A Reader's Tip!

Today I am going to share a tip that Andrea sent my way. It is precisely the kind of tip I love - one that is simple to carry out and that saves time in the long run. Let's face it. When we decide to "be healthy" we are deciding to put more work into planning and preparing our family's meals. Some of this is a necessary part of serving our families real food, but we all love tips and shortcuts where possible. Here is what Andrea says helped her in preparing healthy foods for her one year old:

"Just thought I'd pass on an idea to you that I tried this weekend and will do again. My youngest is almost one and is eating finger foods. It takes so much time to stand there and cut up all his food into tiny pieces. So this past Saturday, I made mini "freezer" meals for him. I cut up meats (turkey, ham, chicken, meatballs), veggies (baked sweet potato, butternut squash, carrots, eggplant), fruit (steamed apples, watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, peaches) and cheese. I put 1/2 cup serving sizes in a snack sized bag and sorted them into plastic shoe box size boxes in the freezer. I did about 75 bags, it was a lot of chopping that day, but this is saving me so much time! All I have to do is pull out the baggies the night before for the next day and we're ready to go. If I forget to get them out I can quickly thaw them in warm water or the microwave. Thought you might be able to use that with your next little one or some of you readers. ~Andrea"

Andrea also sent me two dessert recipes that I wanted to pass along:

Chocolate Date Balls
1/4 c. dates (or 4-5 dates)
1/4 c. slivered almonds
1/4 c. walnuts
1/4 c. pecans
2 TBL flax seed
2 TBL organic cocoa
maple syrup

Blend first 5 ingredients in blender or food processor, add enough maple syrup until it sticks together. Form balls, then roll in coconut and sucanat that has been ground in the coffee grinder.

Chocolate Cherry Tart (This second recipe is in video form -- so helpful to see it made!)

If any of you other dear readers have helpful tips that make being healthy easier for you, please share them! I would love to pass them along since we are all looking for effective ways to get this job done.