I smell a challenge coming on...

OK, so you all know I went Vegan for lent. So, that's enough of a challenge right now. But, I can tell you that doing that has made me dig deeper into things, but more on that another time.

A website that I came across a while back that I would like to bring up on here is 100 Days of Real Food. After you are done reading I want you to go and explore her blog. She shares a lot of great information on this blog. She also offers you a few challenges. Now, as I am typing this, I have not even consulted by husband on it, but I am think that I can blackmail convince him into the 10 Day challenge. I mean really, it is only 10 Days. Although we do eat healthy foods in our house, there are processed foods here right along with sugar. So, this challenge will be a great adventure.

This isn't something that is going to happen right away, but it will happen within the next month or so--at least in my mind it will. I am going to talk this over with him, develop a menu for 10 days and figure it all out. Then, we will get started. I'll let you know when and invite you to join me on my journey.

Coming soon!

Ok, I am getting a lot of requests via email and in talking with people over healthy eating, eating for this allergy, eating for that problem, yummy lunches, feeding toddlers, etc. It all falls under Healthy Eating. While I am not a dietician or certified in any way. (If it counts for anything did take some college courses on this.) Anyway,  I will share what I know from lots of reading. I will share links for recipes. I will follow up and through on this. I will lead you to resources, teach what I know, and hopefully inspire you to try new things. Since this is something that the followers really want and honestly, who couldn't use a new recipe or two that is healthy. :) Plus, I am in the process of organizing and changing over my recipes and how I will store things, so this will help me as well. :)

I am tasking myself to cover this once a week on the blog. So, be on the lookout and if you have a request, leave it.  I am happy to help.

For today, let me share this with all of you....
How do I pack Little Man's lunches?

Ok, so I need to get images off my camera and a few personal pictures taken care of before I can post pictures of Lunchboxes. But, that is in the works. Until then, I will just be listing Little Man's lunchbox menu for you. So, without the visual. I'll try to do lunchbox wrap ups every now and then in with Healthy Eating.
Let me take you through my lunchbox process.
1. I think of it like this, what is he eating for breakfast and dinner.
2. Now, what do I need to feed him for lunch to be sure that his lunch balances out the rest of things for the day.
3. He always has a fruit or Veggie (Usually he has both, but not everyday so I would be a liar if I said that, but about 90% of the time he does.)
4. He has a grain of some sort.
5. He has a protein of some sort (sometimes his protein and dairy are one in the same)
6. He almost always takes water. (98% of the time he does--occasionally he will have a juice box as a special treat.)
7. Sometimes he gets a little treat in his lunch. But, honestly sometimes he considers a veggie that he loves a treat. The other day, his treat was a cinnamon cake that was made with chickpeas. Yes, he LOVED it.

Now, the other thought I leave you with today, I promised another one of these before, so here it is.

This is from here...check it out!

Lower Your Cholestrol

So, I had someone recently ask for help on Cholestrol and their diet. I am NOT an expert in any of these areas, but I am willing to help and do some research for you.

Here are a few tips...
9 Food Tips to Lower Cholesterol

ByGina Shaw
WebMD Feature

Reviewed byBrunilda Nazario, MD

A low-cholesterol diet is one of the surest ways to improve heart health. In fact, studies show you can slash your bad cholesterol by as much as 10% to 20% by giving your diet a makeover. The secret?

1. Follow a diet rich in healthy fats like vegetable oils and fish. And avoid foods high in saturated fats and trans fats. How do you know which foods keep your cholesterol low? Here are nine tips to help you get started..

2. Stock your pantry and your refrigerator with the right foods for a low-cholesterol diet. Buy your favorite canned or dry beans, fresh fruits, whole grains, vegetables, and vegetable juice.

3. For a low-cholesterol diet, toss the butter, trans fat margarines, and polyunsaturated oil. Replace them with canola oil, olive oil, or plant sterol spreads.
4. Look for products specifically created for low-cholesterol diets, like Minute Maid HeartWise orange juice and Benecol, Promise, Smart Balance, and Take Control margarines. These foods have been fortified with plant stanols and sterols that help to block the absorption of cholesterol.

5. Start your day with oatmeal. Experts agree this is one of the top cholesterol-lowering superfoods.
6. Try a cholesterol-free egg substitute instead of whole eggs.

7. For a tasty low-cholesterol dish, switch out the cream sauce on your fettuccine for lightly stir-fried vegetables.

8. Instead of using butter to keep your pan moist while cooking, use white wine vinegar. It doesn't change the flavor of foods and doesn't add fat -- a key to low-cholesterol cooking!

9. Don't lean on butter, sour cream, and other fatty additives for flavoring. Instead, reach for the spices -- either while cooking or at the table. Liven up your dishes with oregano, basil, parsley, rosemary, thyme, cilantro, coriander, or cumin.

Another link to help you:
Heart Healthy Kitchen

Vegan baking...

This came from .peta.org it's a great cheat sheet for those of you following me on the vegan journey.

Lunchbox and Vegan...

