what we're eating - fast {real} food

It seems like everyone loved the fruit leather from last week! Did you make it?

My kids only let me have one piece, but it was delicious! Corbin said to me yesterday, "you make the best fruit roll-ups, mom!" When my kids say stuff like that to me, it really makes it all worth it. You know?

I have another great recipe for you today! Wednesday's are typically soccer practice nights at our house, so dinner needs to be very quick and easy. When you make meals from scratch with real food, you know that "quick and easy" doesn't happen very often. I don't know about you, but I can get burned out in the kitchen pretty quickly. That's where this meal comes in! It's all real food, and it's real fast!

Fast {Real} Food

Gather up all your ingredients. You can get creative with this! Grab any quick-cooking meat you have (ground beef, chicken sausages with the casings removed, ground turkey, etc.), a couple sweet potatoes or yams, and a veggie! I went with sweet potatoes, chicken breakfast sausages, onion, and zucchini.

Tip: Finding acceptable sausages in the grocery store can be tricky. I shop at Publix and don't have time to travel to a specialty store like Whole Foods to find the perfect meat. Make do with what you can! When I choose a sausage, I look for one that has 5 or less ingredients and preferably no nitrates or nitrites. The brand I use here, Al Fresco, works for my family and I am ok with the ingredients. I also like to remove the casings.

Peel your potatoes and choose a fat. Once again, you can get creative! We like to use grass-fed butter, ghee, or coconut oil. This time, I chose the butter!

Put a skillet over medium-high heat and melt your fat of choice. Chop up your onions and add them to the skillet until they are translucent. While they are cooking, chop up your potatoes into bite-sized pieces.

Add potatoes to the onions and cover for 3-5 minutes, or until the potatoes begin to soften.

While this is cooking, chop up your sausages and zucchini. I like to peel my zucchini first, but that is entirely up to you! 

Remove the cover and add the sausage and zucchini to the potatoes and onions.

At this point, I like to turn the heat up a little and get everything nice and browned. I also fry up a couple eggs in another small pan.

Once the mixture is cooked to your liking, top with an egg and serve immediately!

Pretty sure it doesn't get easier than that. Enjoy!

what we're eating - fruit leather

Every Wednesday I am going to do a "What We're Eating" post. This will include recipes of all kinds! My family eats real, whole foods - but we do have an occasional treat! I hope you can find some good ideas for feeding your family.

My kids have been begging me to make this fruit leather since they saw it in a cookbook I have! They do not get foods like the traditional "Fruit Roll-Up" you see in stores, so I thought it would be fun to make this as a special treat for them.

Homemade Fruit Leather
(recipe adapted from Against All Grain's Fruit by the Foot)

Start with 4 cups of frozen fruit.
You can go with mixed berries, a tropical mix, strawberries, basically anything you want! We went with organic mixed berries.

Put your fruit in a saucepan and add a teaspoon of lemon juice, a teaspoon of raw honey (you can add more to taste), and 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce.

TIP: I never keep a jar of applesauce on hand, so I use a pouch of GoGo Squeez, which is a one ingredient applesauce that my kids love!

Mix everything together and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and let it simmer for 20-25 minutes.

Or you can forget about it like I did and let it simmer for 45 minutes. It won't hurt it!

Once the mixture has cooled just a bit, pour it into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

If you have a dehydrator, you can use the plastic tray made specifically for fruit leather or you can line the regular trays with parchment. Divide the fruit mixture onto two trays and put into the dehydrator at 150* for 3.5 - 4 hours. You know it's done when it's not sticky to touch and peels up easily from the tray.

After 1.5 hours

If you don't have a dehydrator, buy one! I got mine from a local swap shop on Facebook for $5! We love it!

Seriously though, if you don't have a dehydrator, you can make this in the oven. Line a rimmed baking sheet or two with parchment and pour the fruit mixture into it. Spread it out evenly with a spoon or spatula. Set your oven as low as it goes and cook for 4.5 - 5 hours. You want the leather to be firm and not sticky when it's done!

If you used parchment, you can use kitchen shears and cut it into strips and roll it up like a "Fruit Roll-Up". If you used the dehydrator trays, peel the fruit leather off and lay it on parchment. Cut into strips and roll it up. Store in an airtight container.

Or eat it all in one day.

If you don't have the new cookbook from Against All Grain, you are missing out! It's filled with wonderful recipes for the whole family!


*If you purchase anything through my Amazon.com links, I will receive a small portion of the proceeds.*

accountability

The day I gave birth to my youngest son, I was the heaviest I had ever been. Like, 235lbs. I don't know my exact weight because there was no way in hell I was getting on the scale that day... but you get the idea. HUGE.

40 weeks pregnant

After Dash was born

After Dash was born in August 2010, I breastfed him and sort of watched what I ate. By the end of the year, I was at 194lbs. When I saw myself in photos from the holidays, I knew I had to take control of my weight and get serious about my health.

Christmas 2010

I started Weight Watchers in January of 2011. I was good at dieting and counting points! I could do this! By the end of 2011, I weighed in around 164lbs. I had lost 30lbs on WW! It was the best feeling and I really felt like I accomplished something.

Skinny jeans, bitches.

During the summer of 2012, I realized that if I want to start losing again and get down to my goal weight, I really need to add some exercise into my life. This is where I struggle... Exercise. Ugh!

I tried the C25K program. I made it to Week 3 and then hurt my knee. I tried the 30 Day Shred. I made it to Level 3 and then quit.

My knee hurts.
We are moving.
I work full time.
The kids need me.
I don't have the time.
I'm tired.

The list of excuses goes on and on and on and on. But what it comes down to is this:

I have to make the time. I have to do this for me. No excuses.

Right now I weigh 161lbs. My goal weight is 140lbs. My fitness goal is to be able to complete the entire 30 Day Shred and the C25K program. I will get it done!

Watch me.