Chi-chi-chi-chia!!!

There are many things that make me happy....chia pudding parfaits are one of them.

You know those chia pets back in the day..turns out those seeds for actually beneficial for our health..and also that when you add them to a liquid substance they get all gel-like...

I`m so not the measuring type.  So, basically, I threw in, like, maybe half a cup of chia seeds to 2 cups of coconut milk.  That`s a total guess.  Then I threw in some honey, and cinnamon.  I got out a nice fancy glass, threw in some bananas with the pudding and topped it off with some dark chocolate covered cacao nibs.  Basically, my new love.

Okay, let`s be honest here...there is NO WAY I served this delicious treat to my kids in this glass.  Nope, they got some hearty plastic while I felt all classy with my wine glass.

The Sandwich-less Life

I don't know about you, but as a mom of three small kids, sandwiches make my life so much easier.  I mean,  what is your childhood without PB & Js??  Don't know what to make for lunch?  Use bread.  Need a snack? Use bread.

However, a few weeks ago I gave up bread.  Wheat gives me some awful migraines, and I have given it up off and on over the years, but it always woos me back, much to my regret.  I'm really trying to break up with wheat longterm this time.  And while my kids still eat bread, i'm trying to reduce the amount they are eating.

So what's a woman to do without her go-to sandwiches?  Enter, the sprouted corn-wrap.  I LOVE these things.  You can put anything on them.  Today, I decided for a mexican flavor:

Salsa, avocados and yellow peppers.  Yummy!  you could use whatever you wanted on these.  I find these wraps in the frozen health food sections in grocery stores.   This is a nice, quick and healthy meal that is easy to assemble when you have three kids all screaming sweetly calling for your attention at once.

Getting Kids to Eat Healthy

Getting kids to eat healthy can be a challenge, but there are ways to make it easier.  Here are a few things that I've learned to get some good foods into the little ones.

1. Start early: If you can, start as soon as they are on solids.  My kids have had green smoothies from a very early age.  People are often amazed at what they drink, but it's only because they are used to it.  And hey, if your kids are older, tell them it's a "Green Monster Smoothie."

2.  Section Plates:  You'd be amazed how excited kids could get over having their food divided into little sections.  Here are a few we've had at our house:

Homemade mango salsa, some leftover sausage (okay, maybe not the healthiest option, but everything else looks good!), tomato salsa, cucumbers, rice crackers, tortilla chips, and eggplant bacon!

Grapes, rasperries, blueberries, raw vegan strawberry cheezecake, peaches, and a date stuffed with natural peanut butter with an almond tucked inside!

Rice cake crackers, pretzels, plantain chips, oranges, grapes, raisins, bananas, carrots, cucumbers!

3.  Take your kids berry picking, or to a farm where they can see how the food is grown.  When kids are involved in the process, they are more likely to eat the food.

4.  Let them get messy!  Eating can be messy, especially some fruits, like peaches! ;)  But to me, the mess is worth it if they are learning to love food that is good for them.

These are just a few of the ways I've managed to get my kids to eat things that are good for their bodies. :)  What about you? Do you have any tips?

Healthy AND Frugal Possible?

This is an area I've struggled with for many years.  How can you eat healthy, AND live frugally?  Well, it can be done. Keep in mind that many healthy foods are very frugal, it might just be time to learn how to cook with said items.

In our house, some very frugal healthy items we use are:

-Brown rice

-Lentils

-Black Beans
-Chickpeas

-Oatmeal

-Eggs

I previously talked about getting rid of boxed cereal.  Not only is this a great option for eating a more healthy breakfast, but cereal can be expensive!!  If your kids are like mine who LOVE cereal, a box can last only 2-3 days.

When we buy beans, we buy them by the bag instead of the can.  We throw the whole bag in the crockpot, and then we divide them up into ziploc bags and freeze them for when we need some already cooked beans!

When shopping for produce I try to for the most part purchase what is in season.  Right now, for Autumn my fridge is full of winter vegetables - squash, pumpkin, potatoes, carrots, onions...etc.  In the Summer I love to eat all the types of berries that are in season.  

I think that many times, when we need to stock our cupboards with healthy foods, there may be a few things we decide are worth the money.  I think it's best to decide what you will spend the money on, and work on keeping the rest of the grocery bill down.    I am willing to spend more money on natural sweeteners such as maple syrup or honey, but I don't buy prepackaged gluten-free products (which, many are processed anyways.)

You can be healthy, and it won't burn a hole in your wallet!

Smoothies

Ooh, smoothies, how you make my heart swoon.  All your nutritional goodness packed in one deliciously yummy beverage.  How you can be a drink, or a whole meal.

Some people reach for their coffee pot each morning. I reach for my blender.

Smoothies are an excellent way to pack tons of nutrition in one glass.  In this house we usually have green smoothies.  This means we add some serious greens to it- spinach, kale,romaine lettuce, etc.  Don't let that scare you though.  You can make these smoothies without tasting the greens.  Here's how.

In your blender, put two bananas, a cup of frozen fruit, and some spinach (or whatever greens you want.)  If you haven't had green smoothies before, I would start out with a small amount of spinach, maybe a handful, or even less if you think you'll be really sensitive to the taste.  Add water to your blender.  Blend it all up and enjoy!

