Healthy Snacks For Brandi

We are starting our second week of school, and the kids are adjusting well.  I know it will take a couple of weeks to get back into our routine completely, so I have tried to have a lot of patience.  Having things ready the night before helps the mornings run smoothly, so I try and have book bags packed, lunches made, and clothes laid out before the kids go to bed.  There is nothing more frustrating than finding out ten minutes before the bus comes that one of the kids doesn't have any clean socks.

My youngest is in third grade now, and I was hoping that I wouldn't have to worry about sending a snack with her for during the day.  The first couple of days, the teacher said no snacks, but eventually she changed her mind.  I don't like sending snacks like chips and cookies though.  I prefer Brandi take fruit or a granola bar.  The only downside to this is that healthy snacks can get expensive.  I have though about buying healthy snacks online, but I am not sure what she will eat.  I found a coupon for Glennys , where I can get 15% off all natural 100 calorie brownies.  I am not sure I would send them with Brandi to school, but I am pretty sure I would like them. 

I mean, they're chocolate, right?

Seriously, I Love This Website

A couple of weeks ago, I made meatloaf.  I have been using the same canned meatloaf mix for a while now, but the past two times I have made it, it has been horrible.  This last time, the texture was so bad, I had to throw every bit of it away.  I can only assume they changed the ingredients in the canned mix, because I did nothing else different. 

Since I will no longer use this mix, I need to find a new recipe.  I was thinking of trying to make a meatloaf from scratch, so I went in search of an easy recipe to follow.  I ended up finding a BBQ meatloaf recipe on FoodConnect.com that I can not wait to try.  It sounds delicious, and I'm not just saying that because I have a slight addiction to BBQ sauce.

This is the first time I have been on FoodConnect, and I am seriously loving this site.  Not only do they have a ton of recipes to look through, they also have a section called FoodConnect Events, where you can find out if there are any food related events going on in your area.   It was through this site that I found out the is a Watermelon Festival in North Carolina this weekend that my kids would love going to.  I am going to have to ask Junior if it is close enough for a road trip.

You can also find restaurants in your area, and read reviews written by people who have eaten there.  You can also write about your own experience for other people to read.

I think this might be my new favorite website.  In fact, I think I am going print out that meatloaf recipe and add this site to my favorites.  I have to make it easy to find, because I have a feeling I will be spending a lot of time there.

How Cool Is This?

We ate at a fish camp tonight (for all you non-southerners reading...it's a seafood restaurant...I didn't know what the heck a fish camp was when I first moved to SC) and they had the coolest ships decorating the place.  Ryan went around and took a bunch of pictures, and this one is my favorite.  I love all the sails and stuff.

I wonder if i could make one of these?

Mission Menus Challenge

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Mission Foods. All opinions are 100% mine.
A few years ago, I tried out the Atkins diet.  The worst part for me was giving up bread.  Luckily, I was allowed to eat tortillas, as long as they were whole wheat.  One of my favorite lunches was to take a tortilla, and fill it with bacon, broccoli, black olives, and ranch dressing.  I know it doesn't sound like those flavors would work well together, but they really did.  In fact, even though I am no longer following that diet, I still like to eat this wrap.  Yes, it's that good.  We also eat a lot of tacos in this house, and with five of us, the soft taco shells that come in the dinner kits are never big enough, and there are never enough.  I always end up buying extra tortillas. 

Right now, though, I want to hear some of your favorite recipes using Mission Flour Tortillas.  You can even enter your favorite recipe into the Mission Menus Challenge as long as it uses Mission Flour Tortillas, is original (like mine), and can feed a family of five for $10 or less.  The grand prize winner will win round-trip airfare and hotel accommodations for two to the Mission Menus Challenge Cook-off on September 10, 2010 at the Hard Rock Café in Los Angeles.  How cool is that? They are also giving away a $10,000 dream kitchen makeover, and a bunch of other weekly prizes.  This contest runs until August 9, 2010, and you can submit your recipe online at www.missionmenuschallenge.com.

I'm thinking about entering my recipe.  I mean, I don't think you can get anymore original than broccoli and black olives.

