School Lunches!

A lot of you have been asking me about school lunches lately.  I wanted to get this post written sooner, but with a last minute beach trip, and the arrival of the peaches and green beans to can, I just haven't gotten to it.  Thankfully some of us still have a FEW blissful days of summer left!

I send a lunch with Sport every day for three reasons, mainly.  First and foremost, school food is just nasty.  Not only is it nasty, it's expensive.  At $2.25 a day, I can almost guarantee that he's going to eat the junkiest, most unhealthy thing on his tray, and dump the rest in the garbage can.  I don't know if I necessarily pack a lunch for cheaper than $11.25 a week - I'd like to think so, but even if I don't, I at least know I am packing things that he will eat.  Secondly, Sport has trouble digesting milk products (though he LOVES milk) and he has to have Lactaid tablets before drinking any milk.  If he were to have milk AND something like cheese pizza with nothing else, he would be miserable.  For those who may not have school kids yet, something as simple as a chewable Lactaid tablet is considered medication and if found on a student, it could cause major trouble.  I did not want to have to go through all of the medication paperwork, nor did I want him to have to stop at the school office every single day to get Lactaid before lunch.  I also did not want to constantly be running boxes of Lactaid to the school, so I just pack what I know won't bother him.  On top of the lactose issue, the third reason I pack Sport's lunch is because he has nut allergies.  While we are still lucky enough that he doesn't have to sit at the peanut-free table (I fear those days could come eventually), I still don't feel comfortable with him going through the school line for food and not knowing what is in there.  And, can you believe that our school actually SERVES PB&J Uncrustables every single day??  While I'm not one to get all bent out of shape over that kind of thing, and I would never try to control what other kids bring from home, I do have to say that I am shocked a school would provide, on a daily basis, a food that could easily kill a child in their care simply by breathing in the smell.  Thank heavens Sport is not *that* allergic at this point, but some kids truly are.

So, back to school lunches.  I'm kind of a "bento-y" lunch sort of girl.  I love cramming all of the food into one little container for several reasons.  I'm big on a waste-free lunch, for one.  I do not like the throwing away of 20 ziplock bags a week.  I also do not fancy washing numerous little containers on a daily basis.  Doing lunches bento-style eliminates both of those problems.  I started out getting my bento ideas from a couple of blogs.  One of my favorites is Wendolonia and another is Another Lunch.  I do not do cutesy cut-outs for Sport's lunch, because when I did try it, he never really noticed, so it totally wasn't worth my time.  Plus, I think he would kind think it wasn't cool now that he's first grader.  I do sometimes cut out Star Wars shapes in sandwiches with these Star Wars Cookie Cutters and he does think that is cool.  I mainly used those sites at first to get packing ideas, more than food ideas, but I did pick up a few things in that area as well.

I'll start with lunch containers, which a lot of people asked me about.  Last year, I dedicated an entire kitchen cabinet to my one thousand little containers.  After a year of packing lunches, I have narrowed it down and cleaned out.  I am down to two Japanese style bento boxes that came from this great little store in Nashville called Happy Japan, but sadly, it closed.  I don't have any cool, professional looking shots of my lunches, just some mobile uploads that I will add later in the post. Sport mainly uses THIS one (majorly awesome price on that, btw), and Digitt mainly uses the blue one in this picture.  This picture makes me somewhat sad because this was the little stash that my BFF and I bought at Happy Japan.  :(  The other most used set is our Laptop Lunches Bento Buddies.  We did not opt for the entire Laptop Lunches system, which is cool, but way too big for kids, in my opinion.  That is all I am keeping, container-wise.  I do have a few stainless steel round containers, and also some small rectangular Sistema containers that I might use on occasion, but for the most part, that is it.  On the blogs above, I think they each discuss containers and boxes, so look around on those sites.  And there's always google, which I won't do for you.  :)

There are some accessories that make packing lunches bento-style much easier.  The one thing that is essential for my lunch-packing is silicone baking cups.  These are key in keeping the foods separated.  I prefer the square ones because they happen to fit my boxes better, but round are nice too.  I can make the square ones do just about everything I want them to, but not so much with the round ones.  I found my square cups at Joann's Fabrics in the cake baking and decorating section.  I can stack them two or three high if I need them to meet the lid of the container in order to reduce spillage, and they will stretch out enough to *almost* make a nice seal.  Certainly not a seal that would keep something liquid from leaking out, but well enough to keep small foods from rolling around.  I also use the little Bento picks. My kids LOVE picks.  The feel gypped if they don't get a pick in their lunch.  Apparently, picks make other kids jealous.  Especially sword toothpicks.  To be honest, I really thought I would get a note home from Sport's cafeteria workers telling me to never, ever be so boneheaded and send plastic swords to school, and I did threaten Sport that he would never see them again if he did get in trouble, but surprisingly enough, he did fine and they were a hit.  Anything served on a pick is a whole lot more delectable that anything that's just in a ziploc bag.  If I just sent Sport a slap of pork tenderloin in a baggie, he would think I was nuts.  If I cut it up in cubed bites and slide it on a sword pick along with some cheese cubes, he thinks I'm a genius and that it was the most delicious lunch he has ever eaten.  I could probably slide chicken livers on a cute pick and they might get eaten.  Fun food = eaten food.   We have lost about half of our cool Japanese picks in the picture, but I just ordered some really fun ones from various websites.  Here are a few pics of things on picks.

What you see is mini pepperoni, cut up cheese stick, fruit, and rolled up spinach leaves.  Digitt went through a small stint of eating salad, but it didn't really last.  I was going to maximize on that for sure.

Now, onto the foods that I pack.  As you can see above, I try to make really colorful lunches (the healthiest way to eat!) and to have a big variety in food types.  Here are some of our standard items:

Protein:

Mini Pepperoni

Cheese Sticks

Lunch Meat

Pork Tenderloin

Grilled Chicken

Hamburger Meat (see below)

Cream Cheese

Hummus

Summer Sausage

Starches/Breads/Crackers:

Whole wheat bread

Slider buns (can't find those in whole wheat)

Crackers (usually wheat thins, just because they are nice and square and they fit well!)

Pretzels (either sticks or waffle shaped - same reason as above)

Croutons

Whole Wheat Bagel Thins

Veggie Straws

Pita Bread or Chips

Fruits and Veggies:

Blueberries

Blackberries

Strawberries

Grapes

Melon

Apples (dip these in pineapple juice so they don't turn brown - it tastes much better than lemon juice)

Carrot Sticks

Cucumber Sticks (though my kids don't like them)

Grape Tomatoes (no dice at our house on these either)

Salsa

You can make whatever your kids like, and fit it into a bento-style lunch.  The list is endless.  I only listed the things my kids eat and a couple more I thought of. My goal is to always "think outside the lunchbox" and incorporate things that wouldn't typically be in a lunch box. You can do the regulars too, but if you find they aren't being eaten, try a new twist.  Cut the PB&J into shapes with cookie cutters, or roll it up sushi-style and slice it in pieces.  Here are some of our favorite combos to give you a few ideas.

