Here’s the last installment in our “Week with the Leakes” series where we took the time to photograph and record every single thing we ate for a week. In case you missed the first few posts check out what we ate for breakfast, lunch, and snacks…also if you haven’t already be sure to read our disclaimer about the entire series.
Our dinners for the week…
Sunday Family Dinner: Sauteed wild-caught halibut (using whole-wheat flour/butter/lemon/white wine), whole-wheat homemade fettuccine alfredo, salad with local spinach & greens, local strawberries, local goat cheese, toasted almonds and homemade balsamic vinaigrette. The kids had whole milk and the adults had water and white wine.
Monday Family Dinner (family-style): A local pork tenderloin marinated in teriyaki sauce and grilled, quinoa mixed with avocado/toasted almonds/soy sauce/cilantro, and raw local sugar snap peas. The girls had whole milk and the adults had water…oh and the children were not big fans of the peas (hard to chew).
Tuesday Family Dinner: Quesadillas made with cheese, onion, green bell pepper, mashed sweet potato, and leftover diced local pork tenderloin. We topped it with homemade guacamole, homemade pico de gallo, organic sour cream, and fresh cilantro. The kids had whole milk and the adults had water along with some rare weeknight margaritas (pictured below)!
Wednesday Dinner (Lisa and Kids): Leftover fettuccine alfredo with frozen peas (I confess, there were no peas in mine :)) and a salad with local spinach, local goat cheese, toasted almonds, and homemade balsamic vinaigrette. One kid had parmesan cheese instead of goat cheese because she doesn’t like goat cheese. The kids had whole milk with dinner and the adults had water and then red wine later on…for “dessert.”
Wednesday Dinner (Jason): A leftover quesadilla triangle, leftover quinoa, sauteed kale, and a salad with local spinach, pear, toasted almonds, local goat cheese, homegrown sprouts, and balsamic vinaigrette. He went back for an extra serving of kale not pictured here.
Thursday Dinner: Our first attempt at red beans and (brown) rice! We used celery, onion, green bell pepper, and organic bacon to flavor the beans. I thought the kids might hate it, but they actually ate some without complaining. No recipe to share yet…we still need to tweak it a bit :). The kids had whole milk and the adults had water. We probably should have eaten something else that was green aside from the veggies in the beans, but I guess we got a little lazy.
Friday Appetizers (we were invited to a friends’ house for dinner): Jason and I tried a little bit of everything, which included carrots, raw broccoli, hummus, olives, and peppers stuffed with mozzarella/prosciutto. The girls each had one piece of broccoli with hummus (lovingly given to them by their mom :)).
Friday Kids’ Dinner (at our friends’ house): All four kids made their own whole-grain pizza (using Deliciously Organic’s whole-grain pizza crust recipe…FYI – we have a whole-wheat pizza crust recipe as well). The toppings our girls used were sauce, cheese, pineapple, ham, and pepperoni and this picture was obviously taken before they were baked in the oven. I have no idea if any of the meat was organic, but I did not ask or worry about it since we were guests at someone else’s house. The kids had milk to drink.
Friday Adult Dinner (at our friends’ house): The adult pizzas were on the same whole-grain crust as the kids’ pizzas and the first one in the picture was “cheese-less” with a bunch of veggies including caramelized red onions, roasted red bell pepper, mushrooms, and kale (inspired by a Trader Joe’s pizza combo). We topped that pizza with a little fresh Parmesan cheese and it was super yummy! I will have to try that at home. The other pizza was equally as delicious and topped with red sauce, chorizo, manchego cheese, and kale. We had water, wine, and Jason had a couple beers. It was so nice getting a break from our own kitchen especially for a meal as delicious as this!
Saturday Kid Dinner: We were planning to have a family dinner together at home, but my husband was out with the kids later than planned (working on Mother’s Day stuff! :) ) so there was a last minute decision to get them some brown rice sushi from Earth Fare for dinner. This blurry picture was clearly taken near the end, but they each had their own package – one with brown rice veggie sushi and the other with brown rice avocado sushi. Both girls drank whole milk with their dinner. To see how we got our pickier daughter to start eating sushi in the first place check out the story on our homemade sushi recipe.
