Blog
Spend Smart. Eat Smart. with Family – Holiday Edition
This week I am continuing our family interviews with a conversation I had with my mother-in-law, Jan. She and my father-in-law, Dean, have been taste testers for many Spend Smart. Eat Smart. recipes over the years. They are also excellent home cooks and a joyful part of our family. Here is what Jan shared with me:
Spicy Stuffed Potatoes
My children love it when I make baked potato bar for supper. I am not sure why, but I think it has something to do with the fact that they have all of the ingredients out on the counter, and they get to choose what they want to make their own creation. Our November recipe of the month, Spicy Stuffed Potatoes, is perfect for your own baked potato bar.
Try Something New
I do not eat a lot of dried fruit besides dried cranberries mixed into recipes or stirred into oatmeal. It has never been a food I am interested in eating. I think the problem is that I do not like raisins and so I have told myself I do not like other dried fruit. It might be time for me to branch out and try something new.
Milk Options
In today’s world, asking for milk can lead to many options, from the traditional cow’s milk to plant-based alternatives. Popular plant-based milks include soy, almond, oat, coconut, and pea milk. Cow’s milk is recommended for its calcium content and other nutrients like vitamins D, A, and B12. Though, these are often added to plant-based milks. Reading labels is key when deciding which milk to choose to make sure the milk has the nutrients you need. Let’s use the table below as a start to explore some milk options.
Whole Meal Salad
This is our final week highlighting some of our Spend Smart. Eat Smart. salads, and, in my opinion, we saved the best for last. Whole Meal Salad is a hit at my house every time I serve it. My family loves this recipe because they each get to make their own perfect salad. The Whole Meal Salad recipe is written for one, but I easily adapt it for my family by setting all the ingredients out on the counter and letting each person choose what they would like. Earlier this summer, my youngest child separated all of the ingredients on his plate and then individually decorated each spinach leaf with his favorite toppings because he wanted every bite of his salad to be perfect.
Chicken BLT Salads
This week I am continuing our summer series on salads with one I have not made in a while. As tomatoes begin to ripen in gardens and become available at the Farmers Market, this is a recipe we can add to our meal plan. One thing I really like about this recipe is that it has great leftover potential. You can both use up leftovers when making this recipe or create leftovers for meals later in the week. Either way, this is a win because no food gets wasted.
Peach Cobbler
Welcome to June! Summer is here and all of us at Spend Smart. Eat Smart. are looking forward to summer foods. This month we are going to focus on some tasty summer desserts. First up today is Peach Cobbler.
Taking Over the Kitchen
Last week Katy shared about how she includes her young children in the kitchen. My children are a little bit older and it has been fun to watch their skills and interest improve in the kitchen. Here are some of the things all three of my children help with in the kitchen:
Have a Happy National Walnut Day!
Sometimes in the mornings when I drive my children to school the radio announcer will tell us what we can celebrate that day. It may be a well-known holiday or something smaller. For example, today, May 13th, is International Hummus Day, National Crouton Day, and National Fruit Cocktail Day. We call it, ‘the day of the day’ and we get pretty excited about it.
No Chopping, No Problem!
Last week I shared our April recipe of the month – Coleslaw Pasta Salad. It is a unique salad recipe because it does not have any chopping, so a knife is not needed. This week I would like to share some other Spend Smart. Eat Smart. recipes that do not need a knife to prepare. Since I have already shared a salad, I have chosen recipes from other categories below.
Coleslaw Pasta Salad
Welcome to April! Today is April Fools’ Day and, though I am not very good at coming up with tricks for today, my children played a pretty good one on their dad last year. They made him a tall glass of juice, except it was not juice, it was Jell-O. So, when he tried to take a drink, the juice was stuck in the glass. This does not really have anything to do with our April recipe of the month, Coleslaw Pasta Salad, except that I have been thinking a lot about different ways to involve my children in making meals and snacks at home.
What’s for Dinner at the Hoover Home
Last week Christine started off the month of March sharing about one of her favorite recipes, Scrambled Egg Skillet. As we go through this month, we are each going to share what dinner looks like in our homes and some recipes we are enjoying right now.
