Ode to tomatoes

Every one says garden fresh produce is better than what you can buy at the store.

I disagree with that statement. I have a big garden, and love growing my own food, AND most of the time the stuff at the store tastes just as good (if not better) than what I grow. I hate to admit it, but it's true.

But there is one exception to this rule, and that is tomatoes. Tomatoes from the store are nothing like tomatoes from a garden. Garden tomatoes taste like sunshine. As tomato season is in full swing, my menu this week focuses on garden fresh tomatoes!

Monday: eggplant parmesan with homemade tomato sauce + nectarines + bread

(image from link above!)

Tuesday: spaghetti with pesto meatballs and homemade tomato sauce + canteloupe

(image from link above)

Wednesday: cabbage rolls with homemade tomato sauce + watermelon + bread

(image from link above)

Thursday: pumpkin lentil curry (I changed up this recipe a bit) + tortillas + watermelon

recipe coming to the blog soon!

Friday: elk steak + cauliflower puree + fresh pineapple + green salad with tomatoes

(image from link above)

Saturday: tostadas + fresh roasted tomatoes + fresh corn + nectarines

(image from link above)

My geriatric dinner time trial

I can't figure out when to eat family dinner. The elementary bus drops off at 4pm. Depending on the day, we have music at 4:30, swimming lessons at 6 or art class at 7. My husband works home but doesn't finish until around 5 or 5:30. I like to put the kids to bed at 8. This new weird schedule has me wondering if family dinner is worth the effort.

Of course I know it is, so, I'm considering moving family dinner to 4:00 pm. We can find 15 minutes to be together at 4. It sounds weird and it feels weird, but think it might actually work.

Research shows that families who sit down and eat breakfast together reap all the same benefits of families who eat dinner together later in the day. Maybe breakfast is the only meal that works for your family. All that matters is the you prepare a meal, turn off all your screens, and sit down to eat food and talk together.

Wish me luck with my geriatric dinner time trial. I'm always adjust our dinner time depending on what we have going on. Things are so much harder than they used to be when my oldest was a baby (photo above is me and my oldest child). What time does your family eat together? Send me an email to let me know! nicolebuhlerRD@gmail.com

Back into a Rhythm

I moved to a small town 3 hours from Salt Lake City last week. I had to pause the weekly blog for 2 weeks while moving, but I did not pause family dinners. Family dinner has been our anchor in this sea of newness.

The family dinner project reports that kids who regularly eat dinner with their family get these benefits (I bolded the ones that relate to me right now):

• Better academic performance

• Higher self-esteem

• Greater sense of resilience

• Lower risk of substance abuse

• Lower risk of teen pregnancy

• Lower risk of depression

• Lower likelihood of developing eating disorders

• Lower rates of obesity

• Better cardiovascular health in teens

• Bigger vocabulary in preschoolers

• Healthier eating patterns in young adults

There are also benefits for adults, including:

• Better nutrition with more fruits and vegetables and less fast food

• Less dieting

• Increased self-esteem

• Lower risk of depression

I knew we needed the emotional benefits of family dinners, so I made it a priority. And now that I'm getting back into a rhythm, I can write more about what I'm cooking.

One of the most important thing you can do for your family is to sit down and eat together. It doesn't matter if it's Little Cesar's pizza, spaghetti from a jar, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, or homemade rolls and roast beef. What matters is that you sit down and enjoy each other's company while you fill your bellies.

Once you have the habit of sitting down together, then you can focus on adding in healthy foods. Maybe later you focus on switching out unhealthy foods to healthier options.

Every week on this blog, I share what my menu looked like the past week. You will see a lot of the recipes from cooking class, and some new things that look weird. But I always post what we actually ate. The goal is that you can get some ideas for what to cook your family for dinner from seeing what a Registered Dietitian feeds her family on the regular.

Please don't compare yourself or think that you have to eat like I do. Again the purpose is to give you ideas, not to add any stress or anxiety to your life.

I hope you enjoy the blog! Here's my menu from the first week in a new town:

Sunday: (first day in the new house after arriving at midnight saturday!) one pot chicken and rice (prepared by my 12 year old), canned green beans, canned corn

Monday: Lentil tacos from the freezer (I froze the extras from July's cooking class and heated them in the microwave) + canned corn + chopped lettuce + watermelon

Tuesday: Tostadas topped with refried beans and chopped fresh tomatoes + corn on the cob (my 12 year old cooked for us)

Wednesday: Grilled salmon (from our freezer, I love this website for kid's recipes) + rice + watermelon (my 10 year old cooked for us with my help)

Thursday: Homemade pizza + melon + green salad (my husband cooked for us, I have no idea what recipe he used for crust, here's what our pizza usually looks like - we use pesto sauce)

Friday: Ham fried rice (to use up stuff in the fridge, been making this recipe for years) + watermelon

Saturday: Baked eggs + avocado toast + watermelon (not kiwis, they were too expensive!)

Sunday: Turkey Pozole for lunch (my husband is a hunter and cooked this with turkey he shot last year and it was SO YUMMY) + hot dog cookout up the canyon for dinner

I've got a yummy meal plan for this week! I hope I have time to make everything I want to cook! Please send me an email with any questions or comments! nicolebuhlerRD@gmail.com