Meal Plan - May 10, 2017

I'm sorry I've been such a slacker on the blog posts the last while. Things have just been crazy with my cake business lately and I just haven't had time to sit down and write! I have a list of posts I want to write, so hopefully after Mother's Day I'll have some time!

Speaking of things I didn't get to, I didn't get to make the pierogies from last week's meal plan. I should have known better than to plan something that is so time intensive. I really enjoyed the fajita bowls and they were super simple; rice, bbq chicken breasts, homemade pico de gallo, and black beans. My parents and the kids had the chicken stir fry while John and I were out at a wedding and there wasn't much left over so it must have been good!

Now for the upcoming two weeks!

Chicken burgers (with McChicken sauce!)
Chicken stir fry with coconut sweet chili sauce
Thai beef satay
Waffles
Homemade pizza
Omlettes
Taco burrito bowl
Greek meatball gyros

My brother was nice enough to grab me a bottle of McChicken sauce now that it's in stores so I'm super excited to give it a try! Not the healthiest thing in the world but sometimes you just need some sauce. I've made the Greek meatballs a number of times but I thought it would be fun to turn them into a gyro.

Lunch
Chicken quesadillas
Homemade lunchables
Homemade burgers and fries

I decided to plan a few lunches as well this time around. We are officially in picnic season, so I need to save my sandwich days for the park.

Meal Plan - April 26, 2017

Time for more food! I love shopping for food almost as much as I like eating it, so I thoroughly enjoy grocery week. This time around I have a lot of chicken meals planned. I didn't really set out with that goal in mind I just kind of happened as I was going through my recipes.

Thai turkey meatballs
Homemade pierogies and sausage
Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken
Homemade pizza
Jalapeno cream cheese chicken
Fajita bowls
Chicken stir fry

All of the meals from last week were super delicious. Roman was confused with the whole fresh roll business. When I first set then down on the table Roman turns to me and says "Mom, I think these have plastic on them". Fast forward 5 minutes and he was dipping his fresh roll into the satay sauce like an old pro. I don't think he was a huge fan of it but I give him props for trying it!

I'm hoping I'll be able to try out a few new breakfast/lunch/snacks in the next couple weeks that I can turn into blog posts. Life has been so crazy lately that I've really fallen behind in my blogging. There are so many things I would love to turn into posts but finding the time has been difficult lately. But, I will persevere and hopefully I'll be able to carve out a few minutes. What are your favorite type of posts to see? Let me know in the comments down below and I'll try my best to get them into the mix!

Organization: Linen Closet

I hate this closet. I have always hated this closet. No matter how many ways I've stacked the towels, and folded the sheets, it's always a disaster. Each shelf ends up heaping with random things that just get stuffed into the closet, which makes it nearly impossible to find what you need.

I hadn't planned on organizing this closet today, mostly because I like to pretend it doesn't exist, but I was going through things for an upcoming garage sale and knew there were some things in here that I needed to get rid of. I had full intentions of just snatching the items out of the closet and slamming the door shut. Instead, I ended up attacking this mess head on and hopefully solving the problem for good!

I started out by completely emptying the closet and pulling out the items we no longer use or need. It was a little bittersweet saying good-bye to my Snoogle. Not because I ever plan on being pregnant again, but that thing was just so darn comfortable! With just the items we need remaining, I re-folded everything and start the jigsaw puzzle of putting everything back in.

On the top shelf I stacked our extra comforters, quilts and pillows. On the second shelf are the extra sets of sheets for our beds. Nobody, and I mean nobody (other than maybe Martha Stewart) can actually fold a fitted sheet so that it looks nice every time. Solution - fold the fitted sheet, flat sheet, and 1 pillow case, and slide them all inside the second pillow case. It make a pretty little package and all the matching pieces are together!

The third shelf houses our extra towels and table cloths. On the floor of the closet we have old towels that we use in the dogs' kennels or on the kitchen chair that the cat likes to sleep on. For the love of all things holy, why must cats always sleep on a kitchen chair?! I have a thing for holiday tea towels, and am starting to amass quite the collection. To keep them neat-ish and separate from our bath towels, I dumped them all into a plastic bin from Dollarama.

