Hello blog world! I can't believe how long our break turned out to be. I got married in November to Sheena's brother and have been working hard to create our new home together. Sheena also mentioned in her last post that she is expecting. There are so many exciting things happening in our family!

I have been thinking about doing a favorite (healthy) food list for the last week because as a person with a degree in Community Health Education, I am often asked what I like to eat. This is a list of different foods in my kitchen that I end up buying very often. Click on each food item to learn more. Also, if you click on the links you can find coupons! I know Sheena probably just loved me saying coupons! : )

5. Cuties - A great way to add some fruit! They have a VERY sweet taste that will satisfy any sweet tooth out there. Plus, two small cuties has 4 grams of fiber! What dessert can do that?!

4. Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters - Nut Lovers - This granola snack is great because it is an easy way to get some nuts into your diet. It has a sweet honey flavor that is very addicting. Make sure you only eat the recommended serving on this one as there is some sugar. Sheena gave me this as a sample and now I am hooked!

3. Alexia Spicy Sweet Potato Fries - I LOVE these! Alexia's entire brand of products is all natural and has zero trans fats. Sweet Potatoes have more vitamin A, vitamin C, and calcium. Also you should always try to eat the rainbow in a day for your health so this gives you your orange! These fries are so good that I would eat these every day if I could. Try them soon!

2. Nature's Path Organic Flax Plus Red Berry Crunch - This cereal was an unexpected find for me and now I can't get myself to buy anything else! It has flax seeds and is a great source of Omega 3's and you wouldn't even know it! It is a bran cereal with clusters and dried strawberries and raspberries. Also, the fact that it has 6 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber is great! Mmmm!

1. Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream - I know, you are shocked that this is on my HEALTHY food list! Ben & Jerry's is a great because not only is the ice cream some of the best tasting EVER, but it has some of the most simple ingredients you can find. There is a lot to be said about eating "clean" and only products with ingredients in which you can read and actually understand. Although you still want to eat a small amount since it is a dessert, have confidence knowing that is it real food and not made up of strange chemicals. And an added bonus to it all is that they have awesome activism and give to charitable organizations and are also into protecting the environment!

Is there anything that you absolutely love and want to share? We would love to hear about it! Leave us a comment and let us know! Thanks for reading!

I had a large bag of potatoes in my garage that was begging to be used. Since I didn't have potatoes on the menu plan every day this week I decided I needed to do something else with them.

I recently checked out the cookbook Don't Panic Dinner's in the Freezer from our library and was looking through it while laying in bed. I found two potato side dishes that sounded yummy so when I got home from my job I got to work in the kitchen.

I peeled half the potatoes to make Marvelous Mashed Potatoes and put the other half in the oven for Twice Baked Potatoes. Now I haven't reheated these to see what they taste like after being frozen but I did sample before putting them into the freezer and they were good! At the end of my cooking session I was happy that my potatoes didn't go to waste and I now had several meals worth of side dishes in my freezer.


Twice Baked Potatoes from Don't Panic Dinner's in the Freezer



6 Potatoes
Butter, for greasing
Salt
8 Ounces Cream Cheese
1/2 Cup Hot Milk
1 Tablespoon Onion Salt
2 Tablespoons Butter
1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
Paprika

Clean potatoes and dry. Grease potatoes with butter and salt the skins. Bake potatoes at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Remove from oven and cool until you are able to handle them. Cut potato in half lengthwise and scoop cooked potato out into mixing bowl, being careful to keep the skins whole. Mash potatoes with cream cheese, hot milk, onion salt, butter and pepper. Pile potato mixture back into skins. Sprinkle with paprika. Wrap potatoes individually in plastic wrap and freeze.

Serving Day
Thaw potatoes completely. Place in 350 degree oven and bake for 20 minutes or until heated through.

Marvelous Mashed Potatoes from Don't Panic Dinner's in the Freezer



4 Pounds Potatoes
1 Tablespoon Salt
1 1/2 Cups Milk
1/2 Cup Butter
Salt and Pepper

Peel potato and cut into quarters. Place potatoes in a large stockpot. Add enough water to cover potatoes plus 1 inch more. Stir in salt. Bring potatoes to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are fork-tender, about 25-30 minutes.

Drain potatoes immediately and return to pan; cover to keep warm. Heat milk in saucepan until boiling. Mash potatoes with a potato masher or an electric mixer on low speed. Add butter, salt, pepper and enough hot milk to make potatoes smooth and creamy. Cool completely. Freeze in Ziploc bag.

Serving Day

Thaw potatoes completely. Place potato in an oven-proof dish and reheat at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until heated through. Cover if necessary. Stir halfway through cooking time. Add just enough milk and or butter to bring potatoes back to a smooth, creamy consistency.

I talked about this recipe last week and made them again this week because they were so good. My last post didn't have a picture so here it is this time around. This one is a keeper!

For my side dish tonight I decided that I needed to use the sweet potato that I had bought earlier in the week. Instead of doing the standard roasting of it, I wanted a little more excitement. I did a simple google search of "roasted sweet potatoes" and found this great recipe. It called for 40 minutes but after checking them at 20, mine were just fine. This is a great alternative to the traditional sugary sweet potato that we all love. Sorry, I don't have a picture on this one. They were gone too fast!

I love potato latkes. In August we went out to dinner and had some. Since then I have been wanting to make them at home so when I was digging through my recipes recently and came across this recipe it went in the "to be made" pile.

Tonight was the night for these along with some yummy grilled steak my husband cooked. These are not as good as restaurant style but I am sure they are much much healthier. They are baked instead of fried but still come out with a nice and crispy crust to them. The recipe came from Good Housekeeping December 2008.

Healthy Makeover Latkes
2 Large egg whites
3 Tablespoons snipped fresh chives
2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Salt
Pepper
2 1/2 Pounds baking potatoes, peeled
Applesauce


Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray very large cookie sheet or 2 smaller ones with nonstick cooking spray. I used a Demarle pan I got from my mother in law which I LOVE! If you do not have one of these you should definitely look into getting one.

In large bowl, with fork, mix egg whites, chives, flour, lemon juice, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. In food processor with shredding disk attached or on coarse side of box greater, shred potatoes. Place potatoes in colander in sink; squeeze out liquid. Stir potatoes into egg mixture.

Drop potato mixture by generous 1/3 cups, about 2 inches apart, onto prepared cookie sheet to make 12 mounds (mine only made 6 so I guess I was VERY generous with my 1/3 cup). Press each mound slightly to flatten into a 3-inch round.

Bake latkes 15 minutes. With wide metal spatula, turn latkes over and bake 15 minutes longer or until browned and crisp on both sides. Serve with applesauce.