Cooking Should NOT Be a Household Chore

Cooking is a huge aspect of our lives in this house. My husband loves to cook, I love to cook, and my oldest daughter loves to cook. The middle daughter makes a great sous chef, and the little one is constantly in the mix. We enjoy cooking, so we put love and attention into our cooking and it shows.

Not to sound like I am bragging, but it is possible for anyone to be a great cook. Now, I am not going to be giving Chef Ramsey a run for his money any time soon, but knowing some basic cooking techniques can make for a great repertoire in the kitchen.

Also, when kids participate in the cooking of a meal, they are more apt to give new foods a try. The rule in my house is that you have to give any new food a good try, a bite or two. If you legitimately do not like it, you do not have to eat it. Now, it may come back in a few months, and you should try it then too, but if you still don't like it, I don't push it after that. I just make sure to have enough other options to replace it. Not, cooking two dinners, but other side item options that I KNOW the child likes....or sometimes the adult.

When cooking is done as a family activity it leads to communication of daily activities, fun stories, sharing, and caring. It really bonds a family very closely. It gives us a chance to really come together for the goal of continuing our family communication at the dinner table.

So whether or not you think you are a great cook, or you loathe the idea, give family meal prep a shot. Give everyone a job to do, and let the good times roll!!!

Take a Page from Popeye's Book....

I'm strong to the finach, cause I eats me spinach....lol....having flashbacks yet?  If you have been following my food porn lately, then you will have noticed that I have posted a great deal of meals that contain spinach. It may not be the favorite vegetable of everyone, but I am here to tell everyone why spinach should be incorporated into everyone's diet.

Spinach, according to WebMD, is loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. It ranks third in nutritional value, behind kale and garlic. Spinach has been shown to fight against osteoporosis, cancer, heart disease, and arthritis. It is an incredible food that can be eaten steamed, sauteed, fresh, frozen, or a host of other ways.

The World's Healthiest Foods, lists spinach as high in Vitamins K, A, C, B2, calcium, folate, manganese, and iron.

If you are a picky eater, or your child is a picky eater, spinach can be hidden very easily in things like smoothies. This way, the benefits are there, but the stigma of spinach is hidden.

Spinach is also very easy to flavor and cook. Baby spinach, with just a touch of olive oil, sea salt and pepper, has a sweetness to it, that makes it much more palatable than plain spinach. Also, mixing it in with tomato based sauces, hides any bitterness.

The fact is, spinach is really healthy, and an important part in any healthy eater's diet.

Scrambled Eggs and Scone

This was my breakfast this morning. I found some organic cranberry, orange, raisin scones, at the local grocery store.

I scrambled up a couple eggs, heated the scone and brushed it with a little butter over top.

This was delicious, and really, I was satisfied for quite some time.

I know a lot of people are low-carb nowadays, but I am still breastfeeding, and I get seriously hungry. So I eat carbs, but I try and eat healthier ones.

This was quick, easy, and totally delicious!!!

MANGIA MANGIA!!!

Going Green

Today's dinner was a quick throw together. I boiled some gluten-free spinach angel hair pasta. Then, I sauteed one zuccini with olive oil and added one cup of fresh baby spinach. sprinkle with some sea salt, pepper, and a little sprinkle of parmesan, and MANGIA MANGIA!!!

When I sat down to eat, I had to laugh, because I thought, "Hmmm, is it St. Patrick's Day?!?!"  This was a really great meal, had a little sweetness to it, because of the zucchini.  This is a great way to get some really important vitamins from the spinach and zucchini.

Fried Egg Sammy with Veggies

This sammy was so delicious, my hubby asked me to make him one after he took a bite of mine. I am all about a good egg sammy...as we call it in our house. Being vegetarian, we have to look for protein sources in places other than meat. So eggs, and green leafy veggies are a great option. 

This sandwich has the fried egg, which I like crispy on the edges, whole wheat toast, 1/4 cup baby spinach, 1/2 slice pepper jack cheese, 2 tablespoons of the leftover Banh Mi veggies, 2 tablespoons banana peppers. 

I could go for one right now...LOL! 

I recommend using sandwiches as a way to work in extra vegetables whenever possible. A handful of spinach adds flavor, crunch, and tons of vitamins.  