Finally I can breathe when I open this door. It no longer makes me cringe when I need a new tea towel, or when it's time to change the bed sheets. One less disaster zone in the house is a win for me! What area in your home is driving you crazy lately?

For more organization posts, click here!

Meal Plan - April 14, 2017

There has been a bit of a gap between this meal plan and the last one I posted. We still had some food left over, so we decided to make a small run last week and just pick up a few things that would stretch us for another week. We also picked up some delicious local meat and produce from The Wandering Market so that was added to last weeks meals. This is what we ate!

California roll bowl
Steak with veggies
Chicken nuggets and fries
Sheet pan chicken and vegetables

The California roll bowl was so good! John and I have made our own sushi before (pre-kids) and it can be a real production. So this time I just chopped up the ingredients you would find in a California roll, and everyone assembled their own bowls. Splash on a little soy sauce and it tastes just like a California roll without all the work! Roman was so excited after the sushi fiasco last week and he gobbled his right up! For Bianca we added a little bit of mayo to make it all stick together a bit so she could get it to her mouth. John also ended up adding mayo and hot sauce to his and really enjoyed it. So easy, and such a good for you meal because you can control how much of each ingredient goes in!

Now for this week. This week is  bit of a mash up. No rhyme or reason, I just threw down some recipes on the page and decided this is what we were eating for the next two weeks. Most of these are old favorites, but there are a couple new ones. After trying the California roll bowl, I'm not trying to turn everything into a "bowl" recipe, and my Pinterest feed is evidence of that. If you have any good "bowl" recipes I'd love to know what they are! Leave them in the comments below!

Homemade pizza
Thai beef satay
California roll bowl
Homemade burgers and fries
Tacos
Pasta with oil, cheese and veggies
Fajita bowl
Fresh rolls with peanut dipping sauce

Our day at Depot and the RCMP Heritage Museum

Last week one of the moms for our playgroup planned a trip to the RCMP Heritage Museum and Depot in Regina (Thanks Jenn!!) It has been years since I was last at Depot, so I was really excited to take Roman. Because the parade was right at lunch time, I opted to take Bianca to my parents' house. She had a blast playing with Grandma and Grandpa so she still had a good time.

We started off our visit with the RCMP Heritage Museum. They had an eye-spy game all set up and ready for the kids. Roman grabbed his clipboard and we were off into the museum to see if we could find all the photos on his list.

I honestly didn't get a whole lot of time to actually look at each exhibit or read much, but what I did see was pretty cool. The museum chronicles the history of the RCMP right from their inception. There was an area set up as a crime scene and they had examples of all the tools they use to solve the crime. Roman found matching bullets, compared his finger prints to the samples, and matched the tread of a shoe to one left in a trash can at the scene. They also had an area where the kids could dress up in RCMP uniforms and hats. I couldn't convince Roman to dress up but he didn't have a problem sticking his head in a façade of a Mountie. Of course, I couldn't let him have all the fun!

Next on the list were the stables! Not the real stables of course, but close enough for Roman! Okay, so maybe I was a little excited too. This stable came complete with virtual reality horses! Hop up in the saddle, strap on the virtual reality goggles, and you are instantly participating in the musical ride! The saddle even rumbles and vibrates like your riding an actual horse. It was almost a little too real. Roman LOVED it, and a few of the moms and I also got in on the action. I think we'll have to get Roman on a real horse this summer since he had so much fun with the virtual variety.

Once we finished our eye-spy sheet we headed off to check out the gift shop. They had a ton of cool stuff; kids riot helmets, Mountie shirts, toy cars and maple leaves galore. I told Roman he could pick out something small but he wasn't interested. So, we found a spot to sit and have a snack while we waiting for the parade. While we were sitting there a couple RCMP officers came into the museum. Roman was in awe. They came over and talked with him for a few minutes and once of them even let Roman wear his hat. I think the five minutes Roman spent with the two officers was way more fun for him than anything he could have picked up in the gift shop.

Then it was time to make the trek to where the parade was being held. If you've ever been to Saskatchewan, specifically southern Saskatchewan, then you know it has a tendency to get windy down here. It was so windy in fact that they had to move the parade into the drill hall. It was actually great for us since we had a ton of kids with us, and a couple tiny ones.

