Real Mac and Cheese, yes please!

As I mentioned last week, Kate has been asking for Macaroni and cheese for dinner.  I try to make sure the kids get meals they like, while still being healthy, to teach them that healthy eating isn't some sort of punishment or deprivation.  I had to put my foot down when it came to buying "the blue box" that kids everywhere know and love, so I told her I would make home made mac and cheese so that it would still be a healthy meal. In fact, I think I will have her help me make it.  I googled "Real food - Mac and cheese" and a recipe came up at www.100daysofrealfood.com, oddly enough, I follow her on Facebook, she has some great tips, tricks, and recipes.  I would highly recommend checking out her blog or Facebook page if you need some inspiration for eating healthy.

http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2010/12/31/recipe-whole-wheat-macaroni-and-cheese/

The only changes I plan to make are 1)Brown Rice pasta, instead of whole wheat pasta. 2) Add 2 cups of cubed ham.

Getting home by 6:30 am has left me with lots of time in the mornings lately!  This morning I decided to put it to use by trying a new recipe.  I had 5 over ripe bananas that needed to be used ASAP.... Normally I throw a quick Banana bread together and send it to work with the husband, but I just did that last week (maybe I need to slow down on the banana buying! I can't eat them, and the kids seem to be boycotting them), so I decided to try something different this time.  I searched the Internet for a flour free banana bread or muffin recipe.  Lots of stuff came up, but they all called for flour substitutes, other that whole wheat flour, I didn't have any of the substitutes on hand. I finally came across a recipe for "Oatmeal muffins (no flour at all)" sounded perfect! And after reading the reviews others suggested adding bananas, score!  

http://www.food.com/recipe/oatmeal-muffins-no-flour-at-all-108564

Here are the changes I made: 

Instead of Honey - 1/3 cup of splenda

1/3 cup of all natural Peanut Butter (in hopes of replacing the gooey texture missing from removing  honey)

5 over ripe bananas (I doubled the rest of the recipe since I had so many bananas)

1 tsp cinnamon

They just came out of the oven, and if they taste as good as they smell, then I will have some happy kiddos!

It just dawned on me though, when I wrote that I doubled the recipe, that I didn't double the splenda and PB, so they might not have the right sweetness to them, oops.

Not much to report as far as workouts.... I logged about 7 miles total yesterday between stadiums and the 2 runs.  I was pretty darn sore this morning!  I am not sure if I will run today, stadiums might be all I do, we will see where the day takes me!  Maybe I'll do some weight sets in the backyard "gym"!