Monday- Chicken Salad, beer bread (thaw GF bread for Action Boy)
Tuesday- Baked Salmon, Black beans and Rice
Wednesday- Pot Roast (use home made mushroom soup and onion soup mix) in crock pot with carrots and potatoes
Thursday- Crock Pot Garlic Teriyaki Chicken (recipe calls for wings but I'm going to try boneless) and rice
Friday- Sage Pork Chops, Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans
Saturday-
Sunday- Steak on the Grill, corn
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Snacks are a Challenge!
The combination of staying away from processed food and finding a snack my carb junkie kids look foward to has been difficult. Action Boy will eat just about anything- especially if it is a cracker or bread or rice cake, etc. Star Girl wants cookies. So, my answer for this week is going to be granola. I found a recipe for mulberry granola on Elena's Pantry and after a bit of searching I did find dried Mulberries at Earth Fare (I was too impatient to just wait until the tree in my yard drops them in our laps!). At least if I like it I know I'll have a bunch to work with later this year.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Menu Plan April 9, 2012
Monday- Baked Mac & Cheese w/ham & green beans (make GF pasta for Action Boy, no sauce)
Tuesday- Marinated Steak & baked Sweet potatoes with Asparagus (use roasted broccoli recipe for asparagus)
Wednesday- Batter Dipped Chicken Nuggets and Broccoli
Thursday- Meatball & Rice Soup
Friday- Salisbury Steak & mashed potatoes w/ corn NOTE TO SELF:(look for alternative to soy sauce or worchestershire)** Found coconut aminos today at Earth Fare. Just coconut and sea salt-- I've heard it is a good alterntive to soy sauce-- Looking forward to trying it!
Saturday- kids only- hopefully left overs will be available!
Sunday- Maple Mustard Grilled Salmon & spinach salad
Tuesday- Marinated Steak & baked Sweet potatoes with Asparagus (use roasted broccoli recipe for asparagus)
Wednesday- Batter Dipped Chicken Nuggets and Broccoli
Thursday- Meatball & Rice Soup
Friday- Salisbury Steak & mashed potatoes w/ corn NOTE TO SELF:(look for alternative to soy sauce or worchestershire)** Found coconut aminos today at Earth Fare. Just coconut and sea salt-- I've heard it is a good alterntive to soy sauce-- Looking forward to trying it!
Saturday- kids only- hopefully left overs will be available!
Sunday- Maple Mustard Grilled Salmon & spinach salad
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Road Trip with the Kids
So next week we're embarking on a month-long trip with our two girls. I've been researching car activities and other stress relievers. If you have any tips, feel free to share!
Here are a few things I've found-- and I'll post links as well.
Here's How:
1. Bring lots and lots of snacks, treats, and amusements (see below.)
2. Stories on audiotapes are a terrific way to pass the time: played either on the car stereo, or in "walkman"-type players.
3. Car games like "I spy" are a time-honoured tradition.
4. Allow time to stop at restaurants or local playgrounds, so the kids can run around. Bring a ball or frisbee too.
5. Try to stop at restaurants with ball rooms. Let the kids work off some energy-- maybe even let them play now and eat the meal later, in the car.
6. Alternatively, create picnic meals with food bought from restaurants or the deli in a grocery store: this saves money, and gives the kids a chance to play outside.
7. Change the kids' seating arrangements to minimize conflicts.
8. Give maps to the older kids, and let them mark off your route, and navigate.
9. Allow sleeping children plenty of wake-up time: start the wakie-wakie process long before you're going to stop the car.
10. Bringing along a potty can be a great idea, at a certain stage of life.
Tips:
1. Depending on your family policy on tv/media consumption, you might want to look into the new trend of renting vcr/tv units for vans and other vehicles.
2. With small kids, over-preparing is always better than under-preparation!
3. Special car-travel kits can be a good idea: for ex., a travel "desk" suspended from the front seat of a van makes a "desk" for a child to draw, store crayons, etc.
Here are more!
Pace: try to allow enough time for rest stops. Two hours of car time, then a break, makes a good pattern, with young children. "Rush"is the four-letter word of Travel With Kids!
Pack: a special backpack or bag for each child, with crayons, books, toys, activity sets, stickers, handheld games-- including some new wrapped surprises for little kids. (But don't give out all the loot at once!)
