Meatless Fridays: Beyond Cheese Pizza and the Fish Fry

Ah, Lent. A time when a mom's fancy turns to "what the heck am I going to feed these kids on Friday?"

Growing up, Adam said his mom always served Kraft Mac and Cheese or cheese pizza on Friday. He

That's chopped cucumbers, tomatoes,
and shallots with olive oil, salt and pepper

suggested I do the same for the Herd and I gave him a look that clearly said, "No." I am not a Kraft mac and cheese fan, nor do I wish to spend every Friday during Lent eating the same foods. The local Knight of Columbus Fish Fry is yummy but it can get pricey and has the added challenge of taking the Herd out to dinner. (Translation: We never get to sit down and eat.)

With those in mind, I set out to find lots of good, meatless dinners that we would enjoy outside of Lent too! Thanks to my friends at NPN, I complied this list to make your Lenten menu planning easy!

1. Breakfast for dinner- leave out the bacon and enjoy toast, eggs, waffles, pancakes and more! Make homemade hash browns. Have an omelet bar. Add chocolate or fruit to the pancakes to perk them up.

2. Fruit or veggie pancakes- Think beyond basic white flour pancakes. Like pumpkin? Try yummy pumpkin pancakes. Fry up zuchinni pancakes- you know you have plenty left in the freezer from your summer garden!

3. Pesto Pasta- sop up the pesto with homemade bread (or any bread really... Fridays are meatless, not carb less!)

4. Alfredo pasta- add lots of veggies to the sauce to make it nice and filling!

5. We love this tomato basil soup. I use Fleur the immersion blender to blend the veggies before stirring in the white sauce. Add grilled cheese and oh. my. gosh, you'll want to eat this every day! (If you don't want to use chicken broth, use veggie or just plain water and up the herbs. So good!)

6. Baked mac and cheese- especially good if your Friday is particularly cold and snowy! There are loads of different recipes on Pinterest.  I looked but could not find a recipe similar to the one I make, which does NOT require you to bake the noodles before cooking. I need to write it out for the blog!

7. Stovetop mac and cheese- make your own cheese sauce and mix in the pasta. Add veggies if you like.

8. Skip the chicken, add another egg or two and make fried rice.

9. Risotto 

10. Quinoa Chili- This recipe has chicken in it but I've left out the chicken and it was still so yummy! We served it with cornbread.

11. A baked potato bar- Did you know you can bake potatoes in the slow cooker? You can! My husband says the texture is off but it is great way to make a healthy, inexpensive meal quickly. We serve them with leftover (meatless) chili, cheese and BBQ sauce.

12. Tuna salad- Lent would be incomplete without tuna. Forget Tuna Helper because, um, ew. Get some yummy bread, chips (if you haven't given up hunk food) and pickles and make a high class meal out of that can of dolphin safe tuna.

13. Cheese or veggie lasagna- Our secret family recipe involves... Stouffers. Make your own but really... Stouffers is good too.

14. Quinoa Black Bean Bowls. For most Catholics, it seems that cheese or fish are the main sources of protein during Lent. Why not quinoa? It's good, good for you, easy to prepare AND has tons of protien. It needs to ROCK those Friday night tables!

15. Quesadillas- Yes, there's cheese but what about sweet potato and black bean? No, it's not gross. I promise!

16. Get the veggies you love, the pasta you adore and mix up this baked penne with roasted vegetables. Meat? What meat?

17. Kale and ricotta stuffed shells

18. Pumpkin pasta with peas and ricotta salata

19. Stuffed Summer Squash

20. Maple Dijon Salmon- I am not a seafood fan but I might try this dish recipe! Yum!

21. Tuna Noodle Casserole- This isn't your grandmother's tuna casserole!

22. Meatless Lentil Tacos- Lentils make an excellent ground meat substitute! I've made lentil sloppy joes, lentil tacos and lentil chili. You simply adjust your seasonings to what you are making! Even my "I don't like lentils" eaters like this.

23. Cashew and chickpea quinoa with peanut ginger sauce- As I said before, use that quinoa! Make this the Lent of Quinoa!

24. Quinoa and sweet potato meatless meatballs- In addition to eating these with pasta I bet they would make excellent meatless meatball subs!

25. Black bean veggie burgers 

Bonus! Okay, you say, but what do I serve my kids for lunch? I know, I know. My boys love their turkey hot dogs and chicken nuggets... which is better than the whole "I will not eat anything for lunch and have a hunger induced meltdown" that went on for... too long.

