Eating The Alphabet Archives - Page 2 of 3

Eating the Alphabet: The Letter H {Eating the Alphabet series}

June 29, 2011 By Meal Plan Mom (Brenda) Leave a Comment

This week we’re back with Eating the Alphabet and it’s the letter H! I’ve chosen Honeydew because it is easy to find in the summertime and a fruit that my family is not usually going to eat as we find it one of the more bland melons. But it’s packed with Vitamin C and potassium so I thought I would give it another try. I’m flip-flopping things this time and posting the letter and recipe first and will do our review of what we thought in the next Eating the Alphabet write up. I found the recipe below online and it looks delicious and easy!

Honeydew Smoothie
from Food Network’s Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee

2 cups honeydew melon, cubed
1 cup vanilla low-fat yogurt
2 tablespoons apple juice, from frozen concentrate
Ice
Honeydew melon slices, for garnish

Directions
In a blender, combine melon, yogurt, and apple juice concentrate. Blend until smooth. With blender running, add ice until frothy.
Pour into 2 (16-ounce) glasses and garnish with sliced melon.

Have you been Eating the Alphabet? What new foods have you been trying? Join the conversation and leave a comment!

Filed Under: Eating The Alphabet, General, Letter H

Eating the Alphabet: The Letter F {Kids Kitchen Connection}

March 1, 2011 By Meal Plan Mom (Brenda) 2 Comments

I’ve taken a few weeks off from our Eating the Alphabet series because I wanted to join in with the Super Healthy Kids blog Alphabet Academy series! There, you will find links to many other bloggers who are coming up with creative ways to cook with the alphabet. I had actually thought to do a similar link-up but because I’ve been rather inconsistent with past link-up attempts, I’m happy to have someone else do it!

This week we are on the letter F. I chose Fennel and I’ll be honest, I was a bit intimidated. I really wasn’t sure what I was going to make but a quick online search helped me realize that it would be much easier than I thought to add this mysterious vegetable to our menu. Although the whole fennel plant is common in culinary endeavors, its hint of licorice adds a unique flavor to any dish and is a great source of Vitamin C!

I made up the Fennel Cucumber Salsa and it was delicious! Chock full of other vegetables like cucumber, avocado and purple onions, adding the chopped fennel was easy. I served the salsa and whole-wheat pita chips as one of our sides with dinner and it was a hit with everyone!

I hope you’ll consider trying fennel too. It’s easy and so good for you to up those daily veggies in your diet. How do you Eat the Alphabet?

Filed Under: Eating The Alphabet, kid-friendly, meal planning blog, snack ideas, snack recipes, vegetables

Eating the Alphabet: The Letter E {Eating the Alphabet series}

January 25, 2011 By Meal Plan Mom (Brenda) Leave a Comment

We pick back up with the Eating The Alphabet series this week with the letter E.

I’ve chosen Edamame since it’s a great protein filled snack that my whole family loves! We call them “pods” and like to have them lightly salted and eat them right out of the pod. They are readily available in my grocer’s freezer section and we like to buy the whole pods to steam, salt and snack! Food with Kid Appeal has a nice article here about the benefits of these immature soybeans and how to prepare and eat them. If you’re concerned about the media attention given to soy lately, it depends on the type of soy and that hype primarily relates to processed soy products and supplements. Check out this Joy of Soy article to make up your own mind.

In the meantime, we’ll be enjoying our vegetables this week as we continue Eating the Alphabet! How do you eat the alphabet?

Filed Under: Eating The Alphabet, kid-friendly, Letter E, snack ideas, snack recipes, vegetables

Eating the Alphabet: The Letter D

January 6, 2011 By Meal Plan Mom (Brenda) 2 Comments

After a break for the holidays, I’m picking back up with our Eating The Alphabet adventure and we’re on to the letter D!

