I'm a wife, stay-at-home mom, crafter, and blogger living in rural New England. As seen in Martha Stewart Living, Food Network Magazine, and more! | Tutorials, DIY, crafts, parenting tips, recipes, money saving tips, product reviews, local product features, New England living, intentional living, and more! |
Lisa Valinsky just put together a great list of The Healthy Snacks that 24 Influencers are Eating Right Now and it includes a snack from yours truly that's BIG in our house - in fact I think it currently makes up at least 25% of our toddler's diet (oops).
So if you're looking for some great healthy snack ideas - definitely check it out! You're sure to recognize some great bloggers on there too :)
St. Patricks's Day is coming up and you need a to have a good Irish meal to celebrate - everybody is Irish on St. Patrick's Day afterall! "Bangers and Mash" (sausage and mashed potatoes) is one of my favorite Irish-inspired meals to make because it's easy and quicker than making corned beef and cabbage. And really - you just can't go wrong with sausage and potatoes!
Bangers + Mash
Total time 50 mins | Serves the whole clan!
Ingredients
sausages, at least 2 per person (I believe it's traditionally supposed to be a sage-y sausage, but our local grocery store doesn't carry those - so I went with Sweet Italian)
potatoes for mashing, my rule of thumb is at least 1.5 potatoes per person when figuring out how many to buy
sweet onion
butter
milk
head of cabbage
sage
salt + pepper to taste
Directions
Wash, peel, and chop potatoes. Set them aside in a pot of salted water to boil.
Pan fry sausages and onion until cooked through. Season with salt, pepper, and sage to taste towards the end of it's cooking.
Chop some fresh cabbage and gently boil until wilted (just a few minutes).
Once the potatoes are soft, drain them and mash with butter and milk until it's to your liking (feel free to also season with salt and pepper to taste).
Serve! We like the sausages and onions on top of our mashed potatoes and the cabbage on the side.
Lunchtime is often kind of hectic around here. Mornings tend to be when we do errands, groceries, story time, swim lessons, etc. and we always seem to be rolling back into the house right at lunchtime. This means I often only have a few minutes to get lunch on the table before a hunger-induced meltdown occurs. Having a no-prep, no-cook lunch is key to keeping everyone happy. | This post contains affiliate links and an honest review of a Nûby product |
This little lunch isn't anything fancy but that's what's so great about it. It's essentially a collection of healthy snacks that, when put together, make a great toddler-friendly meal. This meal hits all the main food groups (dairy, protein, grains, fruit, and veggies) and best of all our little one loves it.
Our little one's meal includes a Stonyfield Yogurt drink, hummus on whole grain toast, blueberries, broccoli florets, and some cheese all served on this cute Nûby Flower Child Toddler Plate.
We love this fun plate from Nûby. It's BPA-free and has a great no-skid bottom which is really helpful when your little one is eating. Our daughter especially loves the fun shape, easy grip handles, and the pictures (lady bugs and daisies) printed on the bottom of the plate. This adorable plate has quickly become her favorite for mealtimes.
Toddler Meal Ideas
If you're looking for more meal ideas, mix and match these other great no-cook or quick-cook foods to make your own healthy toddler meal:
smoothies
puree pouches
fruit cups (make sure to get ones packed in juice, not syrup. It's also still a good idea to drain and rinse the fruit to reduce the sugar content a bit)
any fresh fruit (cut to appropriate-sized pieces if needed)
any fresh or previously cooked vegetables (cut to appropriate-sized pieces if needed)
yogurt
cottage cheese
cheese
toast with mashed avocado spread on it
hummus with crackers
hummus with unsalted pretzels
crackers with peanut, almond, or sun butter spread thinly on it (only use nut butters if your child does not have nut allergies)
instant oatmeal
cereal with milk
cereal bar
Always use use your best judgement when it comes to safe foods and safe serving sizes to give to your little one, and always supervise them while eating.
- I received this item for review from Nûby but all opinions expressed are my own. Please see our Disclosure Policy for more information. -
Nûby's Flower Child Toddler Plate can be found at various retailers including Amazon.
For a while now I've been striving to get better about meal planning, so a few months ago I designed this weekly planner to keep in our kitchen and see if it helped. After using this method for several months I'm happy to report that it has been a HUGE success and wanted to share it with all of you who may have staying organized, planning meals ahead of time, or reducing your grocery bill as goals for 2016!
This weekly planner can either be printed and written on directly - or you can print, frame it, and simply write on the glass to keep reusing it (which is what I have done). I love having it under glass because it means it's always on display and easy to refer to, and it saves a lot of paper and ink. I didn't include too many photos of it it in our kitchen because it was so hard to photograph.. the glare from the glass makes a decent photograph nearly impossible.
Pro-tip: Write on the glass with a Sharpie to avoid smudges, then erase with a little 91% rubbing alcohol.
To write on the glass, you can use a fine-tip dry erase marker or a Sharpie marker. I prefer the Sharpie because it writes cleaner and won't smudge.
"But how to erase it!" you ask?
No problem at all: simply put a little 91% rubbing alcohol on a paper towel and it wipes off with no problem and no residue.
Example
Every Sunday I sit down and first fill in all the daily "to-dos" for the week. These are things that have to happen that day, like appointments. This gives me a sense of what the week will look like and how much time I may have to cook dinner that day, etc. Days we won't be home means I don't have to cook (wahoo!). Because I lay it all out ahead of time I can plan ahead for groceries... leftover potatoes from Monday can be thrown into Tuesday's chili. The chicken I buy can be portioned out for dinner on Thursday and Friday. Planning ahead means less waste and saving money in the long run (and you know how hard I try to save money on groceries).
"Goals for the week" is where you put in projects and goals you can pick at over the course of the week when you get spare moments. I feel like this list makes me more motivated (and accountable) to be productive when I have down time.
Reusable Weekly Planner
{Download free PDF of our Reusable Weekly Planner HERE}
So that's my Reusable Weekly Planner! It's been a huge help to keep me more organized, more motivated, and save more money on groceries. I hope that it will be as helpful for you!
This simple, hearty meal is basically a variation of traditional Pork Pie. The recipe isn't exact and doesn't have to be.. I generally don't make anything the same way twice and always go by what looks good. You can follow along the recipe for a general idea but feel free to incorporate substitutions and make it your own.
Our family got a total of three deer this year and so venison has been on heavy rotation. We've been finding ways to sneak it into lots of different meals and this Venison Pie has been a favorite!
Venison Pie
Prep time 50 mins | Cook time 30 mins | Serves up to 8
Ingredients
1 lb of ground venison
1 small onion, chopped (or about 1/3 cup chopped frozen onions)
1/2 tsp of Bell's Seasoning
1/2 cup frozen corn
3 medium potatoes, cooked and mashed
pie crust mix (I use classic boxed Jiffy Pie Crust Mix)
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Start a pot of water boiling on a back burner. Meanwhile brown ground venison, onion, and Bell's Seasoning in a skillet, adding salt and pepper to taste.
Once browned add frozen corn, cover and simmer for about 30 mins. While that's simmering peel, chop, boil, and mash your potatoes.
Mix mashed potatoes and browned meat mixture together and fill prepared pie crust.
Bake at 450 degrees for about 30 mins. This meal goes great with baked beans or ployes.
Feel free to add more veggies or tweak the recipe however you like, sometimes I add mushrooms or shredded carrots to the mix.