Saturday Adult Dinner: So as a result my husband and I ended up having an unplanned (and rare!) dinner alone together after the kids were in bed. It was really nice for a change. :) He had picked out a chantrelle mushroom taco recipe from Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Everyday Cookbook and while it was a very unique flavor for tacos, it was really good. We had the filling in our own homemade corn tortillas and we were fighting over the leftovers the next day…even the kids! We both had water and wine to drink with dinner.
And these were our treats for the week…
Sunday Treat (the kids only): The girls went to a birthday party together on Sunday afternoon and each had a piece of the birthday cake. They said they also had some other stuff like a handful of goldfish and a little bit of pizza (I was not there the whole time so I am just taking their word for it).
Tuesday Dessert (everyone): Our 7-year-old picked out a “mango ice” recipe she really wanted to make one night, which happened to call for a lot of sugar (when mangoes are already so sweet!). So I modified it to where we basically ended up making our peach sorbet recipe except we substituted mango for the peaches. We topped it with fresh mint leaves from our garden that were lovingly ripped off the plant by our 5-year-old.
Other Weekday Treats (the kids only – no picture): Both my daughters had pieces of cake at school during the week for another child’s birthday (in addition to the cake from the party above). Junk food at school/parties/events is a pretty common thing for us, which is why I don’t give the kids very many treats at home because I feel like they get plenty of it regardless. I also learned this week (since I was asking for our “Week with the Leakes” project!) that my first grader has been sampling other kids’ morning snacks including a bite of a pop tart, a couple Doritos, a curly Cheeto, and some other stuff. More on that later in another post.
Adult Weekday Treats: Okay, so the cat is out of the bag…my husband and I are not scared to have a bite (or two) of 85% dark chocolate paired with a handful of some roasted/salted nuts (or sometimes peanut butter or even a granola chunk) after dinner. We occasionally have this after lunch, too. :) Our kids of course like this combo as well, but Jason and I are usually the only ones that eat it….maybe that’s because I sort of “sneak” into the pantry to get it when the kids aren’t looking. Just telling the full and honest truth here!
Friday Dessert (kids only): Since we were having dinner at a friend’s house on Friday I asked what I could contribute to the dinner, and the hostess said dessert for the kids. Since my kids already had two pieces of birthday cake that week I actually didn’t even want them to have any more dessert so I did my best to think of something I could bring that would be sort of an innocent treat (I didn’t want to be the party pooper and not grant the hostess’s request!). So I settled on the pictured homemade apple juice popsicles, which the kids shared with their friends and enjoyed. :)
I eat a lot more food than your pictures show. I like to eat the way you do, but can’t figure out how to cut down on the quantity of food. Do you have any suggestions on how to eat less food?
Hi there, Jennifer. It comes down to what your belly is used to in the short term but long term, your belly and body will let you know it can adapt well to smaller, reasonable portions. A good stratedgy for filling satisfied is to eat a big green salad with meals and drink a large glass of water before meals.
I’m excited to try some of the homemade snack ideas you listed here. My family eats mostly real food because that’s how I was raised, but I want to make even more foods at home.
One thing I’m curious about – I know that ways of eating that label some foods as “bad” and some as “good” can lead kids to attach some guilt and worry to eating. As someone who grew up with a mom and sister who had eating disorders, I know how harmful those attitudes can be. How do you teach your kids about healthy food while also not causing them to panic or feel guilty about the “junk” foods they eat occasionally? My kids are preschoolers, so I don’t have to worry about outside influences yet, but I’m curious how you deal with tricky food conversations without causing guilt or shame in your kids?
Hello Hannah. This post will help: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/07/24/being-polite-vs-honoring-your-values/.
As I am reading this post I am feeling a bit of relief at the meals that Lisa has shared. It made me realize that eating healthy and eating on a budget doesn’t have to include elaborate meals and can be very simply. I was raised on Steak, potatoes, and veggie on the side and so was my husband. We are working on being happy with simpler meals, mostly due to budget restrictions when choosing healthy versus elaborate. Anyway, thank you for sharing!
We’ve been eating “real food” exclusively (sounds so strange to say that) for a week now, and I’m finding that I’m eating waaaaaaay less, and feeling no hunger pangs.
