Lunch #6

-PB and J on whole wheat
-1/2 an avocado
-a few carrot sticks
-fresh pineapple
-white cheddar Cheetos
-2 all natural chocolate chip cookies (Back to Nature brand)

Lunch #5

-PB and J on whole wheat
-Frozen mango
-Grapes
-1/2 an avocado
-Organic "Fig Newtons"
-Veggie Straws

Lunch #4

Tomorrow's lunch:

-Frozen mango

-Homemade hummus

-Baby carrots

-Whole wheat pitas cut up

-Salad with homemade poppy seed dressing

-A few organic bunny graham cookies

Lunch #3

-Salad with homemade poppyseed dressing, yum :-)
-Leftover grilled chicken to put on the salad
-Watermelon
-1/2 an avocado
-Organic "Fig Newtons"

Lunch #2

This is tomorrow's lunch:
Edemame
1/2 an avocado
Fresh pineapple
Watermelon
Organic bunny graham cookies

Lunch Time !

Today's lunch:
Peanut butter and jelly on 100% whole wheat bread
Triscuit crackers and Laughing Cow cheese
Carrots with ranch dip
Fresh pineapple
A few mini oreos for a treat (hey, I am 9 months pregnant, haha)

So I bought a super cool new lunch box called a Goodbyn. I saw them at Whole Foods and then decided to buy one online. You can check them out at http://www.goodbyn.com/ . I bought mine on Amazon because it was cheaper with shipping. The goal of this lunch box is to reduce the amount of plastic baggies you use every day, as well as the amount of little containers and lids you have to wash. It also encourages me to pack a healthy lunch instead of being tempted to order out or eat at school. It comes with an 8oz bottle which I haven't used yet. It also comes with stickers to decorate with, which I know is kind of childish but I don't care, I work in an elementary school; I can carry a lime green lunchbox with kiddie stickers if I want. At least I am eating healthy !

So here is Goodbyn lunch #1, which also happens to be the first day of school.

Local summer dinner !

Tonight's menu:

Grilled steaks (local, grass-fed beef)

Green beans (local from farmer's market)

Cantelope (local from farmer's market)

Homemade cornbread

Grilled Pizza

I have always wanted to grill a pizza. I've seen people do it on TV and it looked good and I wanted to see if I could do it. Pizza Margarita is my favorite. Homemade dough, mozzarella, tomatoes from the farmer's market, and basil also from the farmer's market. Not the most "symmetrical" pizza but real food is not supposed to be "symmetrical" and it was awesome!

P.S.- Thanks to my wonderful husband for being my grill master :-)

Breakfast!

French toast made with homemade bread I made earlier this week, scrambled eggs, and fresh pineapple.

Trust me, I do not cook breakfast like this normally. I am off work this week for Easter break so I have time right now. I do eat breakfast every day though. I think it's strange when people say they aren't hungry in the mornings because food is the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning. I don't get up early enough to sit down and eat at home so I bring my breakfast to school. I walk around and eat with 200 wonderful kids every morning because I supervise breakfast at school. So I have to pack something kind of portable. Not perfect, but it works. My breakfast on school days usually is:
-some kind of Kashi cereal and some sort of protein (yogurt, egg, milk)
-a peanut butter and banana wrap
-real oatmeal (not the packet) or steel cut oats if I'm lucky
-egg and cheese sandwich
-whole grain english muffin and some sort of protein.
-Kashi waffles and some sort of protein

A local dinner

What a wonderful dinner. Everything tonight was grown/raised right here where I live. Grass-fed beef from a local farm. Potatoes, asparagus, and lettuce also local and in season.

Local food travels less and is better for the environmet. It is fresher, tastes better, and supports our local farmers !

Yay Spring !

Spring is here and so is our local Farmer's Market. I love local fruits and veggies. Look at this simple salad; lettuce and strawberries grown right here where I live. Chicken, a few walnuts, and homemade vinegarette. Soooo good :-)

Pizza!

Everyone should learn how to make homemade dough.

-flour, yeast, salt, water, olive oil.
That's it. Like I said earlier, food doesn't need to be complicated.

This is a "margarita" pizza. (not like the drink) Tomato, basil, mozzarella.

Lime-aid

3 simple things:
-Limes
-Sugar
-Water

That's all you need. Food doesn't need to be complicated :-)

Cinnamon Rolls :-)

Homemade cinnamon rolls. Paula Deen's recipe I found on foodnetwork.com. Real, all natural ingredients but please don't eat the whole pan or you might turn into a stick of butter :-)

Above is dough kneading on the dough hook. I love my new Kitchen-aid mixer.

Dough resting for the first rise.

Rolled up with cinnamon-sugar in the middle.

Cut and ready to rise one more time.

Finished rising. Ready for the oven. This is when the kitchen starts to smell really good :-)

Finished product. Soooo much better than anything you will ever buy in store!