TarynTumbleson: DAY SIX! We're figuring this out finally

DAY SIX and we're finding our groove!

We are still managing to keep up with our healthy choices. For breakfast we had a slice of banana bread with all natural butter with olive oil in it, sliced strawberries, and small cup of plain greek yogurt with our special berry sauce mixed in. Yes… it was as yummy as it sounds.

For lunch our main course was french toast with 100% pure maple syrup. The french toast was whole wheat bread. To make it taste really good (but still be healthy) we beat the eggs and mixed them with a silk creamer with a little pure vanilla. We cut the bread into triangles and dipped each one in the mix and cooked on the skillet. The boys helped with this task. We greased the skillet with unsalted butter. Our old way of spraying cooking spray is a thing of the past! You're welcome Mr. environment! For side dishes we had unsweetened apple sauce, sliced carrots, and homemade ranch dip (ranch dip recipe can be found on 100 days of real food website). The great thing about the homemade ranch dip is that you mix all the dry ingredients and store it in an airtight container. When you need dip you simply combine a half cup sour cream with the dry mix and viola, fresh ranch dip! I liked the dip and I think it is best when chilled. We also ate it immediately after mixing and it would probably taste better if it has sat in the fridge for 2 hours or so first.

Our family went swimming this afternoon and we planned ahead because we knew how hungry we would be when we were done. We packed Lara bars, sliced carrots, grapes, and raisins. They were all gone during a quiet 30 minute ride home :-)

We had great plans for supper tonight but had very limited time to make something eat before getting to our evening activities. We made BLT's on whole wheat bread with olive oil mayo, mango noosa yogurt, green beans, and a sweet potato mixture. We peeled and sliced the sweet potato and apples. We sautéed them in unsalted butter, then steamed them in apple juice for about 4 minutes. It was a good combination of flavors, I thought. Tonight when we mentioned dessert we thought Trey was going to fall of his chair! 100 days of real food website has a Chocolate Torte recipe with whipped cream and chocolate sauce. The chocolate torte ingredients were unsalted butter, honey, pecans, dried pitted dates, unsweetened powdered cocoa, and water. We made tortes and truffles (see picture). For the whipped cream we used an electric mixer and 1.5 cups whipping cream (that's it). The chocolate sauce (which was simple amazing) was 1 tablespoon unsweetened powdered cocoa and 2 tablespoons 100% pure maple syrup simply mixed together with a spoon. SIMPLE! I fully enjoyed having dessert and having something taste so chocolatey. My brothers did not think it was as great as my mom and I but they still licked all the chocolate sauce off the top.

Tonight was a busy night in the kitchen prepping for tomorrow. We finally got around to making pop tarts and homemade granola bars. Tomorrow will be the true test. Our main reason for wanting to make the granola bars is that we used to eat them regularly here and tried to replace them with the Lara Bar, but as $1.00/bar on sale, it is getting to be an expensive snack. The pop tarts were time consuming and they only produced 6 pop tarts and a small dough fight between my brothers. Because there are no preservatives we have to keep them in the fridge, not a blue box in the pantry like Trey & Ty are used to :-) We are really looking forward to trying warming them up and trying them tomorrow! The granola bars JUST came out of the oven and even though they are a little more dry than store bought ones, they tasted pretty good. Unfortunately, we were not able to make perfect rectangles but after all they are homemade.

Overall, we are still enjoying trying new foods, having fun in the kitchen, staying away from fast food and finding ways to eat healthy. It's only been 6 days and we have made some great progress. I'm really proud of my brothers for trying new things and letting go of some of their favorites (fruit snacks, chocolate milk and macaroni and cheese.)

My thoughts for today (and I have many today):
I was excited to a see a newspaper article about the Walt Disney Company becoming the first famous media company to ban ads for junk food on all its TV channels, radio stations, and websites. First lady Michelle Obama called it a ''game changer.'' The Walt Disney Company is hoping to stop kids from eating badly by taking the temptation away. I am hoping that other networks with follow along, so kudos to you Disney! I also read through the News Flash link on the 100 days of real food site and found some interesting information that I'd like to share for you.

1."Our children have the destiny of a shorter life span that their own parents… your child will live a life 10 years younger than you because of the landscape of food that we've built around them." (Source: Jamie Oliver)

2."Coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke and cancer -- four of the top ten chronic diseases that kill most of us can be traced directly to the industrialization of our food." (Source: Michael Pollan)

3."Two-thirds (of America) is statistically overweight or obese." (Source: Jamie Oliver)

4."Americans enjoy the cheapest food supply in the world, spending the smallest share of their income on groceries of any country." (Source: Chicago Tribune)

5."No other nation on the planet spends as much as we do on medical care." (Source: Robyn O'Brien)

Thanks for reading!
Taryn