We talked about gardening yesterday and I mentioned it’s a great time to start one and I feel the same about the topic of meal planning–now is a great time to work on this!! We are home more so it allows us to have more time to do this. We can’t go to a restaurant to eat out (we can order take out at a lot of places though and that can be figured into your planning). Kids activities are not going on in the evenings, etc. In addition, supplies are limited in the grocery store, and if you are ordering online for pickup, many places require you to order several days in advance…..thus resulting in the great skill of PLANNING!!! I am a big proponent of meal planning as it really does help us make better choices but it also helps us manage the pocket book better. Here are some tips to get you started:
1. Think about your schedule. When are you going to be home for supper, when can you prep some food to make it easier, can you do any batch cooking, etc. Figure that into your planning.
2. Write down your choices for each day. You can plan out each meal or just supper–whatever works best for you (something is better than nothing!). Ask your family for input and have them help with the choices and prep. School age children at home can help with this!
3. Make your meals balanced: think about MyPlate–1/2 your plate fruits and veggies, 1/4 lean protein, 1/4 grains/starches. Figure that into your planning. I personally always start with the meat and work my way around with adding everything in.
4. Incorporate take out options and/or leftovers into your menu if you’d like.
5. Allow for some flexibility in case you change your mind with what you feel like that day!
6. Each week, look at your plan and make appropriate steps for you to follow it. Ie- take meat out of the freezer to unthaw, wash and chop the veggies so they are ready to go, brown the hamburger, slow cook the pork loin, etc. These little steps will make following the plan easier on you.
Here are a few ideas that I have done lately: Pork loin in the crockpot slow cooked—can eat a few meals out of this, sandwiches, plain with a side, etc. Spaghetti with a salad Scalloped potatoes and ham with a side of veggies (I used leftover ham from Easter). Slow cook chicken in the crockpot to shred and use for salads, quesadillas, tacos, casseroles, etc. These are simple things….it doesn’t have to be hard…..just take a little bit of time to put your mind and efforts to it! We can get into the habit of doing this now while we’re home more and it’ll stick with us when we go back to a busier routine! If you need any help, don’t hesitate to contact me! I do offer telemed visits as well! -Kelsey
Homegrown gardens are a great way to teach children about how food is grown and where it comes from and get them interested in healthy foods. Children are more likely to try a food that they have seen grow from a small seed. Now more than ever is a great time to start a garden. We are home more, food supply is limited in the store, it’s a great way to get some activity and fresh air, and help us eat healthy!! You can order seed online if you don’t want to go to a store.
Get your family involved!! Let them help you plant, groom, and care for the garden! There are many tasks children can do in the garden setting such as planting the seeds, pulling weeds, or watering the plants. Get them involved and help teach them where our food comes from! My mom has a great green thumb (better than I do!) and she is sharing that love and skill with my son Corbin. I am sure Carson will enjoy grandma’s garden too as he gets bigger. Here are a few of my favorite pictures of her garden harvests. The above one is of her butternut squash harvest a few years ago. Mmmm, my favorite squash!
Pumpkins and gords are my favorite part of the garden! We always have to take a picture with the harvest each fall!Halloween 2019 – Buzz and Woody showing off Grandma’s pumpkins.
Tomatoes which she makes into all kinds of goodies.
Grandma’s flower garden makes for some pretty cool pictures too!
It’s supposed to warm up next week so be sure to get out and take advantage of it! Maybe can’t garden today, but soon you can!! -Kelsey
Remember what today is about! We need to keep focused on Easter and what it means, and the sacrifices that were made for us. I miss being able to go to church every week, and especially now with Easter. Set aside time to reflect on this since we all have time at home now. We were not able to have all of our kids home because of the pandemic. Sarah and I were able to go running with Dakota! She made it 4 miles with us on Saturday. She just turned 8 months old. She loved it the whole time. She is such an affectionate dog that it would not matter what it was we were doing, she just wants to be with us!
