Whats for Dinner

Guess who turned two!
Yup...this little guy

I still can not believe it. 

He had a fantastic birthday :)

post up soon about that. 

Todays post is whats for dinner :D

Ive gotten into cooking lately

which im sure my husband is enjoying. 

I decided against a crock pot dinner and went with tacos

But, I wanted to make them healthy

(im on a health kick too...which has lasted over 2 weeks. It might actually be real ;))

Tacos were Wheat tortillas with ground turkey, cheese, onion, and lettuce.
The salad was topped with shredded ranch/taco chicken, avocado, boiled eggs, cheese and 'ancho ranch'.

The chicken was boiled in chicken broth and some dry ranch seasoning. then once cooked, I shredded it and poured the rest of the dry ranch and some taco seasoning right on the chicken. SOOOO good.  [I put leftovers in the fridge and they were good the next day cold too]

The ranch..which I realize isnt the healthiest but its delicious.. was just ranch and taco seasoning.

To drink I made a delicious smoothie I found on pinterest. Basically its any frozen fruit and crystal light. Really easy, approx 1 serving of water and 2 of fruit in each cup plus 0 weight watcher points.

I don't do weight watchers, but if ts 0 points im assuming its good for you.

I used a frozen bag of strawberry, pineapple, and I think mangos. I used mango peach crystal Light and added an Avocado.
Everyone approved!
Avocados are great in smoothies too. They make it creamier like a banana would but you cant even taste the avocado.

Meal planning with freezer cooking!

I have had a few people ask me about my freezer cooking, so I though a blog post was in order. The easiest way to tell everyone everything ;)

 Meal Planning.

This is something I have been wanting to do for a long time. 

I never took the time to sit down and really do a "meal plan".
I have done meal planning in the past, where I would just write out what we were going to have each night for dinner and make my shopping list around that.
It really helped, especially with our budget.
Then, I'm not totally sure what happened but I stopped a few months ago.
Infact I would barely even write out a shopping list.

I would go to the grocery store hungry with no clue what we actually needed.
I never had a plan for dinner,

we ended up eating A LOT of frozen/boxed dinners

or going out to get something.
Once the 2nd week of January came it really hit me.
My work was closing January 18th and I'm going to be jobless. 

So we really need to start working more on our budget and ways that we can cut back
I started searching pinterest and other blogs to find some inspiration.
There are actually a lot of different blog posts I have come across that do this type of thing

but I didn't like some of the recipes, or the exact way they did everything,

so I decided to take bits of each, a recipe here and a recipe there, and make it work for my family.

I decided that I wanted to do the freezer crockpot meals. 

Its meal planning to the extreme ;)
The concept I keep getting, is one giant shopping trip, a few hours of prep, one mess and we can have nearly a month worth of dinners (and leftovers for lunch) with basically no prep time each night.
And as an added bonus, I make this myself so I get to choose exactly what I'm putting in our meals for our family. 

Unfortunately I don't have any real pictures to share :/ im sorry! But, thats what happens when you are computer-less. So I will just explain basically my process and then leave links to my favorite blog posts on the matter (she has lots and lots of pics!)
Also, the link to my recipes pinterest page can be found here. This is where I found most of my information and recipies.

I am not the most organized person in the world that is for sure, so I could have done a little better planning but for the most part it worked out great! And I know what I can do differently next time.

Step 1. Create a list of all the recipes you want. I chose some that were family recipes, and some that were new that sounded good. decide how many dinners you want. I started small and just did 16  meals (I ony chose 8 recipes, and doubled them to make 16 dinners..were only a family of three so 3 to 4 chicken breasts is enough for dinner and lunch the next day.)

step 2. Go through each recipe and write down everything for that recipe. Then once you get all of them listed you can compile a shopping trip list. This way it makes it easy to decide exactly how many of each item you need. (i.e. how many onions you need, or how many chicken breasts) Also be sure to write down any spices or extras you may need. Some you may already have in your cupboard so you can just cross them off.

Step 3. Make the official shopping list and try to group things in sections. I sectioned mine off into 3 catagories. "meats" "fruits and veggies" "other". That way I wouldn't be wondering around the store or forgetting something. This will be quite a big shopping trip but it will really save you so much time and money. Very worth it!

Step 4. When you get home put everything out on your counter/table. Dont put anything away. Start by chopping up all of your veggies and opening up any cans, and opening up the packages of meat so everything is ready to just grab and dump in your bags.

