The Joy of Veggie Burgers

I’m always on the hunt for a quick, easy, healthy finger food to feed Lucy.  She loves feeding herself now which is great.  My latest discovery…she likes veggie burgers!  I was making one for myself and realized, this would be yummy for Lucy.  All sorts of veggies in each bite and I could cut it up and serve it so easily to her.

It’s a hit!  So the next time I go to Costco, I will be getting more of these veggie burgers.  (I like to eat them wrapped in lettuce, with mayo and curry powder mixed together).

 

 

Baby Eatin’ Time!

Lucy LOVES to eat!  Who doesn’t?  Here she is having a puree of assorted fruits.  I take whatever I have on hand – for instance peaches, plum, grapes, green beans – and I blend it all in my beloved Vita-Mix.  The Vita-Mix is totally a worthwhile purchase by the way.  We got ours at the Del Mar Fair years ago – it was about a $400 investment at the time – and we have used it so much.

I blend up the food for Lucy and then I just pour it into an ice cube tray.  Then voila!  Whenever I need something to eat, I just pop out 2 cubes and pop them in the microwave, or if I’m really organized, I put them in the refrigerator the day before.  It’s funny – I had so many of these ice cube trays for my firstborn Ethan.  I think when I opened the freezer back then, it was lined with frozen fresh baby food.  But 6 years have passed since then, and there’s only room for 2 trays in the freezer for Lucy.

This is an easy, healthy, cheap way to do baby food.  I use store bought baby food when I got out during meals, but otherwise, she eats these cubes or rice cereal.  Enjoy!

This Is Not Your Kid’s Lunch

I picked up an issue of Parents magazine and had to laugh about one article.  It was “11 Easy, Healthy Brown-Bag Ideas” – nutritious lunches from the top chefs that taste great too.  Always in need of a good, easy idea, I turned to p. 224.

Here’s what I found…

• Whole Grain Hummus Sandwich with Veggies (cucumber, sprouts, arugula)
• Tropical Turkey Spring Rolls (cabbage leaves filled with turkey, mango, avocado, and pea sprouts)
• Crunchy Baked Mozzarella Sticks
• Grilled Chicken Salad with Herb-Sherry Vinaigrette

Where to begin?  First, any adult would be privileged to have such a fine lunch but I think it might go unappreciated on a 5-year-old.  Next, what mom is rolling veggies in a cabbage leaf in the morning?  What has time to dip cheese in panko breadcrumbs and bake before breakfast? 

I had to chuckle at this brown-bag list of recipes.  For my son, it’s back to a cheese sandwich, apple, banana chips, pretzels and water!

Healthy Lunch

My son started 1st grade last week.  He attends a year round school.  I visited him at lunchtime for a few minutes.  Another mother who is a good friend was there also to celebrate her daughter’s birthday.  She said, “It’s kind of surprising to see what these kids are eating for lunch.”

I asked, “Surprising in a good or bad way?  And people who buy or bring?”

She said it was a little of each.  Many kids who were buying lunch chose fruit and veggies which seemed surprising for 1st graders who were away from their parent’s guidance.  On the flip side, many kids had a lot of junk food in their brought lunches.

Imagine my happiness when she said, “Your son has one of the healthiest lunches.”

He had a turkey sandwich, grapes, apples, pretzels, applesauce, and water.  I must tell you though that the apples and grapes came back home, so it wasn’t as nutritional as planned – ha ha.

I do my best to give my kids healthy food but they are normal kids.  They love cheeseburgers, pizza, crackers, and ice cream.  (And I do too!)  But I think the strategy of giving your kids healthy food at home, and allowing them to eat treats at parties, when out to dinner with friends etc. – that’s a workable strategy.  We don’t have soda or juice at our house and I believe that’s a small thing that makes a big difference in a kid’s nutritional life.

And when we take baby steps to giving our kids nutritious meals, we take baby steps to feeding ourselves better food too.

I Found Quinoa!

Okay Trader Joe’s fans…I have discovered quinoa!  And if you don’t have a Trader Joe’s store, have no fear.  Your local market carries it too.

Maybe you’ve been eating quinoa forever, but I have just discovered it.  Usually we have brown rice if I need a rice-type side dish, but now I can use quinoa which is high in protein and fiber.  It’s really easy to make (boil water, add!) and I like the taste too.  I try to call them “fun balls” for the kids, but they don’t quite believe me yet.  We’re working on that.

Here’s what I made:  chicken, veggies, and quinoa.  It tasted yummy!

A Little Bit of Stevia

I have always enjoyed drinking coffee, but I have never drank it regularly.  No morning coffee.  No coffee maker in the kitchen.  Embarassed to say that when guests come, I don’t have coffee to serve unless I borrow everything from my mom.  I am a social, “I drink coffee when it’s free” kind of person.  Once in a while, Starbucks is a treat.  And if coffee is served with a meal or dessert, I’ll always say yes.

Well, I’ve been needed (wanting) a pick-me-up fun thing to drink while doing Atkins.  So I’ve turned to coffee.  I drink instant which I imagine doesn’t sound very appealing to some of you   But it’s easy and when I want something in my mouth, instead of eating, I drink a cup of coffee. 