Free Chicken

Did you sign up for your free spicy chicken sandwich from Chic-fil-A through Facebook?  I did it for all of us, except Brandi.  You had to be over 13 to print out the coupon.  Luckily, I have a coupon for a free sandwich that Ryan got from school that I am going to use for her.  We have to go tomorrow, between 2-5pm to get our sandwiches.

I hope they're good. :)

Edible Art

Can you guess what this is supposed to be?

Brandi made this when we stopped to picnic during our trip to the mountains. The pepperoni is the body, the cheese are the ears, the crackers are the head, the bits of crackers are the eyes, and the strawberry is the...

...trunk!

That's right. It's supposed to be an elephant!

I think it's pretty cute!

Yogurt

Brandi has always been my special child when it comes to food. She likes chocolate, but is the kid who still has Halloween candy in April. If we get her a happy meal, she used to put the leftovers in the pantry to eat later. (yes, in the pantry, and then I would find it and throw it away, and tell her that she needs to put leftovers in the fridge, not the pantry, but then next time she'd do the same thing...)

Anyway, she decided a few weeks ago that she no longer wants me to put sandwiches in her lunch. She wants yogurt.

Specifically, Yoplait strawberry cheesecake yogurt. She loves it! I guess I shouldn't be complaining, though. Last year, she took salad every day. Yogurt is a whole lot easier than making salads.

Is this weird for a second grader?

I Struggle

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of wellnessdaily.com. All opinions are 100% mine.

A few weeks ago, I decided that my family was going to start eating better. I started with portion control, and let me tell you, the kids were not happy. I made the same foods I normally do, but instead of everyone loading up their plates, and then going back for seconds, I gave each of us a proper sized portion, and that was it. Ryan about had a fit when one night when I threw away the extra garlic toast instead of letting him eat it. I also learned that night to only prepare what we are going to eat. Had I thought ahead, I would not have had any to throw away.

This change is only the beginning, though. With the help of www.wellnessdaily.com, I am finding other ways to help us get to healthy weights. I signed up for a free account, which gave me access to all types of resources that can help me in my quest. I found many articles related to portion control. They also link to blogs written by people who are living healthy lifestyles, and to me, they are an inspiration. I know what I want for myself and my family, and knowing where to find motivation is key. I struggle. I struggle every day. I know the choices I make impact my children, and I want, desperately, to be an inspiration to them. If I eat healthy, they will eat healthy. It's nice having somewhere I can go where I can find everything I am looking for in one place.

Sign up for yourself now, and you might be one of the 25,000 people that Jennie-O Turkey Store, sponsor of www.wellnessdaily.com, gives a rebate for the purchase price of any one product (up to $5.00).

I sure hope I am one of those people!

Sneaky, Sneaky

I love Chinese food. In fact, I could move to China and live out the rest of my life quite happily.

But, I do have one little pet peeve when it comes to Chinese restaurants. I know that different restaurants use different recipes, but i would think that a spring roll would be a spring roll, no matter where you get it. But no. That's not the case.

My favorites are the ones that have only vegetables in them, but these are hard to find. I will eat the ones that have some type of ground beef (I'm hoping it's beef) in them without complaining, but I draw the line when I find seafood in there.

Yesterday, I was craving a spring roll, so when we ran to the grocery store, I ran into the Chinese food restaurant in the same strip mall to get one. I took one bite and almost threw up. You see, I HATE seafood, and there was big ole shrimp in my spring roll. I would think that they would have to have some kind of disclaimer on their menu...I mean, what if I was allergic to shellfish? Wait, is shrimp a shellfish? No, I don't think so...but you get what I mean.

Now I know not to eat there anymore...I mean, if there is shrimp in their spring roll, who knows what's in their egg rolls!

I'm A Food Junkie

What makes a vacation memorable? Is it the excitement of visiting a new place? Is it the comfort of re-visiting a favorite destination? Is it the food?

