Just One Mom Trying: family dinners

Showing posts with label family dinners. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Seasoned Baked Potato Fries

Emily 7:24 AM 1 Comments

Make your own seasoned fries at home, without the frying!

Cut up 3-4 potatoes into short thin strips.

In a bowl, coat the potatoes in a little oil and seasoning salt. I like to use Lawry's Seasoning Salt.

Line a baking pan with foil. Place potatoes onto foil in a single layer.

(I did half seasoned potatoes and half just salted.)

Adjust oven rack to highest position and broil on HIGH for about 20 minutes, flipping potatoes every so often so each side is golden and crispy. I like mine a little darker. MMmmm.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Back to School: How to Support Your Student

Emily 6:19 PM 0 Comments

The new school year is approaching quickly, or has already begun for some. Make this school year a great one by supporting your child/student. There is nothing more important than giving your child(ren) time. Here are some ways that you can support your student(s) this year.

*Make sure your child eats breakfast. If you have to, wake him/her up early enough to grab a healthy bite to eat before school. Stock the kitchen with healthy options. Here are some ideas:

fruit (apples, bananas, grapes, pears, peaches, etc.)

cereal (no sugar cereal!)

oatmeal

applesauce and toast

peanut butter and toast

bran muffins

yogurt, granola and fruit

eggs

NO: waffles, french toast, pancakes, Pop Tarts, sugar cereal, chocolate milk. They may be convenient for you but will make your child tired and will hinder their ability to focus.

*Make sure they eat a healthy lunch. If you can't see what your child is buying at school, consider packing a lunch. Don't give your child money if you pack a lunch, but include something your child will like. Here are some healthy ideas:

fruit (apples, pears, strawberries, blueberries, watermelon, orange, grapes, fruit cup, etc.)

raisins, Craisins, dried fruit, fruit leather

veggies (carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes, etc.)

cheese (string cheese or mini Babybel cheese)

yogurt

ham/turkey sandwich, tortilla wraps, ham or turkey roll-ups

pasta salad

chicken nuggets

meat/cheese/cherry tomato skewers

crackers, pretzels, popcorn, granola bar

treat (yes, give them a treat): oatmeal cookie, homemade cookie, pudding, fruit snack, etc.

*Include a love note or surprise (not money) in their lunch.

*Sit down with your child and help him/her with homework.

If your child can do homework on his/her own, check his/her completed work.
Test prep: Quiz your child, or have your child teach you. If your child can teach you without any hesitation and can answer your questions, that is a good sign that he/she knows the material.
Create a homework space, free from TV and other distractions. Make sure there is plenty of light. Natural lighting is best if possible.

*Read with your child. Weather it be for homework or just for leisure, read with your child. It can be a great time to bond.

*Talk about "highs & lows" of the day at dinner. What was the best (high) part of your day? What was the worst (low) part of you day? You can usually assess what kind of day your child had with these two simple questions.

*Have family dinner! Click HERE to see why family dinner is so important.

*Help your student get enough sleep. The majority of our students run on very little sleep. Homework and extra curricular activities don't help but, there are other distractions that really cause the lack of sleep- cell phones/texting, Facebook, TV, video games, etc. As a parent, you can help your student by limiting access to these distractions.

When your child sits down to do homework, make him/her turn off his/her cell phone and give it to you. He/She can have it back once homework is finished.
Make sure your child doesn't have a TV, video games, or computer in his/her room. If he/she wants to spend time on these devices, they should be in common areas of the house, such as family room or den. This will limit time spent on these activities around bedtime.
Set a curfew or "lights out" time, if possible. Sometimes homework and projects run quite late. Help your child finish it if necessary. Don't take away from your child's learning experience but do what you can to help.

*Be nice to your child. Let your child relax and have some fun.

