Monki Bread is excited to have Amy from Super Healthy Kids as our guest blogger today! Her blog is a fantastic resource to learn about healthy and fun family living, from nutritious recipes to kid friendly meal plans. Welcome Amy!

You’ve heard the hype: Meal planning helps save money, helps you eat better, and will put hair on your chest. The truth is, meal planning really can be beneficial for so many reasons (maybe not the hair on your chest, but others), so you should be planning meals the right way, to maximize benefits.

We all know a good balanced meal includes fruits and vegetables. When planning your dinner’s for the week, do you write, “Hamburgers on Monday, Spaghetti on Tuesday?” Are you forgetting that the primary focus for every meal should be fruits and vegetables? So, why do we forget to add that to our meal plan? When we fail to plan to eat fruits and vegetables, oftentimes they don’t get eaten, or a bag of frozen peas are taken from the freezer to compliment the meal.
No matter your dietary preferences (low fat, low carb, gluten free, etc), almost everyone can agree on one thing, Fruits and vegetables have tremendous health benefits. These include

· Lowering blood pressure

· Reducing risk for cancer

· Improving digestion

· Supplying essential vitamins, nutrients, phytochemicals, and antioxidants.


So, plan to get fruits and vegetables in every meal!

· Stock your fridge with seasonal produce.

· Check what you have and plan meals around those. If you have tons of lettuce, plan what kind of salad you want, and then whatever entrée you like that compliments your salad. Or if you have an eggplant that needs to get eaten, plan to add it to your lasagna for that week.

· Prepare your produce by chopping and washing when you bring it home.

· Always use your produce! Don’t let it get bad. EAT IT UP!

If you can add fruits and vegetables to your meals every single day, your kids will get accustomed to eating this way and everyone will be healthier and happier!

Amy Roskelley

www.superhealthykids.com
www.twitter.com/healthykids
www.facebook.com/superhealthykids

For more great recipes from Amy, check out her blog and Kitchen Monki Blogger Profile

1. San Fran McDonalds to stop offering Dollar Menu to get rid of homeless patrons (via Eater)
2. What would happen if restaurants stopped hiring illegal immigrants? (via NY Times)
3. 8 Weight Loss Secrets from around the world (via Reader’s Digest)
4. How to “Send Food Back” at a restaurant if it’s not right (via divine caroline)
5. Make This for Rosh Hashanah: Bubbe’s Apple Cake Recipe

1. 7 Tips to Kick the Sugar Habit (via Huffpost)
2. 5 Ideas that would revolutionize school lunches and save our kids (via planet green)
3. Cockroach brains found to have powerful antibiotics that can kill strains of E. Coli (via treehugger)
4. Eat This: Barefoot Contessa’s Chicken Parmesan Recipe
5. Which vegetables to grow during the fall (via MNN)

Kitchen Monki would like introduce member John Newman of the blog, Confessions of a Mormon Foodie! Don’t forget to check out his Profile for some wonderful recipes.

As a father of four, I want to make sure my kids grow up with the ability to take care of themselves. I’m not talking about turning them into gourmet chefs. I just want them to be able to prepare good food for themselves, and their future families. The benefits of teaching kids to cook goes beyond just learning to feed themselves, though. Learning a new skill and executing it well develops self-confidence. It give kids a sense of personal identity and increases self-esteem.

Teaching kids to cook takes a little planning, and a lot of patience. The results are worth it, though. As kids get older, they’ll want to start trying out recipes on their own. Let them. Just be on hand to supervise. Curb your desire to “fix” everything. Failing is just as important as succeeding when learning process.

When teaching kids to cook, safety in the kitchen is paramount. It seems obvious, but often obvious things get left out of informal training. “Use a pot holder,” and “wash your hands,” are classic safety rules.

Proper knife use is important, too. Very small children should stay away from knives, but I feel kids eight years and older can learn to use them safely. Start with a paring knife or other small kitchen knife. It’s a great size for small hands and kids can easily learn proper cutting and chopping techniques with it. Once they master the smaller knife, you can move them up to the chef’s knife.

Introducing a child to the stove can be a good next step. Grilled cheese sandwiches and canned tomato soup are a great combination for teaching. Add a glass of milk and your child has now made a complete meal. Wait until the child is a little older, at least the early teens, before introducing the oven. They need to have the physical capacity to open and shut the oven door and lift food laden pans.

The most important part is to have fun. If you keep it light, and don’t worry too much about the final results, the kids will have fun and want to cook more. They’ll get better, and learn to love cooking for themselves. Isn’t that the point, after all?

John

Check out more foodie wisdom at John’s blog, Confessions of a Mormon Foodie.

