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I whipped this up yesterday on a whim to complement the steak dinner I was cooking for Father’s Day. I never expected everyone to like it so much, myself included! I’m really starting to appreciate the flavor that fresh herbs bring to dishes,… Read the rest of this post »»
I’ve mentioned this idea, or a variation of it, in my Kale, Turkey and Black Bean Taco Filling post but it’s so good I had write about it again. The idea is simple: Repurpose leftover taco meat (or any ground meat really) to make a warm,… Read the rest of this post »»
Leftover chicken thigh pieces Leftover broccoli Leftover brown rice What Came Home? Even the daycare workers commented on this lunch. They were shocked he cleaned his plate with all that good food. It’s funny. I can feed him the same … Read the rest of this post »»
One of my most popular recipes on GreenLiteBites is something I literally whipped up in minutes. I never expected it to be pinned almost half a million times. That’s INSANITY! The idea is a simple Chickpea and Tomato Salad that uses a quick … Read the rest of this post »»
Every once in a while I get a hankering to experiment with a muffin idea. Sure, I could just use one of the million tried-and-true muffin recipes out there, but where’s the fun in that? I’d much rather get creative and push the envelope… Read the rest of this post »»
Cubed French Toast Freeze-dried strawberries What Came Home? Those who have been reading for some time may remember “The Kid Who Won’t Eat Fruit” post. Little Bean has never been a fruit fan. Ever. He’s even given up banana!… Read the rest of this post »»
I am an official brand advocate for Bel Brands in 2013. While I receive compensation for participation as a brand advocate, opinions are my own. I know you guys are going to think I’m crazy. I think I’m crazy, but when I saw the leftover… Read the rest of this post »»
Like most of food habits, my breakfast choices have slowly morphed over the years. When I initially lost weight (70lbs 8 years ago) my go to was a bowl of all bran with skim milk. Then I switched to soy milk, then almond. I started adding berries … Read the rest of this post »»
I am an official brand advocate for Bel Brands in 2013. While I receive compensation for participation as a brand advocate, opinions are my own. The other night I was craving “something.” You know the feeling. You just want to eat… Read the rest of this post »»
I’m learning when you buy a 2 lb bag of kale, you have to figure out how to eat 2 lbs of kale! I’ve already put it in eggs, made chips, a cheeseseak and tonight I’m making a fried rice with it and some leftover pork. Yesterday, I took a chance and… Read the rest of this post »»
Whole wheat mini bagel with cream cheese 2 Hard-boiled eggs Fresh pineapple Red pepper strips Water Snack: granola bar What Came Home? I’ve been making lunch for the 7-year-old less and less. This seems to always happen toward the end… Read the rest of this post »»
I welcome you into my crazy kitchen for a midweek dinner where I attempt to get as much kale in us as possible. I share my thoughts, tips and ideas on how I use kale in a practical way for my family. My ultimate message: Don’t fear the kale! It… Read the rest of this post »»
1/2 avocado, cubed Canned green beans Lentil chips What Came Home? Packing the 2-year-old’s lunch is becoming more and more of a challenge, so I decided to go back to one of his first loves: Avocado. This kid will jam chunks of avocado in… Read the rest of this post »»
When my mom sees this recipe she may literally laugh out loud. As a child I declared my hate of both mushrooms and onions more times than I can count! My 7-year-old is the same as I was, making faces, sticking his tongue out and looking at them in disgust.… Read the rest of this post »»
Every time I hear people say it takes too much time or money to eat healthier/lighter I cringe. Sure it CAN be but there are plenty of ways to make small changes to your diet that can be done on a budget and made just as fast as waiting in a drive-thru… Read the rest of this post »»
Whole Wheat Mini Bagel with Cream Cheese Spread Yogurt Cup Fresh Mango Canned Green Beans Water Snack: Plum Kids Organic Crunch ‘Ola, Peanutty Pretzel What Came Home? Out of the blue The 7 Year-Old asked if I would buy him bagels. He said… Read the rest of this post »»
With a ripe pineapple aging on the counter and 2 kids who refuse to eat it, I had to come up with something fast. I’m always shocked how yummy a smoothie can be with minimal ingredients. There’s no need for protein powder or mixes. … Read the rest of this post »»
This will be my last maple syrup idea for a while, I promise! I just came home from Vermont so inspired with my big ol’ jug and it’s so darn good! This salad came out way better than I thought because honestly, there’s nothing… Read the rest of this post »»