So, lunch. Here's a couple quick and easy lunch ideas that you can pack for school or whip up easily at home:

1. Cold cereal and milk- Yep, even in school lunches. My kids take the cereal of their choice in a plastic container and buy milk. Add some fruit, maybe a veggie, and a treat and you have lunch.

2. Some spreadable something and jelly/honey- Use almond butter or peanut butter and you have the classic kids lunch.

3. Plain pasta- add cheese in another container and sauce in yet another, just to keep things from getting soggy in the lunch box.

4. A "dip" lunch- hummus with pita chips and veggies. Peanut butter with apples, carrots, pretzels and celery. Ranch dip with... anything.

Menu Plan Monday: Week of June 3rd

Been awhile since I did a Menu Plan Monday so here it goes! With Summer Break upon us, I have four mouths to feed all day long. When the older two are home, they seem to think it is a free-for-all snack fest. I beg to differ and I get seriously tired of picking up popsicle wrappers everywhere! They can and do make their own snacks but they lack the ability to clean up after themselves without copious amounts of nagging... so I'm laying the smack down on "we all want different snacks at different times and each snack requires 30 minutes of prep and clean up EACH!"

(They are also getting schooled on chores and clean up this summer. I know, so mean yeah?)

Anyway, this weeks menu plan for the insanely cold summer break:

Breakfast: cereal, PB toast or oatmeal and vats of coffee.

Morning snack: peanut butter crackers that Adam got a really good deal on at Wal-Mart

Lunch:
M:ramen noodles and fruit
T: grilled cheese, celery sticks, carrots
W: Pasta (plain with cheese), veggies, fruit
Th: Out to eat since we have dr appointments and speech all around lunchtime
Fri: Peanut butter and honey and fruit

Afternoon snack: crackers, some form of protein (cheese or PB) and fruit

Dinner:
M: Spicy Avocado Chicken Enchiladas. I plan to make them not-spicy since we are weenies.
T: potato bar (cheese, leftover BBQ, etc)
W: Mexican Casserole
Th: Spaghetti
F: Grilled hamburger wraps (grilled on the George Forman grill, not outside)
Sides are always fresh fruits and veggies.
Weekend: Adam grills or we have leftovers

Drinks: always water, sometimes milk, unsweet iced tea, sparkling water, sometimes juice.

Menu Plan Monday: Thanksgiving

About a week before Thanksgiving, I make sure the family empties out the fridge so we have room to defrost two turkeys. This leads to some interesting meals around here!

Our Thanksgiving dinner doesn't look like the traditional Thanksgiving dinner portrayed on TV. For one, we hate green bean casserole. My husband doesn't like mashed potatoes, so he makes twice baked potatoes. We are all lukewarm on stuffing and I am the only one who eats pumpkin pie, so I make pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies instead!

Saturday: cornflake chicken
Sunday: pancakes and eggs
Monday: pizza
Tuesday: George's birthday so we are having spaghetti!
Wends: leftovers/cereal
Thursday:
grilled turkey
twice baked potatoes
sweet potatoes (mashed, I think. The kids and Adam aren't huge sweet potato fans so I make just one or two for myself)
Rolls (I have a special recipe that I make for Christmas and Thanksgiving. The original recipe is from my aunt's mother-in-law and I HAVE to have them!)
bacon and brown sugar green beans. (We hate the casserole!)
stuffing
oatmeal and white chocolate pumpkin cookies
apple crisp
pumpkin snickerdoodles

What is on the menu at your house?

Menu/recipes: Smoothies

I normally do not do smoothies. Green smoothies are all the rage and I just cannot drink something that is GREEN or tastes like pureed spinach. In fact, cooked greens are one of the few foods I will not eat. In a salad, fine. Cooked in something? No. No way.

But I need the benefits from them, so I finally managed to make a "green but not in color" smoothie. I use a knock off Magic Bullet which works great, even if it is loud and slow. Yes, it's a pain in the rear to drag everything out of the fridge and make it but it's good for me and with two medical professional breathing down my neck to loose weight... yeah.

I suppose I shouldn't have eaten a donut with this, though, huh?

