Confession -- My kids don't like soda

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I have been trying really hard to teach my children healthy eating habits.

I have a confession to make. I don't allow my kids to drink any soda.  Yes, I said it. No soda. I am the mom at the birthday party where soda is being served who will walk to the water fountain to fill up their cups. I have no shame in it.

In addition, I am pretty picky about what they are allowed to drink.

They can always have milk. The Drama Queen drinks reduced fat organic milk. She prefers it with chocolate. The boys just drink 2% regular milk. The Little Dude would drink only milk all the time. Normally he drinks it with breakfast and dinner. I don't like to put milk in the lunchbox just in case it doesn't stay cold enough so he doesn't have it at lunch time.

If they are drinking juice at my home, it is 100% juice unless it is orange juice. I haven't been able to find that yet or they would. They are allowed one juice drink a day. They only time I make an exception to this rule is if we are someone else's home for a party or special occasion. I will let them have more than one juice box on those days. But we don't buy juice boxes at our house.

They can drink as much water as they want pretty much whenever they want. I will even squeeze a lemon or orange in it for them.  But I do not allow flavored waters especially the juice box low cal ones. Those are flavored with splenda.

My other big rule is no artificial sweetners for kids. They can't drink crystal light or diet anything. I feel like they are too young to be drinking reduced calorie drinks.

They also don't drink anything with caffeine in it. Since my oldest is 6, there is just no need for that.

There are times when I have to break the rules but I mostly stick with it.  And it works for us. I keep fearing how long it will last the older they get. But so far with their limited exposure to soda both of the older kids don't like it. The Little Dude...well that is a story for another day.

One place I run into trouble is when we are at restaurants. I have found myself allowing the kids to drink lemonade, powerade or fruit punch from the fountain when we are out to eat. What kinds of limitations do you put on your kids with what they drink? Are they big milk drinkers? Or would they prefer a coke?

Meal Plan - Week 5

I didn't follow last weeks meal plan at all. I didn't even make one meal from it. It was a complete free for all at the house. Monday was leftovers night. Tuesday was so crazy I don't even remember what we ate. Yep, you can nominate me for mom of the year at any time. =) Tyler was home sick on Wednesday. He ended up with an ear infection. We had no food in the house because Wednesday was going to be my day at the grocery store. So I did what any sane mom would do and ordered in Papa Johns. Thursday came and I FINALLY cooked dinner. We had mini meatloaves and tortellini for dinner. On Friday night, Tyler ate at a birthday party, Rebecca and Jason ate dinner at a friends house. I have no clue what the hubby ate.  I ate dinner with friends while celebrating National Margarita Day. Saturday night we had salmon. And on Sunday, I made meatballs and gravy with pasta.

Now what to make for this week?

Here is my tentative plan:

Monday - Meatball bubble bites and leftover pasta

Tuesday - Chicken Enchiladas

Wednesday - Leftovers

Thursday - Chicken Chili

Friday - Scallops (not sure what I am going to make but they are sale so I am going to come up with something)

Saturday - out

Sunday - Not sure yet...I have been trying to leave Sundays up to my hubby and he isn't a planner.

So what are you making this week at your house? Please share. I always need new ideas...

Pasta Fagioli in the Slow Cooker

It has been a rainy winter. And when it rains and is cold out, all I want is comfort food. One of my favorite comfort foods is Pasta Fagioli. It reminds me of dinner with my grandparents from when I was little.

Slow Cooker Pasta Fagioli

Recipe Type: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Author: Northern Girl

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 8 hours

Total time: 8 hours 30 mins

Serves: 6-8

This is a twist on the pasta fagioli my grandma makes.You make it in the slow cooker. You need to spend about 20-30 min prepping before you can stick it in the slow cooker. Dinner will be ready 8 hours later.

