Sending my healthy eater out into the world and this mom is freaking out

Sending My Healthy Eater Out Into The World and This Mom is FREAKING OUT

Ah, the end of summer is approaching. (Sniff, sniff) I really don't even want to think any aspect of what the end of summer will bring, but I have to. The main thing I need to think about is my little girl starting Kindergarten. Now, that topic has about 1,000 subtopics  that could each send me into a panic but that is also more than I could handle in one post. However, something that has really got my anxiety level shooting through the roof is the idea of sending my healthy eater out into the great wide world. Sure I plan on sending her to school with a big, pretty lunchbox filled with all the whole, healthy foods she is used to eating here at my kitchen table. Yes, of course, I am already going nutty on Pinterest searching for ideas to keep her lunches fun and exciting. But in a lunchroom where other kids might have orange powder covered chips and brightly colored juice boxes, the stress is not as much about what color lunch box to get and how do I make a cute little mouse out of an apple slice, some raisins and a cleverly slices piece of kale. My stress is really, truly about my complete panic about whether I have laid enough ground work to keep my healthy eater eating healthy! How does her lunch box, that I will work painstakingly on, mind you, going to complete with her classmates Lunchables and bologna sandwich, chocolate milk, bag of chips and Oreo cookies? I am not going to lie. I am consumed with this problem. 

Look, I have been fueling my daughter's little body with the most whole, organic foods I could find and afford since before she was born. My interest in nutrition took a big leap forward once my husband and I wanted to start a family. I tried to make all the right moves, I breastfed, made my own babyfood, I bought organic. We began our CSA organic farm share because we had children. I mean, really, I tried so hard to keep my daughter and all our children as toxin-free as possible and fueled by the healthiest food I could get my hands on. And now, I am just going to send her to the wolves. Maybe, I said maybe, that is an exaggeration, but I don't think so. Her lunchroom will be full of lots of strategically packaged goodies, lunches and juices, with their clever designs and mascots corporations choose simply because they will draw kids in and make them scream and kick until their desperate parents leaves the supermarket with a shopping cart loaded with their products. On one hand, it will be my little girl against Corporate America. Does she stand a chance? 

But on the other hand, it will just be a case of her vs little Susie who says, "Eeew, what's that?" when she sees her kale chips.  Have I given my little girl enough confidence to say, "Oh, they are kale chips. They are delicious and super healthy." Or is she going to come home, hating my guts for making her and her healthy lunch the oddballs. 

I suppose I need to accept that there is a balance. I think that balance is between continuing to do all I can to inspire all of my kids, including my soon-to-be Kindergartener, to eat healthy foods and accepting that she is about to make her own choices, good and bad. That doesn't make me feel all that much better but I believe that is the situation as it currently stands. Sigh. 


If you are a parent with some of these same worries, I wanted to write a post for you with all the answers on how to quell these feelings and anxieties, but I can't. All I can do is tell you that you are not alone. If you have some answers, oh,please, do share. But if you, too, are just full of worry how starting school is going to effect your healthy little eater, feel free to share that as well. Maybe our shared experience will reveal some great wisdom but if not, it will at least be nice to know we aren't alone. 


Thank you for reading, peeps! You all rock. 

 

Paleo Pork chops and Onions

Paleo Pork Chops and Onions

I love it when a plan comes together. I needed a new idea for pork chops and although this isn't a monumentally unique idea, it was really tasty so I just had to share. 

Ingredients:

4 thick cut, boneless pork chops

onion powder

garlic powder

ground coriander

ground pepper

sea salt

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 large onion

2 tablespoons coconut aminos

1 tablespoon coconut oil

Let's get to it!

To begin with, turn the oven on to 350 degree. Then get out 4 thick cut, boneless pork chops. 

I didn't measure, I just sprinkled those beauties with garlic powder, onion powder, ginger, coriander, salt and pepper. 

I heated up about 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in a pan and browned the chops on each side, about 3-4 minutes on each side. I moved the pork chops from the pan to a casserole dish. 

I picked the biggest onion I had. This gorgeous girl came fresh from our CSA organic farm share the day before. I chopped this into long slivers. I used the same pan that I used to cook the pork chops. I just added another tablespoon of coconut oil. 

When the onions were cooking, I added 2 tablespoons of coconut aminos... perfection! 

The onions did not take long to cook at all and smelled yummy. :) 

Once they are softened, I put the onions on top of the pork chops. I covered the pan with aluminum foil and placed it in the oven.

25-30 minutes later, or until the pork is cooked thoroughly, you have something that looks like this! 

I served the pork chops with steamed cauliflower and sautéed eggplant, squash, mushrooms and onions. If you give this recipe a try, I hope you enjoy!!! 


Thank you for reading! See you again soon! 

Keep 'Em Moving

Keep 'Em Moving! 

Everyone knows we love to hike and try to hit the trails as often as possible. But I am also a big advocate for the family neighborhood walks in between the opportunities we get to hike. It is so easy to carve out 30-45 minutes in a day to corral those little ones up and walk as a unit. I love to make time for this for a number of reasons:

* Everyone gets in some healthy cardio!

* Walks serve as a reminder to kids about limits, safety procedures, distance allowed away from the grown up which is important on hikes, too.

*Everyone keeps up their endurance

*AND YOU SHARE ANOTHER FUN ADVENTURE AS A FAMILY!

The kids were outside playing today but before I called them in to wash up, I put the baby in the stroller and led the mob out on a neighborhood stroll. For those who might think trekking through the same ol' neighborhood over and over can get boring, there are lots of way to keep the babes engaged. However, today, something fun presented itself to us. We discovered mushrooms EVERYWHERE! It became a game for the olders. They were on the hunt for mushrooms and searched for the coolest looking blooms they could. find!