Stuffed Tomato

Another successful dinner creation tonight. I made stuffed tomatoes! I cut the top off the tomatoes, cleaned out the insides and stuffed them with a rice and veggie mixture I will post below. Then I broiled the tomatoes for 15 minutes, and MMMMMMMM.....Sprinkle with fresh herbs, like basil, and cilantro. The stuffing for the tomatoes is:

one zuccini
one Italian pepper
one yellow onion
6 radishes
1 cup mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon coriander

These were all chopped, and sauteed in 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Then, I mixed the veggies in with 1 1/2 cup steamed rice, and stuffed the mixture in the tomatoes. I placed the tops back on the tomatoes, and then broiled. I served the tomato on a small bed of the mixture, and sprinkled basil and cilantro on top. The result is pictured below.....mmmmmmmmmm.....

Got Kiwi?

 Kiwi are a great little fruit. They are sweet, delicious, and packed full of Vitamin C. One kiwi has more vitamin C than the same amount of orange!

With their vibrant color and sweet, juicy taste, kiwis are a kid favorite! I packed 1 1/2 kiwis each for my kids this morning in their lunches.

Along with vitamin C, kiwi has fiber and potassium benefits as well.

For more on the kiwi, check out this site,

World's Healthiest Foods

A kiwi a day can keep the doctor away!

Banh Mi with Eggplant Chips

Feast your eyes on this deliciousness in a dish! Tonight's dinner was Vietnamese Banh Mi with a side of eggplant chips. 

The recipe I followed was supposed to make one sandwich. I doubled everything except the pickling solution because I did not want to over power the kids with the pickling. I also made the addition of the cheese myself. The original recipe called for jalepenos, but again, I have kids eating this and did not want to over power them with hotness. 

The eggplant chips are just thin slices of eggplant fried in a little olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt. 

The recipe for the Banh Mi, is as follows:

1/2 cup rice vinegar                                            1/4 cup white onion thinly sliced
1/4 cup water                                                     garlic salt to taste
1/4 cup water                                                     ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup white sugar                                            1 baguette roll
1/4 cup carrot cut into matchsticks                      1 Tablespoon mayonaise
1/4 cup white radishes matchsticks                      1 Tablespoon cilantro                
1/4 cup cucumber matchsticks                             1 lime wedge

1. Place rice vinegar, water, and sugar into a saucepan over medium heat, bring to a boil, and stir until the sugar has dissolved, about 1 minute. Allow the mixture to cool.
2. Pour the cooled vinegar mixture over the carrot, radish, and onion in a bowl, and allow to stand for at least 30 minutes. Drain off the excess vinegar mixture after the vegetables have marinated.
3. Slice the baguette in half the long way, and pull the center of the bread out of the baguette halves, leaving a cavity for the filling. Place the baguette halves under the broiler to lightly toast, 2 to 3 minutes.
4. To assemble the bahn mi sandwich, spread each half of the toasted baguette with mayonnaise and cheese slice, and fill the cavity of the bottom half of the bread with cucumber slices, pickled carrot, onion, and radish, cilantro leaves. Squeeze a wedge of lime over the filling, and top with the other half of the baguette.

Egg Sandwich with Spinach, Sun-Dried Tomato

Today's lunch is a scrambled egg sandwich with baby spinach, and sun-dried tomato. I also put one-half a slice of monterey jack cheese, for a little jalepeno kick. On whole wheat bread, it was a great lunch!

Ingredients List:

2 slices whole wheat toast
2 eggs, scrambled
one-half slice pepper jack
one-half cup baby spinach
one tablespoon sun-dried tomato

Cantaloupe with Greek Yogurt and Granola

This was my breakfast this morning. It was delicious!!

I took one-half of a cantaloupe, scooped out the seeds and discarded them.

Then I put plain, greek yogurt in the middle, and sprinkled organic apple blueberry granola over top.

This was absolutely delicious. I also thought of putting honey instead of the granola. Either way, I think it would be delicious.

I love fruit that doubles as a dish. LOL!!

MANGIA MANGIA!!!

Leftovers for Lunch!

I'm Italian, so we always cook too much for the amount of people we are serving. Thankfully, with this group leftovers are always a hit. Today's lunch consists of leftover Organic Veggie Pasta, cut up cantaloupe, and an organic granola bar. The kids are always excited when they see the thermoses come out because they know it means leftovers.

I divided half the melon between the two kids, and will be making a great snack, or breakfast, with the other half of the melon....so stay tuned!!

MANGIA MANGIA!

