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Have you ever really tasted and compared deli meats? You know what I am talking about, while standing in line at the deli counter, have you ever sampled the variety of meats to see if the money was worth it to spend a little more?  Well, on occasion I have and their is a definite distinction between the Boar’s Brand and the store brand. It’s just like there is a difference to the sandwich connoisseur between rotisserie turkey and deli turkey, the flavors stand out.

The men driving the Boar’s truck are eagerly searching out the “bold” flavors that go into the essence of the meats and cheese that are so delectable to satisfy our taste buds!  They show the  bold, beautiful colored spices in the spice market of Mexico that go into making the spicy chipotle chicken. Bright reds, deep greens, blues, and dark dried spices, to tantalize the art in the kitchen that happens with food. The Brazilian peppers all beautiful colors are used to inspire the taste of the three pepper Colby jack cheese. So spicy in fact that the driver gasps from the “heat” of the pepper.

What I Could Make With These Ingredients…

The Mexican flavored wraps, bean and cheese burritos, the delectable stuffed calzone, chipotle stuffed peppers, or the classic Po-Boy come to mind.  Then they head off to Jamaica on the beach and talk about the jerk turkey that was inspired by their many travels.

I love to be in the kitchen and I can find inspiration from beautiful colored vegetables, spices, fruits, meats, and cheeses.  What better way to spend an afternoon lunch or late dinner out on the patio in the summer with bold flavors, colors and textures on our plates.   This would go perfectly with a nice glass of iced cool southern tea with lemon or a glass of chilled wine.

This post is sponsored by Boar’s Head.

“Carrie – your blog is great! I couldn’t agree more that it is equally important to introduce sons to cooking. I have 15 month old twins, so when should I start involving them and what would be the ideal first meal?”

Carrie Willard, Natural Moms Talk Radio

Congrats on your twins! It’s never too early to bring kids in the kitchen in my opinion. Even babies love to watch mom cook while perched in a sling or backpack. Of course, you have to use common sense and caution to keep baby’s hands away from hot things and knives, but even from that young age kids love to learn about cooking.

Now that your twins are toddlers, they can understand when you explain dangers to them. When mine began crawling and pulling up, I bring them near the oven door when it’s on and place their hand on it just long enough for them to feel the heat but not enough to cause pain. That way, they understand that this is a place that gets hot.

Since your little ones are young and at a very curious age, you might find it less stressful to involve them one at a time. Perhaps they can take turns watching/helping you prepare a meal. Since I’ve never had twins, I can’t imagine what it would be like to have TWO young helpers at once! They are probably able to help you wash produce and maybe even fetch ingredients from the pantry or fridge. (I could barely keep my youngest out of the fridge at this age!) Some other tasks they can probably handle would be: spreading butter or cream cheese on a bagel with a small plastic knife, “chopping” or mashing banana or avocado with a small fork, and helping you make dips.

I’ve noticed that toddlers love dipping things. You could whip up an easy sweet dip with yogurt and mashed berries to dip bread or fruit in. Or one with mashed beans (such as chickpeas for hummus) to dip pita or vegetables in. (At 15 months they may not be able to handle some raw veggies depending on how many teeth they have.)

I think the ideal first meal would be something you really enjoy cooking and eating. Food is an adventure at this age, and many toddlers will eat just about anything that doesn’t crawl off… and some things that do! In France, it’s common for parents to begin cooking and baking with their children when they’re still toddlers. (In addition, French babies and toddlers eat a very healthful, varied diet that would surprise many American parents!) I mentioned this in a recent review of the book Bringing Up Bebe.

One example is an easy recipe called “yogurt cake” in which all the ingredients are measured out with an empty yogurt cup. This might be fun for your guys to try.

Know Your Style
Every cook has her own style. Some of us need to follow recipes. Some of us hate them. Some of us want to know exactly what’s for dinner, lunch and breakfast 7 days a week, others like a little more flexibility. That’s ok. Your style of meal plan doesn’t have to look like mine.

Whether you’re super organized or more flexible and fly by the seat of your pants, meal planning can work for you. A more flexible cook could still benefit by making a looser plan. Instead of deciding on an actual recipe, she could have themed nights: Asian, Mexican, Fish, Pasta, Sandwich, etc.

Don’t Reinvent The Wheel
Sometimes we moms make things harder on ourselves than they need to be. What does your family enjoy? Sit them down and ask them what their favorite dishes are. Or think about meals that everyone enjoyed in the past. Write those down and see if you can come up with 25 or 30 meals that can be rotated through the month.

Keep your family’s schedule in mind as you plan. If Mondays are when everyone has extracurricular activities and you’re coming home late, that might be the night for a slow cooker meal you prep in the morning.

Use Evernote and Pinterest
If the idea of paging through your cookbooks trying to come up with good recipes for your meal plan sounds like a boring chore, then skip it. As you browse the web and come across good looking food, clip those pages to an Evernote account or your Pinterest boards.

Personally, I love Evernote because I can search it by ingredient and my account is synced across all my computers and phone. When something’s on sale at the store or I have an ingredient on hand I need to use up, I can easily find a recipe featuring that item, saving me money and avoiding waste. Most of us use only a few of the recipes in each cookbook we own. Why not scan those and get rid of the actual cookbook?

Use a Meal Planning Service
And finally, if you’re just too busy for meal planning or keep putting it off but know it would make your life easier, let someone else do the heavy lifting. Throw a little money at the problem and try one of the meal planners available online. There are several that come to mind: BuildAMenu, EMeals, MenuPlanningCentral, and PlanToEat.

They each have different features, so you’ll have to do a little initial investigating to find which one is right for you. However, once you are familiar with how the websites work, you’ll be printing off great recipes and meal plans in minutes a week.

Carrie is a homeschooling mom of 6 who finds that her day goes much more smoothly if she plans her family’s meals. Find healthy, whole foods recipes and meal planner reviews at her site http://www.NaturalMomsRecipes.com

Eating low carb is a challenge sometimes but it’s a great option for anyone struggling with weight loss.  Many who find it hard to lose weight on other diets find success with low carb.

We apologize for using the word diet, most people doing the low carb thing will tell you it’s about adopting a new lifestyle – not being on a diet.

