It's Yummy. It's Healthy. It's Brrrrrrreakfast!!!! (and snack)

Let's start with the yummiest of the two.  Snack!!!  

Ohhhh... I love this snack!  

I love it mostest for my girls', though- knowing how super high in protein, and all natu'ral it is.

It's way tastier than a standard packaged 'protein' bar, and much more cost efficient, too.

So here are the ingredients (and instructions): 

1 cup of honey

1 cup organic lowfat peanut butter

1 cup sliced almonds

1 cup old fashioned oatmeal (not the pre-packaged kind-do real kind)

3 scoops vanilla protein powder

1 cup dried fruit

*Heat honey and peanut butter on medium head until warm and runny, 

take off heat and mix all the other ingredients, allow to cool, and form into balls 

(or bars, or circles, or.....)

Let's get down to business.... it's a school night- so we gotta make this quick.

I took my 'rolled oats' and toasted them in the oven for about 15 or 20 minutes

after sprinkling them liberally with cinnamon.  

Since I had my oven hot already- I toasted the walnuts, too.  

(Some cooking show says that makes them 'nuttier').  

Hmmm?  

Making nuts even nuttier!?!?!  How Do they come up with this stuff??

(They're right, though.  Those walnuts were SUPER nutty when I was done with 'em!)

A) I'm a rule breaker.  First and foremost, I don't "follow directions well".....

Having said that, it was a friend that mentioned the use of 'chocolate' protein powder (instead of the vanilla) 

So....  I'm not taking all the blame for this! 

(Wish I could- it was a GENIUS idea!!  Chocolate is way better!)

I love Jay Robb protein powder.  It's the best.  No kidding.  

It's also the priciest (no kidding).  However, for some strange reason- the Brown Rice Protein is significantly less expensive.  Same amount of protein, a slight variation in nutritional content- but for the most part- I'm looking for protein.  I get what I need from this stuff.

I just saved you the trouble of comparing ingredients (kind of)

Peanut Butter is best when served Organic.  Finances cut deep when going 'green' and when I need to, I go with Smart Balance.  It's natural, it's whole... (I had a COUPON!)  

And I stocked up.

By the way- in case anyone else out there has the great idea of 'nuking' the peanut butter to get that 'last little bit' out of the jar- I wanna go ahead and offer this 

public-service announcement:

Peel. Off. All. The. METAL. remains from the lid.  

Or? 

Catch your microwave on fire....? (Not that I would know ANYthing about that....)

Ahem.  Moving on.

Raw honey is the new sugar.... 

No.  No it's not.  

But! I have heard that raw honey is the best.

(My option for honey actually has nothing to do with the fact

 that I actually have an AUNT SUE, and it was 

her daughter that gave me this recipe- 

when I chose my 'brand' from Kroger this week.

  

It was simply the fact that it was Raw, Wild, and Natural.... like me!)

 Rule breaker... rule breaker.... break me a rule...  (name-that-song-)

My beautiful, amazing, awesome (eldest) daughter has a very low tolerance for nuts.

She's NOT allergic- she just doesn't like the way they 'feel' when she chews them.

 (I can respect that)

I had this mix in my cabinet, and a light bulb when 'DING' when I saw it hanging out behind the walnuts.... 

I "blended" (food processed) this mix together and stirred it in with my honey/peanut butter melt for an extra little 'somp-in some-en' extra.  

And here's what you get!!!!   Gosh.  It was such an easy recipe.  

Imagine rice crispy treats.... it's gooey, it's..... 

ya.. it's just gooey- 

that's the only comparison really.

I spread my 'mix' into a cake pan so that when it cooled I could cut it into little bars.

Worked out great.

Let's make breakfast the "quicky".

I blended (in the blender) eggs, cottage cheese, spinach, garlic, and onion.

I 'greased' my cupcake tins.

I poured the 'green egg' mix into said cupcake tins.

I topped with sharp cheddar cheese.

I baked at 350 degrees for 15-20 mins.

VOILA!!!

Easy- Healthy- "Green Egg Muffins".