Veggie Fajitas

Tonight I made veggie fajitas for dinner. They were delicious! I also picked up a Food Network Magazine today which had some great looking stuff, so we may be gettin' fancy here!  Here is the recipe I went with today:

Tortilla (warmed)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 red bell pepper (julienned)
1 green bell pepper (julienned)
1 yellow onion (sliced)
1 cup of broccoli florets (chopped)
1 tablespoon worcestershire
1 avocado
sprinkle of sun dried tomato
sprinkle of cheese


Warm the olive oil in a chef's pan. Add in onion and saute until tender. Add in the peppers, broccoli, and worcestershire sauce. Saute for ten minutes. Place desired avocado, cooked veggies, sun dried tomato, and cheese atop the tortilla. ENJOY!

This is simple enough that my 11 year old could make it on her own....but then again, she wants to be a chef.

I also thought of adding baby spinach, but I already had a lot going on, so we will eat that tomorrow.

Replace Potato Chips with Pita Chips

My kids can put a hurtin' on a bag of chips. We have found some good organic brands that we love. Organic chips can get pretty expensive though. So we take pita, brush a little butter on both sides and sprinkle a little zaatar, and bake in the oven at 350 for about 12 minutes or until they are your desired crispness.

We serve this with organic hummus, and the kids devour it! It is a much healthier snack than chips and dip, without losing the crunch or the creamy dip. We also love serving raw veggies with hummus.

Pasta With Veggies

Tonight's dinner was a smashing success, thank you, thank you, no applause. I jest! For those of you who do not know, my older girls came to me about three weeks ago professing their desire to become vegetarian. So, like any devoted mommy, I said, "Sure, and I will be one too!" So for the last three weeks we have been eating vegetarian.

Before anyone scoffs and scolds me about protein needs and iron deficiency, let me just say, we eat a lot of beans and a lot of spinach and broccoli in our house. I feel confident between those, and the other veggies and proteins that we are all getting enough. Not to mention, if the girls came to me tomorrow and professed their desire to return to our previous diet, which was mostly chicken, I would oblige. This is their choice for themselves.

Anywho, I digress from tonight's scrumptious meal. Here is the recipe:


Organic Veggie Pasta

1 pound of your favorite pasta, we used Rotini
1 green bell pepper (chopped)
1 red bell pepper (chopped)
1 yellow onion (diced)
2 large garlic cloves (minced)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro (chopped)
1 cup baby bella mushrooms (sliced)
2 cups fresh baby spinach (chopped)
1 can chopped tomato

Boil your pasta to al dente and set it aside.

Heat the oil on medium heat in a chef's pan (a deep saute pan). Add the garlic and onion and cook until the onion is soft and translucent. Add in the can of tomato, and let the liquid cook out for 5 to 10 minutes. Then add in the red and green bell peppers, and mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms start to soften. Next, add in the cilantro. Let that cook for about 5 minutes. Add in the spinach, and turn off the heat. Cover the dish and let the spinach cook in the mix for 5 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!!!

I topped mine with a couple kalamata olives and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. All three children had second helpings, even my toddler!

Some Easy Drink Recipes for Kids

Happy Labor Day everyone! Whether you are grilling, or just chillin', I have some great drink options for the kiddos today. Don't get me wrong, the adults can enjoy too! I have a recipe for a blueberry smoothie, that has blueberries, bananas and yogurt. Also in the article are recipes for a tropical smoothie, a cran-orange chiller, and a strawberry smoothie.




There are many ways in which to enjoy being healthy, and making a round of delicious, fruity drinks for the family can be one. Berries are full of antioxidants, so add as much as your taste buds like! Bananas are high in potassium, and low-fat yogurt is a great source of protein. Make them all organic and you up the health ante even more.

Come back soon, when I post some great high protein, toddler friendly smoothie recipes....including one for avocado melon....avocados are a super food, and are amazingly healthy!

Enjoy, and HAPPY LABOR DAY!!

Chunky Guacamole

Today I made a really tasty, flavorful guacamole. It consisted of:

1 avocado
1 medium tomato (chopped)
1 tablespoon cilantro (chopped)                                  
1 tablespoon lime juice

First I chopped the tomato, and roughly chopped the avocado after I peeled it. I put both in a bowl and put the lime juice over it. Then I just spooned in the cilantro, mixed, and served.

I put my portion atop my veggie burger, which was FANTASTIC! My middle daughter did the same. My oldest daughter put her portion on top of the rice she was eating, and hubby just ate his straight off the fork.

Everyone loved the guacamole, and it was incredibly nutritious, and healthy. No added oil, mayo or anything like that. It really was fantastic.

Nutrition Basics for Kids

Here is the link to an article I wrote on Nutrition Basics for Kids. Please read and feel free to share your opinions and experiences.

Nutrition Basics for Kids

I will be leaning more towards this type of blog, nutrition, recipes, suggestions, news and information.