Here’s a picture peek into some of the great low carb ideas we’re sharing over there:

Do you eat low carb?  We’d love to have you come tell us what you’re eating.  Take a snap of your next meal and email us! mom@momstalknetwork.com

“I have been taking steps towards being a more “natural” mom and am encouraged by women who write positively about a natural lifestyle. I loved your nutrition articles and am wondering what kinds of lunches you feed your kids. I have a son, 18-months, and often times find myself struggling to give him some variety during the afternoon meal. Dinners don’t tend to be a problem, and maybe my quest for variety is what the issue is. How do you vary your menus while still offering whole foods?”

Carrie Willard, Natural Moms Talk Radio

I struggle with lunches too! In fact I recently posted on my blog that I needed ideas for more creative and fun lunches. I ended up stumbling upon a blog post from a blogger I admire, with lots of great tips, mostly in the comments. The post is here.  While you may not need to eat gluten free, there are still dozens of awesome ideas!

It’s interesting that in many cultures, lunch is the main meal of the day. We tend to eat a light lunch here in the States, and then a hefty dinner. Recently though I’ve been switching this around to reflect what our bodies probably need: more calories in the middle of the day when we’re most active, and lighter fare for dinner. When I made this mental switch lunches got easier, because now I plan better for the mid day meal when I do my meal planning and grocery list.

Oddly, serving more food has made lunch planning simpler for me. I think more in terms of making an actual meal (like I would with dinner), instead of just slapping something together at the last second.

At the same time, I think we moms make things harder on ourselves by thinking we need to have lots of variety.

While we do want to eat lots of different vegetables to make sure we’re exposing our kids to new tastes and meeting our nutritional needs, this can happen over the course of a week/month and at different meals. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel every day. When I’m feeling mentally overloaded, I often ask my family what they would like to eat. They always pick the same things! Especially when we have little ones as you do, they would probably prefer we spend less time in the kitchen and more time on the floor playing.

A toddler’s appetite, as you know, can vary widely from day to day depending on different factors, so I would suggest you keep it simple for now. (How I keep my “quickly growing into a man 14 year old” fed is another blog post altogether!) A simple snack tray of small bites of cheese or meat for protein, cut up veggies and fruits, bean dips such as hummus with pita are fun, nutritious and easy to put together. If your toddler is like mine, he loves to dip things. There are lots of fun dips you can make with yogurt, sour cream, and mashed beans. For a toddler, a little dip and something to dip with (veggies, fruit, cut up bread) is a meal.

Start a page of lunch ideas you like in your planner, or on your computer or phone if you prefer. When I come across recipes and ideas on blogs and places like Pinterest, I use Evernote to keep track of them. This makes it easy for me to plan my meals and grocery list because it’s searchable.

This is such a fun time with your toddler because he is open to so many new things and you can get him going on a path to healthy eating with no struggle or pickiness (at least most of the time!). Don’t be afraid to try something exotic if it’s what you love. Bon appetit!

Did I feed my family this ‘pink slime’ in our Hamburger Helper dinner last night? Yep, most likely.

Do you know if your local grocery is selling you pink slime?

On the news tonight they mentioned that Kroger is pulling the pink slime meat. I’ve shopped at Kroger many times and I’m just sick to think that I’ve ate this stuff and fed it to my children.

Over the years our tastes buds are constantly changing, and as our daughter Claire was growing up, she was no different.

The first couple of years she attended school she stayed for school dinners. Then, for no apparent reason, she decided wanted to have sandwiches instead. Although it meant a little extra effort each morning, we were happy to oblige.

This went on for a month or so before she decided she didn’t like white bread and wanted to try brown instead. No problem, we started buying brown bread for her.

Then, in no time, she didn’t like brown bread. So we stared buying bread rolls. But, then she decided she didn’t like bread rolls either. Our weekly trip to the supermarket was becoming fraught with anxiety and tension, as whatever we bought she just refused to eat.

One day my wife was talking to her friend Jean about this when Jean mentioned that since a youngsters taste buds were far more acute than ours, it might be that she just didn’t like shop bought bread anymore. Something to do with the enhancers tasting much stronger to her.

To be honest I thought this was all nonsense. I was convinced she was just being fussy. But by now we were getting notes from the school saying Claire was not eating, which only added to our anxiety and concern.

The next day Jean turned up at our house with a loaf of white bread that she had baked herself in her bread maker. She told us to let Claire try it and see if she liked it.

Well I have to say the results were quite amazing!

We made some sandwiches with Claire´s favorite filling, even though she said she didn’t want them, and hoped for the best. When she came home from school that afternoon my wife nervously checked the lunch box expecting to see the sandwiches uneaten. Much to her surprise it was empty! Not even a crumb left.

The next couple of days were the same, until the loaf was finally finished. During that time there were no more tears and drama from Claire, and no more tension and anxiety for us.

The solution was obvious to us! So, we fired up the computer and researched all the best bread maker reviews we could find on the Internet before ordering one for ourselves.

A couple of days later the machine was delivered to our house and since then we’ve never looked back. To be honest, even I could taste the difference from shop bought bread.

Claire even started to help her mum make the bread, and really got a buzz out of it too. Using a recipe book she would chose what sort of bread she wanted and then help her mum measure out all the ingredients and put them into the bread maker. Never was a loaf of bread waited for with so much anticipation!

But best of all was that we knew exactly what was going into each loaf. As parents that gave us a lot of peace of mind knowing that our child’s wasn’t eating a lot of additives.

That was a few years back now and Claire has grown into a beautiful young teenager, but even now she still prefers own home baked bread over shop bought.

We recently replaced our first machine with a new Panasonic bread maker and I´m amazed at all the improvements that have been made. This machine can even make gluten free bread, and for those on a special diet there is even a low salt and low sugar option too.

In some ways, even though I´m loathed to say it, perhaps I´m glad our daughter put us through all the worry over those sandwiches, after all we all gained from the solution.

Voted “World’s Best Medium Cheddar Cheese” at the 2012 World Championship Cheese Contest, Tillamook Cheese makes all-natural cheeses from scratch on their farms in Oregon. With safe farming practices and a natural aging process, their cheeses are the West coast’s most popular natural cheese brand.

The Loaf Love Tour is currently making it’s way through Texas, but you can buy Tillamook’s cheese and other products like yogurt, sour cream, butter and ice cream at retail stores nationwide.