I haven’t been adding any sugar and trying to get used to that taste.  My husband bought some Stevia at the grocery store last week.  I put 2-3 drops in my coffee and voila!  It was pretty good.  So when a spoonful of sugar isn’t an option, try a drop of Stevia.

Controlling My Cheats

Well, I’ve been hovering between 147-150 lbs.  I must admit I have been allowing myself too many cheats.  Of course, when my husband points this out, I declare that I am not! 

Since I’m not gaining weight and losing a little (albeit a little), I’ve been allowing myself some treats.  For instance, I bought my grandmother a box of truffles, knowing full well that when I visited her, we would open the box and eat them together.  I think I must have had 5 truffles that day because I figured, “When else am I going to have the chance to eat truffles!” 

Then there’s the snacking with the kids.  If they sit down for graham crackers and milk, I have a few crackers too. 

Well, I know in my mind all these “little” things are stalling my weight loss.  I realized that most of my snacking was done in secret (foraging for anything sweet when my kids were napping and I was all alone in the kitchen).  Or when I saw a limited opportunity (like the truffles) and I jumped at it. 

So I decided this week to try something new – and it has totally worked!  I wrote down my allowances on little slips of paper:

• Coffee drink
• Dessert
• Sun chips
• 20 chocolate chips
• Wild card

This is what I am allowed to cheat on during one week.  Just giving myself permission to eat these foods has helped me to control my desire for them!  Since I’m frugal, I save up my cheats and then try not to use them.  But I know if I need them, they are there and I like that feeling.  So far, in my first week of doing this, I only used 2 cards:  the dessert card (I had chocolate cake at a church banquet) and the sun chips one afternoon.

What do you like to eat?  Make yourself some cheat cards to use during the week.  Use moderation of course!    See how many cards you can leave unused and of course, stop eating treats if you do end up using all your cards.

My Chocolate Free Day!

Confession time…for the last few days weeks months, I’ve been enjoying a little something sweet each day – usually something chocolate.  Dark chocolate being my favorite.  You know, when you’re pregnant, you’ve got cravings.  Then after baby is born, you need a little pick me up for those late night feedings. 

Well, I’m realizing that I cannot go on like this forever (my 6 week recovery period after c-section is almost over).  A few things woke me up yesterday.  Talking about one of his patients, my father who is a physician said, “If you need to have chocolate every day, you’re depressed.”  Hmmm….I didn’t like the sound of that much.

Then I started reading the book, Fit for My King: His Princess 30-Day Diet Plan and Devotional by Sheri Rose Shepherd.  Convicting.  Got to get back on the bandwagon.  Pregnancy cravings must die.   

So I decided to have a chocolate free, sugar free day today.  I made it all day long and before going to bed, I picked up a hoodie to hang in the closet.  There was something in the pocket.  I reached in…it was a Kit Kat from Halloween!  Can you believe it?  Chocolate found ME!  But I’m happy to say, I laughed about it and DID NOT eat the Kit Kat!

So one victory down…a chocolate free day!  If you can meet a small goal, someday you’ll meet a big one.  I’m taking it one chocolate free day at a time.

No Cookies Mom!

I was in the grocery store with my 5 and 2 year old.  Right as you walked in the door, there was a table full of cookies for 10 cents each from the bakery.  They were sold in packages of 18.  This was a no brainer for this pregnant momma!  18 cookies for $1.80 baked from the bakery – I was in! 

There was only one question:  oatmeal raisin or chocolate chip?

To my utter amazement, when I asked my 5 year old which one I should choose, he said with all seriousness, “I don’t think we should buy cookies mom.” 

“What?”

“We shouldn’t eat cookies mom.”

I was so shocked (my kids are human and like treats too!) that I put the cookies right back.  Isn’t it funny when the positive influence comes from the kids and not the moms?  It was a crowning moment in the grocery store (although I have still been thinking about those cookies!).

Eat This, Not That!

In the popular book Eat This, Not That!, you will find thousands of simple food swaps to help you lose weight.  The book is written by the editor of Men’s Health David Zinczenko with Matt Goulding.  You’ll find out what you should – and shouldn’t order – at McDonald’s, Subway, Applebee’s, Denny’s, Baskin Robbins, and much more.  You’ll see the 20 worst foods in America (#1 is the Outback Steakhouse Aussie Cheese Fries with Ranch Dressing, weighing in at a whopping 2,900 calories, 182 g fat, 240 g carbs!). 

The book does a great job at showing you how caloric some of your favorite menu items are.  But maybe instead of being titled, “Eat This, Not That!” it should be titled, “The Lesser of Two Evils!”  For instance, at McDonald’s, you should eat the Quarter Pounder (410 calories) and skip the Premium Grilled Chicken Club (570 calories) which of course sounds like the healthier choice.  But I don’t think you’ll be losing much weight by choosing the Quarter Pounder at Mickey D’s! 

Yes, you can swap out menu choices at fast food and sit-down restaurants, but the truth of the matter is, nothing beats real food that’s not processed, fried, or packaged. 

If you want to thumb through Eat This, Not That, I’d recommend going to the library.  That’s where I got my copy and there are so many other great health books just waiting for you to explore!