Tag Archives: Cooking

What’s Working

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I talk about a lot of stuff that I’m going to do, but I don’t always get back to you and let you know what’s working, so…

  • The cold oatmeal in a jar?  That’s been working!  Like clockwork.  Except just in the last week or so, I’ve been getting a little sick of it, so I’m going to switch up some flavors.
  • The 6-Shelf Sweater Sorter!  The Boy actually filled it himself this past weekend and was proud of himself for doing so.  And the best part is that he is wearing every pair of his pants now, not the same pair every day.  Success!  It also keeps me on track with making sure the laundry gets done so it can be filled.
  • It’s early days yet, but the Magnetic Menu Planner is working SO well!  It helps with making the grocery list, and reminding me what’s planned (and what needs to be defrosted, etc.).  I have been cooking like a fiend, and loving it.  I’m even freezing leftovers and reducing waste.

Another success I’ve had recently is with chores.  I have written about allowance, and not basing it on chores before, but saw this post about how to make a visual chart for kids, and allowing them to have input.  I implemented only the chart of what gets done each day, and The Boy is actually doing chores (like wiping the kitchen counter, and picking up his things)!  The best part?  We haven’t even talked about allowance – he’s doing it because I need him to help out (and I need to teach him basic living skills).  You can’t get any better than that.

Build upon success

Take a minute and think about what’s working for you lately.  Let us know how it’s going in the comments below.

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This Week

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This week I am…

Reading lots and lots of blogs, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (with The Boy), and The History of Love, by Nicole Krauss (recommended here, by Holly Burns at Nothing But Bonfires whose writing I love, and figure if her book recommendations are half as good as her writing, I’m golden!)

Cooking pizza puffs, ugly chicken (looks nasty [nothing like the pic on the site] but tastes sooooooo good), and pasta, using my best friend’s husband’s meat sauce (he’s a chef!)

Anticipating the World Series (Go Tigers!), the delivery of my new Kindle (in November!), the new James Bond movie (love me some Daniel Craig [swoon <3]), Thanksgiving (only 30 days until I see The Man again!), and Friday, always Friday

Listening to Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me, and Feist (The Metals album) – I LOVE this version of Undiscovered First, especially at about 3:50, when she starts whacking the roof of the car for percussive effect.

Keeping an eye on The Boy’s cold, his reaction to attending his first funeral (maybe), and how he handles one of his best buddies moving away

Finding every excuse not to work out

Getting up the nerve to write a letter to our neighbor about the volume of her TV (or is it a radio) every morning at 5:30am

In disbelief that I’m hearing Christmas music as we begin to prepare for our next concert in class, and hearing the s-word in our forecast

Savoring any sleep I can get, the chocolate chip cookies I made last week, the Ghirardelli chocolates The Man got me for my birthday (my favorites!), my homemade sweet tea, and a relatively quiet house in the evening

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This post is modeled after this one from Ali Edwards…

Back to Bento: Avocado & Hummus Sandwich

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Avocado

I have been using my bento for lunch just about every day.  My go to sandwich so far (and I must tell you, I’m not a big sandwich fan) has been my ACH Sandwich: Avocado, Cucumber, & Hummus.  I based it on this recipe from Real Simple — I was actually going to make the white bean spread, until I had to use half of my can of beans for something else, and didn’t think I’d have enough to make the recipe.  Then I spied the hummus in the fridge, and substituted it, and a star was born.

I usually put it on some French or Italian bread (I know I should go whole wheat, but I’m Italian!).  It has real staying power, meaning I am not hungry until dinner.  According to Wikipedia a trusted internet source, the hummus acts as a complete protein because it is on bread, and the hummus and the avocado are both good sources of monounsaturated fat (the good kind of fat), and fiber (all kidding aside, I also checked Livestrong and some other sites, so there are very real benefits to eating these superfoods).  The cucumber just adds crunch to what would otherwise be a pretty mushy sandwich (cucumbers go in the middle to avoid making the bread soggy, by the way).

The hardest part?  Slicing the avocado.  It’s a pain — if anyone has a solution to that, please, PLEASE let me know in the comments.  My experience has not been pretty…

Lunch and the Picky Eater

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lunch-2007-04-03a

lunch-2007-04-03a (Photo credit: flakyredhead)

Hi, my name is Annie and I’ve been phoning it in.  I’ve been giving my kid lunchables and poptarts for far too long with the excuse that he is a picky eater and that is all he’ll eat.  I’ve decided that I’m not going to do that this year.  I’m tired of the guilt, the lack of nutrition in my son’s diet, and the money spent.  We’re going to switch it up.

I’ve talked about going “back to bento” for myself, and I am excited.  I’ve also talked to The Boy about making our own “lunchables”, where we can choose what lunchmeats/crackers/pizza toppings go in the lunch, rather than taking what good ol’ Kraft decides to give us.  Realistically, he would eat pizza everyday for every meal if I let him, and I can give him less processed and pre-packaged options for pizza easily.  His other choices are based on the candy or treat that comes with the lunchable, so I’m sure he wouldn’t say no to a homemade cookie or two instead.

This means that I will be menu planning every week, for dinners and lunches.  If you’d like me to share my weekly menu plan, let me know in the comments.

Here are a couple of final thoughts:

  • I’m not above using a gimmick to get my kid to eat.  I will be ordering the Funbites Cube It! because I think it will be fun, and I might use it, even if he doesn’t.
  • Occupational Therapists will tell you to introduce new foods very gradually to the picky eater, and I will be employing this method, starting with… pizza! – can you imagine all of the possibilities of introducing new foods via pizza?
  • A few posts got me started on this idea: this one from bothhandsandaflashlight.com, and this one from thehealthcoachgroup.com.  I like the idea of listing all of the things he will eat, and starting from there, because I have a feeling it’s a longer list than I give him credit for.

Wish me luck!