School lunches have come a long way and current trends even have schools turning out healthier menus.

Listen in to this week’s chat about our kids lunchtime life and be sure to weigh in in our comments about what you do for your kids lunch.

Our guest is Aurelia Williams, host of Parenting My Teen Podcast and certified life coach.

Recommended Resources:

• Hugs in a Lunch Box for Ages 5-7
• Lunch Box Letters: Writing Notes of Love and Encouragement to Your Children

The ideas we shared are simple and inexpensive, and can involve your kids too! Many can be made up in big batches so you have plenty to share (and some to keep at home too!) Homemade gifts are best, as far as we’re concerned, and with a little creativity and presentation you’ll be proud to give.

Homemade Hot Fudge
(Makes 4 Cups)

Melt 12 oz MILK chocolate chips (not semi sweet) with ½ lb butter (not margarine) in microwave or on stove.

Add 14 oz sweetened condensed milk and 14 oz light corn syrup (like Karo). Beat on medium speed with electric mixer 1-2 minutes.

Pour in glass jars. Decorate with pretty lid (cloth, ribbons, etc) and a label, which instructs to keep refrigerated, and to serve: heat in micro.

Hot Cocoa Mix

8 qts powdered milk
2 lbs chocolate drink powder
1 lb powdered sugar
16 oz non-dairy powdered creamer
You might add marshmallows and/or flavored chips (like chocolate, raspberry, cinnamon, mint) too, if desired
Mix all ingredients together, store in airtight container up to 6 months.
To share, pour into container with lid or baggies in mugs.
Label should read: Mix 1/3 C to one cup boiling water.

Friendship Tea
(Makes 5 Cups of powder)

1 jar (21.1 oz) Tang (I’ve used the generic, and it’s fine)
1 C sugar
½ C sweetened lemonade mix
½ C unsweetened instant tea
1 pkg Apricot Jell-O
2-½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
Mix all ingredients together. Store in airtight container.
To share: Label containers to read Mix 4 ½ tsp to one cup boiling water.

Homemade Foot Scrub

(These amounts are approximate)
4 C Epsom salt
2 TBSP chopped cloves (or try different scents)
½ C baby oil (try scented, like lavender)
Mix in big bowl until blended, and the consistency feels right!
Pour into little glass jars; give with rolled up washcloth or scrubby.

You can find:

• The Baby Gourmet Videos
• The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids Favorite Meals
• Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets To Get Your Kids To Eat Good Food
• Feeding The Kids: The Flexible, No Battle, Healthy Eating System for the Whole Family.

At Sarah’s Amazon Store For Busy Moms.

Other Resources Sarah Mentioned:

• The Great Big Vegetable Challenge
• Online Cooking Videos By Kids, For Kids
• The Visual Guide To Healthy Lunches For Kids
• The Healthy Shopper DVD
• The “Help! I Have A Picky Eater In My House!” Ebook

Have you ever wondered what it means to ‘keep Kosher’? This week Kelly got to talk with two Jewish moms who help us to unravel the mystery of Kosher.

Sarah Zeldman of Solutions for Busy Moms and Rivka Slatkin, from Jewish Life Organized are smart savvy moms. They are currently working on a co-project, a teleseminar series for Jewish Moms.

Here are some of the great resources that Sarah & Rivka shared with us:

• More Information on Keeping Kosher
• Traditional and Modern Sabbath Menus with Recipes
• Lots of Challah Recipes
• Free E-course:“Kosher Kitchens Perfectly Organized…how to run and set up a well organized and efficient kitchen.”
• Sarah’s Favorite Kosher Cookbooks.
• Sarah’s new Blog: Healthy Shabbat

General Information on all Aspects of Judaism – Including Keeping Kosher:
http://www.chabad.org
http://www.aish.com

Pizza Trends: White Sauces Are Hot

It was a little more than three years ago that I had my first taste of a pizza made with a white sauce instead of the faithful red marinara sauces that we’re all so used to. It was a Chicken Alfredo selection on the menu at Olive Garden if I remember correctly. I’ve never been wild about red sauce to be totally honest. I preferred a pizza with as little tomato sauce as possible and liked the flavor to be mild – but nothing came close to the mild creamy flavor of the alfredo pizza.

The following year I asked a local pizza restaurant if they had a white sauce alternative and was pleased to learn that I could order any pizza off the menu with a ranch base instead of red sauce. I quickly sampled their Chicken Parmesan (large strips of white breast meat and chunks of fresh tomato with mozzarella cheese and a great sprinkling of parmesan cheese over the top) with the ranch dressing base and it was delicious.

Ever since, I’ve been converted to ‘white pizza’ and continue to look for white sauce alternatives wherever I go for pizza and from what I’ve been seeing on the local pizza shop advertisements, I’m not alone in preferring a white sauce on my favorite ‘delivery’ food.

Marco’s Pizza has a ‘Big White Cheesy’ pizza that features a white garlic sauce base, thinly sliced tomatos, bacon, onions, motzarella and feta cheese. It’s my preference to have them hold the bacon and onions, leaving me with a mild veggie option that satisfies my cravings.