Step 5. ok....so this is where I think next time I will do this inbetween step 2 and 3, but if you had to buy your freezer bags at the store then this step will have to be done here. Label each freezer gallon bag with a permanent marker. Write whats is in the bag, the date, if you need to add in anything, and how long to cook it. (i.e. BBQ chicken, 1-29-13, add 1/4 cup bbq sauce, low 8 hours or high 4 hours, serve over rice)

Step 6. Start filling up your bags. I put meat in first, then veggies, then any sauces and spices. and then as your done put them in the freezer. VERY IMPORTANT lay each bag flat in the freezer. I had one bag fall down the back of my freezer shelf and it folded and came open :( my freezer smelled of delicious green chilli enchilada sauce!

step 7. I have found its better to take out the bag I want for dinner the next day and put it in the fridge over night, then the next day when Im ready I just take the bag out of the fridge and stick it in the crock pot and in a few hours dinner is done! Just like that. A few hours one day to save LOTS of time each day has helped so much. Most days im just frankly to lazy to prepare a nice dinner so this has been a blessing. I do sometiems have to make like rice or something but thats no big deal.

There are soo many types of meals you can make in your crock pot too! Pinterest is a great resouce. The reciepes we chose for our family this time were:
BBQ Chicken, Enchilada Chicken, Green Chilli Pork, Beef Tips and Veggies, Pesto Chicken, Teriyaki Chicken, Sausage and peppers, & lazagna.








 Ok, so after checking and reading LOTS of blogs my top favorite blog that I used most of the ideas from and a few of the recipes was
ring around the rosies
her blog is amazing and here is a link right to all her freezer cooking posts
ring around the rosies freezer cooking
She has a more simpliefied version, with lots of pictures.
And I don't know about you but pictures help me a ton!
She also has printable recipes that were so easy.
You can also do everything she does and she has a giant shoppin list already pre-made.
But like I said, we didn't like all of the recipes so I just used her posts as inspiration
and made my own.
She even does some freezable toddler meals!
You use a muffin tin to portion them out and then you have a toddler size portion ready to go,
just take out one (or two) and nuke them!
lunch is served.
I made Mac & Cheese and Strawberry Banana muffins.
Next time ill for sure be making the spaghetti and mini pizzas!
(I add a can of carrots and peas to my mac and cheese by the way)
I believe the toddler meals are under part 3.


So there ya go... thats what I did :) Remember to make it your own. You can choose whatever recipes you want and you can add whatever you want to each recipe. Or exclude things if you don't like them.
I also suggest doing less the first time around. Just to get the hang of it, and see if its something that will work for you familiy. Now that I know what is all involved next time ill aim to make a 30 dinners for a whole month!

What Hudson Eats, Toddler Edition

 One of the blogs I folow, from mrs to mama, did I post similar to this a few days ago. It inspired my post today. I thought this would be a fun thing to look back on.

 Now, first lets get a few things straight. Hudson is STILL an extremely picky eater. We have our good days for sure, but we have our bad days. Im sure to offer a good variety and good portions for each meal and/or snack, whether or not he eats it is another question. There are a few things he eats REALLY well though, ill talk more about that later. Also, he eats more then what is pictured, those are just the things that came to my mind first.

Breakfast for breakfast it really depends who is feeding him that morning as to what he will get. If its dad, he usually gets cereal (multi grain cherrios is the normal). If its Tanners mom she usually feeds him oatmeal. My mom makes him toast and eggs every friday. If its me it really depends. Some days its eggo waffels. I dont like Hudson to use syrup, so I usually use peanut butter and some honey. He loves its. Other days Ill makes eggs and toast with yogurt, some days its cereal. Others its fruit and yogurt. Just really depends. Breakfast seems to be the meal he eats the best. Waffels with peanut butter is one he will usually eat the whole thing every time.

Lunch this is the one meal I rarely ever get to feed him. I do pack him a lunch every day though and he eats at grandmas. I try to rotate so its not the same every day. I always pack a fruit in his lunch. Fruit is one thing I can ALWASY get hudson to eat :) He LOVES strawberries, blueberries, bananas, oranges, peaches, pears and watermelon. I also usually pack a yogurt for some calcium. I love the daninino ones. They are made with whole milk and they are small so PERFECT size for little toddler bellies. He really enjoys tuna fish sandwiches! I make mine with ranch by the way, becuase I hate mayo. Its so yummy. This one makes me happy. as long as his sandwhich is cut into dinosaur shapes he will eat them every time. We do peanut butter and jelly/or honey. Macaroni and Cheese, Spaghettios, fish sticks. Sometimes leftovers from dinner. Quesidillas, chicken nuggets. The normal lunch stuff.

