As a parent I am always looking at the sugar content in the foods that I give my kids. Whether it's yogurt, juice, granola bars or cereal I try to find foods with the least amount of sugar. Recently a new study by the American Heart Association came out with a daily recommendation of how much added sugar our kids should eat in a day. I thought it was interesting and wanted to share it with you.
http://myfox8.com/2016/08/28/no-more-than-6-teaspoons-of-sugar-a-day-for-kids-new-recommendation/
Monday, August 29, 2016
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
Crustless Quiche
Growing up my mom would make quiche every once in awhile for dinner. I always enjoyed those dinners because it was a meal that was a little bit different than most dinners. A few years ago I came across a recipe for a Crustless Quiche and decided to try it. Now it is one of those recipes that my kids love and part of our regular meal rotation. It is super easy and very versatile as you can add in lots of additional ingredients to cater it to your family's preferences. I like to serve it along side fresh cut fruit and veggies and some homemade muffins. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!
Crustless Quiche
Ingredients:
5 eggs
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
4 tablespoons of melted butter
1 cup cottage cheese
2 cups of shredded cheese
Combine all ingredients and pour into a well greased 9x9 pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.
Notes:
Gluten free flour works fine in this recipe.
Cooked ground sausage or bacon work well in this recipe.
Spinach, onions or mushrooms are also great additions.
Crustless Quiche
Ingredients:
5 eggs
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
4 tablespoons of melted butter
1 cup cottage cheese
2 cups of shredded cheese
Combine all ingredients and pour into a well greased 9x9 pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.
Notes:
Gluten free flour works fine in this recipe.
Cooked ground sausage or bacon work well in this recipe.
Spinach, onions or mushrooms are also great additions.
Monday, August 22, 2016
What's For Dinner?
As the school year starts along with it comes homework and lots of activities to juggle.
By dinner time many of us are tapped out and don't want to think about preparing a meal for our family. Often on busy nights it's easiest to grab food to go or go out to eat. While eating out provides convenience it also offers lots of unhealthy choices and can be expensive when done frequently. Here are some tips to help you stay on track with eating at home while balancing all the craziness that comes with kids weeknight schedules.
1. Meal Plan
By taking a little time on the weekend to sit down and make a menu for the week you can end up saving yourself time and energy at dinnertime. When planning a weekly menu, make a list of all the ingredients you will need for each meal so that you only need to grocery shop once to have all you need for the week. I find it helpful when meal planning to look at my calendar for the week to see what activities we have on what nights so that I don't plan a labor intensive meal on a very busy evening. I have recently started posting our weekly menu on a chalkboard in the kitchen so that my family can see what we are having for dinner each night. That has put an end to the nightly question of "What's for dinner, mom?"
2. Keep Ingredients For Your Favorite Meals On Hand
If you are not someone who plans their meals in advance this is a great tip for you. By always having ingredients for the meals that you make the most on hand at all times you save yourself the hassle of trying to scavenge together something from your pantry at dinnertime. Pasta, spaghetti sauce, rice, cream of chicken soup, taco shells and canned beans are regular staples in my pantry. It is also helpful to have frozen veggies in the freezer. There is nothing worse than going into the fridge at dinnertime to find that all of your veggies are rotten! The more ingredients you have on hand the easier it will be when dinner time rolls around.
3. Keep It Simple
There are no awards for the amount of time you spend making dinner. It doesn't have a be complicated. Sandwiches and soup with some cut up fruit and veggies is a perfect dinner especially on a busy night. In fact, my family loves when I buy sub sandwich buns and they can have subs for dinner. Yes, you could just go to Subway instead but you save a lot of money and can make your sandwiches healthier when doing it yourself. A regular meal in our house during the Fall and Winter is tomato soup and grilled cheese. It's quick and easy and perfect for busy nights.
4. Use Your Crockpot
I don't know the exact origin of the crockpot but am fairly certain that it was invented by a busy mom. There is nothing better then coming home after an exhausting day to know that dinner is already prepared. By taking a few minutes in the morning or even preparing some ingredients the night before, you can have a complete meal by dinnertime. I love using my crockpot on those nights when we have practices right at dinnertime. Whether it's a roast chicken, pot roast, pasta or soup your crockpot is the perfect item to use to keep you eating at home even on busy nights.
