The Weekly Spread

Hello Winter Break!

The kids are home from school, which means I have to feed them 3 times a day (isn't school lunch amazing?!). To make it easy, I’ll make big batches of our dinner meal and serve the leftovers for lunch. Here’s what we’ve eaten so far this week and plan to eat the rest of the week:

Saturday: A huge pot of chili + baked potatoes

Sunday: Elk roast w/twice baked potatoes, green beans and apple slices

image from meateater.com - my husband made this! Yay for cooking dads!

Monday: Dinner: bean burritos + mango smoothie

image from budgetbytes.com

Tuesday: North African stew + homemade rolls + apple slices

image from honest-food.net My husband is making this! yay for cooking dads!

Wednesday: Spinach Lasagne + green salad + oranges

image from myfoodandfamily.com My daughter will make this, yay for cooking kids!

Thursday: - crustless spinach quiche + grapefruit

Friday: First Century Feast

What is a first century feast? It’s a fun way to celebrate biblical times by eating the foods biblical people might have eaten. Here’s what that menu looks like:

• Hummus

• Tzatziki

• Falafel

• tabbouleh

• Unleavened bread

• Lentil soup

• Dried apricots

• Figs

• pomegranates

• oranges

• apples

• Olives (fresh and canned)

• Goats cheese

• Thick plain yogurt

• Grape juice

I like this menu because it's very inexpensive, healthy and simple. It also happens to include my kids’ favorite foods: hummus, tzatziki and flatbread. It’s very easy for my extended family to contribute because no cooking is required; they just bring a can of olives, bag of dried fruit or some sliced cheese (we have 26 people coming this year!).

What will you be cooking and eating over winter break?? If you have any holiday menus you would like to share, send me an email nicolebuhlerRD@gmail.com Thanks for reading and happy holidays!

The Weekly Spread

I had my iron level checked during my "adult-well-child-checkup" on Friday (also known as an annual physical). I give blood a few times a year, and started taking iron supplements a few months ago because I was feeling tired, and thought I was probably anemic. While the lab work didn't show anemia, it did show that I have low iron stores, which indicates that I probably was anemic before I started taking iron.

Why am I telling you this? Because I want you to know that everyone needs a checkup, every year. I eat a very healthy, balanced diet, but it looks like I need to start including better sources of iron. Beans and dark leafy greens are a good source of iron, but I'm not absorbing enough to make up for the losses from giving blood. Iron in red meat is easier for the body to absorb, so I'll start eating more of that. I'll use lean red meat so I don't increase my cholesterol while trying to fix my iron. I will also continue to take supplements.

The topic of iron is also important for babies and young children. Iron is required for growth, and it's easy for kids to become anemic. It's important to make sure your child is getting enough iron. Iron in high amounts can be toxic, so it is not recommended to give your child supplements unless you know that they need them. The only way to know what's needed is to check in with your doctor at your child's well child checkup.

Do you have questions about iron deficiency and the best food sources of iron? You can read more here, and here, or you can email me nicolebuhlerRD@gmail.com and I will happily answer any questions you have!

Thanks for reading! Here's my iron rich menu for the week:

Monday: ground elk* stroganoff + spinach salad + oranges (i won't put peas in it, I don't like peas in things)

Tuesday: cooking class! Chicken Noodle soup + green salad + crackers + grapefruit

Wednesday: Taco soup + chips + mango smoothie (https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/simple-taco-soup/)

Thursday: Spaghetti with meat sauce + green beans + canned applesauce

(ground beef + ragu simple jarred sauce...because it has less sugar than other kinds)

Friday: Homemade pizza topped with artichokes, spinach, pepperoni and pesto!

(i use whole wheat frozen dough from winco)

Saturday: elk* stew + whole wheat bread + any fruit I can find in the house

(my husband will make this for us)

*My husband is a hunter, that's why I have elk. It is equivalent to 99% lean ground beef or lean stew meat. If you don't eat meat, you can use lentils/beans or leave out the meat!

Simple Snowy Day Snacks

It finally snowed!! I loved playing in the snow when I was a kid. I still remember the delight of coming inside from the chill, and indulging in CUPS of hot coco heaped with marshmallows!!

Now that I'm a mom, I love playing with my kids in the snow. When we come in, I like to whip up some quick warm snacks. However, I save hot coco for very special occasions, because it's loaded with sugar. 1 envelope usually has around between 12-20 grams of added sugar.

For reference, the American Heart Association says kids should have no more than 25 grams of added sugar per day.

So, instead of drinking our entire sugar allotment for the day, I make mugs of warm vanilla milk (link takes you to the recipe on my website). It is just milk, warmed up in a mug in the microwave, with a splash of vanilla flavoring in it. I usually sprinkle cinnamon on top. My kids love it!

I also usually whip up a batch of peanut butter banana oatmeal cookies in my blender (link takes you to the recipe on my website). They only take 5 minutes to make, and you can eat the dough raw without getting sick (that's important if you are impatient like me). My kids love these cookies and will usually eat the entire batch.

I don't want you to think that we never eat sugar at my house. We do eat sugar, and we love it! I just try to cut back on things don't matter as much. I also cut back on the sugar in my holiday baking.

Whenever I make a recipe, I'll cut out at least 1/4 cup of sugar. My family rarely notices the difference. Take this pumpkin cake recipe that I just posted on the website. The original recipe had 1 2/3 cups of sugar. I used 1 1/3 cup of sugar instead and they were still plenty sweet.

For reference, 1/3 cup is 67 grams of sugar. We usually eat the entire batch of pumpkin cake, so between the 5 of us, that saves 13 grams a person. (remember, the limit should be 25 grams per day). It's not a huge amount, but little changes like that make a big difference over time!

Do you have any great low sugar recipes you would like to share? If so, send me an email at nicolebuhlerRD@gmail.com

thanks for reading and have a happy snow day!