In your Magic Bullet, blender, food processor or whatever, put:

a handful of kale
1-2 cubes of Trader Joe's green juice. (I buy the bottle, freeze the juice in ice cube trays and then put all the cubes in a baggie in the freezer)
1-2 tablespoons of plain greek yogurt
1 tablespoon flax seed
1-2 tablespoons frozen OJ concentrate
frozen mixed berries- blueberries, raspberries, etc. This makes the smoothie NOT green!
almond milk

Blend together. When it is well blended, add more almond milk, if desired, and blend until smooth. I have also need know to add the "leftover" pureed fruit from Cole's fruit pouches. This adds a but more fruit to the smoothie and the pouch doesn't go to waste.

Menu/Recipe Monday: Banana Zucchini Muffins

One of my favorite cookbooks is an old copy of  More With Less Cookbook. I was at a thrift store with a friend when she spied it in a pile of books. She thrust it at me, telling me I had to buy it because she had a copy and loved it. It was less than a dollar, so I really couldn't go wrong!

It's a great little cookbook that explains how to stretch a dollar and has simple recipes for everything. My copy is from the 1970's so it does wax poetic about the virtues of margarine, "salad oil," soy flour and dry milk. I just make some simple changes to what we know now is healthier (coconut or olive oil, butter, etc) and the recipes still taste great and save me money.

Since zucchini grows like a wees, there are, of course, zucchini recipes throughout the book. All we seem to grow in our backyard garden are zucchinis and we always have leftover bananas in the freezer, so I modified the Zucchini Bread recipe to come up with this.

Preheat the oven to 350.

Line a muffin tin with paper or foil liners, if desired. If not, grease the cups well.

In a large mixing bowl, combine:

3 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 frozen bananas, thawed enough so you can beat them with the rest of the ingredients
2 cups shredded zucchini
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup olive oil
1 T vanilla

Beat together well.

In another bowl, shift:

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1 T flax seed
1 tea baking soda
1 tea. baking powder
3 tea cinnamon (I used more because we like cinnamon and I think the whole wheat flour and flax seed mask the taste of spices)

Add to the wet mixture and mix until just blended. Spoon into muffin cups and bake for about 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.

(Check this- I baked these with other breads and the time  might have been different. I know it wasn't anywhere near the full hour it took for the bread, though!)

Menu Plan Monday: Best of Pinterest

I don't know why I bother to cook in the summer. Our AC is old and too small to heat the house. Our trees aren't very big and don't provide enough shade. Since we live on The Surface of the Sun (aka, the Midwest in the summer!) it's hot. Really hot. Like, "I don't want to eat or drink or move" hot.

Okay, so we do eat and I really push the water on the kids but I will admit, I let them eat Popsicles for breakfast. And maybe as part of lunch and snack too. To add to the sugar duo, they live off fruit but I am doing whatever I can to get enough fluids in them.

Of course, our zucchini plants are in overdrive, so we have been eating sliced zucchini with homemade ranch dip. I plan to try Zuchinni Chips this weekend. I made Zucchini Pizza by layering round sliced of zucchini with pizza sauce, cheese and fresh basil. Adam actually begged me to make it again!

Until very, very recently George has been addicted to chocolate milk. The bottle stuff is expensive, especially if you by it organic to avoid HFCS. (I don't care if the bottle is labeled organic, it is still a processed food and bleeech but whatever. The kids like his chocolate milk.) I found a recipe for Homemade Chocolate Syrup and BOY is that stuff GOOD. I used Hershey's Dark Chocolate powder MAN. I could eat it right out of the mason jar!

One of Trader Joe's best selling items is their orange chicken. I don't blame people for buying it as it is quick, easy and GOOD. I throw it in the oven with some frozen veggies and then add cooked rice and the kids eat it up. Only... it takes 2 bags to feed us and so it isn't as  cheap as feeding a family of four, like they advertised. When I found this Slow Cooker Orange Chicken recipe, I immediately pinned it for future use. I tried it this past week and the kids loved it! I too made it a little too orange-y but otherwise, no complaints!

I'm still on the lookout for more zuchinni recipes and maybe some pumpkin too. It looks like the only thing we can grow around here is squash!

Menu Plan Monday: Week of May 7

Here's our menu of the week of May 7. I'm including May 5th and 6th in here just because!

Saturday, May 5- tacos. Of course! I want to double or triple the meat mixture and freeze some for the coming week.
Sunday, May 6- ????
Monday, May 7- cheese tortellini with peas and roasted broccoli
Tuesday: kids eat free at Chik-fil-a. No judging! ;) I honestly have no idea how I will cook that day since we have back to back doctor's appointments and TKD all day long!
Wends: taco cupcakes with lettuce, tomatoes, salsa and guacamole for toppings.
Thursday- jumbo shells with kale. I'm trying to work more kale into our diet!
Friday: egg "cupcakes" from the freezer with muffins and fruit.

