mish mosh dinner

Some evenings after work and school, I just don't have my energy at all to prepare dinner.  Nights like this, I simply prepare a spread and let the kids chow down.

A dinner like this is fun for the kids since it is not the norm, so they enjoy it even though it takes so little time.

 

 

 

 

We dinned on:
- cucumbers
- wheat crackers
- swiss cheese
- hummus
- apples
- peanut butter with sunflower seeds sprinkled on top
- bell peppers
- grapes

The meal was rounded out with Kefir.  Here is a link to the Kefir that I buy at Aldi.  This link will also tell you all about this stuff and how good it is for you.  I think it costs $2.89 a carton.  The kids LOVE this stuff...I mean LOVE it.  They ask for seconds all the time.  During the week we will go through 3-4 cartons of Kefir. 

I have been around this stuff pretty much all my life, as it is very popular with the Polish culture.  My mom would make it and my dad would gulp it down.  I found it offensive (smell and texture) so I never reached for it.  However, the stuff I buy now has a good texture and good flavor so it is easy for the kids to like it. And it is SO good for you...try it!

Dippy Eggs

I have outdone myself...this recipe just calls for two ingredients!  Eggs and bread.  Talk about easy!

Step 1: pull out the bread

Step 2: pull out the eggs:

Step 2: cut a hole in the bread.

Step 3: place bread on hot griddle.  A pan would also do.

Step 3: crack egg into bread hole

Step 4: after a minute to two, flip.

Step 5: after another minute or so, the eggs is done. Place dippy egg onto plate and add fruit.

My kids go nuts over dippy eggs!

This meal take a total of 5 minutes, if that.  This meal is faster to cook than preparing chicken nuggets, and so much healthier.  We owe it to ourselves and our children to give them good foods!

*****

Let's talk about eggs.  In the last 6 weeks I read a book that was rather enlightening.  It is call "Skinny Chicks Eat Real Food" by Christine Avanti.  When I read books like this there are a few key points that I pick up.  In this book I picked up the difference between "regular" eggs that cost $.99 a dozen on sale, and real eggs. 

Folks, the package on the eggs I used says it all:

When eggs come from chickens that are pasture raised, they are actually more healthy for you.  So, at $4 a dozen, just a mere $3 more than eggs on sale, you get less cholesterol, less saturated fat, more vitamin A and E, more beta carotene and more omega-3 fatty acids.

Let's talk about the importance of omega-3 fatty acids, as this is the key point that I recall Christine mentioning in her book.  On whfoods.com they have a page dedicated to it.  I urge you to follow my link to look at the importance of it.  To start, this is an essential fatty-acid.  This means you body does not create this stuff...you must eat this stuff.  Are you eating flax seed or walnuts or salmon on the regular?  Then you are not regularly getting the top foods that give you the good stuff.  This stuff does a whole lot of good stuff for your blood (reduce lipids, prevents excessive blood clotting, ect) and prevents cancer.

When I read things like this, I grow more convinced that you truly are what you eat.  The food you eat actually works FOR you!  What is the difference between $3 when it means you great a healthier product...that a mere $.33 an egg! 

Now, be warned...lots of marketers have caught onto this whole "organic" (I will call it) movement.  Because eggs many be called "cage free" doesn't mean they are pasture raised.  The hens can still be feeding on grain and crowded on a dirt ground.  My pasture raised eggs are local, and graze on large pastures eating on grasses and legumes. The hen are eating good foods, and producing eggs that are better for me and my family. 

Make the choice for yourself to buy pasture raised eggs, but I will do my best in my house to do so.  Even though my pilot husband may be cheap, I know this is one thing he would not be opposed of me paying more money for.