Tomato soup in a thermos, grilled cheese sandwich cut into strips for dipping, carrot sticks, and fruit

Bagel thin with plain cream cheese, ham or turkey rolls, fruits and veggies.

Pita chips, hummus, pepperoni, olives, carrots, and ranch for dipping.

Turkey burger or slider burgers with sides.

Homemade english muffin pizzas with sides.

Grilled chicken and shredded cheese rolled up in a tortilla and microwaved to melt and stick together.

Here are a couple of things I am going to try for this year.  Sport loves sliders, so I am going to make my slider burger patties and freeze them individually so that I have a stash in the freezer.  I also plan to make some shredded barbecue chicken and freeze it in individual portions to fit on slider burgers.  I am also going to freeze individual slices of pork tenderloin so that I can have those ready to cut up.  I usually buy the Tyson grilled chicken strips in the refrigerated meat section of the store for the grilled chicken.

In order to keep the variety going, I try to put the following things in his lunch as a main course once a week:  chicken, turkey, pork, ham, and a meat-free day.  Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't based on what we have in the kitchen, but for the most part, that keeps me from repeating too much.  

I hope this has helped the many of you who have asked!  I will post pics of our lunches as we get started this year.  Digitt will be eating hot lunch at his preschool a lot, thankfully, but he will get some lunches, too!

I have a school-morning breakfast post coming soon, but consignment stuff is calling my name and must get finished!

And the WINNERS are...

Sporticus and Digitt were the name-drawers in today's contest!  The winners of the six water bottles are:

Kristy Burrows
Kathleen Erickson
Erica Morris
Mary Catherine Landry
Karen White
Jenny Cook

Congrats, guys!  If you are far away, I'll ship on Monday.  If you are local, I will find you as soon as I can!

GIVEAWAY!! Look What Arrived!!

The bottles are here, and there are SIX!!!  There will be SIX lucky winners!  I have been in contact with Jill, who is the PR Director at Ello, and she has been so sweet.  While waiting for their stash to be replenished, she told me that she would love to hear from any of you who would also like to test new products.  I have an email in to her to be sure she wants me to share her email address publicly, so check back here if you are interested in doing that.

As for the DRAWING:  I will draw the names sometime this Friday, July 27.  If you win a bottle and you are local, I will meet up with you.  If you are not, I'll ship bottles to the winners on Monday.  I'm so excited that this turned out well!  Remember, if you have not entered the drawing, go HERE, and leave a comment to enter!

I am sorry that there have not been many blog posts, but I have a lot of things in mind for that I am going to blog about in a few weeks.  This is a hectic time of the year around here with birthdays, last-chance vacations, swim meets, banquets, doctor's appointments, and consignment sale preparation.  And the CANNING!  I have a bushel of peaches waiting on me right now, and the beans are on their way.  Because I planted my tomatoes so late, they are just now coming on, so I will be canning marinara sauce and pizza sauce in a few weeks too.

I have been doing some major organizing in this past week.  When I get overwhelmed with life, my perfectionism kicks in and I start organizing one little thing to the max while I let the rest of my life fall apart around me.  After spending a weekend with my BFF and seeing her new house with all new organizational stuff, I got the bug, and she and I headed off to The Container Store last Sunday.  I came home armed with ideas and lots of stuff, so I am looking forward to sharing all of that with you all when I get it complete and can get some pictures.  So, hang in there, I haven't given up, but life is currently getting in the way.  :)

Product Inconsistency: Irritating

There is nothing more annoying to me than product inconsistency.  When I find something I really like, I want to be able to go out and buy more of them, and have them be JUST like the one I bought that I liked.  Now, I do realize that (thankfully) we still (mostly) have humans making our products, wherever they live, and that humans in general create inconsistency.  I get that.  I expect small differences, but what I am talking about are vast differences between the same products.


I have come to expect it from clothing, just because there are a lot of variables in the manufacturing.  You have variation in everything from the threads that make the fabric, the dying process, the stitching, the machines used to piece the fabric together, and simply the fact that someone doesn't try on every garment of clothing to give an opinion on how it fit compared to the one before.  Who hasn't found a pair of perfect jeans and gone back for a second pair exactly like the first, only to find that they fit completely differently?  What is a little less excusable to me is complete and total product inconsistency in a "hardline" product, like in this case, my new stainless steel enameled plates.

Because I am a little cuh-razy sometimes and I like to plan my parties based on a theme no matter how small, I decided that Sporticus's (or Sporticus' based on which manual of the Harbrace you use since they have now changed the s' to s's because people are too dumb to be able to learn the difference anymore, but I digress) family birthday dinner would be centered around some specific cupcakes at our new fancy cupcakery. The Maple Bacon cupcakes with the dark chocolate cake, maple frosting, and teensy piece of applewood smoked bacon on top, and the Rocky Top cupcakes with their chocolate cake, salted caramel frosting, chocolate drizzle, and marshmallow on top just all of the sudden made me want to do a little "camping theme" for some reason.  To make this even more ridiculous (hey, I'm not shy) we are only having the grandparents over.  We're talking 10 people total.  But it is too hot for s'mores, and camping party stuff on Pinterest was too cute for me to stand, so I'm gonna just carry on with what this is actually about now.  There's a connection.  I promise.

When I started planning my theme, I decided that some enameled stainless steel dinner plates would be really cute .  While this may seem over the top, I have been looking for a couple of years for some plates for us to use when we eat on our patio. I just always feared that one of my good plates would get dropped and broken.  I had already decided that I wanted to avoid plastic, especially melamine, and that is what seems to be the easiest to find, so I had not found anything I liked up to this point.  The enameled stainless plates were going to be perfect for the party, the patio, and many years to come.  After looking online, I found that the ones I liked the best were from GSI Outdoors.  I found varying prices in various places, so I ended up ordering red and blue plates from a camping website and green plates from Amazon.  I love the color combo.

Yesterday, the plates arrived via two separate UPS trucks within 30 minutes of each other, because that's super-efficient.  The green plates came first, and they were exactly what I wanted.  They were well made and looked great.  When the next truck/box arrived, I opened it to find more perfect red plates, and also blue plates.  Not perfect, well-made, looked-great blue plates.  Just blue plates.  The difference was shocking.  I immediately pulled out my packing slip, sure that they had sent the wrong thing, but it was correct.  I noticed that the labels on the blue plates were different, but they still said "GSI Outdoors."  TriDad  is knowledgeable when it comes to product codes and what not, and when he started looking he noticed that the blue plate codes were completely different than the red and green plate codes.  And then, a shocker.  Red and Green plates (the GOOD plates) were made in........you guessed it.  China.  The crappy plates were made in......Mexico.

