Eating Archives – The Pinterested Parent

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Eating

Sun
03 ^rd

Crescent Roll Breakfast Muffins

Posted by Pinparent — 8 Comments

The battle at mealtime continues… Here are few funny things about my daughter and food. She will not eat a plate of macaroni because she says it is disgusting but she will dip Frosted Flakes in ranch dressing and tell me “Mmmm Mmmmm, it is so delicious.” She boycotts certain foods because she says they are “Too cheesy, but will ask for a slice of cheese each and every time we go the deli department at the grocery store.” and then a food that was her favorite last week, she will push a way from her this week with the claim “I do not like this.” Siiiiiiigh!

Mealtimes are tough. Our daughter rather be doing anything else in the world than eating. We entertain her during meals with books and talking about our day, but most of the time she just wants to jump down and play. I also have noticed the larger variety of foods given to her on one plate the more she scoffs at it. We try to keep it simple. Bite sized foods work best & of course whenever I can throw something into a muffin tin or roll it into a ball, I do it.

When Mai first started her path into pickiness, there was one thing that usually never failed, wrapping her food in a crescent. I made crescent stuffed everything for a little one. I had almost forgotten about this. We had a can of crescent rolls in our fridge & I thought we could re-visit our old trick & see if it could still work it’s magic.

Ingredients:

On can of crescent rolls or crescent dough

4 eggs

1/2 cup of ham finely diced

1/2 cup of finely chopped broccoli

1 tbsp of parmesan

1 tsp of water

Pepper to taste

Cheddar cheese optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. In a medium mixing bowl beat the eggs & water. Add the parmesan, ham, broccoli & pepper. Stir well. Roll out the crescent dough (If using crescent rolls, pinch the seams together & join into one sheet. Slice into 24 squares about 1 1/2 on each side. Push each square into a mini muffin tin opening working it around to form a cup. Pour the egg mixture into each cup filling almost to the top. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese if you desire. Bake for about 10-15. Cooking times will vary.

Mai made mommy very happy by gobbling up my muffins & daddy liked them so much he started a list of different varieties we could use to make for football parties.

Thank you as always for stopping by. Please follow us on Facebook as well.

Thu
26 ^th

My Picky Toddler Woes & Baked Corn Dog Bites

Posted by Pinparent — 12 Comments

I hate to sound like a broken record… I know you have heard me complain about this many times…BUT I have to say it again, my daughter is a picky eater. I can’t even imagine the amount of time & food I have wasted trying to get my child to eat a good meal. I have many sneaky ways & tricks that I use to help with the process, but that only works if she likes what she is eating.

She has a long list of gripes about her food:

“It’s too spicy.”
“It’s too cheesy”
“Not warm”
“Too hot”
“Noodles are disgusting”

You get the idea. Planning meals just plain stresses me out. At 2 1/2 years old our little girl still only weighs 25 pounds, so I will pretty much feed her anything that will get her to eat. Here lies the challenge. It is not uncommon for me to have several different meal options out at one time.

After rejecting meal 1 & meal 2, we try for a 3rd option. It is very frustrating. People tell you, they will eat when they are hungry, but yet I have seen my girl goes days without barely taking a bite.

I try to make food as fun & easy to eat as possible. She has recently taken a liking to hot dogs, just the hot dog, no bun. Tonight’s menu, corn dog bites. These are fun & super easy.

Ingredients:

2 boxes of Jiffy corn muffin mix (2/3 cup of milk & 2 eggs)

1 package of hot dogs

1/4 cup of parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp ground mustard

pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400. Slice hot dogs into chunks about 1 1/2″ long about 1/5 of the hotdog. Prepare the corn muffin mix according to directions. Mix in the parmesan cheese, ground mustard & pepper. Dunk the hot dog chunks in the mixture one at a time coating them well. Place on two greased baking sheet. Do not worry about them being covered perfectly. You can top off any bare spots my spooning mixture over the chunks once on the sheet. Leave plenty of space on the baking sheet between corn dog bites. Bake for about 10 minutes. Let cool & serve with ketchup or mustard.

