Blog
What Paige Makes
My 10-year-old daughter Paige loves to be creative in the kitchen. Baking and making sweet treats are her favorite things to do. When we have chocolate chips, it’s a given that she will be melting it and dipping whatever fruit we have in it! She also likes to use chocolate chips in Energy Bites and on Frozen Yogurt Bark. Yes, she gets her love of chocolate from her mom😊. With the warm summer days here, she also likes to make Berry Banana Popsicles for a cool treat. This is a simple recipe that she can make all by herself. It allows her to practice reading a recipe, safe knife skills and measuring ingredients. You can watch Paige make these in our How to Make Berry Banana Popsicles video and then make them yourself for a refreshing summer treat!
No Heat Required!
Last week Justine shared a number of recipes that don’t require any chopping. This week I’d like to share some recipes that don’t require any cooking. Sometimes it’s nice to have a recipe that uses minimal equipment and no heat required!
What’s for Dinner at the Gatewood Household?
This week it’s my turn to share what we’re having for dinner at my house! I’m a big fan of having dishes that include multiple food groups. That means I don’t have to think of or make many side dishes. Some recipes that are often in the rotation at our house include Quick Pad Thai, Beef and Vegetable Stir Fry, and Pasta Fagioli Soup. Since all of these have vegetables, protein, and grains, a side of fruit and maybe a glass of milk are the only other things I need to serve.
Which Recipes are Diabetes-Friendly?
Our Spend Smart. Eat Smart. team often gets the request to mark which of our recipes are ‘diabetes-friendly’. We want to share why this is not something we do.
Vegetarian Chili
Welcome to a new year! As I start the new year I have a goal to get back into the habit of preparing food on the weekend that I can take to work for lunch during the week. A new recipe on Spend Smart. Eat Smart. that I find perfect for this is Vegetarian Chili. I find this recipe easy to prepare since it uses canned tomatoes and beans and frozen corn. The only vegetables I need to chop are some onion and bell pepper. Using canned and frozen items means I can keep them on hand to have ready when I want to make the chili.
Simpler Soups
The weather is cooling off – so in comes soup season! Sometimes we see soup recipes that have many steps, including chopping lots of veggies. While sometimes I have time for this, other times I don’t. On my busy days, I need a soup that I can put together in a hurry. Soups are a great way to get creative, have nutritious meals, stretch food dollars, and reduce food waste, all while saving time in the kitchen.
Turkey Time: Now and Later
Hardcore turkey season is upon us, so how can you make the most of this famous holiday bird? With some planning, you can enjoy all parts for many weeks after the main event. I hate to leave good food “on the table”, so to speak!
Easy Quiche for a Holiday Breakfast
Holiday season is right around the corner. Getting out the door on time gets even harder when you add a long list of holiday activities. The last thing I want to think about is how to entertain guests and feed them, too. Cue my favorite go-to breakfast during the holidays. Drum roll please… Easy Quiche. I love preparing it for holiday or family meals because it is a one-bowl recipe that fills guests up.
Knife Safety in the Kitchen
Over the next couple of months as we head into the holiday season, many people will be spending extra time in the kitchen preparing food to enjoy with family and friends. You may have some fun with helpers in the kitchen who do not cook often. This is a great time to think about some basic kitchen safety to avoid injuries and trips to the doctor mid-holiday.
Food Group Frenzy
Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable? Do eggs belong in the dairy or protein food group? Food Group Frenzy is a fun new game on the Spend Smart. Eat Smart. website that tests your knowledge of the food groups. The goal of the game is to place different food items in the correct section of MyPlate as quickly as possible. Using the game along with the MyPlate educational content under the Kids tab is a great way for kids to learn about the different food groups and why each of them is important for a healthy body.
Make Ahead Snacks
This month has been all about snacks here on the blog. Snacks are also a must at my house to keep my 10-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son full between meals. My son often tells me we don’t have any good snacks in the house. Therefore, I’ve been thinking about how I can balance my desire for him to have a nutritious snack and his desire for something more fun than what I usually keep on hand.
Meal Planning Done for You
My kids start school in two days. As much as I enjoy the less structured days of summer, I’m ready to get into a routine again. My son will be in 8th grade and will be playing football so I know when he comes home from practice in the evening, he will be hungry! Therefore, I want to be sure to have a plan for what we will have for supper. I do meal planning regularly but sometimes my brain just doesn’t want to think about what to have. Does anyone else feel the same way? On our Spend Smart. Eat Smart. website, we have sample meal-planning calendars that do the thinking for you! The week-long meal plans include 3 meals and 2 snacks per day and recipes are linked. If you eat vegetarian or are just interested in more plant-based recipes, there is a whole calendar of vegetarian meals and snacks.