Now, let me tell you how majorly different they are.  The blue plates are about 1/4 inch smaller in diameter than the others, and the inside "hump" between the rim and the flat part of the plate is completely a different design. This keeps them from stacking neatly.  GAH!!!  The worst of all is the paint/finish.  The red and green plates have a super smooth finish with no flaws.  The blue plates have lumps where the paint has run and clumped up.  They look really cheap and, well, just plain crappy.


I  searched around online to see if I could find actual blue plates made in China since clearly they were the better-made plates.  Because that is not weird at all.  Every picture I could find, though, would visibly show the uneven finish.  I was baffled and a little bummed, to say the least.  I decided to call the company directly to inquire about this (they only sell wholesale).  Sure enough, all of their blue enamelware is made in Mexico, and red and green is made in China.  I asked if I could get Chinese blue plates.  The response, oddly, was "Unfortunately, no."  

If anything, I guess the phone call helped me to realize that any continuous searching would be fruitless.  The customer service representative was very, very friendly, nice, and helpful, so that was a bright spot in my morning.  I am still left with the dilemma of either choosing one color and just getting all plates in either red OR green so I can be happy with the product consistency, or choosing to live with crappy Mexican lumpy plates that make my colorful eye happy.  Either way, it messes with my chi.  It will depend on which issue I think I'll get over the quickest.  How about a vote??  If you have made it this far, what would you do?  Keep the three colors or pick just one?  

Product Review: Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker

You will be mad, and I'm sorry.  I was on vacation.  You will have wanted this post to have happened two days ago, or maybe even three, so that you could have had this most-wonderful-dessert for your Independence Day festivities.  I apologize.  There is still so much summer left, though, and you still have plenty of time to enjoy the following things, so you will forgive me, right?

I'll start with the ice cream.  You may remember me saying in my cleaner eating post that I no longer bought ice cream from the store.  Last summer I bought an appliance that changed my ice cream habits for good.  Prior to owning my Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker, I almost always had a carton of ice cream in the freezer.  It was way too easy to just fill a small bowl every night.  I had seen this ice cream maker at Williams-Sonoma  and I really wanted it, especially for use during the summer months that bring so much wonderful fresh fruit.  I finally splurged (there was a deal going on and that helped) and had to get one.  I popped the freezer bowl into the freezer the very moment I unpackaged it.  I had picked up some Cruze Farm whole milk and I had frozen some fresh strawberry puree, so I was ready to try it out.  My favorite recipe is for an eggless homemade ice cream.  I can whip this up in just a couple of minutes, and I almost always have everything on hand.  Another really yummy recipe is, as weird as it sounds, Strawberry Basil Frozen Yogurt from Southern Living this spring.  It is more time consuming and I have only made it for a special occasion.  I can't wait to try more creative recipes!

I like to make all of my ice cream mixtures in my Pampered Chef Quick-Stir Pitcher, and I like to let them sit a couple of hours in the refrigerator before putting them in the ice cream maker.  I pick lots of fresh fruit in the summer, and I will automatically puree some as soon as I bring it home, measure it to 2 cups, and freeze it in freezer bags for this exact purpose.  I can just pull out a bag and thaw it, and have fresh, yummy ice cream all year long.  Blackberries, peaches, and strawberries are my three main fruits that I keep at the ready.  A note on the vanilla:  I have found that the flavor that 2 teaspoons of vanilla brings is very overpowering if you want to be able to taste the fruit.  I only use 2 teaspoons when I am making plain vanilla.  I just use a dash of vanilla (or even none) when I am using the fruit.  Thanks to my friend, Joanna, I have a wonderful brew of homemade vanilla extract.  It is unbelievable.

Back to the ice cream maker for a moment.  This ice cream maker sits right on your counter and it will have your ice cream ready in just 20 minutes!  It works best if you store your freezer bowl in the freezer at all times.  Ours goes right back in as soon as it's clean.  There are extra bowls available for purchase, and I would like to have one so that I can make two different kinds for the same dessert.  Once you have used the freezer bowl, it will not freeze a second batch of ice cream without returning it to the freezer.  It's just not cold enough at that point.  This maker does not make a very large batch of ice cream and this is good for two reasons.  1) Refrozen homemade ice cream is never *quite* as good as it is straight out of the ice cream maker and 2) I don't need a ready supply of ice cream.  From my experience, it makes enough for about 8 decent-sized servings.

I do NOT miss ice cream from the store at all.  I have NO issues, though, with say, Marble Slab, FroYoz or anything like that!  I'm happy to support those businesses with all my heart and some of my money.  For home, though, this is our one and only.  I even whip some up for a birthday party.  It's THAT easy.  You will not regret this purchase, I promise!

This is what we had last night.  It was heavenly!!  Go snag yourself some fresh blackberries if you can still find some.  If you aren't in a cobbler mood, puree the blackberries and make ice cream with them.  If you can't find blackberries, you can find peaches now, so go for those!  Peach ice cream is my favorite!  I can't wait to try peaches in this cobbler.

If you are also interested in the cobbler recipe, you can find it HERE.  

My Favorite Cobbler

I love to pick fresh fruit in the summertime!  This summer, we finally had a huge bounty from the blackberry bushes we planted a few years ago.  Thanks to the growing season this year - the early and excessive heat -  they weren't the tastiest berries to just eat straight off the bush, but they did make a delicious cobbler.  I have them already divided up into three-cup portions so I can thaw them and make them anytime.  I cannot wait to try it with the fresh peaches.

My mom always made the "cuppa cuppa cuppa" cobbler.  You may have heard of it - a cuppa flour, a cuppa sugar, a cuppa milk, a sticka butter, and a canna pie filling, or two cuppsa fruit.  This one is tasty, but I set out to find one that was less "bready" and had a crunchier crust, and one that also incorporated more fruit, since I always seem to have a ton.

I finally found a recipe somewhere that I thought would be a winner.  I would give props to the person/website if I could, but seeing that it's hastily written on a piece of paper and has been since last summer, I can't even begin to trace it's roots.  It was definitely a winner!  So, without further adieu, here you go!

SUMMER FRUIT COBBLER

3 cups fruit (whole berries or sliced/chunked peaches)

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup milk

1 stick butter

Place fruit in a mixing bowl, and sprinkle with 3/4 cup of sugar and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375.  Put stick of butter in 8x8 dish and pop it into the oven to let the butter melt. You may consider slicing the butter into at least 3 pieces, as you don't want to leave it in there long enough to let it brown.

Meanwhile, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and milk thoroughly.

Remove pan with melted butter and pour the flour mixture into the melted butter.