I’m pretty sure when we feed ourselves the “fake food”, our appetite says “I need more food, I’m still hungry.” So we pile on more sugar and chemicals and who knows what.
Real food satisfies. I can just imagine my body saying “AHHHHHHHHH, that’s the ticket” after a meal of real food. Sounds so simple.
When I saw your beans, I wanted to share something we have recently hit upon as a “junk meal/snack”
Make your fav crockpot red or pinto beans…Mine are 1 lb dry beans soaked overnight. Drained and then cooked in the crockpot in 28 ozs tomatoes/sauce/diced. Combo of chicken and beef broths to cover. Add one chopped green pepper, 1 chopped onion, 3-4 stalks chopped celery, 2-3 chopped carrots I also added one chopped jalapeno pepper…or to taste. I also added about 1-2 tsp liquid smoke. This was supposed to be served with corn bread. Come dinner non of us were really interested. I ended up pouring about 3 cups of this mix into my food processor with approx. 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese. This created the most wonderful bean dip. I made up some home made corn chips… served this with sour cream and finally diced tomato. We all LOVED this… I still had much of the crock pot of original beans left for the next evening with salad and corn bread as planned. This was CHEAP, healthy, gluten free…The beans could easily have been spiced up more with cumin, cilantro, chili etc.
I was wondering how your kids react to the junk when they get it at school, do they seem to bounce off the walls more, are the sugar crashes worse?
Hi Karen. Mine don’t necessarily seem more hyper, but, 2 of mine get terrible stomach aches. I try and use those as a “teachable moment” to make them realize how they feel when they eat that sort of “food”. Jill
Hi! I am so inspired by the way you feed your family – and yourself. I can’t imagine my daughter eating any of this. She is such a picky eater. Any suggestions?
Also – how do you have the time to prepare and cook these emails.
Hi Amy. Here are two posts about picky eaters you might find interesting…https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/09/09/real-food-tips-12-ways-to-deal-with-a-picky-eater/ and https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/06/04/why-are-kids-so-picky/. And, here is a post about how much time Lisa spends in the kitchen that you might find interesting…https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/06/25/how-much-time-i-spend-kitchen/. Best of luck. Jill
I love this series on what your family ate for a week. It’s really helpful. I’m new to your page so I may have missed this, but can I ask for your reasoning on whole milk? I’m just curious and hear so many different things on milk. My husband and oldest son drink 1% milk and my youngest is breastfed with a small amount of almond milk and I drink almond milk. Thanks so much! Thanks for all the effort you put into this for the rest of us!
Hi Julie. Here is the post where we discuss full fat dairy…https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/04/15/mini-pledge-week-6-no-low-fat-lite-or-nonfat-food-products/. Jill
I have been reading your site for a couple months and am slowly trying to get my family over to a more/mostly whole foods diet. I just laughed out loud when I read part of this post as my husbands new favorite treat/snack/dessert is a handful of peanuts with a couple hershey kisses. He is not a fan of dark chocolateor other nuts but I am still trying and glad to know I am on the right track.
Are the portions pictured above, the actual portions your family consume? They seem SO small!
Hi Sarah. Yes, we’ve found we become full much more quickly now eating real food. You should check out these posts…https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/04/29/mini-pledge-week-8-stop-eating-when-you-feel-full/ and https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2010/06/24/not-cleaning-your-plate/. Jill
For beans, have you tried just cooking them with an onion and some salt? That is all we do and we LOVE pinto beans this way! We put toppings like salsa and sour cream and cheese on top. But you don’t have too! Put these on top of some brown rice and and have a salad on the side and there you go! Thanks for sharing all your meals with us for a week! I know it was a lot of work! :)
Mm, loving all the red beans and rice tips you got! I would have to second the mashing some up idea. Add a little water (or broth, ideally) after you mash some up. I add in LOTS of garlic, along with onion, celery, and bell pepper. I use a seasoning called Tony Chachere’s… supper yummy. If you aren’t down with Tony’s, I recommend Liz’s seasoning tips above. I love when I can get a really good smoked venison sausage. Really hits the spot!
