Pineapple: BlueBerry Muffins: Kabobs: Step: Bacon & Mushrooms

Tuesday Nannying: A packed full day:

1)Making Pineapple plants 2) Blueberry, Peanut Butter, Banana Muffins 3) Fruity Sword  4) Step Sculpt class 5) Bacon Mushroom Sandwiches

A good example of what you have to look forward to (internet picture).

At breakfast they had a pineapple in their smoothie. I made a remark that my dad had once planted a pineapple, the kind you get from the grocery store. My boss’s eyes lit up. She commented it would be a good project for the kids. I went online and found the steps on how to grow a pineapple. Read the link below for further information.

http://www.rickswoodshopcreations.com/Pineapple/pineapple.htm

Blueberries to make your mouth water (internet picture)

Internet picture

Fresh Fruit (internet picture)

Cooking highlight of the day, think of bushes…..from sweet blueberries. Think of sticky gooey peanut butter and yellow sun bananas that hang from tropical trees. All of these ingredients were mixed in a batch of homemade blueberry muffins. They were yummy. A recipe similar to the one we did today was found on this site (the recipe is below) : http://amateurnutritionist.blogspot.com/2010/04/peanut-butter-banana-blueberry-muffins.html

A photo from The Broken Spatula Blog. I didn't get a chance to take a picture of the yummy goodness.

Peanut Butter & Banana Blueberry Muffins
-2 large overripe bananas
-6 oz. plain greek yogurt
-1/2 cup peanut butter
-1 medium egg
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-1/3 cup granulated sugar
-1 cup whole wheat flour
-3/4 cup all-purpose flour
-1/4 cup milled flax
-dash of cinnamon
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1 cup frozen blueberries

Fruity Swords

Hey mothers or healthy people! If you want an easy, FUN recipe, get some stick kabobs and put an assortment of fruit. The children loved it. Of course there was a moment in time during lunch fruit kabobs the boys (I nanny) morphed the kabob sticks into table swords. My mind immediately thought, “Hey, when I was a young girl I didn’t do that”. This moment just proves boys are eager for action.

Picture from online to allure your eyes and stir your tastebuds.

One of older boys was teasing his youngest brothers about being short. The mother pointed out the younger boy was in the 50% tile while he was in the 10% tile and that one day his brother might treat him the same way. What I appreciated was the truth she spoke into this situation. She told the older son that God made him exactly the way He wanted and that included his height.
In Christian circles you hear God loves you and that He thinks your beautiful. It was cool for me to hear this truth because I saw it being applied in a daily life circumstance.
What attribute, if any, bothers you about yourself? Ask God for His eyes in that area.

(internet picture)

After nannying and tutoring: To all those to new year resolutions I signed up for a gym membership to LA Fitness. I patted to myself on the back today for going to a Step Sculpt class. I don’t think the Lord blessed me with coordination. It takes my body a little longer to respond to what I see. The class was interesting and made me realize there is more to a stepping class than the basic right foot left foot and then down. There is the V, V-off, curb, dancing (meringue) diagonals and the rocking horse. What classes have you taken recently and what did you learn? I would love some recommendations or just to learn from my viewers. Please leave your responses in the comment box below.

So…..away from nannying, this evening in my cozy apt home while my husband and I sit down to a healthy Portobello Bacon Sandwich we hear shouts outside and doors slamming. This was my first time feeling threatened at my home. My husband to the rescue ran to defend a woman. We don’t completely understand the situation but a man was shouting to his wife (who lived on the 2nd floor). She was screaming, “You got my purse. You stole my purse.” My husband tells the husband, “Be a man” and something about respecting her. Neither the wife or husband lived in our apartments. The wife was visiting our neighbor. The husband called the cops. The cops came and my husband informed them. An event that sounds like a television episode but was more of a disturbance to my safety from my home.

The Portobello Bacon Sandwich meal enjoyed after the event.

Some of the ingredients! The slicing section.

I personally keep meat in the freezer to stay fresh and the day I cook it I defrost it in the sink. What do you do?

I alter the recipe a little from the original at this site: http://www.paleoplan.com/2010/01-04/portobello-sandwiches/

Ingredients:

• 4 portobello mushroom caps
• 1/4 cup almond or cashew butter  (I used olive oil)
• 1/4 lb deli meat or cooked bacon
• 1 large tomato, sliced
• handful of spinach or arugula
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1/4 sweet yellow onion, sliced

Directions: 1) slice avocado, tomato, and onion 2) saute onions and mushroom caps 3) broil bacon for 7minutes 4) make the sandwich and enjoy the beauty of what you created

Enjoy your weekend!!!!!

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Cinnamon Raisin: Save, buy Misto

Monday:

Have you ever heard of a grain grounder? I hadn’t until today during my nannying; we made homemade wheat bread. Did you know making homemade raisin bread is just as easy as wheat bread? All you have to do is sprinkle cinnamon and raisin’s over the dough and then roll it up.

Do you know of some tasty recipes for making bread that doesn’t require a bread tosser? What is your favorite bread?

Facts:

-Raisin Bread was invented by  Henry David Thoreau.

-Raisins were not invented but discovered. The story goes that humans found grapes dried on a vine B.C..

-During the period of ancient Rome, two jars of raisins could be traded for one slave.

-Roman physicians used to use raisins to cure poisoning or old age.

Picture from the internet, but this is the machine we used.

Did you know you can save money with greasing your pans????? Butter and paper towels, pouring oil, or Pam are history.

You can purchase this off of Amazon for less than $10.

 

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Salmon, WHOLE Food’s Friday Special

Save some money and sign up for the Whole Foods email newsletter.

For example, at Red Lobsters for a Atlantic Salmon a half a meal its $14.25 and for a full meal its $19.50. On the other hand, in the quietness of your own home for 1lb of fresh Atlantic salmon (from whole foods) it was $7.99, 50% off the regular price of $14.99. Great DEAL, sign up. I’m a fan! Let me know what deals fancy you?

Click the link below if you are interested in fancy meals for you and your family for ridiculously low prices.

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/newsletters/

The fishy friend’s side dish, Saute Collards. I followed this recipe. Click this link if you want it. http://www.paleoplan.com/2010/01-04/collard-greens/

If you know of some other sites with easy primal meals please let me know in the comment box below.

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Messy Free Pomegranates

They are a burst of flavor. They are the healthier cousin from the gummy bear family, a super-fruit. My husband and I were blessed with pomegranates this Christmas from my step father. I learned from my husband that there is an easier way to get the seeds.

The simple steps to a healthy snack or recipe from pomegranates:

a picture with my ipad of my husband

-fill your kitchen sink half full
-cut half the pomegranate on the side of the sink
-with the opening side facing down pull the seeds out (make sure to keep the whole fruit under water, it might squirt)
-you can use your hands or a handy net scooper to get the seeds
-eat them as a snack or put them in a recipe

Fast recipes:
-eat as is, an on-the-go snack
-put on a salad
-blend them in a smoothie
-juice them
-make salsa
-jam them
-make a sauce
*used in many middle eastern recipes

Nutritional facts about pomegranates:
-full of antioxidants
-vitamin C , and B5, potassium
-high in fiber
-reduce cholesterol
-helps control weight
-reduces the risk of heart disease

History of pomegranates:
They are from the Persia and Himalayan range.

Interesting fact: If you have a headache they act similar to an aspirin.

Enjoy the natural fruit God gave us! If you make a recipe I would love to hear how that goes.

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