What the kids are eating

I am a woman on a mission; to feed my children the healthiest food I can on a budget and without losing my mind.  So, yes, we still eat honey nut cheerios, but I have started making my own fruit leathers and goldfish crackers.  Since I love baking, I am also making bread too.  The funny thing is, a lot of this desire started when Joe and I started our diet.  I had to learn some new recipes and get creative in order for us to stick to our guns and achieve our goals.  In the process I have learned a lot about cooking, where food comes from, and what I want and don’t want to put in my body or my children’s bodies.  It is overwhelming to put it mildly, but important enough that I am determined to make as many things from scratch as possible. 

So, my first snack was fruit leather, pretty easy.  I used apples, again, really easy.  The kids LOVE it, and i feel so much better about it being just apples and a little sugar rather than some apples and who knows what else. 

My next thing wasn’t new, but it was a new recipe.  Wheat bread for sandwiches.  I have tried this before and been really disappointed so I wasn’t expecting much, but this bread turned out great!  Even better is that it is so full of nutrients that the kids eat one sandwich and are DONE rather than asking me for two, which usually happens with store bought bread.  So, I finally found a recipe I really like and that doesn’t have a lot of sugar in it either.  (The loaf is almost gone!)  I am also learning a lot about low carb cooking and how to create similar tastes and textures from different foods.  Our new fave is fake mashed potatoes.  You use cauliflower instead and add some cream cheese, mozz cheese and parm cheese and process it in the food processor.  Then you bake it until it is turns a little brown on top.  So yummy in fact that we ate it too fast for me to take pics of it!  You can also make a rice substitute from cauliflower as well.  I haven’t tried it yet, but you better believe I will.  So, our little family is learning how to eat and snack healthy and I think it is paying off.  I feel like the kids aren’t asking me for snack as often because the snacks they are eating are full of protein and nutrients rather than empty calories (and I considered myself a pretty strict mommy for the most part, no chips or soda or sugary things.)  So, 2010 will be the year of eating well for the Spinozzi family. 

My next attempt is homemade cheerios and graham crackers.  Pictures to come later.