Dakota loves going walking or running, and now, even she stops to gaze at the Lake with all of the ice out. It really is something to view!
When the wind is calm, it is easy to get lost in thoughts and just watch. It is a great time to sit and think, and just forget about other things, or just reflect on everything going on, particularly this Easter weekend.
Spend time with who has been at home with you, and talk to the others who can’t, either by phone, or facetime. We are all in this together, and if we hang together, then we can all be here later. Be smart. Be safe. Pray and ask for help.
Have a great Easter! Keep moving everybody, and stay safe!
We all know we are supposed to eat fruits and veggies…and more of them, but the actually doing it part we struggle with. Today’s post gives you some ideas on ways to get your 5 servings a day of fruits and veggies. Remember one serving is equal to 1 cup raw or 1/2 cup cooked. Fruits and veggies are loaded with vitamins and minerals and aid in disease prevention. Including more fruits and veggies in your diet doesn’t have to be a challenging task! And now is a great time to work on improving your intake with more of them since we are home more right now!! Here are some suggestions to help you boost your intake.
1. Variety abounds when using vegetables as pizza topping. Try broccoli, spinach, green peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms and zucchini. 2. Mix up a breakfast smoothie made with low-fat milk, frozen strawberries and a banana.
3. Make a veggie wrap with roasted vegetables and low-fat cheese rolled in a whole-wheat tortilla.
4. Try crunchy vegetables instead of chips with your favorite low-fat salad dressing for dipping.
5. Grill colorful vegetable kabobs packed with tomatoes, green and red peppers, mushrooms and onions.
6. Add color to salads with baby carrots, grape tomatoes, spinach leaves or mandarin oranges.
7. Keep cut vegetables handy for mid-afternoon snacks, side dishes, lunch box additions or a quick nibble while waiting for dinner. Ready-to-eat favorites: red, green or yellow peppers, broccoli or cauliflower florets, carrots, celery sticks, cucumbers, snap peas or whole radishes.
8. Place colorful fruit where everyone can easily grab something for a snack-on-the-run. Keep a bowl of fresh, just ripe whole fruit in the center of your kitchen or dining table.
9. Get saucy with fruit. Puree apples, berries, peaches or pears in a blender for a thick, sweet sauce on grilled or broiled seafood or poultry, or on pancakes, French toast or waffles.
10. Stuff an omelet with vegetables. Turn any omelet into a hearty meal with broccoli, squash, carrots, peppers, tomatoes or onions with low-fat sharp cheddar cheese.
11. “Sandwich” in fruits and vegetables. Add pizzazz to sandwiches with sliced pineapple, apple, peppers, cucumber and tomato as fillings.
12. Wake up to fruit. Make a habit of adding fruit to your morning oatmeal, ready-to-eat cereal, yogurt or toaster waffle.
13. Top a baked potato with beans and salsa or broccoli and low-fat cheese.
14. Microwave a cup of vegetable soup as a snack or with a sandwich for lunch.
15. Add grated, shredded or chopped vegetables such as zucchini, spinach and carrots to lasagna, meat loaf, mashed potatoes, pasta sauce and rice dishes.
16. Make fruit your dessert: Slice a banana lengthwise and top with a scoop of low-fat frozen yogurt. Sprinkle with a tablespoon of chopped nuts.
17. Stock your freezer with frozen vegetables to steam or stir-fry for a quick side dish.
18. Make your main dish a salad of dark, leafy greens and other colorful vegetables. Add chickpeas or edamame (fresh soybeans). Top with low-fat dressing.
19. Fruit on the grill: Make kabobs with pineapple, peaches and banana. Grill on low heat until fruit is hot and slightly golden.
20. Dip: Whole wheat pita wedges in hummus, baked tortilla chips in salsa, strawberries or apple slices in low-fat yogurt, or graham crackers in applesauce.
