I think snacks can be the trickiest thing we have to feed our kids. We all want convenience, but we also want healthy options. Unfortunately it’s not easy to find those two things together. Below is a list of what my kids like for snacks. Alice typically likes fruit after school or leftovers. And Tate is a smoothie, nuts kind of guy. Some things are easy and portable, and some things take a little cooking. But as you may know, I don’t spend more than 30 minutes putting together a snack, much less cooking a meal, so it’s really not that bad. Oh, and I apologize if a lot of this is repetitive information from early posts, but wanted to lay out a comprehensive list.
Wellshire Turkey Sticks
Apples (we like red, green, or honey crisp) with natural peanut or almond butter
Orange slices
Smoothies – Banana, strawberry blueberry or banana and Justin’s Almond Nut Butter(both with coconut milk, 1/4 cup ice, vanilla and touch of raw dark honey)
Roasted seaweed (Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods but it’s more at WF)
Turkey lettuce wrap (No nitrate Applegate turkey/ham or Boars’ Head All Natural, some cheese, maybe some bacon, and iceberg to hold it together)
Justin’s Almond or peanut butter (honey or chocolate) portable packs
A spoonful (or two) of almond butter or natural peanut butter – please be sure to read the ingredients of your peanut butter. Many have added sugar, corn syrup and really bad transfats (it wont actually say transfats so look for the word “hydrogenated vegetable oil”)
Trader Joes Olive Oil Popcorn (it is in a bag in the chips section)
Gluten free pretzels (once in awhile) with almond butter
Trade Joe’s prepackaged nut packs (my son loves the almond cashew macadamia cranberry one or the raw nut pack)
Trader Joe’s organic banana chips in coconut oil
Macaroons (Jennie’s Omega-3 Chocolate or Almond flavor)
Trader Joe’s dark chocolate covered almonds (few as a treat)
Costco organic apple packs
Trader Joe’s brown rice cakes (we’ll add almond butter on top)
Pistachios, almonds, sunflower seeds
Carrots
Here are a few easy snacks I’ll make:
Guacamole by the spoonful or with carrots (lime, fresh cilantro, and celtic sea salt)
Squash chips
Sweet potatos (Trader Joe’s prepackaged) roasted with cinnamon/celtic sea salt – My son will eat these as snacks or for breakfast or lunch. Butter is great on these too!
Or just any leftovers (i.e. hamburgers are portable, just grab, put in a paper towel and go!) That’s why I always try to double my recipes.
Guess who has a better idea for these oranges. You can just see him thinking, “Sure, I can juggle.”
I know snacks are hard. And I know they can be especially hard when kids are use to eating anything from a box or a bag, so it may take some time for them to adjust. I have some friends who have ripped the band aid off so to speak too. They’ve tossed their junk food out so now they only have healthy options. Chances are good a child is going to want a rice krispy treat over an apple with peanut butter, if they know it’s in the pantry. Kids tend to think with their bellies and why wouldn’t they? That’s why it’s up to us to think with our heads and help them make these decisions. Eventually they will put two and two together and realize what makes them feel good, and what doesn’t. And you can help push that along. We can help them develop those good, lifelong habits. Tate thinks guacamole makes him run really fast. I don’t know if that is why I can give him guacamole and a spoon and he’ll devour it because it “makes him run fast” or because he likes the taste, but whatever it is, it makes me happy and him healthy. So do what you can to get them excited about eating and feeling well!
And don’t forget, always read your ingredients! Look out for negative words such as corn syrup, sugar, enriched wheat flour, vegetable/canola/soybean/cottonseed oil, for starters. 6 ingredients or less is key. 6 grams of sugar or less is key. And eating whole foods is THE key!
Oh, and just because something says it’s “organic” or “gluten free” doesn’t mean it is healthy. It can be far from it actually. Another post, another time…
So my lovely in-laws came over the other evening for dinner and they are always such sports eating whatever simple healthy food I’m making or experimenting on. Anyway, I thought for tonight, I’d make them a treat that I knew, or at least hoped, they’d really like. Knowing they enjoy Almond Joy candy bars, I thought this would be a hit, and it was! They loved them!!