“We’re close, if not family,” the add states, especially given all of our love for quality cheese!

Healthy food-growing standards for organic food (no chemicals, pesticides, growth hormones, genetically modified organisms, etc.), have some disadvantages: organic food is in most cases seasonal. Not everyone has the means to operate a greenhouse.

If you are health-conscious, you understand the invaluable benefits of using organic food in your diet, but you are also aware of the fact that seasonal food cannot be used throughout the year, unless frozen.

Here enters the old dilemma: yes or no to frozen organic food?

If you’re afraid your ripe, healthy and expensive veggies will lose their taste and worth once frozen, you’re greatly mistaken. Food producers are starting to recognize the value of frozen food more and more, especially during off-season periods. When you think about it, it makes perfect sense:

Food manufacturers wait until their organic products are in their peak condition, full of nutrients, and that’s when they pick and freeze them. If picked too early or too late, they wouldn’t have the maximum amount of nutrients of a fully ripe vegetable. Freezing them in this nutrient-rich state guarantees that once thawed, the food will be as good as when you purchased it. So, you see, using frozen food is healthier than using “fresh” food that already lost its nutrients.

Seven Tips to Make Organic Food Freezing Worthwhile

This goes double so for organic food, whose nutrients are twice worth saving than regular pesticide-packed food.

If you say ‘yes’ to freezing organic food, you might start thinking of the problems:

• How to keep all the rich contents, pesticide-free vitamins and nutrients?
• How to keep the taste as good as when freshly plucked from an organic garden?
• How to make sure to use frozen food while it’s still safe?

Here are seven easy-to-remember tips that will help you preserve your food properly. It would be a shame to waste products that are, not only more expense, but also nutrient-richer, rigorously inspected and proven healthy.

1. This goes for all kinds of food you are freezing: keep it at 0 degrees Fahrenheit. All other precautionary measures you’ll take in order to preserve food become meaningless if you store food at higher than recommended temperatures.
2. Freezer burn is bad. It happens when you don’t pack your food tightly, and air gets into your food and dehydrates it. Then it becomes grayish and tasteless. Avoid freezer burn by tightly wrapping your food with foil, freezer plastic wrap or paper, or place it inside freezer plastic bags, but make sure you squeeze out all excess air. If you think laziness or a busy schedule might prevent you from doing this properly, just remember the value and cost of organic food.
3. Though frozen food serves to prolong the life of meats and veggies, it DOES have a life span. Don’t keep frozen food in the freezer until it becomes an ugly dark blob that you want to get rid of asap. If you prepare food properly, it can last up to six months. One of the most important things about this is properly labeling food.Use strong adhesive freezer labels to keep an inventory of when you put the package in the freezer, and some other information that might be useful to you. Without “freeze by” reminder on your label, you can end up with lots of food that might or might not be ready for garbage – you’ll never know.
4. It’s best to store organic food in small packages – one package per serving. The problem with keeping a big chunk of food in the freezer is that once you want to use it, you have to thaw the whole thing. You probably won’t eat all of it, and refreezing food is not recommended.
5. Don’t go around opening and closing freezer doors all the time, because it can damage your frozen products. Food closer to the door is more exposed to fluctuations in temperature due to door opening and closing, so it’s the best to keep the oldest food there, or, the food you’ll be using the soonest.
6. If you discover that freezing food is great, like I did, don’t start fanatically freezing everything you buy or make. Tender veggies will slump down after thawing, for example. Also, foods high in water, such as celery, strawberries, melons, cucumbers, lettuce, etc., should not be frozen. I found that creamy cakes I make change their taste after freezing, in a way I’m not sure I really like. You might make a few mistakes before you get the hang of what’s good to freeze and what’s not.
7. Freezing does NOT kill bacteria and enzymes in food. It just slows them down. If you’re really serious about preserving your organic vegetables, the wisest thing to do is blanche them before freezing. This process of quickly immersing veggies in boiling water, then in cold water, and freezing them ensures all enzymes and bacteria are gone.

To sum it all up: don’t let any air enter the food packaging, keep good track of when you froze your food, and try to avoid refreezing.

Once you’ve mastered this simple guide to freezing organic food, you can stop wasting time and money on food, at the same time feeling good about eating healthy. Try it.

Ana Brady is a working mom of two, and a member of a creative group that recently finished their Freezer Labels project. Ana likes to write about nutrition, healthy living, family life, and similar topics.

Photo credit.

When I saw that my little neighborhood grocery store had fresh cabbage, I was instantly inspired to make cabbage rolls.  I grabbed a head and started to fill my basket with the other items I needed, and then stopped.

Normally, I use a mix of ground beef and ground pork for the filling, along with a mixture of spices.  This time, I decided to take a shortcut AND get a ton of flavor at the same time.  I decided to use Jimmy Dean Hot Sausage.  Of course, you can use any kind of meat you want, but this little trick added a lot of flavor, texture, and eliminated the need to use any spices.  It turned out to be a useful, and tasty little shortcut, indeed.

So, here is my homage to my Mom’s huge cabbage rolls.  I hope you get a chance to try them.

Hungry Family Cabbage Bundles

• 1 head cabbage
• 1 lb. Jimmy Dean Hot Sausage
• 1/2 med. size onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced or grated
• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (8 oz) can tomato paste
• sprinkle of white wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
• 4 cups chopped cabbage
• olive oil to cook cabbage
• 1/2 cup cooked quinoa (or rice)

Prepare the cabbage:

1. Peel off the loose unedible leaves (if any) from the solid head and discard.
2. Wash the head of cabbage under running water, then gently peel off six to eight of the nice outside cabbage layers and set aside. (I cut out the stem portion from each leaf because I think they stay tough.)
3. Cut the remaining cabbage in half, cut out the core, and cut into thin wedges, then chop until you have a coleslaw looking pile of cabbage; set aside.

Blanch the cabbage leaves:

1. Put the six to eight cabbage leaves in a metal colander strainer that fits in a large pot; set strainer in pot.
2. Fill the pot with water making sure the cabbage leaves are covered.
3. Put pot on burner on high and bring to a boil.
4. Boil for 4 to 7 minutes or until the cabbage leaves are softened, but not mushy.
5. Lift the strainer out of the water and set aside to drain and cool the cabbage leaves.