There is something about RCMP marching and the RCMP band playing that just never gets old. I think the moms almost enjoyed it more than the kids did. Roman watched the entire parade in awe. I asked him part way through if he wanted to be a police officer when he grew up, thinking he would obviously say yes. Nope, turns out he thought the band seemed like more fun. I must admit, that is a little easier on my mommy nerves! haha. If you are ever in Regina I highly recommend visiting Depot!

This was by far one of the best field trips our playgroup has been on! Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves and nobody was pecked by a emu, ran over by an alpaca, or generally hurt in any way. Yes, those have actually happened. Now that spring is here I'm sure we'll have many more group adventures!

Easter baskets for toddlers and preschoolers

Easter is almost here so I figured it was time I get my act together, and get a post together on the kids' baskets. I'm going to start off by remaindering everyone that this is Easter and not Christmas. I see these photos of kids getting a table full of presents for Easter and it really makes me scratch my head. When did Easter become such a big, commercial holiday? What happened to colored chicken eggs and some chocolate?

This summer we are planning on take the kids on a few camping trips, so I thought this would be a good time to buy them some fun things that they can take with them. Our first trip is going to be almost a 5 hour drive one way, so we're going to need some mobile entertainment. A great way to save money on holidays like this is to disguise things that the kids actually need as gifts. Because let's face it, they just like opening new things and don't really care what they are, especially at this age.

Let's start with the youngest first. For Bianca I picked up a two piece rash guard set from Old Navy, which just happened to be 50% off when I was in the store! I'm sure these flamingos will see a ton of use this summer. The rest of Bianca's basket came from Dollar Tree. The black container is actually for holding beads but I plan on using it to hold Bianca's massive supply of hair elastics. For our trips, I found an expandable wash cloth, bubbles, an Easter board book and a coloring book. The markers it comes with are those fancy shmancy ones that only write on paper; super handy for a toddler! Instead of a basket I decided to use a sand pail, double use!

Roman is currently still wearing swim suits that he's had for a few years so I figured it was probably time for an upgrade, again it was 50% off at Old Navy; whoop! Poor kid has pasty white skin like me so he can use all the sun protection he can get. I picked up the same expandable washcloth, bubbles and coloring book, and sand pail for Roman as I did for Bianca. I also found some small notebooks that I think Roman will get a ton of use out of. He loves drawing treasure maps and going exploring, and while he's exploring he can collect some bugs with his new bug collecting kit. Tell me that last sentence doesn't sound like something you'd hear in a Price is Right description haha. I had picked up a bug kit like this a few months back for a friend of Roman's birthday, and Roman hasn't stopped telling me how he wished he had one too. Man kids learn how to guilt trip quickly!

I also found some joint gifts for the kids; another coloring book and some egg shaped chalk. The egg and bunny game was actually intended for Roman's basket last year (or maybe even the year before...) but it got forgotten in the closet.

Obviously there isn't any chocolate in these baskets. I'm going to put a few chocolates into plastics eggs for the kids to hunt on Easter morning. There also might be one more small thing that we have for the kids....and by small I mean a 1kg hollow chocolate bunny. I never in a million years would buy the kids a chocolate bunny the size of them, but it was the freebie a couple weeks ago at Superstore. I couldn't add a photo of it because I was not risking getting caught by the kids with a giant chocolate rabbit.....

Meal Plan - March 31, 2017

The goal for the next two weeks is the clear the freezer. Every time I meal plan there is at least one meal that we don't end up making. Whether because we have too many leftovers or we end eating out an extra night. I freeze any of the ingredients that I can and save them for another meal plan. I keep doing this for weeks, sometimes months. Once I get a good collection, or things are starting to get a little too frosty, I meal plan based on what is in the freezer and in the pantry.

I was a little surprised at how much extra food there was in the freezer; 5 lbs of ground beef is a little excessive. We definitely didn't have to buy any protein and there was still a good amount of vegetables chilling in the freezer. So here is what I planned from our stash!

Korean Beef
Slow cooker beef stroganoff
Copycat Taco Time deluxe mexi-fries
Lemony garlic shrimp with veggies
Parmesan spaghetti with peas
Toasted pasta with sausage and peppers
Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken
Thai Beef Satay (leftover from last meal plan)

As I'm going these links I see that I really need to up my game on posting new recipes. I could have sworn I already posted some of these but apparently not...