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb ground sausage (if you can find Italian sausage, use it)


• 1 cup of onion, chopped and diced


• 3 ribs of celery, chopped


• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning


• 2 - 15 oz cans diced tomatoes, undrained


• 2 - 15 oz cans cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed


• 1- small can of tomato paste


• 48 oz. beef broth


• 1-1/2 lbs of frozen meatballs (I used mini meatballs to make it easier for the kids but you can omit this ingredient completely)


• 1 cup marina sauce (I used Prego)


• 1/2 cup dry red wine (I used Merlot)


• 2-3 cups ditalini, cooked

Instructions

1. Heat 1 TB of olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat.


2. Add sausage and brown it.


3. Once sausage is browned, remove it from the skillet to drain the grease.


4. Return the sausage to the skillet, add onion and celery to skillet. Cook until soft. This will take approximately 10 minutes.


5. Add garlic to skillet and saute for 2 minutes. Do not allow garlic to brown.


6. Put the sausage mixture into your slow cooker.


7. Drain and rinse the cannelloni beans.


8. Add the cannelloni beans to your slow cooker.


9. Drain the diced tomatoes and add them to your slow cooker.


10. Add the tomato paste and sauce to the slow cooker.


11. Add the beef broth and wine to the slow cooker. I used a Merlot because that is what I had open but any red wine will work.


12. Add the meatballs and Italian seasoning. Stir up all the ingredients. Close the lid and wait 7 hours.


13. Cook up some ditalini al dente, according to the package instructions.


14. Add cooked pasta and cook for 30 minutes with the lid on the slow cooker.


15. Remove the lid and continue to cook for an additional 30 minutes. This will cause the food to thicken.


16. I always sprinkle some parmesan over the food in the bowls when serving.


17. (And of course I forgot to take an after picture)

Notes

The first night that I made this, it was more of a pasta fagioli soup. I had skipped the final step because I was hungry. The next time with the lid removed (the final step), it was a thicker, heartier dish. You can try it either way depending on your mood.

3.2.1682

What is some of your favorite foods to eat when it is cold and rainy out?

Meal Plan Week 4

Surprisingly last weeks meal plan wasn't a complete fail. I followed the plan on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, I ended up making a Boneless Pork Loin instead of the Beef Roast. I will make that this week, I guess. For Valentine's Day, I made a nice spread for the family. We had steamed clams and a tomato and mozzarella salad to start.  Then I tried a Publix apron meal of shrimp scampi over linguine with garlic Texas toast. The scampi had less garlic and butter than most recipes I have made in the past. It was nice and everyone ate it which was the deciding factor to keep the recipe.  Rebecca and I made chocolate covered strawberries for dessert. Friday stayed as leftovers, Saturday wasn't a date night after all (darn sick kids!) and on Sunday we ended up going out to dinner.

So what are we going to eat this week? It is going to be a busy one with Tyler's soccer practices starting.

Monday - leftovers

Tuesday - Slow Cooker Beef Roast

Wednesday - Potato Soup and ham and cheese sandwiches

Thursday - leftovers

Friday - homemade pizza

Saturday - OUT

Sunday - some sort of Italian dish with meatballs and gravy

What are you having this week?

 

Slow Cooker Boneless Pork Loin

I was at the grocery store and boneless pork loins were on sale. I bought a 6-lb one to split in half. Since I was home with a sick little boy last week, I made both on the same day in my slow cookers. With one half on the pork, I made BBQ pulled pork to eat at a later time during the week or weekend. With the other half, I made this recipe. It was really easy to make and the best part was all THREE of my kids liked it!

Slow Cooker Boneless Pork Loin

Recipe Type: Dinner

Author: Northern Girl

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 4 hours

Total time: 4 hours 10 mins

Serves: 4-6

A flavorful, moist boneless pork loin that cooks in the slow cooker in about 4 hours.

Ingredients

• 1 boneless pork loin, about 2-3 lbs.


