Brunch Lunch

I would label my daughter a "cereal fanatic."  She loves cereal and she eats a lot of it.  (I have to buy it in bulk now.)  She eats at least one bowl of cereal when she comes home from school and another  before she goes to bed at night - a habit that she started when she was a toddler.  When she was barely old enough to put words together - she started asking for "cereal milk."  I think that she would eat it for breakfast everyday without complaint if I let her.  Most mornings, I make a hot breakfast for Ben and the kids before they head off to school and work.  On the mornings that I do allow my daughter to eat cereal for breakfast, I make sure that she also gets some protein to balance out the carbohydrates.  (peanut butter toast, hard boiled egg, yogurt, etc.) I never have to worry about her getting enough whole grains or calcium in her diet. 

It really isn't a bad snack choice as long as she continues to eat cereals that are relatively low in sugar.
She eats a variety of cereals and generally she chooses healthy cereals.  She likes Life, Cheerios, Shredded Mini Wheats, Oh's and Kix.  A couple of summers ago she even sent a letter to General Mills letting them know just how much she loved Cheerios.  Several months later, she received a package of goodies in the mail from the company in response to her letter.  (t-shirt, puppet, boxes of cereal, etc.)

Since she loves cereal so much, several years ago I decided to start incorporate it into her lunches as well.  Today I send her to school with a "Brunch Lunch".

Bagel, cream cheese, yogurt, cereal, milk, strawberries and a granola bar. (And a bottle of juice)

This is how I packaged it up to fit into her lunchbox. 

 And off she goes.  It's going to be a great day at school - and even it it isn't - at least I know lunch will be great. 

Bon Appetit!

Lunch in a hurry

There is nothing like starting my day with a walk through the park.  Mia and I walked about 10 1/2 miles this morning.  She was such a good walker that I rewarded her with a quick swim in the lake before leaving the park. 

It was such a beautiful day that I couldn't help but take a few quick pictures before heading home.  

Mia found a "treasure" along the trail and carried it for 3 miles back to the car.

When we got home, Mia went right to sleep and I got to work on lunch because I was STARVING.  I made this tuna tuna melt on a whole wheat bagel.  It was exactly what I needed to refuel my body after a nice long walk.

To make this tuna melt, I combined a packet of low sodium tuna, a Tablespoon of low fat mayonnaise and a few caraway seeds.  I sliced a whole wheat bagel in half and sliced some avocado.  I arranged the avocado slices on the bagel, spooned the tuna on top and then sprinkled it with low fat, sharp cheddar cheese.  Lastly, I set the bagel under the broiler for a couple of minutes to melt the cheese. 

This was a really good lunch and it only took about 5 minutes to make.  Give it a try.

Bon Appetit!

Break out of the can

For the past several summers our family has participated in a friendly family fishing contest" in Lake Erie.  It seems to get more competitive every year - this year we even gave ourselves fishing nicknames.  This is my niece with her first big catch.

This is my son, wearing his fishing hat and posing with the smallest fish of the day.

These were just a few of the coveted prizes for the winners of this year's contest.

Since we don't live near the Great Lakes, when we come home we have to go to the next best place to get great fish - Trader Joes.  If you are lucky enough to live by a Trader Joes - be sure to check out their frozen fish.  You won't be disappointed.  I picked up a couple of Ahi Tuna steaks yesterday morning and grilled them up for dinner last night. 

Grilled Ahi Tuna Steaks
3 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons honey
2 Tablespoons fresh thyme (or rosemary)
3/4 cup olive oil
6 tuna steaks

Whisk together vinegar, 1/2 t. salt, mustard, honey and thyme.  While whisking, slowly drizzle in oil.   Reserve 1/4 cup vinaigrette for serving with fish.  Brush both sides of tuna with vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper.  Grill for 2 minutes and carefully flip.  Cook about 3 more minutes.  (Center should be red to slightly pink depending on your personal preference.)

This recipe came from the 2011 May/June Issue of Cooks Illustrated.  It was absolutely delicious.  I served it with a green salad and baked sweet potato fries.  (also from Trader Joes)  My kids are both big fans of the tuna that comes in a can but they generally don't care for tuna steaks.  My son ended up eating quite a bit and my daughter thought it wasn't quite as good as canned tuna.  Her loss - more for me.   

Bon Appetit!

Peach Season

A couple of weeks when I walked into the grocery store I was greeted by the sweet aroma of fresh peaches.  I carefully selected the very best peaches out of the bin as I day dreamed about how delicious they would taste in my juicy peach pie.  I brought my peaches home and started on my pie that same afternoon.  I finished putting the lattice crust on the top just as my husband walked in the door from work and he was equally excited about the pie.  Unfortunately, I had run out of time and I didn't have time to bake my pie before we had to head out the door again.

With much reluctance, I wrapped the pie in plastic wrap and then in foil before putting it in my freezer.  (That was torture to my poor husband, by the way.)  We have both been thinking about that pie ever since it went into the freezer.  I am happy to report that this was the weekend that we finally baked the pie.  We invited some friends to come over and share it with us which made the pie even that much sweeter.

Peach Pie
basic pie pastry for a double crust
6 cups fresh peaches
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch of nutmeg
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 425.  Roll out bottom crust and lay it in a 9” pie pan.  Roll out pastry for the top crust and cut into 3/4” strips.  Place the peaches in a large bowl.  Stir together flour, sugar, salt and nutmeg.  Add to the peaches and toss to coat.  Pile fruit into pie dish.   Top with bits of butter.  Use the pastry strips to  make a lattice top.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Reduce temperature to 350 and bake another 25 minutes.  Let cool and cut into wedges before serving. 