Pizza Spirals

Growing up I was never a big pizza fan. I didn't mind pizza, but I wasn't the typical kid that would eat pizza all day long. Turns out I just don't like what I considering to be "typical Saskatchewan pizza". The popular pizza here seems to have a ton of meat, like inches, one slice of some unrecognizable vegetable, and a mountain of cheese. While I love the cheese, the grease from all the meat puts me off.

This pizza recipe as a couple ingredients you wouldn't normally associate with pizza, but I promise it's delicious. These tasty little spirals are perfect to keep in the freezer for last minute suppers, or to send/take for lunch. They would even make a great food to serve at a kids birthday party!

Pizza Spirals Makes approx. 40 rolls
2T olive oil
2 1/2 cups diced onion
4t minced garlic
1 cup grated carrot
1 1/2 cup grated zucchini
2 loaves from bread dough
1 can tomato paste
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1t oregano
1t basil
1t salt

Sauté onions, garlic, carrots and zucchini in oil over medium high heat. Set aside to cool.
Roll pizza tough to a rectangle (or as best you can manage) that is about 1/4" thick. Spread a layer of tomato paste over the dough. Sprinkle on oregano, basil and salt. Add on an even layer of the choose vegetables and top with shredded mozzarella.

Using a pizza wheel, cut the rectangle into 1" wide strips. Roll the strips up to form a spiral. Lay the spirals on a parchment lied baking sheet and bake for 350 for 15-18 minutes.

To freeze: Bake as directed and allow to cool. Place in a freezer bag and freeze.
To serve: Thaw and reheat in the microwave.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

If I want to guarantee that Roman is going to eat supper, I know that it has to include to things; chicken and cheese. This recipe is chalk full of those two ingredients, but also adult enough for John and I. I love chicken cordon bleu, but who has time for the stuffing, breading, and baking. This casserole takes a classic dish and makes it quick and simple. It also freezes extremely well, so you can make a few and stash them for another day!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
4 chicken breasts, chopped
300g sliced deli style black forest ham
300g sliced Swiss cheese*

Sauce
4T butter
4T flour
3 cups milk
2T lemon juice
1T Dijon mustard
1 1/2t salt
1/2t paprika
1/2t pepper

Topping
4T butter, melted
1 1/4cup Panko
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Preheat over to 350 and spray a 9x13 baking dish with oil. Layer in chicken, ham & cheese. Set aside.

In a small pot, melt sauce butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Slowly add milk while continuing to whisk. Turn heat to high and cook until it thickens and boils. Remove the pot from the heat and add remaining sauce ingredients. Pour the sauce over base layer in the baking dish.

Mix together topping ingredients and sprinkle over the top of the casserole. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

When the cheese melts and mixes with the sauce and runs down and coats the ham and chicken, magical things happen. The crunch of the topping is perfect and is a great contrast to the gooey interior. The mustard also gives the casserole and nice little zing without being overpowering. DEFINITELY a family favorite!

Meal Plan - March 17, 2017

Last week was filled with solid standby meals that I love to fall back on in a pinch. Mostly because I put off meal planning until the last minute. I think we're finally getting sick of the chicken tostadas so that one will have to take a break for awhile. Salisbury steak is always a family favorite. It was Bianca's first time have it and she gobbled it up. Not too surprising, as she loves everything beef. John and I often joke that she'll be the girl who orders the biggest burger on the menu on her first date. I love the chicken and spinach burgers because they are so versatile. John and Roman like to eat them on a bun like a traditional burger, while Bianca and I like them with rice and veggies and eat them more like a chicken steak of sorts.

Food, food, food, I love food. I know I'm not the only person that could sit on Pinterest for hours searching through the endless array of delicious looking photos. I try to switch up our meals plans every so often so we don't get too bored. That being said, I've also been trying to eat a little extra healthy, but the meals also have to be something that John and the kids also want to eat. Easy right? *insert eye roll*.

This week I added two new recipes to the list; coconut curry chicken meatballs and Thai beef stay. Chicken nuggets were the free item at Superstore this week, so I have food for the kids if they really hate it haha.

