Healthy Banana Breakfast Muffins

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day" a patient told me recently. And it's true, it's one of the most important meals of the day, including lunch and dinner. I've always been a good breakfast eater. Sitting down, sipping coffee and enjoying a nice light breakfast just puts me in a good mood. The problem is, especially on days I work, I rarely have time for this relaxing ritual. Let's face it, I can barely get the kids dressed and fed let alone myself.

So I decided to experiment with some healthy breakfast muffin recipes that would make hurried mornings a bit easier. I came across this one, which I love because you can literally grab one out of the freezer, defrost for a minute in the microwave and be on your way. Plus, they're a healthy alternative to regular muffins which are high in fat and sugar. Now on busy mornings, I grab a muffin and a greek yogurt cup for some extra protein, and I'm out the door. 

Here are some of the ingredients...

Banana Breakfast Muffins (adapted from Bran Buds Muffins)

Ingredients: 

• 1 1/2 cups all bran cereal (or your favorite high fiber cereal)
• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups fat free milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed
• Cinnamon Sugar (optional): 1 Tablespoon sugar + 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a food processor, crush cereal until it resembles fine crumbs. In a mixing bowl, combine cereal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, mix milk, vanilla, egg whites, vegetable oil and mashed bananas. Add dry mixture to wet mixture and mix only until combined, being careful not to over-mix. Portion batter into muffin tin (it will make about 12 muffins). Lightly sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture on top. Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Balsamic Marinara Sauce and Life with Two Kids

 

If your garden is like my garden, you have a ton of tomatoes. Our tomato harvest came just in time for the delivery of our second son, James. In the midst of cuddling and loving on my new little guy, I realized my tomatoes were desperate to be picked and eaten.

 

 

With family in town to greet James and help out, I had a few extra hands to help me make marinara sauce with the tomatoes from the garden. Boy, did it turn out good. Plus, you can basically throw all the ingredients into a pot and let them simmer away. I got the recipe from one of my favorite cooking blogs, Budget Bytes. I love it because all of the recipes are affordable to make and delicious. Score! So, here we go.

 

 

Credits to mother-in-law, Bev for helping me out with the prep-work.

 

I followed the basic recipe, but also added zucchini, ground cooked turkey and fresh tomatoes instead of canned. And for time sake, I didn't peel the tomatoes beforehand. I just cut em up and threw em in the pot. Easy. The recipe is for a slow-cooker, but since I was home and tending to the kids anyway, I just simmered it on the stove for about 2 hours and it turned out fabulous.

 

We started by shredding the zucchini.

 

Chop chop the tomatoes.

 

In with the basil.

 

Balsamic Marinara Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 28 oz Chopped Tomatoes
• 1 Can Tomato Paste
• 1 Med Yellow Onion, Chopped
• 1/2 Tbsp Minced Garlic
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 2 Tbsp Fresh Basil
• 1/2 Tbsp Dried Oregano
• 1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 lb Extra Lean Ground Turkey

Preparation:

 

Chop onions and mince garlic. Add olive oil to simmer pot on medium heat. Sweat the onions and garlic a bit, then add tomatoes. Stir to combine, then add spices. Mix well, cover and set to low heat so that the mixture simmers. Cook for approximately 1-2 hours, or until desired consistency is reached. In a separate pan, cook ground turkey until done and add to sauce.

 

 

This was a great meal to enjoy with family. With two kids, I now appreciate more than ever healthy food that is easily prepared. My family enjoyed the taste and I felt good knowing that my ingredients were fresh and nutritous. That said, not everyone has a garden, so it's nice to know that even conventional produce at the grocery store offers health benefits. Simply feeding your family more fruits and vegetables is a great way to improve overall health.



Baby Boy

 

On August 13th, we welcomed a new member into our family - a beautiful baby boy named James. I'll be back to blogging soon, but right now am enjoying all the cuddle time I can get. Here are a few pictures of James and our new family. Looking forward to sharing more healthy recipes and nutrition topics soon! 

Brussels Sprouts Recipes

This week was a long one. Between house hunting, work and parenting, the hubs and I feel a little worn. That's okay though. It's all part of life, right? I'm a firm believer that going through difficult times can make you a better person. Sure, I need frequent reminding, but I know there's a light at the end of the tunnel. 

Sometimes we have to look at the big picture when it comes to food too. For example, I'm sure you could name a few veggies you'd rather not associate with. Maybe your mom made them one too many times as a child. Or maybe you're not quite sure how to prepare them in a way that would make them more appealing. 