Lunchbox ideas:
So, I found this link to share with all of you to help in your lunch planning ideas. This is not the lunch box system we use. As you can all recall, we use the Planetbox. We love it!
Now for the menu ideas:
Bento Menus
I am sure that you will find ideas to inspire you. But, don't worry, I will be back with more ideas for you and perhaps some pictures of Little Man's Lunches. Until then, happy lunch packing!

Vegan update:
So, I am looking at all things Vegan before embarking on my 46 day journey. I've felt enlightened and excited about this. It will be an experience in so many ways. Is there anyone joining me?

I am going to try new recipes every week and new products and I will report back on all of it.  I am sure you will all enjoy the entertainment factor in all of that. Let's make something perfectly clear, I am not going to be on the vegan diet that consists of junk food and candy. It will be a healthy, balanced diet.

Healthy Food...

So, you hear from people that eating healthy costs more, guess it depends on what you are thinking about as far as a cost perspective. Here is some food for thought. Yeah, that pun was totally on purpose. ;) This is from Daily Spark. You can check over there for more, but I promise to post some of them from time to time over here as well.

Vegan Chili--it's totally YUMMY!

I did my own take on this Vegan Chili by Rocco.
It is a thick Chili, but it hits the spot for sure.
Ingredients
3 tbsp olive oil
1 Large onion chopped
5 chopped celery sticks
1 cup chopped carrots
3 tsp garlic (ya know the ground kind from the jar)
3 Chopped green and/or red bell pepper
3 tbsp chili powder (I like the taste)
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 (28-oz) can of diced tomatoes with liquid
1 small 60z jar of tomato paste
1 (15-oz) can organic black beans with liquid
1 (15-oz) can organic kidney beans with liquid
1 (11-oz) can organic whole kernel corn, undrained
2 tbsp dried oregano
1 1/2 tbsp dried basil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute veggies and seasoning.

Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, beans, and corn. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 30-45  minutes, stirring occasionally.

* Little Man likes Taco Cheese on top of his--that would not qualify this as vegan. But, he says it's GOOD!*

Let's Start the day with cookies?

Sounds great, right? Well, let me tell you. If you are thinking sugar filled cookies, you are wrong.
You want to start the day with a good grain and some fruit and some yummy goodness! If that is the idea, then yes, these cookies will be right up your alley.
These come from Chocolate Covered Katie. If you have not been to her website and enjoy eating healthy you are missing out! :) I've never met her and just started reading her blog/website. But, I can tell you. It's bookmarked and I will refer to it often! SHE ROCKS!

Photo from Chocolate Covered Katie

Oatmeal-Raisin Breakfast Cookies * My adaptions in bold.*
(gluten-free!)

• 1/2 cup rolled oats (I did about 3/4 cup)
• scant 1/2 cup applesauce or over-ripe banana (mashed) I used slightly over 1/2 cup applesauce.
• 1/4 cup nut butter (I used salted pb) I used all natural unsalted peanut butter! It was just the ground peanut kind. No added anything. Pure and simple.
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon More of 1/2tsp I LOVE cinnamon!!!
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3 T raisins (or other dried fruit, or even chocolate chips) I used 3 heaping Tbsp.
• pinch salt if desired (taste the dough to decide)
• 1 packet stevia (or 1 tablespoon sugar. I actually omitted this altogether. If you have absolutely no sweet tooth, you can try it that way. And if you have a huge sweet tooth—or are used to “non-healthy-tasting” desserts—try adding 1/4 cup sugar. As I said above, don’t expect these to taste like your everyday oatmeal-raisin cookies. I’ll post a recipe for those soon!) NO SUGAR ADDED or needed for me. Not even a tsp! :)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mash the banana with the nut butter, then add all other ingredients and mix until well-combined. Shape into cookies and bake for around 14 minutes. (Alternatively, you can try pulverizing the raisins and oats before combining them with the banana mixture, if you want more sweetness.) I would say 12 min will work.
This recipe yields around 12 cookies.

Eat this!

Love Pizza? Kids Love Pizza?
Well, eat this....

Pizza Roll Up- Information found here at Eating Well

Ingredients

• 1 8-inch whole-wheat flour tortilla
• 2 tablespoons prepared pizza sauce
• 12 leaves baby spinach
• 3 tablespoons shredded part-skim mozzarella

Preparation

1. Place tortilla on a plate and spread pizza sauce over it. Top with an even layer of spinach and sprinkle cheese on top. Microwave on High until the cheese is just melted, about 45 seconds. Carefully roll the tortilla up. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing into pieces, if desired.

Tips & Notes

• Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate the pizza roll-up for up to 1 day.

Nutrition

Per serving: 217 calories; 7 g fat ( 2 g sat , 1 g mono ); 14 mg cholesterol; 26 g carbohydrates; 1 g added sugars; 10 g protein; 3 g fiber; 427 mg sodium; 18 mg potassium.
Nutrition Bonus: Calcium (17% daily value).
Carbohydrate Servings: 2
Exchanges: 2 starch, 1 medium-fat meat