Left Coast Mama » Healthy Eating

A Kitchen Experiment: Meal Planning Again

Gwen — Sun, 29 May 2011 05:36:44 +0000

I used to participate in Menu Plan Mondays at Organizing Junkie a lot, now not so much. I have found that our family has been in a bit of a rut this winter/spring and it is not helping our eating habits at all. I used to meal plan with a mind to what we already had in the house and sometimes adding things as I needed. This time we had let our groceries get so low that I planned a week and a half of meals, including breakfasts and lunches for the boys and I.

I hope this planning will get me back into eating more fruits and vegetables and healthier in general. I want to be making one supper instead of finding something the boys will eat and then something Anthony and I will eat after the boys are in bed. I know that our tempers will be better and I think our waistlines will also improve. It is much easier to have control of how much you eat when you don’t forget to eat until you are starving.

If some of you want to follow my plans, go right ahead. Let me know how it goes. Since I am trying some new recipes out on the boys (hidden cauliflower and the like) I will post some pictures and a “Did they eat it?” post later this week.

THE PLAN: Using both “Jamie’s Food Revolution” cookbook by Jamie Oliver and “More Time Moms Family Meals” plan breakfasts, lunches and dinners for the family.

Tonight 28 May

Chicken Fajitas pg. 38 Food Revolution (FR from here on out) I plan to adapt the recipe a little as I already have salsa and forgot to get limes. I also plan to not add too much hot spice because I want my boys to eat the wraps.

Sunday 29 May

Breakfast: Blueberry Sundae: in a small bowl layer vanilla yogurt, cereal and blueberries.

Lunch: Focaccia, celery sticks, carrot sticks and dip.

Supper: Chicken and beef kabobs with veggies, (mushrooms, pearl onions and peppers) and Basmati rice.

Monday 30 May

Breakfast: Berry Oatmeal: pg 63 More Time Moms Family Meals (MTMFM from here on out.) I would add a pinch of salt to the recipe as I find that without salt oatmeal tastes a little like weird bananas.

Lunch: Tomato Soup: pg 133 FR, Garlic Toast

Supper: Macaroni and Cauliflower Bake Pg 49 FR, tossed salad

Tuesday 31 May:

Breakfast: Fruit Smoothies with frozen berries, bananas and yogurt

Lunch: Leftover Tomato soup, humus and pita

Supper: BBQ Asparagus, chicken and boiled new potatoes

Wednesday 1 June:

Breakfast: Cereal with fruit, yogurt

Lunch: Humus, pita, sandwich meat (Easy to take on the field trip.)

Supper: Leftover Macaroni Bake and veggies.

Thursday 2 June

Breakfast: Berry Oatmeal and yogurt.

Lunch: Tuna salad sandwiches, raw veggies and dip.

Supper: Beef stir fry with rice noodles pg 46 MTMFM

Friday 3 June

Breakfast: Fruit Sundaes or Orange Smoothie

Lunch: Sandwiches and veggies and dip.

Supper: Spaghettini and Meat sauce

Saturday 4 June

Breakfast: Cereal, yogurt and fruit.

Free day because we have 2 birthday parties.

Sunday 5 June

Breakfast: Raisin Oatmeal

Lunch: Focaccia, fruit

Supper: Home made chicken strips, Baked French Potatoes pg 224 FR, steamed Broccoli

Monday 6 June

Breakfast: Orange Smoothies, Toast

Lunch: Leftover Chicken and potatoes

Supper: Shepherd’s Pie

© 2011 Left Coast Mama | Permalink | One comment
Related: family, goals, Healthy Choices, Healthy Eating, Menu Plan Monday, organization, Recipes.

Johnny Cake: A Recipe For Comfort Food

Gwen — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 19:00:59 +0000

Johnny Cake fresh from the oven.

I had a craving for Johnny Cake or Corn Bread this morning and I had all the ingredients including the cornmeal so I whipped up a batch with Aidan. I love it warm from the oven with melted butter (margerine) and either molasses or syrup covering the cake. The lovely thing about Johnny Cake is that it is good for any meal. Warm for a hearty breakfast, part of a lunch or eaten with a big mess of baked beans with molasses for supper.

The recipe I use is adapted from “More With Less Cookbook,” first published in 1976.

The Recipe:
Serves 9
400 Deg F (a little lower if you oven is hot like mine.)
25 Minutes (check at 20 minutes)

Preheat oven to 400 deg F
Mix Together:
1c. cornmeal
1c. flour (I use whole wheat but it can be white or a mixture)
4t. baking powder
1/2t. salt
2T. brown sugar (I usually add an extra T.)
1/2c. dry milk powder (optional, but it makes a better finished cake)
Make a well and add: (I mix the wet ingredients in a liquid measuring cup first)
2 beaten eggs
1c. milk
1/4c. oil or melted shortening
Stir just until smooth. Pour into a greased 9×9 pan and bake approximatly 25 minutes.