They don't 'look' pretty, but my kids thought they were "CoooooL!!!!"

This one is for Joshua.  

Same mix as above- pour into glass pie dish  (no crust).

Cut up broccoli into teeny tiny pieces.

Add to 'pie'.

Top with cheese.

Bake at 350 LONGER than 20 minutes.

(I used a knife as my timer... it comes out (mostly) clean- I take it out of the oven)

And there ya go.  

Breakfast is a hit.  Snack is a hit.  No improvising for Mommy THIS week.

Hallelujah!!!  

"having it all planned out"

Remember those 15 containers that I prepped with love this past weekend?  Organic Vanilla Yogurt. Fresh strawberries. Blueberries.  Yum.

No.

Is it the flavor of the yogurt?  The newness of the 6 AM wake up time? What is it?

My. Girls. Won't. Eat. The. Yogurt!!!

First day of school.  My hand was patting my back allll over!  Oh. YES.  I got this.  I whipped out those beautiful 'red, white, and blue' layered containers and said with confidence "Ok.  Here's your yogurt. When we're done with breakfast, it'll be time to go to school.  Yaaaaay!"

And........ No.

Noses turned up.  Faces soured and scrunched.  "Bleghck!!!  This taste weird, Mommy.  I don't like it."

"It taste weird? Really!?! It's just vanilla yogurt with fruit... how does it taste weird?"

I tasted it.  "It's good! Try it again."  (No-Go.  Nobody liked it!)

No problem.  I'll just turn the unfavorable yogurt (how could they NOT love that?? They've had it in variations ALL. OF. THEIR. LIFE!!!) into a smoothie.  We all love smoothies ("smooth-me", if you're talking to Leah) .  We had 'em all the time over the summer.  No biggie.  I'm certain this will be happily digested by my 3 little miss'.

Nope.

They weren't having it.  (Maybe I need to add some frozen fruit to make it slushy?)

Still Nada.  Didn't help.

Finally (before I lost my good-will and first day of school mega-dose-of-patience abilities) I said in the happiest Mommy voice I own, "Well girlie's? This is our breakfast.  It's what we're going to have to eat (drink) because it's just about  time to leave.  Hold your nose if you need to."

And they did.  (Good girls!!!  They're so awesome!)

I had some organic Kashi cereal that I tossed in a little baggie for the car ride into school (just in case those bellies weren't full enough).

This morning I tried a new variation of the smoothie- one that I named "The Banana Split" (for their word play pleasure; not mine).  I dumped 3 of the yogurt/strawberry/blueberry containers into the blender, added 2 frozen bananas, frozen pineapple and Vrrrrrrooooooommm!!!!!   I also cracked a few eggs open on the griddle (just in case).

Smoothies and Eggs on the table.
Dressed and ready to go girls.
Another gonna be great morning!!!  Whoo Hooo.
They loved the eggs!! (Phew!) but "Yuuck-Eeeee"d the smoothie.

(Again!?!)

I'm pretty sure that 6 AM taste buds are totally different than 9 AM taste buds on kids.  It's just abnormal that they don't love this breakfast.  It's not a new concept to them.  Makes no sense.

I'm not even gonna bother with the yogurt tomorrow.  It won't go to waste, though. I'll use it as an after-school snack (hopefully their 2:30 taste buds like the smoothies??)

All in all- not going as planned on the pre-prepped breakfast.
Lunch is a success.  A friend mentioned the possible high sodium content with the V-8 Juice and Ham.
Noted. And appreciated.  Lemon water was sent today. (They looove LEMON water!)  I'll alternate.

I've already got next week's breakfast (Not Yogurt) planned.  Working on lunch ideas. (Not Ham)

Would love some input on what your serving this week in the lunch box.

Healthy Eating: Economical + Green = School Lunch Box Convenient

A friend posted a comment on Facebook regarding an article in our local paper about healthy eating.  Her response to this article was this :

"{I'm} in disbelief that our local paper published an article on packing healthy school lunches and encouraged Nutella, a product full of sugar and saturated fat. Wouldn't it be a better idea next time to interview a nutritionalist rather than a couple of moms and a grandmother who writes a blog?