Pint-sized board-games: can be a sound investment. Our favorites are Clue, Sorry, and Trouble. And a tray-- or "travel desk" suspended from the back of the front seat-- is handy, for any activity.
Pack: lots of snacks, such as fruit leathers, crackers, juice packs, treats; a small cooler, or insulated bag, for cold drinks; plastic cups; bandaids, a dishtowel; frisbee and ball for rest-stops; and baby-wipes no matter how old your kids are.
Play: stories on audiobooks: they make the miles fly by. Play a story for the whole family on the car stereo system; or bring individual players for your kids. Visit your local library to stock up on stories, or use one of several download services.
Playrooms: Burger King and MacDonalds have great playrooms on major highways. Let the kids burn off energy while you order their food "to go" to eat later in the car.
Playgrounds: every school and most parks have them! Little limbs need to shake, rattle, and roll.
Picnics: they're fun; the kids can run around; and you save money, too. Pack your own picnic from home, or buy the fixins' at a deli or grocery store.
Potties: it's worth bringing a training pottie, if your child has need-to-go-NOW emergencies.
Pedal-to-the-metal: if you really need to hurtle from point A to B, use a DVD player or laptop, and turn your vehicle into the Cinema on the Highway.
FOOD TO PACK
Instead of buying fast food on the road, take a few extra minutes and grocery shop at home. Pack lunch and bring it along. Or, just bring a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, a squeezable container of jelly, and raid your kitchen junk drawer for plastic utensils so you can make lunch on the road. Get out and stretch your legs at a rest stop instead of at a fast food restaurant and enjoy a picnic.
Also, bring snacks purchased from the grocery store, instead of buying them on the road. Try these road trip food ideas for your family like trail mix, cereal mix, string cheese, and fruit such as apples which travel great in the car. Pack snacks in individual plastic bags for each passenger.
Instead of eating at restaurants while staying at hotels, my friend Barb likes to pack kid-friendly foods to make in the hotel. She packs easy mac, soup, and microwave popcorn since many hotels now have microwaves. When on your vacation, she also recommends going to the Early bird dinners or eating out for just one meal per day, and eat-in for the others. She says, "We usually eat a late lunch after a breakfast of fruit, and then dinner is fruit and crackers. One big meal and small snacks are easier."
Drink water instead of soda in the car (much healthier, much cheaper, and doesn't make such a mess). Pack frozen water bottles in the cooler. It will act as ice for the other items in the cooler, and you can drink the water when it melts.
That's all I have for now. I am moving on to making my own triptik (info on area attractions and stuff along the trip). Wish me luck!
Here are a few things I've found-- and I'll post links as well.
Here's How:
1. Bring lots and lots of snacks, treats, and amusements (see below.)
2. Stories on audiotapes are a terrific way to pass the time: played either on the car stereo, or in "walkman"-type players.
3. Car games like "I spy" are a time-honoured tradition.
4. Allow time to stop at restaurants or local playgrounds, so the kids can run around. Bring a ball or frisbee too.
5. Try to stop at restaurants with ball rooms. Let the kids work off some energy-- maybe even let them play now and eat the meal later, in the car.
6. Alternatively, create picnic meals with food bought from restaurants or the deli in a grocery store: this saves money, and gives the kids a chance to play outside.
7. Change the kids' seating arrangements to minimize conflicts.
8. Give maps to the older kids, and let them mark off your route, and navigate.
9. Allow sleeping children plenty of wake-up time: start the wakie-wakie process long before you're going to stop the car.
10. Bringing along a potty can be a great idea, at a certain stage of life.
Tips:
1. Depending on your family policy on tv/media consumption, you might want to look into the new trend of renting vcr/tv units for vans and other vehicles.
2. With small kids, over-preparing is always better than under-preparation!
3. Special car-travel kits can be a good idea: for ex., a travel "desk" suspended from the front seat of a van makes a "desk" for a child to draw, store crayons, etc.
Here are more!
Pace: try to allow enough time for rest stops. Two hours of car time, then a break, makes a good pattern, with young children. "Rush"is the four-letter word of Travel With Kids!
Pack: a special backpack or bag for each child, with crayons, books, toys, activity sets, stickers, handheld games-- including some new wrapped surprises for little kids. (But don't give out all the loot at once!)