Coconut curry chicken meatballs
Thai beef satay
Homemade pizza
Pizza pull-aparts
Chicken enchiladas
Lasagna
Chicken packets
Turkey Swedish meatballs

Happy eating!

Chicken Quesadillas

I have a long standing love with the chicken quesadilla that dates back all the way to high school. I remember going to Boston Pizza with my friends and ordering the most delicious chicken quesadilla. Once I hit my college days, living away from home for the first time, and having surviving on student loans and part time job, the luxury of the BPs quesadilla was only for special occasions.

I however would not give up so easy! I spent many nights in my apartment attempting to perfect this tasty meal. I was a big nerd so I did indeed have a lot of time to perfect it. I tried using one of those quesadilla machines, and it worked okay, but having a piece of equipment strictly to cook quesadillas is a bit much. That and I lost it in a move...

Chicken Quesadillas
3 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
1 cup chopped green onion
2 cups chopped bell pepper
2 cups shredded cheddar
8 - 10" tortillas
salsa and sour cream for dipping!

Spray a frying pan with non-stick spray and heat to medium-high. Lay one tortilla in the bottom of the pan. Layer on 1/4 of the chicken, 1/4 cup green onion, 1/2 cup bell pepper, 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, and top with another tortilla.

Here is the secret!!! Sit a large plate on top of the top tortilla and weigh is down with something substantial, I like to use my Brita water jug.

Cook the quesadilla for 1-2 minutes until the cheese starts to melt and the tortilla is nicely toasted. Remove the water jug and plate. Using a flipped, toss the quesadilla onto the other side. Top with the plate and weight again, and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Slide the quesadilla onto a cutting board and cut it into slices.

The weight of the Brita helps the cheese to stick the two tortillas together. This way you can dip your quesadilla without all the filling falling out! Genius right!? Now I really want a quesadilla....

Moon Dough

Winter can be tough with little kids indoors. There are only so long they are entertained with their toys before they get bored and need something more. Even with our trips out of the house several times a week, Roman still gets bored. This is by far Roman's favorite homemade dough I've ever made. He thought it looked just like pavement, and spent hours building roads with his construction equipment. When he was done, I scooped it all into a large freezer bag and sealed it up.

Moon Dough
1 cup baking soda
1/4 cup water
Black craft paint
Silver glitter

In a large, easy to wash bowl, mix together the baking soda and water. Add as much or as little paint and glitter as you like. Enjoy!

If you have a light colored or wood table that you don't want colored black I highly recommend putting something down for the kids to play on. I wasn't too concerned about our table and it had a grey hue to it for a few weeks before the color finally wore off. You'll probably want to strip the kids down too, just to be safe.

Meal Plan - March 3, 2017

Well, all the new recipes from the last meal plan were a it! So much in fact, that a couple are being included in this meal plan too! We all loved the chicken burgers, chicken enchiladas and honey teriyaki chicken. I love when the recipes that are good for you actually turn out to be delicious as well! I was most surprised by the chicken enchiladas. I like a lot of sauce and I was nervous that they were going to be dry, but they were perfect!

We're having some weird weather here lately (mother nature can't decide if it's winter or spring), so I have a mix of recipes. I'm really hoping to be able to actually cook the burgers on the BBQ instead of in a frying pan this time, so hopefully the weather will cooperate. I came across a bag of alfredo sauce in the freezer, so I figured I should use it up. I actually found a lot of food in the freezer that I'm going to try to use up in the next couple weeks.

Chicken guacamole tostadas
Salisbury steak with mashed potatoes and green beans
Special skating supper (Cheesy chicken and rice)
Homemade burgers
Pizza
Chicken and spinach burgers
Beef stew
Chicken and mushroom alfredo
Salmon and veggies

Chicken Apple Bites

Baby food isn't always just for babies. Well, this isn't exactly baby food but I did find this recipe in my baby food cookbook, First Meal by Annabell Karmel. What started out as a great finger food for Roman when he was little, has morphed into one of my favorite freezer cooking meals. I love anything in meatball form for freezer cooking because they are easy to make in a large quantity, freeze easily, and can be reheated all at once or in small batches. The original recipe suggested frying the bites, but to save time and to make them a little healthier, I've decided to bake mine in the oven.

