Day 6: I love my...

Baby Back Ribs. Especially when my favorite man is cooking them. He marinates them over night, then slow roasts them, then grills them...MMMMM




Now I know many of you think that surely the Super Bowl means we will eat junk...and we do, a little.

But, we made our own fries

and chips

and dessert (homemade ice cream)

and queso with chips.

Day 5: Pizza

This morning my favorite husband made me bacon and eggs. I fail at cooking bacon, and my eggs are just descent. But Rob can cook great bacon. MMMMM....bacon!

Tonight Rob and I are headed to the Chart House with friends. But the boys have requested pizza. I make my own crust...not that it is any better for you, just fresh from the oven pizza tastes AWESOME.

Day 4: Chicken on the Bone

My kids have an affinity for eating chicken on the bone. They like to talk about where the chicken lived before, how it runs, and then thank the farmers for giving us the dead, yummy chickens. So we had chicken legs with a bbq rub on the grill. I love my baby for grilling in the rain for us.

For sides, we do a lot of prepackaged plain vegetables. Tonight was broccoli and a veggie mix of carrots, green beans, and zucchini. Also made tarragon potatoes (boil diced potatoes, add butter, olive oil, and tarragon...stir).

Many ask what I feed William...all of the above is the answer. He loves carrots and zucchini. Any meat is a winner. And he hasn't met a carb he didn't like. I do use jarred food to add in things that he would still have trouble eating if not pureed, but for the most part, he feeds himself.

Sorry no pics, the boys just eat way too fast.

Day 3: Spaghetti and Meatballs

This is a cheat. The meatballs are already made as is the sauce. Heat and serve! The kids did not eat the meatballs the first few times, but now they love them.

Spaghetti Sauce

*4 Cans of Diced Tomatoes (15 oz.)
*1 Can of Tomato Sauce
*1 Pepper, Diced
*1 Onion, Diced
*3 Cloves of Garlic
*Seasonings of Your Choice

Heat olive oil in a hot pan and saute peppers, onion, and garlic. Add the cans of diced tomatoes and tomato sauce and cook for approximately an hour. I use my hand blender and puree cuz Gabe picks out the onions and peppers if I don't. If you like chunky sauce, don't puree. I usually end up freezing half (at least).

Meatball

*3 lbs. of Meat (Turkey, Beef, Sausage, or a Combination)
*1/2 Cup of Parmesan Cheese
*1/2 Cup of Bread Crumbs
*10 oz. Package of Frozen Spinach
*2 Eggs

Thaw and smash the water out of the spinach. Add remaining ingredients and mix. Add seasoning if desired. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. This makes about 2-2.5 dozen for me. Plenty for freezing.

Day 2: Sloppy Lentils

For breakfast I made muffins...that the kids won't eat. But Rob and I really liked them. Here is the original recipe, and then my modification in parenthetical and italics.

Double Strawberry Jam Muffins
Adapted from this Prudent Baby recipe.

Prep Time: 10 mins Cooking Time: 15 to 20 mins

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour (1 C whole wheat flour)
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (standard whole wheat flour will work too)
1/3 cup sugar (1/4 C honey)
1 tablespoon baking powder
pinch of salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil (1/3 C coconut oil and 1/3 C applesauce)
1/2 cup strawberry yogurt (1/2 C buttermilk...cuz I didn't have yogurt)
strawberry jelly or jam

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine dry ingredients and whisk together. Combine yogurt, oil and eggs in a measuring cup and beat together with a fork. Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Grease a muffin tin and fill each cup 1/2 way. Make a little divot with your finger and scoop jam in (1 1/2 teaspoons). Cover jam with more batter and then smooth out with your finger. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool and then use a butter knife to loosen and lift out muffins. Makes makes regular sized muffins.

The muffin is actually a bit boring. Think I will add a bit of cinnamon or vanilla next time. Also, I think these would be awesome as a PB&J muffin. I will try that later next week. Will make a great snack for after gymnastics.

For dinner it is meatless Wednesday. I am making sloppy lentils.



The kids ate some. Rob and I would eat them again.

Day 1: Sea Bass

And so it begins...with cereal (again...I'm lazy). The kids had sandwiches, carrot sticks, and raisins/banana for lunch at school. I had left over beef bourguinon (
that William stole half of).

But for dinner

Chilean Sea Bass with Macadamia nuts and a mango cream sauce


Roasted golden beets, turnips, and onions


Kale chips (requested from kids...how could I say no)

Frozen peas (Gabe's favorite)

Fish is always a winner at our house. But Rob and I were unimpressed with the sauce. Maybe with orange instead of lemon juice next time. The kids did in fact eat the kale (this is the 3rd or 4th time I have made them and the 1st that they ate them willingly). The beets and turnips were not winners...except for William who inhaled everything.

As you can see by the mostly empty table it was a success.

Here Goes Nothing...

So this month I will post everyday what we are eating. The recipes, pics where I can, and the reviews. Yes, I intentionally picked the shortest month cuz I am lazy that way.

This is not an attempt to eat healthier or convince you to cook all the time. I don't do either very well. However, I hope that you will see that for the most part you can make the majority of your meals at home, have your kids eat it, and feel good about what they are getting.

The fine print: For the most part I use grass-fed and pastured meat, dairy, and eggs...probably about 90%. Most of our veggies are organic or local (about 70%). But we do have goldfish and cereals. I like ice cream. Rob refuses to eat real maple syrup. I aim for 1 dinner and 3 lunches to be meat free each week; but, "we are meatatarians...it's a personal choice."

Hope you find some recipes that will inspire you too!