Dinner Time

I absolutely LOVE dinner time. I insist on having a sit down dinner every night and can't wait for my daughter to join us once she starts eating more solid foods that aren't pureed! We plan our menu every week so that we know what meals we are making and are sure to have the ingredients on hand. It makes it so much easier after a long day to prepare a meal when you know what you are making and aren't playing the "what do you want?" game.

Dinner isn't fancy at all, but we make meals we enjoy. Anything from pierogis (my husband's favorite) to tacos or even chicken cordon bleu. Although, I do have to admit that sometimes a good grilled cheese and tomato soup hits the spot! 

After cooking our dinner, often times together, we sit on our stools and eat while talking about our days. Sometimes even silence is nice just because we are together. We talk about the meal, our days and our family amongst other things. It's the calm before the storm since after dinner is when we often are doing chores around the house and rushing around. Dinner time though- that's sacred.

What are your favorite times of the day? What are your dinner time traditions?

Speaking of Healthy- Is this for real?

Now that I'm on this health kick I have been dying for some yummy treats. I pretty much became addicted to dessert during my pregnancy and over 7 months later have not been able to kick the habit. So, while shopping for whole wheat pizza dough for an oh so too healthy dinner, I spied this box of Trader Joe's Reduced Guilt Brownie Mix.

I did a double take. . . could it be? I snagged a box and promptly went home to calculate the points per brownie. Those of you who are also counting points will be glad to know that 1 brownie is 2 points. By definition, 1 brownie is 1 of 12. So, after dinner, I made the brownies, drooled while they cooled and cut 12 brownies. I'm proud to say I only had 1 (that night). While they are definitely not the best brownies I've ever had, they are definitely better than their 2 point calculation. Sweet, chewy and full of chocolate goodness. Please head on over, well run on over, to your local Trader Joe's and get some of these brownies. Even if you aren't on a health kick, you won't be sorry! You're welcome!

Healthy Eating. . .

Is Healthy Eating an oxymoron or is it possible? I've ALWAYS been a huge snacker, but thought I was eating balanced snacks with mostly balanced meals. But, I'm realizing that it's the little things that add up. After having a baby in November, I have a little extra weight to lose and recently joined a weight loss diet program. Some of you may be familiar with this program- daily points are given and all food items are given points. I'm realizing how frustrating this can be and how even something as healthy as an apple can change your daily point value just by 1 point. Because I am fairly small and only have a few pounds to lose I don't receive many points per day so something as small as an apple truly can change my ability to have something such as an extra meatball for dinner. And, when given the choice, of course I'd rather have a meatball than an apple, wouldn't you? Then again, maybe that's why I am in this predicament- too many meatballs!

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