Good food should take time

By Nicole:

Trust me, we know what it means to be busy. With three children, two dogs and working full time, time is limited.  However, that does not mean the quality of your meals should be sub-par.

In my opinion, meals should take time to create; however, that does not mean you cannot take some short cuts here and there to make your life simpler.  For example, using frozen vegetables and fruits is not the end of the world. But frozen "TV dinners" (even the Healthy Choice and organic options) are not so great.  They are chalked full of sodium and who knows what kinds of preservatives.

So, what is a person to do to prevent from using the prepackaged meals?  In our family, we do a few things to make sure we have lunches for the whole week.  We often make a big pot of soup or chili, buy enough food for some of the dinners we make during the week to ensure we will have leftovers and we always keep a big tub of mixed greens (lettuce) on hand.

Truly, it is that simple.  I know it takes a little more effort, but you really don't want to be stuck grabbing for a Hot Pocket for your lunch that has been in your freezer for who knows how long. Remember, you are trying to set your body up for success and sometimes that takes a little extra effort.

Below are some recipes that are quick and easy. Enjoy!


Taco Bowls

Enough sweet potatoes or yams for all that are eating
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork or goat chorizo (if you cannot find chorizo you can always use ground beef and add in Mexican seasonings of cumin, chili and garlic powder and salt and pepper.  Try to stay away from the prepackaged seasoning mixes, they are full of additives).
3 bags frozen pepper and onion mix
3-4 avocados
salsa
plain Greek yogurt

Clean and pierce the sweet potatoes and place in a 350 degrees oven for about 45 minutes or until fork tender.

Brown all the meat in a large pan.  Feel free to drain or keep the fat that has cooked off of the meat. Add in the frozen vegetables and continue to cook until all of the vegetables are tender and cooked through.  Open and separate the insides of the avocado from it's skin. I like to mash up the avocado at this point.

Once the potatoes and meat mixture are ready, slice the potatoes open and add a couple of scoops of the meat mix over top the potatoes.  Add a couple of scoops of the mashed avocado, salsa, and yogurt over the meat mixture.

Banana "Ice Cream"

3-4 bananas (slice and freeze for about 2 hours)
1 can full fat coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.

Options:
Our children love adding in different fruits. But our favorite is using all of the ingredients above, plus a bag of frozen pineapple.  It is delicious!  We have even tried adding in PB and cocoa powder, that is not too bad either.

Enjoy!