Recipes to share for the week...

I've gotten behind on blogging this week and posting new recipes. If you haven't noticed we love trying new recipes and creating menu's EVERY week. Food shouldn't be boring and cooking is a great way to spend time with our families in the kitchen over great conversation.

As promised, here is a toddler muffin recipe I have made James the past few months. It is a great way to sneak in their daily greens.

Spinach Muffins

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 large egg

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 bag/tub of spinach

1/3 cup sugar (can substitute with stevia or cut it out all together)

2 tbsp. vegetable oil (can substitute with plain yogurt)

1 1/2 cup whole grain flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

Directions;

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a blender, mix all wet ingredients and spinach. Mix until pureed. Fold mixture into dry ingredients. Use a cookie scoop and scoop into 24 mini muffin cups. Bake 12 minutes. Keep refrigerated.  

Tonight, I made Cajun Jambalaya! This may be the best recipe I've ever made/had... This is also baby and hubby approved!!! Not only is it 258 calories per serving BUT it's only 6 WW points plus!!! I know I will be making this a lot now.

Cajun Jambalaya

Ingredients:

1 tomato

1 green bell pepper

1/2 yellow onion

2 celery stalks

2 garlic cloves

8 oz. uncooked shrimp (peeled and deveined)

6 oz. boneless skinless chicken breast

1/2 lb. turkey keilbasa

1 cup uncooked minute brown rice

1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth

1 1/2 Tbsp. salt-free cajun seasoning

1 tsp. black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Chop up bell pepper, celery, onion, and garlic. Saute in skillet for about 5 minutes over medium-high heat. While that is cooking, chop up tomato, turkey keilbasa, chicken (1-inch pieces), and peel/devein shrimp. In a mixing bowl, add all ingredients. Split mixture onto 4 pieces of foil. Fold foil up so it's sealed tight. Bake for 35 minutes (or until rice is tender). Let sit for 15 minutes. 

Servings: 4

WW Points Plus: 6

Me and the baby actually split one packet so it makes a good size serving!

We had a great past weekend. We took James to the park and fed the ducks and geese. He LOVED it. He really likes animals and I am looking forward to going back to the Saint Louis Zoo this year with him.

I still am pretty interested in cooking and experimenting with quinoa these days. Jamie always seems to stick up his nose when I say I'm making anything with it but he then ends up loving it. I've been seeing on pinterest mac and cheese alternatives using quinoa SO I of course had to try it. 

Mac & Cheese Quinoa

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa (cooked according to package)

1 1/2 reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup almond milk

1 egg

1/4 c. panko crumbs for topping

1 tsp. salt (optional)

1 tsp. crushed red pepper (optional)

1/2 c. veggies of choice (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together except panko. Pour mixture into 8 mini ramekins. Sprinkle panko on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Servings: 8

WW Points Plus: 3

I would not consider this mac & cheese like since it wasn't very creamy. It was more of a rice side dish but it was still really good!!!

My little sous chef!!! He has really become interested in helping mommy this month. It might be a little extra work and a little extra mess but it's good to involve our children in these every day activities. There is so much to be learned from cooking but for a toddler a lot of it is sensory learning and it's so fun to see the enjoyment they get from helping us.

It feels like Spring...

What a great day we've had so far! It's in the 60's and the sun is out. I cleaned and detailed the car. I think it had several pounds of cheerios and gold fish in the seats and floors. Ha!

Took James to the park. Of course we had to swing...

We then went for a nice long walk around the neighborhood so mommy could burn some calories. 

Last night I came across my old blog. I didn't even know it was still up. It was from my early college days 8 years ago. How funny to read what was important to me then. I was so empty headed. It was almost embarrassing to read. But it was fun looking through old pictures and remembering events and travels. I came across this picture of when me and Jamie went to a wax museum (I believe in Branson).

I look like wax.

 I wish my legs were still cellulite free. 

I miss my blonde hair. 

