This is a little piece I wrote for LiveWell Colorado under the tricky topic of “The Sugar Trap.” Tell me how you’re transitioning to better health while still having a social life.
Sometimes we moms are hesitant to say “no” for fear of making things awkward in a relationship. Continue reading
I made up a batch of Crispy Brown Rice Treats with dried cranberries. They tasted really good, but they didn’t look like the ones Big P was offered at church. (You know, tan and cut into factory-perfect squares.) I almost put mine on a paper plate. Nope. I had to sell these to Big P like they were better than the junk. I ran to get my cake pedestal and crossed my fingers. Continue reading
When I first saw a tutorial for DIY corn chips I believed with my whole-sodium loving heart that they couldn’t taste as good as the bagged variety. There was no way. One day we had a surplus of corn tortillas and no corn chips, so I grudgingly gave it a go. Not only were they beyond easy, but they tasted great. (Not to mention, according to Rachel Brandeis of the American Dietetic Association, we consume up to 50% less calories, sodium, and fat when we make food ourselves.) These crispy babies will cure any bag-addicts that may be reading.
Ingredients
Instructions
Do you want to know how to make the tasty black bean hummus pictured above? Don’t Panic. Just head over to LiveWell Colorado’s mom blog. This dip sounds snooty, but it had both Middle E and Little A licking their plates clean.
When kids are hungry, they are going to eat what they can scavenge, whether it’s a bag of exotic-flavored cheesie puffs or carrot sticks. Convenience food is whatever you deem it. It just needs to be easy to open and have the ability to be plopped into a waiting mouth. We fall into eating junky convenience foods when we are hungry, tired, time-crunched, or otherwise less discerning. (Picture me right before naptime running on little sleep. Exactly where are the chocolate chips? Tell Me!) I have been rethinking this concept of “convenience” since last summer when I fell in love with dried fruit. It required no peeling, minimal trash, and easy to pack. Oh, and all of my kids loved it. Continue reading
I have made these about a dozen times and they are always a hit. When I showed the plate pictured above to Middle E he said, “I want that for breakfast!” They use whole wheat flour, so if you’re ready to give this whole grain a try, now is the time to do it! The color will be dark brown from the cocoa powder no matter what flour you use. Continue reading
Not a lot of words today. Enjoy these pics and think about what you already have in the fridge and on the counter that you can simply transform into hearts. Your kids will be thrilled by your gesture. I used a set of plastic cookie cutters from Walmart that cost under $2. You’ll be a quadruple winner because it doesn’t take a lot of brains to do this, it’s fast, it’s cheap, and it’s healthy. Check out the original post from the series appropriately titled, I {Heart} Your {Heart}. It will clear up any doubts on why you should bother with vegetables on Valentine’s Day.
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These look like they require some skill. Don’t let the ribbon fool you. These took just a couple minutes to assemble and I used supplies that I already had around the house. Continue reading