Pies are the perfect make ahead dessert because they freeze really well.  When I make fruit pies, I wrap and freeze them before they're baked.  I defrost them in the refrigerator for 24 hours before I put them in the oven.  This is my peach pie as soon as I took it out of the freezer.

This is what my pie looked like when it came out of the oven.

The pie lived up to all of my expectations.  After weeks of dreaming about this frozen pie, I am pleased to tell you that it was just as good as I had imagined.   Georgia peaches at their finest. 

Bon Appetit!

Will Workout for Muffins

 

This weekend marks the end of my 5 week workout rotation.  That means that I get to start it all over again on Monday morning.  I start every new rotation with a fitness test just to make sure that I'm at least maintaining my current level of fitness.  I use the Fit Test that came with the Insanity workout.  It is pretty basic really - doing specific exercises for 1 minute and counting the number of reps that I complete.  I have a chart posted on the wall in my workout room and I can keep track of how my reps and how my fitness improves over time.  When I finish with my Fit Test, I'm dripping in sweat and ready for some nourishment.

I baked a batch of cinnamon buttermilk muffins last night so that I can sit down and enjoy one with a cup of tea after my Fit Test.  I will also have
a small dish of Trader Joes vanilla yogurt to add some protein to my snack. 

Cinnamon Buttermilk Muffins
7 Tablespoons butter                                                                 Topping
2/3 cup sugar                                                                             1/3 cup sugar
1 egg                                                                                           1/2 Tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cups flour                                                                          3 Tablespoons butter
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Prepare 10 muffin cups with paper liners and preheat oven to 350.  Beat butter and sugar in mixer until light and fluffy.  Beat in egg.  Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg.  Add to butter in 2 additions, alternating with buttermilk and vanilla.  Stir until just moistened.  Scoop batter into muffin liners and bake 20 minutes at 350. 

It is going to be really hard to eat just one muffin.   I had my doubts when I was making the recipe because there isn't any cinnamon in the batter.  The muffins are nicely spiced with nutmeg and a sweet cinnamon sugar topping is added to the top after the muffins are baked.   These muffins baked up with nice rounded tops - beautiful.

Bon Appetit!

Snacking Situation

I try to serve nutritious meals to my family on most nights but my kids still consume about 50% of their daily calories through snacks.  During the week, I pack snacks for the bus ride, they eat a snack as soon as they walk in the door from school, and they eat continue to snack throughout the evening.  On the weekends, they seem wander through the kitchen on an hourly basis to grab a snack.  I do my best to keep the house stocked with healthy snacks - which seems like a never ending task these days.

Several months ago, I reorganized the snack shelf in my panty and invested in some new plastic containers to store snacks.  My goal was to make healthy snacks more accessible.  These are the things that I keep stocked on my snack shelf: nuts, whole wheat crackers, trail mix, dried fruit, granola bars, cereal bars, cliff bars, peanut butter crackers, goldfish crackers, oatmeal, cereal, popcorn, and peanut butter.  I also keep a bowl of fresh fruit on the counter. 

When my kids were younger, I was in control of everything they ate and it was easier to ensure that they were eating nutritious snacks.  Now that they're teenagers, I am trying to teach them to make their own healthy snack choices.  Hopefully the good habits that they start now will carry over into adulthood. 

I was looking through my recipes this afternoon in search of a new snack.  I wanted to find something with fruit, nuts and oats.  I came across this recipe for Chocolate, Cranberry and Oat Bars from a 2007 Food and Family magazine and decided to give it a try.

Chocolate, Cranberry and Oat Bars
1 cup dried cranberries                1/4 teaspoon salt   
1/4 cup orange juice                    3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups flour                           1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups oats                            2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder          1 cup chocolate chunks
                                                    1/2 cup pecan pieces

Combine orange juice and cranberries.  Microwave on high for 30 seconds.  Let stand 10 min.  Combine flour, oats, baking powder and salt.  Cream butter and sugar in standing mixer.  Beat in eggs.  Add flour mixture.  Stir in nuts, chocolate and cranberries.  Spread into a greased 9x13 pan.  Bake 25 min. at 350.

The bars were so soooo good.  The kids each gobbled one up when they got home from school and another one after dinner.  I packed one in each of their lunch boxes for tomorrow too.  These bars would make a great snack after a mountain bike ride or soccer practice too.  They're easy to pack and I am guessing that they would freeze really well too.  (I didn't get a chance to put one in the freezer because they were gone to quickly.)  If your kids don't like dried cranberries - try swapping them with raisins.  I added this recipe to my collection of snacks - I hope that you will too.   

Bon Appetit!

Paninis (without a panini maker)

I decided to attempt to make home made paninis tonight even though I don't own a panini press.  I started with the very best ingredients that I could find - vine ripened tomatoes, crusty Italian bread, fresh basil, creamy avocado and fresh mozzarella cheese.  What could go wrong? 

Since I didn't have a panini press at my disposal, I armed myself with a cast iron skillet and I fired up the Big Green Egg.  I didn't have a recipe to follow so I decided to "wing it".  I sliced the bread into nice thick slices and buttered one side of each piece with melted butter.  I layered fresh mozzarella, tomato, avocado and basil leaves on the bread and topped it with another slice.  I put the sandwich on the grill and put my cast iron skillet on top.  It worked beautifully - the paninis were perfectly toasted and pressed.

The next time that I make these, I am going to add a little pesto to the unbuttered side of the bread to bring out the flavor of the basil even more. 

I made a couple of paninis with just fresh mozzarella cheese.  The kids were thrilled with their grilled cheese paninis. 

If you don't have a Big Green Egg - use a charcoal grill or even a gas grill.  I am ready to try some new paninis now - send me your panini ideas.  I'm ready for a challenge.

Bon Appetit!