Prepare the filling:

1. In a large skillet, put the sausage over medium-high heat, breaking up with a spatula.
2. Cook until sausage is browned slightly, then add onion and continue cooking until sausage is cooked all the way through and onions are soft; stir in garlic and sprinkle lightly with vinegar, taste and add more vinegar as desired to reach a nice flavor.
3. Turn heat down and simmer slowly while you prepare the cabbage.
4. Put 4 cups of the chopped cabbage in a separate skillet over medium-high heat with a generous drizzle of olive oil; cook, stirring often, until cabbage is softened.
5. When cabbage is soft, add it to the skillet with sausage/tomato sauce, then stir in the quinoa, mixing until sauce is combined well; remove from heat.

Fill the cabbage leaves:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and get out a casserole dish with a cover and spray or butter it a little.
2. Spoon about 1 to 2 cups (depending on how big your casserole dish is) into the bottom of the casserole dish forming an even layer for the cabbage rolls to sit on.
3. On a cutting board or baking sheet, lay out a cabbage leaf.
4. Spoon a good portion of the filling into the middle of the cabbage leaf and roll up lengthwise, then lay in your casserole dish, seam side down.
5. Continue with each leaf using up as much of the filling as you wish and tucking each one in the casserole with the seam side down.  Remember, any filling that you don’t use up will be a welcome leftover! You’ll see only four cabbage bundles in my picture.  I made two small casseroles with four in each.

Bake:

1. Cover and put in preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 35 to 40 minutes or until hot, bubbly, and the leaves get nice and soft and the sauce starts to brown around the edges of the casserole.  Remove and let sit for a few minutes, then serve hot.
2. I scooped a little of the filling from the bottom of the casserole alongside the cabbage bundles just for fun and a bit of color. Enjoy!

In terms of cost for this filling meal, we’re looking at a very frugal dish.  The sausage was the most expensive at about $5 for the pound.  But considering it takes no further spices, herbs, or seasonings, the price is pretty reasonable.  Then I had about $2.50 in tomatoes, and I paid less than $1 for the cabbage.  The other ingredients, the onion, garlic, vinegar, and the 1/2 cup of cooked quinoa add up to less than $1.  You can stretch this meal to feed more by adding more quinoa or rice, but it’s a very filling dish and feeds 6 to 8 people as-is.  Adding chopped cooked cabbage to the filling as I did actually does more to stretch the meal than anything.  So, for about $10 you can easily feed a hungry family!

p.s.  Does old fashioned cooking appeal to you?  Do you have a hungry family that likes to sit down to hearty meals?  If you’re ready for more recipes like this one, you will appreciate my ebook Memory Lane Meals.  I’ve been collecting recipes for decades and now have put them together in one delightfully nostalgic cookbook.  Not only do you get recipes that are reminiscent of the good ol’ days, but you get a few glimpses into my life growing up in a big family during the 50s and 60s.  Click on and order your copy today and start cooking the good old fashioned meals I know your family will enjoy!

Besides your basic appliances – refrigerator, stove, microwave – there are a few items which should be in every kitchen.  Whether you are a gourmet cook or a from-the-box cook, you will need the right tools and equipment to perform basic food preparation and serving tasks.

About a year and a half ago my cousin became a Pampered Chef consultant and in order to help her out I had done a show and quickly fell in love with so many Pampered Chef products.  So a lot of my recommendations are going to be either Pampered Chef things I already have or things I wish I had because really they have so many must have things.

Here is a Top Ten List of Things Every Kitchen Needs:

1. Stand Mixer. I have a Kitchen Aid stand mixer and as a mom who LOVES to bake this is a must have in my kitchen.  Aside from baking I also use mine for making mashed potatoes.  I can throw the potatoes in and let it do its work while I do other things.  I find it makes mashed potatoes creamier than hand mixers do.

And with the Kitchen Aid you can get so many attachments to add to it.  Things like a pasta maker or a sausage maker.  You can also make homemade ice cream with it.  So it really can be the workhorse of any kitchen, even if you aren’t much of a baker.

2. Stoneware.  Pampered Chef is known for their stones.  I started out with a rectangle pizza stone and eventually added the large bar pan.  And most recently I got the Deep Covered Baker.  I usually only use the pizza stone for pizza and maybe cookies.  The large bar pan I use to make bacon in the oven (which is a great way to cook bacon), oven fried chicken, pizza, cookies, and any other meat I have to cook in the oven.   If you are able to get just one stone, then I definitely recommend the large bar pan (or small depending on your family size).  But really host a party and get yourself the Deep Covered Baker too.

3. Knife set.  A good knife set is a must have for any kitchen.  Or at least a utility knife, a carving knife, and a trimmer if you can’t afford a whole set.

One summer while I was in college I sold Cutco knives.  Being a college student I thought I had no need for knives so I ended up selling my mom my demo set.  That was 15 years ago and now when I go over my mom’s house and I see that set of knives that I let slip through my fingers I long for it back.  If only I knew then what I know now.

4. A Good Pot and Pan Set.  When it comes to pots and pans you have a few options.  Non stick like Calphalon or All-Clad like what professional chefs use.

Here’s another wish list item of mine from Pampered Chef, the Executive set from Pampered Chef.

My cousin (aka my Pampered Chef rep) has a sister in law who is a professional chef.  She used my cousin’s stainless fry pan from Pampered Chef and was very impressed with it.  So impressed that the next time she needs to replace a pot or pan she’ll be purchasing a stainless from my cousin.  If you can’t get a whole set again I would recommend at least getting a 3 qt saucepan, 12″ fry pan, and a stock pot or Dutch Oven.

5. Crockpot.  This is great to have for those nights when you know you are going to be short on time.  Put everything in the crockpot in the morning before you leave for the day and come home to a house filled with the beautiful aroma of whatever you made.

6. Spoons and Spatulas.  You need to have big spoons and spatulas.  Not metal as these ruin pots and pans.  I prefer plastic and my husband likes wooden spoons.  So we actually have a mixture of both of those kinds.

7. Colander.  Colanders can be used for more than just draining pasta.  It’s also great for cleaning fruits and vegetables or straining things.  I have 3 different sized colanders to meet all the differing needs.  I prefer mesh metal because I find them easier to clean than the plastic ones.  Plastic are fine too though and they are inexpensive.  You can usually pick one up at the dollar store.

