The Cutest Kids Ever

My sister Jo and I share this blog and it has been a great project. We are able to stay in touch more and are both working toward great changes in life. I think that the best blogs are 1) steady, 2) personal in building relationships and 3) real. So when Jody said that she was really busy and would be working on a blog post soon, I thought her situation itself was worthy of noting. We're all in this same boat.

This visual aid is from her youngest daughter, Allyson. As you can see, there are two other children in the middle of Ally and her oldest brother Zachary. Zach is the tallest in their family, but not quite as tall as this visual suggests. Still, he is this tall in his 7-year-old sister's eyes.

Jody has shared with me some of the funniest stories and most hilarious one-liners from her kids, that I've always told her she should write a book. The situations she finds herself in are truly larger than life and unimaginable to me. Most recently, she has been in bed sick. Very, very sick. The kids are all in school, husband works nights, she works days and their oldest son -- the 8 foot tall one -- works part-time but doesn't have a driver's license yet. All kids are involved in church, choir, soccer, baseball, band, dance...

So earlier this week my sister saw a need to help with a mini-crisis between my dad and our little brother. They had some relationship strains due to some displaced frustration from my dad, to my brother Bil. Bil has also gone through some challenges recently in getting his business off the ground. WHILE still sick, Jo manages to gather up a dinner after work, scoop up one of the kids (others had extracurricular obligations) and drive two hours to patch up some emotions. The drive is nearly two hours each way. So on a worknight where she has voluntarily done this, while still sick, she tells me she didn't get around to writing a blog. The guys were well-fed and their relationship is healed. Jo is on the road to recovery and has undoubtedly stored some treasures in heaven for her incessant selflessness. I'll encourage her to write some of the kid story highlights. Stay tuned for naked at Bob Evans, "that's not my hat," and the 7-year-old Bad Teacher.

Lunchable Makeover

If you look at the ingredients of a Lunchable, you will see that NOTHING in the container is nutritionally sound. In fact, eating the cardboard would likely be less offensive to a kid's digestive system than the food contents. For example, there is a turkey-cheese-cracker combo. Let's break that down: the turkey is processed, high in sodium, cheese is high fat, calorie rich and the cracker contains partially hydrogenated oils in addition to super refined white grains (good grain stripped of it's value to be smoother and tastier). Sometimes there is a small candy bar, no comment necessary and a pouch of Hawaiian Punch aka sugar water. Whew! I'm done ranting.

Here is the appeal of a Lunchable to kids, it looks cute. The portions are small and fun for kids to put together and play with. The idea of a Lunchable is similar to an Asian Bento box and you can create some similarly fun boxed lunches but with much more good health inside than the processed junk.

These are some of my favorite ideas:

Sandwiches - Cut the crusts off (save them to make homemade breadcrumbs) and cut the sandwich into quarters. Pampered Chef makes a cute Cut 'N' Seal that cuts crust and seals the sandwich all at once. My girls used to love them. (click here for my PC website) Fill sandwiches with some sugar-free jam and a touch of peanut butter or tuna salad. Also use whole wheat mini pitas for petite sandwiches.

Fruit - Cut fruit into small shapes and put them on skewers, reminding your kids that they are not to be used for sword fights when the skewers are empty (use a coffee stirrer if you're nervous about pointed objects). If your kids like to dip, you can make an awesome fruit dip out of yogurt with a touch of brown sugar. If you need to slice apples in advance, coat them lightly in lemon juice to prevent browning.

Peanut Pasta - This pseudo-Asian snack is fun and easy, slightly dilute some peanut butter with water and mix into spaghetti or angel hair, finish with some sesame seeds and dice in some green/red pepper if you can get away with it.

Veggies -Be creative with colors and shapes. For example, score a cucumber with a fork before slicing and you get a pretty shape around the edges, cut carrots into matchsticks and fill celery with light cream cheese coated with sunflower seeds. Dip is fun here too. If you mix some dry salad dressing mix like Good Seasons or Hidden Valley with yogurt you may even get those health benefits without them catching on that it's not high-fat Ranch.

If you like these ideas and want more kid-friendly recipes, let me know by sending an email and I'll send you more (without putting you on a mass mailing email list...I promise.)

Spice Up Your Dish!

If the only spices that you have in your cupboard are salt and pepper, it is time for you “Kick it up a notch!”  Cooking with fresh herbs not only makes your dish look better, adding fragrance and color, but it enhances the flavor of your dish.

I used to never use fresh herbs because the dried herbs are so much simpler and less expensive, but not if you plant your own herb garden.  Spring is the perfect time to do just that!  SIDENOTE:  Don’t try to start your garden from seed.  It is a pain in the ---!  It is so not worth daily spritzing those stupid little seeds ten times a day in their little petri dishes; just to see them turn into spindly, feeble like stems, similar to the Chia Pet grass, only have them to fall over eventually because there stems can’t support the growth of the height.  Go to Lowe's or Menard's, any place that sells herbs and but an herb that has already been started.  Especially, for $1.88 per herb…NO BRAINER!

I am going to tell you how easy it is to start your own herb garden…..AND FUN!  Here are just a few of the most commonly used herbs:

Rosemary. my personal favorite.  It is a perennial (have to replant it each year), but can grow from late May thru August.  It can flourish with little watering and even though it prefers full son it can tolerate slightly shady areas.