The apple in these bites might seen add when paired with chicken, but trust me when I tell you it is delicious! The apple gives the chicken a subtle sweetness that is tasty, and ensures that even the pickiest eater will gobble these up. My only suggestion? Keep a close eye on your bites because mine tend to disappear from the cooling racks...

Chicken Apple Bites
1 large apple, grated
1lb ground chicken
1/2t onion powder
1T minced parsley
1 cup panko
1T chicken stock (water also works)
1/4-1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2t garlic powder
1/2t salt
1/4t pepper

Mix all ingredients together and form into balls using a small ice cream scoop. Bake at 400° for 10-12 minutes or until cooked through.

To Freeze: Bake as directed and allow bites to cool completely. Flash freeze and transfer to a freezer bag.
To Serve: Thaw and reheat in the oven or microwave

I love these for supper but they are also great for lunches. They are quick and easy to reheat which makes them perfect for getting food into a screaming toddler as fast as possible. Not that I would know anything about that...

Eggroll in a Bowl

This is one of my new favorite recipes! I recently came across a local farm to table Facebook group, that allows you to buy great food straight from the farmers who grow/raise it. The Wandering Market has tons of different products and bundle options. In the winter vegetable bundle I ordered I received the largest cabbage I have ever seen in my life. No joke, this thing was the size of Bianca. I ended up making 3 meals from it, and adding cabbage to anything and everything I could, and I still had over half of it left.

I've never really cooked with cabbage (other than cabbage rolls, and even then I just eat what my mom makes) and had no idea what to do with our new bundle of joy. Good ole Pinterest gave me the hook-up with tons of great ideas, but I couldn't get the idea of an eggroll out of my head.

Eggroll in a Bowl
1 lb (5 links) of sausage
4 cups coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrot also works great)
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1/3 cup soy
1/4 cup water
1t brown sugar
1t fresh ginger
sliced green onion for garnish

Remove sausage meat from the casing and brown it in a pan over medium-high heat. While the sausage is browning, combine garlic, soy, water, sugar and ginger in a bowl. Set aside. Once the sausage is cooked through, add the coleslaw to the pan and pour sauce over top. Cook until the cabbage is wilted but crunchy. Sprinkle green onions over top and serve.

I like to serve this with a grain of some sort just to make it a little more substantial. I really like faro because it's a bit of a drier grain and supposedly good for you, but rice would be just as tasty. We sometimes like to add a little hoisin sauce on top just to make it extra saucy.

Meal Plan - February 17, 2017

I'm really excited for the meals I have planned for the next couple weeks. I've been in a bit of a food slump lately, and finally made some time to track down some new recipes. New recipes can be a scaring thing because you never know what you're really going to get. Sure the photo looks beautiful but will it be good?

Well, we've already had a few of these recipes and so far we have some new family favorites!! I'll keep you in suspense about which meals they are until the next meal plan post.

Pork cutlets with mashed potatoes and veggies
Roasted chicken and veggies
Ham & Gouda Stromboli
Honey Teriyaki Chicken
Chicken Guacamole Tostadas
Spinach & Feta stuffed chicken
Chicken Enchiladas

I also have a few fun lunches planned. I don't normally plan lunches because we usually have sandwiches or leftovers. Roman, like almost every kid, loves McDonald's. Who doesn't really? Like most people I know that eating too much fast food isn't good for anyone, plus it isn't cheap! I usually make hamburgers for lunch a couple times a month so that he can still get his burger fix, but it's in a healthier way. I make my patties from scratch and like to stuff the patties with some mozzarella or cheddar cheese. Roman gets so excited when he finds extra cheese that all thought of McDonald's is gone!

My parents gifted John and I an Acti-Fry machine a few years ago for Christmas, and it's one of those appliances that I always forget to use. I thought it would be fun to give homemade sweet potato fries a shot. I'm not usually a fan of them, but I thought that maybe homemade ones would be better. So, I picked up a few sweet potatoes and we'll see what happens!

5 Days of School Lunches

Congratulations parents of school age kids! You have survived making lunch for half of the school year so far!! I'm sure you and the kids and getting sick of the same old sandwiches so I thought I would share some quick, easy and healthy lunches that are great for school lunches, or adult lunches!