I’ve chosen Dates. At first I thought of making some sort of dessert with dates but decided that would be too easy. Instead, I searched the net and came up with Spinach Salad with Bacon, Dates and Feta Dressing. The ingredients were easily accessible and the list short…my kind of recipe! So I’ve added it to my menu plan for this week. I’ll let you know how it goes over. One little heads up: when I purchased the dates I bought them in the dried fruit section of the grocery store. There were a few different types to choose from–some whole some chopped. Well, since the recipe calls for chopped dates and I’ve tried chopping them in the past (a sticky pain!), I went with the chopped variety. I should have looked at the bag a little more closely as they include a coating of dextrose . Bah! Oh well, maybe that will help the salad go over with the kids a little better!

Have any of you been trying the Eating The Alphabet series recipes? I’d love to hear from you!

Filed Under: Eating The Alphabet, fruits, kid-friendly, meal planning

Eating the Alphabet: The Letter C {Eating the Alphabet series}

December 1, 2010 By Meal Plan Mom (Brenda) 1 Comment

This week in our Eating The Alphabet adventure, it’s the letter C! I chose Cranberries since it fits so well into this season and we love them (and shh…they’re also full of vitamins and antioxidants). Oh, and don’t forget to stock up on fresh cranberries while they’re in the stores because they freeze really well! (I like to buy them for a great price at my local wholesale club store).

Last week for Thanksgiving, I made one of my favorite appetizers to snack on before the big meal: Cranberry Amaretto Chutney with Cream Cheese. It is soooo easy and everyone loves it (and the alcohol cooks out).

But I’m getting ahead of myself. This week I’m going to try the Cream Cheese Cranberry Muffins. A friend made these last year and my daughter just loved them! We’re always looking for some new muffin ideas to mix up our breakfast options too.

Follow-up on the Letter B for Broccoli. I made the Broccoli Chicken Stir Fry. I have to say it was very delicious and everyone tried a bit of broccoli…although I ended up being the big winner because I ate most of it. Oh well, I’ll keep trying and some is better than none!

Have you joined in on the Eating The Alphabet adventure? Let me know how it’s going!

Filed Under: Eating The Alphabet, fruits, Letter C, menu plan monday, seasonal eating, vegetables

Eating the Alphabet: The Letter B

November 17, 2010 By Meal Plan Mom (Brenda) Leave a Comment

For this week’s Eating The Alphabet, we’re on to the letter B. I’ve chosen Broccoli because this is one vegetable I have prepared several different ways and I still get turned up noses every time (even from my husband)! I’m determined to find a dish with broccoli that my family will eat!

So in this week’s Menu Plan, I’m making Broccoli Chicken Stir Fry. I’ll let you know how it goes!

Last week we kicked things off with the Letter A for Acorn Squash. I must say I had a small victory because everyone tried it and liked it! But they didn’t love it. The flavors were good but despite my following the recipe exactly, the squash was pretty mushy so the texture turned us off. Oh well, I’m glad that everyone at least tried it. If anyone has any tips for cooking squash, please feel free to share!

Filed Under: Eating The Alphabet, Letter B, meal planning, quick fix meals, vegetables

Menu Plan Monday & Muffin Tin Monday {Meal Inspiration Ideas}

November 16, 2010 By Meal Plan Mom (Brenda) 1 Comment

Gotta love my freezer meals! Here’s what’s on the menu at our house this week:

Monday: Rotisserie Chicken Panini
Tuesday: Spaghetti & Meatsauce; carrots sticks
Wednesday: Gumbo with Steamed Rice; garden salad
Thursday: Broccoli Chicken Stir Fry over Asian noodles
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Out To Eat
Sunday: Leftovers

What’s on your menu this week?

And I’ve got a bonus this week–Muffin Tin Monday! I’ve been following Michelle’s blog since discovering it this summer but have been pretty inconsistent about participating until this week. You see, the theme is Food Pyramid and that really appealed to me because of my recent obsession with adding more fruits and veggies to our diet. I have to say, this was much easier than it seemed at first. I made them for an afterschool snack for the kids. Here’s what I included:
Top Row: Carrot sticks, pita chips, sliced apples
Bottom Row: Cucumber slices, hummus, grapes

So easy and the kids loved it–they ate nearly all of it! I hope you’re inspired to try one of your own!