It was a dinner time victory tonight. It even warranted a thumbs up from my finicky little girl. A sigh of relief & one more meal down. Until tomorrow….

Wed
21 ^st

Dining Out With Your Toddler

Posted by Pinparent — 13 Comments

It is Friday night. You are out to a romantic dinner with your main squeeze. You are sipping wine and gazing into each other’s eyes…then suddenly out of nowhere a small head pops up from the booth behind you and tries to hand you a half-eaten roll. Meet my daughter ladies and gentleman.
Dining out with a toddler can be difficult. If you are one of those mothers that was blessed with a child that can amuse him/herself for 2 hours with a sugar packet & a straw, you are one of the lucky ones. I am not so fortunate. My daughter is a ticking time bomb. The countdown starts as soon as we walk in the door. Let the countdown begin…

1-10 minutes: We are usually still in the safe zone. She is looking around and taking in the new faces, noises and atmosphere. We are still smiling and hopeful that we will have a good meal. I agonize over what to order her. What will she actually eat? I order the most fattening thing on the menu because it doesn’t matter, I won’t be able to eat it anyways.

10-20 minutes: The table is covered in salt & pepper & her pretty new dress has a lovely brown wet spot on it from her trying to drink her chocolate milk with a spoon. I am not ready to break into my bag of dinnertime entertainment yet. It is too soon. I beg the waitress to quickly bring out a fruit cocktail.

20-30 minutes: Dinner is served. As my daughter’s decibel level rises, so do the other diner’s heads. I am remembering being one of those glaring people before I had our daughter. I remember saying or thinking, “Why can’t they keep their child quiet?” Now as I eat my dinner, I also eat those words.
Perhaps during the dinner, Mai will make a statement such as “Poop is not good for supper. Jellybeans are good for supper.” The couple at the table next to us looks over at us. I assure them that I do not feed my daughter poop. I bribe my daughter with fruit snacks to take a bite of her food.

30-40 minutes: Where is our waitress? Did she go home? Mai starts sliding under the booth. I break out more fruit snacks & pull out some books from my bottomless purse.
Mommy: “Do you want to color?”
Mai: “No, not yet.”
Mommy: “Sit down & you can have more fruit snacks.”
Mai: “No fruit snacks anymore.” “What’s that?” “I go there.”

40-50 minutes: Seriously where is our waitress? The clock is ticking down. My two year old gets increasingly more agitated. She tries to wriggle past me to run after the fan she sees in the corner of the restaurant.
“Fan goes round! Fan goes round!”
No Mai, you have to stay here.
“NOOOOOOOOO!”
Uh oh! We are running out of time. Quick cut the blue wire or is it the red one?
“Mai, do you want to play with Mommy’s phone?”
“Yeeeeeeaaaah!”
Ahhhh. Disarmed….phew!

Always be prepared when you are dining out with your child. Pack snacks, a favorite cup, a change of clothes, crayons, toys, books and in a pinch a smart phone pre-loaded with child friendly apps and games can come in handy. Bon Appétit.

Sun
04 ^th

Preparing For For My First 5K And A Healthy Snack

Posted by Pinparent — 12 Comments

Here is a funny tidbit of information about me. I worked as a regional manager for a chain of health clubs for about 10 years, I married a marathon runner and I absolutely hate exercise. Everyone always assumed that I was a health nut. Nope! While my husband is running marathons, I am trying to find my way to the finish line with a forty ounce of beer. I don’t workout & I definitely do not run. For years my husband has been trying to convince me to run a race with him, but I just would not budge. I just could not understand why he and so many others loved this. Running hurts my knees and my shins. I am a big baby. I just was not interested in putting my body through this torture for no reason. Lately, I have begun to find myself more and more curious as to why so many loved to run. I know that obviously it is great for weight loss, but there are other ways to do it, so what is the draw. I have been gaining motivation through watching my husband, friends and even some of my fellow bloggers, Runsaltrun .

