Bread-Making Made Easy

// 4.15.09 // 5 Comments » // Food & Fitness, My Daughter

I used to make homemade bread with a bread machine quite often. Then the bread machine broke and I never replaced it. A few weeks ago someone in my homeschooling co-op posted this link, which has apparently made the rounds on lots of news programs. Who knew making homemade bread could be so easy?

Here’s my result:

And my little girl who loves the bread, as well as getting her hands all messy making the dough:

My Quick Analysis of Breakfast Foods

// 3.5.09 // 1 Comment » // My Son, Parenting

My son is a picky eater. And so not a morning person. So breakfast is usually nothing, or a battle. What he will eat, though, are snack foods like Goldfish, Ritz Bits or croutons. At first I denied these requests with my “That’s not breakfast!” reasoning. Then I took some time to consider nutritional value.

Looking at the selection of breakfast cereals in my cabinet, and comparing them to Goldfish and croutons and Ritz Bits, I found the following:

• The snack foods have the same, and in some cases less, calories as the cereals.
• The snack foods have, on average, less fat than the cereals.
• Protein and fiber varies. There is no definite advantage to either choice.
• The snack foods have way less sugar than the cereals. The cereals have 10 – 15 grams of sugar per serving, while the snack foods have >1 to 3 grams of sugar for a comparable serving.
• The cereals are fortified with vitamins and minerals. The snack foods are not.

My conclusion? If my son will eat Goldfish and a piece of apple or peach for breakfast, I’m good with that.

Behold My Culinary Awesomeness

// 2.1.09 // 9 Comments » // Thriving

Yeah, well, I couldn’t quite fit “Steelers,” but still… one step away from Martha Stewart caliber, if you ask me.