Homemade Galore!

So far this week has been loads of fun with experimenting on new quick, easy and healthy foods. The weekend was a bit of a bust, however. The farmers market was sadly lacking in any variety in regards to fruits and veggies (too early in the season). If I'd been in the market for radishes and green onions, I would've struck gold...but since I wasn't, I ended up leaving with nothing more than a blueberry lemon scone and a cherry danish from VGs Bakery. Not a total loss since everything they sell is just delightful! Not lo-cal, by any means, but a nice decedant treat for Saturday's breakfast for me and Munchkin.

Saturday heralded the first egg hunt of the season for us. It was a blustery day, so I let Munchkin gather as many candy-laden eggs as she could carry in her small basket (I keep it small so she doesn't get too many), then we beat a hasty exit. I needed to give hubby's Afghanistan address to my MIL and she wanted to meet at Waffle House. Yuck...grease heaven (or hell). Munchkin wanted a a grilled cheese sandwich, so I relented, but had to quickly put my foot down when MIL tried to order her a sweet tea. Argh! I know my husband does it when they go there, but gads, a skinny 6-year-old does not need a drink that's pure caffeine and sugar! I initially declined eating, but MIL plied me with their "healthier" buttermilk waffle (I looovvvvee waffles) so I relented...and devoured the whole thing even though I told myself I'd only eat half.

I decided to try HG's Crock Pot Cinna-Apples 'n' Oats for Sunday's breakfast. It was super-easy to throw together and even though it hurt me to do it, I had to use the Splenda-laden maple-flavored syrup (yuck!) that hubby had bought since it's all we had. Otherwise, no substitutions this time (well, except that I didn't use Fuji apples...just the organic bagged ones from EarthFare...another free deal I snagged). Everything went smoothly and I set it to cook overnight. I woke up Sunday morning, anticipating a yummy oatmeal breakfast and found out that I'd accidentally set the Crock-Pot on High instead of low. Argh! It wasn't totally inedible, but very, very thick and overcooked. There was also a slight hint of artificial-sweetener chemical taste. Definitely NOT using the sugar-free syrup next time. I am thankful however, that I used the Crock-Pot liners. I'd probably still be scraping the pot out if I hadn't.

For lunch, we went to a local pizza joint where Munchkin had cheese dippers (essentially a mini cheese pizza) and I had cavatelli pasta with sausage, mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes. Mmmm...decadent. I restrained myself and only ate half...it was quite filling...and ate the rest for dinner that evening. Normally I'm not into pizza places....especially chains...but this place is local and makes everything from scratch.

Yesterday, I decided to try my hand at making homemade chicken soup. Wow...it was so quick and easy...and turned out sooo good!

Fast and Easy Chicken Noodle Soup
Cal 242, Fat 1.5g, Cholesterol 45mg, Sodium 227mg, Carb 28g (Fiber 3.4g, Sugar 1.5g), Protein 26.4g
Approx Cost per Serving: $1.83

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (pref. local, free-range, and/or organic)
Half package No-Yolks Noodles
4 oz frozen mini-diced mixed vegetables
8 cups chicken stock (I used Swanson's Organic Free-Range Low Sodium variety)
1 tsp Emeril's Original Essence (or your favorite non-salt seasoning mix)

Cook the chicken breasts and dice into bite-sized pieces. Mix stock and seasoning and bring to a boil. Add noodles and veggies and simmer until noodles are al dente. Add chicken and stir. Ladle into bowls and enjoy!

Vanessa LOVED it! And it didn't involve anything but simple, non-processed ingredients that are easy to find and prepare. So much healthier and not even much longer to prepare than the canned stuff. The longest part of preparation was cooking the chicken breasts. I probably could have used tenderloins and cut down the cook time significantly.

My next challenge: To find a quick and healthy alternative to Lunchables. Vanessa loves to take these to school and I can't find any ready-made healthy equivalents...so I need to find a good plan to create them myself that won't take up too much time since right now, I'm used to just snagging a Lunchable from the refrigerator and tossing it into her lunchbox before we leave for school. I'm trying to get her back on board with the bento idea that she was into a couple of years ago when I was making them for myself. We'll see how that works out.