Category Archives: Family Dinner

Mar 8 2012

#bookreview: Okay, So I Got Fat by Gigi Verrey @okaysoigotfat

Book: Okay, So I Got Fat
Author: Gigi Verrey
ISBN: 978-09835778-0-5
Pages/Price: 152/$19.95
Category: Cooking/Methods/Quick & Easy

About Okay, So I Got Fat

Okay, So I Got Fat Cooking by Gig Verrey

An easy way to shop for and cook healthy meals so you no longer have to choose between a busy schedule and eating well. Tired of feeling fat, overwhelmed, and stressed? Have you lost the will and energy to go on yet another fad diet? If you answered yes – Okay, So I Got Fat is the easy long-term solution to bring sanity and healthy eating to you and your family.

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My Thoughts on Okay, So I Got Fat

I had a fun time reading this book. It’s a quick read, the first time around. I wanted to read it through first, to get an idea of what Gigi was suggesting, and then come back and review the instructions, the method, and Gigi’s suggestions more slowly.

I’m an overworked, overwhelmed single mom of 2 girls. Life can sometimes get in the way of healthy eating. And I like what Gigi has to say. First of all, her basic rules surrounding her food choices line up with mine. They include organic foods only (although I do patronize local farmers who use no chemicals, antibiotics, hormones, and free ranging, but cannot afford to get the organic designation), no artificial sugars or sweeteners, and no caffeine. She also advocates gluten and dairy-free which I don’t follow, although we do use raw milk in our household which I believe to have benefits you can’t find in pasteurized milk.

I have learned (well, received reinforcement) that breakfast is very important. I wasn’t getting breakfast before. Now I’ve incorporated a bowl of oatmeal into my breakfast and my girls are receiving their breakfast in different forms. I’m trying to find an easy way to prepare a hot breakfast in our rushed weekday mornings.

I like that this book is chock-full of helpful information. I like that it offers suggested menus and suggested grocery items. For me, I can’t afford to incorporate all of the ideas into our food rotation though. Bceause I spend so much money with local farmers, and because the food I buy (although we are growing a garden this year) is expensive to begin with, I’m unable to add all of the ideas, without increasing my grocery budget. It’s just not financially prepared to make all of the necessary changes – at this time. However, the ideas are awesome, the way Gigi breaks it down is so helpful, and the suggestions are doable. If you don’t have a budget like I do, or are able to substitute here and there, this is a great place to start to get your family back on track to eating healthier.

There are some great recipes on her website and the roasted kale looks amazing!

About the Author of Okay, So I Got Fat, Gigi Verrey

GIGI VERREY is a self-professed nutrition and weight-loss guru who successfully manages investment portfolios by day. Gigi’s lifelong passion for food has led her to try many diets, most of which were impossible to maintain or ridiculously expensive.

Friends and family have sought Gigi’s advice on many nutrition-related topics. Her wisdom, organization, and no BS approach to meal planning have helped frustrated people in her universe successfully lose weight and keep it off. Gigi lives in a suburb of Chicago with her husband, their three boys, and two Shih Tzus.

Disclosure Policy

Feb 24 2012

FIRST Wild Card Tour: Creative Slow-cooker Meals by Cheryl Moeller

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old…or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today’s Wild Card author is:
and the book:
Harvest House Publishers; Spi edition (February 1, 2012)
 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Cheryl Moeller is a seasoned mother and a standup comic. She is also a syndicated columnist with her own blog (www.momlaughs.blogspot.com) and contributes monthly to several online parent websites. Cheryl has coauthored two books on marriage with her husband and has written for www.mops.org and Marriage Partnership. Cheryl does comedy for parenting classes, MOPS groups, wedding or baby showers, church retreats, women’s conferences, and those in line at the grocery store.

Visit the author’s website.



SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

From the celebrated coauthor of The Marriage Miracle comes a new kind of cookbook and a new attitude toward planning meals. With an eye toward the whole menu, not just part of it, columnist Cheryl Moeller teaches cooks to use two crockpots to easily create healthy, homemade dinners.

Don’t worry about your dinner being reduced to a mushy stew. Each of the more than 200 recipes has been taste-tested at Cheryl’s table. Join the Moeller family as you dig into:

  • Harvest-time Halibut Chowder
  • Salmon and Gingered Carrots
  • Mediterranean Rice Pilaf
  • Indian Chicken Curry
  • Apricot-Pistachio Bread
  • Shrimp Creole
  • Rhubarb Crisp

… and many more! Perfect for the frazzled mom who never has enough time in the day, Creative Slow-Cooker Meals gives readers more time around the table with delicious, healthy, frugal, and easy meals!