Johnny Cake with melted butter and syrup.

Christmas Eve Tradition: Tourtiere

Gwen — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 06:53:32 +0000

There are a few Christmas Eve traditions we have and like most traditions they have to do with food. I like to make something my mother made and our boys absolutely love, Tourtiere. Tourtiere is a French-Canadian spiced meat pie.

Warm from the oven, Tourtiere. YUM!

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs lean ground pork

1.5 lbs lean ground beef

small diced onion

2 grated potatoes

2 diced cloves of garlic

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cloves

1-2 tsps cinnamon

1/4-1/2 tsp allspice

salt and pepper

water

2 double pie crusts

egg wash

Instructions:

In a large sauce pan saute the onion in a little bit of oil until it is softened then add the meat and spices and enough water to cover the meat. Stir until the meat is no longer pink. Add the grated potato and simmer, stiring occasionally. Simmer for at least 1/2 and hour, longer is better. If you want you can add grate carrot and diced mushroom to the meat mixture. If the mixture seems not spiced enough you can add a bit more.

Once you have finished simmering you should put the meat mixture in the fridge overnight or at least until the mixture has gelled. Skim the fat off (you can leave a little) the gelled mixture. Divide into the pie shells and cover with a top crust. Vent the top and brush with and egg wash.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until golden brown. The filling should be bubbling.

I will update the post with pictures of the process and finished pie when I make it this week.

© 2010 Left Coast Mama | Permalink | One comment
Related: Christmas, Healthy Eating, Holidays, Menu Plan Monday, Recipes.

Recipe: Potato Scones

Gwen — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 19:47:50 +0000

Light and fluffy Potato Scones

As a child (and teenager) I was always happy when we had leftover mashed potatoes because it meant that in the morning, or for brunch the next day we would have potato scones. Warm from the oven with melted butter these scones are to die for, light and fluffy and not dry at all.

Last night I made too many mashed potatoes on purpose. This morning Quinlan helped me measure, dump and mix the dry ingredients. Aidan wanted to help as well, but I put him off until this afternoon when we will try to make some totally homemade pumpkin pie.

Ingredients:

2 Cups Flour

1/4 Cup butter or Margarine

3 TBSP Baking Powder

1 TBSP Sugar

1TSP Nutmeg

1/2 TSP Salt

~1 Cup Mashed Potato

1/2 Cup Milk

Directions:

Preheat Oven to 400F.

Mix all the dry ingredients and add in the butter. Once the butter is cut in mix in the potatoes and milk. When it all sticks together dump on to a lightly floured surface. Use a juice glass or round cookie cutter to cut out scones and put on a parchment covered cookie sheet. The scones should be about a half inch thick.

Light Browning

Bake for about 10 minutes until the bottoms are a light brown and the tops are just starting to brown.

Try not to butter and eat all of them right out of the oven.

Menu Plan Monday

Gwen — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 04:42:46 +0000

I decided that it is time to get back to the meal planning since things are once again becoming really busy with both Anthony’s and mine and the kids’ schedules. Until the middle of December we have swimming Monday and Wednesday mornings, kindergarten in the afternoons Monday to Friday, skating Wednesday after school, and drama classes Sunday morning. That is just Aidan and Quinlan. When you add in work, choir, meetings, church and social engagements there is not a lot of time for making meals with out a real plan.

I need meals that are easy to make, easy to make twice because Anthony and I tend to eat after the boys are in bed. At least our barbeque is back to working for now. I find cooking meat so much easier on the barbeque that I resort to take out much less.

Monday: Leftover Lasanga, garlic bread

Tuesday: Baked Fish (Tilapia or Haddock), Mashed potatoes, Steamed Veggies.

Wednesday: BBq Chicken, Basmati rice, BBq’d veggies.

Thursday: Tacos, salad

Friday: Pancakes (as long as we get a frying pan or a griddle), sausages

Saturday: Roast Beef, Rolls, Roast Potatoes and green beans

Sunday: Open

Now let us see if I can get my act together enough to actually make the meals.

© 2010 Left Coast Mama | Permalink | One comment
Related: Healthy Choices, Healthy Eating, Menu Plan Monday, organization.

Menu Plan Monday

Gwen — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 05:00:57 +0000

We do so much better in this house when we have a meal plan in place so I fully plan to re-institute Menu Plan Monday. I liked how it helps me to get a little bit organized even if i don’t always follow it entirely.

Monday: KD and Soup. Not the best, but I counter this with some bread from Terra Breads which makes everything much more healthy, right?