• 1 packet dry onion soup mix


• 1 cup water


• 1 cup red wine (I have used merlot and pinot noir)


• 3 tablespoons Tastefully Simple’s Garlic Garlic or 3 cloves of garlic, minced


• 3 tablespoons soy sauce

Instructions

1. Put the pork loin in your slow cooker. Cover with the onion soup mix.


2. Add the wine and soy sauce to the slow cooker. I made sure to coat the top of the pork well so the dry soup mixed well. Then add the water. I needed about 1 cup to fill up the sides but I did not want to completely cover the pork.


3. Then I added the Garlic Garlic. I placed the garlic on top of the pork with the juices on the bottom and sides of it. I was careful when I added the water to make sure the top of the pork was not covered. If you choose to use fresh garlic, pressed or minced, do the same. I wanted to make sure the flavor would stay on the pork rather than mixing in to the juices.


4. Cover and cook for 4 hours on low.


5. I removed the pork and sliced it.


6. I then added the juices back in to the dish to serve together. Next time, I would not add as much to the main dish, but would just add some to a gravy boat.


7. We ate the pork over brown rice with a side of steamed broccoli.

3.2.1682

Recipe adapted from AllRecipes.

The Why and The How...of Meal Planning

So as I have mentioned before things go a lot better for me and my family if I meal plan. First I will give you a short list of why I meal plan. Then I will explain to you how I do it.

The Why's

1. If I make a plan, I tend to stick with it. 


2. We eat out a lot less. This keeps us from eating junk and also helps save money. A double bonus!


3. Once I have a list of what is needed to make the weekly meals, I only have to the grocery store once in the week. I don't have to make a lot of trips because I am deciding what to make early.  One list equals one trip. One trip equals less money spent in the store.


4. I can prepare ahead. This means if we are having chicken Thursday night, I can pull it out of the freezer ahead of time to make sure it is thawed in time.

Meal planning normally takes me about 30 minutes each week. This is how I do it.

On Sunday mornings, I sit at the kitchen table with the newspaper ads from Publix and Kroger.  I have all my favorite cookbooks on the table along with my computer. I have coffee too, lots of coffee! I look through the ads for the best deals on meat and vegetables.  From the ads I am able to pull out recipes that feature those foods. I get out my planner, look at the week and make my plans accordingly. For example, Thursday's is always a crazy day. I know that on Thursday night, I am not going to be home long enough to prepare a meal. So most Thursday's we eat something I have cooked in the slow cooker or we eat leftovers. I go ahead and make my list for the grocery store right then based on the recipes I have picked. Another thing to note is I try to only allot for us to eat out once a week. Some weeks we don't even do this but some weeks we do. I always plan on one day being a leftovers day. This means I am really only planning and preparing 5 meals in a week.

Once I have my list of what I am making, I clip all my recipes together and put them on my fridge. I put the list of what I am making right there at the front so I see it every time I open the refrigerator door. I also list the recipes from online or a cookbook with a note of where I got the idea so I will be able to reference it at cooking time.

What is your routine? How do you plan out your meals for each week?

 

Meal Plan -- Week 3

I wish I could say last week went off without a hitch. But I would be lying. So last week's meal plan was a bit of a mess.

I did make the sloppy Joe's. They were a hit. But about halfway through the meal my DEAR husband told me I could just buy this thing called Manwich instead of working so hard...as if I would ever. Ugh. And how rude was that. Somebody better be getting someone something nice for Valentine's Day this week. Hint, Hint!

We didn't make it to school spirit night either. I had a doctors appointment which took up a lot of the day. I had a little boy who was feeling sick to his stomach. So I ended up making onion soup, grilled cheese sandwiches (some with roast beef).

We had a random leftover night while we were rushing around to activities. I made the chicken marsala but not in the slow cooker.

So onto this week, let's hope I am slightly more successful this week than I was last.