Soooooo, I, Kim the anti-runner have agreed to do my first 5K. I am a registered participant for one at the end of next month. This week, I began my training. What I have discovered is that I am grossly out of shape, but I am working on it.

When ever I start a exercise routine, I know that I am going to need some extra fuel to keep my body going. One of my favorite energy foods is granola. It is healthy, delicious and easy to make.

Ingredients:

2 cups of quick oats

1/4 cup organic honey

1/4 cup organic peanut butter – Make sure to stir the peanut butter well before measuring out as organic peanut butter can have an inconsistent texture if not stirred well.

1/3 cup coarsely chopped almonds

1/4 unshelled sunflower seeds

1/3 cup dark chocolate

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp of sea salt

1/4 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Mix oats, honey and peanut butter in a large mixing bowl. Mix well, breaking up any chunks of peanut butter and evenly distributing honey and peanut butter through the oats. Mix in the almonds, sunflower seeds and chocolate. Add the vanilla and sprinkle in the sea salt. Stir well. Spoon on your mixture onto a greased baking sheet. Spread out the mixture compactly to form larger granola chunks or scatter for smaller bites. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden. Watch carefully not to burn. Remove from the oven & let cool. Toss in the cranberries and crumble granola in to chunks.

127 — I bagged up snack sized portions in snack baggies to take to work.

The great thing about granola is their are so many possibilities and different fruit and nut combinations. Granola is great alone or sprinkle over yogurt or even ice cream.

Stay tuned for more on my 5K training saga…

Sun
13 ^th

Chick Pea Burgers

Posted by Pinparent — 12 Comments

I have a love/hate relationship with food. I love food, but it hates me. If I have one day of bad of eating, my body pays for it for days. I am in the throes of body payback right now. I don’t know when I will learn my lesson. The funny thing is I enjoy eating healthy, sometimes it is just too fun to be bad. Today,I am back to being a good girl. I am a big fan of veggie burgers & bean burgers. They are a staple in my diet. The same thing is the case with chick peas. I was craving falafel today, but as I am trying to stay away from fried food I wanted to make a baked version of one of my favorite meals ala a burger patty.

Chick Pea Burgers

1 can of chick peas (drained)
1/4 cup of diced onions
1/2 cup of diced water chestnuts
1/2 cup of diced red peppers
1 tsp minced garlic
1 egg
1/3 cup of wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp of baking powder
2 tbsp of grated parmesan
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp sea salt
Pepper to taste
Additional wheat flour for dusting

Preheat oven at 350. In your food processor combine, chickpeas, onion, water chestnuts, red peppers, garlic, cumin, salt, pepper & egg. Blend ingredients leaving it somewhat slightly chunky. Add in the flour, parmesan & baking powder. Blend slightly on pulse. Dust your hands with some wheat flour to keep mixture from sticking to hands. Roll a plum sized ball between your palms. Place on a greased baking sheet & flatten the ball into a patty by pressing with your hand. Continue until all the mixture is gone. This will make about 6 patties. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Serve on a bun with lettuce & yogurt dressing or tzatziki sauce. https://thepinterestedparent.com/2013/11/06/greek-nachos/.

These were wonderful. If you like chick peas, hummus and falafel, these are a must try. My husband even liked these.

Thank you as always for stopping by. Please follow us on Facebook as well.

Sat
12 ^th

Krispie Peanut Butter & Chocolate Balls

Posted by Pinparent — 10 Comments

Here is a simple fact of life…women love chocolate. We do! Men do not understand this as much. My husband would prefer a bowl of Doritos, but hand me a piece of chocolate and I am happy.

Tonight I had a craving. Why is it when ever you want candy, there is not a piece to be found, but as soon as you are on a diet, there is chocolate around every corner?
I wanted some chocolate, but I like my candy with nuts or some kind of crunch. We had chocolate chips, but I needed something more.

