Veggies = Protein!!

In case you didn't hear, this elementary school in New York as just gone vegetarian, and I think it's awesome. The real fact is the "meat" they serve in schools is processed mumbo jumbo junk, anyways. 

Many are arguing, "how will they get their protein?". This is a common argument, and question for those of us who eat little to no meat at all. 

Have no fear, there is PLENTY of protein in your diet if you are choosing to eat your veggies, which you should be. In fact, there is MORE protein in those awesome veggies than meat!

And so I give you this beauty, for your reference...

Enjoy eating healthy!

Roasted Veggie Tacos with Avocado Cream --- It's been TOO long since we've posted!!

 Life has just been pretty busy these days. I just finished my semester, taking 9 credits, and with all my other responsibilities,  I found myself completely lacking interest in posting on blogs. So hopefully this summer will bring a little more relaxation, and time for me to really get this thing going. Or perhaps, I should combine it with my other food blog?.?The other blog I post on is that of mine, family members, and friends; Our Fabulous Bites. If you read that blog, the posts I put here will all be duplicates, though I do want this blog to also be a place to find info and hopefully hear people's stories from trying a Flexitarian Diet.
I'm going to have to think about the combining thing. We shall see.

For now, here is a delicious and healthy taco recipe!!

Roasted Veggie Tacos with Avocado Cream

Filling: (All diced)

Zucchini
Onion
Mushrooms
Bell Pepper
Tomato
Potato
Corn
Black beans
Garlic, minced
(These are what we use, generally, but you can use whatever you'd like. We pretty much just go through the fridge and throw anything in that sound delicious)

Seasonings: cumin, s&p, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika...again, whatever sounds good to you.

Avocado Cream:

1 avocado

1/3 c greek yogurt

1/4 c cilantro

1 tbsp lime juice

s&p, to season

Optional Toppings:

Feta cheese

Pico de gallo

Tomatillo dressing
Extra cilantro

Rice or Couscous for added filling, makes them go further! 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare all your veggies, and toss in some olive oil (or your preference of oil), add seasonings, and mix until incorporated. Lay out evenly onto a pan, and roast until veggies are tender and lightly browning.

While veggies are roasting, whip together the avocado cream. Heat up your tortillas, and assemble away! 

Enjoy eating healthy!

Avocado = your dressing

I like ranch, good ranch. That being said, we all know it's not the best choice of dressing, so it is definitely a "treat", when had. Thankfully there are a bajillion other kinds of healthier options out there, when it comes to your salad dressings. 

One of them being, the Avocado. Delicious, smooth, avocado. 

Seriously, give it a try!

One simple, but amazingly delicious way, is to simply mash avocado into the salad, squeeze some lemon juice over the top, add a little salt and pepper, and done! So quick, so flavorful, and so much healthier than your regular creamy dressings. Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty and squeeze that avocado into the lettuce. I find it somewhat satisfying. 

Below is a photo and link to another avocado dressing I made, which is also very delicious!

Zesty Avocado Cilantro Dressing

Let's Eat, Monday!

Crisp Autumn weather is officially in the air, which means lots of soups and stews! 

And here is my attempt to keep on it, with posting weekly menus.

Let me know if you cook cook any of the items!

Monday: Butternut Squash Soup, Breadsticks
Tuesday: Pesto Cavatappi, Salad
Wednesday: Pesto Tortellini Soup
Thursday: Leftover Night

Friday: Fish Tacos
Saturday: Tortilla Soup (w/beans, no chicken)

Sunday: Spaghetti, rolls

Make your own fresh spaghetti sauce!

Enjoy eating healthy!

Encouraging healthy eating with your children

Oh dear. I apologize for such a long break. This time of year seems to get a bit busy, with birthday, holidays closing in, and preparing for school. We will try to be more on top of things!

One wonderful thing about this time of year though, is soups! Soups, stews, and chilis. So many options, and healthy options at that! A week's menu could be full of different varieties, using similar ingredients, which keeps food budgets low! All together wonderful.

So I will work on getting a menu posted this coming Monday!

