Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Mommy Talk Tuesday {Nutrition}

Welcome back to Mommy Talk Tuesday!
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The Not So Secret Confessions of a Second Time Mom

This weeks topic: {Nutrition}
What are your does and don'ts when feeding your family. Are there certain foods you don't allow? What are your family favorites? What dictates your food preferences? Is it cost, food value, taste, ect. Do you have any picky eaters? Lastly, post a recipe!
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Family nutrition became very important to me about half way through my pregnancy with Bubba Love.  We were bringing a new life into this world and I thought it would be best if we did her the favor of giving her the best start. 
We slowly changed from a "eat whatever taste good" family, to a "eat with a purpose" family.  We removed all junk food and processed food and replaced it with whole foods.  I started cooking from scratch and both Daddy and I enjoyed our meals more then before.
I became a little obsessive over what we could or couldn't eat.
Now with three kids and a busy schedule, I have found a happy medium.  We still eat organic and still eat mainly whole foods, but there are exceptions.  We get freezer meals at Trader Joe's because let's be honest... sometimes Mama doesn't want to cook!  We get already made snacks like granola bars and fruit leathers.  But MOST of the time the family get a home cooked, from scratch, whole foods kind of meal.
As for picky eaters, I didn't think I had any until I really thought about it.  Bubba Love is!  She doesn't like to try new things and most of the time we have to coax her to eat what we put in front of her.  But she usually will enough to make me happy and if there is dessert involved then she will eat it all:)  Buddy Boy will eat anything and everything.  And Baby C is coming around to the idea of eating more "people" food... for a while there all he would eat was bananas and pears!
We have lots of family favorite meals, but an all time favorite that I can always count on my kids eating is breaded chicken with mashed cauliflower potatoes and steamed broccoli. 
Another favorite are these Oatmeal Fruit Bars.  I usually eat these for breakfast, but the kids like them for breakfast or snack or dessert or any other time of the day... they LOVE these!

2 cups whole wheat flour
½ cup ground flax seed
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon cardamom
½ cup (1 stick) organic butter - at room temperature
½ cup natural cane sugar
2 organic eggs
½ cup honey
¼ cup rice milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 small apple - peeled and chopped
½ cup goji berries or raisins
½ cup dates or apricots - chopped
1 cup chopped walnuts or almonds (optional)
1 ½ cups coconut
3 cups old fashioned organic oats

In a medium size bowl, stir together the flour, flax seed, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom.
In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until smooth. Add in eggs, honey, rice milk and vanilla and beat until smooth and consistent. Slowly add in dry mixture and mix together. Stir in oats, coconut, fruit and nuts.
Press the mixture into a cake pan. Bake 15-20 minutes in a 350-degree oven, or until knife comes out clean.
Let cool then cut into bars. 

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