Healthy and Easy Menu Plan

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I’m noticing a trend with these posts the last few weeks – drastic changes in weather. We went from the 50s on Saturday to the low 20s Sunday and will get back up into the 40s before heading back down to the 30s. All within 5 days. Oklahoma weather is crazy.

Healthy and easy menu plan for our family - vegetable curry, chili, broccoli cheese soup and more!This was obviously the day it was in the 50s. 🙂 He did a great job taking the baby on a walk.

Last winter our little guy had eczema which cleared up once spring arrived. It came back this November even worse and has really flared up the past weeks. We’ve been trying all sorts of natural remedies and yesterday made a trip to Walgreens to try some more conventional products since nothing was really making a difference. We had also been using a homemade laundry soap someone had given us that wasn’t as natural as we normally use so we’ve rewashed all of his clothes with soap nuts to see if that makes any difference. Hopefully we figure something out and he outgrows it with time.

Healthy and easy menu plan for our family - vegetable curry, chili, broccoli cheese soup and more!

Suppers:

Lunches:

  • Bean and Cheese Tostadas
  • Apple Oven Pancake (combination of these two recipes)
  • Salads for Shaun and myself
  • Baked Sweet Potatoes, bean tostadas, leftover pasta for the kids

Breakfasts:

  • Spinach and Avocado Green Smoothie
  • Eggs and Sweet Potato Hashbrowns
  • Oatmeal and oats/yogurt/applesauce/chia seed combination

Goals:

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Easy and Healthy Menu Plan

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I’m writing this Sunday night to the sound of freezing rain coming down turning to snow later tonight. We’ll see how much we end up with. But never fear, we’ll be back up into the 40s in just a couple days. Oklahoma weather is crazy, that’s all I have to say.
Easy and Healthy Menu Plan for our family of 4 - including a couple of young kiddos. Leftovers are my life saver. :-)

Might not be the most perfectly shaped heart in the world, but at least you can tell what it is and the kids liked it. 🙂 And the little guy did pretty decent eating his first cone!

After many times of putting it off, I finally tackled the grocery shopping that needed done weeks ago (I’ve only gone for produce) but that means we’ve been using up ingredients in the pantry and freezer which is always good – black bean soup, lentil soup, stir fry and lots and lots of leftovers. It’s nice to be restocked. 

February is already more than half over! It has flown by. I think the next few weeks will be uneventful and then we hit pledge drive week at the Christian radio station my husband works for. I’m thinking this year (and journey to knocking out our financial goal) might go by quickly!

Suppers:

  • Heart Pizza and gingerbread ice cream cones (selected by my daughter)
  • Small Groups – brought dessert and tortillas
  • Salmon, asparagus, and roasted cauliflower (you know, the exact food that comes to mind when you think of being iced in)
  • White Bean Chicken Chili x 3 (I’m hoping we get two meals of leftovers out of it anyway)
  • Pasta with a creamy pesto sauce and asparagus pieces of some sort

Lunches:

  • Bean Tostadas (Yes, these are one of my go to easy meals that we have at least twice a month. I make the beans in bulk and freeze them. This week it was our easy after church lunch)
  • Salads – Shaun and myself
  • Leftover black bean soup, tortillas, and pizza for the kids

Breakfasts:

  • Eggs (Surprise. These have become a breakfast staple)
  • Oatmeal
  • Homemade Yogurt
  • Green Smoothie
  • Pancakes from the freezer are always an option as well

Goals:

(Book links are affiliate links to Amazon)

Did a winter storm come through your area? What’s on your menu this week?

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Whole Wheat Tortillas

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Yummy homemade whole wheat tortillas! These will take taco night to a whole new level and they are healthy too! A family favorite!

Tortillas. You can’t beat homemade ones warm from the skillet. Sure, it takes a little extra time (okay, the rolling them out part might take more than just a little) but they are made with only 5 ingredients instead of dozens and the taste can’t be surpassed.

We’ve made homemade white tortillas for years and recently began to switch to using some whole wheat flour and even 100% freshly ground whole wheat flour. In case you are wondering, whole wheat tortillas are really quite tasty!

Don’t be expecting them to be exactly the same as those made with white flour – they are a little harder to roll out, require more water and the texture is slightly different but the taste is still fabulous. Even my husband enjoys them and trust me, he tries, but fails, at hiding when he dislikes something I make.

This picture shows the difference between all whole wheat, half white/half wheat, and all white!

Yummy homemade whole wheat tortillas! These will take taco night to a whole new level and they are healthy too! A family favorite!

We found that there really is very little different between half and all whole wheat so if you are trying to slowly start getting your family over to whole wheat, start with a fourth whole wheat flour or maybe even less than that and increase slightly each time. Once you get to half and half, you can make the jump to all whole wheat no problem.

