Ingredients:
1 8 oz package of veggie sausage patties
1 stalk of celery finely chopped
1/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1 large egg beaten
4 (4inch) portabello mushrooms
Preheat oven to 425F Spray baking sheet with nonstick spray.
Crumble sausage patties. Combine sausage, celery, bread crumbs and egg in medium bowl. Spoon sausage mixture evenly onto mushroom caps mounding slightly. Lightly spray tops with nonstick spray
Transfer mushrooms to baking sheet and loosely cover with foil. Bake 10 minutes. Uncover and bake until mushrooms are browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes longer.
Per Serving (1 mushroom) 152 calories, 5G total fat, 1 G sat Fat, 0G TransFat, 0 mg chol,512 mg sodium, 15gtotal carb, 4g total Sugar, 5G Fiber, 15G protein, 60mg calcium
4pp for weight watchers.
Totally Delicious
(From the "JUST 5" weight watchers cookbook)
I'm a busy mom determined to find a way to have my kids eat healthy nutritious meals, whether they like it or not!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Vegetarian is a great alternative
Having trouble getting your kids to eat veggies? Well, did you ever consider some vegetarian options? I love vegetables in all shapes, sizes, colors and textures. However, I know this is an issue for kids. However, though I mentioned that I didn't really care for the "sneaking" in of food; I'm not unrealistic. I realize that some kids just need to be hornswaggled.
Last night I decided to try a vegetarian sausage. Sounds gross, right? Well, I have to tell you....though it isn't a slam dunk; these vegetarian companies have worked really hard to mimic what we are used to. But, you still have to go in with an open mind.
I saw a recipe for stuffed mushrooms, with vegetarian sausage and it looked really good. The kicker in all of this was, I was still in a food coma from Sunday's superbowl party, and the recipe looked easy on my digestive tract as well is a very healthy option for what is otherwise known as a decadent delight.
The sausage came in a roll and it was called "Gimme Lean" (a take on Jimmy Dean...how cute, huh?). When I opened the package and put it in the pan, it rolled out JUST like sausage. The only difference here was, I could actually eat it if I got it on my fingers, which I would NEVER do with the real thing.
I realized right away that my "Gimme Lean" would not render like real sausage as there is NO FAT!! I almost burned it, because in my mind, it WAS sausage. However, I quickly realized it just needed a quick stirring to warm through. After that, I mixed it with minced celery, bread crumbs and an egg, and filled my very large portabello mushrooms. I baked it according to the directions and voila - a delicious stuffed portabello, which served as my main dish. It looked beautiful and tasted wonderful. It had all the elements I was looking for - EXCEPT THE FAT!!! Not that I am against a healthy dose of lard, but it's always good to arm yourself with healthy alternatives.
What does this have to do with feeding my kids? Not so much, as I didn't even offer them a bite. However, I found it wonderfully inspiring to broaden my horizons and get some good quality foods into my kids' mouths.
One trick I have already done, is adding minced celery into their tuna salad sandwiches. I have also taken them shopping and let THEM pick out their choices for veggies. And, though they would not be MY choices; I have found that when they are given a voice, they are much more reasonable than we give them credit for.
When they opened my new recipe book to see which recipes looked appealing to them; they went straight to the dessert page (no suprise there). One chose a cherry smoothie, while the other chose a chocolate mousse with strawberry slices. All healthy recipes as this is a weight watchers cookbook.
And, to indulge them, I WILL make their recipes - if only to inspire them to try more new and exciting foods that will expand their palates to a more exciting and healthy way of life!!!
Happy Eats!
Cat
Last night I decided to try a vegetarian sausage. Sounds gross, right? Well, I have to tell you....though it isn't a slam dunk; these vegetarian companies have worked really hard to mimic what we are used to. But, you still have to go in with an open mind.
I saw a recipe for stuffed mushrooms, with vegetarian sausage and it looked really good. The kicker in all of this was, I was still in a food coma from Sunday's superbowl party, and the recipe looked easy on my digestive tract as well is a very healthy option for what is otherwise known as a decadent delight.
The sausage came in a roll and it was called "Gimme Lean" (a take on Jimmy Dean...how cute, huh?). When I opened the package and put it in the pan, it rolled out JUST like sausage. The only difference here was, I could actually eat it if I got it on my fingers, which I would NEVER do with the real thing.
