October 13

Yesterday my hubby & I went to the farm that I visited last week.  He was curious about what meats they offered.  That, and he loved the kale chips I made so much he wanted me to get more kale to make them again today!!  In addition to the curly kale you find at the grocery, this farm grows two other kinds of kale; they recommended using TUSCANO kale to make kale chips.  OMG it was so good!! You didn't have to deal with the curly edges not crisping and was much easier to clean & dry.

So while we were at the farm, we picked up breakfast for today...last night's dinner...in addition to the kale. :) I need to learn to bring my camera places with me, so I can take pictures to post.

Breakfast: fresh from the farm eggs & bacon.  The bacon is made from pastured pork, is all natural with no nitrates or preservatives or any of that other yucky stuff we are avoiding.  It was so good I can't even tell you.  Even though it was really expensive, $10 a pound, it was worth it.  We don't have bacon all that much anyway, so I can work this into my food budget.  It's amazing how much money you save when you are not buying bags of potato chips and other junk.  We also had a loaf of ciabatta bread I had in the freezer.  I defrosted it last night then popped it in the oven this morning; the package claims "All Natural" but we know that means nothing.  It says on the package if you don't use that day you are to freeze it.  But I am saving for a breadmaker, I should have it by Thanksgiving the latest!!

Morning Snack: lemon Chobani

Lunch: 2 apple cider donuts from a farm stand we drove buy.  All I can say was if I can help it, I am never buying a farm stand donut again!!! The ingredients list was just as bad as the donuts from the orchard near me!! This time of year, the donuts were the only thing available we could eat at that moment.  They had a few lettuces but we had no where to wash it, and everything else needed prep.  We were not in an area with any places to stop & eat, plus we were running short on time.  They did sell pies too, but without forks, not a option.

Afternoon Snack: pretzels at a winery

Dinner: The last two ham steaks we had in the freezer and organic peas.  Not in the mood to cook!

Evening Snack: Unreal Nutty Ones.  This is becoming a habit, I think. :)

Didn't get to the kale chips, so making them tomorrow.

Happy Eating!
Kathy

October 12

One of my biggest challenges since switching to a cleaner lifestyle is breakfast for my kids.  My boys are teenagers now, 14 & 16, both in high school.  Around here, that means school bus pick ups before 7am.  It's really had to get up early enough to cook breakfast for them every day.  By Friday I am exhausted!!  For them to have breakfast on the table by 6:30, I am up between 6 & 6:15 to cook it.  The later time is heating pre-made (by me, of course) pancakes or toasting a bagel (not made by me, I am SO bad with breads) and the earlier time is cooking eggs and such.  A couple days a week I really need them to have a bowl of cereal.  They are being really stubborn with what cereals they like!!!  They have not had a bowl of anything by Kelloggs in almost two years, yet they still complain about how what I give them tastes.  The only one they will eat happily is made by Mom's Best Cereals http://momsbestcereals.com/ called Crispy Cocoa Rice.  They do not pass the kitchen test, but they are better than the Cocoa Krispies made by Kelloggs.  I find that I am eating the rest of the box every time they turn up their noses.  To me, they taste fine, LOL.  I don't intend on giving in, but the battle is definitely wearing me down.

Anyone out there deal with this successfully at home?

Breakfast today: http://www.cascadianfarm.com/ Cinnamon Crunch cereal that the kids didn't like, with organic skim milk.  Coffee with half and half.

Morning snack: lemon Chobani

Lunch: football time today, Go Big Red!!!  leftover taco meat with mango peach salsa & organic tortilla chips; fresh baked kale chips from local organic farm; Unreal Nutty Ones

Dinner: country style ribs smoked on the grill. ribs come from a local grass-fed farm with organic mixed veggies on the side.

Evening Snack: wine (yeah I like wine but we went to see a band play at a winery) and Unreal Nutty Ones.

Happy Eating!
Kathy

October 11

Last busy day - work, appointments, but challenge still going strong.  I am learning so much from the Facebook group!  What a wonderful group of people.

Breakfast: steel cut oats with cinnamon, thinned a bit with skim milk.

Morning snack: blood orange Chobani right before my flu shot.  Have you got yours yet?  Not sure how it fits into the challenge, haha!!

Lunch: Boars Head ham & cheddar on the last of the Nature's Own bread with lettuce & organic mayo.

Afternoon snack: working, so no snack.

Dinner:  was supposed to work tonite, so I had nothing planned.  My family was going to order pizza in my absence and I was going to eat the above sandwich for dinner, but my hours got shifted so had to last minute plan.  Last minute plan was stopping for pizza & calzones. :(  But one of my exceptions was eating out once a week.  At least it's not frozen pizza, right?????


Happy Eating!
Kathy

October 10

Boy did this day go by fast!!! Worked all day, so not much food stuff to report in.

