Designate Bags for Activities

My son is in several extra curricular activities, so keeping track of all his stuff is not an easy task.

I have a separate bag for each event...soccer has a sporty backpack with his cleats, shin guards, and jersey.  His cub scouts bag is smaller and just holds a binder that carries his book and all the information he needs. He has an organizer/bible zipper bag that has everything he needs for Sunday school.  His hip hop/dance backpack has his clothes and shoes inside.

I have a coat closet by the front door that I keep the bags in...I hang them on hangers so they are packed and ready to go!!  Same goes for my little girl...her bags are packed too!

My Juicing Experience

I have been wanting a juicer ever since reading Matt Terry's blog.  I started researching them...my friend, April got one and showed me hers..the grapefruit juice was sooo yummy!  I just had to have one!  We bought a Jack La Lanne Juicer and it worked great...the kids loved the juice and immediately started requesting favorites!  That made me sooo happy :)

So far, they love apple juice, orange juice, strawberry-pear, and really anything with fruit in it...we mix alot of flavors together, so yummy!

We even poured the strawberry juice in Popsicle trays!

We only had our juicer for 4 days...we kept wishing we weren't throwing out ALL THAT PULP!!!  I know there are recipes to use it, but since we mix fruits, it wasn't usable.  I couldn't stand it...a whole fruit goes in, a quarter cup of juice comes out and the rest goes down the disposal...I started researching again and found Montel Williams blender/juicer.  It emulsifies the entire fruit and vegetable using everything!  I wanted it, but with a $200+ price tag, I just couldn't do it.  I found the perfect machine for us...It is the...

NINJA KITCHEN SYSTEM 1200

This machine has the same 1100 watt motor as the Health master. It pulverizes whole fruits and vegetables, ice, and anything you want to within moments!  It came with a regular container and a huge 72oz pitcher/bowl.  You can mix bread dough (can't wait to mix up some whole wheat pizza crust!), use it as a mixer for baking and whipping, juicing, blender for smoothies and frozen drinks, soups, chopping/food processing (yay for my salsa!) and even real ice cream within 2 minutes!!  I have used this since Monday and absolutely LOVE it!!  The kids do too! 

The strawberry ice cream is all gone!! 

I started to shred carrots and bell peppers for my rice, then remembered
my new machine, 4 seconds later I had them all chopped perfectly!

Super Healthy berry smoothies for dessert!

This appliance will replace several of my others and with a price tag of only $25 more than my juicer...it will definitely save me MONEY by using ALL my fruits and veggies!  Check this system out if you are thinking about juicing!

Reuse Birthday Cards

Make all those adorable Birthday Cards into special bookmarks. FamilyFun Magazine  had a great way to repurpose them. Cut our a long strip of the card, leave the fold so that you can apply self-adhesive magnetic tape to fold it over and save the exact place you are!  What a great way to preserve those momentos!

Family Mealtime Tips

Get the whole family involved!! 

Let them take turns choosing the meal, even if a child chooses an "unhealthy" option, make it healthy by adding veggies and whole grains...let's face it, many kids are gonna pick PIZZA as their fave...make it with whole wheat flour and then let them choose toppings (they have to pick one veggie). 

Let them help you grocery shop and pick out the fruits and veggies to use for the meal.  After all, the produce isle is the most colorful area of the store! 

Everyone can help somehow...setting table, measuring ingredients, reading directions, pouring the drinks...just let them know how important their job is! 

Create THEME nights, like Dinner & a Movie night, or Outdoor Dinner on the Deck, or Taco Night

Talking to each other over dinner is the best thing a family can do together.  We never have trouble finding stuff to talk about, but every once in a while I'll pull out the "Dinner TALK Cards".  They are just note cards with questions or interesting facts on them.  Some of the questions are super simple like, "What would be your dream job?", "If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be?", or "Where would you go for a vacation?"  Some of the facts are about Space, Science, Animals, and History.  We pass it around and talk about them!




We made Mexican pizzas



pump out the soap & save

My son is in second grade and takes a shower all on his own each morning.  I wonder how much shampoo or bodywash he uses...to make sure he uses the correct amount, I switched his shampoo/bodywash to pump-style bottles.  He knows now that he gets ONE pump of each and that it IS enough! 

Suave makes one with a pump for kids OR you can just reuse one of your empty soap dispensers, I used a dish soap pump bottle, filled it with shampoo, and then let him decorate it! 

USDA's MyPLATE is super helpful

The  USDA'S new MyPlate  makes it easier for us parents to create a more balanced meal for our kiddos! 
Visit their website for links on : Healthy eating on a Budget, getting your own personalized diet plan, weight loss options, ways to prepare fruits and vegetables, and countless other informative pages to access.

Packing a Healthy Lunch

Trying to make sure to pack healthy, nutritious food for my son's lunch, but let's be honest...when I look up healthy school lunchbox choices online, I get all these veggie based sammies & gourmet looking cuisines.  My kid just wants super simple foods that are easy to eat.  So far, this is what I send him.

I send him with one Main food item, a fruit, a veggie, a whole grain (if the main doesn't include one), a yogurt and a small treat.  Water to drink.

MAIN ENTREE
Turkey (sliced rotisserie or Healthy Ones), cheese on whole wheat
Organic peanut butter & honey on whole wheat (sometimes fruit spread)
Ham and Cheese on wheat
Baked beans with Beef franks....this is his fave, but higher in sugar than I like.
I also do  inside out turkey/ham roll ups...roll meat around a cheese stick, no bread
Or roll ups with whole wheat tortilla, meat, and shredded cheese

SIDES
Strawberries
Apples (sometimes w/peanut butter for dipping)
baby carrots (sometimes with yogurt ranch dip)
celery w/peanut butter
natural applesauce ( sometimes i add cinnamon)
Mandarin orange slices
Wheat pretzel twists
yogurt (plain w/honey or Dannon smoothie)


SWEET TREAT
Fiber One 90 calorie brownie
graham cracker with peanut butter
       "                with strawberry cream cheese
       "                with nutella chocolate spread
almonds to dip in a tablespoon of nutella
granola bar