Now, for a recipe...

After Joseph's First Communion party I had tons of fresh broccoli sitting around. I didn't want it to go to waste but the kids don't eat alot of raw broccoli either. I googled and search Pinterest and then came up with my own recipe for

Roasted Broccoli

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Take a large head of fresh broccoli and cut into bite sized pieces. I trimmed off alot of the stems since the kids don't like them. Place in a single layer in a 9 by 13 in pan. Chop/dice/mince some garlic and throw it in there. Sprinkle some salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle or spray some olive oil on the veggies and toss to coat. Sprinkle a handful of whole wheat bread crumbs over the broccoli and toss, making sure the pieces are covered. Sprinkle on some Parmesan cheese. Toss to coat.

Place in the oven for 20 minutes, stirring about half way through. They are done when they are crisp-tender and a little brown. Good just like this or with bacon bits too!

Menu Plan Monday- Week of April 30

It's been a long time since I have posted our menu plan! We've been super busy with baseball, First Communion and life in general. Cole especially has become a busy little bear- I never know what table I will find him "dancing" on next! And, boy oh boy, can that kid destroy! The contents of many of my drawers and cabinets are on my kitchen counters because he likes to pull everything out and then run away, laughing manically. Heh. Good thing he has his Daddy's curly hair and big blue eyes!

So, this week:
Sunday: grilled hamburgers and potatoes
Monday: leftover ham, twice baked potatoes and roasted broccoli
Tuesday: chicken Parmesan bake
Wednesday: slow cooker cheeseburger sloppy joes
Thursday: baked mac and cheese
Friday: baked potatoes made in the slow cooker

It's our busy season, where baseball bumps with our normal activities of CCD and TKD. While we do eat out, we are (once again) trying to cut back. I don't want to run to fast food several times a week, so our slow cooker is earning its keep.

Menu Plan Monday: week of Feb 5

Super bowl Sunday: mis-match of leftovers and sandwiches
Monday: Asian chicken and broccoli with brown rice. Nope, this is not a whole food thing, strictly speaking, since it uses Kraft Asian Sesame dressing. I have leftover brown rice, so that will make dinner quick!
Tuesday: either a double batch of zesty chicken tortilla bake (one for tonight and one to freeze) or stuffed parm. chicken with asparagus
Wends: pasta and sausage
Thursday: quiche with zucchini
Friday: marinated baked chicken with potatoes and veggies

I am failing at this 100 days of real food thing. Thankfully, I am starting a new health plan with my chiropractor (more details later) which I hope will help. I am only half joking when I say that I should take up running for Lent. I HATE running, so it will be a real sacrifice!

What will 150 a week get you?

I had to make a quick trip to Wal Mart this afternoon. I have new contacts and needed a new eye drop solution for them... and, of course, 40 dollars worth of other stuff for Camille's party and random crud. Isn't that how places like WM and Target work? You can never walk out with just ONE thing!

When we were in there, I ran into a friend. She is a coupon clipper and was doing her weekly run of four different stores to get items she needed. She proudly (and rightly so) told me that she averages 50 dollars a week on food for a family of four.

I am impressed. It's hard work to clip those coupons, travel to different stores for the deals and pick up only what you need. She offered a few tips and I offered some of mine. She shops at stores and I do alot of on-line shopping. (Amazon is my friend for things like Charlie's Soap.) Then she showed me what she looks for deals on because that's what they eat alot of.: canned soup and canned Pillsbury bread products.

Oh.

Now, don't get me wrong, we ALL buy what we can afford and what we like and what our kids will eat. I used to buy and eat alot of canned soup and I do love me some canned rolls. A few years ago, though, I realized that canned soup is a food unitasker. It can be used for one thing and one thing only- as soup. It was cheaper and healthier to buy soup fixings (like chicken breasts, veggies, broth) and make soup to freeze in protions. Chicken breasts can be used in soup, stir fry, baked as a main dish, in casseroles, etc. In short, soup ingredidents are a multitasker so I would get more bang for my buck out of them.

Plus, all canned food has BPA in it, no matter what is in the can. It is important to lower our exposure to BPA so a high soduim unitasker food with BPA needed to leave our cupboards.