Let me put something in perspective. Our children go to school for about 7 hours a day. During those 7 hours their brains are being crammed with new information, each teacher thinking that his/her students understood every word and will retain everything that has been taught. After school, our children are headed to soccer practice and/or piano lessons, or whatever extra curricular activities they may be involved in. Those activities can take up another 2 or 3 hours in the day, maybe more if it is game day. Some of our youth work after school. Once our tired children are allowed to go home, it is homework time. Homework shouldn't last more than 2 hours but it normally goes longer because every teacher thinks that his/her class is the most important, so let's say it goes for 4 hours on a good night- no tests or projects to finish up. Let's look at this schedule without breaks.

Wake up: 6:30-7:00am

Breakfast, get ready, go to school: 7:00-7:45

School 8:00am-3:00pm

Sports, lessons, etc. 3:00-5:00pm

Homework 5:00-9:00pm

Where's the time to have dinner? Time to be with family? Time to unwind and relax? Time to get good sleep? There's got to be some balance.

*Please be patient and kind to your children when they are going through puberty. Their bodies are changing and growing so quickly. They need extra rest and and proper nutrition. Sometimes the body can become overworked during rapid growth and changes which in turn can cause stress and weaken the body's immune system. Puberty is already an awkward stage for children. Don't make it worse. Support them by helping them get the rest that they need and make sure they are eating well.

*Limit the extra-curricular activities. Don't overwhelm your child (or yourself) with too many extra-curricular activities. I know so many parents that spend their whole afternoons running their children to so many lessons and practices. What happens? We stop making dinner and eat out because it's convenient. We don't sit down for dinner because we ate it in the car. We don't talk with our children because they're gone and dinnertime is over. Our most valuable time to connect with our children is gone.

*Don't worry. Your child will get into college. I've had so many experiences with parents stressing about their child getting into college that it cracks me up. Their child "has to take such-and-such test prep class on Saturdays so they can pass the SAT and ACT tests." Their child "has to get straight A's to qualify for such-and-such college." Their child "has to take AP classes and AP tests." Their child "has to do so many sports and activities to show how well-rounded their child is on a college application." So many times I just wanted to say, "Chill out! Your kid will get into college." It's true. Your child WILL get into college one way or another. He/She might go to a junior college first. Sweet! Save some money and enjoy another year or two with your child.

I hope you ALL enjoy your school year this year!

# family dinners # school

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Black Bean and Salad Pizza

Emily 6:09 AM 0 Comments

I've been trying to eat less meat and stay a little more fit. Every week I plan meals for my family. It has been tricky to find delicious dinners with little or no meat. But, they are out there.

My sister makes a great black bean pizza topped with green salad tossed in ranch dressing. I love it! I love ranch with my pizza and this combines salad, ranch and pizza.

Trader Joe's has already made pizza dough in their refrigerated section that is fantastic! Roll it out, place it on a lightly greased cookie sheet, and top it with a can of drained black beans. Sprinkle some cheese on top and bake it in the oven for about 10 minutes.

When the cheese is nicely melted and the crust is golden brown, take the pizza out of the oven. Top your pizza with salad and enjoy!

I hope you'll give it a try sometime.

# family dinners # fitness

Friday, February 3, 2012

Chalkboard Placemats

Emily 5:23 AM 1 Comments

I've been wanting to make chalkboard placemats for months now. I finally did it. I decided that I would follow the directions from Sew 4 Home. However, I wanted to have waterproof fabric on the back instead of regular fabric so I grabbed some oil cloth. When it came time to put the placemat together, I couldn't press anything with an iron or use too many pins. I didn't want to melt my fabric and once the fabric is punctured with pins, the hole stays there.

I decided to do this thing a super basic way using bias tape.

What you'll need:

Chalkboard cloth (found in the "utility fabric" section of your fabric store)

Oil cloth (also a "utility fabric")

Bias tape (extra wide, double fold bias tape- 3 yd. Plan on one package per placemat just in case)

Jean needle (strong needle to sew your fabrics)

Scissors

Sewing machine (with jean needle)

What you'll do:

1) Cut one piece of chalkboard fabric and one piece of oil cloth the same size. Cut it to the size you'd like your placemat to be.

