fun food find

i've purchased flatout bread before for wraps, but wasn't totally crazy about it. it was impressive nutritionally but a little dry for me. BUT...i'm really excited about the crisps they just came out with!

(odd picture but all i could find online)
i don't love serving my family anything processed and out of a bag or box, and there are definitely more ingredients than i like to see on a label, but for weeks you don't have time to make your own bread and chop fruits and veggies all day (wouldn't that life be lovely?) they're a really good alternative to crackers because each serving has 6 grams of fiber and 6 grams of protein (and i think about 130 calories). i've only tried the multigrain and four cheese, but both were really good. i've served them with hummus and cheese, and i even put them on my sandwich today (i'm still 6 and like chips on my sandwich). brett and k and b all love them too. it's a great time to try them because publix has them on sale buy one get one free this week (remember though that publix's sales run thursday to wednesday, so the sale will be off after tomorrow. also remember that you don't have to buy 2...you can get one and it will ring up half price if you are afraid of buying them and not liking them. pretty sure that won't happen though). you can find them in the bakery.
since i have to have something sweet every afternoon, i came up with this little treat today, and it was the perfect mix of sweet and salty (plus a good balance of carbs, fat, and protein). i usually end up eating chocolate or ice cream or whatever i can find when i feel like i'm gonna die if i don't have something sweet, then crash 30 minutes later when my blood sugar swings. this was satisfying because the sugar is balanced by fat, protein, and fiber (not claiming marshmallows as healthy, but you can get by with a really small portion of sugar here)...
spread the multigrain crisps with natural peanut butter, then top with either mini marshmallows or thinly sliced big marshmallows (that's all i had). so yummy! i'm thinking tonight we'll roast marshmallows in our fireplace and make semi-healthy smores, replacing the chocolate with peanut butter.
hope your new year is off to a great start!

meat mania

kroger is having a 4 day "meat mania" sale through this wednesday, so it's time to stock up if you've got some extra freezer space. protein is my 2nd favorite nutrient, but with 4 (very hungry) mouths to feed, meat can get expensive quickly. not to mention, most men don't consider a meal without meat dinner...just a "snack", and my husband is no exception. i'll give you my methods for quick meals using chicken and ground beef...

chicken is $1.59 a pound during the sale for boneless, skinless breasts, which is the lowest i can ever remember seeing it at a grocery store. it's still not as low as the tyson plant, but much more convenient. so here's what i do with the packs and packs i bring home (raw chicken grosses me out, and pictures of it are no exception, but it helps me explain):


1. place each piece individually on a piece of foil. i use reynold's wrappers, which are individual sheets of aluminum foil that my dollar tree sells. there are 25 sheets in each dollar box, so it's a really good deal and much easier.


2. sprinkle each piece with salt and pepper and maybe a little garlic powder. i avoid using any other spices because i use it in lots of different recipes and don't want the flavors to clash. wrap each seasoned piece.


3. place each wrapped piece in a gallon ziploc and freeze.

now when you're ready for a quick lunch, pull a piece out of the freezer, bake it wrapped and frozen, and you've got a high quality, inexpensive, and easy source of protein to pair with a fruit plate or shred over a salad. when you need a quick dinner for your family, pull out as many pieces as you need and bake the same way (i usually bake on 350 for an hour and a half or so if i've got a lot of time, or bump the heat up to 425 for 40 or 45 minutes if i'm in a hurry). if you're really tight on your budget with thanksgiving and the end of the month coming up (actually, it's the middle, but for some reason my budget feels like the end this month), head to publix. i got sweet potatoes this morning for 38 cents a pound. i wrap a bunch of those up in foil the same way and keep them in the fridge...they'll keep for a few weeks and you can just add them to the oven with your chicken. i always keep salad fixings on hand, so on nights i don't feel like cooking, dinner is as easy as throwing chicken and potatoes in the oven and tossing a salad. (and as usual, high in my faves, fiber and protein). if you've got more time, you can bake and shred some chicken for casseroles.

k and b just woke up from their naps, so i've gotta run, but i'll try to get back on tomorrow and write my method for ground beef.

the greeks got it right

my new favorite breakfast...



it looks disgusting, and my far-from-professional camera doesn't help, but this my friends is a perfectly balanced breakfast. i can't really call it my new favorite because i've been eating different variations of it for about 6 months now, but this morning i added in more flax seed meal, which i really liked. if you've never eaten greek yogurt, it's time to get used to it. i say get used to it because that's probably what you'll have to do, but once you learn to use it in a way that suits your taste buds, there's no looking back. it's the highest protein form of yogurt you can find, and an excellent source of calcium as well. for my yummy a.m. concoction, i mix 6 oz or so of non-fat greek yogurt, a banana for natural sweetness (cut it into really thin slices and whip them to form a mush...it sweetens better this way), and whatever other fruits you have on hand. i usually add a cup of chopped strawberries and a chopped peach, and by 8am i've gotten 3 of my 9 servings of fruits and veggies covered. stir in some mealed flax seed (i used about 2 tablespoons this morning), and you've got a perfect balance of healthy fat (almost 4 grams of omega 3 essential fatty acids from the flax), protein (anywhere from 15 to 20 grams from the yogurt depending on the brand, plus 3 grams for 2 T of flaxseed), and fiber (4 grams from the 2 T of flax, plus whatever the fruit you're using contains). it takes some getting used to if you've never had greek yogurt before. you can start by drizzling it with honey, but you'll eventually get used to the fruit's natural sweetness and not need sweetener. i avoid artificial sweeteners as much as possible, but if you're cool with them, that can sweeten it calorie-free. i'm not a vegetarian, but most days i could do without meat, so the yogurt's protein is a great way to fuel my muscles for my workouts. oh, and since i have to have something sweet every afternoon during k and b's nap, i also sometimes make a dessert out of my favorite greek friend by mixing the yogurt with fruit and cool whip. it's even better if you make a big batch of it and put it in a graham cracker crust. now arrowhead mills even makes an organic graham cracker crust that contains organic evaporated cane juice instead of sugar, and organic whole wheat flour in addition to the usual wheat flour. my thanks to the greeks for this lovely creation (unless it's just called greek yogurt for some other reason?).