protein for the kiddos

Ahhhhhhhh, my lovely Scottish Oats!  Be on the lookout for an oat post in the next few days.  Many have you have asked about it, so you will be seeing it soon!

Until then…here is a plate of the delicious Scottish Oats…in all of their creamy glory.

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Remember how I said that the rolled oats don’t get nearly as fluffy!!?  This was 1/4c Scottish Oats…compare that to yesterday’s 1/3c rolled oats on a plate that is the same size.

Does not even come close to comparing my friends!!

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Creamy fluffy goooodness!!

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In the mix:

  • 1/4c Scottish Oats
  • 1 1/4c water
  • 1/3c hemp milk
  • 1 egg white
  • 1T chia seeds
  • 1/2 sliced banana
  • 1/2t cinnamon

Toppings:

Heavenly.

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Still loving summer plated oats.  It cools them off just enough to keep me from sweating!

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Interesting looking, no?  Any guesses?

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I made a sauce for kale chips!  I usually just coat them with a little oil, s+p and maybe a few other spices.  Today I decided to jazz it up a little. 

Sweet + Salty Kale Chips

  • 1 bunch kale, washed + destemmed
  • 2T tomato paste
  • 2T nutritional yeast
  • 1-2T hemp oil [or other cold pressed oil]
  • fresh ground pepper
  • ~1/4+tsp salt [can always add more when they’re done]
  • 1T balsamic vinegar
  • 1-2T apple cider vinegar
  1. Whisk sauce together.
  2. Massage into kale.
  3. Bake at 300* stirring every 10-15min for around 45min until they are crispy.

When using a sauce like this, it takes longer to crisp them.  I normally bake them at 350* for about 20min but that isn’t enough time to crisp them up with this sauce.  A lower oven temp + longer cook time solves this problem.

Yummmmyumyum.

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Box #3 of the samples Lundberg sent.  I love this couscous!!  My favorite so far, has been the curry.  I feel like this was very similar in taste to the herbed couscous.  Although, both were still delicious.  There will be a giveaway for this product very soon!

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Fluffy + flavorful with a great texture.

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I added in 1T of tomato paste + 1T of garlic scape pesto and then…

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Topped it with an egg! 

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My lovely chippers :)

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Recently, my good friend Megan, came to me with a question.  She told me that her 4.5yr old son does not enjoy meat very much and she was wondering how to make sure he’s getting enough protein in his diet.

This is a great question, so I thought I would address it on the blog!  I know I don’t have any kiddos of my own, but I still feel that I can answer this question! 

I have found on a few different sites, that the approximate protein needs for the average 4-6yr old is 22g of protein.  You can definitely achieve this amount everyday and without meat!  I’m going to list some ideas + tips and then link to some kid friendly recipes. 

Non-meat protein sources

  • eggs
    • 6g per egg
  • dairy [preferably organic]
    • yogurt - preferably whole milk yogurt + Greek is best because of it’s higher protein content + a much lower amount of added sugar
    • milk [8g per cup of 2% milk]
    • cheese
  • beans + nuts
    • Lentils [17g per cup] 
    • Black beans + Navy beans [15g per cup]
    • Chickpeas/Garbanzo beans [14g per cup]
    • almonds [10g per 1/2 cup]
    • peanuts [17g per 1/2 cup]
    • walnuts [9g per cup]
  • grains + seeds
    • quinoa [8g per 1c cooked] Meg – quinoa is also a good source for magnesium, which has been shown to help with headache…we know how many headaches the 2 of us get!
    • rolled oats [11g per 1c cooked]
    • brown rice [5g per 1c cooked]
    • millet [6g per 1c cooked]
    • sunflower seeds [10g per 1c]
    • pumpkin seed kernals [aka: pepitas – 34g per 1c]
  • breads + pasta [varies by brand – aim for the least processed, shortest ingredient, most natural products available]
    • whole wheat bread
    • sourdough
    • whole wheat pasta
    • buckwheat pasta [found in the Asian aisle]
    • whole wheat english muffins
    • whole wheat bagels
    • frozen waffles [look for brands with no high fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated oils – Nature’s Path are awesome!]
  • veggies
    • spinach [5g per cup, cooked]
    • broccoli [4g per cup, cooked]
    • potato [4g, medium size]
    • sweet potato [4g per cup, cooked]
  • fruits [when buying dried fruit, remember to look for un-sulphured, no sugar added]
    • avocado [4g, medium size]
    • banana [~1.5g]
    • blackberries [ 2g per cup]
    • dates [3.5g per cup]
    • grapes [1g per cup]
    • nectarine [1.5g]
    • raspberries [1.5g per cup]
    • dried apricots [4g per cup]
    • raisins [1.3g – 1 small box ~1.5oz]

It is hard to type out this list and not also list all of the other amazing benefits of each of these foods.  So many of them are also rich in calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, vitamins, etc, not to mention low in fat and high in fiber.  Such a win-win here! 

Cooking for kids - TIPS:

  • when making a pasta dish, grate or finely chop carrots/zucchini/mushrooms/etc.
  • you can do the same when making a pasta sauce
  • add beans to pasta dishes + salads
  • add beans to burritos or tacos
  • make bean dip
  • hummus!
  • have fun mix-ins that they can add to their yogurt – maybe some toasted oats, or a low sugar granola, fresh fruit and nuts
  • top toast or frozen waffles with peanut butter instead of butter + syrup
  • when baking breads, like banana bread – load it up with extra banana and finely chopped seeds + nuts, sub out half of the oil or butter with unsweetened applesauce
  • use whole wheat pastry flour when baking – if using white, get unbleached
  • reduce sugar by at least 1/4 for baking recipes – and try not to use highly refined white sugar
  • make fruit smoothies with yogurt or milk and even add a cup of spinach – just make sure there are no spinach chunks and your kid will never taste it!
  • have fun mix-ins for hot oats – granola, fruit, nuts, etc
  • make frozen smoothie popsicles – make a smoothie, put in popsicle molds + freeze
  • make chocolate pudding with avocado, banana and pure cocoa powder
  • when packing “to-go” snacks, pack things like
    • dried fruit
    • nuts
    • apples
    • peanut butter sandwich crackers
    • low sugar, whole grain cereal
    • granola bars – look for short ingredient lists

Kid Friendly Recipes:

From Mama Pea 

From Angela

From Emily

From Kath

From me!

There are SO many recipes + other fabulous blogger I could add to this list, but this is a great place to start.  I hope this helps give the parents out there with a few kid-friendly ideas.  These are also adult friendly :)  Enjoy!

….

Chris and I hit the rock gym today.  I bouldered for about 30min and got through a few problmes, which I was really excited about.  I went to the upstairs gym and did a little lifting, ab-work, and some chin-up practice, [thanks to Ashley].  After, I took Kenna on a walk [Chris walked Dakota] and also did a minimal amount of running [~.25m] in the VFF’s…it felt great!

Also –> Check out the latest header project that I just finished up for the lovely Cailtin over at Twenty Fifth Year.  I had SO much fun working on her header.  It was so lucky that she trusted my crazy explanation as to what I was going to do and lucky that she ended up loving it :)  The header is made up of 2 separate photographs, that I took, edited + stitched together. 

Time to read + do a quick yoga session + go to bed!! I have a new goal to actually read more.  Not blogs, but books.  I have SO many that I want to read and somehow never get around to opening up a book too often.

On my list: I have started all of these, but need to start finishing them 1 by 1!!

  1. Animal Vegetable Miracle
  2. The Kind Diet
  3. Thrive
  4. Barefoot Running
  5. The Barefoot Running Book

Night!

Ashley