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A Fun Twist on Two Favorite Dishes!
This month is all about Spend Smart. Eat Smart. recipe mashups: we hope it encourages you to try something new! As a busy mom, I surprisingly enjoy meal planning because it gives me a sense of control for those extra busy weeks. Even though I enjoy it, every so often I find myself in a recipe rut.

Recipe Mashup – Slow Cooker Pork Roast on a Sandwich
This month we are sharing food mashups. These are ideas for using foods or recipes in unexpected ways. You will hear about a mashup from each of the Spend Smart. Eat Smart. bloggers through the month of June! Have you tried our delicious Slow Cooker Pork Roast? This is one of my favorite recipes on our website. It is rich and tasty and has bright citrus flavors that are somewhat unexpected in a pork recipe.

A Funny Story About Chicken Alfredo Pasta
Nine years ago, when my son was six and my daughter was two, my co-worker and friend Katy Moscoso came over to watch my kids. I made the Spend Smart. Eat Smart. Chicken Alfredo Pasta recipe ahead of time for them to have for supper. I had made the recipe before, and my daughter liked it. I knew it wasn’t Parker’s favorite, but I figured he might eat some of the pasta. Later that evening, when I returned, guess what Parker told me, “Mom, Katy made this really good pasta, and I loved it!” It turns out he had more than one helping of it. That little stinker didn’t know that I had made the pasta ahead of time, so he thought Katy had made it and therefore thought it was delicious!

Protein Needs at Different Stages of Life
In last week’s blog, Justine shared all about protein, including why we need it, how to determine how much we need, and what foods contain protein. Today I’m sharing a sample one-day meal plan for a 15-year-old male, a 40-year-old female, and a 65-year-old female who all get 30-60 minutes a day of physical activity. This meal plan is an outline of the protein and some of the other food groups people may need in a day.

How Much Protein Do I Need?
I hear and read a lot about eating protein foods, but I often end up confused. Am I not eating enough protein? Am I eating too much? This week and next week on the blog, Jody and I are digging deeper into protein needs to help us all better understand this topic.

Sloppy-ish Joes!
This month I am excited to bring some attention to an old favorite recipe and offer an idea for how you might try it a different way. Sloppy Joes have been around for a long time and most people have a favorite version of them. My favorite is the version on our website. This recipe tastes more like ketchup and mustard than it does like barbeque sauce or tomato sauce – it’s delicious!