Picnic pants! All the rage in Italy! But that's not actually what this post is about. What I really wanted to talk about was my search for better eating. I grew up on potatoes, lots of white sauces, lots of desserts, basically down-home cooking. Which is yummy, but not the healthiest. Slowly I've been getting to the point where I feel that what I'm making is healthy for the family. I just decided that I need to re-work our diet yet again, and I'm starting with breakfast. I love breakfast. It's cheap, quick, and healthy. There are some easy ways to get protein without eating meat. (Fage greek yogurt and eggs!) Not that my love affair with bacon is going to disappear, (despite its price) but I want to have it crumbled in eggs from now on, not just slabs eaten by itself. Once I have healthy breakfast eating down, I will move on to other meals.
Here is a list I made today of breakfast options I will actually make/have:
Oatmeal and raisins
Eggs (with optional cauliflower puree for scrambled eggs)
French Toast (with optional pureed banana mixed in batter)
Applesauce Muffins (with pureed carrot hidden in them)
Pancakes (with applesauce or sweet potato puree mixed in with Krusteaz)
Steel cut oats
Toast
Strawberries
Bananas
Cantelope
Strawberry syrup (homemade for pancakes)
Yogurt
Bacon
German pancakes
Granola (preferably homemade--way cheaper)
Cereal
Malt-o-meal
Hashbrowns
Breakfast potatos (ourbestbites)
Smoothie (Yoplait mix from Costco)
Orange julius
Orange juice
Banana bread
Anyone have an easy smoothie recipe involving mostly berries? Don't try to sell me on anything involving spinach.
I also made a menu for the whole month of April today. I think I'm going to save a lot of money by buying all my non-perishables in one trip, and just going back to get fruit, milk, etc., throughout the month. Plus, if I get most of my month's groceries in one go, I can easily see how much of my grocery budget I've spent for the month and know how much I have left for any extras I need throughout the rest of the month. Brilliant!
4 comments:
Smoothies are easy. Freeze your berries or buy pre-frozen, add milk and yogurt for a creamy smoothie, or juice and ice for a juicy smoothie. A handful of spinach will not change the flavor and will not even show up if you throw in a few blueberries. Banana adds sweetness. Who needs a recipe! P.S. the Jamba Juice smoothies have sherbet or frozen yogurt in them- adds yumminess but sadly also calories.
Yay! I actually love little diet changes, they are refreshing :) I like your breakfast ideas, I also put just about any fruit/nut/nut butter in my oatmeal and it's delish.
Ooh and if you're looking for extra protein, I love crisping a corn tortilla in the oven, topping with smashed beans, eggs, salsa, and spring mix. It's just really good. But this is coming from a girl who doesn't follow the "no lunch/dinner for breakfast" rule ;)
Mmm food, you are making me hungry and I'm babbling too much. That's what food does to me ;)
My usual smoothie recipe is 1 single-serve container of yogurt, about 2 cups frozen fruit, and enough milk or juice to blend. Tonight I made peach smoothies with peach Yoplait yogurt, peaches, and orange juice, but one of my favorites is strawberry. I use strawberry or vanilla yogurt, strawberries, and milk. If you want to use Greek yogurt or plain, you might want to add a drizzle of agave nectar or honey to sweeten things up. You can also mix fruits/flavors, like strawberry/banana, mixed berries, peach/mango, etc.
Awesome! When you get ready, (I'm with Charity!) go a step further and start making green smoothies! If you add enough frozen blueberries they are actually a beautiful plum color. All the kids (including Curtis) really like them! Well...Arden has a hard time getting past the spinich, but he'll eat them. For my base I usually use a couple of peeled oranges and coconut water or milk, then add lots of kale, spinich, collards, and sometimes a stalk of celery, blend for a few minutes until smooth, then add a quarter of an unpeeled lemon, strawberries, pears, blueberries, kiwis, mangoes, whatever. I like to sweeten a bit with agave nectar. Boom baby, six servings of fruits and veggies in one fell, delicious blow!
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