Agreed, Beth!!  There is a certain naiveness regarding "healthy" food choices. I'm no expert, and I can't claim to be 100% in this area; but I can attest to having a bit of a grasp on what 'healthy eating' should look like.  Nutella? It's a fun treat to have, but (as Beth insinuated) not necessarily an ideal daily lunch option.

This stemmed an idea to share what "we" (Healthy Mom's) are going to be packing in our children's lunch boxes, and what we'll be serving for breakfast in the mornings.

Lord knows I'd love to commit to posting on this subject weekly; to be honest- this may be my first and my last post- but let's hope for the best, shall we?

Here's what's in our fridge this week, prepped and ready to serve on Monday morning (and on through Friday):

Breakfast: (the most important meal of the day)


Protein is an essential start to a good morning.  It offers the body stamina, unlike the sugar-filled/sugar-producing carbohydrate; which ends in a big-fat-crash mid morning.  Having made stake to the claim that I realize this truth- I also realize the importance of a nice balance alongside the need for convenience.

This weeks breakfast? 

Organic (Vanilla)Yogurt- 

 with fresh strawberries and frozen blueberries.

(I've here and there invested in these Rubbermaid reusable containers (varied sizes)  when they were on sale. 

Worthy investment when deciding to "go green" as well as "economical".)

So- I brought out 15 of my (2 cup) containers and sliced up some fresh strawberries into the bottom of the cup.  I added the yogurt (about 1/2 cup per container) and then topped with frozen blueberries.

The prep work was key for me to be certain that I wouldn't find myself rushed in the morning and decide to just give the kids a granola bar or something less nutrient rich.  I did this Saturday night after everyone had gone to bed.  It didn't take long- but it would have been more tedious had all 3 girls been running a muck through the house.

Alrighty.  Now the math:
Yogurt: (2,  32 oz. containers at $3.99 per container) $8.00
Strawberries (16 oz ) $2.00
Blueberries (Maybe $1- Trader Joes frozen blueberries are super cheap- and I used a teeeny tiny portion)
All in all- breakfast for the week, per child, per day: $0.75  *SEVENTY FIVE CENTS*


LUNCH: (what in the world can fit in that lunch bag?)


Balanced nutrition is so important to me, for my kids. This weeks lunch is about as balanced as it gets!

Ham sandwich on 12 grain wheat bread

String cheese 

Grapes

V-8

Cute lil' portion of cookies

Full Confession: I totally did a "mock" lunch bag just to get this blog up before school started. 

 This is part of my pre-prep in making lunch this week.  The containers of grapes are already divvy'd out and stored in the "lunch box drawer" (aka- the produce drawer), along with the string-cheese.  

I'll freshly make the sandwiches each night before school (eventually sneaking in some green leaf lettuce and hummus to the equation), and that bottle of V-8 Juice is my way of green-living-efforts meet budget-friendly-standards by reusing our water bottles for the juice instead of buying individual cans of it.  

(This container is holding less than half of the 1.4 oz (snack sized) bag of cookies pictured)

I bought these little mini containers to use for "dessert".  Through out the year, my plan is to put a small portion (about 1/2 oz. or so?) of M&M's, mini-cookies, or the like- to "sweeten" up lunch time.  Primarily, though- I'll find a dark chocolate or an organic cookie to fill them with- depending on the season. 

In all honesty- I would prefer to lessen the sugar content in each meal.  Yogurt is (of course) a healthy breakfast, but this particular yogurt (Stonyfield French Vanilla) has more sugar than I'd care for- but it was all I could find without getting to go to Trader Joe's for more options.  I like the idea of using a Greek Yogurt much better.  (It's got more protein and less sugar per serving, but it's more challenging to find it in a 32 oz container)

In addition- using 'reusable' containers NOT ONLY allows for  more economical options, as well as being sweet to our environment, but it also allows us (mom's) to see what it is our children are eating at lunch time- telling us whether we need to put less or more into the lunch box, and also allowing us to save food by serving the 'leftovers' (pending a good enough cooler) as an after school snack.