I do try to buy whole foods in their natural form and cook from scratch. I have to shop around and look for deals but I don't typically clip coupons. I've found that most coupons are for things we don't eat, like canned soup. Many times, even with coupons, store brands are cheaper. We have a nice Aldi near us and I swear their cereal is the same as the name brand cereal at the supermarket. When it is under 3 dollars a box and tastes the same, I refuse to pay mega prices for a unitasker food. (Plus, my kids need more than just cereal for breakfast before school, so cereal is normally a weekend breakfast food or a snack.)

So what DO we buy? Every week we buy:

• fresh fruit and veggies. I buy organic potatoes at Trader Joe's because the conventional ones at other stores seem to go bad really fast. We go through alot of garlic, for some reason, and baby carrots. Other than that, we buy what is in season.
• Frozen veggies. If we see a good deal, we stock up.
• milk. We use about three gallons a week.
• string cheese. This is another Tader Joe's purchase and we buy two packages a week.
• Butter, yogurt, sour cream and cottage cheese. Sometimes all of these, sometimes none- depends on what the kids are into eating.
• pasta. We eat whole wheat pasta for quick dinners, or lunch. Whole wheat organic pasta is about 1.39 a bag at Trader Joe's. Whole wheat pasta is also very cheap at Aldi and both places sell white pasta for around 99 cents a package.
• bread. We buy 3-4 loaves a week and freeze them. We also buy two rolls of bagels and, lately, English muffins.
• Eggs.
• Any meat we need for the week. We buy beef in bulk and eat alot of chicken. Depending on when we hit up the deals, we might only have to buy chicken every 2-3 weeks.
• canned tomato products. If I am shopping, I get them at TJ. If Adam is shopping, he gets them at Aldi.
• juice. Sometimes and mostly in the winter.
• dried fruit. Mostly mangoes but sometimes dried bananas.
• any spices or baking supplies I need, including white and whole wheat flour.
• any snack foods we might need, like cereal bars.
• peanut butter

(This list may vary slightly depending on what is in the cupboard, what I have on the menu for the week and if anything we normally use is on sale and I need to stock up.)

Every few weeks we buy:

• cereal, mostly at Aldi but we love TJ's cheerios!
• 2 gallons of vinegar. Sam's sells 2 gallons for just over 3 dollars. Plain white distilled vinegar is our cleaning solution (bathrooms, kitchen and floors) and our fabric softener. I like that it is safe, good for the kids and good for the environment.
•  meat, depending on what is on sale.
• stock up on carbonated water at TJ's, since I can't drink soda and Adam is trying to drink less
• an order of Charlie's Soap from Amazon
• buy overnight diapers and Easy Ups from Amazon.
• get shredded cheddar cheese and shredded mozzarella cheese from Sam's.
• baking mixes. Next on my list of things to make at home is pancake and waffle mix.
• dishwasher soap. I am trying homemade soap and failing!
• Dr. Bronners. It's five dollars cheaper at TJ's than anywhere else.
• multi vitamins for myself
• the odd roll of paper towels for the "OMG, the dog threw up!!!" moment.
• toothpaste and shampoo for the kids and Adam.

Every few months we buy:

• olive oil from Sam's.
• baking soda. With vinegar, I used this as a cleaning scrub in addition to baking.
• essential oils. To be honest, I can't remember the last time i bought some and I still have plenty of lavender, orange and Tea Tree Oil in the house. They are pricey but a little goes a LONG way!
• toliet paper
• baby wipes. I use these for everything!
• an order of multi and fish vitamins for the kids. I buy 2-3 packs on Amazon, so one order lasts awhile!
• beef from a local butcher. We buy this about once a year.
• hair products for me. I use Beauty without Cruelty and order in bulk.
• personal care products for my husband and myself. Again, we order or buy in bulk, so those last us awhile.

I honestly think our biggest money saver comes from using cloth diapers, cloth kitchen towels, rags and napkins and cooking alot of our products from scratch. While I don't make our own bread, I do make our own rolls. This is something I enjoy, so the time and labor is worth it to me. To another family, it might be worth their time and energy to buy nicer breads or, perhaps, the canned rolls. That's okay; different strokes and all.