Okay, for me it would be the food. What else would you expect from this girl? Whether it is staying in New York Hotels or fancy foreign places, if the food is bad, I will not remember that vacation fondly. It's no secret that I like to eat, and that most of my memories revolve around food. Of course. most of our vacations have been local, because we can only afford to go for a few days at a time. I would love to taste foreign cuisine, and I have been reading a lot about traveling on a tight schedule. If we planned right, we could fit a lot into a one week vacation.

I bet the food in Southeast Asia is amazing. I just hope they don't serve cat. Those rumors aren't true, are they?

Have You Ever Wondered?

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Wheat Food Council. All opinions are 100% mine.

Have you ever wondered what happens to your food before it gets on your table? We have all heard the horror stories of how hot dogs are made. I know for a fact that I do not ever want to see that documentary, because I am 100% positive that I would never touch another hot dog for the rest of my life. And I love a good hot dog.

I also love bread. I was just talking to someone last week, saying how I could live exclusively on bread, especially whole grain breads, as long as I had a variety of yummy things, like brucshetta, to put on it. I know how bread is made, but I don't know how all the ingredients are made.

Let's take, for example, wheat. I love a good whole wheat honey bread, but I have never taken the time to learn how wheat is made. Of course, I have seen wheat fields, but the whole process of harvesting and turning it into what goes into our bread is pretty neat. I know this now because I learned How Wheat Works. You can click that link right there and find out for yourself, too. This is a great website that takes you through every step of the process, and even my kids found it interesting. They were able to participate in all four steps of the "from the farm to the fork" program, and they learned a lot about wheat's nutritional value.

I want to give you a really good reason to check out this site. For each participant, the Wheat Foods Council will donate two pounds of flour, up to 90,000 pounds, to Operation Homefront, a non-profit that provides assistance to needy U.S. troops and their families. How cool is that?

So, go learn how wheat is made, and help our soldiers families in the process. Just stay away from that hot dog documentary.

Gravy, Baby

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Club House. All opinions are 100% mine.

Thanksgiving was a few weeks ago, and I had my fill of turkey. The meal on that day was delicious, and the sandwiches with the leftovers were even better. My mom went all out for our meal that day, so she has decided that for Christmas, she is going to focus on the presents and family time, and not on the cooking. I think she decided on some type of pasta, which will be yummy, too.

But, my husband wants his turkey, so I will probably be preparing one at home for my family. I have done this in the past, but I have never attempted making gravy. I always used a jarred gravy. I think this time I am going to try and make one from the turkey drippings, because watching this gravy tips video made it look so easy! Using a dried gravy mix, like Club House Gravy, takes the guess work out of gravy. These packets have the perfect blend of ingredients, and they are designed to prevent lumping. Let me share this tip with you that I learned from the video; instead of using all water with the mix, use the drippings from the turkey. Just add enough water to he drippings to equal what you need to add to the mix. This will give your gravy that from scratch taste.

How would you like to win a Club House Gravy Gift Pack? All you have to do is head to the site and fill out the newsletter sign-up and contest entry.

This is going to disappoint some of you, but this contest is only open for our Canadian friends. I know, what a bummer, because that gift pack looks really cool.

Good luck to all my Canadian readers! I hope one of you wins. If so, wanna share?

Learning About Wheat

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Wheat Food Council. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have been trying for a long time to lose weight. I have been trying to learn how to eat better, and make healthier food choices. I have been failing miserably.

The only change I have made, that I am truly enjoying, is the switch to wheat products. I have been buying wheat bread, wheat cereal, and even wheat pasta. When I heard about How Wheat Works, I knew I needed to check it out, and I am so glad that I did. The first step was registering with the site, and that was quick and easy. They asked for my name, email address, and I think the state I lived in. It took about 10 seconds to fill in the form, and then I just had to click the link in the email they sent me.

Once I was registered, I was taken on a virtual tour of how wheat goes from a seed to the food I enjoy. The tour takes you through every step of the process, and you get to see the tools and machines used for each step.

Educational information is given out with each phase, and I really enjoyed learning about wheat. I can honestly say that I learned a lot, and am going to have the kids do the tour as well. The best part is that for every participant who joins, the Wheat Foods Council will donate two pounds of flour, up to 90,000 pounds, to Operation Homefront, a non-profit that provides assistance to needy U.S. troops and their families. How cool is that? By learning about a healthy food, you are helping to put food in the mouths of people who need it.

