Take time to watch this video. Jamie has a lot of great idea’s and is very passionate aout helping people eat healthier and battle obesity.

OK, I have a rule that I try to follow (we all cheat now and again) that you can’t have junk food unless you make it yourself. My reasoning for this is that it might be less than healthy but at least I know what every ingredient in it is.

A also love convenient foods (who doesn’t) but I am a food snob and won’t compromise on taste. There are those Sunday mornings when I just want that extra 15 minutes of sleep. These are the mornings I love instant oatmeal. My 10 year old can heat up water in the microwave and make his and his siblings breakfast. (What can I say I am a lazy mom)

Plus oatmeal is cheap even the organic stuff. And if you lucky you might even be able to get local oats. So here’s how it works. You need 3 cups of instant oats (I always make a double batch). Take one cup and grind it up in a food processor or blender until it is powder. I then add 1 cup brown sugar, 1 TBSP salt and 1/4 cup cinnamon. Blend this together in with the grown oats in the blender. Now there are two options:

First you can package this into individual bags with 1/4 cup instant oats and 2 TBSP of the powdered mixture.  To make just add to 1/2 cup hot water and let stand for a minute.

Second, You can put the powdered mixture in a container and the instant oats in another and tape instructions to the top.

I normally use the second method mostly because I don’t want to pay for the baggies or do the extra work. But I do occasionally package it up for things like camping. You decide what works best for your family.

There are also all sorts of variations. Try adding nuts, dried fruits or other seasonings.  Have fun and enjoy your Sunday morning.

My son was having a fruit snack before bed and found this bazaar banana. It seems like there were two (twin) bananas in one peal. It tasted fine. David said “It must have come from Mansanto.” Of course I replied “It was organic, fair trade from the coop.”

Regardless, I found it disturbingly strange and freaky. B just found it yummy and very filling.

I am trying to introduce my kids to a larger variety of foods, especially vegetables. So tonight it was Japanese.  Not exactly local, I know.

We had terryaki baked tofu or chicken, short white sticky rice and Forbidden Rice, salad (mixed greens, cilantro, shredded carrot, sesame seeds, sesame oil and lime juice), edamame and jasmine tea.

My kids loved it. C said the salad was a little too tangy and B said the rice was too filling. Of course this is a first for B. He usually asks me for food about 30 minutes after dinner because he’s hungry again.

David made apple compote for desert.

We loved using the little Japanese dishes. We bought these a few years ago on clearance at Target. The black and white rice looked particularly pretty. I think the kids really loved the little dishes and cups.

It’s amazing what a little presentation can do to peak their interest.

I love Macarons! Not the coconut concoctions but the french petite ones. I have been trying to master them for a while and I have finally succeeded! Check out this little cutie.