Three cheers for farmer’s market season!

It is still early in the season here, but I was able to get this great bounty this morning.  I actually had to go back to the market this morning because we had already eaten all of the veggies we bought a couple of days ago.  The kohlrabi was a surprise hit.  A friend told us she eats hers raw with just a little salt sprinkled on it.  It is getting towards the end of asparagus season, but it was still tasty steamed and then tossed with a little oil and vinegar.  I’m not sure what I’m going to do with those beets.  (Suggestions would be appreciated.  :) )  And I don’t think anyone is going to see those snap peas but me.  I’ve already eaten most of them myself.  I’m not the biggest raw veggie eater myself, but those are tasty.

Soon we will have some veggies right from our own backyard, but for now I am glad that there are farmer’s markets.  See what you can find at your local market!

Happy Memorial Day!

Another hot, hot day around here!  So we decided to make popsicles.  These are so easy to make.  Only a little more effort than cutting the top off one of those push-up sugar-water pops.  ;)

Berry-Yogurt Pops

24 oz frozen berries, thawed (or use fresh later in the summer) – I used blackberries and raspberries

1 1/2 cups plain yogurt

4 tbsp honey (optional)

1 tsp vanilla

Put all ingredients into blender and pulse until smooth.  Pour through a fine mesh strainer to remove seeds.  Fill popsicle molds and freeze until solid.  (Ours were ready in a few hours.  It helps to run the molds under warm water before trying to pull the popsicles out.)

Have some of these ready in the freezer before the ice cream truck starts going around in your neighborhood.  Save yourself some money and you can feel good about feeding your kid these!

It just keeps getting hotter!  I went for a run before 8 this morning and it was already stiflingly hot.  I came home exhausted.  On a day like today, my body needs something other than just water.

I guess you could say I had that “deep down body thirst.”  :)

Since sports drinks typically leave me feeling a little sick to my stomach after a run, I decided to make my own.

1 cup lemon juice

1 tbsp salt

6 tbsp sugar (agave would work as well)

Mix the ingredients together in a small saucepan over medium low heat.  Stir until the salt and sugar dissolve.  Cool and store in the refrigerator.

To serve, mix 2 tbsp concentrate with 1 cup of water.

This has a salty taste which I like after a run.  If you don’t like the saltiness, you can add a little more sugar or lemon juice.

We are closing in on month six of our little project.  Next month’s pledge: no processed beverages.  Only milk, 100% juice and water.

It’s definitely feeling like summer!

How about cooling off with one of these:

As I was sweltering in my house yesterday (Temperatures got up to 90 and I refuse to put the AC on before June.), I decided to make myself a cool drink.  It kind of looks like a cocktail!  I hope the neighbors didn’t see me drinking this.  They’ll think I’m a terrible mother having a drink while the babies are napping!  I’ll have to put it in a dark glass next time.  ;)

Anyway, if you’re looking for a healthy alternative to soda or sugary drinks, try this:

1 cup sparkling water

2 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp agave (could probably use honey also)

optional: lime wedge

Mix together in a glass and enjoy!

Only 6 to go.

6 more days of packing school lunches, that is.

Yes, I have been counting down the days.  For some reason I just dread doing this every morning.  I can’t wait until summer when I can just make lunch for all of the kids at once.  No more washing all of those lunch containers either!

But as much as I tire of packing those lunches, I know that I’d much rather that the kids eat my homemade lunches than the school made lunches.  Some of the offerings at our school have been pretzel with cheese sauce, french toast strips, cheese sticks.  Not exactly the healthiest stuff.  I really wish the school offered better options that I could feel good about the kids eating.  So, I was really surprised when I read an article today in our local paper.

It’s about a local school district that tried to make healthy changes to the lunch menu and it did not go over well.  Please take a minute to read the whole article.  I found it very depressing.

Some highlights:

“The company went overboard, administrators said. It cut all fried foods and monosodium glutamate. It also made all breads, pastas and tortillas with wheat.”

Really???

Was this too much for the general population to stomach?  No fast food?  No MSG?  And whole wheat products??  Next thing you know they’re going to be offering fresh fruits and vegetables!

Now I know that most kids wouldn’t eat some of the things I pack in my kids’ lunches. But they will eat healthy food if that is what’s available to them.  And if they are presented in an appetizing way.

One of the board members (also a parent) had this to say about the changes: “I’m sick of packing lunches.”  Apparently this parent was upset about having to package up unhealthy foods for his kid’s lunch.  I have an easy solution for him: let your kid buy the healthy option!  Problem solved!

With so many complaints, the food vendor was forced to change their menu which of course meant that “they increased their unhealthy offerings.”

There is so much talk about giving children healthy options and making good choices but when it comes time to actually implement some changes, no one wants to put in the effort.  I’m sure those kids were not happy about fried foods being taken off the menu, but they’ll get over it.  Don’t we, as parents, want our kids to be eating better.  Are we just going to take the easy way out and let our kids eat junk just because they think they like the way it tastes?

Sorry for the rant.  I’m sure I’m not getting every detail of the story from one short article, but what I did read was very discouraging.

What are the school lunch options like at your school?  Do you pack your kids’ lunches or do they buy lunch?