1. 20 Retro Cereals that were Awesome (via Pleated Jeans)
2.  A brief history of the Lunch Box (via the Atlantic)
3. 10 Minimal-Labor Labor Day Grilling Recipes (via Serious Eats)
4. Eat This: Dill Chicken Paillards with Tomato-Dill Relish Recipe
5. The secret to the shelf life of food from McDonalds (via Salon)

1. Drinking Water proven to help Weight Loss (via Disc. News)
2. Roger Ebert no longer eats, but he can still cook (via NY Times)
3. Why you can and should eat Kangaroo (via Esquire)
4. Make This: Pumpkin and Coriander Soup Recipe
5. The Secret to Good Airline Food: Fly Italian (via the Atlantic)

1. Top 10 Food and Drinks for Cancer Prevention (via Care2)
2. What your Portion Size actually looks like! (via fooducate)
3. FDA posts calorie counts on Airplanes, Movie Theaters, Convenience Stores (via Eater)
4. Eat This: Sauteed Potatoes with Chorizo Recipe
5. Top 10 Kitchen Tools to Prepare Vegetables with (via Serious Eats)

Kitchen Monki would like to welcome two new bloggers to the site, John Newman from “Confessions of a Mormon Foodie” blog, and M. Ryan Taylor from his self titled blog “M Ryan Taylor”. John recently posted a new recipe, “Summer Squash Pizza with Roasted Garlic and Creme Fraiche” and M. Ryan posted his “Simple Tomato Salad”. Both of them look delicious and have already added them to my Queue. Welcome to the both of you!

With “Confessions”, John quips about his Utah food adventures, in and out of the kitchen and interjects once and awhile with interesting and curious food news. I’m a big fan of his cooking and recipes naturally and am eager to try his Flag cake next July 4th or Memorial Day. “I love cooking, eating, reading, baking, making music, and being sarcastic.” Sounds like a fun monki to me!

Ryan is a musician, author, director and artist. On his blog, he shares his insights about creativity, health and living a simple life. He is a tremendous singer as well! Check out his rendition of the Star Spangled Banner… Fabulous! Other pieces from this his recordings can be found at http://mryantaylor.bandcamp.com. I’m not a huge spinach fan but I like what Ryan has to say about “Simply Eating Spinach”.

We hope everyone has a chance to visit their blogs for reading worthwhile. In addition, check out John and Ryan’s collection of recipes on the site and let them know what you think!

1. This is sheer Genius!… Standing Rice Paddle (via the food section)
2. 10 Chef’s Favorite Kitchen Tools and Tricks (via Huffpost)
3.  What do people look for on Nutrition Labels?   (via fooducate)
4. 37 Ingredients that make up the Twinkie are photographed (via MNN)
5. Make This: Curried Ground Turkey with Potatoes Recipe

My name is Laura Barlow, and I’m a contributor on the website HealthyMomsKitchen.com as well as the author of Shedoing.blogspot.com.  I am a huge fan of Kitchen Monki, and was delighted when I was asked to share my story and some of my favorite recipes!

I am an Insulin Dependant Diabetic, and have found that a low glycemic lifestyle (see Nisha Riggs’ Monki Bread guest post on this topic) is the perfect way for anyone, with or without diabetes, to find health, energy, maintain consistent blood sugars, and turn your body into a fat-burning-machine!

I’m not one for fads.  I’m not one for “quick fixes”.  I’m not one for having to eat a separate meal from my family.  I’m not one for extremities.  I wanted a new, healthy lifestyle, that would benefit my entire family, as well as help me lose weight.

Thus began my love affair with Dr. Ray Strand!  He is a “real” doctor (Family Practitioner) who began on a quest to help his wife who had several health issues, feel better.  The combination of science, nutrition, and lifestyle he introduces are simple, yet so powerful!  A lot of it I find falls under “common sense”,  with the rest making more and more sense as you learn and implement it in your life.  It is a lifestyle that encourages a healthy balance of foods, and giving your body what it needs to function at optimal levels.  Once you learn more about what food choices are ideal, the lifestyle comes easily.  I never count calories.  I never eat the same things over and over (unless I want to!)  I feel better because the items I use are fresh, and less likely to be refined or processed.  I never feel “ravenous”, or crave carbs as I have in the past.

Since beginning the low glycemic lifestyle, I have lost and kept off 45 pounds, and I plan on losing another 10-15 by October.  My running has benefited from this lifestyle as well!   I plan on running a 190 mile relay race (Red Rock Relay) in September, and the Sundance Halloween half marathon in October.

“What’s in My Fridge” every Wednesday on Healthy Mom’s Kitchen shows my passion for this lifestyle.   I post a new recipe to share my latest creations per what I have on hand in my fridge, or cupboards!  I love how creative I can be with my family’s meals. My family loves low glycemic! My diabetes LOVES low glycemic! I have cut down my insulin use by more than HALF!  Through this lifestyle, you can REVERSE the effects of insulin-resistance, Type 2 Diabetes, not to mention all the health issues you are preventing your kids and family from being susceptible to.  Plus…you just feel AMAZING!!