Krispie Peanut Butter & Chocolate Balls

Ingredients:
1 tbsp of butter
1/2 cup of crunchy peanut butter
2 cups of chocolate chips
1 cup of white chocolate chips
2 cups of Rice Krispies

Directions:
In a large saucepan melt the butter over low heat. Add the peanut butter. Stir for about a minute until melted. Add your chocolate chips. Stir until melted and smooth. DO NOT OVERCOOK. Once chocolate is melted add the Krispies. Mix until all of the Krispies are covered. Spoon out the mixture & fill a ball pop mold. Refrigerate until chocolate has hardened & then pop candies out of mold.

Thu
20 ^th

Mac & Cheese Omelette

Posted by Pinparent — 4 Comments

Let the comfort food continue…When you have a little one at home, it is not always easy to prepare meals. My daughter is pretty good at playing independently, but for some reason as soon as I try to cook or do a household chore, she wants mommy. My time is as precious as my little girl.

I am a garbage cook. I love throwing together random leftovers to make a meal. It is quick & easy and it gets rid of leftovers. The other night I made Velveeta shells & cheese for Mai for supper. She refused to eat it. She claimed that it was too spicy. ??? Crazy kiddo. Sufficed to say, I had a lot of mac & cheese left. This morning, hubby was home & we were all able to have family breakfast together. SInce my husband is a big fan of mac & cheese, I thought it might be fun to throw it in an omelette for him & see what he thought.

How did my left over mac & cheese omelette rate? Let’s find out?

This recipe is for a family sized omelette.

Ingredients:

4 large eggs

1 tbsp of water

About 1 cup of mac & cheese (heated)

1/2 cup of shredded cheddar

Garlic salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

In a mixing bowl beat eggs, water, garlic salt & pepper. Spray a frying pan with spray. Add the egg to the pan & cook on medium low heat. When egg is cooked through add the mac & cheese and top with cheddar. Fold your omelette over & sprinkle with additional cheese if desired. Keep on the heat until the cheese melts.

My leftover mac & cheese omelette was a huge hit, My husband absolutely loved this. I might have to make some macaroni & cheese again just to recreate this delicious breakfast.

Here is one more of my favorite junk omelettes. This is a 4 egg omelette with left over meat loaf, a 1 1/2 tbsp of barbecue sauce & swiss cheese.

Related Topics:

http://holisticwellnessforlife.com/2014/03/15/the-omelette-a-meal-you-can-always-count-on/

http://alotonyourplate.wordpress.com/2014/03/10/bacon-potato-and-cheese-omelette-cups-9/

Wed
19 ^th

Pasta La Carbonara

Posted by Pinparent — 12 Comments

Yesterday was an emotional day for me. Not only was it the anniversary of my mother’s passing, but I received a phone call at work from my brother-in-law letting me know that my husband had been in a car accident while on duty. Luckily, my husband left the accident with only a few aches and pains and a dented cruiser. I was very happy to have my injured hubby home in one piece. It was definitely an occasion for comfort food & comfort for my husband start with bacon.

Pasta La Carbonara

While this is a fairly simple recipe to make, timing is very important in preparing this dish. The egg is added to the dish at the very end & is cooked by the heat of the pasta. It is very important that the past is hot, so the bacon must be ready before or at the same time as the pasta. Also, be sure to have your egg mixture ready before you finish your pasta.

Ingredients:

1/2 package of extra thick cut bacon (chopped into 1 1/2 – 2 inch pieces)

1 lb of pasta

3 eggs (room temperature)

1 cup of parmesan

1/2 tbsp of minced garlic

1 tbsp of olive oil

1/2 tbsp of garlic salt

Pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large skillet add olive oil & bacon. Cook over medium heat. Cook the bacon halfway through & add the minced garlic. Cook until just under crispy. Drain excess grease, leaving a little in the skillet to toss the pasta in & flavor. Cover & set aside until the pasta is ready. Make sure that the bacon is finished before the pasta. You need the pasta to be hot.

