Five Minutes For Me

It’s Nature’s Path Organic Flax Plus Raisin Bran. Oh doesn’t that just sound yummy. Every time I see that box of cereal in my kitchen pantry, I wonder why… what on earth was I thinking when I bought that stuff. 

Let me tell ya, I didn’t want to open the package this morning… but then again… I was curious. Curiosity always gets me. 

After reading the nutrition label, I was a little surprised that I actually liked this cold cereal.  Eleven grams of fiber  and 650mg omega 3’s in one little 3/4 cup of cereal. I thought this is way too good to be true… it’s far too healthy to taste good. I figured it would taste like a bowl of shredded wood chips and powdered vitamins. But it’s pretty good. The bran flakes are thicker than the post bran flakes. There aren’t a whole lot of raisins, but just enough to add a little sweetness. It didn’t get all mushy in the milk. It’s a keeper in my breakfast menu.

I think it was actually the flax in the cereal that got me. So there ya go, add flax to anything and I’ll buy it.

I love to cook! However, I’m having a time finding yummy foods to cook that aren’t loaded with extra calories. I’ve decided I’m sticking with the basics for the next month. We’ll have basic fruits and vegies. I think I’ll serve a lot of raw vegies, possibly in a salad. I make a yummy low cal dressing for me. The family can stick to their favorite ranch dressing. Along with the basic vegies, I’m planning on serving fish, poultry, or meat. I’ll grill or bake the protein.

Foods I won’t be serving this next month:

• white potatoes
• rice
• sugar or anything with sugar in it
• flour or anything with flour in it… basically no gravy or sauces, nothing baked and no bread

I will eat oatmeal or bran cereal for breakfast. And I love squash and yams, so we’ll have squash and yams added to our menu.

I’m making these changes because my hubby has a high sugar count. Well, that’s not the only reason. I’m not enjoying cooking nearly as much since I have to look for low cal recipes. It’s become a chore. I don’t want to feel like cooking is a chore… then it’s just not worth it.

How sad… my favorite fruit market is going to be closing soon. I stopped in today and picked up several bags of fruits and vegetables.

They had a big sign advertising honeycrisp apples. My youngest son saw that sign and was really excited to purchase some of those. I was really pleased by this! I bought a bunch of them. I figure if they are as good as I’ve heard they are, we are going to need a drawer full in the fridge.

As soon as I got home, we washed up a couple of the honeycrisp apples… Mmmmm! Crispy and sweet. They remind us of Gala  or Jonagold apples. I think my favorite is a JonaGold, crispy, sweet, with a perfect amount of tartness.

Right now, my fridge is packed with fruits and vegies… it’s  so pretty! I love it when it looks so pretty and inviting… oh wow. I’m excited and babbling on about fruits and vegies.

It’s one of those days when we wonder how everyone is suppose to get around to do everything we need to do. When my kids were younger, everyday was like this. Life was extremely hectic when I was juggling my schedule to keep up with my six children in sports, hubby’s coaching schedule, church youth group, 4 children in band, 2 children in jazz band, and all the other extra curricular activities they were involved in. Life is much easier now days…. we have a few hectic days every couple of weeks, but it’s nothing like it was just a few short years ago.

So when I have a day like this, trying to figure out a healthy meal is somewhat daunting. It use to be fast food or pizza. Now I’m trying to keep the fast food out of my family menu plan. We do enjoy pizza every couple weeks, but not just because it’s a busy night. That is reserved for our weekend family nights…. pizza and a movie or family game night. 

There is a wind storm brewing, so my power is likely to go out. With that in mind, I have a plan!

Dinner plan for tonight’s busy schedule

• Rotisserie chicken from the deli
• carrot and celery sticks
• leafy green salad - my dressing is low calorie
• bean salad - mmmm! I buy a big jar of bean salad from Costco.
• choice of fruit - apples, pears, grapes, bananas

Very easy and I hope satisfying for everyone in the family.