You can also become a fan on Facebook and twtter.

Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods

I made these today. Last night I put peanut butter on the pretzels, and stuck them in the fridge to harden. This morning I put them in the molds and covered them with the chocolate. The only thing that stinks is that I didn't read the package, and this black chocolate is actually vanilla flavored, not chocolate. I tasted one, though, and they are still pretty good. They don't look pretty, but it's more important how they taste, right???

Stouffer's Giveaway

The kids go back to school in less than a week. There are so many reasons why this makes me happy, the main one being that I will save money on groceries. For the past few years, my kids have qualified for free lunch. This means that they can eat breakfast and lunch at school, and it won't cost me anything. Brandi likes to bring a salad for lunch every day, but that is simple and cheap.

Since I no longer have to feed three kids two meals every day, I can start buying my favorite lunches again, which are Lean Cuisines. My favorite is the spinach and mushroom pizza, but I am always willing to try their newest varieties. Stouffers has recently put out four new varieties of their panini's, and I can honestly say that they look and sound delicious. I have eaten their panini's in the past, but not how I should. Instead of putting the two pieces of bread together, making a sandwich, I eat each piece by itself. Talk about yummy!

To celebrate the new Stouffers-panini varieties, they are having an awesome giveaway. You could win one of the three Grand Prizes, which is the choice of an India, Greece, Italy or France destinations ($10, 000 Gift Card), one of twelve second place prizes, which is a Sony Digital Camcorder ($500 value), or you could win a daily prize of free Stouffer's products coupons. You can register here for a free entry, and then use a unique UPC code every day to enter again. The only downside is that the contest is only open to Canadian residents. I happen to have a few Canadian friends, so I wish them all the best of luck.

Who's Your Choice?

I love Food Network. I love reality shows. Put the two together, and I am hooked.

The Next Food Network Star began a few weeks ago, and up until last Sunday, I didn't really have a favorite. Then Melissa pulled off the best dish of the night, winning the cover of a magazine that I can not for the life of me remember the name of. I loved that she had ingredients she has never used before, tasted them, and made an awesome dish. I love her authenticity, how she is what she is. A little too perky sometimes? Sure.

But that's not always a bad thing.

If you're watching, who do you want to win?

Pizza Bites

You all know Junior works at The Home Depot. Since he quit smoking....it's been over a month...he likes to read magazines during his lunch break. He found this recipe in one of them, and it looked good, so we tried it tonight.

You need to take chilled pizza dough (I used a tube) and cut it into little squares.
Place the squares over the tops of mini muffin pans.
I learned the hard way that you should spray the pans with non-stick spray first.

Add mozzarella cheese and pepperoni.

Fold the corners into the center, pinching closed.

Bake at 425* for 10 minutes, and you get these:

They were so good! The recipe called for adding sauce into the cups, but Kasi doesn't like sauce, so we just served it on the side for dipping. It was very tedious filling every cup, but well worth it. I now have a new appetizer, or finger food, for the kids Halloween party!

New Cheese

I found this new flavored cheese when I was food shopping the other day. I love sun dried tomatoes, so I figured I would give it a try. For lunch today, I had a grilled cheese sandwich, made with this cheese and bakery fresh sourdough bread.

One word...YUM!

Junior got a bacon cheddar version, but I haven't tried that one. He liked it, though. Maybe tomorrow for lunch I will have a grilled cheese with that one...

Dipping Sauce Debate

Tonight we went to a certain fast food place to eat supper. We eat here at least once a month, and the kids love it. I, on the other hand, am getting so tired of the employees treating us like we are an inconvenience. I have worked fast food for years, and know that you are supposed to make the customers feel welcome, so that they will come back. I wanted to suggest to the owners that they get some 360 degree software so that they can evaluate their employees, and teach them how to interact with the customers. Asking for a ranch dipping sauce should not start a debate about whether or not you purchased chicken. They charge you for it either way, so why does it matter?