That is all. :)

Breakfast

Mornings tend to be chaotic (especially Monday mornings after daylight savings). I try to keep things pretty simple and easy. I also try and get as many vegetables packed into one meal as possible. Since James cannot drink cows milk and almond milk only has a small percentage of calcium in comparison I try to make sure he eats lots of leafy greens. BUT try getting a 13 month old to eat spinach and kale right out of the bag. Ha!

All that being said, I try to find recipes that I can either make in bulk, have hidden vegetables, and are cheap. Lately, James will not let me feed him SO everything I make I try to bake in mini muffin tins so he can handle it himself. 

One of our very favorites the last few months have been pancakes (I use Jiffy mix and the recipe on the box but omit the oil with plain yogurt, eggs with egg whites, and whole milk with almond milk). They taste exactly the same plus they also are ONLY 2 WW points per pancake!!! The recipe makes 15 pancakes (1/4 cup of batter per pancake). I love to freeze them and then pop them out during the morning rush. 

I also really like doing muffins. Muffins are always easy AND cheap. Spinach muffins are James favorite right now and it calls for an entire bag of spinach which is AWESOME! I will post the recipe later this week. 

This morning I made him...

Mini Frittatas

Ingredients:

6 Eggs

1/2 cup ham chunks (or ground sausage)

1/4 cup chopped spinach

1/4 bell pepper chopped

1/4 cup almond milk

1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1-2 tsp. ground pepper (to taste)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350. Saute ham, bell peppers, and spinach for about 3 minutes. Then, evenly distribute mixture into 24 mini muffin cups (be sure to spray your muffin tin with oil to avoid sticking). Whisk together eggs and milk. Fill each cup with egg mixture to about 3/4 full. Sprinkle with black pepper. Lastly, add cheese on top. Bake for 10 minutes. This recipe can be altered to your liking by using a different meat or omitting it all together, adding mushrooms or other veggies, and anything else you might think of. 

Safe to say he thoroughly enjoyed them!

Typically, I try to give him a serving of fruit, vegetables, and protein for breakfast. This morning he had 1/2 cup almond milk, 1 cup green smoothie, 1/2 cup raspberries, and 3 mini frittatas. One suggestion I have for moms of toddlers is try to sneak as many fruits and vegetables into smoothies or juice. I don't buy fruit juices because my pediatrician recommended me not to (makes kids fat in his opinion). So I try to make everything from home with fresh ingredients. However, this is one thing I do buy James and he gulps it down before he touches anything else...

Kielbasa Stir Fry

I bought James some of the cutest pj's from Gymboree last night after me and the hubs had a date night. It's pretty difficult to get pictures of him these days but here are some pictures I did manage to snap...

He LOVES brushing his teeth and often falls asleep with his toothbrush because he won't give it back to me. Ha!

Tonight I made a super easy and simple recipe. I love mixing veggies with a protein and doing some sort of stir fry.  The ingredients I used tonight...

Slice up your bell peppers. Sautee in a skillet with 1/2 tbsp. of olive oil and 1 tbsp. Mrs. Dash seasoning (6-8 minutes). Add in sliced turkey sausage and cook for an additional 4-6 minutes. THAT'S IT!!! Enjoy!!! 

6 WW Points per servings (makes 4 servings)

I cannot describe my love of these Mrs. Dash seasonings. I am still adding to my collection but these are awesome to pair with chicken, sausage, fish, or shrimp and then some sort of veggie.

Snow Days

We've been stuck inside most of this week. I am SO ready for warmer weather. Thankfully, Jamie got home safe and none of his flights were cancelled. He had a great time in New Orleans and bragged about the 80 degree sunny weather the entire time. 

Here are some wonderful snowy pictures from our front and back porch on Wednesday...

One thing that made this snow storm unique was the THUNDERSNOW. I have never lived somewhere that thunder and snow occurred at the same time. It was cool to see (and hear).

James was busy tearing the house apart. I pretty much gave up on having a perfect house the last few days. I don't know how to keep the playroom clean and picked up every day. I try to clean at least once a week but it seriously takes him 10 minutes to take everything out and demolish the room. Ha!