5. Use Your Leftovers
Often leftovers get shoved in the back of the fridge only to be thrown away a week later. If you find that you have a lot of leftovers, use those to feed your family on nights when you don't have time to cook. To take this a step further, you can use some of your leftovers to create a new meal. For example, if you make too much pot roast you can grind up the leftovers in a food processor along with some BBQ sauce to make BBQ beef sandwiches. If you have leftover chicken breasts, use them for chicken tacos or fajitas. Leftover corn on the cob? Use it to make a corn chowder or add it to pasta with some bacon and parmesan for a yummy twist on spaghetti. Leftovers don't have to be boring especially when you can find new ways to present them.
6. Cook In Bulk
Cooking extras can help you save time during the week. When browning meat for spaghetti or tacos, make extras to throw in the fridge or freezer for another night. If you are going to grill on the weekend, grill some extra chicken, burgers or hotdogs to have during the week especially on a night when you know you won't have time to cook. Making a casserole? Double the recipe and put one in the freezer for later.
I hope you find some of these tips helpful. Most importantly, give yourself grace. Sometimes eating out or grabbing dinner on the go is just a fact of life but when you can, plan ahead and dinnertime can be a less stressful time of the day.
By dinner time many of us are tapped out and don't want to think about preparing a meal for our family. Often on busy nights it's easiest to grab food to go or go out to eat. While eating out provides convenience it also offers lots of unhealthy choices and can be expensive when done frequently. Here are some tips to help you stay on track with eating at home while balancing all the craziness that comes with kids weeknight schedules.
1. Meal Plan
By taking a little time on the weekend to sit down and make a menu for the week you can end up saving yourself time and energy at dinnertime. When planning a weekly menu, make a list of all the ingredients you will need for each meal so that you only need to grocery shop once to have all you need for the week. I find it helpful when meal planning to look at my calendar for the week to see what activities we have on what nights so that I don't plan a labor intensive meal on a very busy evening. I have recently started posting our weekly menu on a chalkboard in the kitchen so that my family can see what we are having for dinner each night. That has put an end to the nightly question of "What's for dinner, mom?"
2. Keep Ingredients For Your Favorite Meals On Hand
If you are not someone who plans their meals in advance this is a great tip for you. By always having ingredients for the meals that you make the most on hand at all times you save yourself the hassle of trying to scavenge together something from your pantry at dinnertime. Pasta, spaghetti sauce, rice, cream of chicken soup, taco shells and canned beans are regular staples in my pantry. It is also helpful to have frozen veggies in the freezer. There is nothing worse than going into the fridge at dinnertime to find that all of your veggies are rotten! The more ingredients you have on hand the easier it will be when dinner time rolls around.
3. Keep It Simple
There are no awards for the amount of time you spend making dinner. It doesn't have a be complicated. Sandwiches and soup with some cut up fruit and veggies is a perfect dinner especially on a busy night. In fact, my family loves when I buy sub sandwich buns and they can have subs for dinner. Yes, you could just go to Subway instead but you save a lot of money and can make your sandwiches healthier when doing it yourself. A regular meal in our house during the Fall and Winter is tomato soup and grilled cheese. It's quick and easy and perfect for busy nights.
4. Use Your Crockpot
I don't know the exact origin of the crockpot but am fairly certain that it was invented by a busy mom. There is nothing better then coming home after an exhausting day to know that dinner is already prepared. By taking a few minutes in the morning or even preparing some ingredients the night before, you can have a complete meal by dinnertime. I love using my crockpot on those nights when we have practices right at dinnertime. Whether it's a roast chicken, pot roast, pasta or soup your crockpot is the perfect item to use to keep you eating at home even on busy nights.