8. Can Opener.  I hate opening cans!  Must be because I’m left handed.  I prefer electric can openers because usually manual can openers are made for right handed people.  And I know all of you righties are thinking what’s the difference.  There’s a huge difference.  Try opening a can with your left hand sometime. I literally have to completely change my train of thought to use most manual can openers.  Yes, they do make lefty manual can openers, but they are hard to come by.

I still don’t care much for my electric can opener, but if I want to open cans then I need it.  Sometimes I have a hard time getting it to catch the can though.  Still, it is an important tool to have in the kitchen until they start putting pull tabs on all cans.  A lefty can dream, can’t she?

9.  Food Processor.  It doesn’t have to be a large food processor.   I have small ones that are easy to store and get out when needed.  It’s an invaluable tool for chopping and mincing things.   Erin from Small Town Mom Living in a BIG City uses both, but for most jobs she likes her Black and Decker one touch chopper.  I have one of these too, but I find the manual one to work better.  Erin says she can control the fineness better on her electric chopper than her manual one though.

10.  Cutting Board.  To save your counters and your table you have got to have a cutting board.  I recommend plastic cutting boards over wooden or glass ones.  Wooden ones can trap bacteria.  Glass cutting boards will dull knives faster.   If you have a dishwasher the plastic cutting boards can be cleaned in there to get rid of any bacteria that might have been left behind.  You can also easily bleach them without ruining them to kill any germs.  So plastic is the way to go for cutting boards.  It’s what’s recommended for commercial use.  If it’s good enough for a restaurant, then it’s good enough for me!

Is there something not mentioned here that you find to be invaluable in your kitchen?  That you could not do without?  Leave a comment and share your most needed kitchen item!

photo credit: e skene photo credit: allaboutgeorge

They’re soft and delicious – not at all like most prepacked brownies I’ve tried.  If you haven’t given them a shot yet, I recommend them – and wouldn’t you know it – you can order them in bulk from Amazon

Fiber One 90 Calorie Brownies 38 Ct

But what are we actually filling those little bellies with?

We are bombarded with commercials on TV showcasing the healthier and more balanced options that restaurants like McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s are featuring. But despite the over-use of buzzwords like “all-natural,” “new and improved” and “healthier options,” are these the things our kids are choosing?

And are those “healthier options” as healthy as we think?

Most Common Offenders

Most popular options for pre-schoolers include french fries, soda, chicken nuggets, cheeseburgers and hamburgers. While there are alternatives for both fries and sodas on many menus, when researchers from a Yale University study went into 250 fast-food restaurants across the country, they found that “over 80% of the time, fries were served with kids’ meals and over half of the time soft drinks were served over healthier options.”

Mass produced, processed and filled with preservatives, artificial flavorings, colorings and other additives, most of these options also present an awfully long list of ingredients.

At McDonald’s, where the Chicken McNuggets are “new and improved” and a common choice for kids, the meat alone contains over seven ingredients. Add another 20 for the breading, including scary additives and chemical preservatives that are also used in silly putty, and you have a very unnatural chicken product that millions of kids consume every single day.

If you’re feeling queasy already, the tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), also found in the McNugget, is a chemical preservative and a form of butane, or, in other words, lighter fluid. Shilo Urban, in an article titled “What’s in Fast Food Chicken? (Hint: It’s NOT Chicken)”, stated that one gram of this can cause a whole host of negative symptoms, while just five grams can kill you.

Author of Eat This, Not That!, David Zinczenko, informs us that McDonald’s isn’t even the guiltiest culprit of multi-ingredient “chicken” nuggets. Wendy’s nuggets have over 30 ingredients while Burger King chicken fries top out at 35.

And while the burgers at McDonald’s appear to be made with 100% ground beef, the buns and processed cheese add a whole host of healthy eating don’ts such as high fructose corn syrup and preservatives.

Wendy’s Frosty, a restaurant staple and a common treat for kids at the fast food chain, has a whopping 14 ingredients in it, despite the common association with a traditional milkshake, which consist of milk and ice cream.

Deli Sandwiches Triumph

Fortunately for us busy moms, while they aren’t plentiful, there are healthier fast food options out there.

According to the Yale Study, the healthiest options are dominated by Subway and Burger King and include menu items such as a veggie delite sandwich, roast beef sandwich, grilled chicken, macaroni and cheese. A junior burger from Sonic with apple slices and unsweet tea even made the list and comes in at 350-calories.

These meals all come with a side of fruit and are absent of sugary soft drinks. They don’t blow our kid’s daily calorie allotments and won’t fill their bodies with excess sodium and saturated fat.

Taking Action

In the interest of full disclosure, I am a recovering Chicken NcNugget addict. Thinking I was making the healthier selection in a sea of greasy burgers and high-calorie salad options, I was nauseous as I read the gory details. Having previously ignored the onslaught of fast food related info, raising a child has forced me to re-examine the nutritional facts and what I have fed him on my most hectic afternoons.

Moving forward, I will certainly be choosing more wisely.

How has this information forced you to re-examine the fast food decisions you have made? What are some of your healthier alternatives for a busy afternoon or evening?

Check out the free coaching group that she has going on right now.  Register and you can ask her questions about anything.

Sign up here: Free Group Coaching

This is a guest post

It seems that everyone, from specialty markets to your popular chain grocery store, is going organic these days. An ever-increasing number of people are interested in purchasing natural, whole foods created without the aid of pesticides or harmful chemicals. This is a wonderful attitude to adopt and many organic foods can, indeed, give you a respite from hormone-fed meat or chemical-laden produce. However, it’s also important to know what going organic isn’t. Going organic is not a food, environment, or lifestyle miracle. Below are the most common myths about going organic:

Myth #1: Organic food contains fewer pesticides than traditional produce

This is perhaps most often the first fact proponents of the organic movement cite. However, organic farmers use pesticides, too; they simply use different pesticides— some of which are even less regulated than their traditional counterparts. Additionally, all produce, organic or not, is susceptible to bacteria in soil runoff, like e. coli. So, don’t think you can take a pass on washing your produce just because it’s organic!

