Exciting News

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Friday night I got an email that brought great news– which I need right now!  The recipe my son & I entered in the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge & Kids’ “State Dinner” recipe contest with The White House/First Lady’s Office, Epicurious, Dept of Education and USDA was selected as a finalist for our state!  Once background checks are done and they do a final test kitchen tasting, we’ll know if we’re the winners!  So we have, at worst, a 1 in 3 chance of winning. 

I’ll be biting my fingers until the 3rd week in June!  The winners from each state and territory get a r/t flight to DC, night’s hotel and a state dinner (really a lunch) with the other winners and Michelle Obama!  My son is excited but not going to say anything until we know for sure.  He’s a better person than I am.  

My son picked a recipe that I’ve made in various ways but built upon the same foundation.  It’s based off this. He said that lentils were optional but he didn’t put them in the recipe. And if they have milk it’s a complete My Plate (USDA guideline) meal.   He had to say why he and I should be picked and I can’t find it anywhere– so I guess he just filled in the spaces on the entry form online and I didn’t save it (nincompoop!) 015

So wish us luck!  We could use some positive vibes.  I will let you know if we get picked!

And the Food Service Director I was sort of complaining about was the one who recommended we enter!  Karma be on my side, please!

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Food Revolution Day

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Today, May 17th is Food Revolution Day.   I signed up on Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution Site.  It’s a day to share what you know about eating healthily and cooking at home.  

For Food Revolution Day, I’m going in to my sons’ Elementary School to tell the kids about it and help them make healthy food choices.  I’ve gone in several times before and last year got the PTA to create a position called the Food Services Liaison.  The FSL is the point person between the parents and the School Food Services Provider/Director.  As the FSL I also coordinate other parent volunteers to go in at various days in the year to help educate the students as to what choices they have each lunch especially when it comes to the fruits and vegetables.

Today I’ll be going in with another mom to help persuade the kids to get a fruit or vegetable (or several) if they are just skipping past them.  We make sure they know that all those “offered” foods are available to them and they can take as many as they’d like as part of their paid/free lunch.   I may also try to dissuade them from buying the optional (and extra costing) snacks they offer them at the end of the line.  They’re usually empty calories and too many times they have ingredients that many parents would rather steer clear of.  If the children get plenty of the fruits and vegetables as well as the protein and carbs that are already on their plate, they should have enough food to keep them satisfied. 

Since we (almost always) cook at home, this is my way of helping others eat well and form a good foundation to a healthy life. 

Have you ever considered going into your child(ren)’s school cafeteria?  Have you discussed what foods they serve and how they serve them at school?  Does your school allow parents to volunteer in the cafeteria?  

Food Revolution Day

Food Revolution Day

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Turning One Obsession into Cake

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Middle son wins own cake in Cake Walk

My son is so thrilled to have won his own prize-winning cake!

Many moms of boys I know get a bit sick of Minecrack Minecraft.  My boys play and play and play.  They stay in on the computer too long and I find it hard to get them off willingly.  I have to resort to turning it off or taking away another privilege.  But last weekend I actually turned their obsession into something else fun. (We’ve done Minecraft themed Halloween costumes and decorating before too!)

Our town has a library that Mark Twain started and each year the library puts on a country children’s fair called the Frog Frolic. My kids run around safely unattended for hours and hours (while I volunteer at one or two stations) in the sun and fresh air, bouncing on one of several bounce houses/obstacle courses, and do cute games.  For the past couple of years the fair has had a Cake Walk– kids and adults bake/decorate cakes that are then auctioned off in a contest.  The contestants walk around on top of numbered lily pads and when the music stops whomever is on top of the drawn number is the winner of a cake– of their choosing.  Continue reading →

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Transition

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I am in the middle of moving my site and am still working out the kinks.  

I found that in its old form I couldn’t automatically have my recipes sorted or placed in one spot.  This was so frustrating.  So, this platform will allow it and it (so far) seems to be fairly easy (for some).  Hopefully it works.  

Please hang in while I do this in my spare (ha ha) time!

Thanks!

Vanessa

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How to De-Bone Chicken pt 1

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Ok, we made a video instead of trying to write it all step-by-step with photos.  I still might do it and gif the photos.  Just limited in time lately (well, really almost always!).

My youngest son, 6 years old, decided to get into the video (part 2) and I’m  going to just leave him in… too time consuming to edit it all out and it shows the normal situation in our house (kids running around and interrupting conversations, etc). 

The bones were all saved for a stock.

And reasons for de-boning:
*mostly because it’s faster and the thighs and breast take same time to cook, keeping breast moist when thighs are done all the way through.
* also great for marinating: flavors will penetrate more of the meat this way (in a shorter period of time). 

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)
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Gluten Free Banana Pancakes

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Updating the website and having some issues.  In the meantime here’s a photo of our delicious breakfast.  Gluten-free pancakes with maple syrup. I added cinnamon and bananas to mine.  (Boys weren’t interested.) I made them with buckwheat, sorghum, and brown rice … Continue reading →

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Thanksgiving Style Dinner in 40 mins not 4 hours!

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I love Thanksgiving; it’s my favorite holiday.  Just family and friends gathering to enjoy each others’ company while eating good food.  No presents.  No expectations or disappointments surrounding gifts.  No spending huge amounts of money.  Just getting together and having a good time.  I also love turkey with all the trimmings. So does my eldest son.  Turkey, stuffing, gravy, potatoes, cranberry sauce and vegetables is a perfect meal for him. Sometimes I want the Thanksgiving dinner without going to all the trouble of making a Thanksgiving dinner!

So, I figured out a way to make a turkey dinner without roasting a turkey for 4 hours.  It happened when I found thick sliced turkey breast at Trader Joe’s.  I thought, I can stuff these!  I don’t need no stinking whole turkey.image Continue reading →

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