Pour berry and sugar mixture on top.*

Bake in the oven for 45 minutes to one hour, making sure it's nice and brown and crusty on the sides and at least lightly golden brown in the middle.  Serve warm or cool.

*It's very important that the fruit goes ON TOP of the flour mixture.  I had always thought that was a little weird and wondered about it, but I just always followed directions.  Last night, I found out why it goes that way.  For some reason, I chose a different baking dish than I usually use for my cobbler.  When I was putting the ingredients on my melted butter, I started worrying that the dish wasn't big enough.  I went ahead and dumped the berries on, and at that point, I realized that there was no way that dish was going to work.  I pulled out another one and just dumped the whole mixture into it, since I couldn't do much else at that point. This put the berries basically underneath the dough.  I popped it into the oven.  I checked on it after 30 minutes and found the dough was bubbling up over the sides and spilling out onto the bottom of my oven.  Yay.  It was still tasty, but it was missing some crust (my favorite part), so I was bummed.  Not quite as bummed as I was at the sight of my nasty oven, which I will not clean until it gets cold because it will heat up to my kitchen to hell-like temps.  

So, now you are a little smarter thanks to my mistake.  :)

Homemade Vanilla

My wonderful and super-knowledgeable friend, Joanna, told me how to make my own vanilla.  Yet one more item that has changed my pantry and my cooking for the better. Store bought vanilla often has added sweeteners or simply just added water, and the price you can end up paying for that tiny bottle is crazy.  The homemade kind is very thin, well, like vodka.  It's not that dark, syrupy look you expect from the little brown bottles from the store.  I love, love, love this stuff!  


To make your own, take about 8 vanilla beans and slice them open lengthwise.  Drop them down into a full bottle of vodka (a liter, I think) and shake the bottle every day for about two weeks.  Put in in a dark cabinet and shake every now and then, whenever you think about it.  When you do take it out and shake it, make sure you also take the lid off and inhale the aroma just for kicks.  After about 6 months you can start using it.  Top it off with vodka every now and then, and maybe add another bean or two after awhile and just keep your brew going.  I topped mine off for the first time yesterday (hence the lightness at the top of the bottle in the pic) and I have been using it for about 6 months.  It had just gotten right below the "S" in Smirnoff when I decided to top it off.  

I will let you in on a little secret, though.  I still buy the store brand kind, too, because I am stingy.  I don't often use the "good stuff" on things that I'm giving away (sorry, friends).  Sometimes I do, but mostly I save it for things I make for us to eat at home.  The one exception is sugar cookies.  I almost always use the good stuff for my sugar cookie recipe because I can really tell a difference in how they taste.  


A note on obtaining the vanilla beans:  Joanna was gracious enough to sell me some beans she ordered in bulk from the Arizona Vanilla Company (I hope I am right on this).  I looked for the beans at EarthFare the price for just one bean was astronomical.  This is a much more cost-effective way to do it.  I recall her separating the beans out and using her food-saver to vacuum seal the ones she was not using.  I am so glad she was willing to share some with me.

Try this - you will really love it!

Ice Cream Recipes

EGGLESS HOMEMADE ICE CREAM

4 cups whole milk or 2 cups milk/2 cups half and half

1 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons of vanilla (see below)

2 cups pureed or mashed fruit


STRAWBERRY-BASIL FROZEN YOGURT
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1 teaspoon lime zest
1 cup plain greek yogurt
1 cup whipping cream*

Stir together strawberry slices and sugar and let stand for 30 minutes.  Then, pulse berry mixture, basil, and lime zest in food processor for 9-10 pulses, or until berries are almost pureed.  Whisk together yogurt and cream until smooth.  Stir together with berry mixture until well blended.  Cover and chill for one hour before putting in ice cream maker.
* I don't really like whipping cream, but I used it the first time.  It gave the ice cream that feel that whipped cream at Starbucks gives me (that I hate) - a filmy feeling inside my mouth.  I think I will try whole milk or maybe a whole milk/half and half combo next time.

Banana Oatmeal Pancakes

Here is sour favorite pancake recipe! This is a very "hearty" pancake and definitely not like a box mix. My kids love it.

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (I use 3/4 cup whole wheat and 3/4 cup regular)
1/3 cup wheat germ
1/3 cup quick cooking oats
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Small handful of ground flaxseed (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk
1 ripe banana, mashed
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon olive oil
Splash of vanilla
A handful of mini chocolate chips (optional)

 I just throw it all in the bowl and stir it up. Cook on the griddle on medium heat. This makes about 16 good-sized pancakes.

 My notes: wheat germ is usually in the cereal aisle with the hot cereals and make sure you store it in the freezer. I use Bob's Red Mill for the oats. I never use skim milk, so I don't know how that would turn out. Sometimes I add an extra banana if they are small. Enjoy!

Giveaway Update!

Hey everyone!  I just wanted to update you on the water bottle giveaway.  I just received an email from Jill, the PR person at Ello Bottle Company.  She is waiting on a shipment to come in so that she can ship me the bottles.  She said it may be a few weeks from now, but that they were coming.  So, hang in there!!  The giveaway is still on!

If you would like to enter the giveaway for the glass water bottle, you must comment on THE GIVEAWAY POST (click here).

Our Journey to Cleaner Eating Part 3: Things That Were the Easiest For Us to Change

Since I have already named off my "trouble" items, I'll now share the things that have been the easiest for us to change.  I have to say that every single one of these changes has resulted in a BETTER tasting food, not something we settled for.  I do not even think about our "old versions" and wish for them back.

Butter:  There is no way you can justify any kind of butter substitute as being good for you.  Real butter is the only way to go. I don't care if it says "olive oil blend" or "Heart Smart" or "made with REAL butter" or what.  It's GROSS, people.  Use real butter.  Like the stick kind.  Remember that stuff??  There's no substitute.

Eliminating Soft Drinks and Sugar-Sweetened Drinks:  I like sweet drinks.  Plain and simple.  But these can really wreck healthy eating like no other thing around.  They mess with your metabolism by tricking your brain, for one.  Your brain is registering calories, but your stomach is not processing food or getting full.  It messes with the brain receptors that are in charge of your metabolism.  Sweetened drinks are a gigantic source of empty calories.  If you sip on sweet tea all day, you would be shocked if you actually totaled up your calories from that drink alone. It's like a steady flow of sugar into your veins all day.  We never bought the full-sugar varieties of soft drinks, but we almost always had Diet Coke or Coke Zero around.  I would automatically crave one at lunch and that would set me on a bad path for the rest of the day.  Since I didn't often finish my drink at lunch, it would hang around throughout the afternoon.  By 2:00, I wanted some kind of salty snack, then I would finish the drink and I would want something sweet again.  It was a horrible cycle.  If I drink water or tea sweetened with Stevia, I do not feel that way at all.  No snacking, and no desire to snack. I make my flavored waters with a few drops of stevia, and I feel very satisfied..  Occasionally I'll have a SoBe LifeWater if I am in a hurry.  Those drinks do the trick and I don't keep wanting to snack all day.  DON'T BE FOOLED, THOUGH.  I do still love the stuff. I make a beeline to the fountain drink dispenser  many times when we eat out, and I mix myself a cup of chemical goodness that makes all right with the world.  I spend several hours in my state of carbonated and caffeinated euphoria, and I enjoy every moment.  And I usually want to eat a bunch of crap for the rest of the day.  For me, having none at home makes a HUGE difference, but I certainly don't deny myself a yummy soft drink once a week or so.