 

Product Details:
List Price: $14.99
Spiral-bound: 272 pages
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers; Spi edition (February 1, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0736944915
ISBN-13: 978-0736944915

 

AND NOW…THE FIFTH CHAPTER (click on pages to enlarge):

Feb 18 2012

#giveaway – Be Inspired: Pork Sirloin Cutlets #Publix4Pork

Healthy Comfort Foods

Today was definitely a comfort foods day. And since I do my best to keep the bad foods away from my girls, I tried to make it healthy. So I made a pork schnitzel recipe I found online.

Comforting Pork Schnitzel

Ingredients

  • IMAG01371 1/2 lbs pork sirloin cutlets
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon Lawry’s seasoned salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 2 Tbsp milk
  • 3/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • 3/4 cup chicken stock
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup sour cream (full fat)

How to…

I rinsed the pork and cut into smaller chunks to make it easier for the girls to eat. I then laid out 3 shallow bowls: 1 with the flour, salt, and pepper mixture, 1 with the egg and milk mixture, and the last with the bread crumbs and paprika mixture. Then place 3 Tbsp. of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet (I used cast iron), on medium low heat. As that’s heating up take the pork pieces and dredge them individually in each of the 3 mixtures, before placing them in the hot skillet. Allow them to cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, and then place them on a plate when down. I put a paper towel on the plate to soak up the excess oil.

Once all the meat is cooked pour the chicken stock in the pan along with the dill, salt, and sour cream. Mix until it thickens. It took about 6 or 7 minutes for it to thicken in my pan. Then pour the dill over the cutlets and start eating.

Normally I’d add a veggie side dish but since my youngest has strep throat, I have a sinus infection, and my oldest is suffering from the sniffles, I just ate fruit with mine, while the girls had popsicles. This was a relatively quick meal, the clean up was surprisingly fast, and with the smaller cuts of meat, the girls ate them like nuggets.

recipe credit

Pork Special at Publix This Week

Pork sirloin cutlets are on sale at Publix this week from Thursday, Feb. 16, to Wednesday, Feb. 22.

Be Inspired on facebook

Pork recipes

The Giveaway – Ends 03/01/12

One lucky Arms of a Sister reader will win the following prize pack:

  • 8 $5 pork coupons
  • Water bottle
  • Reusable grocery bag
  • Meat thermometer
  • Pedometer
  • Recipe book

The winner will be chosen randomly through And the winner is (a plugin).

Entries

1. What’s your favorite pork dish? 1 comment, 1 entry.

2. Like Arms of a Sister on facebook. 1 comment, 1 entry.

3. Follow Arms of a Sister on twitter. 1 comment, 1 entry.

4. Like this post on facebook. Use the Like button at the top or bottom of the post. 1 comment, 1 entry.

My disclosure policy. Brought to you by Publix and The Motherhood.

Feb 13 2012

#review: The Original Baby Bullet

The Original Baby Bullet

About The Original Baby Bullet

 From the creators of the world’s most popular personal blender – The Original Magic Bullet ® – comes The Original Baby Bullet™! This safe, non-toxic and BPA-free countertop magician is the perfect gift for new moms, on-the-go moms and even Dads too!  With The Original Baby Bullet™, parents can prepare, blend and store an entire week’s worth of nutrient-rich, preservative-free, organic baby food – in less than five minutes!   If you are introducing new foods to your baby this holiday season try these simple recipes!  They are delicious, nutritious and sure to be a hit with even the most finicky eater.  Now creating delicious festive holiday inspired dishes for your little one will save you money and take no time at all!  Also, check out other great recipes and parenting tips at www.babybulletblog.com.

Apple Walnut Puree- A delicious treat

 ·         2 Apples, cored & peeled (Pink Lady, Fuji or Gala are all good choices)

 ·         1/4 Cup Walnuts, shelled & halved

 ·         1/8 Tsp Cinnamon

Place apples and walnuts in the Turbo Steamer. Cook until apples are fork tender. Place apples, walnuts, cinnamon and 3 tbsp of the water to The Baby Bullet   and puree until smooth. Cool and serve.

Yummy Sweet Potato Pie – Delicious and nutritious

  ·         2 ounces of sweet potato cubed

·         4 tbsp oat meal or rice cereal

·         2 tbsp water

·         Yogurt (optional)

Directions: Steam sweet potato in the Turbo Steamer. Combine oat meal or rice cereal and water in the Baby Bullet and Puree until you achieve your desired consistency. Mix in yogurt for babies over 8 months. Enjoy!

Buy It!

Purchase The Original Baby Bullet™ 22-piece system for $59.97 at Bed Bath and Beyond, Wal-Mart, Target, Walgreens, Babies R Us and other fine realtors. The Original Baby Bullet™ is a Capital Brands LLC product and can be purchased through their direct response advertisements or exclusively at www.mybabybullet.com.

