Day 3 ~ What a Day!

Can I just say today has been a whirlwind! Last night we woke up at 4am to the loudest thunderstorms I have heard in a long time and a lot of rain. Why do I tell you this? Because the circumstances in our lives can often affect the food we choose to eat. We can plan all day for the perfect diet or menu, but when it comes down to it sometimes life can get in the way. I am hoping to demonstrate through this blog that even people with the craziest of lives can eat better. Now back to my story...

Today was my son's first day of preschool. He woke up like it was Christmas morning. We got his stuff together, I made breakfast and lunches and we headed out the door only to find the craziest traffic I have seen around here lately. We tried our normal route and found it was blocked, so we tried for an alternate route. We sat in traffic for one and a half hours only to move 1 mile. I sadly had to tell my very excited three year old that he was not going to get to go to school today. While we were waiting I turned on the radio to find out that most of the Philadelphia area had major flooding and many major highways were shut down. I called my work, my husband called his work and we decided we were not going to go in today so we headed home :) I like days like this.

Here is where the unexpected came in. Since I was home, G and I decided to go to playgroup. Usually at some point during play group all the moms and kids break out their lunches. Today was easy, there was nothing extra offered so we just ate what we brought and since our lunches were already packed for school and work it was pretty easy. What I have decided when it comes to social engagements is 1) make the decision about how you are going to handle food before you go and be strong and 2) if you are worried about not being able to eat anything while you are there, bring something to share, most people who host a social engagement will not turn down a dish :)

Just so you know I spent my afternoon sleeping and it was blissfully wonderful...

Now what we ate today...

Breakfast was oatmeal and strawberries today, one meal has to be simple and no fuss right?

Lunch was leftovers from last night and I must say it was even better today. All the sauce and spices had to chance to marry and get happy :) We had a couple of snacks, I had to tahini spiced pumpkin seeds (YUM) and some orange bell pepper. I have not drank enough water today and I am feeling it. My nap kept me away from my 2pm sugar melt down so one snack was good for the day.

Dinner was a vegetable casserole from Fresh 20. This recipe can be easily adapted to include any variety of veggies. I call these kind of meals "pantry meals" you can't really mess them up. We all usually have some type of pasta on hand, right? And how many of us over-buy produce? I know I often do. I get to the end of the week and have this drawer full of leftover produce and no recipes to use them in. This is when you make a pantry meal, boil up some pasta, chop of what ever veggies you have on hand, saute them with some EVOO, garlic, and onion, add some salt and pepper and you have a meal fit for a king! Anyway back to my dinner. This veggie casserole is great for this type of meal. I will be using the bones of this recipe again when I need to use up produce. The little surprise in this dish was feta cheese. It added just the right amount of gooey and tanginess (is that a word?) to the dish. We also had plenty of leftovers so one of my weekend night dinners are covered ~ YAHOO!

Doesn't this just look delish? I also like to include proof that these recipes are "kid tested, mother approved". If you have your doubts about your kids give them a chance to try. I have not been able to get my son to eat a bell pepper, zucchini, or tomatoes, but today he tried a bell pepper and he ate his whole dinner that was packed with zucchini and tomatoes. Baby steps people don't expect too much, but expect something. We have a rule in our house. Mom only makes one meal...if you don't like it breakfast is in the morning. When kids are hungry enough they will eat what you put in front of them. They WILL NOT starve!

Now, about this little piece of deliciousness. My husband is having a meeting for church at our house tonight and asked me if I would whip up a little treat for the guys coming over. UH OH! I hadn't thought about treats during this challenge. I didn't want to run to the store so I had to use what was on hand. I remembered this recipe my sister made for us while I was out visiting. It is Coconut Lime Banana Bread and it is divine. I had to change it up a tiny bit to make it suitable for the challenge and it still came out wonderful.

INGREDIENTS:
2 Cups All-purpose Flour (I used whole wheat white flour)
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sugar (I used 3/4 C organic raw sugar, next time I will try Agave Nectar)
1/4 cup (1/2 of a stick) softened butter
2 eggs
1 to 1 1/2 cups smashed bananas (about 3 bananas)
1/4 cup yogurt (vanilla, plain, strawberry, whatever flavor) (I used plain yogurt)
3 Tbl apple juice or applesauce
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup coconut flakes (I used unsweetened coconut)
1 Tbl coconut to sprinkle on top of bread

Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar (I used Organic raw sugar again, I made it ahead of time so the acid from the citrus had a chance to breakdown the sugar and it made it into a syrup)
Appx 1 1/2 Tbl fresh lime or lemon juice (appx 1 lime; you may substitute store-bought lime or lemon juice if needed)

I think often times you can modify and recipe to make it fit your need, give it a try and don't be afraid to fail sometimes, goodnight all~