I do wish I had added some roasted flax seed, sunflower seeds, or almond bits to add a little salty crunch, but will do that next time. I would try maybe 1/4 roasted flax seeds and 1/4 sunflower seeds. Or even just stick a whole almond in the middle. Anyway, there were still fabulous without! Here’s the recipe:
Chocolate Macaroons
6 egg whites
1/2 tsp celtic or himalayan sea salt
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup dark chocolate
In a mixing bowl whisk egg whites and salt until stiff. I used a hand mixer to get it thicker. Add in honey, vanilla and coconut. Drop batter onto parchment paper lined baking sheet, one firmly rounded tablespoonful at a time. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Melt chocolate in a cup. Once the macaroons cool a bit, dip the tops of them, and serve.
After a rainy dreary day like today, I couldn’t wait to get my little man down for a nap so I could make some soup. A friend of mine shared this recipe with me from Souper Jenny’s. By the way, that place is one of my favorite lunch spots in Atlanta. And, they have gluten free options, which is a big plus in my book!
On to the soup…
Although I did make a few changes from Jenny’s Tuscan Soup, I think it turned out really well! What I love about this soup so much is that there is so much possibility for variety. You could do a pound ground turkey cooked in coconut oil, or make turkey meatballs (using just almond meal, egg and turkey & cook it on 350 or 35 minutes), or just slice up some Wellshire or other turkey or chicken sausage (without nitrates of course) and add it to the soup. You could add some navy or white beans (per Katherine’s great suggestion, and thanks for the recipe!), or add any other veggies that your family enjoys. There are so many possibilities so be creative with it!
Tuscan Soup
1-2 tbsp grass fed butter (I use Kerrygold from Publix)
1 large onion, chopped
6-7 cloves of garlic (TJ’s prepackaged is a time saver!)
1 tbsp (I think I’ll use a little less next time) rosemary
5 carrots (I buy the precut shredded carrots and used about a handful)
2 zuchinni, chopped
2 yellow squash, chopped
kale, 3 big handfuls if using the precut
1 can organic chopped tomatoes
celtic sea salt and pepper to taste
1 quart organic chicken broth (Be sure it’s organic. If it’s not, it may have some MSG, even if it says “No MSG added”. Key word is “added”. It’s still in there. I’ve actually had a physical reaction from this before but my body is pretty sensitive.)
Whole chicken, roast or baked (you can do a rotisserie if time is an issue, or use some of the protein suggestions below.)
Heat a large stock pot over medium heat and add butter, onion, garlic and rosemary until soft. Then add all your vegetables. Pour in broth until it covers ingredients by an inch. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes. Last add in your meat, salt, pepper, top with parmesan cheese! So easy and so delicious, and, both my kids gave it a thumbs up!
And, I do have to say the Trader Joe’s Parmesan Cheese really makes this soup! That cheese makes anything delicious from soup to steamed veggies to chicken parmasean to lasagna. We use it a lot if you can’t tell! First, I love that it’s made with milk from cows not treated with rBST (artifical growth hormones) and second, I love that they use raw cow’s milk. That means it has many healthy enzymes that our bodies need, and don’t get from things that are pasteurized.
Okay, I know, I know, we all grew up with the notion that fat makes us fat. We were all on the fat free diet in college, right? We were so healthy back then with our fat-free bread sticks & pretzels and fat free ranch, potatoes and salsa. Gross. America went crazy with the low, fat-free diet and what happened? We got fatter, and a whole lot sicker. Hmmm.
Ever heard of Ancel Keys, the “Father of the diet-heart hypothesis”? He was actually not a cardiologist, or even an MD, but a man who earned his PhD studying salt-water eels. His 1958 televised public claim that animal fat was the cause of cardiovascular disease, changed the shape of america, quite literally. I won’t bore you with all the details but take a look at his graph that lead him to that conclusion. Oh and by the way, his study, wasn’t actually on animal fat; it was on margarine made from partially hydrogenerated vegetable oil (which is 48% transfat). But somehow, he still came to the conclusion that animal fat was the cause of heart disease.