Cheese stick Watermelon cubes Canned green beans Whole grain crackers What Came Home? OK, there are 2 things I want to mention in this lunch post. First, I was getting a little suspicious of all the 2-year-old’s lunches coming home empty.… Read the rest of this post »»
I was planning on posting a salad I made for lunch yesterday, but last night’s dinner was such an adventure it totally trumped it. I’m a little obsessed with maple syrup at the moment, so I decided to make a simple sweet pork chop for dinner… Read the rest of this post »»
OK, hear me out — I know it’s not pumpkin season, but I just got back from a FABULOUS 5-day vacation in Vermont with The Husband. It was our 12th anniversary trip and we went completely kid-less. Can you say heaven? ‘Cause it was! I love… Read the rest of this post »»
Snapea Crisps Cashews and Dried Blueberries Cheese Stick What Came Home? Sometimes coming up with lunch The 2 Year seems impossible. I whipped this together in a pinch using what I could find in the pantry. He seemed to like it. I wish I included… Read the rest of this post »»
I know they aren’t in season yet locally, but the strawberries in my grocery store smelled amazing! I couldn’t pass them up and I don’t regret it one bit. It’s like a little prequel to summer. I can’t wait! I decided to make tuna salad… Read the rest of this post »»
I’m in desperate need of a good grocery shopping. The past two weekends I’ve been out of town and it’s thrown my whole schedule out of whack. I have no fresh vegetables in the house, the few fruits in my basket are quickly approaching… Read the rest of this post »»
Leftover Chicken Tender with Honey Mustard dipping sauce Granola Cherry Yogurt Carrots Clementine Water What Came Home? I’ve been trying to send the 7 year old to school with bigger lunches and more options because, well, he eats like… Read the rest of this post »»
My first post since the new design! The past few days have been stressful to say the least. I never thought my site would get so big! Currently, GreenLiteBites has over 950 posts, 22,000 comments, and some recipes like the Banana Oatmeal Cups… Read the rest of this post »»
No, really. Who knew? I've never, ever eaten a rutabaga. I honestly had no idea what they were and really, their large, ugly, bulbous appearance didn't entice me in the least. I mean, look at it. It's not very appetizing! Note: That's a half. I totally forgot to snap it before I started cutting. According [...]
I've made this salad twice since creating and photographing it. I wanted to share it so badly I'm so mad it's taken me this long to get it up on the site! It's so tasty in that I-cant-believe-these-few-ingredients-go-so-good-together type of way. I bought a head of purple cabbage, not knowing what I'd do with [...]
I've been wanting to post this idea for WEEKS! It's been so long I almost forgot about it which is not like me. Normally I'm a cook-and-post kind of blogger. I like to post while everything's still fresh in my brain because honestly, I'm getting forgetful in my old age. That [...]
Whole-grain Ritz/Triscuits with The Laughing Cow and Turkey Pepperoni Red bell pepper slices Apple, cut Cashews Water Snack: Pretzels and dried apricots (not pictured) What Came Home? Let me explain the uneaten apple because it is yet another example of why kids ARE SO FRUSTRATINGLY ANNOYING! Phew ... that felt good to get off my chest. I [...]
I’m so sorry. I feel like I've been neglecting GreenLiteBites. I've been cooking and eating, I swear! I've even snapped a few shots of ideas that simply haven’t made it to the site yet. My absence is partially do The 7-Year-Old’s Spring Break, which I've been blogging about on my travel blog. We've been doing something [...]
It's Easter Eve! Or "Preaster" as we call it. I have a houseful of family and a fridgeful of food. Life is good. :) Today I made my traditional Easter dinner of pork loin, asparagus, and baked potatoes... I'm [...]
I’ve been a bad pantry stocker this past week. I just didn't have it in me to hit the grocery store on the weekend resulting in no milk, no eggs, and no bread. Even my stash of fresh fruits and vegetables was reduced to a browning banana, a few aging leaves of spinach in [...]
A few days ago I made The 6-Ingredient, Family-Approved, Pork Loin Dinner purposefully with 2 pork loins so I would have leftovers. Having extra cooked protein makes a second meal that much easier. You can just serve it as is with different sides or transform it into sandwiches, tacos, quesadillas, even to top a salad. [...]
I’ve been wanting to record this video for weeks and it just never seemed like the right time. Finally I just bit the bullet and did it. Little Bean was AWESOME! The perfect helper and taste tester! This complete recipe is already online, Click here to see it and photos of Banana Almond Oat Pancakes Thanks [...]
