I’m very excited to share this interview with Dr. Daisy – a.k.a. Dr. Mommy! Dr. Mommy is a wife, mom to 5 children, chiropractor, author, blogger and so much more! Providing good health tips and recommending healthy living, Dr. Mommy focuses on “health, nutrtion, wellness, diet, and overall health.” This is what Dr. Mommy has to share with us:
Q: How do you manage your grocery shopping & meal times with your busy schedule and family?
I learned long ago that if I wanted to feed my family healthy meals that I needed to keep a schedule. With a large family and one that is very busy it is important to have a plan, so I have developed a 3-week menu plan. It started as a 2-week menu plan but found that I could get my family involved and they helped me develop a menu of our favorites.
Once I have determined our menu, I will sit and make the grocery list along with my coupons and will go to the grocery store 1-2 times a month. It also helps that my hubby enjoys cooking so he cooks 2 days a week, we have one day for take-out usually Pizza or Chinese and I cook the other 4 days.
Q: What are your family favorite meal ideas or recipes?
My family loves to eat and having a family of 7 it can get a bit challenging. All our meals are made from scratch, and we also love to experiment.
Our favorite treats are smoothies and I have included the recipe here:
Frozen Strawberry Banana Tofu Shake (our favorite)
- 1-2 pints of frozen strawberries
- 1-2 bananas
- 1 package of tofu (drained of liquid)
- 2 teaspoons of honey
- 8oz of water or fruit juice
Take all the fruits and tofu and place in a blender. Mix well adding water or juice to blend well. Add honey to taste.
Serve in cups and drink as is or pour into popsicle molds for delicious treats
Another favorite is:
Spinach Lasagna Roll-Ups
- 12 lasagna noodles
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
- 2 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 package (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 jar of meatless spaghetti sauce
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Cook Lasagna noodles according to package directions.
Meanwhile in a large bowl, combine the cheeses, eggs, spinach, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Mix well.
Drain the noodles.
Spread 1/3 cup of the cheese mixture over each noodle, and carefully roll up. (Kids love doing this part)
Pour 1 cup spaghetti sauce into an ungreased 13 x 9 x 2 baking dish.
Place the rolls seam side down over the sauce, top with remaining sauce.
Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until heated. Enjoy!
Q: How do you balance healthy eating in today’s prepackaged, processed, fast-food world?
I made a promise to my children that I would make them healthy and delicious meals..and along with my hubby we have been able to keep our promise. My children rarely eat fast food items and are usually a treat if they do.
It’s not difficult to make healthy meals, but in order to do so you must be organized and dedicated. Keeping a menu posted in our kitchen keeps us on track and having only healthy snacks in our cupboards also helps.
We like making our own version of the fast-food meals and the kids love helping…their favorite is home-made pizza:)
Q: Will you share how your vegetarian lifestyle has benefited you and your family?
My son and I are the only vegetarian’s in our household so I do make different meals often. However, I do incorporate several vegetarian meals into our menu’s and the entire family enjoys them.
Our meals consist mainly of grains, vegetables and pastas…we love all types of salads. Many children will frown at the sight of raw vegetables as a treat but since that is all my children have known they love it.
I give my children the choice of eating chicken, pork or beef and so far my oldest son is the only one that has joined me in my lifestyle. It’s great to have someone else in the house who eats like I do.
Q: What do you recommend for moms who might be considering a vegetarian lifestyle or introducing more vegetarian options for their family?
It is a wonderful lifestyle and thankfully it is made much easier now. Experimenting with different meatless meals is a great way to introduce vegetarian options to your family. If you really think about it, there are many alternatives including pizza, pasta dishes, and lots of vegetable dishes that are quite tasty.
Visiting a health food store and even your local grocery store you will be amazed at the variety of meat alternative meals available. We still enjoy seafood and that has made it much easier to adapt to our particular lifestyle.
If you are serious about incorporating more vegetarian options, begin with one meal a week and serving more salads, vegetables and fruits.
Dr. Mommy – Thank you so much for your great points and tips – and for sharing your yummy recipes!
You will find Dr. Mommy at her websites: Dr. Mommy Chronicles, Dr. Mommy Health Tips, and Dr. Mommy Says.
You can follow Dr. Mommy on Twitter, too!
We just started with a four week meal plan. With our family of six it has been so much easier! My oldest son goes to the fridge and says we are having this tonight. It makes it so much easier to plan ahead too. We love it!!
It’s so true! Being vegetarian is easier than you think as I’m a full vegetarian. My hubby grew up in a midwestern meat and potatoes family, but now he says he really doesn’t need much meat, and I mostly fix vegetarian meals for him. He even likes my soy smoothies and vegetarian chili!