Healthy Kids Foods: Green Foods

Day 4: Green Day

Breakfast

My Mom got into our wellness rainbow week and made her FABULOUS Zucchini Bread for our green day (Thanks Mom!!).

Zucchini Bread
(Recipe from Whole Foods Market)

Ingredients:    

 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 egg

1/3 cup expeller pressed canola oil

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 tablespoons nonfat plain yogurt

3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup grated zucchini

1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray an 8-inch loaf pan with natural cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, oil, applesauce, yogurt, sugar and vanilla. Add flour mixture and stir until well combined. Fold in zucchini and walnuts then transfer batter to prepared pan and bake until risen, deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes.

Cool in pan on rack for 30 minutes then remove bread from pan and continue cooling on rack.

Lunch

Salad with ranch
Snap Peas
Green Peppers with Hummus
Pickle (my daughter's favorite!)
Organic Apple Crunchers

Dinner

Chicken, Avacado and Orange Salad with
Balsamic Vinegrette

Green Day was the most successful day of the week thus far - I set up a BYO (build your own) Salad Bar - I think the kids loved being able to make the choices of what veggies to put on their plate. I wish I had smiles like this everynight at dinner!!!

Healthy Kid Foods: Yellow Foods

Day 3: Yellow Day

Breakfast:

Pineapple-Mango Smoothie

Lunch:

Yellow Peppers with Ranch Dip
Yellow Apple
Dried Apricots
Rice Cake with Peanut Butter

 

Dinner:

Spaghetti Squash with Zucchini and a Turkey Meatball

Cooking a Spaghetti Squash:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees
• Cut the spaghetti squash in half and scoop out the seeds
• Place in baking dish cut sides up
• Brush sides with olive oil and then cover with aluminum foil
• Cook in the oven for 20 minutes
• Remove the aluminum foil and cook for another 35 minutes uncovered.
• With a fork, scape out the squash into a bowl.

The spaghetti squash was a hit with one out of the three kids (one has been sick so I am not counting her thumbs down and the other one took one bite and said "these noodles don't taste the same"!) The one bite rule was instituted again and everyone lived!!!

Healthy Kid Food: Orange Foods

Day 2: Orange

Breakfast

Orange Juice
Clementine Orange
Cheerios (not orange, I know....)

Lunch:

Baby Carrots with Ranch dip
Kashi 7-Grain Pita Chips and Cheese Stick
Cantalope
Clementine 

Dinner:

Loaded Sweet Potato
Side Salad

Loaded Sweet Potato (Recipe from Skinnytaste.com)

Ingredients:

• 4 medium sized sweet potatoes
• 1/2 cup fat free Greek yogurt (or light sour cream)
• 1 tsp taco seasoning
• 1 tsp olive or canola oil
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika or smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• a pinch of salt
• 1-1/3 cups canned black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup mild or spicy salsa
• 1/2 cup reduced fat Mexican cheese blend
• 1/4 cup chopped scallions or cilantro

Directions:

Poke holes in the potato with a fork, cook on your microwave’s potato setting until potatoes are soft and cooked through (about 8-10 minutes on high for 4 potatoes). If you don't have a microwave, bake about 45 minutes at 400°F.

Combine yogurt and taco seasoning in a small bowl, mix well.

Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add peppers, onions, chili powder, paprika, cumin and salt; cook until the onions have caramelized slightly, about 5 minutes. Add black beans, stir to combine and heat through (about another 5 minutes).



Cut an oval shape on the top of the potato, then remove the top of each potato and scoop out the inside of the potato and put into a bowl. Add the shredded cheese and the black bean mixture and stir together.





Fill your potatoes with the filling. 


Top each potato with 2 tbsp Greek yogurt mixture and 2 tbsp salsa of salsa.  




Not only were the loaded sweet potatoes quick and easy to make - they were delicious! My kids on the otherhand....not quite sure just yet. We have a "try a bite" rule in this house, so they all tried it (although I caved and let them put their sample onto a tortilla chip...). But nobody gagged, threw up or passed out from trying the sweet potato - so I call that a success. Maybe next time we can get TWO bites in!!

Healthy Kid Food: Red Foods

My daughter's elementary school is having a Wellness Week where they strive to eat a "Rainbow" of healthy foods and each day is a featured color. I am pretty good when it comes to offering healthy foods for my family...but I am far from perfect!! I have to admit that there are many nights after a long day at work where chicken nuggets, fish sticks or my kids favorite - elbow noodles with margarine (not proud) are on my dinner table.

So, I took this week as a challenge to myself to plan out a truly healthy week's worth of food. I've planned my menu to go with Natalie's school event to see how I could do.

Day 1: Red Foods

Breakfast

Mixed Berry Smoothie (we don't have a ton of time in the morning, I cheated with this one!)