If you've read my Preschool Snack post then you know how much I love packing lunches. Even though Roman isn't in school (other than the home preschool I've put together for him, we are still going to have a crazy busy fall. To save time, and my eardrums from Bianca's hungry/tired screams, I'm planning on packing bento box lunches for all of us during the week. I hate the panic or getting home from the library or playgroup at 12:15/12:30 and trying to get lunch on the table and kids fed before nap time at 1:00/1:30. We all know how impossible it is to get kids, especially babies, to eat when they are completely exhausted.

I find the hardest part of lunch is just deciding what the heck you're going to make. My trick? Keep a list of the go to, fool proof, most loved lunches on the side of the fridge. This way you can give it a quick glance and whip lunch up in no time. I keep mine right beside my grocery list pad so I can make sure that I always stock up on the lunch items I need when I do my bi-weekly shopping trip. On to the food!!

Day 1
Tuna with mayonnaise and green onion, crackers, cherry tomatoes and cheese. Roman loves tuna but when I put it between bread he just eats the tuna off of it , so I pair it with crackers instead.

Day 2
DIY snackables, or lunchables as they were called back in my day. Summer sausage, cheddar cheese, crackers, and pickles. Everyone loves lunchables but they are so darn expensive to buy in the store. You can cut up a whack of meat and cheese and store it in Tupperware containers for the week, then you only have to assemble them at night!

Day 3
Sandwich skewers (bread, cheese& ham), fruit skewers (strawberries, blueberries & grapes), green pepper, dill dip. This was one of Roman's favorite lunches, which is interesting because he is usually hit and miss when it comes to sandwiches. I guess it really is true that kids will eat anything on a stick. Just about everything, except the fruit, eventually ended up in the dill dip, but it also ended up in his mouth so that's a win!

Day 4
Pinwheels (cream cheese, deli chicken, cheddar & lettuce), grapes, carrots & dill dip. I really enjoyed this lunch and so did Roman, except for the lettuce. I thought the pinwheels would disguise the small amount I put in, but I was wrong, so I'd probably skip it the next time I make it.

Day 5
Corn dog muffins, apple slices, carrots & cheese. Corn dog muffins are always a hit with Roman. Of course the first thing he does is dig the hot dog out of the centre but he will eventually eat the muffin. When I make them again I think I'll dice the hot dog up and mix it into the muffin mix to make it harder to extract the hot dog.

Banana Nut Oat Bran Muffins

I love muffins. The problem I have is that most of the muffin recipes I love to gobble up are basically cupcakes, and usually have more chocolate than flour in them. As much as I try to convince myself that I'm making a smart choice by snacking on a muffin, I know I could do better.

This muffin recipe is loaded with good-for-you food and gives me the satisfaction of a muffin, without all the stuff I don't need. As an added yum factor I added a few tablespoons of the Epicure Cocoa Crunch Whole Food Sprinkle to the batter. You could also add mini chocolate chips or leave it out all together.

Banana Nut Oat Bran Muffins
2 1/4 cups oat bran
1T baking powder
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 bananas, mashed
1 egg
2T honey
1/8 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat over to 425. In a medium sized bowl, stir together oat bran, baking powder and brown sugar. In a smaller bowl, mix together bananas, egg and honey. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until combined. Fold in the walnuts and transfer batter to paper lined muffin tins. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

The density and the crunch of the walnuts make these muffins extremely satisfying. I love the Cocoa Crunch Whole Food Sprinkle from Epicure. They give the muffins just a hint of chocolate without completely overdoing it. There are also chia seeds in the sprinkles so even more added health benefits!

I also made some mini loaves for Roman and Bianca to snack on. Bianca can grab one and snack away, and they are the perfect snack size for Roman. Sometimes with regular muffins he eats half and is full. I feel bad for throwing out half a muffin so I become the garbage compactor. I will compact no more!

Meal Plan - February 3rd

This meal plan is an exciting one for us because we are getting some Hutterite chickens this week! They are by far the best chickens we've ever had. They are the largest chickens I have ever seen, bordering on small turkeys really. Whenever we get them I always make sure to roast a turkey one night and then I can use the leftover meat in other recipes, usually soup.

