Live it!

#4 gone

Keaton lost another tooth last week. He looks so cute with those 2 top ones missing. His teeth are so tight together - I worry about how crooked they will all be from fighting for space in his mouth. I see braces in his future :)

For now though, it's his toothless grin that sparkles and shines.

Healthy lunch foods

I'm trying to make healthy snacks for around the house and especially to send on the kids lunches. Enough of the chocolate covered granola bars and fruit chews. I've been very successful in changing many recipes and adding in vegetables and fruits. The book "Deceptively Delicious" by Jessica Seinfeld is a great book and my family has gobbled up 2 of the recipes so far: Banana loaf and Burgers (with finely chopped mushrooms and  pureed squash hidden inside).

I thought I'd share this recipe that I made today. It is a family favourite and I changed a few things to try and make it even healthier. It isn't a 'diet' loaf... it is just a healthy snack alternative with loads of veggies in it for my non-veggie loving kids.

Pumpkin Bread

4 eggs

1 1/2 c white sugar

1 c brown sugar

3/4 c canola oil

1 large 16 oz (2c) can of pumpkin - pureed

2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/4 c all purpose flour

2 c whole wheat flour (not the ww flour for bread makers)

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 c water

• Beat eggs. Add sugars, oil, pumpkin, cinnamon, vanilla. Mix together. Add flour, soda and salt. Pour in water and mix with electric mixer until well combined.

• Divide batter into 2 greased loaf pans. I use metal pans. Since it makes 2 loaves, I make one nut free for school snacks and then for the second loaf I sprinkle chopped pecans and brown sugar on top of the loaf before putting it in the oven.

• Bake 1 hr on 350 or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted in center of loaf. Cool for 10minutes on wire rack. Then remove from pans.

Zip...

Keaton had a great time yesterday at a friends birthday party. It was held at the local Karate club but they have a huge jumpy castle, a rock climbing wall and this zip-line that Keaton tried out. My friend Diana was there and took photos of my little man on his way down. It looks like a lot of fun, doesn't it!

 

Please send positive vibes our way

We got word this morning from our adoption agency that our family is FINALLY moved to the #1 family on the list for our little girl from Vietnam. The next family to recieve good news on a little girl referral will be US!!! I can't believe after 2 years we are finally in the position to be hopeful and we are very excited.

Please send positive thoughts and prayers this way, that our wait will not be much longer til' we see our daughter's face and hear her story. I am expecting it could be a couple more months but of course hope it is much sooner. It has been so hard and I have learned so much from this journey... patience being one of them. I am sure each and everytime the phone rings from now on... I will be jumping out of my skin with hope that it is 'the call'. Scatterbrained will be my middle name.

So... finally this is just around the corner. It has been a long road. Stay tuned!

The very best Banana Pancakes!

...that is what my kids declared as they ate seconds of a new recipe I made today.

It is actually my Aunt Judy's pancake recipe and I just added bananas. This made them healthier and even tastier - they were so moist. My husband that normally balks at the thought of pancakes gobbled up 2 1/2 helpings. Wow!

Wet Ingredients (combine together in large bowl):

1c milk

1 Tbsp vinegar

2 mashed or pureed ripe bananas

2 eggs

3 Tbsp white sugar

2 Tbsp canola oil

1 tsp vanilla

Dry ingredients (add these in and mix)

1 1/2 c flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

Serve with sliced bananas and strawberries on top. Add maple syrup to finish!

Celebrating Shaune

Wow, Shaune turned 35 yesterday. We had a low-key celebration at home... we ordered Papa J*hn's Pizza and I made homemade brownies for hot-fudge  brownies. This was the first time I made brownies from scratch... and man, were they delicious - even though i added a whole extra cup of sugar (wasn't paying attention to the recipe) and had to almost double the recipe to make up for it.

Shaune, you are a wonderful man and husband and of course, dad! The kids and I love you so much and appreciate all you do for our family. Happy 35th to you, you aren't as young as you once were - but you are every bit as wonderful ... and you'll always be younger than me ;)

Score!

I'm not sure who is more proud of K today... us the parent or him the hockey boy. Keaton got his first goal of the season last night - we knew he had it in him and he so pleased with himself! We played against Belleville and lost 5-1 but Keaton was more focused on the 1 goal from him than the 5 from Belleville... way to focus on the positive little man! It was a good game and the kids all tried their best.

There has only been about 5 or 6 goals from our team this season so each and every goal is a big deal when they get it. The whole team celebrated with Keaton yesterday! :)

I treated Keaton to chinese food take-out on the way home and he is still smiling about his goal today.