Tuesday: Spaghetti, bread and raw veggies

Wednesday: Sushi for the kids and me early and Anthony gets whatever he wants while I am at photography class.

Thursday: BBQ chicken and basmati rice with grilled vegetables

Friday: Baked Tilapia, spiced and roasted potatoes, broccoli

Saturday: Slow-cooker meatloaf, baked potatoes and some sort of vegetable.

I really hope meal planning will get me back into better eating habits. I think the 2 and half weeks of birthday cakes along with Easter have overdosed us on sugar.

© 2010 Left Coast Mama | Permalink | No comments
Related: Healthy Choices, Healthy Eating, Menu Plan Monday, organization.

Why I Love My Slow-Cooker:Food Revolution Fridays

Gwen — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 20:23:54 +0000

I love my slow-cooker. I don’t use it as often as I should, but when I do I love that I can go about my day and forget about supper. I don’t have the panicky feeling around 5 o’clock saying “What should I make for supper? Can I get away with bbq hamburgers again?” Especially now that our bbq is on its last leg and I can’t count on it, the slow-cooker can be my lifesaver.

There are any number of websites out there that have good slow-cooker recipes and most of them are easy and with few ingredients. I haven’t been brave enough to try any that use a can of pop, and really the thought of adding carbonated water and syrup to my food doesn’t appeal. There are quite a few really healthy and easy recipes as well. I thought I would share 2 of my favourites.

Chili:

This can be vegetarian very easily, just take out the meat and there you have it. It tastes as good without the meat, but I prefer to have some in there.

Ingredients:

1 can diced tomatoes and juice. (The big can, I have no idea how many oz. You can also get the lowest sodium ones as you are adding spices and the salt is unnecessary.)

1 can garbanzo beans (chick peas) drained and rinsed.

1 can red kidney beans drained and rinsed.

1 can black beans drained and rinsed.

1-2 cans navy beans drained and rinsed.

1-2 cans baked beans with molasses. (Optional but it gives a lot of flavour.)

1 lb lean ground meat browned and drained.

Spices: I usually add Club House Slow Cooker Chili seasoning, but you can use your own mix of spices like garlic, onion, chili, red pepper etc.

I don’t usually, but you can also add diced veggies like peppers, mushrooms, onions etc.

It turns out a little differently every time because I sometimes add different beans or veggies.

Put all the ingredients into the slow cooker and put on low for 8 hours, or high for 4 hours. It freezes really well and is a very healthy source of protein.

Amazing Meatloaf: (Adapted from Fix-it and Forget-it 5-Ingredient Favorites)

Ingredients:

1/2 C Ketchup divided

2lbs ground beef (I use extra lean, and sometimes I mix ground pork in.)

2 eggs

2/3 C dry quick oats

1 envelope dry onion soup mix

Optional: finely diced mushrooms, onions, grated carrot, some dijon mustard.

Reserve about 2 tbsp of the ketchup. Mix the rest of the ingredients together. Shape into a loaf and put in the slow-cooker. Top with remaining ketchup or use some bbq sauce. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 2-4 hours.

Tip: About halfway through the cooking you can use a turkey baster to suck up the fat that will pool around the meat loaf. This helps to make the outside a little crisper and gets rid of more of the fat.

With that I guess I know what I should make for dinner, meatloaf. I would make the chili but my boys are not so fond of beans yet. Sigh. If you want to get some other great recipes check out some more Food Revolution Fridays posts at Notes From the Cookie Jar.

Oven Baked Real Chicken Nuggets

Gwen — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 03:09:57 +0000

I sometimes forget how easy it is to make real food. Well maybe the reason I forget is because it is easy to make real food unless you are spending most of the time running through your baby gates and trying to stop your toddler from destroying your computer or making a trans-Atlantic telephone call. That being said when I can keep the boys occupied I like to make some of our favourite homemade meals.

One of our favourites is oven baked chicken “nuggets” made with boneless skinless chicken breasts and beaded with cornflakes, spices and served with homemade spiced oven fries. They are really easy to make and so much more healthy than the fast food/prepackaged food alternatives.

Chicken Nuggets

Ingredients:

Cornflakes

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

Spices [I use Onion powder, garlic powder, Masala (Tandoori Spice), salt, pepper (fresh ground) and sometimes some Montreal steak spice.]

egg

flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to about 375 F

Put a small amount of flour in a small bowl. Beat 1-2 eggs in another small bowl. Put about 2 cups of cornflakes in a ziplock bag and add spices. Crumble the cornflakes and mix in the spices. Cut the chicken breast into long thin strips. Dredge in flour, coat in beaten eggs and drop into the bag of breading mixture. Coat thoroughly and place on a wire rack on a baking sheet. (I coat the wire racks with PAM, or you could brush with oil.)

