I always get melancholy at the end of summer and the beginning of a new school year. I remember when my kiddo was 5 and starting kindergarten and how exciting it all was to have a little bit of time to myself finally! And I blinked, and now she’s 10 and going into fifth grade. And I realize how fleeting the years are. Someone once said to me about raising kids: “The days are long, but the years are short”. I think that’s the most accurate depiction of the passage of time I’ve heard.
So excited for kindergarten!
The summer for me is a welcome break from the grind. It’s full of lazy mornings and late nights and sitting on the couch watching High School Musical 3 snuggled with my girl. It’s for pool days and zoo days and trips to the farmer’s market. It’s for road trips to see cousins and playing driveway basketball.
A long hug to say goodbye to a friend.An old-fashioned diving board can’t be beat.Cousin time is the best in summer.Long days at the zoo.
The school year holds a lot of promise, too. I will certainly get more done around the house. The laundry maybe won’t pile up as high, and the tumbleweeds of dog fur that blow across my wood floors might get swept up in a more timely fashion. I’ll be able to focus more on my cooking endeavors. And my regular trips to the gym after school drop off will resume. I plan to read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo. I am excited to tackle the closets and drawers.
But it also means tight schedules and rigid waking times. Carpool and school activities. And homework. Lord, the homework. And so many forms to be filled out.
But most of all, the start of another school year means another year has passed without my permission, and in another blink I’ll be helping her with college applications. Slow down, time. Just slow down for a bit.
Peanut butter, bananas and granola wrapped in a whole grain tortilla
Now that it’s back-to-school time, I have received several requests from friends for easy after school snack ideas. I’ll admit, sometimes we just go with a Kind bar or a Lara bar (both options have less sugar and minimally processed ingredients). But many times it’s apples and peanut butter, guacamole and whole grain tortilla chips, a whole wheat pita with some olive oil, a piece of fruit, or some fresh veggies. Sometimes I get creative and try new things. The after school snack is a great time to try new ideas with your kids, because they tend to be ravenous when they come home from school and more willing to try new foods!
One of my daughter’s favorite easy but delicious snacks is a whole grain tortilla filled with banana and peanut butter. You could also add granola in there for added “heft”, especially when using this as a breakfast or lunch idea. These wraps travel really well, so put them in your kids’ lunch boxes, and bring them along for when you need a quick dinner between activities. There’s great protein and healthy fats in the peanut butter. The banana is full of potassium and fiber (you could also use apples in here). The granola has a nice crunch, especially if it’s homemade and/or one that isn’t crammed with sugar (I really love the Purely Elizabeth brand).
Keep an eye here for more healthy snack ideas. If you have any recipes for snacks your kids like, please comment and share below!
As you might already know, I’ve committed to cooking my way through Gwyneth Paltrow’s newest cookbook It’s All Good: Delicious, Easy Recipes That Will Make You Look Good and Feel Great.This, by the way, is a huge statement. These recipes will make me LOOK GOOD? AND FEEL GREAT!? I feel like I should take before and after photos or something.
We last made Vegetable Potstickers that were a huge hit. We ate those up very quickly. To summarize the experience: they weren’t super difficult to make (although they weren’t easy either) but were very messy. I was looking forward to making the Japanese Meatballs because they looked much easier and less messy to make. Plus we like meatballs.
With some help from my blog readers, I decided that I am allowed to make substitutions to recipes as I see fit. My good friend Becky pointed out that I was actually doing my readers a service by suggesting substitutions and tweaks that other busy people might also appreciate. Take, for instance, the Chinese Five Spice Powder called for in the dipping sauce. I really dislike the taste of this particular spice blend. My sister in law told me that she hadn’t ever heard of it and could I please recommend something different. I’m thinking that a lot of other people probably don’t have it on hand. So, I made the Hoisin Sauce without the spice powder thinking that I could taste it and add something back if I thought it needed it. Turns out the Hoisin Sauce tasted phenomenal without it. So, there you go. Another substitution came in the form of using turkey rather than chicken, because the grocer was out of ground chicken.
Here’s the recipe, adapted:
MEATBALLS
1 lb ground turkey or chicken (or beef or lamb or any combo you prefer)
1/2 teaspoon salt (I like sea salt)
1/2 teaspoon pepper (Gwyn would say freshly ground, I say use whatever)
1 garlic clove or more if you love garlic, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon ginger powder or 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1 tablespoon soy sauce (low sodium if possible)
2 teaspoons real maple syrup
Look at these beautiful spices and ingredients.
METHOD:
Mix all ingredients in a bowl with your hands and form into small balls. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes but keep an eye on them.
Hoisin Sauce (recipe below)
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup miso paste
1/4 cup real maple syrup
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
METHOD:
Heat oil in small saucepan over medium heat, add garlic and cook about 30 seconds. Add the rest of the ingredients and whisk to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook, whisking constantly for a couple of minutes. Let cool and serve.
A couple of notes about the meatballs: there are no bread crumbs in there. Gwyneth is gluten-free (of course she is. I mean, obviously) So when you are shaping them they have a very soft, sticky, almost doughy consistency. See?
Uncooked meatballs
Not to worry, they bake up very nicely. The recipe states you can bake, pan fry, grill or however-you-want these meatballs but gave no directions for any cooking, so I looked it up and decided I’d bake mine at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Check every few minutes to make sure they aren’t being overcooked.
The result was that my family really enjoyed them, the sauce was my favorite part (visually, it isn’t beautiful — My daughter and I thought it looked like apple sauce, and my husband assumed it was a peanut sauce). I would definitely make these again and double or triple the recipe for freezing.
My 10 year old is having a bit of a moment. It happens every so often. My normally fruit-and-veggie gobbling machine doesn’t want them. But, she will eat cherry tomatoes off the vine. And maybe a clementine and some slices of cuke. But those grapes she asked me to buy? And the blueberries and raspberries that normally wouldn’t last more than a day or two? Languishing in the fridge. The peas for dinner? Cast aside after a couple of bites. She’s all about the carbs and protein right now. She’s in horse camp from 8am to 5pm all week and honestly I think she is just wanting some heartier fare.
I’ve never believed in cajoling, imploring “just two more bites” or setting an amount she must eat to have dessert. That’s just not how we’ve decided to do it. Every family has different rules. But you know, there are some days when even I really don’t want whatever I’ve cooked, or I have an aversion to veggies or whatever. So I get it. And I know that in a couple of days she’ll be back to eating her weight in apple slices. In the meantime I’ll make sure the other food I offer has decent nutritional value. And if the grape tomatoes could ripen on the vine a little quicker that would be good too.
Cultivate Wellness 