food Archives - Page 3 of 14 - Feathers in Our Nest

The Same Each Day

January 9, 2015 by Aliesha

I do a lot of things to keep things simple around here (believe me, just to keep things running at all I have to let go of a lot of expectations!), and here’s one of them.

We eat the same breakfast each day. Oatmeal and scrambled eggs… every day.

When so many other moms are carefully planning muffin Monday, pancake Tuesday, etc., why do I choose to make the same food each day?

1) There’s no complaining about the food. One of my children doesn’t like change or unexpected happenings, so she thrives on predictability. I know we’ll never have the discussion, “Why aren’t we having ____ today instead?” since she knows to expect oatmeal and eggs every day.

2) It’s healthy. Not much fills up your tummy like oatmeal! It’s so hearty and warm, especially on cold mornings. Eggs are so healthy too, especially for little ones who are growing so much!

3) It’s frugal. We would go through cereal like crazy if we ate that every morning, and many other breakfast options would be much pricier too. Oatmeal and eggs are some of the most affordable (nutritious) foods out there!

4) I don’t have to think about it. Menu planning just one meal a day is exhausting to me. Figuring out what to make for lunch each day can be stressful at times. Breakfast is my “freebie.” I don’t have to think about it one bit… I’m just on auto-pilot!

5) Everyone loves it! The kids love oatmeal and eggs, and I do too. Lately I’ve been eating fried eggs before they get up, but I have a small scoop of oatmeal with them too.

Like I said… no complaints here!

*Oh, and in the spring and summer, we add some seasonal fruit as well (strawberries, blueberries, etc.). In the fall and winter, we eat fruit (apples, grapes, clementines) as a morning snack!

What do you eat for breakfast?

7 Meals from One Pork Loin – Did It Work?

October 15, 2014 by Aliesha

I was inspired recently by this post to create a week’s worth of meals from one pork loin (that’s an awesome blog, by the way)! We followed all the recipes last week, and I wanted to share the results with you!

(The recipes and the full “plan” can be found in the post I linked to above!)

Meal 1 – Pulled Pork on Biscuits with Coleslaw (Monday dinner)

This was leftover from the first night. (I cooked about half the pork loin the first night.)

Meal 2 – Mexican Carnitas with Mexican Slaw in Tortillas (Tuesday dinner)

(I cooked the other half of the pork loin the second night.)

Meal 3 – Barbeque Pizza on Honey Wheat Crust (Wednesday dinner)

As you can see, I put a decent amount of meat on the pizza! No skimping here!

Meal 4 – Leftover Barbeque Pizza (Thursday lunch, 2 adult servings)

This was how much meat was left from the first half of the pork loin after it had been used for two meals.

Meal 5 – Mexican Shredded Pork Bowl over Rice with Biscuits (Thursday dinner)

We had this much stew leftover!

Meal 6 – Same as Meal 5, served for Lunch (Friday lunch)

Meal 7 – Baked Potato Bar with Pulled Pork (Friday dinner)

I made both white potatoes and sweet potatoes.

I had just enough pork leftover to freeze to make a sandwich for Tad one day on another week!

Meal 8 – Shredded Pork Nachos (Saturday dinner)

Meal 9 – Leftover Mexican Stew (Sunday lunch, 2 adult servings)

And that’s all, folks!

So to answer the question in this post’s title… YES! It worked! We actually got NINE meals out of this pork loin (serving two adults, a preschooler, and two toddlers).

The pork loin was around 5.5lbs. and cost $16.98 at Aldi. I had most of the ingredients on hand to make all these meals, but I did spend an additional $8.04 to buy the other things I needed. (That wasn’t all I spent on groceries for the week, of course. I bought other produce, dairy, and a few other pantry staples.) This “plan” really helped me spend less money on groceries last week!

Pin it for later!

What are your favorite ways to stretch meat?

6 Creative Ideas for Lunch Boxes

August 7, 2014 by Aliesha

Packing and making lunches can be a chore, but it can also be fun if you throw some creativity into it!

I love these “bento box” style lunch boxes. The blue topped one is by Ziplock and I just got it at the grocery store. The other one is from Aldi. They were inexpensive. We like to put all the food in these boxes, then add them to a cooler with ice packs. These stay sealed really well and they’re great for picnics and road trips too!

Here are some creative ideas for making lunch boxes more fun!

1. Wrap It Up

Sandwiches are great, but sometimes it’s fun to switch things up a bit! I love using tortillas (whole wheat or white flour) to make wraps. You can fill these with chicken salad, lunch meat, tuna fish, leftover grilled chicken, pulled pork, hummus, or anything else! Leave it as a wrap, or slice it into little pinwheels. You can also use a piece of bread this way, like I did here with bread and peanut butter. The little bite-size pieces are fun to eat! You can use sunflower seed butter if you have a family member with a nut allergy or you’re packing for a peanut-free school.

2. Dip It

Encourage kids to eat their veggies by providing a fun dipping option. Vera loves creamy feta dressing, but you could also use ranch dressing, hummus, or another bean dip. Provide veggies in slices or strips for easy dipping!

3. Cut Shapes

I grabbed a set of tiny cookie cutters from Amazon, and it was amazing to see how much star-shaped watermelon delighted Vera! She even helped cut it out (with supervision). We made little “skewers” (toothpicks) with watermelon and blueberries. They were easy to eat, but so very cute! We also used another cutter to form little cheese “coins.” It didn’t take long, but it was something special and fun for the girls! If you don’t have time to cut shapes out of cheese, cheese sticks are always a hit as well!

4. Perfect Portions

Use silicone muffin tin liners to section off the lunch box further and provide perfect portions! Chips are popular in lunches, but popcorn is a healthier option when you air pop it at home. Scoop some into a muffin liner for just the right amount! These liners are also perfect for cheddar snack crackers or a sweet treat.

5. Switch It Up

Anything when eaten every day has the potential of becoming boring, so change it up using seasonal fruits and veggies and whatever foods you have on hand! I think variety and trying new foods frequently is important in raising kids who aren’t picky. It’s fun to be adventurous! We usually drink water with meals, but sometimes we switch it up and drink milk!

6. Eat Your Colors

When it comes to food, the more NATURALLY colorful, the better! Red watermelon, blue blueberries, green cucumbers, orange carrots… all of these provide important vitamins and nutrients, plus, they are so pretty to look at! Even using colorful muffin liners can help make kids excited about their lunch!

According to Vera, this was the “best lunch ever!” (She takes after her father in her enthusiasm.) Here is what she and Cordelia ate:

Our table looked so colorful!

I made my lunch in a bento box too, and it really was more fun to eat! Most days I’m eating chickpeas straight out of the can for lunch, so it was great to sit down and enjoy a balanced meal.

I pack lunches for Tad two days a week (he works from home the other days), and this project gave me a lot of ideas for ways to not be in a “rut” when making his lunches either!

In case you were wondering, the “scraps” from cutting the fruit and cheese into shapes did not go to waste! Jude was happy to polish it off for us, since he doesn’t care what shape his food is in yet!