“Animal fats and cholesterol are not villains but vital factors in the diet, necessary for normal growth, proper function of the brain and nervous system, protection from disease and optimum energy levels.” — Sallon Fallon
I’ll admit, it was weird the first time I put butter in my egg pan knowing (or telling myself) I wouldn’t gain weight from it. That’s how programmed our minds are! But not only is it okay, but it’s good for us. We should eat more:
butter from cows that graze on pasture
whole fat dairy products from cows that graze on pasture
grass-fed meats like beef and lamb
eggs from chickens who are free to roam outdoors (and have extra omega 3’s)
tropical oils, especially coconut oil, or palm oil
Why it is good for us:
Vitamins A and D, which are vital for proper growth and for protein and mineral assimilation, are found only in mostly saturated animal fats.
As saturated fats are stable, they do not become rancid easily, do not call upon the body’s reserves of antioxidants, do not initiate cancer and do not irritate the artery walls.
Saturated fats enhance the immune system, thereby protecting us against infection and cancer.
Saturated fats help the body lay down calcium in the bones and help prevent osteoporosis.
Saturated fats provide energy and structural integrity to the cells.
Saturated fats protect the liver from alcohol, drugs, pesticides and other poisons.
Saturated fats enhance the body’s use of essential fatty acids, which the body needs in small amounts and obtains from whole foods.
Saturated fats are needed for the kidneys to work properly.
The lung surfactants are composed of saturated fatty acids.The lungs cannot work without adequate amounts of saturated fats.
Here is a good quick article just from eHow to get you started on this top if you’re interested.
And, these are two great books if you’d like to learn even more on the topic:
DON’T BE AFRAID OF FAT! Embrace it. Our bodies need it. FAT WON’T MAKE US FAT.
By the way, I know this picture doesn’t really go with fat, actually not at all. But when I asked my 3 year old, “what can we take a picture of to show people good fat?”, he grabbed the pumpkin and said “this is good and fat.” Not quite the train of thought I was going for but I needed a picture for a post and well, he had an idea that just might make it work…
I’ll admit, when it was cooking this, I looked at it and thought, okay, this isn’t going to be my favorite. But after eating it, and especially on day 2, and day 3 for lunch, I fell in love, and my kids did too. It might be the delicious Wellshire Sausage but it’s very flavorful. In fact, I’m making more now so I’ll have it for snack over the long fall break weekend.
The only tricky ingredient is the arrowroot powder (Whole foods). I bought this one from the bakery section at Whole foods, but think you can buy a much smaller size in the spice aisle. Arrowroot powder a great thickener for anything and perfect replacement for white flour. Here’s the recipe:
Crock Pot Chicken Gumbo
1/3 cup arrowroot powder (Whole Foods)
1/3 cup coconut oil
1.5 cups water
1.5 cups organic chicken broth
12 ounces cooked Wellshire sausage, sliced (I get the Turkey Kielbasa or Turkey Andouille from Whole Foods.)
3 large chicken breasts (about 1.5 lb)
2 cups sliced okra or 10-ounce package frozen okra (the slimy stuff will just go away as it cooks)
1 cup onion, diced
1 can diced tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 – 1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. ground red pepper
This recipe is a little bit more involved because you have to make a roux. But it’s not hard to do and only takes about 15 minutes. The roux will give a thick and hearty sauce to your gumbo.
To make the roux, combine arrowroot flour and oil in a sauce pan on med/high heat stirring constantly until combined. Then cook about 15 min more on medium until you get a dark, reddish brown color. Do not burn! Allow this to cool.
Add water and stock to crock pot and stir in roux. Next add remaining ingredients and Cook on low for 6-7 hours. Tear apart chicken, then let is sit and soak up the flavor. Then serve!
I also think this would be great with any added seafood and or hot sauce, depending on your taste buds. You could also serve it over brown rice, but of course, I don’t really think it needs it. : ) Enjoy!
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