Daily Archives: September 5, 2011

The Afternoon Snack

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I have reoriented the way I view the afternoon snack and have begun to think of snack as the first course of dinner.  When my kids come home from school, the first thing they want to do is have something to eat, preferably carb-filled or sweet.  I have been trying to have a couple of options that satisfy both of us.

  • Great healthy Snacks that kids and adults love
  • Green beans sprayed with olive oil and lightly salted
  • Apples and peanut butter or Greek yogurt
  • Rolled up turkey breast (real, not processed), maybe even rolled up w lettuce and hummus
  • Sushi: tuna rolls, cucumber rolls, salmon rolls, California rolls
  • The seaweed strips Connor likes
  • Edamames
  • Clementines
  • PBJ sandwich cut into fingers
  • Microwave popcorn, lightly salted, no butter- Orville Redenbacher’s All Natural, lightly salted
  • Fresh fruit
  • Baby carrots and peanut butter, yogurt, or low fat ranch dressing
  • Sugar snap peas dipped in hummus, salsa, or guacamole

Once in a while, not too unhealthy, snacks kids love

  • Bagels with peanut butter or cream cheese
  • Whole wheat toast
  • Pasta

Things to Have on Hand

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There are basic ingredients and appliances that we’ll need as we prepare our Healthy Eats.

Ingredients to have on hand:

  • Olive oil – bottle and spray
  • Canola oil – bottle and spray
  • Lemons or lemon juice
  • Array of seasonings – keep. Dried on hand and where possible replace with fresh basil, oregano, salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, garlic, onions, parsley, cinnamon, bay leaf, old bay seasoning, my homemade mild taco seasoning
  • Low sodium soy sauce tamari sauce
  • Low fat salad dressing
  • Applesauce
  • Flaxseed meal
  • Fresh Spinach or spring mix to use in recipes
  • Same as above or other lettuces for side salads
  • Earth balance buttery spread
  • Sunflower seeds, walnuts, pine nuts- any/all that you like

On this blog are links to purchase certain, hard to find products that I will use frequently and are good to have on hand:

  • Earth & Vine Red Bell Pepper and Ancho Chili Jam
  • Mexican and Italian jar seasoning

Appliances to have on hand:

  • Crock pot
  • Magic pot
  • Food processor
  • Vita mix

The Basics of Busy Lives Healthy Eats

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Who is this for?

This is for people who are in charge of preparing meals in their home who want to serve healthy meals that are easy and quick to prepare.

Do you prepare the meals in your house?

Do you want to prepare healthier meals?

Is quick and easy important to you?

Did you answer yes to all? Read on!

This website will provide healthy, easy-to-prepare meals for dinner. My focus will be to prepare meals Monday through Thursday.  Each day, you can read about the meal I prepared night before.  What I planned to do and what actually happened.  I will be candid and honest.  It will be a chance to find humor and sarcasm (something I am good at), share my tears of frustration.

For some of you my schedule may mirror yours and could be replicated at your own house.  For others, suffice it to say that you will identify with the chaos and over commitment that seems to engulf me on a regular basis.

On Fridays, I will provide the recipes and a shopping list if you want to recreate my dinner menu the following week.  Shop yourself on the weekends, have someone shop for you, or hire a service – figure out a way to get the shopping done in advance.  It’s the lynch pin to healthy eating.

The dinners will be balanced, with an eye towards managing salt and sugar.   I will try to keep expensive, one time ingredients to a minimum but there are times where a special ingredient will be necessary.  I am not a doctor, nurse, or nutritionist.  I don’t pretend to be the expert.  This blog is a way for me to share what I do, or try to do.  Use as much or as little as you want.

As the week progresses and you make the dinners, I will need feedback.  Consider the following:

  • Level of difficulty: Easy?
  • Time: Quick?
  • Taste scale: Tasty?
  • Overall review:  Make again?

Do you have recipes or information you want to share?  Please do!  I don’t have a fool proof answer to quick, easy, healthy meals every night.  This blog is the journey to find that answer.  Be a part of the solution.  It takes a village…