The Chicken lettuce bowls were amazing (the recipe will be coming)! Everyone liked them and I even ate it for 2 days straight for lunch and supper. Fried couscous with chicken was also delicious so it will be making a comeback in this meal plan! We didn't get to the Egg roll in a bowl from the last meal plan so that meal is moving over into this plan.

Chicken lettuce bowls
Homemade pizza
Roasted chicken with potatoes and veggies
Chicken soup
Chili
Tacos
Toasted pasta
Fried couscous with chicken
Egg roll in a bowl

Organization: Bathroom Vanity

It's been awhile since I did an organization post and it's not because I haven't been organizing. I keep forgetting to take before photos so I was wasn't going to post about my projects, but I decided it might still be helpful to see how I organize different areas. I'm still in a major purge phase and I'm loving watching all the stuff leave the house. I feel like the house is finally starting to keep itself more tidy, which means I must be getting close to having just what we need in the house!

Okay, so this is the bathroom that I use to get ready every day. This is literally all the storage there is in this room. As you can tell from the weird paint job (we replaced the vanity after we painted) this room isn't quite finished. I had planned on waiting to organize this room until it was done, but it was just getting to the point that it wasn't functional anymore, so I couldn't wait any longer.

This isn't the first time I've attempted to organize my medicine cabinet. I think the go to method is to line up your products in pretty rows on the shelves in the cabinet. Sounds great right? Wrong! You know the first time you pull out that deodorant from the middle of the row that whole thing is coming down. Then you end up shoving everything back in there because you have other things to do. Solution? Utensil drawer organizers! I found these clear ones at Dollarama and they fit perfectly onto the shelves.

I tried to group like items together, so in the bottom tray are all my cleansers, makeup remover, scrubs, and razors. On the middle shelf are my hair things, and on the top shelf is a random package of wax strips. As I look at this photo now I know for a fact I could probably throw those bad boys away because I don't remember the last time I used them....

On this side I have all my moisturizers, lip balms, toothbrush, cup and toothpaste on the bottom shelf. In the middle is my selection of deodorants (I know, it's excessive, but I was trying out some aluminum free ones), perfume, Beauty Blender and the cleanser for the blender. The top shelf houses all of my face masks. The bottom shelf is a prime example of why the trays are a must have. All of those tiny containers are standing, laying, stuffed and shoved into that tray, but it still looks organized because it's all in one spot and not falling out of the cabinet!

I'm so proud of this drawer! The back story; I have a makeup problem. I LOVE makeup! I love wearing makeup, and buying makeup and possessing makeup. I had eye shadow in every color of the rainbow and blushes in every hue of pink. Half (or more) of which I never or rarely wore. So I took some time on my bathroom floor and really looked at what I used on a regular basis and what I never touched. I packed up all the things I knew I wasn't going to use and let my friends root through the box and take what they wanted. Was the stuff I gave away expensive? Yes, but keeping it in the drawer didn't keep the money in my pocket.

So this is what I'm left with! I found these plastic containers at Dollar Tree and they fit perfectly into my drawer. The top bin has all my eye products like brow pencils, mascara, liner, etc. Under that is a bin of brushes, a bin for blushes (I love me some blush), and a bin for face products like foundation and powders. There are a couple small eye shadow palettes at the front of the drawer, two stuck in with the blushes, and my two larger palettes at the back of the drawer. The kids love digging through this drawer when I get ready so it doesn't always look this nice, but it only takes me a few minutes to put it back together even when they completely destroy it.

This last drawer is a bit of a hodge podge of things. One of these bins is filled with lipsticks, and the other is nail products. The mess in the back of the drawer are my makeup bags for travel as well as my brush roll.

Yup I went there, I'm showing you under my sink. I feel like this is a no-fly zone in most bathrooms, but the bins make all the difference. All my brushes and combs are in one bin, and all my hair products and tools are in another. No more searching for a comb in the morning and when I'm done I just toss it into the bin! And at long last I don't have my flat iron cord wound around every bottle in the cabinet!

Finally I have found a solution that has kept my vanity clean and organized! I promise that if you use bins and baskets to organize your vanity, you will only have to do it once and it will stay organized! What's better than a self cleaning vanity? Well, obviously a self cleaning toilet when you have a little boy learning to aim. If I figure that one out I'll be sure to share it too.

To see more organization posts, click here.