 

Lunch:

Sliced red peppers
Sundried tomato hummus with Kashi 7-Grain Pita Chips
Sliced strawberries with plain greek yogurt and granola w/dried cranberries
Red Apple

Dinner:

Chicken Breast with Honey Balsamic Glaze 
Cherry Tomatoes and Asparagus in a Balsamic Sauce
Oven Roasted Red Potatoes



Chicken Breast with Honey-Balsamic Glaze  (Recipe from SparkRecipes)

Ingredients

1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp Salt Sense
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 lb uncooked boneless chicken breast 
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp honey

Directions

1. Combine first 3 ingredients; sprinkle over both sides of chicken pieces.

2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken; cook 7-8 minutes on each side or until chicken is no longer pink in center.

3. Transfer chicken to a platter and keep warm. Reduce heat to medium low; add vinegar and honey to pan. Simmer 1 minute or until glaze thickens, stirring constantly. Pour glaze over chicken.

Serving Size: Serves 4

All in all, it was a good day - the kids tried everything for dinner (we told the boys that the asparagus were dragon tails...which made it fun for them to eat!!). The chicken recipe was fabulous and I will definitely try it out again!! Next up....Orange Day!!

46 Motivational Workout Songs

My company just opened an amazing Fitness Facility and I got to be part of planning the Grand Opening Event. My task in the planning was to come up with a music playlist for the event that would hopefully energize people while at the event and help them feel excited to start a new exercise program.

I searched long and hard for 3 hours worth of songs that were energetic, motivating, appropriate for the workplace and spanned a range of musical tastes. I thought I would share in case anyone needed some new tunes!

46 Songs to Motivate You to Wellness:

1) Home - Phil Phillips
2) Beautiful Day - U2
3) Keep Your Head Up - Andy Grammar
4) Unwritten - Natasha Bedingfield
5) Good Feeling - Flo Rida
6) Let's Get It Started - Black Eyed Peas
7) Wanna Be Starting Something - Michael Jackson
8) Stronger - Kelly Clarkson
9) Incredible Machine - Sugarland
10) Eye of the Tiger - Survivor
11) Let's Get Loud - Jennifer Lopez
12) Don't Stop the Party - Pitbull
13) Start Me Up - Rolling Stones
14) Titanium - David Getta & Sia
15) I Cry - Flo Rida
16) Walk - Foo Fighters
17) Firework - Katy Perry
18) Ready To Run - Dixie Chicks
19) Dog Days Are Over - Florence & The Machine
20) Get Ready for This - Calimocho Mix
21) Start the Commotion - The Wiseguys
22) Right Now - VanHalen
23) Life Line - Papa Roach
24) I Just Wanna Live - Good Charlotte
25) Try - P!nk
26) I Run for Life - Melissa Etheridge
27) Fighter - Christina Aguilera
28) Let it Rock - Kevin Rudolf & Lil Wayne
29) Unbelievable - EMF
30) Don't Stop - Fleetwood Mac
31) Suddenly I See - KT Turnstall
32) Where Are We Running - Lenny Kravitz
33) Vertigo - U2
34) Rebel Beat - The Goo Goo Dolls
35) Alive - P.O.D.
36) The Edge of Glory - Lady GaGa
37) Headturner - Joss Stone
38) Rise Above This - Seether
39) New Sensation - INXS
40) Rock N' Roll Train - AC/DC
41) Machinehead - Bush
42) No Excuses - Alice in Chains
43) Higher Ground - Red Hot Chili Peppers
44) Are You Gonna Go My Way - Lenny Kravitz
45) Where the Streets Have No Name - U2
46) Hall of Fame - The Script

Pinterest Craft Review: Duct Tape Belts

The only thing that my twin boys wanted for their 4th birthdays were belts for their pants (like Daddy). They each got one for their birthday and they wear them so much that they are getting a little worn.

I saw on Pinterest belts made out of Duct Tape (in case you aren't aware...Duct Tape has gone designer!!!). I thought that the new designs out there might be cute and maybe a little cheaper than buying a new belt. So....I gave it a try!

 

 

Materials:

•  Duct Tape - I found mine at Joanne Fabrics for $4.99 a role (I would use a coupon!)

• D Rings - Also got these at Joann's in the Fabric section for $2.49 for 2 sets of D rings.

2 belts = $7.50 (actually less because you don't even come close to using all the Duct Tape! Plus if you don't impulse buy like me and instead wait until you have a coupon...you can take 40-50% off that Duct Tape!).

Instructions:

I used the following tutorial that I found on Pinterest from a fabulous blog - www.Remodelaholic.com

It was very easy to follow - great pictures and step by step!

Chevron Stripe Duct Tape Belt Tutorial

Lessons Learned:

1) Duct Tape is sticky (duh, right??) - it is hard to cut if you aren't using quality scissors, so your ends are uneven. But the biggest drawback of sticky tape is that if you make a bad fold, it is impossible to undo.

2) For kids pants, make sure you aren't making your belt too fat to go through the belt loops - I was so focused on the length of the belt that I didn't think about that part! Luckily you have more than enough Duct Tape to make another one if you mess up.

The Outcome:

For kids, this is pretty cute - my belts weren't perfect, but I don't think they will care as much as I do! I did 3 belts in an hour, so it is a pretty quick craft to do. I give it a thumbs up....now I have two roles of Duct Tape that are only 25% used.....back to Pinterest...perhaps there is a Duct Tape Playdate in my daughter's future!!!