I have been eating red beans and rice my entire life (I’m originally from Louisiana) and looking at yours and wondering if you used dried beans or canned? I always use dried (you can soak them or do a fast boil). Also spices are really key, I use ham steak (cubed) and smoked sausage (sliced up) in mine (not sure how the meat will translate in a real food plan, I have seen lots of sausage at trader joes but haven’t read any labels). Also season with 1 cup onions, 1/2 cup bell pepper, 1/2 cup celery, salt, cayenne pepper, garlic, 1tsp dried thyme, 3-4 bay leaves and black pepper. The ham adds all the salt I want so I skip that all together and everything else I season to taste. I sautee the sausage, ham, onions etc (everything but the beans) for a few minutes then add the beans, fill pot with water, bring it all to a boil, then reduce it to low for 2-3 hours. Stirring occasionally, I also smash some of my beans against the side of the pot near the end to get a nice thickness to the sauce. Serve over rice ! Yum!
We used dried beans, but I could use some advice so thank you!
love your website!!! i was wondering what brand of dark chocolate you buy? I LOVE dark chocolate and almonds!
Thank you! I just used your comment as an excuse to go check the brand name and take a little bite while I was at it :) It’s Green and Black’s Organic Dark Chocolate (85% dark).
How did you make your apple juice popsicles? By the way, I loved your “Week with the Leakes” post!
I am so glad you liked the series! I just poured 1-ingredient organic apple juice into some plastic molds I got at Target…pretty simple!
Looks great! I’m curious about portion sizes, too. If your kids ask for more, do they get more? Do you snack and f & v’s in between meals if you/they still feel hungry? My hubbs and I have hefty appetites (for healthy foods, though) and can’t help but think some of those meals look like snacks for us, but we also run quite a bit. Hope your Memorial Day is great! Thanks for doing what you do.
Yes, my kids definitely get more if they are still hungry. I will try to influence them to eat more green beans before they get more potatoes (or something like that), but they sometimes have 2nd or (in the case of our 5 year old) even 3rd helpings depending on what we are eating. Also, did you see the snack post? This covers all the snacks each of us had that same week: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/05/22/a-week-with-the-leakes-afternoon-snacks/ Trust me – no one goes hungry around here. We simply aim to eat until we feel full…that’s all really!
After a week long cruise and eating like a pig, I so look forward to getting back to real food. And to defend your alcohol consumption, alcohol is healthy in moderation. For the heart and the nerves. My husband is a family practice physician, and is health conscious, and we both enjoy a drink after work. He has a glass of wine and I like a good dark beer. I make a choice either a drink or dessert and I usually choose the beer since I don’t have a sweet tooth.
This all looks delicious! I wanna try those pizzas sometime soon.
I would love to see you do a post on ‘phantom’ trans fat that is found in many of the processed foods in stores. The FDA allows companies to list anything at 0g as long as it is under 1g (so, if its .7g or .3g, its technically ‘0g’ to them). There are companies out there selling products, advertising them with 0g of trans fat on the front, that actually have partially-hydrogenated oils in them. If you need help getting more information on this, feel free to email me. ~ Amanda
First- great dinners, love your recipes! Secondly, it’s a shame your kids get that stuff at school. My son’s school has them eat a fresh fruit or veggie for snack- no utensils or dips can be used. And they don’t have treats at school for kids b-days. On holidays they will be sent home with a piece of candy. And he was just telling me that his class got a reward day and I asked what they got thinking it would have been some type of treat, yet it was extra recess with the vice- principal, and he was so happy about that! Hopefully one day all schools will implement this stuff!
OMG! That is the best idea ever! EXTRA RECESS for a reward! It seems so simple and yet…! I agree, more schools should follow the example of your son’s school.
Our team loves to hear that there are schools out there doing stuff like this. Hopefully it will become the “norm” at more schools. Congrats to your school for already doing so many great things.
How long, on average, do you spend on meal prep each day?
Hmmm…I’ve honestly never added it up, but I can tell you it’s different every day. Some days it might be very little if we are eating leftovers for dinner, and we have plenty of granola/bread/etc. on hand. Other days could be a couple hours if we are low on a couple of things and also making a full dinner from scratch. If I am in the kitchen “stocking up” on some basic recipes I usually try to do a couple extra things all at once so I can have a day or two off in-between.