I started with one small handful of spinach when I started drinking green smoothies.  Now I put an average of three large handfuls of spinach in it.  I also will add spirulina powder to it.  Sometimes I add flax seeds,chia seeds, dates....whatever I feel like.  I find if you keep the base the same (bananas, fruit, greens) you can play around with it and add many different things!

We usually put water in ours, but sometimes I'll put orange juice in it. Orange juice is pretty much the only store-bought juice I buy.  I figure buying 100% orange juice is definitely better than buying most other juices.  And although in the ideal situation I'd be juicing my own orange juice, I also have three busy small children and a busy life!  You have to pick and choose what works for you, right?

If you are new around here, you may have missed my previous posts about smoothies.  Check out my pumpkin smoothie, and my green pumpkin smoothie.

Drink and be MERRY!

To me, an easy first step to consuming healthier products is to change up what you drink.  I think it's a no-brainer that pop is not a good choice. I believe that diet drinks are a bad choice too.  True, you may be consuming fewer calories, but the sugar alternatives in there can be harmful too.  We avoid anything that has sucralose or aspartame.

Do you know that one can of coke contains about 10 tsp of sugar??  I found this great website that shows how much sugar is in certain drinks and other snacks by stacking sugar cubes.  It's quite alarming actually.  To check it out, click here.

So, what if you are a person who is addicted to your Coca-Cola, or need your iced tea to get through the day?  How do you ditch that habit?  Try cutting out one can a day to start. When you start to feel okay with that, cut back another one.  You can also do this with coffee. Yes, I know what you are thinking- "sure, I'll cut back on sweets, I'll put the chip bag away, but NO WAY is she touching my coffee.  That's going too far!"  Even though I am not a coffee drinker, I don't think you should be forced to give up your morning coffee if you really don't want to.  However, if you find yourself drinking multiple cups a day, it may be time to cut back.

So, what can you drink???  Well, of course, first and foremost, get that water into you.  It's good for you.  But you already knew that, right?

But what if you are bored with the same old water?  Why not spruce it up a bit?  Add some lemons to it, or cucumbers.  I thought cucumbers sitting in water was really weird, until I tried it. So refreshing!  Just put the cucumbers in, let it sit in the fridge for a few hours for the flavours to infuse, and drink!

Want some juice?  Put that store-bought juice away.  Juice your own!  My favorite combination is carrot-apple-celery juice.  The combinations are endless.

Prefer a hot drink?  Herbal teas are a great option.  There are so many different kinds now, a loose-leaf tea store can be a girl's best friend!

Just by making this little change, I can guarantee you will feel the change.  I always feel better if I've drank enough water throughout the day.  Some people are concerned about making constant trips to the bathroom. While this is partially true, often as your body gets used to you consuming more water, it will learn to adjust, and you will find yourself running for the bathroom less often.

Just want to end with saying that another wonderful beverage of choice is smoothies, but we will talk more about that tomorrow!

Pumpkins, pumpkins, we love pumpkins!

The air is feeling crisp, the woodstove smell is in the air, and I'm loving the start of Autumn!  Of course, Autumn is also a great time for lots of yummy treats.  Since I am trying to stay away from those treats, I decided to figure out how to use pumpkin for good! :)

Alas, I present to you, the pumpkin smoothie!

Okay, so I'm not the first to invent something like this, but it's good, nonetheless.

Here's what I did:

I bought a pie pumpkin, but you could use canned pumpkin.  I could only find the pumpkin pie filling which is loaded with sugar, so I decided just to buy a pumpkin and cook it up.

2 cups of milk of your choice.

1/2 cup of pumpkin

1 banana

1 TBSP Agave or sweetener of your choice

1/4 cup leftover oatmeal from breakfast

1 TBSP Flax

sprinkle of cinnamon

sprinkle of ginger

Throw it all in a blender, and there you go...one pumpkin smoothie.

I kinda wanna make another one.  I just finished my last one 2.5 minutes ago.

Black Bean Brownies

Yes, you read the title right.  Brownies made from black beans.  Now, before you close this blog as fast as you can, hear me out first.

This is the perfect recipe for so many reasons.  It is gluten-free, and it is healthy.  No flour, no refined sugars, and this is one dessert you WANT your kids to have seconds of.

I was a little skeptical at first myself, but this seriously tastes like a brownie!  The only thing I wold recommend is letting them refrigerate for an hour or so before consuming.  They taste way better that way, and the texture is nicer than straight out of the oven.

When my husband came home last night, I gave him the last brownie. (me and the kids ate the entire batch.)  He kept taking bites of it and then looking at it strangely, trying to comprehend how this beany brownie could taste so much like, well, a regular brownie!

You can make your own batch if you follow this link: http://www.mennonitegirlscancook.ca/2012/08/chocolate-black-bean-brownies.html

Also, I made a cream made from cashews to top it off.  The kids didn't particularly like it, but that was okay because it meant more for me. :)  The recipe for that is over at:  http://www.therawtarian.com/raw-fruit-dip

I hear you can make brownies from chickpeas too.   I will have to try that!