Bake the chicken for about 20-25 minutes until the chicken is cooked but not to dry, turning then at about 10 minutes.

Serve with a crisp salad or some veggie sticks and you have a great healthy meal in about 1/2 an hour.

Scattered Mom from Notes From The Cookie Jar has started Food Revolution Fridays as an homage to what Jamie Oliver is doing in the States right now. While I have not watched the show, Scattered Mom’s enthusiasm about food and cooking real food has inspired me to take a look at some of the things I am doing right and some that I can easily change. Taking the time to make some of the easier recipes that the boys and Anthony like seems like a no brainer. If you want to read more posts about other people’s food revolutions click the link and check out some of the blogs that are participating .

What’s on Your Menu?

Gwen — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 20:34:50 +0000

I haven’t posted a Menu Plan Monday in a very long time. It is not thatI don’t plan the menus, just that I am having a hrad time sticking to them and if theyare posted here, I feel like I am more bound to them. So in the interest of keeping to the menu this week I aam publishing it. Though if you have some really good meal suggestions or recipes, please let me know.

Sunday (Today, the 20th December.) Hamburgers and salad.

Monday (21 December) Ham and mashed potatoes for the boys and scalloped potatoes for me.

Tuesday (22 December) BBQ Chicken kabobs with basmati rice and veggies

Wednesday (23 December) Pasta with tomato and meat sauce, salad.

Thursday (24 December, Christmas Eve) Tortier, a spiced meat pie (ground pork and hamburger), Milk and cookies set out for Santa. Ho, Ho, Ho!

Friday (25 December, Christmas Day) Turkey, mashed potatoes, carrots, turnip, nugget potatoes (veggies cooked with the turkey.) pumpkin and apple pies for desert.

Saturday (26 December) Leftovers of all sorts.

Sunday (27 December, Happy Birthday Dei!) Turkey soup.

The only thing that may change is if we can’t find a small enough turkey. I love it, but since we don’t have anyone coming over to help eat it, it may not be practical. I am also planning to clear off the table fully and setting the table really nicely on Christmas Day. We have been working on table manners with Aidan and I think that a nnicely set table helps. Though I will be checking for a plastic wine glass for Aidan. (He broke one at Thanksgiving.)

All meals will be full of lovely deserts like snicker doodles, lemon loaf and gingerbread men. I may also make some chocolate balls of some kind. What are your favourite holiday foods? Any good recipes?

© 2009 Left Coast Mama | Permalink | 2 comments
Related: Christmas, dinner, Family Time, Healthy Choices, Healthy Eating, Holidays, Menu Plan Monday.

Helping Nature Along: Breastfeeding

Gwen — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 07:11:45 +0000

While breastfeeding is a natural thing it sometimes needs a little help. I have written about my breastfeeding journey so far and I touched on some of the difficulties I had. I have a few more issues than some like trying to find a breast pump that had a range of available breastsheild sizes, or finding nursing bras that fit, or trying to feed a sleepy jaundiced baby. All of these experiences have helped me find some resources to help, and some I have still to find. I thought I would share what I have.

When I was nursing Aidan I was unable to find a nursing bra that fit properly, and while I still haven’t found one that fits me properly I have a ton of resources for almost anyone else of a larger size. The first is Honeymilk Designs, by a local Vancouver bra designer Brandee Anderson. I haven’t got one myself as I am still too large, but I have heard nothing but fabulous reviews. If you are of a normal size range a nursing tank can be your best friend and keep you stomach covered.

In Vancouver at least, most of the Shopper’s Drug Marts rent hospital grade breast pumps. In the beginning this may be the best idea so you can find a style of pump that you like. Call the drugstore and ask about the models that they rent. I found that the hospital grade Medela was the pump that gave me the most relief from engorgement pain when Quinlan wasn’t latching the first couple of weeks. With all rental pumps you need to buy a package that has the tubing and breastsheilds. With the Medela they actually have different sizes, because the breastsheild isn’t supposed to rub against your nipple. For me that meant I needed a larger size than the average size, and the only place we found it was the Shopper’s Home Health Care store on Oak, though I think there are several places in Vancouver that rent the actual pumps.

The other thing that was a godsend in both my pregnancy and even now is the nursing pillow I bought at a local baby fair. The YOU Pillow was one of the best decisions I ever made. I used it every night during the rest of my pregnancy and it really helped to make the sleep less painful as I got bigger. Since Quinlan was born I have been using this pillow for nursing, even now, as well as for all kinds of things. In fact I have the laptop on my pillow now while I am writing this post.

Do you have some breastfeeding staples that have made your journey easier?

© 2009 Left Coast Mama | Permalink | 2 comments
Related: Bras, breastfeeding, Healthy Choices, Healthy Eating, lactavism, Moms.