This week a friend asked me for brussels sprouts recipes so that her, her husband and her kids would enjoy them more. I don't know about you but brussels sprouts are one vegetable that - at least growing up - I could not stomach. No chance, no way. They were in my mind the equivalent to dirt. Now I know how nutritious they are and that they're actually quite tasty when prepared well. 

Here are a few brussels sprouts recipes my family really enjoys:

Brussels Srouts with Bacon (I use turkey bacon or a little pancetta)

Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Butternut Squash and Cranberries 

In general, I like roasting veggies because it gives flavor without additional salt or fat. I also like to season with a variety of things like salt, pepper, parmesan cheese, sauteed shallots or garlic, chicken broth, and a little pancetta or turkey bacon (usually not all at once, but that depends on the kind of day I'm having).

In terms of children eating their vegetables, I'll give you the scoop on what really happens at my house. Even a dietitians child doesn't always eat his vegetables. Case in point: 

Plate before serving:

Plate after serving:

My philosophy in getting children to eat their veggies (I know, I've said this before) is to provide vegetables consistently with meals and snacks, offer a variety of choices and provide gentle encouragement. If they refuse - and they will refuse at least sometimes - encourage them to eat veggies, allow them to see you eating your veggies and do this consistently throughout their childhood.

Will is generally a pretty good vegetable eater, so I feel okay if he has a few meals here and there where the veggies aren't eaten fully. That's life.

Do you have any good brussels sprouts recipes or tips on how you get your kids to eat their veggies?

It Finally Happened....

This post has nothing to do with food. No recipes. No nutrition talk. Today I'm talking real-life parenting.

Real life like insisting on doing a puzzle while wearing an animal cracker container as a hat. Seriously.

You know that moment when you're completely overwhelmed with handling tantrums, whining and complete and utter very public parent-embarrassment? Yeah, it happened to me...it finally happened. I'm not talking mom just feels a little impatient. I'm talking mom full-on gives it up and cries. In a parking lot. At the library. No joke. I can't make this stuff up.

Of course it comes during the week that my husband was out of town. At first I felt like it would be totally fine. The 2 year old and I would just hang out while dad's away, right? Wrong. All of the sudden, the dreaded "terrible 2's" started manifesting and I was clearly at a loss. Add to that pregnancy hormones? Score looks something like "Terrible 2's: 1, Mom: 0". Face palm.

I share my grief not to whine, but to encourage other mom's and dad's that it happens to all of us and it's okay. That's what my wonderful friend told me (thank you again!) and that's what I'm sharing with you. As much as we do to "prepare" for parenthood (all the books, DVD's and parenting website blah blah blah), in reality it's a learn-as-you-go endeavor. One that includes lot's of smiles and definitely a few tears.

If you have your own story to add, please share. What's a blog without some real-life chat?

Adventures in Parenting

I don't know about you, but being a mom has totally changed my life. Like, forever. 

Gone are the days of impromptu vacations, dual incomes, and doing whatever you want on Saturdays. Now, my days are spent reading curious george, changing diapers, playing cars, building train tracks and trying to assemble quick, healthy meals. Keeping the house clean is a bonus. 

Suffice to say, motherhood is different than I expected, especially when it comes to getting a toddler to eat healthy. And it's not always pretty....

When I was in undergrad studying nutrition, we talked about strategies to help kids eat healthy. I thought it sounded pretty simple: 1.) offer a variety of healthy foods, 2.) be patient and if they refuse healthy foods, 3.) continue offering in a gentle, encouraging way. Easy, right? Yeah, at least to a 21 year old college student that sounded easy as pie. 

Then reality set it when Will came along. I realized I was dealing with a little human who has his own agenda, his own preferences and his own mind. I still use the same strategies I learned in college, but now I understand that parenting is an adventure....a very unpredictable adventure. One that textbooks don't cover.

Thankfully, with a lot of patience (all credit to God) and practice, Will eats pretty healthy. I saw a special on TV about this new book Bringin Up Bebe and despite having not yet read it, what the author said resonated with me. She said that mothers should feed their children what the adults eat. Of course this assumes that your baby/toddler is old enough to tolerate a wide range of textures and doesn't have any specific allergies. This approach, combined with the 3 strategies mentioned above, has been the key to getting Will to eat healthy foods (and preserving mommy's sanity).

Now I want to hear from YOU. What are your strategies for getting the kiddo-s to eat healthy?