Dinner Hudson usually eats anything we eat. He loves spaghetti. I love that he loves it becuase its an easy one to sneak veggies into with the sauce. He likes rice. sloppy joes. Burritos or enchiladas are a big hit. He likes pasta and sauces. He always has to have something to dip his food into.  He also really likes cheeseburgers. But it can only have sauce, cheese and sometimes tomato.  Basically whatever we eat we offer it to him.

snacks I like to think his snacks are pretty common for a toddler. He loves nutra grain bars. I will sometimes give him one on the way to grandmas in the morning if were running late. We eat goldfish. I have recently started getting the annies bunnies ones, they are really yummy! saying he loves cheese is an understatment. I get him the mickey mouse cheese shapes and he really likes those. Fruit is a big snack at our house too. I used to do the pouch fruits but we stopped for a while. Hudson has started showing interest and eating them again YAY! another way to hide some veggies ;) one of his favorites is the pumpkin banana up & up brand. We eat the micky mouse dried fruit. That seems to be a hit and miss with hudson. Some days he likes them others he acts like its too sour. Hudson also likes grahm crackers, he eats alot of those at grandmas.

Drinks for the most part we just drink water. Hudson doesn't mind and actually sometimes will ask for water over whatever drink he already has. He drinks milk a couple times a day. Sometimes whole, sometiems 2%. He LOVES lemonade. He usually only gets this if we go out to eat. The only juice I buy is the v8 splash. That way I can sneak a teeny bit of veggies in him.

Misc I try to get him to eat veggies, but he isnt a big fan. Also, he is still somewhat lacking in the tooth department so raw veggies are still not an option. Once in a while he will eat some peas and corn, but usually I have to find ways to sneak them in his diet. Also, we are definetly not an all organic family. I try, becuase I do feel it is better for you. Its just so darn expensive!! plus I survived so I think were ok ;) We have a good mix of organic and processed food in our house. We do not however eat white bread. All of our rolls/tortillas/bread/buns/waffels are wheat and whole grain. The one thing we do about 50/50 is white rice over brown rice. One day ill get the husband to go 100% brown rice.  I would like to think were pretty healthy anyways.

DIY baby food

If you don't make at least some of your baby food, you should! It is way easy, saves a lot of money, and is healthier for your little one.

I wasn't going to make my own, I had never even thought about it. Then I cam across this book.

 This book is awesome! Not only does it show you exactly how to make tons of baby food purees, it also gives you all the nutritional facts for each one. It also has recipes up until your child is a toddler. Honestly some of these I am dying to try and would make great family meals, or lunches for older kids.

Today I made some Apples for Hudson. But pretty much any food is the same, cook till its soft, puree, freeze, defrost feed. But this book gives you in depth instructions for tons and tons of food.

Step 1
Wash and rinse your apples

 Step 2
Cut apples into quarters and cut out seeds

 Step 3
Place apples cut side down on a microwave safe plate and microwave till soft. Usually takes me 5-6 min for 5 apples.
*careful they will be hot, you will want to let cool

 Step 4
Peel off the skin (sometimes it will peel right off, others I use a knife) and place in blender/food processor/baby food maker whatever it may be. I personally love the blender.

 Step 5
Blend to desired consistency

 Step 6
Poor into ice cube tray and freeze over night. After frozen I place in a freezer ziploc bag and label it with the name of food and the date they were made.

Step 7
When your ready to feed, pop a few ice cubes in a microwave safe dish (it makes it really easy to creat your own combos. Hudson's fave is carrots and peaches) and melt. It may be hot, so let cool or you can add some baby cereal with either juice/formula/breast milk to cool and thicken. If you don't like to microwave you could also put in the fridge the day before for it to un freeze, or steam using a baby bottle warmer.

Step 8
enjoy!

  

I'm so glad I decided to make my own baby food! I still do use jarred food, especially if were going to be out and it's just more convenient. But knowing exactly whats in your babies food makes you feel so much better about what your feeding them!

Happy baby food making! :D What were/are some of your babies favorite foods?