Monday - Chicken Pot Pie

Tuesday - Blue/Gold Dinner for Cub Scouts - must make a awesome dessert but not sure what yet

Wednesday - Slow Cooker Beef Roast

Thursday - Not sure yet...it is Valentine's Day so I know we won't go out but I am thinking some sort of seafood, either steamed or maybe a low country boil

Friday - Leftovers

Saturday - Date Night

Sunday - Chili

 

Eat Your Age In Bites...A Dinnertime Rule At Our House

Last week I was eating lunch at the school and talking with one of the other moms. We were discussing rules at our house during dinnertime. I was explaining to her the philosophy I take at our house with trying to expose my kids to different things but using this rule. It reminded me of a post I had written almost two years ago. We still use this rule at my house during dinner.

Here is my old post:

Sometimes it seems like I am fighting an uphill battle to teach my children healthy ways. I want to make sure they have a good eating foundation so they can make the right choices as they grow.

I have never been a mom who has made any child a separate meal from the adults and unless they develop a food allergy, I will never be that mom.  I also feed my children a variety of food.  They have all been eating everything my husband and I do since they were able to.

Rebecca and Tyler both eat almost everything. Sure there are things they don't like. But the rule of thumb at our house is "you have to eat your age in bites if you don't like/want something". For example since Tyler is 5, if we are eating green beans and he doesn't want them, he has to eat 5 in order to be excused from dinner.  My only exception to this rule occurs when we are out in public and frankly it just isn't always worth the battle.

My theory behind this is the longer I keep the trying something they may eventually start to enjoy it. And it has worked with lots of foods. Through this I have seen some great results.  Tyler would never eat pasta and now he loves it! Rebecca didn't like green beans but now she will eat them all day long.

I have to enforce the rule at every dinner with Jason. And he is stubborn! He refuses to eat. He will wait until everyone else is finished before he even takes his first bite. He has gagged on food. And he will go straight to bed before dinner is finished. He is hesitant to try new things. If I served cereal at every meal, he'd be our golden child. Instead, I guess I am going to just have to keep at it with him.

What are some meal time rules you have at your house?

Meal Plan - Week 2

My meals last week went okay. On Wednesday I discovered I really didn't have the patience for eggplant rollatini. I made more of a lasagna with eggplant instead. I went ahead and made notes and took some pictures so I will post the recipe soon.  On Thursday the hubby was coming home late and I realized I had a bunch of potatoes in the pantry that needed cooking. So I swapped out the onion soup for potato soup. I served it with grilled cheese sandwiches. On Friday I went out to dinner with some friends and Ryan took the kids over to his brothers for dinner so I ended up not cooking Friday night.  Saturday night we ended up having friends over so I didn't end up cooking the Sloppy Joes. I am moving that to Monday because the kids were really looking forward to it.  We still have lots of leftovers in the fridge for lunches over the weekend and for me this week. Here is the plan for this week.

Monday - Sloppy Joes

Tuesday - Spirit Night for the elementary school

Wednesday - leftovers

Thursday - Chicken Marsala in the slow cooker

Friday - sandwiches and/or a frozen pizza (I picked up one on sale)

Saturday - Eating out

Sunday - Pork Chops with Balsamic and Brown Sugar Glazed Onions and Stuffing

What do you have planned this week?

Meal Plan - Week 1

In addition to taking a break from the blog, I took a break from meal planning. Let me tell you something I learned about  myself. If I don't have a meal plan, we rarely have a home-cooked meal. So I am back to planning out a meals. I plan two weeks at a time because that is how I roll. I don't have a scientific reason to plan two weeks at a time, but it works for me. I almost always change up the plan at one point or another during the second week but I like to be thinking ahead.

So here is my meal plan for this week...I will post next weeks on Monday.

Monday - Leftovers

Tuesday - Eating Out (have two kids activities with only 30 minutes in between for dinner)

Wednesday - Eggplant Rollatini with Pasta

Thursday - French Dip Sandwiches & French Onion Soup for dipping

Friday - Baked Penne With Chicken & Sun dried Tomatoes (making this for a friend and us)

Saturday - Sweet Sloppy Joe's

Sunday - Going to a Super Bowl Party but bringing Chicken Cups

What's for dinner at your house this week?