Our Garden

Even though my new camera hasn't arrived yet in the mail, I couldn't resist taking some pictures after we planted in our garden this weekend.  It's my first time gardening, so it felt like such a great accomplishment to get those plants and seeds in the ground.  We're starting small, 8' x 4', but we're trying tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, beans, carrots, lettuce, onions, eggplant and cauliflower in that small space.  We also are trying the hanging basket of strawberries, two rhubarb plants and two raspberry bushes.  Now let's just see if anything grows!! 

Since this is my first garden, I was ecstatic to find out that I won a copy of Heavenly Homemaker's Guide to Gardening and Preserving in Kitchen Stewardship's giveaway!  My first time winning any blog giveaway. 

What about you: do you garden?  What is your number one tip in keeping your garden healthy AND organic?

This Week's Menu Plan

This week I'm way ahead with my menu plan, so I thought I'd share.  I'm actually trying to plan two weeks in advance, but I'll just share this week's breakfasts and dinners.  I've found that our town's grocery store selection is ok, but for many things I prefer to go to the larger stores in neighboring towns.  So to limit the number of trips I take, I'm going to plan out my menu for two weeks and only go on the second week for perishables.  We'll see how it works! 

Here's the plan:

Monday:

B- Scrambled Eggs

D- Taco Night with Homemade Tortillas and Seasoning (new recipes)

Tuesday:

B- Apple Granola (new recipe)

D- Leftovers

Wednesday:

B-Perpetual Pancakes (new recipe)

D- Macaroni and Cheese

Thursday-

B- Eggs in a Hole

D- Tuna Sandwiches

Friday-

B- Apple Granola with Crockpot Yogurt

D- Pizza Night

Saturday-

B- Scrambled Eggs and Sausages

D- Dinner out with Family

Sunday-

B- Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins (new recipe)

D- Grilled Steak and Grilled Broccoli (new recipe)

As you can see, I've got a lot of new recipes up my sleeve this week.  I'll share them if they turn out well. 

You'll also notice...NO CEREAL!!!  My husband and I are working out our morning routine to make breakfast together as a family possible.  Not only will we eat healthier, but we'll be able to share more time together! 

I wish all of you the best for this week...I hope it's delicious! 

If you want more menu plans and recipe ideas, head on over to Org Junkie for her Menu Plan Monday. 

Starting the Day off Right

For the last 20 years or so, I have always started my day with a bowl of cereal.  Granted, I tried to choose the ones I thought were healthy.

Raisin Bran...not Fruit Loops

Recently though, I've really been examining the areas in my diet where refined sugars sneak in. 

19 grams of sugar in that Raisin Bran?

No wonder I have an energy slump mid-morning! 

Starting with next week's menu plan, I will be adding breakfasts other than cereal to our daily menu.  Some of the options I've been brainstorming are:

• scrambled eggs
• granola recipes like this one
• fried eggs in a hole
• always ready pancakes
• homemade yogurt with add-ins

I know this will be more work than simply pouring a bowl of cereal and milk, but since these breakfasts will be so delicious and healthy, I'm ready to give it a go! 

What is your favorite breakfast recipe?  Do you have any tips for making wholesome breakfasts a little easier?

From Fruit Snacks to Fruit Leather

Ever since Easter, my son has been in LOVE with fruit snacks.  He asks for "nack" (how he says snack) all the time.  I've been giving him some just about every day, but I just hate how much sugar is in those things.  So, I've been looking for a good subsitution.  I think I may have found a new one...fruit leather.  I made my first batch yesterday and it turned out pretty well.  I followed the recipe, but think that our oven must be a little hotter, so they were a little dried out.  My son still gobbled them up though so I called it a success.  Once I perfect the process I will share my recipe (they are super easy to make!). 

Do you have any fruit snack type recipes that you'd recommend?  I'd love to try them out. 

Moving Matters: How Much Physical Activity Do Families Need?

Now that we're getting settled into our new home, I've been thinking about our family's daily routines and which activities should take priority over others.  I am keeping in mind that my ultimate goal for our family is to be happy and healthy.  I feel like often times in trying to keep our family healthy, I focus mainly on the nutrition side of health.  The fitness side often gets pushed to the side.  This is probably because we have to eat, so it's much more obvious that good nutrition is important.  Also, when you're busy all day either working, making good food, and taking care of busy children, fitting in fitness is many times the last thing we want tackle. 