A week of dinners for 5 for under FIFTY BUCKS!

I simply do NOT have the energy to list out the entire cost of each dinner.  I'll try to showcase the items that I can remember, but much of what we are having this week is from the freezer last week (and perhaps the week before).

I scored BIG-TIME at Kroger this week with these simple meal bags.  It's an Italian dish with shrimp, asparagus, peppers, linguini, and a scampi like sauce.  Nutritionally- I'm sure it's high in fat, but I love that we get to sneak in some asparagus in our diet.  I know my girls will LOVE it- simply, because it has shrimp in it.  Yum.

Pre-Prepped meal bag (normally cost $8.98 each)  $4.88 this week.  I bought two bags, making dinner number ONE a whopping $9.76.  It will feed all 5 of us, meaning that per person, each meal cost less than $2 each.


In our freezer we have another bag of the pre-cooked grilled chicken.  I've decided to make a simple


Chicken, Broccoli, Rice, and Cheese Casserole
Grilled Chicken ($3.50)
Rice (pennies)
Broccoli (Trader Joe's Organic less than $2)
Cheese ($1.99)


Total cost for this meal: $7.49.  Per person cost $1.49




Salmon, Sweet Potatos, and Green Beans
Salmon (about $5 because I'm certain I found it on sale)
Sweet Potatoes ($1.68 from Trader Joes)
Green Beans ($1.50 at the most)


Total cost for this meal: $8.18.  Per person meal price: $1.63
I cook the salmon in a baking dish, drizzled with olive oil, garlic powder, a bit of paprika, salt, and pepper.
I also use olive oil to boil the green beans in (us country folk typically like to use bacon grease- but I don't)
And- yummy of all yummies, I bake the sweet potatoes in the oven for about an hour, sitting them atop an open cookie sheet.  After they are all soft on the inside, I mush them up with a little butter, honey,  and cinnamon and re-bake them for an additional 15 minutes.
Another favorite place to shop is Trader Joes.  They have pre-bagged frozen veggies for a great price, and fresh fruits and veggies, organic and not, for an even better price.  I always spend less there on fruits, veggies, and snack items.

Texas Road House Tuesdays


There are some days that I would just rather have a meal outside of the house rather than deal with the cooking and cleaning that is associated with eating at home.  I love Texas Roadhouse, as does the rest of the family.  On Tuesdays they have a Kids Night, and on this night- they kids eat for $0.99 (including their drink!)
We went last week, and my husband and I shared one of their monstrous hamburgers and fries.  Can you believe that our total bill was only $12.75 (and that included the extra $0.79 cost for getting a sweet potato with my 6 year old's meal, and a sweet tea for my husband).  Potentially- it could have only cost $9.96.   We left a 40%  tip (it's not the waitresses fault that our meal was so cheap), making our meal that Tuesday cost $17.75.  Can you believe that we even had left overs to bring home (Texas Roadhouse doesn't mess around on their kids meals!)  Total meal cost for a night out- at a steak house- per person $3.55


We were still able to eat (somewhat?) healthy.  Having sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes instead of the deep fried french fries, and choosing the grilled hamburgers over the hoped-for Kraft Mac 'N Cheese allowed the girls to bypass the processed-food-dyed options.  They got treated to chocolate milk, and the baby ate the Chicken Fingers (real chicken breast) instead of the burger meal.  All-In-All, MUCH better than McDonald's on cost, taste, and nutritional content.

Chicken Spaghetti
The name says it all- but I'll break down what I do.

After heating a pan lightly coated with olive oil, I put in the chicken, and season with my favorite Italian flavors.  Garlic Powder, onion, pepper, oregeno, basil, and salt.  After the chicken is mostly cooked, I put in a can of tomatoes, and then a jar of Spaghetti Sauce.  All that simmers while I boil the pasta- which I try to make sure is organic, and whole wheat.  Breaking it down to a guess, the pasta is usually only $1.50, the chicken maybe $3, and the sauce no more than $2.  One of the cheapest of the dinner options but also one of the favorites for the girls.