Here are some of the amazing fungi they discovered!

THANKS FOR READING EVERYONE!!

A Whole Happy Visit

A WHOLE HAPPY VISIT

Today was just awesome! The MOMS group of North Brunswick invited Whole Happy Kids to be a guest at their monthly meeting/playgroup. It was such an honor AND so much fun! 

Our main message was about helping busy moms find ways to move away from processed foods and toward wholesome, fresh foods. Being a stay at home mom of 3, I understand the conflict of wanting to make everything from scratch, keeping everything local and organic but feeling the pull of busy schedules, running on zero energy and the need for a few short cuts. Whole Happy Kids wants to support moms with ideas and recipes for whole, healthy eats. I want to provide enough support to make whole, healthy eating a little bit easier to achieve. I brought some easy to make samples of nutritious snacks like kale chips and pumpkin silver dollar pancakes. I think all the samples were a big hit. 

I was also able to talk to the group about introducing the little ones to hitting the trails! How exciting to be able to talk face to face with moms about some of the benefits of hiking with our kids! You will have to stay tuned for the post about our group hike next week! I can't wait! 

Some amazing moms checking out the samples and info. 

Thank you so much to the MOMS group of North Brunswick for inviting me and my actual, live and in the flesh Whole Happy Kids. It was wonderful to meet you all and I look forward to keeping in touch with all of you! 

Caveman Pancakes

CAVEMAN PANCAKES

When I think of a perfect breakfast, some key ingredients come to mind: sweet potatoes, eggs and BACON. I mean, c'mon, you have the basics, a great, vitamin-packed vegetable (sweet potato), a pure, wholesome protein(egg) and BACON! 

I tend to like things simple. I like one-pot dinners and crockpot meals. For this breakfast, I took all the yummy basics that I love and tossed them together into one pancake. 

Here is what I used:


Ingredients:

5 slices of bacon, cooked and put aside

1/2 onion, sauteed in a tablespoon of coconut oil

1 medium-large sweet potato, shredded

2 Tablesppons of maple syrup

3 free-range eggs

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons of coconut oil for the pan

The first thing I did was begin with cooking 5 slices of bacon

and began sautéing the 1/2 onion in coconut oil. Once the bacon and onions were done, I set them aside and began mixing the other ingredients. 

My next move was to shred this bad boy up.

I cracked three eggs into a large bowl and gave them a good beating. After that, I mixed in the shredded sweet potato, 2 tablespoons of maple syrup, the onions, and chopped bacon. I season this mix with salt and pepper and I was ready the heat up the pan! 

Once your mix looks something like this, it is time to heat up the pan and melt 2 tablespoons of coconut oil. 

Scoop large spoonfuls into the pan and let each side brown. Once pancakes are cooked thoroughly, it is time to serve. 

Time to eat! ENJOY!!!!

THANKS FOR READING!!

Easy Fridge Pickles

Easy Fridge Pickles

What goes better with summer BBQs than pickles!? Between our family garden and the local Farmers' Markets, I am finding everything local and fresh to make delicious pickles that only take a few minutes to make and are ready to eat after being in your refrigerator overnight. This easy recipe is a big hit in my family and are worth a try!

Ingredients:

Placed in a large Ball jar:

3 or 4 big kirbies, sliced

one small onion, sliced

3-4 garlic scapes, cut into 1-2 inch chunks

a big bunch of dill

Put into a saucepan:

1 1/2 cups of apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp of salt

1 cup of sugar

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

First, gather all the ingredients for the canning jar. Depending on the size of the cucumbers, you will need about 3, maybe 4. 

Slice up the kirbies, chop the onions, garlic scapes and break off any large stems from the dill. I use the thinner stems, dill and the flowers from the dill plant. 

I mix all the chopped ingredients and then begin stuffing it all into the jar. 

After the jar is ready with the vegetables, it is time to gather the ingredients for the saucepan.

Add the vinegar, sugar, salt, turmeric and mustard seeds to a saucepan. Slowly bring everything to a boil and allow it to boil for about 5 minutes. 

After boiling for about 5 minutes, add the saucepan mixture to your jar. Once it is all in, twist the jar from side to side in order to help the ingredients settle. 

And that is all it takes! Allow the pickles to cool, then cover the jar and set it in the refrigerator for about 24 hours. After that, they are ready to enjoy. I am sure you will love them!!!

THANK YOU FOR READING!

Whole Happy Bird Watchers

WHOLE HAPPY BIRD WATCHERS

This morning we decided to stretch our legs and head out around the neighborhood. To add a fun twist to our walk, I introduced the little ones to a preschoolers version of bird watching! 

I created this colorful bird watching checklist for the little ones. We went over each item and then set out to see what we could find! (No need to leave a comment on my awful illustrations. lol! My children, thankfully, are very forgiving.)

We set out on our way and the little ones went right to work looking for neighborhood birds. Finding a bird nest was proving tricky but Big SIster and Brother stopped under every big tree to have a look. 

It was a perfect day! Everyone was so happy to be outside! Maybe it was just me but it seemed like there were even more birds out this gorgeous morning than usual. I am so grateful they obliged us. 

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My little bird watchers were diligent in tracking their findings.  

We had a really fun walk, got in some early morning exercise and had some practice being careful observers of nature. It was a great start to another perfect summer day! 

Lastly, I will leave you with this. No matter how passionately they plead with you that they do not need to use the bathroom before the walk, MAKE THEM GO. Or else, walk home with a kid like this. For 5 blocks. 

Thanks for reading you guys! Hope you are having a great summer!