It's Working!

I have lots of recipes and pictures to post, but haven't had (ok, made) the time to sit down and type them all out. But, I did just want to give a quick update. We've added meat once a week, Kyle and the kids eat eggs a few times a week (they make my stomach hurt), and we use real butter in small amounts. We're still eating lots of fruits, vegetables, and beans...gassy. Haha.

BUT! IT IS WORKING. One of my biggest frustrations has been that the kids don't eat their food. I don't want them to be hungry and I don't like wasting food and money! A few nights ago Esther asked for more broccoli. Whaaa?? That has never happened before! And at lunch she skipped her peanut butter and honey sandwich and kept asking for more apples! Isaac actually said, "this is really good" to a couple of new dinners I made. I guess this just confirms that repeated exposure is the key. If we keep only giving healthy food options, over time kids will try it and then acquire a taste for it! I know, duh.

Sketti

Such a random memory to hang on to...I can still remember the first time I tried spaghetti squash! It was at Girl Scouts and our leader served it with butter, salt, and parmesan cheese. It was so tasty, and so different from anything I had ever had before. I'll admit, the texture can be a little...slimy? That's probably why we never ate it at home.

Tonight I baked a spaghetti squash and used it in the place of noodles. Gluten free pasta is ok...just ok. This is a good substitute, and also more nutritious.

I just cut the squash in half, removed the seeds, sprayed the inside with a little olive oil, and baked at 425* for 45 minutes.

After it was done cooking, I scraped out the squash and put it aside. For some reason, this one didn't turn out as "noodle-y" as it usually does.

For the sauce, I just used jarred sauce and loaded it up with vegetables, including onions and garlic. I don't really have a particular brand of sauce I always buy...I just look for one that's on sale and doesn't have soybean oil or HFCS. 

I asked Isaac if he'd like me to boil some macaroni for him, instead of the spaghetti squash, and he said don't bother...I won't eat it anyway. Haha!! He didn't say it in a disrespectful or rude way at all...he honestly wanted to save me the trouble! He said he didn't need dinner, but I did give them some fruit.

They both ended up eating a few plates like this. It was fine with me because, guess what...we are eating this again tomorrow! Muwahahahaha!!!

Time for some BBQ!

Yesterday was beautiful and sunny...the perfect day for barbecuing!

I added Italian seasoning to ground turkey breast and Kyle cooked them on the grill. The kids had whole wheat buns with theirs, but Kyle and I skipped the bun. For sides, we had asparagus, green salad, and delicious, unhealthy tater tots! "Hey, give me your tots!"

There really is a small turkey burger under that tomato, lettuce, ketchup, and mustard. The package was 1.5 pounds and I made 6 patties with it.

Esther ate, and ate, and ate. She ate her entire burger, bun, and tots. It was probably the most she's eaten at dinner in a month! Isaac was really happy with his meal too, and even ate 3 pieces of asparagus...with the promise of ice cream for dessert. 

Last meal of the month!

Whew! I made it, pretty close to budget! Woo hoo!

Normally for breakfast I eat an apple with peanut or almond butter, or sometimes I just act like a leftovers garbage disposal. But THIS is one of my favorite breakfasts!

Yum. Toast with peanut butter, bananas, and honey.

When I picked up Isaac from school, he immediately asked what we were having for dinner. When I told him I wasn't quite sure, both kids started asking for burritos. I had tortillas from the night before and a can of refried beans. I magically transformed into a super hero when I said YES, we are having plain bean burritos for dinner!

Favorite dinner

After eating their burritos, both kids wanted a plain tortilla. Why, yes, please eat some processed white carbs!

I made peanut butter noodles with some vegetables for me and Kyle. I made a final grocery run and got broccoli, carrots, and an onion because I just couldn't bring myself to eat plain old noodles!

Yes! I am obsessed with this meal!

I did my menu planning for next week and we're having meat one night and eggs another. We're having soup, pasta, and some stir fry-ish stuff, so hopefully everyone will enjoy a little more variety and certain small people won't choose to go to bed hungry.

I love a stocked freezer!

A couple of weeks ago we had friends over for dinner and for some reason I thought 7 people needed 400 cups of rice. Haha, so I used the leftover rice and added a few other Mexican-ish things and froze a casserole to use later.

This is layered rice, beans, corn, cilantro and green onion with enchilada sauce. I heated up servings and put it in either flour tortillas or on corn tostadas. It turned out pretty good, but the enchilada sauce I used was SO spicy! The kids mostly just ate the tortillas, but this made enough for our dinner and lunch the next day and then some. 

I love using even small amounts of leftovers and turning them into something else. Right now I have individual serving bags of lentil soup and potato soup, and another casserole like this. So on a rushed morning or a night when I just don't have the energy to cook, I can grab one of those. Woo hoo!