Healthy eating for kids?

I really struggle to get our kids to eat vegetables. They love fruit and they do eat quite healthy in general. I don't with hold any foods (including chocolate and sugar) but it is all in moderation and they may get one sugary snack a day (unless Chloe get's ahold of our treat container). They love yogurt and lately they are on a smoothie craze. Each morning before school I make them a smoothie that consists of french vanilla yogurt with lots of fruits like banana, strawberries, blueberries, peaches, melon, etc. It is usually a combination of fresh fruits and frozen fruits too. I am really pleased that they are eating these since it has always been a struggle to get them to eat anything in the morning... and lunch time at school isn't until almost 1pm. Is there anything I could be sneaking into their smoothies to up the nutrients even more? Something they wouldn't notice?

Are there foods you doctor up and your kids will eat? Vegetables or casseroles that have vegetables in them. The kids shocked me last night when they ate my homemade chili (with beans, onions and some green pepper in it) - it is rare that any foods with vegetables make it into their mouths.

I don't make resolutions but as 2009 comes I am really going to try to get all of the Lightfoot's eating the best they can. For Shaune and I it will come down to willpower (or lack there of) but for the kids I somewhat control what goes into their bodies and I should take advantage of that and try and sneak the bestest food possible to help them grow.

My kids are very petite but Keaton is much more so than Chloe. He is quite short for his age and he is starting to get teased about it at school. He is many inches shorter than the average 8 yr old and he weighs 45 lbs (I think he has packed on 5 lbs of muscle since starting rep hockey in September!)  I do not think his tiny frame is from a lack of nutrients ...he just is going to be shorter like his mom and his Grandpa Emerson. He is extremely fit with a huge amount of muscle and not an ounce of fat on him. Still, I feel like some more vegetables and nutritious food in his bod can't hurt. He desperately wants to grow taller and I'm going to try and do what I can to make sure he is as healthy as possible. 

It is hard to explain to a boy that just wants to be big like his friends that he might not have the gene's for it. He is being called midget at school and it is giving him anxiety and sadness that I wish I could erase. Dang, why does school have to be so rough on kids? It's universal I know. Happens everywhere and to almost every kid in some way. Still, when it is your own kid - it stings. You just want them to be happy with themselves...and confident.

So, with all that said, I'm looking for ideas and recipe's on what you feed your kids that is not only tasty...but good for them. We do give the kids a multi vitamin every day too.

Please post them here or email me. I'm looking for ideas.

Easy meal

Our afternoon was spent in Napanee - Keaton's team played their last regular season game and soon play-offs will be underway. I wanted to come home to supper already cooked so I pulled out my crock pot and made this yummy meal. Thought I'd share for any busy moms and/or dad's out there looking for something easy and edible! I thought this was delicious and our picky son gobbled it up. Our picky daughter did not... too much sugar and treats at the hockey game I suspect!

Anyhow, here it is. I found it somewhere on the internet this morning when I was looking for something to make with chicken. It serves about 6... or a family of 4 with a few cups still left for leftovers.

Cashew Chicken

5 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch strips    

1 can mushrooms, sliced

3 green onions, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 teaspoons grated ginger root

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 Tablespoons Oyster Sauce (optional)... I added this to the recipe.

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 can sliced water chesnuts, drained

1/2 cup cashews,roasted

1/2 cup Chinese pea pods

2 tablespoons cornstarch

3 tablespoons water

cooked rice

Place chicken and mushrooms in a slow cooker. Add green onions, soy sauce, ginger, broth, oyster sauce, water chesnuts and pepper.

Cover and cook on low about 3 1/2 hours. Add cashews and pea pods. Turn control to high. In a small bowl, dissolve cornstarch in water. Stir into chicken mixture in cooker. Cover and cook on high 20 min or until thickened, stirring at least once. Serve over cooked rice.

One suggestion: it was a bit salty, I would suggest using unsalted cashews (we used whole cashews of the salted and roasted variety)

New Years Day

We ended up celebrating New Years Day with my cousin Lori and her family. Chris and Curtis came over to play street hockey with Shaune and Keaton - the girls weren't up for that. Keaton was excited to try out all his new street hockey equipment he got for his birthday from Nana and Poppa Lightfoot... the hockey pads and also a net. My mom got him a goalie stick and we got him the 'cool' goalie mask.

The boys played out in the cold for over an hour and then we ordered chinese food to finish off the day perfectly.

Click on the photos to see full size. The horizontal crops always look wonky on my blog when Typepad compresses them.