He's just so cute it's hard to get too upset. :)

***WW UPDATE: Haven't lost any weight this week. It's been difficult with Jamie gone. James goes to bed at 6pm in the evenings so I was pretty bored/lonely without Jamie. I was mindlessly eating things all evening EVERY day he was gone. But I'm back on and have been fine the last 2 days since he's been back. It's easier to stay focused and accountable when you have someone watching you!

Grandma's Enchiladas

Let me start off by saying...I LOVE MEXICAN FOOD! Who doesn't!?

One of my all time favorites is enchiladas. My grandmother made the best white sauce enchiladas that I believe she got from a magazine. Over the years we have modified it and used variations in the ingredients. I wanted to try and make these a little more healthy and leaner. 

Ingredients:

2 lb. lean ground turkey

1 jar of pace salsa

2 bags of small low carb tortillas (16 total)

1 can of cream of mushroom soup (98% fat free)

1 cup lite sour cream

1 can of cheddar cheese soup

1/3 cup of WW Mexican style cheese

Directions:

Brown meat and then drain. Add salsa. Divide mixture evenly into 16 tortillas. Roll tortillas like a burrito. Line tortillas in a large casserole dish. In a pot, bring together sour cream, cream of mushroom, and cheddar cheese soup. Heat on high till it starts to bubble. Pour mixture over tortillas. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake 25-30 minutes at 375 degrees.

WW Points: 6 points per tortilla (16 servings total)

Hands down one of my favorite meals!

Playdates & Cinnamon Rolls

What a good morning we had today! James slept till about 7 (which is a lot later than his usual 5:30 time) which meant I got to sleep in!!! 

 I made some WW cinnamon rolls...(thank you Pinterest)

They were AWESOME. They don't look pretty but who cares right!?

Ingredients:

1 roll of reduced fat crescent rolls

6 tsp. cinnamon-sugar

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 tsp. skim milk or almond milk

Directions:

Preheat the oven for 375. Unroll crescent rolls and divide into 2 sections. Press seams together. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar. Roll up and cut into 10 pieces (20 total). Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Whisk together powdered sugar and milk for icing. Drizzle on top of hot rolls.

WW Points: 1 point per cinnamon roll

After breakfast, one of my church friends asked me to watch her little boy for a few hours. James LOVES him. It's fun to see what life will be like with a preschooler. :)

Cody was so sweet and gave James his bouncing Tigger since "it's a baby toy and he doesn't play with it anymore". Ha! 

Winner and Loser

Let me start out by saying I accomplished my one month Weight Watcher goal. Down 20 pounds!!! I have to say it was easier than I thought it would be. I did not work out (something I am working on for month 2). I like being able to eat whatever I want (within moderation).  

The biggest challenges I had this past month was buying 1 and 2 point snacks but then eating 3 or 4 of them in a day (because hey I'm fat and obviously have very little will power).  I've learned to only buy ONE snack item per week and then stick with 0 point fruits/veggies for the rest of my daily snacks and/or hunger pains.

I also tried to buy a few smart ones per week for when I'm wanting something "bad" such as the Chicken and Fries, Chicken Sandwiches, and Hamburgers.  That keeps temptations at bay and helps me stick to my points.  Just say NO to the dessert smart ones though...having those in the freezer (for me anyways) is a guarantee that I will go over my points for one day.  

So how did I end my 4 week weight loss success!?!?  I ordered Pizza Hut stuffed crust pizza. No I am not kidding. My husband is gone for business this weekend and next week...I was feeling pretty lonely and sad without him.  Ate FOUR pieces (49 WW points).  Was sick to my stomach ALL night and let's not even talk about the guilt that ensued afterwards.  But you know what...today's a new day and a new month!!!!  I'm striving for another twenty pounds this month....woo woo let's do this!!!

Anyways, me and James stayed home from church today because of the weather.  I made some breakfast blueberry oatmeal muffins and honey roasted chickpeas for the week for him.

I think it's safe to say the muffins were a HIT.