Nutritionist update

I am slowing down my appointments to once a month and trying to balance all my new information with some normal home cooked meals.  Each time I make something I try and change it a little bit using something new I have learned.  Yesterday we had pancakes.  Same old recipe from my dad, but whole wheat flour, substitute agave nectar for white sugar (threw my white sugar out) and added 1/2 cup pureed beets, plus a handful of dark chocolate chips (70% cocoa, so a healthier choice).  Deanna had told me about adding the beets a long time ago, but I hadn't considered it because my kids actually eat veggies really well.  It wasn't until I started trying to add even more vegetables into our diet that this came to fruition.  Tonight I made a spin on cabbage role casserole, substituting quinoa for rice, adding black beans and 1/2 a pureed avocado.  Only thing I would change is draining the liquid from the canned tomatoes as the quinoa does not absorb as much liquid as rice.  Anyhow, my main focus is to be sure we are eating more vegetables, so always making sure we have a veggie in addition to the casserole that in this case already had cabbage, avocado, black beans, etc. 

We've been trying to always have a healthy treat option on hand, currently pumpkin muffins or breakfast cookies, something that is made with natural ingredients, but feels like a treat when you need dessert or a fun snack. 

We've also been experimenting with Kefir and have tried it in potato salad, smoothies and used the kefir cheese as a replacement for mayo in sandwiches.  We are getting used to it and it is supposed to be a great probiotic, better than plain yogurt!

Anyhow, that is the brief update!  Chat more soon!