I realized right away that my "Gimme Lean" would not render like real sausage as there is NO FAT!! I almost burned it, because in my mind, it WAS sausage. However, I quickly realized it just needed a quick stirring to warm through. After that, I mixed it with minced celery, bread crumbs and an egg, and filled my very large portabello mushrooms. I baked it according to the directions and voila - a delicious stuffed portabello, which served as my main dish. It looked beautiful and tasted wonderful. It had all the elements I was looking for - EXCEPT THE FAT!!! Not that I am against a healthy dose of lard, but it's always good to arm yourself with healthy alternatives.
What does this have to do with feeding my kids? Not so much, as I didn't even offer them a bite. However, I found it wonderfully inspiring to broaden my horizons and get some good quality foods into my kids' mouths.
One trick I have already done, is adding minced celery into their tuna salad sandwiches. I have also taken them shopping and let THEM pick out their choices for veggies. And, though they would not be MY choices; I have found that when they are given a voice, they are much more reasonable than we give them credit for.
When they opened my new recipe book to see which recipes looked appealing to them; they went straight to the dessert page (no suprise there). One chose a cherry smoothie, while the other chose a chocolate mousse with strawberry slices. All healthy recipes as this is a weight watchers cookbook.
And, to indulge them, I WILL make their recipes - if only to inspire them to try more new and exciting foods that will expand their palates to a more exciting and healthy way of life!!!
Happy Eats!
Cat
Friday, January 7, 2011
Watch them closely
I have learned as a mom to NOT trust my kids. Most parents feel this way, it just took me a little longer, because I thought my kids were "perfect". HA! Gotta love reality!
When asking if they ate everything, and they say, "Yes!" it usually means everything THEY wanted! So, the question is, do I force them to eat their veggies, or try to sneak them in, making them feel like they won? There has to be some middle ground here. As they are guests in our house, they must adhere to SOME rules. So, what do you do???
I have actually found, that when I give them a choice AHEAD of time, they tend to feel more empowered about making wise decisions. And I have also found, it is in the WAY you ask them what they want that makes a huge difference.
First, don't ask Yes/No questions. The bottom line here is that I WILL get my way, but I'm willing to let YOU give input so we can compromise. When asking which veggies they want, I leave it open ended; "WHICH veggies do you want tonite?" My children aren't perfect, but they aren't unreasonable either. However, one is kind of stuck on Carrots Only!!!!! So, I'll be doing my best to work on a way to expand her tastes by having her at least TRY new foods. But as I have seen with my older daughter, this does come in time. As long as I KEEP RE-introducing items to them.
Recently, I offered them fish; to which they both said NO!!! But by the end of the night we all found ourselves LITERALLY standing at the stove eating the remnants out of the pan. All it took was me standing there saying, "OH MY GOSH, I can't believe how GOOD this turned out". Curiosity got the best of them, and we all benefitted. (well, except I got less than I was going to because the munchkins dove in).
So to be honest. It isn't about coniving, cajoling, bribing (though sometimes this does work), my children to eat what I want them to eat; sometimes, it's as simple as saying, "how are you willing to meet me half way?" Children change when you actually give them a voice. But as parents, sometimes we forget to do that, because we think WE KNOW BETTER!!! And though that may be true sometimes....well....ya know!?
When asking if they ate everything, and they say, "Yes!" it usually means everything THEY wanted! So, the question is, do I force them to eat their veggies, or try to sneak them in, making them feel like they won? There has to be some middle ground here. As they are guests in our house, they must adhere to SOME rules. So, what do you do???
I have actually found, that when I give them a choice AHEAD of time, they tend to feel more empowered about making wise decisions. And I have also found, it is in the WAY you ask them what they want that makes a huge difference.
First, don't ask Yes/No questions. The bottom line here is that I WILL get my way, but I'm willing to let YOU give input so we can compromise. When asking which veggies they want, I leave it open ended; "WHICH veggies do you want tonite?" My children aren't perfect, but they aren't unreasonable either. However, one is kind of stuck on Carrots Only!!!!! So, I'll be doing my best to work on a way to expand her tastes by having her at least TRY new foods. But as I have seen with my older daughter, this does come in time. As long as I KEEP RE-introducing items to them.
Recently, I offered them fish; to which they both said NO!!! But by the end of the night we all found ourselves LITERALLY standing at the stove eating the remnants out of the pan. All it took was me standing there saying, "OH MY GOSH, I can't believe how GOOD this turned out". Curiosity got the best of them, and we all benefitted. (well, except I got less than I was going to because the munchkins dove in).
So to be honest. It isn't about coniving, cajoling, bribing (though sometimes this does work), my children to eat what I want them to eat; sometimes, it's as simple as saying, "how are you willing to meet me half way?" Children change when you actually give them a voice. But as parents, sometimes we forget to do that, because we think WE KNOW BETTER!!! And though that may be true sometimes....well....ya know!?
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