January is always a time that I am searching for new recipes to spice up our dinner routine. I'm usually on the lookout for meals that are: full of vegetables full of color don't take too much effort to pull together These are a sampling of the recipes I'm looking forward to trying in the next few months. All the vibrant colors make me want to dig right in! … [Read more...]
New Year’s Eve Treat: Sparkling Jello Push Pops
Have you given any thought to your New Year's Eve plans? Since having kids, we keep it pretty low key ("Wake me up when the ball drops!"), but it's still nice to commemorate the occasion with a special treat. Steph asked me if I could come up with a spin on champagne jello shots for the holiday (she was inspired by a post at Perpetually Engaged) and I was all over it! … [Read more...]
Holiday Baking Essentials for Last-Minute Traditional & Healthy Sweet Treats
'Tis the season for making memories, enjoying time with family and celebrating the sweet pleasures of the holidays. 'Tis also the the season for running around like a crazy person, staying up past bedtime doing projects and throwing together treats at the last minute. While I am all for the memory making, I prefer to avoid becoming a crazy person - at least when it comes to holiday baking. As soon as Halloween passes, I stock up on my holiday baking essentials so I'm never left without the … [Read more...]
A Harmless Halloween Breakfast
Around my house, we don't love the idea of being scared or watching scary movies, but we do love dressing up and being silly around Halloween. We are satisfied with cute little ghosts and pretend mummies - we want to steer clear of any potential nightmare situations (parents included). With the lighter side of the holiday in mind, I came up with a few harmless breakfast ideas to serve up to the kids. Much better than candy for breakfast, right? All the directions for these Halloween morning … [Read more...]
Easy Meal Ideas Using Fall Produce
Fall produce: it's not all pumpkins and apple, folks. There's a lot more to choose from come harvest time. Check out this list of goodies you'll start to see at your market in the next few weeks (if not already!): Vegetables Broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, celery root, eggplant, endive, fennel, garlic, kohlrabi, leafy greens, mushrooms, pumpkin, winter squash (acorn, buttercup, butternut, delicata), sweet potatoes, yams Fruits Apples, cranberries, dates, figs, grapes, … [Read more...]
A Month’s Worth of Healthy Family Snacking
Afternoons can be a busy time for parents. We get the kids in the door after school or practice and just as we start to think about preparing dinner, we hear those little voices asking for a snack. Active kids require almost constant fuel. Having healthy snack ingredients handy can keep them from lashing out or melting down. I’ve pulled together 18 easy snack ideas for you - half are savory and half are sweet. That’s about a month’s worth of after-school snacks for you and your family. … [Read more...]
16 Mouth-Watering Summer Fruit Recipes
Fresh summer fruit season comes and goes so quickly. It seems like just yesterday I was seeing the first watermelons in stores, and here we are in August already. That means the summer crop is ending and the autumn produce isn't far behind. Let's take advantage of the summer bounty while we can and get as much fruit as possible into our days! I'm talking watermelon, peaches, cherries - the works. As if the taste wasn't incentive enough, some quick health benefits on your favorite summer … [Read more...]
Four Summer Drinks for Tired Mamas
Today Natalie's got four of our favorite summer drink recipes - perfect for capping off a hot and a busy day. Pick you4 favorite and invite your friends over for a BBQ this weekend! Summertime is full of fun for the kiddies, but us mamas need a little bit of fun, too, don't you think? Like a fruity drink for relaxation after a long, hot day of chasing the kids around. It can get truly tiring and the grownups need some refreshment after a hard day's work! I'm sharing a few recipes today that … [Read more...]
Fresh Ideas for Summer Lunching
You know why I love having a team here on MPMK? Because it allows me to cover topics I'm interested in but, frankly, are out of my wheelhouse. This post, for example, came together like so... Natalie: Any ideas for my next post? Me: It's getting on that time of year when Moms are spending lunchtime at the park. Any ideas for creative, healthy, and portable meals? Natalie: I'm on it. And then, boom!, a few days later the following post arrives and I'm totally blown away (and also … [Read more...]