Myth #2: Purchasing organic food will help the environment

“Organic” does not equal “local.” In fact, only 16% of Whole Foods’ organic goods are locally grown or manufactured, and the rest require a great dose of Co2 emissions to reach your table. Additionally, organic farming is less productive than traditional farming, which means it uses more land and resources to get the job done. It also takes more energy to grow fruit or vegetables in a climate where they don’t typically grow—often much more, requiring special heating, bigger equipment, and more.

Myth #3: Purchasing organic meat and produce will support small, local businesses

Nearly every major corporation, from Kellogg’s to Kraft, has jumped on the organic bandwagon; and don’t expect to see their names on the packaging. Most major food companies call their organic affiliate by another name (Kraft, for example, uses the moniker Back to Nature). To make sure you’re actually supporting a local business or farm, and not just another major conglomerate, you may have to do a little more research or choose a smaller, more local grocery store.

Myth #4: Organic food is healthier and tastier

The true secret to finding produce that is nutrient-rich and delicious is making sure it’s in season. Raspberries are most likely to taste their richest during the warm

summer months, while pear or squash hit their peak during the fall. Familiarize yourself with seasonal produce; it is the only true indicator of taste and nutritional value.

None of these items are meant to completely discourage you from going organic; there can be and often are major benefits to purchasing organic products, especially from farms or hyper-local grocery stores where you know exactly where your food is coming from. The organic versions of meat and eggs, in particular, are quite often much more humane than their regular counterparts.

The bottom line? Do your research. Purchasing whole, sustainable, environmentally-friendly meat and produce is a noble and important goal. Don’t let an organic label trick you into doing anything less than that.

Meg King is a blogger and health food nut who writes for Clearly Fresh Bags.

These snowman cupcakes could not be cuter.

You’ll need to start with plain cupcakes. You could make them yourself or purchase them. The blog has a recipe for buttercream frosting. I think to get the full effect, it is probably best to pipe the frosting on, so you will need a pipe bag. The other thing that she uses that make these things so stinking cute, are the candy eyes. You could use chocolate chips, but the candy eyes really give it that “Frosty” touch.

She uses an Oreo, a marshmallow for the hat and then dips the whole thing in melted black candy melts. She sprinkles some white non-pareils on top to create the snow effect. You could also have some fun with some orange fondant or a Starburst and make a carrot nose, but I think the sour cherry candy looks perfect. Kids of all ages will love these precious treats! Click Snowman Cupcakes for this darling recipe.

Looking for more inspiration? Don’t forget to grab you free copy of Christmas Goodies for Your Inspiration

Homemade candy is one of those things that has the ability to fool everyone into thinking that you bought it at a high end department store, especially if you do a nice job wrapping it up.

Peppermint bark is something that everyone loves.

What this Mom did with her recipe to make it extra special was to use cookie cutters. You can use any type of chocolate that is made for melting. She melted the chocolate right into cookie cutters. She froze each layer to make sure that it had set properly. Adding the crushed candy canes to the top was the piste de resistance

Make sure that the chocolate has set before removing the cookie cutters. You could put a cookie cutter with the candy, wrap it up individually in cellaphane and tie it with cute holiday ribbon. Viola! Instant gift.

Click Christmas Tree Peppermint Bark to find this adorable recipe.

Looking for more holiday treat recipes?

Don’t forget to grab Christmas Cookies and Goodies Guide.

Cooking can be a chore for a lot of mothers. You try to vary the menus for dinner every now and again, but you’ve read through all the various cookbooks you own time and time again… Sometimes, it’s good to get inspiration from another source. Technology is so available in our day and age, if you have a Iphone or Ipod Touch handy, you might want to check out these 4 free culinary applications that will help get your creative juices flowing in the kitchen.

Cook’s Illustrated

So you’ve tried every single recipe in your cookbook and you can honestly say you are out of ideas for dinner tonight. Well, how does “Pan –Seared Thick Cut Strip Steaks” or “Crisp Roast Chicken” sound? Is your mouth watering? Cook’s Illustrated is a handy little app that packs 50 of the best recipes provided by the magazine of the same name. Each recipe comes with a little video that will provide you with more information on how to prepare the dish. Reviews and taste tests are also provided with each recipe so you will know if the recipe you pick is fit to please the palates of your family.

How to Cook Everything

Even if you think the app’s is a great example of hyperbole, you will find most of the answers to your questions with this application. From bestselling New York Times columnist Mark Bittman’s, this app is packed with more than 2000 recipes and 400 illustrations that will teach you step by step methods to prepare food. Each recipe comes with a handy built-in timer that is placed throughout each step of the recipe, so nothing will be over or undercooked.

Classic Camping Cookbook & Meal Planner

Camping season may be over, but that doesn’t mean you can’t think of fresh cooking ideas to bring along to your next camping trip. Brought to by the camping pros over at Coleman, this application can help you whip out a meal while you’re camping by using filters like what type of cooking methods will be used, what type of meal you are looking for and what type of ingredients will be used during the preparation. It also allows you to plan meals for an entire camping trip based on the number of campers that will be coming along.

These free apps are a few amongst the many that are available for IOS devices. I only scratched the surface for you!

Valerie Gravel is a guest blogger for Cutting Boards USA. Cutting Boards USA offers a variety of high end cutting boards that are made from the finest Vermont walnut and maple. For more information on Cutting Boards USA and their products, visit their website today.

First of all, do not be discouraged. You don’t necessarily have to have a smoker to get smoked meats. The same cooking process can be created in a regular charcoal grill pushing the hot coals to one side while the meat cooks on the other. You may have to occasionally add more charcoal during the cooking process so working on a larger grill may render easier results. If you’re using a smoker, however, you will be adding more wood. Each grill or smoker has their own manufacturer’s references, so make sure you read the directions on how to get the optimum cooking performance of your equipment.

Now, let’s talk about the meat, and in this case, the bird.

A fresh, 3 to 4 pound chicken would be ideal in this situation.

Make sure while the charcoal or wood is heating up, you wash the chicken and pat completely dry after removing the gizzards from the inside of the bird. Now, things could go a few different ways.

Some people like to smoke the whole bird, others prefer to cut it down the backbone and lay butterflied on the grill, or simply chop into pieces.