Review of The Original Baby Bullet (OBB)

What a wonderful blender! The Original Baby Bullet is a device that any mom, new or seasoned will appreciate and would also make a wonderful baby shower gift.  Starting from the moment you open the box, you appreciate that fact that the makers of this blender kept the busy life of a parent in mind.  Every one of the 22 pieces is easy to recognize and distinguish from one another.  The user manual and cookbook is categorized and indexed very well, to allow the operator to quickly locate his/her section of choice.  The OBB is very easy to assemble, clean and use.  I personally do not mix my baby’s dishes with the others, so I found it very pleasing that rinsing the pieces after use with hot water made them a snap to clean with a bottle brush.

 My brief experience with the OBB has been a very pleasing and alluring one. I am just beginning to introduce my four month old to solids and cannot wait and look forward to continuing to use the OBB.  Our first attempt at solids was pureed banana.  Making the banana puree was effortless with the OBB, as the consistency was spot on from the directions provided in the user manual and cookbook.  The OBB is so user friendly that even my husband, who is hardly in the kitchen, enjoyed making the baby a puree.  The purchase of the OBB is an investment that will pay for itself in the first few uses, as the increase of food prices has not skipped over the baby isle.  There is no doubt that this blender can save a parent hundreds of dollars especially since it can be used well into the toddler months and perhaps even for a picky preschooler.

Guest Review by LaTisha – a SAHM of 2. 

My disclosure  policy.

Feb 11 2012

Be Inspired: Pork #Publix4Pork

Publix Pork Sale ‘Til Wednesday, February 15th

Bone-in pork loin roast is on sale for $3.39/lb. until Wednesday. Here’s what I did with my pork this week:

Pork Roast with Sweet Potatoes

I modified the recipe found here.

Ingredients

3 1/2 pound bone-in pork center loin roast, excess fat trimmed to thin layer*
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh garlic 
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 1/2 pounds (6 medium) sweet potatoes, peeled, and cut lengthwise into sixths

Cooking Directions (for my modified recipe)

IMAG0117Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Rub pork all over with oil. Mix garlic, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in small bowl. Rub all over pork.
Place pork, bone side down, in large flameproof roasting pan. Roast 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Roast 15 minutes more. Add sweet potatoes and pears to pan, stir gently to coat with pan juices, and spread as evenly as possible around roast. Season with salt and pepper. Roast, occasionally stirring sweet potato mixture, until instant-read food thermometer inserted in center of roast reads 145 degrees F and the potatoes are tender.

Note: It took about 1 1/2 hours in my oven, but I used a larger roast. It was really good. I did end up adding a little bit of garlic powder after it came out of the oven, for a little more seasoning.

Fast Pork Facts

  • Pork roasts are lean
  • Fresh pork is naturally low in sodium
  • Cook your pork to 145 degrees with 3 minutes of rest for juicy, tender, flavorful pork

Don’t’ forget to enter the Love Me Tenderloin sweepstakes on facebook thru the month of February.

Disclosure: My Disclosure Policy. Brought to you by Publix and The Motherhood.

Feb 4 2012

Be Inspired: Boneless Pork Loin Chops #Publix4Pork

The Recipe

I chose to make a recipe adapted from this one I found online for Honey Garlic Pork Chops. Instead of pork chops I used boneless pork loin chops.

IMAG0111I preheated the oven to 350 degrees while I mixed about 1/4 cup of honey with 3 tbsp. soy sauce and 6 cloves of garlic. Instead of dirtying up another pan, I simply put the mixture in the bottom of a cast iron skillet and stirred it up with a fork. After cleaning the boneless pork loin chops (I got the thin sliced loin chops), I put all the pieces in the pan and let them sit until the oven was ready. Before placing them in the oven I turned them over.

IMAG0114I cooked them for about 25 minutes, basting a few times. When there was about 5 minutes cooking time left, I made stuffing. I think this is the 2nd time in my life I’ve used a boxed stuffing mix but I was tired after having a 5 year old spend the night with the girls and then 6 and 8 year old neighbors join us for the rest of the day after the 5 year old went home.

The verdict from both girls was that they liked the stuffing better than the meat, but my 8 year old enjoyed the sweet flavor of the loin chops. Since I only dirtied up 2 pans, I was a happy mom tonight. And since it’s my birthday tomorrow, I’m content to let my neighbor fire up the grill to feed everyone tomorrow.

Publix Special

Publix Boneless Pork Loin Chops on sale this week February 2 – February 8. Although it’s Super Bowl Sunday (and my 40th birthday), you’ll still need to feed your family. And if you’re anything like I am on a Sunday evening, you’re tired. You want something quick, fast, and relatively healthy to server your family. Well, pork loin chops can be marinated or rubbed, and prepped, and cooked, all within about 30 minutes.

Details

For additional pork recipes go to: http://www.porkbeinspired.com

Enter to win free pork at: https://www.facebook.com/PorkBeInspired

What are your plans for Super Bowl Sunday?

Disclosure: This post is brought to you by Public and The Motherhood.