Basil. It is also a perennial, but once it “takes off” there is no stopping it.  Plant it in various stages.  In other words, plant one or two in May and then another in June and maybe even July.  You can never have too much basil.  At the end of the season, you can take what is left before the first freeze and make pesto sauce.  (I will tell you how to do that later, when we get to that point.)  Basil needs lots of sun and normal watering.  The most important thing to remember is to always take from the top.  You never want it to flower, so keep pinching the tops off.

Chives.  Yea!  Chives are an annual (comes back without replanting) so if you get a good base and established roots, they will come back time and time again.  Cilantro is a gimme.  It likes sun, but can tolerate it at dusk or dawn.  For best results you should dived your root “clumps” every 2-3 years.

Cilantro. Not so easy and personally I think the hardest herb to grow.  It too, is a perennial. Plant early spring.  It does great until the end of May and then just dies off.  At that point I go to market and buy it at a dollar a bunch.  Not work the headache at that price.

Dill. It is technically an annual. However, I have seen dill “pop-up” throughout my yard via the seed that float through air after the season is over.  It is pretty easy to grow.  Like Rosemary, it prefers sun, but can grow in the shade.

Mint.  It is an annual and will take over your entire yard.  Therefore, I would recommend growing a pot, some sort of controlled environment.  Especially, since I don’t know very many uses for it and the majority of them are alcoholic in nature (ie. mint julep).  It likes sun, shade, rain, no rain….beware.

Oregano.  Is also an annual that needs to be controlled or it will turn into fragrant ground cover.  Now while there are several more uses for oregano, you need to be sure to keep it contained year after year.  Like mint, it requires no TLC and is happy to get what it gets in hopes of being “picked” for that next marinara.

Parsley.  It is an annual.  It is one of the most commonly used herbs.  In fact, it is probably the only one that most people use fresh or regularly with salt and pepper.  I always keep it in my garden, mainly for color, but honestly, it costs about $ .75 a bunch.

Sage.  It is an annual that demands little care.  Most importantly at the end of the season cut the stems and split the roots periodically through the years. Likes sun or shade.  Are you beginning to sense a trend….annuals are a piece of cake!

Thyme.  Last but not least.  It can come back, but it does demand care.  It is a slow growing herb so it’s only request is to keep weeds and all other herbs AWAY!  It needs its space.

Watch for my next blog about fun ways to use these spices in recipes! Go plant!

Two Healthy Desserts

First, you can make a version of Bananas Foster that has fewer calories than the real version. Basically, just microwaving a banana for about 30 seconds with a sprinkle of cinnamon and the slightest bit of syrup tastes delicious. I also indulge in a touch of low-fat or low-calorie whipped cream. Some people measure calories down to the tenths but if it's less than 30 I won't stress about it. It's delicious and feels like you're cheating.

The second dessert I like is a fake Sweet Potato Pie that tastes like pumpkin pie. Cut up a sweet potato and boil it until it's very soft. Mash the potatoes with a touch of rice/soy/coconut milk, nutmeg, cinnamon, and a packet of stevia sweetener. Put it into single serve dishes and then bake it before serving for about 45 minutes. This makes the sweet potatoes really creamy and blends the spices together well. A touch of whipped cream on this one doesn't undo all of the health benefits of the sweet potato. Enjoy!

Be Prepared

Cutting up vegetables and preparing snack size portions of fruits to keep in the refrigerator can make all the difference in the world when you're trying to make good choices. Think about how easy it is to grab a bag of chips or candy bar. It's not so easy to grab celery...stalks need to be cut and washed. Try storing some clear containers of carrots, celery, cucumber slices, grapes, strawberries and melon in the fridge in plain view. If you and your family are on-the-go a lot you can also put snack-size ziplock baggies inside so everyone can grab a snack and go. Outside of the refrigerator, keep bananas, apples, raisins and nuts for "emergency" hunger. It sounds simple but it makes a huge difference.

Hungry for Water

Yes, hunger can very well be mistaken for thirst. One great tip for eating less is to drink a glass of water before each meal. In general, adults should drink about eight glasses of water a day. It's harder than you'd think. I've never managed to drink my daily allotment of water. The best trick I've found for this is to drink 16 ounces three times a day...that's still not enough but much better than no water. Keep an extra large glass at home and at work to fill and "chug" in the morning, at lunchtime or throughout your work day, and then again when you get home. Here is a fun site that gives you some tips on how to learn to identify your body's cues for thirst and hunger. Remember that colas, coffee and teas -- although made with water -- don't count as water. Many beverages can actually dehydrate your body. Hmm, just typing this today is making me thirsty. I'm going to get a drink and get my big glass out for the morning.

Got Eggs?

The egg is widely used as a symbol of the start of new life, just as new life begins when the chick hatches out of the egg.  One of the oldest traditions is to color eggs to celebrate Easter or springtime.

If your family wants a new and natural way to color eggs, here is how you can do it! First, boil eggs in a small sauce pan of water, add a couple tablespoons of vinegar and then add some of the natural dying material listed below until you get the desired color:

• Yellow onion skin = yellow
• Red onion skin = yellowish brown
• Birch leaves = light green
• Beetroot peel = brownish-red
• Blueberries = purple
• Whole red cabbage leaves = purple
• Chopped red cabbage leaves = blue
• Beetroot juice = pinkish-red

You can even use some material that you were going to compost.....HAVE FUN!

Tip: after cooling, rub the eggs with oil and it will make them shiny. Feeling extra creative? Before dying, press little flowers, leaves or any other piece of nature onto the eggs. Put them in a nylon stocking, stretch so it fits tightly around the egg and then tie with a string. After having dyed, remove the stocking and you will find beautiful patterns on the egg.