In a mixing bowl beat the egg. Add the parmesan, garlic salt & pepper. *Prepare this before the pasta is finished cooking. It must be added to the pasta while still hot as the heat of the pasta is what cooks the egg.*

While the bacon is cooking, cook the pasta. Drain the pasta & immediately add to the skillet & toss with the bacon. Remove from the heat and add the egg mixture and toss together. The egg will cook as you toss it & form a creamy sauce. Enjoy!

My husband may have been in pain, but he had a happy belly & even had room for seconds.

Related Topics:

http://inmamastephskitchen.com/2014/03/18/dinner-in-10-one-pan-spicy-tomato-pasta/

http://cookingandmyfamily.wordpress.com/2014/03/18/ragu-and-pasta/

http://yourperfectburn.wordpress.com/2014/03/18/shrimp-curry-with-cream-sauce/

Thu
13 ^th

Sweet Potato Chips

Posted by Pinparent — 8 Comments

I started a new job a few weeks ago. While I love my new job, it has been quite a change for me. My last job had me on my feet all day. I was used to being on the run. With my new position, I am at a desk more the majority of my day. Not only am I not getting as much activity, I am also snacking much more while sitting at my desk. I needed to find healthy snacks to bring to work that did not make me feel guilty. A while back my mother-in-law bought us a bag of sweet potato chips & I absolutely loved them. How difficult could they be to make at home?

Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp of cinnamon

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp sea salt

Directions:

Preheat oven at 400 degrees. Wash & peel the potatoes. Slice the potatoes in thin even slices.( Try to cut the slices as evenly as possible.) Drizzle & rub with oil. Toss with cinnamon & paprika, coating each potato evenly. Spread out potatoes on a baking sheet in a single layer & sprinkle with the sea salt. Bake for 20-25 minutes. (Cook times will vary) Turn off oven &

The baking can be a tricky process. Watch them carefully to make sure that they do not burn. If you have some slices that are thicker or thinner than the others they will cook differently. Thicker cut slices may not be crisp.

I made these to bring to work the next day but ended up eating almost all of them as a late night snack. I guess I will have to double the batch the next time.

Related Topics:

http://fitdishdiaries.wordpress.com/2014/03/13/roasted-smokey-spiced-chickpeas/

http://dontforgetyourveggies.com/2014/03/12/my-favorite-granola/

http://fairyburger.wordpress.com/2014/03/12/apple-chips/

Sun
02 ^nd

Peanut Butter Apple Crisp

Posted by Pinparent — 14 Comments

Peanut butter is one of those thing that I think that you can couple with just about anything. I have always loved peanut butter… peanut butter & jelly, peanut butter on celery, peanut butter with bananas & one of my all time favorites peanut butter & apples. If you have never tried it, it may sound strange, but it is a wonderful combination.
My daughter in one of her unusual requests, asked for an apple pie & watermelon this morning for breakfast. It got a chuckle out of me & then got me thinking, an apple pie did sound good. I decided on an apple crisp instead & while in the midst of making it, started thinking about my favorite snack. This resulted in a fruity peanut buttery treat.

Peanut Butter Apple Crisp

Ingredients:

5 Granny Smith apples

1/2 cup of flour

1/2 cup of quick oats

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1/2 cup of melted butter or margarine

3 Tbsp of creamy peanut butter

1/2 tsp of salt

Ice cream or whipped cream for an optional topping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl mix all dry ingredients. Add the peanut butter & melted butter. Mix well using a fork to smash the ingredients together. Do this until the mixture is crumbly & well blended.

Peel, core & slice the apples & place slices in a 9 1/2 inch round baking dish. Add the peanut butter crumble over the apples evenly. Bake for 45 minutes. Let cool slightly & serve warm topped with ice cream or cream. Enjoy!

Related Topics:

http://prettylittlepastimes.com/2014/03/02/national-peanut-butter-lovers-day/

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