Filed Under: Eating The Alphabet, Freezer Meals, meal organizing, meal planning, menu plan monday

{Web Bytes} To Sneak or Not to Sneak? That is the question.

November 11, 2010 By Meal Plan Mom (Brenda) 3 Comments

The blogosphere and general online world has been all abuzz again with the topic of sneaking healthy fruits and veggies into our family’s foods. The controversy seems to have been kicked off by Jessica Seinfeld’s latest book, Double Delicious , tour and her appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show the week before last.
The hosts of the Everyday Food show on the Martha Stewart Living Radio satellite channel were also talking about it–on more than one day!

Kerry Trueman of the Huffington Post blog talks about it with Dr. Marion Nestle, NYU professor of nutrition and gets her take on stealth tactics to healthy eating for kids.

She references a feature on NPR where they highlight the efforts in a Virginia area public school and their efforts to “trick” school children into eating healthy foods.

Lastly, OneHungryMama blogs about it at Babble.com where she takes on the controversy and then offers some suggestions for lasting solutions.

I own Seinfeld’s first book, Deceptively Delicious. I like it and have made several recipes from it. Actually, the chicken nugget recipe is one of our favorites and my family usually goes back for seconds–even though it has broccoli puree in it. I bought the book right when it came out and my children were younger. I thought “why not?” It sounds good and if they like the food then what’s the harm? I always disclosed what kind of puree was in the dish (usually after the fact though) and it did not seem to matter. Plus it was a great way to use up fresh produce from our co-op before it spoiled.

I will say my kids are not the norm. They have always eaten a much wider variety of foods than their peers. I have friends who struggle with picky eaters of all ages. How much of it is modeling, psychological, personality or just who they are? That’s a much bigger question, right?

So, if a recipe can be prepared so that it tastes better (which it generally does to us) and provides a little extra nutrition, what can it hurt? We’re not eliminating fruits and vegetables in their original form from the plate so it’s just a bonus (and the authors support this idea too…non-pureed vegetables need to be added to the plate as well).
At least that’s where I stand for now.

What do you all think?

Filed Under: Eating The Alphabet, fruits, healthy meals, kid-friendly, meal planning, picky eaters, snack ideas, snack recipes, toddler friendly, toddler meal planning, vegetables

Eating the Alphabet: The Letter A

November 10, 2010 By Meal Plan Mom (Brenda) 1 Comment

The first installment of our Eating the Alphabet series is for the letter A! And since I’m going for something that is also in season we’ve chosen Acorn Squash. The kids have already asked “what is that squash doing on the counter? Are we going to have to eat it?” Of course. And the recipe I’ll be trying is for Acorn Squash with Apple. Per the reviews, it appears to be kid friendly and delicious. I’ll let you know how it goes! Won’t you join us?

Filed Under: Eating The Alphabet, kid-friendly, Letter A or B, vegetables

Eating the Alphabet: A New Round! {Kids Kitchen Connection}

November 9, 2010 By Meal Plan Mom (Brenda) 9 Comments

I’ve been talking about for months now and it’s finally happening: Eating the Alphabet is back! For all my new readers I’ll give you the scoop (and for longtime readers, a refresher).

Inspired by Lois Ehlert’s book by the same name, each week we will choose a new letter from the alphabet and then make a dish, snack or anything tasty that features that ingredient. The primary criteria? It must be a fruit or a vegetable. But this go ’round I’m adding legumes and whole grains to the mix to help encourage us to try even more new, healthy ingredients. I have to say that when we were doing it last time, the kids really got into thinking up different types of fruits and vegetables that we could try. And the bonus? They were much more willing to try something new if they had “suggested” it!

I hope you’ll join us in our healthy adventure to find new foods that we can prepare and hopefully come to love. Stay tuned for our first letter of the week: A!