Here are a few of my favorite recipes I’ve come up with, all low glycemic, diabetic friendly, FAMILY friendly, and just plain YUMMY! (Click on the titles to go to the recipes on Kitchen Monki!)

“3 in 1 Crockpot”

Take two ingredients, and you have the base for 3 different, amazing, and healthy dishes!

The 2 ingredients:

4-5 pork steaks

1 large can of pineapple chunks with own juice (non-sweetened)

Place in crock-pot and slow cook for 5-6 hours.

THREE AMAZING OPTIONS:

Meal #1 “Green Salsa Pineapple Pork”

Take the pork from the crock-pot and lightly shred. Smother with your favorite fresh or bottled green salsa. Top with some of the remaining pineapple from the crock-pot, and a little shredded cheese. You can put this over barley, brown rice or couscous, or place in some corn tortillas to make individual tacos.

Meal #2  “Sweet and Sour Pork”

Take the pork from the crock-pot and cut into bite-size cubes. Slice up some red and green sweet peppers and put them into a wok or frying pan with a little non-stick spray. I also like water-chestnuts, and slivered almonds, but they are optional. Add the pineapple from the crock-pot to the pan. Cook until heated through. Stir in cubes of pork until mixed. You can put this over rice, couscous, barley or serve over more steamed vegetables. Chopsticks, optional!

Meal #3 “BBQ Pork”

Take pork from the crock-pot and shred with a fork. Use your favorite BBQ sauce, and mix in with the pork. Add pineapple from the crock-pot. Put this mixture into a whole wheat pita bread pocket, or serve with barley, corn on the cob, or a whole grain wheat roll and salad.

“Quick Kid Friendly Quiche!”

A healthy alternative to a customized pizza! My kids LOVE this recipe!

Place a non-stick-sprayed glass dish in the oven, set to 400 degrees.

1 lb ground turkey sausage cooked, set aside

5-6 eggs

2-3 cups favorite shredded cheese

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

Mix eggs, cheese, salt and pepper together. Set aside

10-12 fresh basil leaves, chopped. Set aside 5-6 leaves for top of quiche.

10-12 oz frozen spinach

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

1 teaspoon of onion salt

Combine all ingredients, except 5-6 basil leaves for the top of the quiche. Carefully take hot dish from the oven, and pour mixture into the dish. Smooth out top, add a light layer of shredded cheese, and place extra basil on top as décor.

Bake at 400 degrees for approx. 25 minutes.

“What’s in our Fridge Skillet?!”

It was 5 o’clock, and this is what I got…A little bit of this….A little bit of that…One great dish!

Leftover cooked chicken breast (2-3 cups)
2 small zuchini
1/2 onion
3 fresh tomatoes
1 can black beans
Bag of frozen spinach
Favorite Salsa
Our favorite chili seasoning
Greek Yogurt
A little shredded cheese

Cut and cube chicken and put in large frying pan. Season substantially with your favorite chili seasoning. Start warming through on medium heat. Chop up zucchini, onion and fresh tomatoes and add to the frying pan, seasoning again with chili seasoning. Take the can of black beans, drain, and add them to the mixture, followed by 2-3 cups of your favorite salsa. As it continues to simmer, add the frozen spinach (1-2 cups) and cook until heated through. Place generous scoops into bowls and top with a dollop of plain Greek Yogurt. YUM!

My newest summer creation!!

“Couscous and Grape Summer Salad”

4-5 cups couscous

2-3 cups halved green grapes

2-3  cups cubed cooked pork or chicken

1 cups slivered almonds

Put in large bowl.

Mix together:

½ cup white wine vinegar

½ cup canola oil

½ orange juice

Pour over salad, and mix well. Refrigerate for a few hours, or overnight. Serve chilled. Refrigerates well for a few days.

“Basil Chicken with Goat Cheese”

The flavor of the fresh basil is AMAZING! Sophisticated enough for adults, yet mild enough for the kiddos!

(Don’t freak about the goat cheese–you can also use cream cheese if you like! BUT…the goat cheese is mighty yummy!)

4-5 Chicken breasts, without skin

4-6oz Seasoned or Plain Goat Cheese (I used goat cheese seasoned with Chive and Onions)

5-7 Fresh Basil Leaves

Olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Slice the breasts open half way. Insert a couple slices of the goat cheese into the chicken breast. Lay 1-2 fresh basil leaves over the goat cheese. Close chicken breast back together so cheese and basil is adequately tucked inside.

Place prepared chicken breasts in glass dish. Drizzle with Olive Oil and rub over tops of chicken breasts. Sprinkle breasts with Salt and Pepper.

Cook at 350 degrees for about 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours until done.

Enjoy!

Laura Barlow

HealthyMomsKitchen.com / Shedoing.blogspot.com