What's In This?

Yes, I am not a mother who is above tricking my children into eating vegetables. I was meaning to post something else tonight, but I found this picture "from the past" and decided to post about it instead.
Sometimes, when you find yourself or your children in a food rut, you just have to take matters into your own hands. So, that's mac n' cheese with butternut squash puree, zucchini bread with cream cheese (the batch pitured also had shredded carrots, as I recall), and "ants on a log" (celery, peanuts butter, and ANTS!).

My Pizza Crust Recipe

{Basic Pizza Dough}
(Half Recipe)
3 C hot tap water
2 T honey
3 C whole wheat flour
Mix to a paste, and add:
1 T SAF instant yeast
1 T real salt
Add flour 1 C at a time, until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Knead for 5 minutes - all white flour
8 minutes - half/half
10 minutes - all wheat flour
During the last 2 minutes of kneading, add:
1 T dough enhancer

Preheat a pizza stone to 500 degrees. Roll crust to desired shape and size. Add favorite toppings. Bake for 7-8 minutes on stone. (Without a stone, it will take longer for the dough to bake through, probably 12-14 minutes.)

***This recipe makes 3-4 full size pizza crusts. I like my pizza crust thinner, so I cut the yeast about in half. Also, I normally cut the "half recipe" in half for my family, divide it in half and get 2 pizzas.

The Baby Eats a Vegetable, Again!

Okay, calling this a vegetable may be a little bit of a stretch, but he ate it and technically there was a vegetable in it. I finished this bread on Monday afternoon. The kids both had a slice for breakfast today. The baby was loving it. The toddler and I had this conversation.

Mom: Do you like it?
Toddler: Mmmm. It is good.
3 minutes pass
Toddler: Uh, Mom, what are these green things?
Mom: Just part of the bread.

I had a Church dinner tonight for Home, Family and Personal Enrichment. And, upon returning home, I was informed that the baby ate two slices of zucchini bread for dinner. Apparently, my husband was so overjoyed that he a something green, he thought that sufficed as healthy.

{Zucchini Bread}
Adapted from Stephanie's Kitchen
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup sugar

Mix together in a bowl until well combined, and create a well.

1 large egg
1 T water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups shredded, unpeeled zucchini
1/4 teaspoon grated lime peel

Mix together well. Add to dry ingredients, and stir to combine. This will take a little work. Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Cover with foil and bake an additional 10 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

This Week's Dinner Menu

Sunday - BBQ with my cousins, I'm taking a vegetable tray with Dill Cottage Cheese dip
Monday - BBQ Chicken Salad Stackers (These have become a favorite of ours!)
Tuesday - Pastor Ryan's Bolognese Sauce with Fresh pasta, asparagus and rolls
Wednesday - Baked Chicken Taquitos, rice, beans, salad (?)
Thrusday - "Meal Swap" Night
Friday - leftovers
Saturday - Homemade Pizza (who knows what kind - we'll see where the week takes us)

SuperNoots for Super Eaters

We tried it and it is great! We have been using the SuperNoots chart for about 1 month now. My three year old is not a very big eater, but it seemed like everything was "sprinkled with sugar." If you know what I mean. I had limited fruit snacks to one package per day, but how do you explain that you are not "required" to eat that one package.

When SuperNoots arrived, we unpacked it together. I really talked it up, saying how fun it would be to make a list for shopping and move his magnets with each food he ate. And, you know what it worked. When he ask for a snack, I can say, "What would be a healthy choice?" and he will check his board to see what he still needs for the day.

The best part about it, other than limiting to one "treat" per day, is that I discovered many more fruits and vegetables that my three year old is willing to eat. We definitely have our favorite things to eat, but we are woeking some variety in as well. And, SuperNoots is helping me build a foundation of understanding the different food groups and eating a balanced diet even though my kids are little. I can't wait to get the "How 'Bout Me" Pack for the next little one and start him on a path to healthy eating as well!

Try it yourself, I promise you'll like it!

This Week's Dinner Menu

Sunday - Sweet Pork Burritos or Salad, grilled corn, Strawberry Rhubbarb Pie
Monday - BBQ Chicken Pizza
Tuesday - Hamburgers and Hot dogs, potato salad, grilled asparagus
Wednesday - Second Chance Taco Salad, chips & salsa
Thursday - "Meal Swap" Night
Friday - leftovers
Saturday - salad or grill, who can decide?

This Week's Dinner Menu

Tuesday - Garlic/Parmesan Chicken and Pasta
Wednesday - Ham, Cheese and Asparagus Mac
Thursday - "Meal Swap" night
Friday - Bagel Dogs & Tri Colore Orzo Salad
Saturday - Eat Out for Dad, Mac n' Cheese for kiddos