I wanted to write about encouraging your child to eat healthy. I clearly am not a professional. Our first daughter is in no way picky, and our second is only 10 months, so mama's milk is her fave. So I know we don't have loads of experience when it comes to this matter, but I figured I'd at least write about some things that have worked for us, in hopes that maybe they could help you! And hopefully they work for us the second time around, too :)

• Straight from the beginning we only made our daughter's food. It seemed easier, cheaper, and healthier. And when we looked at the ingredients in store bought baby food, we noticed their "green beans" didn't just have green beans in it. So that didn't make sense to us. Wouldn't you want your child to know what the green bean tasted like itself, before adding other flavors? Please know that I am in no way saying you are wrong if you don't make your own baby food! This is just what works for us. And in speaking to other mothers who have done the same, one common tie is that their children haven't been as picky. So it makes me wonder if it helps.?.?
• Try, try, try again. If Abigail didn't like something the first time, we would offer it to her the next day. If she acted weary about it, we would just ask her to try one bite, and if she didn't like it, she wouldn't have to eat it. Eventually after trying it a few times, she started to like it. This works for adults as well ;) I now eat wheat bread (certain kinds), tomatoes, and even had sushi a while back and could tolerate it. Baby steps, everyone! ;)
• Cheering her on. When presenting a new food, or a food she has tried previously and has been unsure of, we get really excited and talk up the food we're about to eat. "oh boy! guess what we're having today!" things like that. When we eat it, we definitely emphasize, "oh wow, this is so delicious". When she takes a bite, we say, "isn't that soooo good"...I realize it might seem silly, but I think some kids see how excited you are, and they kind of want to believe what you are saying. I realize this might not be the case for each child, but again, maybe for your child, it would be :) There is a lot of smiling, clapping, and praising.
• The Health factor. Abigail has grown to love learning what foods do for her body. This gets her excited about trying different foods. When serving it, I'll look up what the food does for our body, and explain it to her while eating. She loves to learn that this specific food will help your eyes or your bones. We emphasize how it is helping her body grow big and strong, and that gets her excited. We talk a lot about keeping our bodies healthy and strong, why we need to, and what is good about doing so. 
• Choosing fruits and veggies for snack time! Every once in a while we do have "special treats", like if we make cupcakes, or have some dessert left over. But this should not be the norm. And we've found if these things aren't really in the home, and they are hungry, then they will eat what is provided...fruits and veggies.
• Involving her in cooking. I think this is pretty common for children. They will be more excited about eating something they helped prepare. Plus it can be really fun.
• "You get what you get, and you don't get upset". This is a family motto; thanks to Pinkalicious. The disciplinarians in us knew we needed to make it clear that this is what we have to eat, and you can either eat it or go without. Said as lovingly as possible, of course :) She has yet to walk away from the table and decide to just be hungry ;)

That's what I've got, folks! I hope at least one thing could help you, if you have a picky eater. And if you have any tips for others, then please post! I'm really hoping Mailie is like her sister in this matter.

Let's Eat, Monday!

The plan is to probably post these probably each Monday since that's when my 'weekly menu' starts. I wanted to get a few weeks put up first though, that way there are some options.

Okay so a couple things. We love green beans in this home, so you might see it often on our menus. I like to just saute them, sometimes adding red pepper flakes, almonds, garlic or onion powder. 

Also, embrace the salad. You can throw whatever your heart desires in those puppies and they can be so filling. 

Breakfast for dinner: love these nights because they make dinner very quick and easy. Sometimes we do crepes, or waffles with fruit and fresh fruit syrup, or sometimes we do omelets or scrambles with breakfast potatoes. It's great for those, "shoot we need to go grocery shopping" days :)

Monday: Tortilla soup w/o chicken (and I added diced potatoes)

Tuesday: Ginger and cilantro baked tilapia with lemon brown rice

Wednesday: Herbed couscous pilaf, green beans, salad

Thursday: Spaghetti, salad

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Homemade pizza

Sunday: Breakfast for dinner 

Let's Eat, Monday!

We are going to start posting dinner menu's, along with links to most of the recipes. As we get more of the recipes cooked up, and photos taken, we will add more and more links. Hopefully this will help others come up with their own weekly menus, because I know that can be a huge stress or pain for some. Once you start cooking more and more though, I think you'll find it'll get easier to plan your meals.

One of the rules we have in our weekly meal plans is to always have at least one Leftover night! I highly recommend this to everyone, because it saves time and money. Which we could all use more of.

So let's begin! I've saved all my weekly menus, so I'll try to get many of them posted in the next little while.

Monday: Spaghetti with Quick tomato sauce, Green beans
Tuesday: Fish tacos with Brown rice

Wednesday: Leftover night

Thursday: Coconut ginger veggies over rice

Friday: Summer vegetable pasta & Tomato soup

Saturday: Couscous cabbage wraps

Sunday: Pancit

We had a glitch with our other blog and lost most of our photos. So I apologize for the lack of them (it's so much nicer to have photos for a recipe!), but we're working on it! Lots of cooking to do.