No-Calorie Sweeteners:  Stemming from the diet/sugary drinks - I'll talk about no-cal sweeteners. I went from Splenda to Truvia a few years ago.  Just recently, I found out that any Stevia product that was NOT a liquid contained dextrose.  Dextrose is a corn product, and that's the main ingredient in powdered or crystallized stevia sweeteners. Corn is the other largest GMO crop in our country and that's a bad thing. When you do your research on Stevia, it can be confusing.  I won't get into it on here, but if you want to read about it, click HERE.  I personally think it's the best option if you want to use a calorie-free sweetener, at least compared to other choices.  People in other cultures have been using it for centuries, and that is the BEST research, in my opinion.  The more I learn about foods, the less trust I have in the FDA.  Let's just say that it's down to about 0.02% trust at this point, with no chance of looking up, really.  So, liquid Stevia is what we use for now.  We do still make lightly sweetened tea with regular sugar, but we try to stick with about 1/4 cup per quart, or less. I also like the stevia in my tea, but coffee is where I use it the most.

Milk and Eggs:  We started buying non-homogenized milk from a local dairy, and it is SOOOO much better than store-bought milk.  It is only pasteurized once and not ultra-pasteurized.  Google that if you want more info.  Whether that matters or not (another verdict-is-out topic), it's darn good and it's supports local dairy farmers and that is something we should all do.  As for eggs, I get them from local people as well.  I have a couple of people that I buy them from.  Mainly, they are super-fresh (even new eggs at the store are already a couple of weeks old before they even get there) and once again, we should support local farmers.

Bread:  I have had no problems finding locally baked bread that does not contain preservatives.  Even our Kroger store carries local bread from a small bakery, and they have a nice little slicer over in the Artisan Bread section, so you can slice it right up.  I'm still going to try the Artisan Bread thing, though.

Ice Cream:  We do not buy store-bought ice cream anymore.  For one, I have an awesome ice cream maker (that's the next product review - stay tuned!!).  Two, when I have to make my own ice cream, we don't have it very often, and this is a good thing for my waistline.  Three, store-bought ice cream contains propylene glycol, which is a form of antifreeze.  This is what makes ice cream easier to scoop.  The FDA does not require it to be listed on the ingredients list because it's an "industry standard".  Did I mention how cool the FDA was and what great decisions they make?  If you have ever made homemade ice cream and put it in the freezer, it's hard as a rock when you get it out.  This is because it's made with real ingredients and not hidden chemicals (yes, even Breyer's, or it wouldn't be soft).  Even still, homemade ANYTHING is always better than store-bought, and if you have an easy way to do it, it's better for your body and tastes amazing!!

Hummus:  Digitt decided to become allergic to tahini, because that's just the kind of kid he is  (who has ever even HEARD of such a thing??).  He loved hummus, though, so I just learned to make my own.  Once again, so much better in taste and in ingredients, and no preservatives.  And way cheaper.

Pancakes and Muffins:  No more boxes.  It's so simple to make your own from scratch.  If I don't want to make the entire pancake recipe in the morning, I just mix up the dry ingredients the night before and it's super quick and easy.  Although I occasionally splurge and make real Cruze Farm Buttermilk pancakes, I usually just make a very healthy, hearty recipe that contains bananas, whole wheat flour, oatmeal, and wheat germ.  We throw in some mini chocolate chips, which we all love.  These are delicious!  My kids also LOVE muffins or breads for breakfast (usually zucchini bread or banana bread).  I make these all the time and keep them in the freezer.  They like their breads with cream cheese on them - quite tasty!!  Oh, and I always throw in some ground flaxseed into any bread I make.  Good source of Omega-3s, and they have no clue.

Oatmeal:  We usually only have oatmeal in the winter time.  I started cooking steel-cut oats in the crock pot overnight.  They are so healthy and the kids love it.  I let them top theirs with raisins, mini chocolate chips, or a few sprinkles.  They think it's really fun.  It's just too darn hot in the summer, though.

Granola Bars:  Never buying them again.  I recently learned to make my own granola in the crock pot (SO easy), and I use it to make the granola bars.  Now, there is really no granola bar that would be considered a "health food", per se, at least not if you wanted it to stick together.  My granola bars are really considered desserts.  They have a good bit of brown sugar, honey, and olive oil in them.  Healthy ingredients, but not exactly low in calories and/or sugar.  We often mix in dark chocolate and organic shaved coconut.  These are probably the best ever!!

Cheese:  I only buy full-fat cheese blocks now if I can.  I shred them myself with either my food processor or the shredding/slicing attachment on my Kitchen Aid mixer.  Bagged shredded cheese contains lots of junk:  mold inhibitors/preservatives, wood cellulose, and potato starch to name a few.  These are mainly to keep the pieces from sticking together.  My one exception is that I love the shredded Mexican cheese that already has the spices in it.  YUM!

Peanut Butter:  This is one place I really thought I could cut out the refined sugar.  I have tried several varieties, and I have found that for me, whatever product I buy MUST have salt in it.  The first natural peanut butter we tried was the in-store ground peanut butter from EarthFare.  It had no salt, and I just couldn't take it. It was pasty and too flavorless.  Next up was Maranatha. It had salt added, and was good, but still not great.  Now, watch out on the peanut butters.  If palm oil is something you want to avoid (like I said, verdict is out), then do NOT get the no-stir versions.  Palm oil is what keeps you from having to stir.  Don't be scared of the kind you have to stir.  Once you get it all mixed up, you should keep it in the refrigerator.  It will not separate again.  I still give mine a little stir, but it's stays mixed for the most part.  The last one I have tried (and stuck with) was Smucker's Natural.  It's by far the cheapest, too, coming in at about half the price of the others.  I decided to not worry about going organic with this one because peanuts are grown underground, for one, and they are also in a shell.  Pesticides can't really be too prevalent.  Secondly, I did call Smuckers because I was curious as to where they sourced their peanuts.  She told me that they primarily come from the southern United States as long as they are available.  She said they strive to get all of the peanuts from the U.S. if they can, meaning that potentially some could come from other countries.  Since I am kinda dense about geography and land types and climates, TriDad reassured me that he didn't think there were good growing conditions for peanuts in China.  He also knows I am very gullible.  He also knows I like to talk a lot.  He sometimes gets tired of my soapboxes.  He sometimes just wants to shut me up.  Take it for what it's worth.