When I went down the laundry asile at WM to buy washing machine cleaner, I was struck by the overpowering smells. That's another huge money saver in our house; the lack of commercial cleaning supplies. It's not that I don't clean, it's that I don't clean with oddles of chemicals. I bought a spray bottle at the dollar store (the repurposed bottle I had been using for 3 years finally died) and filled it with vinegar, water and EOs. That is my cleaner for counters, cabniets, the kitchen and bathroom. When I really need to deep clean sinks, I sprinkle baking soda in there, spray some of the cleaner on top of it and after a few moments, rinse and scrub with HOT water. When just a little wipe down is needed, I squirt some dish soap on a rag and wipe down the counters. Wood is cleaned with a teeny amount of olive oil (always spot test first) and a microfiber towel. (I've also been known to use old socks, soft torn up t-shirts and, yes, old underwear!) The only commerial cleaners we buy are window cleaner (haven't found a good homemade one yet), kid and pet stain remover for the "OMG, the dog puked!!!!" moments and toliet bowl wands. (I refuse to have a reusable one around the house. Do you KNOW what my kids would do with one?!) Everything else that they try to convince you that you need, like lysol spray, antibacterial wipes, we don't need. When Georgie was a newborn, yes, we used those. Now, I don't feel like we need the heavy duty cleaners and that we are healthier when we aren't breathing in all those chemicals.

Throw in the odd ingredient, random craving for crackers and speciality item and there you have it. That's all the stuff I include in our 150 a week to keep us fed, happy and healthy.

Menu Plan Monday: Week of Jan. 29 and recipe

Sunday: Garlic Parm Chicken. I had this on the menu for the past week but we had so many leftovers, I didn't bother to make it. We had a leftover night instead.

Monday: Chicken Black Bean Casserole with a side of veggies or salad.

Tuesday: Slow cooker potato soup. I plan on halving the recipe.

Wends: Alfredo chicken and veggie pasta. I have cooked chicken in the freezer to use up and I make my own alfredo sauce from Kraft.com.

Thurs: ?????

Friday: Hamburgers and garlicky fries. We made the fries last week and they were really good! They were a bit too peppery for my kids, so I plan on cutting back on the pepper but they ate them!

****
We had a couple food surprises in the past few weeks. I have made it my mission to get quiona into my family. Cole will eat it plain, with veggies and some meat but the other kids say they don't like it. Adam claims to not like the texture. However, I found this recipe for Broccolie Quiona Casserole and they LIKE IT. They EAT it. And we even brought it to a pot luck and it was gone before we made it through the line. I did make some adjustments to it but the basic recipe is the same.


3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour (white or whole wheat)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup chicken broth
4-5 tablespoons cup mayonnaise (low fat works fine as does miracle whip)
1 1/4 cups shredded cheese (cheddar, colby-jack, etc)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 cups cooked broccoli (I used the steam in the bag version, cooked in the microwave)

1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, or other cheeses

First, cook the quinoa. Rinse 3/4 cup quinoa in a fine sieve until water runs clear. In a small saucepan combine the quinoa,1 1/2 cups water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and cover. Cook for 18-20 minutes, or until fluffy. (Note: Keep the ratios similar and make a double or triple batch. Quiona keeps well stored in the fridge and is easily mixed with foods like plain veggies and meat for q quick meal. It's a nice, high protien alternative to rice too.)

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small sauce pan. When metled, whisk in the flour until thick. Add the milk and chicken broth, whisking until combined and thick. Allow to cool. (You can also used canned cream of ___ here. The orginal recipe calls for cream of mushroom or celery. I used the homemade cream of chicken recipe but a plain cream of ____ with one cup of milk instead of the milk and chicken broth would work well.)

Lightly cook the broccoli. I used frozen "cook in the bag" broccoli and steamed it in the microwave. You don't want to cook it well done; if it's still a touch cold, that's okay. It will cook through in the oven. If the bag calls for 4-6 minutes, I cooked it for four.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and coat a shallow (8×8 in or 5-6 cups) casserole dish with olive oil cooking spray.
In a large bowl combine the cooled soup, mayonnaise, milk, shredded cheese, pepper, until well mixed. Stir in the quinoa and broccoli.

Spoon mixture into prepared dish. Sprinkle on a couple tablespoons of Parmesan (or other cheeses) and bake for 35-40 minutes or until bubbly on the edges. Makes 8 generous 1/2-cup servings.

(End note: I've used miracle whip in a pinch and it turned out fine.)

Menu Plan Monday/100 Days of Real Food

Welll... last week and real food did not go so well. I broke my "no french fries" streak and had some major, major cravings. And I was tired, crabby, etc. You get the idea.

BUT dinners went pretty well. Left to my own devices, I don't do so hot so lunch and snacks are normally hard for me. I plan out dinners really well, so those are nice, healthy and all whole food-y. I have tried to plan lunches but that hasn't worked for us so far.

