu post, share your menu for the week in the comments!
Pumpkin Stew
Last month our family took a trip to the local pumpkin patch for some Autumn fun. The kids ran around the corn maze, rode the barrel train, and jumped on the bouncy thing. We couldn’t leave without each of them picking out a pumpkin. We don’t celebrate Halloween and I am not keen on pumpkin pies, so I have had to be creative in finding uses for our pumpkins.
When we were staying in Texas, we were able to go to a historical re-enactment where the “pioneers” were cooking pumpkin stew. I decided to try to make this on my own.
To learn how to make this delicious stew, stop on by At the Well where I am sharing the recipe for Pumpkin Stew!
Popcorn Balls
One of our favorite treats in the fall is popcorn balls! Now let me forewarn you, this is not some healthy for you kind of recipe. Basically sugar, sugar, corn syrup, and more sugar poured over popcorn. We don’t make this often, but when we do, everyone loves it!
Ingredients
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 3/4 cup light corn syrup
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 6 quarts popped corn
Instructions
- Combine sugar, corn syrup, water, and salt in a saucepan.
- Cook over low heat, stirring gently, until sugar dissolves.
- Cook over medium heat, without stirring, to hard ball stage (254°).
- Remove from heat, and stir in butter and vanilla.
- Pour over popcorn, stirring well with a wooden spoon.
- Grease hands with butter and shape popcorn into balls.
Honey Wheat Bagels
The older I get, the more thankful I am when the air gets cooler and the leaves change color. Some of my favorite comforts are best enjoyed on a crisp autumn morning.
~sipping a hot cup of tea~
~wrapping up in a woolen shaw~
~eating a warm bagel straight from the oven~
~smoothered in cream cheese and homemade strawberry jam~
(the bagel, not me)
The first time I made homemade bagels, I was a bit intimidated. It seemed like such a complicated process. However, once I jumped in and made them, it really wasn’t that bad at all. The bagels were delicious and I had the satisfaction of making them myself!
Join me At the Well, where I am sharing how to make your own Honey Wheat Bagels!
