My mother-in-law said...

We were in Indiana over Christmas and I was talking with my mother in law about food, as we often do. We both have a great affection for food and are pursuing a more whole food, nutritious means of creating and consuming good food. She suggested that I blog about healthy\clean eating, but encouraged me to find my own niche. I pondered this over the past weeks and decided that if I were to have a niche in this at all, it would be blogging about how to introduce healthy / clean eating to children.

   I've also decided that starting something new at the beginning of January is so passe, and really February is the ideal time to start. This ensures that the energy and enthusiasm that generally goes into New Year's resolutions has thoroughly faded and whatever is going to be started has a better chance of lasting. (At least that's the excuse I gave myself or not having started before now.)  And if you're going to talk about a healthier lifestyle, it helps to incorporate exercising as well. This morning I did day one of a 30 day CrossFit challenge at home. After five rounds of 10 pushups, 10 sit ups and 10 air squats I'm feeling a little shaky but accomplished. Www.lifemadefull.com/30-day-crossfit-challenge-workouts/

     So, on to food because that was the point I started with... Presently, my greatest debt of gratitude goes out to food network's show "Chopped". I've been watching this on occasion with my daughters while feeding the baby, and they have enjoyed watching chefs create meals centered around a basket of mystery ingredients. This show has inspired my girls to be more adventurous in their cooking and eating. So, we have started our own version of Chopped in our house. Each of my children have a day when they cook with me. On our grocery shopping adventures, we pick out several vegetables or healthy ingredients that we are unfamiliar with and then utilize them on our cooking day. Emma came up with the idea of eggplant hash browns on her own and they were delicious.

  For now, my plan is to try to write on a weekly basis and post recipes that have passed the judges approval in our "chopped kitchen" and feel free to post your own recipes that are tried and found delicious.  Favorites from this past week were baked carrot fries, and celery root, sweet potato and bacon hash, though I recommend a 2:1 ratio on the sweet potatoes vs celery root.  http://www.rubiesandradishes.com/2013/09/16/yam-celery-root-bacon-hash/

Jon said he would order this at a restaurant: meal was glazed pork http://allrecipes.com/recipe/honey-glazed-pork-chops/  used honey and coconut sugar, mashed potatoes with dairy-free butter and mayo, s/p and garlic, and baked carrot fries http://noshon.it/recipes/oven-baked-carrot-sweet-potato-fries/

Other hits:
Almond crusted eggplant: http://alimentageuse.com/home/2014/01/23/almond-crusted-baked-eggplant/
cherry and blueberry crumble made with non-dairy butter and almond flour crust
Edamame Quinoa salad: http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2014/09/edamame-quinoa-salad.html