Has anyone made the avocado quinoa?
Thanks again! I loved this series!!! :)
Just found your blog this week, and I’m really enjoying it. Fun post, and gives us a lot of great ideas – thanks!
Thanks for sharing. Your website is really helping me to FINALLY stick to a path to a more whole food lifestyle. I am so greatful to you for sharing your experiences, your recipes, your favorite kitchen tools…. ;-) Now if I could just borrow you for a while to help me not be so scared about implementing better with my kids…. :)
I started eating more real food after reading your blog, but I modified things. We choose to eat white sugar and brown sugar, because we rarely end up using it. My husband doesn’t do dessert, except on special occasions (birthdays) or if I make German Chocolate cake (on special occasions, like birthdays). See how that works. And I use it in my homemade oat and honey granola. Yum!
These dinners look great. I don’t do fish or shellfish, because I just can’t stomach the taste. And shrimp always makes me feel like I’ve eaten chemicals. I cook at least seven days a weeks and we take our lunches to work all except once or twice a month. Sometimes life would be much simpler if I relied on processed foods, even occasionally, but I don’t. I refuse to. I’ve lost 11 pounds in 6 weeks, damnit! And I’ve never been able to lose two pounds a month, even with one and a half hours of exercise six days a week.
Awesome.
Love the ideas again!
I love the website and have even recommended it to people. I would love to eat as healthy as your family but it is not as easy in Arkansas! :-) (And also I do not have a spouse that supports it.) What I find interesting is the alcohol that you choose to consume. It seems completely opposite of the whole “healthy eating” idea. I did read your statement in the beginning of this series and I do appreciate your opening yourself up like this. But I would love to hear a little clarification/justification about the alcohol consumption. I do not mean to offend/criticize. I think what you are doing is wonderful and I support you fully. Please know that this was not meant in a hurtful way, just curious. :-)
Wine consumed in moderation is very healthy, particularly if it is one drink daily.
Wine, especially red, consumed in moderation has a lot of health benefits. Beer even has some health benefits too, like helping fight against kidney stones. Moderation though is key.
If the kids get to eat cake, we get to drink beer too ;-)
I don’t claim to speak for the Leakes ;) but they are big proponents of Michael Pollan whose eating “rules” include the moderate consumption of alcohol especially wine. Check out the book “In Defense of Food” for more info on the alcohol thing. :)
I am happy to clarify. Michael Pollan’s book In Defense of Food… is what actually inspired us to dramatically cut out all highly processed food so to quote him he says “Have a glass of wine with dinner… There is now abundant scientific evidence for the health benefits of alcohol to go with a few centuries of traditional beliefs and anecdotal evidence. … The fact is that people who drink moderately and regularly live longer and suffer considerably less heart disease than teetotalers. … Alcohol of any kind appears to reduce the risk of heart disease, but the polyphenols in red wine appear to have unique protective qualities. … Most experts recommend no more than two drinks a day for men, one for women.” So based on that advice (and since we both very much enjoy an adult beverage of sorts in the evenings) we have no problem partaking and do our best to drink in moderation. We are of course not perfect though, which means we sometimes have 2 or 3 glasses, but then other times none at all.
Looks yummy, Lisa. Here is my favorite Rice and Beans recipe. It’s super versatile. Here are a few notes: I usually make one and a half times the recipe, so there are lots of leftovers; it works great as a burrito or quesadilla filler; add any meat you like (smoked or andouille sausages work great); use red or black beans (canned or cooked dried beans, both work well); I like to add two cans of diced no salt added tomatoes with juice (reduce water by 1/4th cup for each can of tomatoes); I add lots of cumin and some garlic and crushed red pepper for a little kick; use any peppers you have on hand; leave out the beans and it makes a great Spanish rice recipe. Enjoy!
Brown Rice with Black Beans
4 tsp. olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped fine
1 red bell pepper, chopped fine
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2¼ cups water
1½ cups long-grain brown rice
1 tsp. salt
2 (15 oz.) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
¾ cup corn kernels (fresh from cob, or frozen and thawed)
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 375° F. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and bell pepper to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned and tender, about 12-14 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the chicken broth and water to the pan. Bring the mixture to a boil. Remove the pot from the heat, stir in the remaining ingredients, and cover. Bake until the rice is tender, 65-70 minutes. Remove the pot from the oven and uncover. Fluff the rice with a fork. Mix in the cilantro and black pepper. Serve with your favorite toppings and tortilia chips.