I really feel though that our family's physical condition is crucial to maintaining health.

Before I discuss how our family is making an active lifestyle a priority, I want to highlight how much activity the experts recommend. 

For my son, who's almost 18 months old, KidsHealth.org recommends 1 1/2 hours of minimum daily activity.  Of that, 30 minutes should be planned while 60 minutes can be free play.  The link will also take you to the recommended activity amounts for older children. 

For my husband and me, the American College of Sports Medicine and American Heart Association tell us that we should be getting:

• moderately intense cardio 30 minutes per day, five days a week, OR
• vigorously intense cardio 20 minutes per day, three days per week, AND
• 8-10 strength exercises, 8-10 repetitions of each, two times per week

Well, now that I know the guidelines, I will use them as goals for our family to meet as a part of our daily and weekly routines. 

How about you?  Did you know about these recommendations?  Does your family already follow them or do you (like us) have room for improvement?

Homemade Ice Cream: First Time!

This past Christmas I asked for and received an ice cream maker in our family's gift exchange.  Since we had our house on the market and were in the process of moving until just recently, I didn't have a chance to use it until this week.  On Monday, after my grocery shopping, I started the process of making (delicious) homemade ice cream.  The ice cream maker is from Aroma, and I really have no complaints about it so far (after one use :)  I know there are tons of recipes out there for making ice cream, but I wanted to start with the basics, so I made the vanilla ice cream recipe from the Aroma manual. 

Yum, yum!  I love the vanilla flavor and the richness of the ice cream.  My husband says he loves the taste too.  My son loved watching the whole process, especially when I layered the ice and rock salt in the wooden bucket.  He kept saying, "peam," which is his word right now for ice cream.  And boy did he love it!  I can definitely envision this as a fun family activity for years to come. 

I froze the leftovers in plastic yogurt containers, which didn't work out the best.  Tonight when I went to scoop up a bowl, I tried to use a knife to loosen some of the ice cream from the edge of the container.  Well, I poked a hole right in the side of the container, so I'm going to have to think something more sturdy to put these delicious creations in.  Maybe just a regular ice cream bucket?  What do you use?

I'd love to hear from some of you experts out there.  What are your favorite recipes?  Now that I've made my first batch, I'd love to experiment with something new!      

(I apologize for the lack of pictures in this and upcoming posts.  My camera is currently out of commision and I'm trying to convince DH that we NEED a DSLR!)

Getting Back Into The Swing of Things

It really has been a long time since I last wrote here.  For a while in December, I took a break from blogging and reading blogs completely.  We put our house on the market and were so busy with cleaning.  We also bought a new house that was in desperate need of a deep cleaning.  In early April we sold our house and we're now settling into life in our new home.  It is a big change for me because I am now staying home full time.  I do work part time still at my job, doing scheduling for a large hospital in the metro area, but they are letting me try working from home.  This is wonderful because we get to keep our son home full time (no day care costs!) and I am still bringing in some additional income for our family.  Although it's been challenging trying to get my work hours in with a busy toddler around, I have managed so far.  I am mostly doing my work during his nap time and a little during the early mornings and late evenings.  My husband and I love our new home and look forward to spending many years here.  In another post I will include some pictures of our place. 

As for healthy living...we are still doing our best.  It is definitely a challenge trying to fit in workouts and they have taken a back burner as I adjust to being a full-time stay at home mom.  I do take my son for walks to the park every chance we get, but I have yet to set up my workout area in this new house.  This is something I'm looking forward to doing in the next month or so. 

I am still trying to make great meals for our family and gradually improve upon the quality of recipes I cook.  One challenge we have had recently is that we're travelling to see family quite a bit and that lends itself to eating out more often.  I'd like to have a better meal plan in place to try and avoid some of those restaurant stops when possible.  My kitchen is amazing though!  Our last house had such a tiny kitchen and eating space, and I'm just ecstatic to have a more spacious place to prepare our family's meals.  It has been so much fun to cook there and I really feel like I'm starting to get into a great groove with cooking. 

So, that is the update from our household.  Where are you with fitness and nutrition in your life right now?  Have you had any big changes in your life that have caused you to change your routines?