So, I got pretty tired of making crackers about 2 months into this project.  They are so much work!  All of that rolling out and cutting.  This is why I never make those cute sugar cookie cut-outs around the holidays.  I find that to be so tedious.  And, as I’ve said before, my free time is extremely  limited, so even if I wanted to spend my time doing that, I just don’t have the time.

I do really miss crunchy cracker and chip type snack food.  So, I decided to experiment a bit.  I wanted something that can be mixed in one bowl and poured in one pan to bake.  Just a couple of things to wash and only a short amount of hands-on time.

I really have no idea what to call this snack.  It’s sort of like a cheesy biscuit square.  All I could think of when I was trying to name it was those crazy crackers that were called “Chicken in a Biscuit.”  That name always bugged me.  I’m pretty sure those don’t have any actual chicken in them.  So, using the chicken-in-a-biscuit-logic, I’m calling these “Monkey in a Handbasket.”  (Unless someone has a better idea for a name.  ;) )

2 cups puffed millet (other grains would probably work here)

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup grated cheddar

1/4 cup parmesan

2 eggs

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp olive oil

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.  Pour into a greased 8×8 baking pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until puffed and lightly browned.

These make good snacks or a quick lunchbox dish with a side of veggies and fruit.

It is really starting to feel like summer around here.  80 degree weather yesterday and 90 degrees today.  Weather that leads to this:

These three are all at the door because they heard the familiar sounds of the ice cream. An ice cream truck that comes by our house not once, but twice, a day in the summer.  I have never been a big fan of the ice cream truck with it’s over-priced, processed snacks.  So I decided I’d make our own “milkshakes.”  It’s not like we’re going to go a whole summer without frozen treats!  I may need to buy an ice cream maker this summer, too …

Chocolate Milkshakes

(makes 2 servings)

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used greek yogurt)

2-4 tbsp honey or agave

1 frozen, ripe banana

8 whole, frozen strawberries

Combine everything in your blender and blend until smooth.

Enjoy on a hot day (or any day).  :)

Because … sometimes you feel like a nut…

No-bake sugar-free Almond Joy treats.

These things are really addictive.  I just made some – they take about 15 minutes to make – and I’m thinking there might not be any left by the time the kids get home from school…  Oh well, maybe I’ll just make another batch.

10 oz. whole, pitted dates

3/4 cup slivered almonds

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup unsweetened, flaked coconut

4 tbsp cocoa

whole almonds

Put the dates in your food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped.  (It’ll combine into a ball.)  Add almonds, vanilla, coconut and cocoa and process until well-mixed.  Take a spoonful of the mixture and press an almond into it.  Shape the “dough” around the almond, covering it completely.

And, if you’re not feeling like a nut, leave out the whole almonds and make “mounds bars.”

Sufferin’ Soycotash!

(Sorry for that.  I just can’t help thinking of Sylvester the Cat every time I make this salad.)

I’ve never been a fan of lima beans.  I’ve discovered that they’re pretty good fresh, but frozen, not so much.  So, while lima beans are not in season at the farmer’s market, I use edamame in my succotash.  Therefore, it become soy-cotash.

Isn’t that pretty?  Vegetables can look so appealing some times.  My kids love this dish and it’s made completely of vegetables!  It makes me happy to see them ask for seconds of their vegetables at dinner.

Soycotash

1 cup frozen edamame

1 cup frozen corn

1 medium red bell pepper, chopped

1/4 of a small vidalia onion, chopped (red onion works well here, too)

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tbsp lemon juice

salt, pepper to taste

Thaw the edamame and corn.  Mix with the pepper and onion in a medium sized bowl.  Whisk together the oil, vinegar and lemon juice and pour over the vegetables.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy your veggies!  :)

Five days of spending all of my time in the kitchen!  It was fun trying new recipes for OnceAMonthMom, but I am glad to be done.  So today I am taking a break from anything food related.  Here are some ideas for DIY kids’ room decor.  We recently redid my daughter’s room and she wanted everything green and pink and girly.

My absolute favorite project was the butterfly mobile we made to hang above her bed.  Modeled after the Pottery Barn Kids’ butterfly mobile, it was a cinch to make (just a bit time-consuming).

1 embroidery hoop

colored card stock

butterfly punch

ribbon

thin twine or heavy thread

clear beads

needle

Use just the fixed size ring of the embroidery hoop.  Create a lattice by tying twine across it.  I had a four by four grid.

Add string to one end to hang the mobile.

Cut lots of butterflies from your card stock.

Cut the remaining twine into desired lengths to hang from the mobile.  I made the strings longer in the center and getting shorter towards the edges.

Thread your needle and “sew” your butterflies onto the twine.  (I have not had any problem with my butterflies slipping down the string, but you might want to add a dab of glue to each one to hold it in place.)  Add a bead tied to the bottom to weight the string down.

Then tie each string onto your grid where the cross strings meet.

Wrap your embroidery hoop with some pretty ribbons and hang from the ceiling.  Lay on bed and enjoy the view.  :)

Hopefully tomorrow I’ll feel like getting back in the kitchen and I’ll have a new recipe for you!