Obviously, the later techniques would take less time to cook. Brining is the next step most people follow, and it involves soaking the bird in a salty water mixture for a few hours before cooking.

After brining, make sure you rinse the bird again. You can also put a rub of your preference on the chicken or mop with sauce during the cooking process. No matter how you choose to cook and flavor chicken, always make sure the temperature of the breast reaches 165F.

Cooking time can usually be estimated (if cooking a whole bird) to 1 hour for every pound.

Always turn the meat with tongs and not a fork. You don’t want to puncture the meat; juices will escape and your meat will turn out dry. Before carving, let rest for at least 10 minutes.

There are so many recipes that can use your moist and juicy smoked chicken. Most of the time, you can substitute smoked chicken for regular chicken; it will provide more of a robust flavor in your food. Chicken salad, chicken gumbo, and chicken soup are all great ideas to use shredded smoked chicken, or eat it as is when it comes off the grill with some barbecue sauce on the side.  Below is a great recipe for smoked chicken quesadillas.

Smoked Chicken Quesadillas

Kids especially love this recipe because it is so versatile and can contain as much or as little of whatever filling you prefer. You can either use all or one (cheese) of the following ingredients along with your smoked chicken:

• cheese
• black beans
• refried beans
• tomato
• avocado
• onions
• peppers
• spinach

Preheat a flat, nonstick skillet on medium. Fill one half of your tortilla with the shredded, smoked chicken, cheese and add any or all of the ingredients above. As long as the tortilla can be folded in half,
then you are at liberty to put as little or as much as you or your kids would like. Place folder tortilla (now a quesadilla) in the skillet and cook until lightly brown on both sides or until cheese is melted. Cut into fourths and serve with salsa, sour cream, scallions or nothing at all. Enjoy!

This guest post was written exclusively for Family Foodies by LowCountry Barbecue, proud to be a leading Atlanta caterer, serving families during the holidays for over 25 years. LowCountry specializes in events, big or small, across the country; no location is too far and no party is too much.

If you’re looking for a frugal gift idea, this is a great one.  I spent a total of $75 on:

• 12 Plastic Goodie Containers.
• 40 Pretzel Rod Bags.
• 10 Goodie Bags.
• 1 Box of Graham Crackers
• 2 Boxes of Shortbread Cookies
• 3 Boxes of Chocolate Chip Cookies
• 3 boxes of Pecan Sandies
• 2 Bags of Pretzel Rods
• 1 Bag of Regular Marshmallows
• 1 Bag of Peppermint Marshmallows
• 1 Bag of Mini M&Ms
• 1 Bag of Peppermint Candy Crumbles
• 1 Bag of Mini Chocolate Chips
• 1 Box of Cheerios
• 5 Packages of Dipping Chocolate
• 2 Packages of Vanilla Dipping Chocolate

*Whew!*  Yes, I got a ton for the amount of money I spent (I bought all store brand/off brand items) and we got a TON of goodies from all of this.  The ‘Chocolate Factory’ was open for over five hours LOL!

I started out by putting two large pans on the stove top with three inches of water in the bottom.  I placed two large metal mixing bowls on top of that for a double boiler effect.  I turned the heat on low and dropped my dipping chocolate chunks into the mixing bowls – starting with one package of white and two packages of dark.  It took about 20 minutes to melt it down.  (Don’t rush this step – you don’t want the water boiling.  Be very careful to not get any drops of water in your melted chocolate, it will harden it.)

I worked with each child one at a time.  Because we were working with heat I explained where they could and couldn’t touch our work surface – and helped them steady their hands when necessary.

It was lots of fun – especially the sprinkling part!

Here are some of the goodies we made:

For more fun Christmas Goodie ideas check out our free Inspiration Guide!

It used to be the death of my waistline during the holidays. Year after year I would devour peppermint bark, chocolate-peppermint fudge, peppermint hot chocolate and more.

Then a couple years ago I discovered a non-fat brownie mix that is surprisingly divine. I wiped my peppermint-chocolate slate clean, and made my own concoction from this mix to satisfy the craving during the holidays.

To verify I wasn’t fooling myself, I brought them in to my office one year to see if others would notice that these heavenly bites were low in fat. Within five minutes flat the two-dozen batch had vanished and people were asking for more!

At only 150 calories and 2 grams of fat – these are a holiday treat you can have without feeling like a lump of coal.

Tip: If you’re in a rush to get these to the table and don’t have 20 minutes, divide the batter into individual microwave dishes and microwave on high for 50 seconds. Remove and allow to cool 5 minutes.

Courtesy of Margot Harris / www.whitehotoven.com

Candy Cane Brownies

Prep Time: 5 min. Total Time: 20 min. Serves: 12

Ingredients:

• Cooking spray
• 1/3 cup skim milk
• 1/3 cup 0% fat plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 18 Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses
• 1 (13.7 oz) box No Pudge! Original Fudge Brownie Mix

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper or tinfoil liners. Lightly coat with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the milk, yogurt and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth, about 30 sec.

Unwrap the candy cane kisses and set 12 aside. Chop the remaining six into very small pieces. Add to a large mixing bowl with the brownie mix.

Pour the yogurt mixture into the brownie mix and stir thoroughly until batter is smooth and uniform. Divide batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups.

Bake for 17 to 18 minutes rotating pan halfway through baking. Remove from oven and place one candy cane kiss on top of each brownie pressing down gently. Allow to cool slightly before consuming.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 153, Total Fat: 2g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 1mg, Sodium: 115mg, Total Carbohydrates: 33g, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 26g, Protein: 3g

Protein/Fat/Carb Ratio: 9% / 5% / 86%

See more recipes like this one on Healthy Holiday Recipes by visiting Fit Foodist: Healthy Recipes for Runners

During the coldest months of the year, so many of us flock towards meals that are heavy, meaty, and hearty. We all tend to rely on foods that warm us up and warm us through, but sometimes forget to get enough fruits and vegetables onto our plates.

Eating “in season” is one of the most simple and cost effective ways to get more fruits and vegetables to your plate any time of year. When you eat fruits and vegetables that are in season, the flavors will jump out at you, the nutrients found in them shoots through the roof, and the price you’ll pay is significantly cheaper than buying these same ingredients in their off-season.