Chinese Chicken


Going back to the Trader Joes options- they have one of the YUMMIEST pre-bagged meals I've ever had.  Mandarin Chicken!  Oh YUM.  IT's a bit pricey at $6 per bag, but I get creative, and add in broccoli and whatever other veggies I happen to have in the freezer that may go with this.  I boil some rice, and toss it all together.  It's possible this meal ends up costing around $10 depending on how many veggies I use, but it's WAY less expensive than Little Peking, and honestly, just as good.



So? The total for this weeks dinner? (not including the night out) Less Than $50.

The breakfast totals are around $10 and then $10 for lunch.

I spent $80 at the grocery store this week- some items on this weeks menu were already in the freezer- so in my grocery shopping budget I also purchased laundry detergent (Purex for $2.50) and a few other essentials (Dove Ice Cream for $1.50).

I have more meals planned for next week (using what I already have at home) and will hopefully discover a way to send my husband out the door with breakfast AND lunch so we can save even more by avoiding the high cost (financially and nutritionally) of him eating fast food.

Lunch: Burritos and More.....

This weeks lunch menu is SCRUMPTIOUS.  Easy.  Convenient (because I pre-made it all today).  And..... yep,  HEALTHY!

1 bag of pre-grilled chicken (Super Sale for 1 pound @ $3.50)
2 cans of organic black beans ($0.89 per can x2)
1 can of fire roasted tomatoes ($0.50 x1)
2 bags of shredded cheese ($1.99 per bag x2)
2 bags of burritos ($1.99 per bag x2)
*can you tell that Kroger was having a $1.99 sale this week?*
Fajita Seasoning
Garlic Powder
Salt

Total Cost of this week's lunch: $13.74.  It will feed the four of us (my husband is eating out this week- that will change soon, though.  I'm in the process of creatively finding a way to get him to eat from home) for 5 days, making each meal, per person, only $0.69 per person.  Now? We'll add some apples, and perhaps cottage cheese to this, but that only bumps up the price to (maybe?) $1.00 per meal on average.

I mixed all this goodness (minus the cheese and burritos) in a pan to blend all the flavors, in the oven on 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

I first made 12 (nice sized) burritos using the cheese and mixture.  I crisped each burrito on my griddle to sort of seal them, and bagged them individually.   These will feed us for the entire week, because they're large enough to cut into half and serve alongside some wedged apples.
I also made a few quesadillas to serve for today's lunch.

My girls LOVED this meal.  I served it with cottage cheese today. (Kroger brand container was only $1, it serves 4)

And? Who wants to eat the same breakfast and lunch ever-single-day-of-the-week?  From the reaction I got today- it's likely my girls and I will want to; but we may (or may not) stick a few of those burritos in the freezer and go with a good ol' fashioned PB&H (honey).

That meal choice cheapens our lunch dramatically- though it's still healthy.  I buy organic peanut butter (Kroger brand for $3.59 usually last through PLENTY of sandwiches) and served with honey takes out the high sugar content of the jelly (Although we do purchase the brand that is strictly fruit and juice, no sugar or corn syrup is added)

Frugally Healthy

I'm really excited to start incorporating the thrifty in with the healthy in my meal planning.  I've been practicing this "art" for quite some time; but I had found that I was wearing myself out trying to find coupons that matched sales and making sure that those sales were attached to the "whole foods" approach to our eating.

It all started when I was listening to a Focus on the Family broadcast featuring Jonni McCoy's book Miserly Moms.

