Super Yummy and Healthy (Shhh!) Shake Recipe

During the summer months, nothing sounds more refreshing than a nice cold shake!  This shake is a healthy way to enjoy a refreshing drink without the added calories of ice cream.  Pureed bananas take the place of ice cream for a healthy alternative!  Also, the spinach adds tons of nutrients and you can't even taste it!! We use the Vitamix Pro 200 Blender for these, but a regular blender works too!

  Super Yummy and Healthy (Shhh!) Shake 

Ingredients

• 2 cups chocolate almond milk
• 2 frozen bananas*
• 1 handful baby spinach, washed
• 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

* The best way to freeze bananas is to peel them, break them in half or thirds, and put them in a freezer bag.  This way if you have bananas that are about to go bad, or if your child only eats half of a banana for breakfast, you can just keep adding bananas to the bag and freezing. 

Directions  

1. Add all ingredients to a blender or Vitamix.
2. Mix and enjoy!

(Servings: 2)

3 Fun Things to Do With Your Kids

Our week is usually filled with activities, running errands, and other weekly chores.  By Friday, sometimes we have run out of ideas for things to do.  Here are 3 fun things to do today to stay busy:

1. "Paint" your house - Grab paintbrushes and buckets of water and let your kids have fun "painting" the outside of your house with water!  Sneak in some learning and have them draw letters, numbers, and pictures!  
2. Visit the Library - Stay cool indoors while letting your kids explore new books!  Sign up for the summer reading program at your local library to keep your children motivated to read all summer long!  If you have already signed up, go get some new books to read over the weekend!
3. Play dress-up - Get out old Halloween costumes and other fun outfits and let your kids have fun changing clothes and playing dress-up.  You can even have them act out their favorite books or movies that relate to the outfits you have picked out!

What fun things will you be doing today? 

Chicken and Veggie Chinese Chicken with Pineapples Recipe

This is such a great recipe because it is so versatile.  Any combination of veggies can be used to accommodate what you have on hand.  I have made this recipe using all fresh veggies as well (red peppers, broccoli, carrots, water chestnuts, etc.)  Both ways turn out beautifully.  If you have veggies that need to be used up and extra time to chop, feel free to throw them in!

 

Chicken and Veggie Chinese Chicken with Pineapples

 

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken, cut into bite-sized chunks
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 (16-ounce) bag of frozen stir-fry veggies*
• 1 cup frozen pineapples
• 2 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce (optional)

*If using fresh veggies, make sure you have about 4-6 cups.  You can also use a mixture of both fresh and frozen, depending on what you have on hand.

 

Directions  

Warm 1 TBSP oil in a large wok or saucepan on medium heat.  Add chicken and season with sea salt and pepper to taste.  Cook for 5 minutes, or until slightly browned and cooked through.  Transfer chicken to plate.  Warm remaining 2 TBSP oil on medium high heat.  Add onion, veggies, and pineapple.  Stirring occasionally, cook for 8-10 minutes, or until veggies are crisp-tender.  Add cooked chicken and soy sauce (if using).  Stir to heat through for 1 minute.  Serve over whole grain rice. 

 
(Servings: 4)

Toddler Tuesday: Clif Kid Z Bar

I have a very picky eater on my hands.  She basically eats 2 things right now... bananas and this yogurt.  We were so excited to discover these... 

Z Bars for kids!  They are organic and all natural, and contain none of the following:  high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, preservatives, artificial flavors or colors, or trans fats!  We have found them to be the perfect mid-morning snack.  Our little one loves Honey Graham and Peanut Butter the best.  Momma likes the Peanut Butter ones too!  They are great for an extra energy boost (not that we need any extra energy, but at least in subsides the crankiness until lunchtime!)  The Z Bars are also perfect to throw in my purse in case we are out and about and need a healthy snack to munch on!  We found ours at Whole Foods.  There were several other flavors that looked really good too. 

Has anyone tried the Chocolate Brownie or Chocolate Chip Clif Kid Z Bar flavors yet? 

Menu Plan Monday 6/4

Read More about our Busy Mom's Menu Plans Here!

Monday  

(Stock Your Freezer)

Mac and Cheese with Beef

(Make double batch)

Tuesday  

(30 minute meal) 

Chicken, Lemon, and Broccoli Risotto

Wednesday  

(Prepare during lunch)

Crock Pot Marinated Chicken

Baked Sweet Potatoes

Salad

Thursday 

(Dinner in under 30 minutes)

 Chicken and Veggie Chinese Chicken with Pineapples

Whole Grain Brown Rice Pilaf

Friday 

(Nap time prep)

 Crab Cakes 

Quinoa with Green Onions and Parmesan 

Fruit

Rolls

Saturday  

Dinner out... Someone else gets a turn to clean up!

Sunday 

 Creamy Bacon Carbonara 

Salad

Ciabatta Bread



*Check out our menu plan on Menu Plan Mondays hosted by the Organizing Junkie,
On The Menu Monday hosted by Stone Gable,
and Meal Planning Monday hosted by Finding Hope

Homemade Popsicle Recipes

As I mentioned yesterday, one of our fun things to do to keep busy was making homemade popsicles.  We had some watermelon to use up, as well as some Yo Baby Meals - Pear and Green Bean. (This is the only way we can get our child to eat her veggies!)  We ended up making two different flavors of popsicles -- Watermelon and Pear Yogurt Pops!

Homemade Watermelon Popsicles

You will need:

• Watermelon 

To Make:

1. Slice desired amount of watermelon and remove seeds.  
2. Add to blender or food processor and puree.
3. Fill popsicle molds with mixture and freeze for at least 4 hours.  

Note: If you don't have popsicle molds you could use plastic cups with popsicle sticks.  Or for a fun alternative, freeze mixture in ice cube trays and add frozen watermelon cubes to water for a refreshing drink!

 

 Homemade Pear Yogurt Pops

You will need:

• 1- 15 oz Canned Pear Halves (2 pears if using fresh)
• 1- 4oz Yogurt (we used Pear and Green Beans Yo Baby Meals organic yogurt)
• 2 tablespoons water

To Make:

1.  Add all ingredients to blender or food processor and puree.
2. Fill popsicle molds with mixture and freeze for at least 4 hours. 
3. Smile -- Your kids are eating their vegetables :)

Does anyone have any favorite homemade popsicle recipes?  Please share in the comments!

Fun Friday!

As the weather continues to heat up, we are always on the lookout for fun (mostly indoor) activities to keep the kids busy.  There are certain days we have to be really creative to keep boredom from setting in!  Here are 3 fun activities for kids that we will be doing today:

1. Dancing to Disney - Pull up your favorite Disney songs on YouTube (our current favorite is Tangled) and dance around with your little ones to some hits!  Great way to burn energy (and calories!) 

2. Bead work - Gather beads and string and have your kids string the beads on to make bracelets, necklaces, crowns, key chains, belts, etc.  This is really good for concentration!  Have them work at the kitchen table.  This will give you a few minutes to unload the dishwasher and do a quick kitchen pick up!

3. Popsicle Making - Let your kids pick out their favorite fruits, yogurt, and juice. Use any fruit or yogurt that you may have on hand that is about to expire!  Have them help you throw all of the ingredients in a blender, put in Popsicle holders, freeze, and enjoy tonight on a walk to the park or around the neighborhood!  I will post our popsicle recipe later!


What fun activities will you be doing today?