Last week (1/15)
Sunday- Dinner with my in-laws. We had ham and potatos
Monday: tacos. I made mine into a taco salad
Tuesday- CFA to use up a coupon
Wends- slow cooker chicken soup
Thursday: chili and cornbread
Saturday- church pot luck

Week of 1/22:
Sunday- ranch chicken. Not a whole food meal exactly, but pretty good and everyone LOVED it!
Monday- slow cooker veggie soup
Tuesday- garlicy bread crumb and parm chicken
Wends- Spaghetti with meatballs
Thursday- slow cooker french dip
Friday- Camille's choice- she is six!
Saturday- out at a friend's house/ kids have pizza with my parents.

100 days of Real Food/ Jan Unprocessed Update

I began my January Real Foods Challenge on Jan. 1. Since then, I have been pretty strict about what I eat. I have cut the kids some  slack (we went out for fast food a couple times) but I've been holding myself to my "rules."

For breakfast I have been eating either Cheerios (Trader Joe's version, which I like better than the name brand!), whole wheat toast with peanut butter, oatmeal (plain with milk) or a whole foods chocolate shake. I always drink coffee with milk and if I want creamer, I have been making my own vanilla creamer from Deliciously Organic. It's simple and takes very little time. The bread comes from Aldi or a simple, 100 per cent whole wheat bread from Deliciously Organic. I eat the bread I make all the time, but the kids and Adam seem to prefer it as a side with lunch or dinner. I've tried ALOT of whole wheat bread recipes and this one is a winner because it requires items I have in my house anyway, can be made in the Kitchen Aide or food processor and doesn't take all day to rise and bake.

Now, with this "real food thing" I want recipes that are kid friendly, have ingredients that are easy to find and don't cost a fortune. Baked Cheesy Penne fits the bill, although I did make some changes. I also tried the Chickpea Penne from the same website. This was NOT a hit. I think it would a nice side dish for a pot luck but my family didn't like it and they were all still hungry afterwards.

Another hit, and super simple to make, was the chicken enchiladas from 100 Days of Real Food.I had made a whole chicken in the slow cooker two night before, so I used the leftovers in this dish. Because we are a family of six, with one child who eats more than most adults, the recipe made one large casserole for all of us. The leftovers reheated well too.

When we went out this week, I had a salad and fresh iced tea (McDonald's) and a grilled chicken sandwich, side salad and tea (Chik Fil A). Normally I am badbadbad about stealing nuggets and fries from the kids but not this week. Not.even.one and MAN did it take will power! I told Adam I wanted a reward for that. He suggested CFA waffle fries. Evil Man! I will admit I was hungry Sunday when we went to McDonald's for a post-Mass play date with Cole's godparents and their kids. I had a large tea and a parfait. I know the yogurt has alot of sugar in it but it was probably a better choice than other items. Anyway, I scarfed leftovers when we got home!

We've been sticking to a budget of 175 a week for six people. This does not include beef, since we buy in bulk from a butcher but does include toiletries and cleaning supplies. Even with our increased veggie and fruit intake (including juice, since a variety of fruits are hard to come by in the winter) we've been sticking to this and doing well.

This week is a simple eating week (I'll post the menu later) and we're easing back into our routine. Christmas decor is down and the kids are happy to be in school again. I'm happily staying busy cooking and hanging out with my baby Bear.

(not quite) 100 Days of Real Food/Unprocessed Food Challenge

(Enter the giveaway here!)

Over seven years ago, when Joseph was a baby who was just beginning solids, we made some major changes to our diets. I knew/know I wanted my kids to eat healthy and love fruits, veggies and whole grains. I also knew, first hand, how a child's diet can affect them in the classroom. That is, the kids who ate the worst tended to have the worst behavior and grades. NOT something I want/ed for my kid!

Much to Adam's chagrin, I switched us to whole wheat pasta and breads. Adam was a huge fan of things like Wonder white bread, Jiff PB and Kraft Mac and cheese. While I like those things (except for the Wonder White Bread!) I knew they were NOT the best thing to feed my baby. Sure, once in a while they wouldn't hurt, but all the time? No.

I began slowly, but making our pasta one part whole wheat to 3 parts white. I looked for "natural" peanut butters. At first, Adam gave a big fat NO to the "no stir" kind. Through trail and error, we found a natural, no stir style we liked; now, six years later, our taste buds have changed and we all like Trader Joe's natural PB. We cut out and way,way back on foods with HFCS. Thanks to migraine headaches, we don't have any "sugar free" items in the house save some diet soda. I discovered I can cook (not super well but I haven't killed anyone yet!) and invested in some nice kitchen appliances when our older ones died.

