A Day in the life of...

With so many meals and snacks served up in a day of a bustling household, I thought I'd give you peak into our food world, on a random day of the week: Thursday.

After a typical egg/toast breakfast and morning baby-feedings, the girls and I make these awesome whole grain cookies (which will now replace our standard chocolate chip cookie. Bonus? Check out the nutritional facts at the end.)

"Nutty for Oats Cookies"

2/3 creamy peanut butter
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 large eggs
1 cup rolled oats, ground for 30 seconds in a food processor
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350º. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets or line with parchment paper.

(Grinding the oats which will become the flour adds so much more flavor and texture to the cookie than ordinary flour.)

Cream the peanut butter, butter, sugar, vanilla, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. Beat in the eggs, scraping the bowl once they're incorporated, then the ground oats, old fashioned rolled oats and chocolate chips. Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets.

Bake the cookies, reversing pans midway through (top to bottom, bottom to top), until they're barely set and just beginning to brown around the edges, 11 to 13 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool completely on the pans.

Nutritional Information per cookie: 7g whole grains, 131 cal, 7g fat, 3g protein, 5g complex carbs, 10g sugar, 1g dietary fiber (my MC says 2), 14mg cholesterol, 64mg sodium, 99mg potassium, 14RE vitamin A, 1mg iron, 11mg calcium, 62mg phosphorous, 7mg caffeine.


(Babies shootin' the breeze in the kitchen while we bake.)

Lunch: Chicken Salad Wraps

Chicken shredded (we use Costco's premium canned chicken--excellent!), mayo, 2 TBSP prepared pesto, 1/2 c. chopped sun dried tomatoes (in oil), Italian seasoning, onion powder, and salt and pepper, to taste.

Then we wrapped a thin layer of the chicken salad in flat bread wraps,

added apple slices and our favorite chips (that's for another post),

and you have a break from the everyday ham, tomato and cheese sandwich.


Lastly, dinner.
One of my favorite fall dinners to bring in the new season: pumpkin soup.

Here is the recipe from the top of my head which is the "doubled" version so you can freeze the rest for a colder wintry day.



Pumpkin Soup

(Serves 8-9)

1 really large onion, chopped (or two large)
4 c. pumpkin puree
1 tsp. curry powder
5 c. chicken broth
1/4 c. butter
1/8 c. olive oil
3 tsp. salt
3 c. heavy cream
1 c. milk

Saute onions in both the butter and oil. (You always want to saute in both butter and oil for optimal flavor.) Once they are translucent, add the curry.

Add the pumpkin and salt and remove from the stove. Puree the mixture in a blender or food processor. Bring back to a stock pot and add the stock until warmed. Finally add the cream and milk until also warmed and serve.

To garnish: a dollop of sour cream and a dash of cinnamon. Children are the most excited about the add-ons in any soup. Let them help serve.


There you have it: happy faces and satisfied tummies. Another day gone and another to create.