Today marks the end of the first full week of school. I'm pretty sure we're all wiped. I've been making my way through my list of long-neglected chores. Things like wiping down the walls, cleaning out the little office off our kitchen, and giving everything a thorough dusting. (Dusting is the chore I skip most regularly, especially in the summer.) Mike and the kids have been busy expanding their minds and learning all sorts of new things, I'm sure. I think we're all ready to relax this weekend.
Two no sugar recipes we tried and loved this week: Chunky Monkey Breakfast Bake and No Sugar Added Banana Bread. For the breakfast bake: I quadrupled it to feed all four of my kids, subbed regular milk for the almond milk and peanut butter for the almond butter in the sauce (Mabel is allergic to tree nuts.), left out the maple syrup, added a tablespoon of coconut oil, and used just a few dark chocolate chips. For the banana bread: I left out the walnuts and next time I make it, I might add a pinch more salt. The bread really hit the spot (and uses a whopping 6 bananas!). It has almost the same texture as our old favorite banana bread, but none of the added sugar. It'd really be best with the walnuts called for in the recipe, but we don't want Mabel's throat to close up, so what are you going to do? But as good as these were, they mostly just reminded me of the chapter in Year of No Sugar called "Everything Tastes Like Bananas and Dates." Ha!
I know this feeling is fleeting, but I've actually been excited to pack lunches in the morning. I am challenging myself to do it with no added sugar or white flour. So far so good. We couldn't have made it without hard boiled eggs, the really sweet watermelon I picked up at Fry's, and Lara Bars. Those have been a big hit. Other things I've put in their lunches this week: tuna sandwiches on homemade buns for the boys (our mayo has sugar in it, but I've decided to let condiments go), unsweetened plain yogurt with raspberries and grape nuts, and these sesame and sea salt crackers for something crunchy. For school lunches, I try to stick to the one part sandwich, one part fruit, one part crunchy rule, maybe with a few extras thrown in.
Have a happy weekend!
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Thanks for the recipes! I've also been trying to remove added sugar from most of our meals and snacks (but without being terribly strict...we still eat treats at parties and dessert at home once a week). I just had noticed how quickly the grams of sugar add up when you aren't paying attention. Breakfast has been especially difficult, as I usually would feed the kids pancakes or french toast with syrup, sweetened yogurt, oatmeal with brown sugar and raisins, that sort of thing. I was excited to find this oatmeal recipe with no added sweeteners (except mashed bananas, sorry you can't escape them, haha!). But 2 of my 3 kids love this, and I'm hoping the final kid will come around eventually :). http://www.fannetasticfood.com/2014/09/12/how-to-make-oatmeal-more-tasty-filling-satisfying/
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