Popcorn: Microwave popcorn is frightening.  Get yourself some popcorn (non-GMO/organic would be nice, but I won't be picky - just stop buying the crap, OK??).  Get yourself a popcorn popper.  Or just get yourself a pot and put it on the stove. Get yourself some olive oil (and I'm going to try sunflower oil too!) and some salt.  Save yourself some moo-lah.  Save your body from disgusting chemicals.  We have a Stir Crazy popper and I love it.  There are also air poppers, but I like a little oil on mine.  The air popped corn is a little too blah and dry for me.  Sometimes we get a little crazy and put some seasoned salt or Parmesan cheese on it.  It's so incredibly easy and it literally takes 5 minutes.  You will never go back to the nastiness.  Even if you like to snack on some at work, pop it at home and put it in a ziplock bag.  People will be jealous.  They will also be thankful that you don't make the office reek of either:  A) burned popcorn and they will be mad at you or B) delicious chemical nastiness that makes their brains crave said nastiness.  *****  I think that I should include a disclaimer here, because I have some close friends reading this blog.  I live and die for movie popcorn with the butter that's one molecule away from being plastic.  Halfway and all the way.   Thankfully (or unfortunately?) I don't make it to the movies very often these days.

And those were a few of my favorite things!

**Edited because Part 4 really didn't have much to it, so I'm not going to add it.  Stay tuned for a recipes post, though it might take me a few days to get them together!  :)

Our Journey to Cleaner Eating Part 2: Things I Can't Figure Out HOW to Get Rid Of

I'm thinking that the first installment of this little series should have been titled "Processed Foods I'm Not Willing to TRY to Get Rid Of".  LOL


Ketchup:  we do use Simply Heinz that does not have HFCS

Mayonnaise:  it's made with soybean oil, and soybeans are one of the highest GMO crops in our country, so not good.  I have seen some recipes around for making your own, but I haven't tried it yet.  Maybe it will go on "the list".

BBQ Sauce:  The one that I have found that does not contain HFCS is Bulls-Eye.

Cream Cheese:  My kids eat a lot of cream cheese.  I'm on the lookout for one with no preservatives.  I usually buy the 1/3 less fat version, and based on the ingredient list on the back, I'm thinking the full fat version may not contain the preservatives.

Jumping off on a slight tangent for a moment:  Full-fat stuff doesn't scare me.  In fact, I like it better.  It makes us all feel more satisfied, we can use less of it (cost effective - woot!), and I think that it's healthier because it contains less ingredients.  It's what things are supposed to be made of, not all of the chemical-laden or altered substances that are added to fat free and low fat stuff to fill the void of what is really supposed to be there.  In the early 1990s (or whenever it was) when the whole "fat-free" phase came along, processed food production went into overdrive.  Remember Snackwells??  The cookies that were supposed to be fat-free and oh-so-good??  Yeah, well, I ate about a box of those puffy marshmallow chocolate cake ones very few days in the college dorm.  Let me tell you, I didn't fare well.  Oh, but then they started realizing that all of these fat-free things were loaded with fake sugars, calories, and chemicals as fillers.  Sadly, at that point, people had already changed their brain chemistry and had become addicted to these chemicals and these fake sugars.  In my own, *rather insignificant and not supported by anything at all* research, I thought back and found that the process food industry took their first major growth around the widespread availability of the microwave.  All of the sudden, TV dinners, "Lean" Cuisines (don't even get me started on those), Hot Pockets, microwave popcorn, and all sorts of disgusting stuff hit the store shelves and was a miracle to the mothers who had formerly slaved over preparing food for their families.  This was GREAT!!!  So easy!!!  And unfortunately, no knowledge or even a hint of what lied ahead.

Round two of the processed food growth spurt was, as I  mentioned above, the fat-free phase.  This really took disgusting food to a new level.  Nobody had ANY clue of what manufacturers were using to create this "foodstuff".  Sadly, again, our brains didn't know what to do with these chemicals and fake foods.  Once again, they became addicting and people's bodies couldn't stop wanting this stuff.

The fat-free phase made people scared to death of fat, especially saturated fat.  I'm just going to throw out my own opinion on this, and I am speaking as someone who has genetically high cholesterol. Saturated fat is not the enemy.  Processed foods and carbs are the enemy.  My cholesterol has held steady or gone down (NO meds) since we changed to non-homogenized milk (next post), real butter, and not the leanest meats, since the super lean have less flavor.  A dear friend of mine was diagnosed with a pretty serious heart condition in her late 40s.  She has since dropped several pounds.  I asked her what she was doing, and she told me that her cardiologist said that the best thing to do was to quit the processed foods and refined carbs. She switched to real butter and better cuts of meat (hello, saturated fat!!), but cut out the processed foods and the "white stuff", i.e. bad carbs.  Don't be scared of the real stuff, people.

Now, back to it.

Lunch Meat:  I don't even have a clue what to do about this, so I don't even think about it.  Too much stress.  I tried the nitrate/nitrite-free version once and it was gross.  My kids are still fans of hot dogs, too, but I try to limit them to once a week, and NO mechanically separated meat.  Google if you want to be disgusted for the rest of your life.  Consider yourself warned.  Trust me, you will never knowingly purchase it again.  Should I post a link??  Ooooh - I think I will!  Just so I can tempt you and stop you from putting your money into that industry!  OK, this is the quickest one I can find, and I think it might reference McDonalds.  I don't think they use MS meat in their nuggets anymore, but many manufacturers do use it.  I think it has to be listed on the ingredients list if they do use it, so just look there.  I have seen it as the first ingredient on certain hot dogs and certain chicken nuggets.  Just check and make sure you are not buying this stuff.  If you are feeling like living on the wild side today, just click HERE.

Chips:  I try to pick things with the fewest ingredients, so they would not be considered "too" processed, I don't guess.  Butter Snap pretzels and other pretzels are a staple, as well as Stacey's Pita Chips.  Veggie Straws are big favorites as well.  I will occasionally buy the Archer Farms baked varieties.  All in all, we limit these anyway and they aren't a horrible thing considering.  We just try to pick the ones with the fewest ingredients.

So, those are my things that I struggle with finding a good replacement for, either something that tastes decent or gets the job done.  If anyone has a suggestion for a good replacement for one these foods, please share it in the comments section!!

And stay tuned for Part 3:  Things That Have Been the EASIEST to Change!