Hi Jenn. Our team thanks you for sharing your recipe.
Getting a glimpse of your meals has been educational. Thank you for sharing.
Awesome! We made our own dark chocolate bark this winter – based on Ina Garten’s recipe. I added a whole bunch of nuts and dried fruit as well. So yummy and really easy. Kept well in the fridge. I am a 80%+ chocolate eater as well so it’s hard to find a lot of variety in that percentage!
I too have enjoyed this series, and gotten some great meal and snack suggestions. I am interested in the portion sizes as well. My 3 kids probably eat more in quantity than even Jason does, and my youngest is almost 4. We eat real food and are also gluten and dairy free. Despite eating what I think is a lot, my kids are all underweight. I think if I made their portions smaller, they’d melt away. I am trying to help them understand and listen to when they are full, but they always seem hungry, and don’t gain much weight. It seems like their bodies need more. How do you know when your child has had enough when they stay so thin despite eating a ton?
Thanks for sharing your meals.
Elizabeth — Have you talked to your children’s pediatrician about this question? Are they truly “underweight” or just thin? I have three boys (7 1/2, 4, and 13 months). They all eat astonishing amounts of food (sometimes more than I do!). I’m so thankful that they love to fuel their bodies with wholesome foods. The oldest is very thin (wears “slim” pants) but is not underweight (about 15% for weight vs. height). The middle boy is very trim but with a more athletic build (average for weight vs. height). The baby seems to be headed the way of the biggest boy. I have always heard that almost all young children are able to judge when they are full and will stop eating on their own. This is definitely true for my boys. My 7 year old is only just beginning to complain of having eaten too much from time to time. So I have always put healthy choices in front of my boys and let them eat until they are full. If they seem to be eating especially large amounts of food, I will check in and simply ask if they are getting full. We do NOT have a clean plate rule, although you do need to taste everything on the plate. But do check with the pediatrician if you haven’t already. I hope this helps!
Thanks for your response, Katherine. They are underweight according to the school information based on BMI, but my almost 10 year old is at about the 10% for weight and 25% for height. You can see his ribcage though,so he is really skinny. My girls (4 and 8) are under the 5% for weight, and below the 3rd% for height.
They eat real food though, so I guess they can’t really eat too much (they eat way more than I do). The ped isn’t concerned.
This has always been a passion of mine, making sure people realize when they are full. I think that if your kids are hungry feed them until they tell you they are full. We grew up with this clean your plate mentality that taught us not to pay attention to our bodies. Kids have a natural instinct (as do we if we pay attention) to stop eating when they are full. So I feel, even if your kids are eating more than Lisa and her family, as long as they are not over eating and you’re encouraging them to listen to their tummy, you are fine.
Also a side note, I love the book intuitive eating. It is written by a couple of dieticians and they talk about getting people back to eating for fuel versus mindless eating.
From what I understand kids are even better than adults at stopping when they feel full, which by the way is a different amount for different people, so if they are hungry I would definitely keep feeding them!
You mention that you’re gluten-free. You might just mean you use rice/corn/almond/coconut flour products instead of wheat, but if not (if you’re eating “paleo” style by excluding grains altogether) are you replacing those calories with other foods? Are your kiddos eating lots of good fats? You could try making a “fat bomb” treat. :)
I love making red beans and rice have been making it since I was 15 (and i’m 42 now so many years!)
the trick is to make your beans a little creamy by mashing some.
I have a great recipe that has been in my family for many many years and it’s from the south so you know it’s good :)
Our team thanks you for the tip. Please share your recipe if you’d like to.
Thanks for sharing! I love your blog and have noticed how much less I eat now that I pay attention to when I get full! I don’t think your portion sizes are small lol
I really loved this whole “week with the Leakes” series! Thank you so much. You have given me more ideas and inspiration for my own “real food” meals. Often when I look for meal ideas on-line, I come up with so many odd combinations of food that would take too much time to prepare. But you have a way of simplifying and making really tasty food (and a great variety of it) all at the same time! I love it! Thanks again!