Pint-sized board-games: can be a sound investment. Our favorites are Clue, Sorry, and Trouble. And a tray-- or "travel desk" suspended from the back of the front seat-- is handy, for any activity.
Pack: lots of snacks, such as fruit leathers, crackers, juice packs, treats; a small cooler, or insulated bag, for cold drinks; plastic cups; bandaids, a dishtowel; frisbee and ball for rest-stops; and baby-wipes no matter how old your kids are.
Play: stories on audiobooks: they make the miles fly by. Play a story for the whole family on the car stereo system; or bring individual players for your kids. Visit your local library to stock up on stories, or use one of several download services.
Playrooms: Burger King and MacDonalds have great playrooms on major highways. Let the kids burn off energy while you order their food "to go" to eat later in the car.
Playgrounds: every school and most parks have them! Little limbs need to shake, rattle, and roll.
Picnics: they're fun; the kids can run around; and you save money, too. Pack your own picnic from home, or buy the fixins' at a deli or grocery store.
Potties: it's worth bringing a training pottie, if your child has need-to-go-NOW emergencies.
Pedal-to-the-metal: if you really need to hurtle from point A to B, use a DVD player or laptop, and turn your vehicle into the Cinema on the Highway.
FOOD TO PACK
Instead of buying fast food on the road, take a few extra minutes and grocery shop at home. Pack lunch and bring it along. Or, just bring a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, a squeezable container of jelly, and raid your kitchen junk drawer for plastic utensils so you can make lunch on the road. Get out and stretch your legs at a rest stop instead of at a fast food restaurant and enjoy a picnic.
Also, bring snacks purchased from the grocery store, instead of buying them on the road. Try these road trip food ideas for your family like trail mix, cereal mix, string cheese, and fruit such as apples which travel great in the car. Pack snacks in individual plastic bags for each passenger.
Instead of eating at restaurants while staying at hotels, my friend Barb likes to pack kid-friendly foods to make in the hotel. She packs easy mac, soup, and microwave popcorn since many hotels now have microwaves. When on your vacation, she also recommends going to the Early bird dinners or eating out for just one meal per day, and eat-in for the others. She says, "We usually eat a late lunch after a breakfast of fruit, and then dinner is fruit and crackers. One big meal and small snacks are easier."
Drink water instead of soda in the car (much healthier, much cheaper, and doesn't make such a mess). Pack frozen water bottles in the cooler. It will act as ice for the other items in the cooler, and you can drink the water when it melts.
That's all I have for now. I am moving on to making my own triptik (info on area attractions and stuff along the trip). Wish me luck!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Check This Out Before Watching Movies With Kids
One of my favorite things to do with "free time" is reading magazines. Today I was able to pick up a Good Housekeeping while I was waiting for an oil change. I found a short article on websites to check out before you allow your kids to watch movies-- something I have wondered about often. PG can mean so many different things. Before I let my kids watch a PG movie I'd really like to know what I'm in for! These sites give details that will help you decide if a movie is appropriate for your family or not. These sites were chosen by Good Housekeeping.
kids-in-mind.com
parentpreviews.com
commonsensemedia.org
kids-in-mind.com
parentpreviews.com
commonsensemedia.org
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Using Pantry Surplus
I found a great article today at Homemaker Barbi about using the piles of extra stuff you have left in your pantry for meals-- I think I'm going to try to challenge myself to see how much pantry surplus I can use in a given week-- and to see how much this brings my grocery bill down. I'll report back-- and you do the same!
Here is a little bit of her article:
How Do You Use Up a Stockpile?
When my husband and I were hardcore into frugal grocery (we’ve been a bit more lax lately), I would make a game out of seeing how long I could go without going to the grocery store. The goal is to use up the food you have in your cupboards, freezer, pantry, cabinets, etc. as much as possible. (Not expired foods! Please, if they’re past their prime, just trash them and vow to do better at watching expiration dates in the future.)
* Take everything out of the cabinets. Foods get pushed to the back, hide behind bigger packages, and attempt to disguise themselves in the shadows to avoid being consumed. Don’t let the food pull one over on you! Pull out all items from cabinets, shelves, lazy Susans, and put them out on a table or countertop.
* Take inventory of your food. Make a list of what ingredients you have and the quantity of each, then put them away.
* Put the food away in reverse order. You know the drill, newest foods in the back, oldest foods in the front. The strategy is to use the oldest food up first, before it expires.