Whole wheat flour requires more liquid but you have to be careful of adding too much otherwise it has more of a bready/spoungy texture. Add the water a little at a time to be sure you don’t over do it. After the initial resting period, if the dough is too dry you can add a touch more water and mix it in well.

Print
Whole Wheat Tortillas
Serves: 10-16 tortillas
 
Ingredients
  • 3 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 4 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1¼ cups warm water (maybe more)
Instructions
  1. Combine flour, baking power, and salt.
  2. Mix in the butter until it is evenly distributed through the flour.
  3. Slowly stir in the water, mixing well. The dough should not be dry or crumbly. You may need additional water.
  4. Divide dough into balls. Size depends on if you want burrito or fajita size.
  5. Let rest for 30 minutes.
  6. Roll balls out into a thin circle. It takes more work to get the wheat flour tortillas thin enough. Roll and then lift and flip the tortilla over and roll some more. Repeat until it is thin enough.
  7. Preheat a skillet over medium heat (I use stainless steel). Place tortilla on hot skilled and cook for a minute. When light brown spots show up, flip tortilla over and cook for an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute.
  8. Place cooked tortilla on a plate and covered with a towel and continue until all are finished.
  9. Best served immediately.

 

Yummy homemade whole wheat tortillas! These will take taco night to a whole new level and they are healthy too! A family favorite!Linking up to these fun parties!

Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes: Soup, Stew, & Chili

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25 Yummy and Healthy (all Real Food) soup, stew, chili, and bean recipes for your slow cooker! Perfect for busy days and soup leftovers always taste amazing!

Affiliate links are used in this post.

I love my slow cooker to cut down on time spent in the kitchen. Most often I use it for things like beans and yogurt. But it’s also the perfect thing to pull out on one of those days that’s going to get busier and busier!

Do the prep work early in the day while you have time and enjoy sitting down to eat without the frantic 5 o’clock stress of wondering what you are going to make for supper.

Many recipes that use the slow cooker call for canned cream soups, packaged seasoning mixes, Velveeta cheese and other ingredients I try not to use.

In this list healthy slow cooker recipes of soups, stews, and chili you find all real food/clean eating ingredients. 

Soups are one of my favorite things to make because the leftovers are just as good as (or even better than) the first day! Getting multiple suppers (and maybe even a lunch or two) out of one time of cooking always makes me happy. Hooray for fewer dishes!

Soups, Stews, Chili, and Beans in Your Slow Cooker

Crock Pot Black Bean Soup

Slow Cooker Chicken Chili

Clean Eating Chicken and Dumplings

Southwest Chicken Crock Pot Soup

Crock Pot Potato Soup

Crock Pot White Chicken Chili

Slow Cooker Chili for a Crowd

Slow Cooker Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

Sweet Coconut Butternut Crockpot Soup

Chipotle Chocolate Sweet Potato Chili

Potato Soup

Potato Cheddar Soup

Tuscan Beef and Bean Stew

Crock Pot Chili

Lemon Rice Soup

Slow Cooker Chicken Harvest Stew

Venison Stew

Tuscan Sausage and White Bean Soup

Vegetable Stew

Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili

Slow Cooker Turkey Chili

Ratatouille Vegetable Stew 

Best Ham and Beans Recipe Ever

Spicy Chipotle Black Eyed Peas

Red Beans and Rice

What’s your favorite slow cooker soup recipe?

25 Yummy and Healthy (all Real Food) soup, stew, chili, and bean recipes for your slow cooker! Perfect for busy days and soup leftovers always taste amazing!

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Easy Menu Plan and Goals

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The weather warmed up again and gave us another beautiful weekend! We spend several hours at the park and our daughter got to ride the bike she just received. Her second time out, she had the hang of it!

Easy and healthy menu plan and goals for our family of 4!

We celebrated her 4th birthday Thursday. After much agonizing and going back and forth between pavlova, cupcakes, and brownies she settled on Vanilla Bean Cupcakes for her dessert. She was pretty cute hunting for her presents and running over to her brother to give him a hug after opening up her crocs from him.

Easy and healthy menu plan and goals for our family of 4!

Suppers:

Lunches:

  • Leftover birthday lasagna
  • Bean Tostadas
  • Salads – Shaun and myself
  • Peanut Butter/Butter Sandwiches and leftover lasagna one day for the kids

Breakfasts:

  • Smoothies from freezer
  • Eggs
  • Pancakes from freezer

Goals:

I got my Etsy shop stocked last week, we tackled cleaning the office Saturday, and had fun celebrating Kenna’s birthday and enjoying the weather! I think last week was pretty successful. 🙂

  • Read
  • Read more of Paddington Bear to Kenna and take her out to ride her bike the days it’s still warm
  • Continue BeFit YouTube exercise program (Started month 2 last week and it was definitely harder!)
  • Concert Series envelopes ready to mail with the flyers for next season
  • Plan a little Valentine’s party for Kenna to invite a couple girls to.
  • Get all the thank you cards written

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