She approached the grocery shopping budget (GASP!) coupon-less.  I know.  Phew.  I know!!!  It's hard to fathom.  Don't get me wrong.  I give much props to The Coupon Mom- this chick helped me save MUCHO deniro- but I found myself wiping the sweat from my brow after tirelessly searching through coupons and matching them with the store I was going to shop at.  There were times I scored freebies through the coupons and the sales, and EVEN times that I actually "made" money buying the sale item with my coupon (example: 50 cents off a can of tomatoes- the tomatoes were on mega sale for 25 cents).  These freebies and money maker sales were rare, but offered a "shoppers high" that created a coupon shopping addiction.  I ended up finding myself buying things we wouldn't normally buy.  Example: "Toaster Strudels for ONLY a dollar?!?!  And they're normally $2.50?  I'll take 4 boxes and save TEN DOLLARS.  Whooo HOO!"  It is a great deal- for sure- but?!- eating toaster strudel things are NOT on our health conscience menu.  The purchase should not have been made- because we ate them- and we LIKED them.

It was too easy to buy junk food and conveniently packaged-processed, nutritionally void items while I was getting a "fix" on my "money saving addiction".

 Sure.  I'll still use coupons.  I can't stop cold-turkey, you understand?  (Not without a full detox, that is.)

Let's get on with this week's Frugally Healthy meal plan.  Have I mentioned that I'm SOOOO excited about it?  I'm going to do my best to break it down to the "cost per meal, per person".  Let me see if I can dust off the math-minded portion of my brain and get this right.

Breakfast:

Yogurt Smoothies


Plain Yogurt  (50 cents per container x10)  I switch this method up- because there are times when I find the 32 oz. containers on sale and at a lower cost.  Dannon's brand is my choice- it's about as natural as it gets.  I would use organic if I could find it on a big enough sale, that would be preferable.
Strawberries  (16 oz. fresh container for $1.88 x2)
Bananas (money saver- I always freeze the bananas that I would normally throw away due to them browning)
Orange Juice. (64 oz. carton for $2.00 x1) To make this as healthy as possible, look for the "Not From Concentrate" kind.

Instructions- Put 2 containers of yogurt, 2 cups of orange juice, one super ripe (mine are always frozen) banana,  and less than half of the container of strawberries in a blender and blend until well mixed.

 *I chose to purchase a smoothie maker  blender (it's the same as a blender, it just has a spout on it.)

The weeks total for this breakfast option is $10.76.
This will make 4 smoothies per day for five days, making the "per meal" cost a whopping $0.53.  It could end up costing more depending on the variation of fruit you use.  Typically- the meal cost no more than $1.00 per person.  

It incorporates a protein and essential antioxidants within the fruit.  My kids think they're getting icecream when I use ONLY frozen fruit.  There is no added sugar- the fruit and orange juice are used to sweeten the plain yogurt.  A person could use frozen blueberries, strawberries, pineapple, bananas, or most other fruit mixes to change it up.  WE love peach smoothies the best.


Egg and Cheese Sandwiches (or McMuffins)


It seems so simple- and really- it IS!  This is a great breakfast item!  If a person is pressed for time- I would HIGHLY recommend a griddle (I found mine on sale for $15).  It is super easy clean up and has enough cooking space to quickly cook the food all at once.


Eggs                           (36 pack for $2.79- price will vary)
Whole Wheat Bread   ($1.50 per loaf x2)  I prefer Nature's Own, but I did find a great brand that doesn't have the high fructose corn syrup and preservative ingredients added to it. If my brand isn't on sale, this one usually is.  I can also sometimes find (whole wheat) English Muffins on a good enough sale that it would make it worth the purchase.  Switch it up when you can.  Add ham or some other lean meant if you can find it on sale.  
Cheese                      ($1.99 pack x2)


On the griddle, I use a little butter and fry the eggs. After one side has been cooked, I flip the egg and top it with cheese.  To save time and (energy), I also toast the bread on the griddle, picking up my fried egg once it's been fully cooked and sandwiching it on the griddle top like a grilled-cheese sandwich.


The weeks cost for this meal is $9.79.  It will feed the entire house of FIVE breakfast for five days.
Surprisingly- VERY surprisingly, this mealis a whopping  >40 cents per person, per sandwich.


These breakfast meals can be switched up and/or combined.  My husband won't go NEAR anything with yogurt, but he'll happily eat the egg and cheese sandwich (or two).