Our diet certainly isn't perfect. My kids know and love McDonald's. I know and love Chik Fil A. We will never be the type of family who drives to 12 different farmers for their foods. We aren't urban homesteaders and I don't can. I DO have a deep freezer and will make and freeze foods but canning is beyond me.

BUT for January, we are going to try to eat minimally processed foods. The blog, 100 Days of Real Food, has a set of rules but the Walden Herd is going to whip them up for our own purposes:

1. The children don't have to adhere to "real foods" at birthday parties and the like. I refuse to be that mother who totes her own treats to birthday parties and celebrations. One piece of Sam's Club cake won't ruin them. All things in moderation.

2. We can eat fresh or frozen fruits and veggies. Not canned. It's the dead of winter in the midwest and, as far as I know, no CSAs are running. There is an organic food delivery service but it is very expensive and very little of the food is local. I am trying to serve two kinds of veggies for dinner.

3. A budget of 175 a week for a family of six. This includes vitamins, toiletries and household items, like laundry soap, paper towels and diapers. (The little dudes are in disposables at night and G wears disposables to school.) It also includes eating out. I have doubled some recipes already and eating out of our freezer doesn't count against us.
4. Foods bought at the store must contain reasonable ingredients. Pretzels that are flour, salt, water, etc are fine. Salsa that is just seasonings and veggies is fine. No HFCS or artificial anythings. Anything that can't be found in the basic kitchen (a friend calls this the "kitchen test") is a no-no.

5. When we eat out, we need to make the best choices possible- no fried foods, no sugar loaded treats, etc.

6. Very little white flour and natural sugars, as much as possible.

7. I will continue to shop mostly at Trader Joe's, Aldi, Sam's and Wal Mart. The prices at Whole Foods are too high for us and I want to see if this can work WITHOUT shopping of tons of all natural or specialty stores.

While many people claim that low fat or non fat dairy products and animal fat ARE part of a healthy diet (and while I can see their point), I will continue to buy and use low fat dairy and to trim the fat off our meats, especially beef. Eating animal fats requires moderation, something I lack. Because I can see myself over eating all that, I can't yet bring myself to "allow" full fat dairy and meats. It's me, honestly, not you!

What am I giving up? Sonic happy hour, store bought bread, store bought coffee creamer, Starbucks, many bread product at store like (sob!) Panera, sneaking french fries off the kids' plates.... you get the idea.

So, what is on the menu? I just sat down and planned for the coming week and a half, which includes New Year's Day, my husband returning to work and the kids returning to school.

Dinners:
Pancakes (from a mix) and fruit. I will probably double the pancake recipe and freeze some for breakfast. When we use up the mixes I have, I'll make pancakes from scratch but currently most of the mixes we have are fairly natural.

slow cooker chicken tacos with toppings

Korean Slow Cooker ribs with brown rice and some sort of veggie side

out to eat at a local deli that has alot of organic, whole grain options

Baked Cheesburger Penne

Broccoli chickpea Penne

Slow cooker whole chicken with a salad and bread. I will make stock from the leftover chicken bone and bits and hopefully have enough meat for another dinner.

Spaghetti with sauce, either pesto, peanut or tomato

chicken enchiladas

I need to do some baking and use my new Kitchen Aide gadgets I got for Christmas!
Everyday whole wheat bread
rosemary olive oil bread

and possibly

whole wheat hamburger buns/rolls
muffins

Busy week ahead of us... let's see how this goes!

Weekly Menu Plan

I don't post it often, but I do menu plan every week. In the summer, I also plan for lunch, although that is very flexible. Since someone on NPN asked, here it is:

Breakfast is always toast, bagels, or cereal.

Monday:
Lunch: sandwhiches, lunch meat rolls ups
Dinner: hamburgers, whole wheat buns, toppings, sliced cucumber, sliced zuchinni, sweet corn on the cob

Tuesday:
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: chicken and zucchinni skillet

Wends
Lunch: hot dogs/ peanut butter and honey
Dinner: pool party for baseball

Thursday:
Lunch: mac and cheese/ hot dogs
Dinner: sausage, pasta and veggies (chicken, cheese and spinach brats, cooked, and tossed with pasta and veggies from our garden)

Friday
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: frozen pizza for the kids and Chipolte for us. It's date night to see Harry Potter!