Source: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: www.eatright.org. http://www.eatright.org/nnm/handoutsandtipsheets/#.UyHnjs47Bw0 -Kelsey
With the Easter Holiday and Celebration just a few days away, many of you have your eggs hard boiled and ready to be painted…or many of you already have them painted! We had a great time getting ours ready this weekend (see above!). As Sunday comes and goes, you may wonder what to do with those eggs. Here are some tips for you to practice proper egg safety:
• Not sure how to boil an egg? Place the eggs in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil with the lid on, then turn off the heat. Let the eggs sit in water for 15 min. Remove eggs and place in a bowl of ice cold water to cool. This year, I used our InstaPot to hard boil them—they turned out great and I enjoyed the new way of cooking!
• Eggs should be used within 3 weeks of the sell by date. Be sure to store them in the fridge at a temp less than 40 degrees F.
• Hard boiled eggs spoil faster than fresh eggs as the protective coating is washed away, making them more susceptible to bacteria. Hard boiled eggs must be refrigerated within 2 hours of cooking.
• If you want to eat the hard boiled eggs after the holiday, you must store them in the refrigerator. Throw away any eggs that are cracked, dirty, or have been out of the fridge for more than 2 hours. If you are going to use the leftover cooked eggs, it is recommended to use them within one week to prevent food poisoning. To help you do this, you could make two batches- one to display and one for eating.
• Ever wonder what the green ring on a hard boiled yolk is? It’s a result of overcooking the eggs and is caused by sulfur and iron compounds in the egg reacting to the surface of the yolk. The green color may also be a result of a large amount of iron in the water used to cook with. It may look funny, but it is safe to eat.
When thing get tough, it is even more important to try and keep a positive attitude. I obviously need to keep reminding myself of this too. I guess I too am human as well. With all of the stress going on about COVID-19, taking care of patients, wondering when and if I am going to come down with this, or expose my family to it, the loss of socializing and running with my friends, not being able to go to church, and then top it all with the crappy weather we had on Thursday, and wondering if we are still going to have to deal with a flood situation, I lost it. Everything came to a head, and I lost my cool. We are all under a lot of stress, and I am no different. But like I just said, I have to work on continuing to remind myself to hold it together, and reminding myself to keep a positive attitude in this time of total chaos. No easy task! If I could change that moment, I would.
I continue to keep going out to the Reiflex Center and workout, but it is not the same as going for a run with my friends. Those were great times, and was a way to talk about things going on, and helping to solve problems. The weight workouts help burn off frustrations, but it is not the same.
I went walking multiple times this week to help clear my head. When we had just got rid of all of the snow, it was great. I did not feel like running. I just did not have the energy for it. But the walking got me outside, and gave me a way to relax and think. If you have not done it, you have no idea what you are missing. Give it a try!
Dakota is now 8 months old. She is always ready to go for a walk. Sarah takes her in the mornings, and I have been taking her in the evenings. She is one tired puppy at the end of the day, but she loves to go for her walks. The energy she has, and the excitement she has exploring everything while we are out is contagious. We could all learn a lot from a dog, especially a puppy!
I guess we have to take the bad with the good. Staying positive can be a full time job. I guess I have to realize too that I have weaknesses, and can have moments of losing it as well. I also need to be like everybody else, and learn from those times. How could things have been handled differently? We can always second guess our decisions, and ideas. We definitely need to learn from them so as to not keep repeating the same mistakes.
Attitude truly is everything! Keep reminding yourself of this, just like I am now as well. FOCUS! REPEAT! REPEAT! REPEAT! We all learn better by repetition. Can we make the same mistakes in life along the way? Yes, that is why we are all human as well. Nobody is perfect. How to keep is all together when needed is the secret.
Open up your view of things. All of us can see things differently when looking at the same thing. How we handle it, or deal with is the key. Just like now, with the pandemic going on, it will be a tough road ahead. A lot of stress coming. We all deal with it differently, and we can handle it differently depending on how much we are pushed, or how much things keep building up. Learn from the past, and don’t keep repeating the same mistakes. We can all have a moment of weakness. Strive to keep going, keep pushing…keep striving to survive. And above all else…