2) With wrong sides together, line up your bias tape on one edge of the chalkboard side! This is important! I found that the chalkboard fabric is quite slick and thick and doesn't grab onto the feed dogs well. So, having the oil cloth on the bottom allows for easier and nicer sewing.

3) Sew your bias tape on. See the following tutorial.

I already finished 2 edges. I'm going to show you the top edge. (Pretend this is your first edge.)

Here's one side of the placemat.

Here's the other side of the placemat.

Here's where the bias tape comes in. For super clear instructions on using bias tape without swearing, watch this video.

I followed the instructions in the video almost exactly. The only change I made was that I lined up the edge of my bias tape with the edge of my fabric. The woman in the video, Amy, lines up her bias tape a little below the edge of the fabric but, don't do it! You need that space when you're using the thicker fabrics.

So, unfold your bias tape, with the thinner edge up. Sew along that first fold. I tucked in my sides like Amy did too.

Start folding your bias tape over to the other side of the placemat.

Now it should look like this on the reverse side.

Sew the edge down. The chalkboard side will be facing down but since you now have the bias tape on the bottom, the feed dogs will grab onto the bias tape nicely and you won't have problems.

Repeat with the remaining sides.

You're done!

Prep your chalkboard by rubbing the edge of your chalk all over the board. Wipe it clean with a clean cloth. You're ready! You can also use liquid chalk which I'd like to try out sometime. It looks a lot cleaner and brighter.

This post was part of The Shady Porch's Rock 'N' Share! Visit The Shady Porch for other great ideas across the blogosphere.

# birthdays # breakfast

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Chinese Vegetable and Chicken Dish

Emily 7:45 AM 1 Comments

The past 2 days I've shared a breakfast and lunch loaded with fresh fruits and vegetables. Today I'm sharing a dinner loaded with fresh vegetables. It feels like the right thing to do.

If you like Chinese food, this meal will not disappoint. My 1-year old and 3-year old like this meal too. I love recipes that the whole family enjoys.

This recipe is a little long but it's pretty simple. You can also make most of this ahead of time and throw it together last minute for ultimate freshness.

Ok, let's do this!

Here is what you will need:

Chicken Marinade:

2 breasts of chicken

2 Tbsp. oil

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

2 Tbsp. corn starch

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. sugar

3 drops sesame oil

Tabasco or hot sauce (optional)

1 clove garlic (chopped)

1-2 Tbsp. oil

Vegetables of choice:

snow peas

mushrooms

carrots

broccoli

water chestnuts

red peppers

bok choy

bean sprouts

etc.

Vegetable Sauce: (double this if you have A LOT of veggies)

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

2/3 cup water

1 tsp. chicken broth bouillon granules (or 1 mashed bouillon cube)

2 tsp. oyster sauce

Directions:

1) Prepare marinade in a small bowl.

2) Cut up chicken into bite-sized pieces and add to marinade. (This can be done ahead of time or last minute. The chicken does not need to marinade long. I like to have it marinade for a couple of hours just because I like the flavors to soak a little bit).

3) Cut up your veggies of choice into bite-sized pieces. I used mushrooms, carrots, broccoli, bok choy, red pepper, and water chestnuts this time. I like A LOT of veggies.

4) Prepare vegetable sauce in a small bowl. (I doubled the recipe because I had A LOT of veggies AND I like to have some extra sauce for my rice.)

It will look like this. Not everything will dissolve and that's okay. I used a mashed bouillon cube since I didn't have the granules on hand.

5) Heat 1-2 Tbsp. of vegetable oil and chopped clove of garlic in a skillet. Do not burn the garlic. Once heated, add the chicken and cook all the way through. Remove cooked chicken and set aside.