Our Journey to Cleaner Eating Part One: Processed Foods I Can't Seem to Get Rid Of

I am on a mission to have a clean-eating home.  Just recently, I have been a part of several discussions among friends who are trying to do the same thing, so I thought I would share our journey with you.  It has taken me a couple of years, but over that time, I have replaced a LOT of things that we used to keep on our pantry and refrigerator shelves.  I have been so surprised at how much shelf space I have in my pantry now.  Gone are the thousand bags of 100 calorie snacks, cracker boxes, cookies, boxed dinners, and junky treats.   I don't think we could ever eat clean 100% of the time.  It's just not convenient all the time and I don't mind having bad stuff.  It's no secret, bad stuff is soooo GOOD sometimes.  But, I am trying to make the food in our home as natural, preservative-free, and homemade as I possibly can.  We will never stop our weekly trips to Salsaritas, Froyoz, and the like, and we will always hit our favorite restaurants without hesitation.  I'm not cooking all the time.  It just ain't gonna happen.  I am just making a goal to pick the best things I can for our pantry and refrigerator, and also to cook as much as I can.  I'm realistic, though, and I have no desire to give up some of life's conveniences.  There are some things, though, that I have just not been able to replace or stop using.

1)  Pasta: I thought for two minutes one time about making my own pasta, but then I realized that I have a life and that this might put me over the edge.  I talked to some friends who had made their own and they felt that, while you could do it and be successful, it was very time consuming and it was hard to get it consistent every time.  I was also going to have to shell out a good amount of dough (no pun intended - LOL) for some tools that would make it easier, so it wasn't going to even be close to cost effective. We don't eat much pasta, and I do buy whole wheat for most things, so I don't feel like we're at a huge loss on this one.

2)  Bagel Thins:   This is by far a key element in my favorite breakfast.  At least 3 or 4 times a week, I  eat a whole wheat bagel thin, Kroger-brand crunchy Nutella, and slice a banana on top.  Oh my word.  It is the best breakfast on Earth.  While there is inherently nothing wrong with a whole wheat bagel, it's still a processed food and it's chock full of preservatives.  We have moved to preservative free, homemade bread, and yes, I could just have toast with my nutella and banana, and I should, so maybe that's my next step.  I am an EXTREME creature of habit, and I know this breakfast keeps me full and 100% satisfied until noon, so I hate changing it.  I want to start doing the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, so maybe I can find a good replacement that way.  Any suggestions on that, by the way?

3)  Nutella:  Or, really, the Kroger brand crunchy hazelnut spread, because that is my all time favorite.  While it's not horribly processed, it's not the most healthy spread out there.  Of course it's loaded with sugar, for one.  It's also made with modified palm oil, and the verdict is still out on that one.  It gets a bad rap because it's a saturated fat, but I don't fear saturated fats at all (hello, I heart my real butter).  It has become the replacement fat in lots of items that used to contain trans-fats.  It's cheap and stays almost solid at room temperature, but it gets mixed reviews depending on where you look.  There are no sources that really call it "great".  Many just say it's OK.  There's no freakin' way I'm giving this stuff up, though, so I put it in the category of "If I Get Rid of the Rest of the Crap Food, I Can Justify This One"

4)  Margarita Mix:   This is not up for discussion at the moment.

5)  Sugar-Free Syrup:  Real maple syrup is clearly the best choice, but I literally cannot handle the sugar rush it causes.  I feel like I have just had my head slammed up against a wall about 2 hours after I have eaten it.  My body and that amount of sugar just don't get along.  I like every bite of my pancakes to have a nice coating of syrup.  I really wish I could wean myself down to just a drizzle, but that's going to take awhile.  So, to save myself (and my family) from me becoming postal, and also to save myself about 1000 calories, I have to stick with the sugar-free for now.  I do make healthy, hearty pancakes (except when I splurge and make real Cruze Farm buttermilk pancakes) so at least I am not getting the junk from the box mix.

6)  Cereal:  I basically don't eat cereal anymore, but TriDad eats it EVERY day for breakfast.  He's kinda on his own, but I feel like it's my job to feed my kids the healthiest food I can feed them, and they do like cereal.  Frosted Mini Wheats is probably the worst one we typically buy because it's so loaded with sugar.  I do try to limit them to once or twice a week.  Special K with Red Berries and Honey Bunches of Oats are the other big favorites.  Not horrible, but still processed and they have a lot of ingredients.  I did start making my own crock-pot granola, and Sporticus loves it a lot.  He will eat two bowls with raisins.  Digitt isn't the biggest cereal fan, but he will eat it from time to time.

7)  Salad Dressings:  I do only buy refrigerated dressings now, and I try to get the ones with fewest ingredients.  There's no reason I shouldn't make my own, but I just love the variety and convenience of the ones at the store.  It's on my list to change, I just need to come up with some good recipes that we all like.

I am sure there are more that aren't coming to mind right now, but these are the biggies at our house.  Stay tuned for Part Two:  Things I Can't Figure Out HOW to Get Rid Of.

Recipe Review: Zucchini Oven Chips from Pinterest

I'm sure many of you are Pinterest lovers like me, especially when it comes to recipes.  I also love to cook and to try new things, so I thought I might include my thoughts and experiences on some of the things I have made.  This was one of the more "popular" recipes popping up on my Pinterest page a couple of weeks ago, so I am sure you may have seen it.  I'm guessing that a lot of people are like me and they pin, pin, pin but don't really do that many of them.  I am trying to chip away at my pin stash and make a few things here and there.

I'm not gonna lie.  I just pinned about 16 things when I went to fetch the link for this recipe.

THIS is the recipe for the zucchini oven chips that I made.  Since the zucchini is coming in by the truckload, and my kids like it, I'm trying some different things.  My grandmother's zucchini bread recipe is making my house smell quite yummy at the moment, as a matter of fact. 

Thoughts on the recipe:  Very easy.  I liked the fact that you dipped the slices in milk instead of egg.  I think the egg gets so messy and clumpy, but the milk is just fine.  I'm kinda bummed that bread crumbs are full of a bunch of nasty crap ingredients. I mean, they're bread crumbs, for pete's sake!  Why taint them with so much garbage?  I looked in the organic section and found nothing, so I just stuck with the nasty (yet tasty) kind.  I know.  You are saying "YOU are don't make your OWN bread crumbs???  What on Earth is wrong with you??"  I won't keep you disappointed for long.  I'm going to try it next time, thank you very much.  

One thing the recipe recommended was using an oven-safe baking rack.  I did not have this, and I noticed some of the people who commented on the recipe did not have it either, so I took their advice.  For my first batch, I coated my broiler pan (top part only) with olive oil and tried baking them on there.  They did not get super-crispy and they still stuck on the pan, but they were really good.  The next night, I tried crumpling up a piece of aluminum foil and then spreading it back out on my cookie sheet.  This was not horrible, and it actually might have worked quite well, had I remembered to spray it with olive oil.  Still not super-crispy, but Sporticus was sending them into his mouth as fast as cookies go, and Digitt....well, he's another story.