Breakfast: leftover potatoes (wish I had made even MORE extra, cause they were good!) with eggs, coffee with half and half

Lunch: apple cinnamon Chobani, leftover applesauce, 4 pieces of Vermont cinnamon raisin bread. Yeah, that was lunch.  I totally forgot as I was running around trying to get there on time (and run the couple errands I needed to run before hand) that I didn't make lunch.  There is no were close to go to eat, not that I am eating out much right now anyway, so I threw in what I could.

Afternoon snack: As I'm sure you figured out, I was starving by the time I was almost ready to leave.  I found a Hershey's with Almonds at work, leftover from a private party the weekend before, so I ate it. Blech...so does not taste good anymore.  I would have totally skipped it but my stomach was growling loud enough for my co-workers to hear and I still had to go pick up my son from an after-school club!! So I ate it. :(

Dinnner: tacos made with taco seasoning from Weis.  I had purchased their taco shells before, only three ingredients, so thought I'd give their packaged seasoning a try.  It was a little bland for our taste.  We have been trying very hard to eliminate the packaged seasonings, but we've never liked any of the recipes I've tried!  I've made so many different ones, as we have tacos at least once, if not twice, a month.  Oh well...we'll keep trying!!

The shells.






Evening snack: mojito for the football game & some Angie's Kettle Corn.

Happy Eating!!

October 9

Hand's feeling a bit better today, happily!! But still taking it easy with typing.


Breakfast: steel cut oats with milk, cinnamon & blueberries

Morning Snack: banana Chobani

Lunch: Scrambled cage-free egg whites with leftover potatoes

Afternoon snack: none - had to work

Dinner: Cavatelli & Broccoli.  http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cavatelli-and-broccoli/


Happy Eating!
Kathy

October 8

Today started out as a quiet day; taking some much needed "me" time to read, watch a movie (Salmon Fishing in the Yemen) then I went to the library.  Quick stop at the farmers market to pick up a couple of potatoes and some broccoli & cavatelli for tomorrow's dinner and I was in for the day.  I even started prepping dinner early; getting some of the chopping and such done so I wouldn't have a mountain of dishes at the end of the night.  Good thing I did, since while I was doing the last of the breading of the chicken cutlets I reached for my glass of water, and in my haste I dropped it and it broke.  And cut my hand.  In a few places.  Sigh,  Happily my 16 yo was able to finish the egg dip & breading of the cutlets while I tended to my wounds & cleaning of the glass.  One cut may need stitches, but going to see how it looks tomorrow.  Got the bleeding stopped & covered it with a liquid bandage. Hard to type so going to be quick with this post.

Breakfast: steel cut oats, thinned with a bit of organic skim milk; cinnamon & some of yesterday's applesauce mixed in

Morning Snack: strawberry Chobani

Lunch: grilled ham& cheese on http://www.naturesownbread.com/ dipped in organic ketchup.

Afternoon snack: applesauce

Dinner: breaded chicken cutlets (bread crumb comes from bakery) I add seasonings; roasted potatoes with onion & rosemary, string beans.

Evening Snack: glass of wine, Unreal Gimme Ones candies

Happy Eating!
Kathy

October 7

Week one if the challenge is done!!  I found out about the challenge only a few days before it started; so I didn't have a lot of time to prepare or plan what my goals were going to be.  We have been eating as clean as we could as a family for a long time now - and as the week has gone by I have thought about it and came to the following conclusions:

1 - I want to be more aware of the little ingredients that are in my food I had been over looking and find out more information about them
2 - I want to build a larger network of clean eaters for support
3 - I want to see what areas we have been lacking in, with choosing our foods
4 - I want to find new products and brands that my family will enjoy

How's that...to start!


Breakfast:  3 slices Vermont cinnamon raisin bread spread with local honey, coffee with half n half

Morning snack: banana Chobani

Lunch: salad with organic Caesar salad dressing, leftover grilled pizza from last night

Afternoon snack: a few handfuls of Angie's Kettle Corn

Dinner: Barilla White Fiber thin spaghetti (ingredients: SEMOLINA, DURHAM WHEAT FLOUR, WHOLE DURHAM WHEAT FLOUR, CORN STARCH, NIACIN, IRON, THIAMINE, MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID) - does not pass kitchen test - with home made pesto sauce.  The pesto was made with organic basil and organic olive oil.  The pine nuts and garlic are not organic. Romano cheese is also in the pesto.  Garlic bread made with butter and fresh ground garlic on the side.

Dessert: home made applesauce!! Grabbed a bunch of apples at the farmers market today, threw in a couple pears that were over ripe, and a couple cinnamon sticks.  Tada!! Fresh applesauce. NO ADDED SUGAR!

Evening snack:  glass of wine

Happy Eating!
Kathy