What We Eat
by Elizabeth Tromm - Used by permission
I
wrote a post a year and a half ago about the way we eat and about my
grocery budget, but I have had several people ask me to write another
one about our meals and snacks. I do feel really strongly about healthy
eating because I believe that it plays a huge role in how often we get
sick and/or how we feel, but I try not to throw it into other people's
faces. So here is what we eat.
We eat a ton of
dried beans. Black, red, navy, chick peas, pinto, etc... Our all time
favorite meal, winter, spring, summer, fall, is black beans and rice. I
use brown rice and I always buy the beans dried. At the beginning of the
week I will soak and cook a pot of black beans and usually another pot
of a different variety. That way they are ready when I am ready to use
them during the week. We put the black beans on top of the rice and then
I put chopped peppers (red, yellow, or orange), tomatoes, and cucumbers
on top of that. I will also put the cucumbers in sour cream and add
garlic and cumin. Over all of that I put brown apple cider vinegar. It
is the best meal ever!! Mia often requests it for breakfast.
Another
favorite meal is grilled marinated chicken. I marinate it for at least
24 hours in zesty Italian dressing and slowly grill it. Depending on the
season we have a different variety of veggies. In the summer I usually
grill squash, onions, tomatoes, and peppers along with the chicken.
Other times we have baked "french fries." I slice the potatoes into
wedges and put them in olive oil and four to six different types of
spices and herbs, depending on what flavors I want that day.
Of
course, I love a good hamburger. My recent and most favorite to date is
a grilled burger topped with this AWESOME locally made hot wing sauce,
jalapeño peppers, grilled onions, and minced garlic. It. Is. So. Good!!
With that we will do the baked potato wedges, and cole slaw, or green
beans and corn on the cob in the summer. Tacos with loads of veggies is
another meal that is loved by everyone in our house. Pasta. Any pasta covered in sauce is a good meal to my family. Eva
and I love chick peas, Mia and Carter eat them but they don't request
them like Eva does. My favorite way to fix chick peas is to heat them to
room temperature, add grape tomatoes cut in half, chunked avocado, a
pinch of salt and fresh lime juice over everything. It is so yummy.
I
always try to have fresh raw veggies and cooked vegetables at all of
our meals along with meat when Rob is home. We usually eat fresh fruit
for dessert. I love bread but my girls are not fans. So I usually fix a
loaf or two each week to eat with our dinners.
Our
lunches consist of mostly leftovers. If those are not available I give
the kids an option of beans or sandwiches. Mia usually goes for beans
and the other two like a sandwich.
For breakfast I
fix them oatmeal with my canned peaches or frozen berries that we put
up in the spring and summer. Other days we might have Greek yogurt,
sausage and gravy with biscuits, or eggs. Sometimes I have granola that
they can eat. We stay away from store bought cereal because of all the
added sugar and enriched ingredients. I always fix a 20 oz green
smoothie for myself and about 4 oz for each of the kids. On days when
Rob eats breakfast with us I usually fix bacon or sausage to go with our
eggs. We love some bacon in our family!
Snacks
are the biggest struggle. Even though we eat lots of fiber and whole
grain my kids are always starving. Growing up I don't remember snacking a
lot but who knows. I have decided that as long as it is more than an
hour before a meal the kids can eat as many snacks as they want, within
reason.
These are the snacks they are allowed to have:
These are the snacks they are allowed to have:
1. Oatmeal
2.
Fresh vegetables. I always keep peppers, celery, and broccoli cut-up,
and in the veggie drawer. I also have carrots and small cucumbers in
that drawer. On the counter there is usually a container of grape
tomatoes.
3. Fresh fruit. I keep seasonal fruit for the most
part. Pineapple, oranges, and bananas have been around my house lately.
In the summer it is berries, peaches, and pears. In the fall we eat a
lot of apples. I throw in grapes here and there as they go on sale.
4.
Nuts and dried fruit. I usually have pecans and almonds. Sometimes we
roast them but the kids prefer eating them raw. They also like dried
fruit - prunes, raisins, apricots, etc.
5. String cheese or cubed cheese
6. Greek yogurt
7. Popcorn. They are half Fenzel and we all know how the Fenzel clan loves their popcorn.
The
kids usually tell me when they are hungry and if we are not in the
middle of school or some project, I tell them to go and pick out what
they want and sit at the table. Since I keep everything sliced and
prepped they are able to get what they want by themselves.Cooking Beans for Easy Digestionby Lois Breneman - 2012 - Heart to Heart Newsletter
Satisfying, versatile, and very inexpensive - about $1 per pound - at a
time when budgets need to be stretched to put gas in our vehicles! I
just cooked another 4 pounds today! Beans freeze very well!
A few months ago I shared how to cook beans to be easily digestible. A nutritionist told me to soak grain overnight by adding 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar for every cup of grain. However, I adapted this recipe and found it works just as well without the beans soaking up so much vinegar. There is no vinegar flavor with the following directions.
This is what I do:
A few months ago I shared how to cook beans to be easily digestible. A nutritionist told me to soak grain overnight by adding 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar for every cup of grain. However, I adapted this recipe and found it works just as well without the beans soaking up so much vinegar. There is no vinegar flavor with the following directions.
This is what I do:
Soak the following overnight in a large Dutch oven or cooking pot:
4 pounds of dried beans, washed thoroughly in a colander (Great Northern or pinto beans are very good)
1 gallon of distilled water (or enough to fully cover soaked beans)
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
4 pounds of dried beans, washed thoroughly in a colander (Great Northern or pinto beans are very good)
1 gallon of distilled water (or enough to fully cover soaked beans)
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
Note: DO NOT add any salt at this point! Salt will prevent the beans from getting tender. Salt and season later.
After soaking overnight or at least 8 hours, drain and rinse the beans several times. Cover with more pure water and bring to a boil. A foam may cover the top after they come to a boil. Skim off the foam with a large spoon. I hold the lid in my left hand and spoon the foam into the lid, then pour it down the drain. This needs to be done until the foam is about gone (5 minutes or so). Simmer beans for about an hour or more until the beans are tender. I drain the beans unless I plan to make bean soup. You can season at this point or wait until serving. Spoon some of the beans into containers to freeze. Save some with the liquid for bean soup, and make hummus with the remaining beans for dipping carrots, celery or crackers into this high protein snack.
Complete protein: By eating a grain with beans, you will have a complete protein (a meat substitute). Whole grain bread or crackers, rice cakes or crackers, or a bean and rice dish will suffice.
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