Which brings me to my little spiel on getting kids to eat their veggies.  Sport has always eaten me out of house and home.  I am already considering boarding school since I think it may be cheaper than feeding him as a teenager (just kidding).  Sport likes everything in it's original form.  No casseroles for him.  He's my child who is extremely literal about everything, and his eating is no exception.  If we are having sweet potatoes, it has to look like a sweet potato.  Green beans have to look like green beans.  Green bean casserole?  No way.  He eats basically every cooked veggie I place before him.  Sweet potatoes, asparagus, zucchini, and broccoli are his most favorite.  He's not too keen on raw stuff, though after a few years of working on it, we have progressed to raw carrots.  Digitt is another story.  He has been a hater of all green veggies since his baby food days.  He was also a hater of all baby food, but that's neither here nor there.  Nothing green was passing this kid's uvula.  Period.  When he moved to table food at about 9-10 months, he would vaguely touch broccoli, but that was IT.  You read in all the parenting magazines, etc. that you should expose a child to a food 10 times before expecting them to warm up to it.  That's crap.  It's at least TWO years, trust me.  I'm a persistent little gal, and I was hellbent to have veggie eaters at my house.  TriDad and I love veggies, and they were getting served no matter what.  It has been a long road, but we started with one green bean (gagged on and spat out), then he would let me feed them to him one by one, and now, two years later, he's eating about 10 on his own with no prompting.  Peas (LeSeuer only 'cause he's kinda high-class with the peas) get shoveled in without discussion, and his most recent development is zucchini.  He still only eats it one way, though, which is cut into long fingers and sauteed.  He wasn't too keen on the chips, but we'll get there. They were quite tasty and we'll be making them again.  Asparagus has a loooonnnng way to go.  

Try this recipe for sure.  Zucchini is everywhere right now and you should have no trouble finding some fresh and local.  Try a farmer's market or even a neighbor.  I may even be giving some away - it's another giveaway, folks!  LOL  I may be making enough zucchini bread to feed my kids breakfast all winter long.

Well, friends...there's going to be a GIVEAWAY!!!!!

On a whim yesterday, after making my first blog post, I got a wild hair and decided to send a link of my post to the Ello Bottle Company.  I found the contact info for the PR/Marketing Department and thought, "Hey, why not?"  I mentioned to them that it would be super cool if they had something like a promotional item or something that I could give away on the blog.

Let me just say that I was shocked to see a very prompt reply in my inbox this morning.  I wasn't expecting much, because really, it was a little blog post from a new blog.  BUT, get this!  Are you sitting down?  She's sending me bottles to give away!!

THIS is the post you must respond to in order to be entered into the drawing for the bottles!  I don't know how many they will send, but the email implied that it would be more than one.  I will draw out as many names as bottles I receive.

Another cool tidbit was that she mentioned sending me new stuff as it comes out!!  Now, I'm not keeping my fingers crossed on that one, and I certainly don't expect that, but wouldn't that be awesome??  She said there is already a new cap being designed to eliminated worries about chipping the spout area, and I am certainly looking forward to that, free or not!

So, comment away, and when the bottles show up, we'll just have ourselves a little giveaway!!!

Product Review: My New H2O Sidekick

This is not the review I was going to kick things off with, but I thought I would go with a more positive review for my first post.  We'll get to that other one later.

So, I have a new little sidekick.  It's my Ello glass water bottle with the nifty silicone sleeve that I got at Target. I have been coveting glass water bottles for awhile now, but have just not been able to hand over $20+ for one at Earthfare or on Amazon.  For those who know me personally, you know I always have some kind of soapbox I'm on, and one of them is my new distaste for plastic.  I've always loved drinking out of actual glasses vs. plastic cups. Since I am on a mission to slowly get rid of potentially unhealthy things in our home, and since plastic is one of those things, I am notching away at some of it here and there.  I just replaced the kids' chipping melamine divided dishes with some cool stainless stuff.  Next up is the half-cooked Rubbermaid.  But, I digress.

When I found this water bottle at Target, I was very excited, and I was even happier when I found that it was only $10!  I plunked it right into my cart.  As soon as I got home, I washed it and filled it right up.  It's psychological, I know, but the water was so yummy.  Now, I will say that after the water sat for awhile, it most certainly tasted better than water that had been residing in something plastic.  No chemically taste.  BTW, if you don't think your drinks get chemically after sitting in plastic, try glass.  You will know what I mean.  Plus, it just looks cool.  And I like it.  And it makes me feel happy.  So, THERE. ;)

The silicone sleeve makes it easy to grip and I like the cap on this one better than the ones I had seen at Earthfare.  This cap has a loop on it, and it also creates a really nice water-tight seal.  I have thrown it into my pool bag where it proceeded to be upside down for an hour or so, and it did not leak a single drop.  While I have not dropped it yet, I feel pretty confident that the silicone sleeve will protect it.  The glass is pretty darn thick.  The one thing that I could see happening is a chip around the drinking area since it is not protected, but so far, so good.

I'm big on "psychological" and I'm also trying to cut out my sugar sweetened/artificially sweetened beverages, so I like to think that this water bottle is making me drink more water.  Whatever works, I guess.  I've come up with some pretty tasty water "concoctions" that have made my water consumption even easier.  Since I accidentally came home with a spearmint plant instead of flat-leaf parsley like the tray said, I decided to make the best of it.  Three or four lemon wedges and a sprig of the mint (crushed a little) was really refreshing.  I tend to like things sweet, so I put about 5 drops of liquid stevia in it and it was great.  My real favorite is this:  1-2 tablespoons of straight cranberry juice (not sweetened, dark as blood, sour as all-get-out, $8 a bottle, cranberry juice), about 4 lime wedges squeezed, and 5-6 drops of stevia, and enough water to fill the 20 oz. bottle.  Now that's a tasty summer concoction.  It sorta reminds me of my vodka and cranberry cocktails.  And I can drink it all day.  And I can drive my kids around.  So, THERE.  :)

If you are so inclined, grab one of these at Target.  I love!

Well, after many suggestions from my friends, I am attempting to start a blog.  I've sort of always wanted to do it, but just haven't really thought I would have anything to really post about.  Several people have mentioned me blogging about recipes and my opinions on products and other stuff (since I clearly have MANY - products AND opinions LOL), so I figured, why not?  Who knows how well I will keep up with it.  Maybe one day companies will send me stuff for free and I can tell the world what I think about it!  I'm not known to be shy in that area.  I already know what my first review will be about, so stay tuned!  :)