What we are up too

Sorry for the total inconsistent blogging lately. I am spending alot of time cooking things up in the kitchen lately. I never liked cooking before but something about being able to make everything for my family with out all the unnecessary ingredients like the processed foods have, it makes me feel so great and in return makes cooking so much fun!
It is crazy to see our pantry, fridge and freezer now compared to just a few weeks ago. Before it was filled with 90% of processed, convenient meals and almost every single one had High Fructose Corn Syrup in them. Not good at all! Now we have a fridge full of produce, organic plain yogurt, water (instead of juice boxes) and many other healthier foods. Our freezer is stocked with precooked meats, homemade stock, frozen fruit and whole wheat flour (so it stays fresh longer). Our pantry is filled with dry rice, beans, spices like I have never seen before in our house (it looks like the spice aisle at the store, in my cabinet now) and is pretty bare compared to what it used to look like. Most stuff around here is made from scratch and kept in the fridge or freezer so there is no need for the pantry very much.

I was a bit hesitant on how my children would react to this change but they have done AWESOME! Not once have they asked for juice over water, they love tasting all the new things I am making and they are eating better than they have ever eaten. Just when I think they are going to cave and want the old junk food instead of the healthier dinner I made, they surprise me and clean their plates and ask for more. That is HUGE for me!

Yesterday was report card day and both boys brought home EXCELLENT report cards. Scooter made nothing lower than a B and had even raised his math grade. That is HUGE, since we know how he struggles in math. So to reward them, we took them out to dinner at a close by Mexican place. We didn't give them any limitations after all this was a special treat. They both ordered what they wanted and asked for a coke to drink. We let them have it but we certainly were paying for it later. Both boys couldn't sit still the rest of the night. How have I never noticed that it did this to them before? They were on a sugar high and it was impossible to get them to sleep. It opened our eyes nonetheless and we won't be doing that again.

I made some Kale chips yesterday as an alternative to regular chips. I myself had never tried Kale and I wasn't real sure about Kale chips. I made them anyways and we all LOVE them. WOW these things are so good and it makes me feel even better since Kale is so good for you. Both boys wanted to take them as their snack today but I talked them out of it. The kale chips crumble easily and I knew they would be a crumbly mess if they even made it in one piece to snack time. They took grapes instead on the condition that they could have some when they got home.

I often feel like I need to pinch myself to see if I am dreaming.....could it really be this easy to get my kids on board with healthier eating??? I am thanking God for such unpicky eaters. I know that has alot to do with it.

I am constantly posting our new recipes on my recipe blog so you can check it out often or even subscribe to it so new posts are emailed to you.

It really is alot easier (and cheaper) to eat healthier than I expected.