Some of the produce picks that will soon be making their way to your local market in the next few weeks are: citrus fruits, dark leafy greens, and root vegetables. Here are three recipes that will have you saving money this winter and keeping your nutritional levels high.

Spinach Salad with Clementines, Feta, and Walnuts

Serves four

• 1-10 oz. bag fresh baby spinach leaves
• 2 clementine oranges, peeled and segmented
• ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
• ¼ cup walnuts
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• Juice of 1 clementine orange
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper

1. In a large bowl, create the dressing by adding olive oil, vinegar, juice of one clementine orange, salt, and pepper. Whisk together to combine.
2. Next, add fresh baby spinach leaves and toss to evenly coat the leaves with the dressing. Sprinkle on feta cheese and walnuts.
3. Divide evenly among four plates and serve.

Curried Sweet Potato Soup

Serves four

• 2 lbs sweet potatoes
• 1 onion
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• 3 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into cubes. Spread into an even layer on a roasting pan or 9 x 13” glass baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then place into the oven to roast for 60 minutes.
2. Within the last few minutes of the sweet potatoes, prepare an onion, by cutting into cubes. Preheat a soup pot over medium high heat and add butter. Sauté onions until translucent, about ten minutes.
3. Once the sweet potatoes are done being roasted, transfer to the soup pot along with the onions. Add the curry powder and stock and bring to a boil. When the soup has reached a boil, lower the heat to medium low and simmer for 15 minutes. Puree with an immersion blender or work in batches to create a smooth velvety texture. Adjust the seasonings, then divide among four bowls and serve.

Kale and Tomato Pasta

Serves four

• 1 lb whole wheat pasta
• 1 bunch fresh kale, rinsed
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
• 1 ½ cups crushed tomatoes
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper

1. Heat a large pot of water over medium high heat to prepare for boiling noodles.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the kale by slicing the leafy parts away from the hearty stalk. Tear the leaves into two-inch pieces. Heat a pan over medium high heat with olive oil. Add minced garlic and kale. Sauté the kale leaves, adding one tablespoon water to help steam them. Once the kale has cooked for a few minutes, it will appear bright green and wilted.
3. Drop the pasta into the boiling water and add a pinch of salt to the water to season it. Cook according to package directions. Strain.
4. In the same pan that was used to prepare the kale, add the tomatoes and pasta and heat over medium heat. Add the crushed tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine and allow the flavors to mingle about ten minutes.
5. Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. Divide among four plates and serve.

Eating fresh seasonal produce will benefit you any time of year and these winter recipes will be sure to get you through the cold spell with a full stomach and wallet.

How do you make the most of winter produce?

Rachael is the blogger behind KitchenCourses.com and is the author of How to Cook For Yourself: A Complete Beginner’s Guide. She writes about her passion for food, eating well while saving money, and inspires people to get familiar with their kitchens and cook for themselves.

In a big bowl sift/mix together:

• 10 cups dry milk powder
• 4 3/4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
• 1 3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 3/4 cups powdered non-dairy creamer

Makes 15 cups of mix which makes about 30 mug servings of Hot Cocoa.

Portion it out into airtight containers and let the kids decorate them.

You could portion just enough mix for one mug in a small plastic baggie and stuff that into a gift mug.  Pop a bow on top and you’ve got a great quickie gift for co-workers, bus drivers, teachers, etc.

Be sure to provide these instructions with your gift…

To Make Hot Cocoa:  Use 1/2 cup of mix with one cup of hot water.

The holidays can be a huge source of stress for families, what is one way that families can work on cutting down that stress when it comes to the Christmas meal?

1. Have a pot luck and eat buffet style. Seriously, gather family & friends together assign a dish or item to bring (paper plates, cups & plasticwear mean no dishes and easy clean up). With everyone pitching in, there is more time for fun. Our family does this every year for each big occasion and it makes the day so much more enjoyable for everyone involved.

2. Have things available that will keep the little ones busy. Set up a cookie decorating station and let them join in the fun. Or, if you live in a warm weather state like I do, put a table outside and let them have at it. Sidewalk chalk & bubbles are great to get kids busy, too. Remind older children that they are part of the family and their task for the day is to help mom & dad keep an eye on the younger children.

Many think of just their holiday gifts when budgeting but what are some hidden but should-be-expected items to factor in?

We all remember to budget for the gifts but things that we might not typically think about as part of the Christmas budget include things like gift wrap, tape, Christmas Card, decorations that might need replacing or updating, postage for packages that are mailed, groceries for the meals you’ll be making or the cookies you’ll be baking and supplies for any crafts or handmade gifts you might be making. The better you plan in advance the better prepared you’ll be.

In your new book you talk about Cookie Exchanges as a good way to add variety to your cookie trays without all the work. How do these work?

Here’s how we describe it in 30 Days to Stress Free Holidays.

Cookie Exchange Party:
I am sure you are not the only one you know who is overwhelmed by the holidays but loves a good variety of cookies and a chance to spend some time with friends. A great idea to add to your cookie tray and enjoy your friends is to have a Cookie Exchange Party. Each person who is invited makes an assigned number of cookies and brings them to the party. Serve up some wasail and hot chocolate, put on the holiday music and gather together to swap cookies. Everyone will leave with a nice assortment of cookies and enjoyed an evening with friends.

I have a friend that has written an ebook called The Cookie Swap, if y’all are interested in doing more on Cookie Exchanges.

I myself have young children as do many of our readers, how can I get them more involved in the Christmas kitchen without losing my sanity?

They key is to realize that they will only be young so long and let go of the perfection you have shining brightly in your head. It ain’t gonna happen without stress so just don’t put yourself through it.

Let the kids help you make cookies & other yummy desserts and if your kitchen has a fine dusting of flour when you’re finished pull out the camera and take pictures of the kiddos making “snow-flour angels”. Heck, it even kinda sounds fun to do it on purpose! Again, if it can be fixed, there are no broken bones or blood then count it good and put it in the memory banks to be shared year after year.

What would you rather have your kids remember ~ a messy kitchen full of laughter or the fact that they were cleaning their rooms while you had all the fun of baking? What lesson do you want to teach them?

Yes, there is a line to tread. You don’t want a complete disaster area but neither do you want to worry so much about things that everything is less than a complete joy.

Leave a comment on this post! Easy as pie

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