While I do not find the portions terribly tiny, I am curious about your height and the weight you maintain. (I know that’s very nosy!) I eat small portions, but I also eat some junk. I’m 5’6″ and 135 lbs. and pretty happy with that. Thanks for sharing–it’s fun to see what people eat.
To be honest I have been just about the same weight almost my whole adult life (including college) no matter what I do, which is somewhere between 120 – 125 pounds. I think I had a somewhat high metabolism when I was younger, but now that I’ve aged I need to be more careful in order to maintain my weight. I am about 5′ 6″ as well. I of course gained a ton while I was pregnant though!
I’m also health conscious and maintain a very healthy weight, but the amount of food for the adults seem so tiny! This may also be attributed to the fact that I’m a vegetarian, though. I’m curious as to whether you had to train yourselves and your bodies to eat smaller portions?
Amy, I suggest organic agave nectar for margaritas. Great way to sweeten them up naturally! =)
I agree about the portions. This seems like the amount of what I eat now and I’m on a 1200 calories a day diet.
FYI, agave nectar is not the best “natural” sweetener because it is highly processed.
Agave Nectar is not a good way to sweeten things up at all. It spikes your blood sugar very quickly, even worse than High Fructose Corn Syrup. Why? HFCS is 55% Fructose and 42% Glucose; Agave is anywhere between 80% Fructose and 20% Glucose (it varies). On the sweetness scale used to represent the relative sweetness and blood sugar response, glucose is at 74 and fructose is 173 (almost double that of glucose). That means that Agave has more blood sugar spiking power than HFCS. And to think they advertise this to diabetics. ~ Amanda
I am diabetic and find that agave (raw) doesn’t spike my blood sugar at all. I mainly use it in salad dressings. Perhaps eating it with lots of greens helps…not sure.
I honestly wasn’t expecting so many comments about our portion sizes…truthfully all we do is eat until we feel full. It does take some conscious effort on occasion, but it’s not like a rigorous routine or anything! Here’s more on the topic: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/04/29/mini-pledge-week-8-stop-eating-when-you-feel-full/ Also, please keep in mind that in some of the pictures we didn’t always put the right amount on our plates the first time and occasionally went back for more….always better to go back instead of overeating!
I’m loving your blog. Thank you for writing up everything your family eats. Have you ever tried quinoa pizza? My husband found this recipe online and it’s a favorite now! We love the crunchy crust. I think this is the recipe we use: http://www.tastyeatsathome.com/2011/04/simple-quinoa-pizza-crust/
I have never tried the quinoa pizza, but, I am definitely going to as my husband is actually gluten free. Thanks for sharing this. Jill
Love that you sneak dark chocolate. I have a stash of that too! I don’t consider dark chocolate a problem, AT ALL. Now for a really important question: I saw that you made margaritas this week. I’m not gonna give up margaritas and I do make them from scratch with freshly squeezed limes, and of course the booze. The first time I made them I was shocked at how much sugar is in them but you gotta have sugar to tone down the limes. (I tried it without and they were too bitter) Do you use white sugar for yours or if not, how do you sweeten your margaritas? I also have a recipe for pomegranate margaritas with the same issue…how to make them without the white sugar??
My hubby and I make our own margarita’s using the following: juice of 1 lime, juice of 1 orange, ice and tequila. We put an ounce (shot) of tequila in 2 glasses and then split the fruit juice between the 2 cups. Then fill with ice. This makes just enough for the 2 of us. I find the orange juice adds the sweetness that you find in many of the bottle mixes. A warning though, these are not big drinks (in volume), but they do taste great.
For frozen margaritas, I add a tablespoon of 100% white grape juice concentrate to the blender for a little sweetness. It really does the trick!
I would think honey would sweeten the margaritas just fine! Lisa turned me on to the fact that it works in coffee, so why not with tequila?
I just asked my husband how he made them and he said equal parts fresh lime juice, tequila, and triple sec (Dekuyper’s brand with no artificial colors, flavors, or HFCS). Triple sec has been sweetened somehow so that was definitely a special and rare treat for the adults!
Awesome! Thanks so much for sharing!