* Make a menu plan without looking at anything in the kitchen. You’ve already seen all the food, so you should have a pretty good idea of what’s in there. This is the point where you use your inventory papers and plan meals to use up those specific ingredients. Plan your menu, day by day, by writing down a meal then crossing off the ingredients it will use.
* Don’t buy any more food! Try to not purchase anything from the grocery store except for perishable items that you need for the week (milk, produce, baby supplies, etc.- you need those).
Keep in mind that while you are in the using-it-up phase, you’ll probably be using the same inventory sheet for more than one week’s worth of meal planning. Just keep crossing food off as you use it up. When planning your meals, don’t think about what sounds good for dinner. Instead, think of what meals can be made with the ingredients you are trying to use. A free tool I use to help with this is Recipe Matcher; you type in the ingredients you want to use up and it gives you recipes that use those ingredients.
Visit Homemaker Barbi for the entire article!
Here is a little bit of her article:
How Do You Use Up a Stockpile?
When my husband and I were hardcore into frugal grocery (we’ve been a bit more lax lately), I would make a game out of seeing how long I could go without going to the grocery store. The goal is to use up the food you have in your cupboards, freezer, pantry, cabinets, etc. as much as possible. (Not expired foods! Please, if they’re past their prime, just trash them and vow to do better at watching expiration dates in the future.)
* Take everything out of the cabinets. Foods get pushed to the back, hide behind bigger packages, and attempt to disguise themselves in the shadows to avoid being consumed. Don’t let the food pull one over on you! Pull out all items from cabinets, shelves, lazy Susans, and put them out on a table or countertop.
* Take inventory of your food. Make a list of what ingredients you have and the quantity of each, then put them away.
* Put the food away in reverse order. You know the drill, newest foods in the back, oldest foods in the front. The strategy is to use the oldest food up first, before it expires.
* Make a menu plan without looking at anything in the kitchen. You’ve already seen all the food, so you should have a pretty good idea of what’s in there. This is the point where you use your inventory papers and plan meals to use up those specific ingredients. Plan your menu, day by day, by writing down a meal then crossing off the ingredients it will use.
* Don’t buy any more food! Try to not purchase anything from the grocery store except for perishable items that you need for the week (milk, produce, baby supplies, etc.- you need those).
Keep in mind that while you are in the using-it-up phase, you’ll probably be using the same inventory sheet for more than one week’s worth of meal planning. Just keep crossing food off as you use it up. When planning your meals, don’t think about what sounds good for dinner. Instead, think of what meals can be made with the ingredients you are trying to use. A free tool I use to help with this is Recipe Matcher; you type in the ingredients you want to use up and it gives you recipes that use those ingredients.
Visit Homemaker Barbi for the entire article!
Friday, March 6, 2009
Fresh Air
It has been a long, cold winter. My family has never felt so "shut-in" before. The bitter cold, snow and ice have made it very difficult to get out and breathe the fresh air. So this morning when I walked my daughter outside to catch the carpool I was surprised to find that it was practically warm! I immediately made a mental note to get outside to walk. Then I walked back into the house and reality set in. My 5 y/o was home sick from school and my husband had just returned from work... also sick. I guess he got there, got sick and came right back home. I thought my chances to get outside were shot. Fortunately, after a few hours of sleep, my husband was feeling better and encouraged me to go for a walk on the path near our house. What a wonderful day! My friend and I walked 3 miles and were able to laugh, talk and just rejuvenate.
Spring is nearly here and I encourage you to break yourselves away from your computers or your paperwork and get outside! I am already planning a way to work outside on my deck once Spring hits. Thank God for wireless Internet and laptops!
Speaking of Spring, I found a great link for some Spring cleaning printables from Woman's Day magazine. Just jump over to the "Housekeeping" page and you'll find the link there. Don't worry too much about the cleaning though. First and foremost, get outside and take in some Vitamin D!
Spring is nearly here and I encourage you to break yourselves away from your computers or your paperwork and get outside! I am already planning a way to work outside on my deck once Spring hits. Thank God for wireless Internet and laptops!
Speaking of Spring, I found a great link for some Spring cleaning printables from Woman's Day magazine. Just jump over to the "Housekeeping" page and you'll find the link there. Don't worry too much about the cleaning though. First and foremost, get outside and take in some Vitamin D!
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