Cottage Inn Pizza has a ‘Spinach Alfredo’ pizza with an alfredo sauce base, spinach, mushrooms, fresh tomatoes and their special blend of three cheeses. I haven’t tried this yet but it’s next on my list.

I’ve also seen white cheese options on the menu at Dominos and even in the frozen pizza case at the grocery store. If you can find Wolfgang Puck’s 4-Cheese & Tomato – it’s very good – I’ve found it at Meijers and Sams Club.

There are still some pizza makers who will look at you with some surprize if you ask them about a white sauce option but don’t let that keep you from experimenting. If you love alfredo, garlic or ranch flavors, you’ll soon join me as a major white pizza fan.

Easy Vinagrette (or Italian) Pasta Salad

Spiral Pasta, cooked, drained and rinsed with cold water.
Add sliced black olives
Add Grape Tomatoes cut in half
Add a bottle of a Vinagrette dressing (I like Rasberry)

It’s sweet and delicious

You can use italian dressing for a different flavor.

Easy Pasta Tuna Salad

Medium Shell Pasta, cooked, drained and rinsed with cold water
Add a can of drained Tuna in water
Add Miracle Whip until it seems like you have enough – then add a bit more.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
You can add onions if you like.

You can do the same thing with shredded chicken or turkey.
If you prefer Mayo you can use that but be prepared to need more seasoning.

What’s your favorite Pasta Salad recipe?  Share it in the comments!

Christina Lemmey gets great advice for adding more raw food to her ten year old’s diet – but we’d love to hear your tips too!  What tricks do you use to introduce more fresh veggies and fruit to your kids?

• Kelly McCausey, Mom’s Radio Network
• Tishia Lee, Tishia Saves Time
• Aurelia Williams, Real Life Coaching & Parenting My Teen Podcast

In this first episode, we talk about how in this generation there are a lot of young moms who haven’t been taught how to cook and who feel inadequate in preparing fresh, nutritious means for their families.

Tishia says she just never learned how to cook.  Aurelia says she learned how to peel potatoes when she was just seven years old.  Listen in as Aurelia shares a simple recipe for preparing a whole chicken in the crock pot and hear about how this recipe has helped Tishia gain confidence in the kitchen.

The Recipe: Sticky Chicken

3 tsp salt
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 large roasting chicken
1 cup chopped onion

In a small bowl, thoroughly combine all the spices.
Remove giblets from chicken, clean the cavity well and
pat dry with paper towels. Rub the spice mixture into
the chicken, both inside and out, making sure it is
evenly distributed and down deep into the skin. Place
the chicken in a resealable plastic bag, seal and
refrigerate overnight.

When ready to cook chicken put onion in the cavity and
put it in the crockpot and do not add any liquid. As
the cooking process goes on it will produce it’s own
juices. Cook on low 8 to 10 hours and  it will be
falling off the bone tender.

Aurelia’s personal notes:

I dont follow the recipe to a *T*.  Where it says 3tsp Salt, I use 4tsp of Seasoned Meat Tenderizer. Where is says 1/2 tsp of Pepper – I use 1 1/2 tsp Black pepper (we love PEPPER).

Thing is…no matter what you add to this as long as you keep the proportions somewhat the same as below…you will be FINE ~ So mix it up as you normally would season your chicken.

After it was done, I went to pull the entire chicken out of the crock pot and Do you know that the BOTTOM FELL OFF OF THE CHICKEN!?… now that’s what I call tender:.

Enjoy the show!

Some of the recipes I mentioned (plus many more) you can find in my new e-book: Freezing It and Loving It; some are below so you can print them out.

Happy creating!  ~Sandra

Spinach Quiche

Put 10 oz thawed spinach into sprayed 10” pie dish.
Sprinkle 6 oz shredded cheddar cheese on top.

In a separate bowl mix together
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 ½ C milk
¾ C biscuit/baking mix
1 small diced onion
S&P to taste

Pour over spinach and cheese mixture.
Bake @ 400 F for 35-40 min.

Oven Baked Omelet

4 slices bacon, fried and crumbled
3 slices of American cheese
¾ C milk
Dash pepper

Arrange cheese slices to cover bottom of sprayed, 8” pie dish.
Beat together eggs, milk, pepper with fork; add bacon.
Pour over cheese.
Bake for 30 min @ 350 F. Let stand few minutes before serving

Ham and Cheese Croissants

(Great for breakfast, lunch or snacks. Can be assembled night prior for breakfast.)

Lay 2 slices ham and 1 slice cheese on each sliced croissant.
Wrap in tin foil. Heat in oven.

If you missed part one, you can catch it here!

Sue and I discussed only the “tip of the iceberg” but the possibilities for these little delectables are endless! On the printable page below you’ll find a sampling of the recipes we talked about – from meatballs to fondues. And as I’ve said all along on Family Foodies, I personally like the end result without all the fuss, so my contributions are usually quite simple!

As mentioned on the show, many great web sites can also help your holiday appetizer planning, such as:

• Pillsbury.com
• NabiscoCrackers.com
• KraftFoods.com.

Grab the free printable Holiday Entertaining Recipe Sheet with all of the recipes mentioned on our show.