Whole Grain Ritz, cream cheese and Ham Red bell pepper slices Cubed cantaloupe Oreo yogurt water Snack: Blueberry cereal bar What Came Home? Since he left a cracker, I was able to see how mushy the Ritz get in the lunch box. I asked him if they are like that at lunch and he said, "Kind of, [...]
I thought it would be fun to invite you into my kitchen for dinner tonight. With 6 ingredients and 45 minutes I made a total family pleaser. Well, overall -- the 2-year-old still hasn't realized the awesomeness that are Brussels sprouts. Anyway, I know I'm going to get some flack on [...]
I’ve been really trying to get in the habit of cooking extra specifically for the leftover potential. It makes 1-2 dinners that much easier throughout the week. So when cauliflower was on sale I picked up 2 heads and roasted them both a few days ago. Last night I used the leftovers to make a [...]
I didn’t post much about my trip to Italy here on GreenLiteBites -- most posts were reserved for TheUnworldlyTravelers and JustRoni. Here I like to archive my home kitchen adventures. Surprisingly, I didn’t immediately come back inspired to re-create many of the amazing meals I ate there. I think they needed to stew in me [...]
Shelled Edamame, cubed cheese and cubed ham Canned Carrot slices What Came Home? I say "For NOW" because --MAN-- have I forgotten how fickle 2 year olds can be. One day he LOVES broccoli, they next day he won't touch it with a 10 foot pole. He used to devour Brussels sprouts, now he turns his nose up. [...]
I don’t know what's up with The Husband lately. He’s either finally maturing in the food department or I’ve just simply worn him down after years of making things outside his dietary comfort zone. This is another recent meal I served that he raved about. Note: The Husband’s food “rave” pretty much means an unsolicited “This is [...]
Leftover Chicken Low Mein Leftover Edamame Yogurt Cup Mandarin Orange Water Snack: Granola Bar (not pictured) What Came Home? I put the leftovers in his lunch in a moment of desperation and honestly I didn't think he would eat them. The edamame? Yes. The noodles and chicken? No. Anytime I've tried in the past, they've always come home untouched. Just goes to show, [...]
Aack! I’m still behind on posting but I have to put off the 2 ideas I have waiting in the wings to share a crockpot meal I made for dinner this weekend. It came out A-MAZING! Even --are you ready for this??-- The Husband agreed! He, the man who doesn’t like chilies or stews or one-pot [...]
OMG, I’m on a roll in the kitchen lately! So much so I have 3 ideas photographed and waiting in the wings to be posted but I’m putting them on hold to share what I just made myself for an early lunch. I’m also announcing a new category of ideas I’ll be sharing specifically for [...]
Whole Grain Ritz, Laughing Cow Swiss, and turkey pepperoni "sandwiches" Red Bell Pepper slices Galia Melon cubes Hard Boiled Egg Chocolate cupcake water Snack: Chocolate Granola Bar What Came Home? Everything in this lunch was hand selected by the 7 year old. You should have seen him, he was so excited picking everything out. He's not at the [...]
This is such a cool, fun, easy trick to add loads of lemon flavor to any dish. The idea is simple: wash and freeze a whole lemon and then simply grate onto your favorite foods! Check out how I use it on top of yogurt for a quick snack in the video. How cool is [...]
I have grown to love all that is butternut. It’s true. I can honestly eat it any old way. When I started pureeing it for baby, I think I liked it more than he did! Unfortunately, the family doesn’t agree with me. The only way I can kind of get them on board the butternut bandwagon [...]
Over the years, I have really simplified my dinner sides. There’s always a vegetable, of course. Our go-to’s seem to be broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, sugar snap peas, or peas, just roasted or warmed in the microwave with a little salt. All 3 boys pretty much eat any of those without complaint. The toddler [...]
Canned Carrots 3 Banana Almond Oat Pancakes cut up Colby Jack Cheese Cubes What Came Home? To you or I, pancakes, carrots and cheese may be an odd combination. To a toddler? It's a yummy lunch. According to daycare, he devoured this. Yet another simple-is-the-way-to-go lesson learned.
2 Hard Boiled Eggs Raw Sugar Snap Peas 2 Mandarin Oranges 3 Old Fashioned Grahams from Trader Joe's Water Snack: Strawberry Cereal Bar What Came Home? I know I've been sharing a lot of egg based lunch idea but I couldn't resist this one. He ate both yolks! I did cook them a little [...]