5. Use Your Leftovers
Often leftovers get shoved in the back of the fridge only to be thrown away a week later. If you find that you have a lot of leftovers, use those to feed your family on nights when you don't have time to cook. To take this a step further, you can use some of your leftovers to create a new meal. For example, if you make too much pot roast you can grind up the leftovers in a food processor along with some BBQ sauce to make BBQ beef sandwiches. If you have leftover chicken breasts, use them for chicken tacos or fajitas. Leftover corn on the cob? Use it to make a corn chowder or add it to pasta with some bacon and parmesan for a yummy twist on spaghetti. Leftovers don't have to be boring especially when you can find new ways to present them.
6. Cook In Bulk
Cooking extras can help you save time during the week. When browning meat for spaghetti or tacos, make extras to throw in the fridge or freezer for another night. If you are going to grill on the weekend, grill some extra chicken, burgers or hotdogs to have during the week especially on a night when you know you won't have time to cook. Making a casserole? Double the recipe and put one in the freezer for later.
I hope you find some of these tips helpful. Most importantly, give yourself grace. Sometimes eating out or grabbing dinner on the go is just a fact of life but when you can, plan ahead and dinnertime can be a less stressful time of the day.
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
Get Up and Get Moving
Recently our neighborhood started hosting early morning yoga and bootcamp by the Hidden Creek Community Pool. It is such a great way to get the day started and also a fun way to connect with other members of our community as well as Walker parents. Here is the information:
Yoga: MWF at 5:45 AM
Bootcamp: Thursday at 5:45 AM
Cost: $8 for one class or $50 for a month for unlimited classes
For more information please feel free to visit Skye Truth Joy Yoga or Yogi Amy on Facebook
Hope to see you there!
Yoga: MWF at 5:45 AM
Bootcamp: Thursday at 5:45 AM
Cost: $8 for one class or $50 for a month for unlimited classes
For more information please feel free to visit Skye Truth Joy Yoga or Yogi Amy on Facebook
Hope to see you there!
What's In Your Lunchbox?
Most of us have gotten the summer off from having to pack lunches for our kids. Sure, we still had to make them lunch but there is a difference between packing a lunch at 10:00 at night or 6:30 in the morning and actually making them a lunch at noon each day.
Packing lunches takes thought and preparation. When it comes to starting back to school I try to find new recipes and ideas to keep my kids' lunch boxes from being anything but boring. This year I bought Bento boxes so that they would have different compartments for their food rather than packing several sandwich bags or containers. My hope is that this will help me stay on top of coming up with new and creative lunch ideas. Here is one lunch box recipe that my kids love that I wanted to share courtesy of Elana's Pantry. It does take a little bit of time so is a great one to make on the weekend and keep in the fridge for the week.
Packing lunches takes thought and preparation. When it comes to starting back to school I try to find new recipes and ideas to keep my kids' lunch boxes from being anything but boring. This year I bought Bento boxes so that they would have different compartments for their food rather than packing several sandwich bags or containers. My hope is that this will help me stay on top of coming up with new and creative lunch ideas. Here is one lunch box recipe that my kids love that I wanted to share courtesy of Elana's Pantry. It does take a little bit of time so is a great one to make on the weekend and keep in the fridge for the week.
Pizza Muffins
Serves: 12
Ingredients
·
1 ½ cups blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
·
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
·
½ teaspoon baking soda
·
4 large eggs
·
¼ cup tomato sauce, plus ¼ cup for topping
·
½ cup cheddar cheese, plus ½ cup for topping
·
½ cup parmesan cheese, plus ½ cup for topping
·
2 ounces pepperoni,
plus 2 ounces for topping
Instructions
1.
In a food processor, combine almond flour, salt, and baking soda
2.
Pulse in eggs and sauce until combined
3.
Pulse in cheeses and pepperoni
4.
Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners
5.
Scoop a heaping 1/4 cup of batter into each cup
6.
Bake at 350° for 25 minutes
7.
Remove from oven; place 1 teaspoon sauce on top of each muffin
8.
Sprinkle cheese over sauce
9.
Sprinkle pepperoni over cheese
10. Place back
in oven and bake for 15 more minutes
11. Cool for 1
hour
12. Serve
Monday, August 15, 2016
Welcome!
Welcome to Walker Elementary's Healthy Lifestyles Blog! Here you will find recipes and news about local events in our community. I hope you will visit this blog often and that it offers new ideas and tips for you and your family.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)