With the start of the new year always comes new goals. Focusing on better health is actually something that we look at almost quarterly in our home, but especially at the beginning of January. After months of birthdays and holidays, our bodies are sluggish and noticeably less healthy than they should be. One step that I always take to manage our health better is to lessen the amount of processed or convenience foods that come into our home. Notice I did not say eliminate. That's just not me. But, we do try to cut out many excessively processed items such as boxed mac and cheese, frozen fish sticks or chicken tenders, and snacks such as Oreos. Malachi doesn't always like this step, but he does appreciate the yummy, flavorful variety of foods that start showing up on his plate. This is especially difficult for me at lunchtime when convenience foods are perfect for the middle of a busy school day. I have to get creative, search online, and plan ahead to find simple, quick lunches that are hopefully cost effective as well. For this post, I decided to share some of the ideas that I've come up with. Let me know if you decide to try any of these and how they worked out for you! 

Tuna Salad/Chicken Salad Over Greens or on Whole Grain Wraps/Bread

I'm lucky to have kids that actually like salad.

Lunchmeat and Veggie Wraps (use cream cheese, hummus, or dijon mustard as a spread)

For the lunchmeat, we prefer Boar's Head meats. Malachi likes these sliced into pinwheels or "kid/prairie sushi" as Pioneer Woman likes to call it. 

Spaghetti with Meatballs

I used Pioneer Woman's recipe for homemade freezer meatballs so that these were prepared well in advance. We prefer homemade marinara sauce, but will use jarred sauce if it's yummy enough. Mezzetta Homemade Marinara is one of our favorite jarred sauces. Of course we use boxed spaghetti noodles. I'm not that good. 

Bean and Cheese Burritos with Sliced Bell Peppers on the Side

Both of our boys love black beans and cheese! We tend to grab a can of black beans, but will use dry if we have them on hand and can prepare them ahead of time. 

BLTs

Again, it helps if I have the bacon cooked ahead of time and can just warm up quickly.
*I know that bacon is considered processed, but IT'S BACON! We can overlook this one. 

The foods listed here are the basics. You can get creative and change up these ideas for varied options. I don't know about your kids, but my kids do not like having the same meals day after day. Sure, they like sandwiches. But if they are served sandwiches more than twice in a week, they start rebelling. We also usually have dinner leftovers on hand. 
I'd love to hear your ideas and what works for you! 

Happy eating! 

Funny Times with Malachi & Isaac

I like to share little blurbs of quotes from the boys on Facebook. I do this to invite others to share in the humor that comes from the mouths of my babes. But I also do it so that I can look back and remember things that my children have said over the years. I've thought that I really should journal it somewhere, but who has time for that when important things such as Facebook are happening? With the start of the New Year, however, it may be a good time to prioritize how I spend my time. With that thought, I I think I will start blogging my stories about Malachi & Isaac and sharing from Boys, Brooms, & Bread. Enjoy my first two stories right now!

Malachi, 12/28/2015

Jonathan was at work and Malachi decided that he wanted to cook eggs in baskets for the three of us for breakfast. He's pretty independent in the kitchen for a nine-year-old, but I will give him reminders and assistance if needed as he goes. He gathered three pieces of bread: a heel, a broken slice, and a normal slice. As he cooked them, I asked him who each piece was for. He stated that the heel was for me, since that's the least preferred piece, the broken piece was for Isaac, since he doesn't care, and the normal piece was for himself. I totally understand his kid logic in this. Ever the homeschooling mom, I turn every opportunity into a learning opportunity. As we sat down for breakfast, Isaac and I thanked him for cooking. I explained that when one cooks for a crowd, they should give what they feel is the best food to others, starting with people in places of honor or higher respect first. I gave an example using his dad and asked him to guess who his dad would give the food to. I said, "Imagine that your dad is cooking an egg in a basket for each of us. One piece turns out perfectly, two pieces are slightly broken, and one piece is burned. Who do you think he would give each piece to?" Malachi answered, "He would give you the perfect piece, Isaac and me the broken pieces, and he would take the burned piece for himself." I said, "Exactly. Do you think you'll be able to do that when you cook for a family?" He stated frankly, "No. I'll just have to cook every piece perfectly. That's the only option." Touché, kid.

Isaac 1/1/2016

Each night as we put the boys to bed, they get a story and a song, and we pray together. Tonight, after reading to Isaac, I asked him what song he would like. He tapped his little chin saying, "Hmmm..." Then he said, "I KNOW!" I asked, "Okay, what song?" He responded, "Three pieces song." I said, "I'm sorry, buddy, I don't know that song." He responded by folding his arms, making an angry face, and growling low. I called Jonathan in the room and asked him if he knew what the 'three pieces song' is. He laughed and said that he never heard of it. I asked Isaac if he knew the 'three pieces song.' "Mm-hmm," he nodded. "Okay, can you sing it to me?" I asked.

He proceeded in his teeny-tiny toddler voice:

Three pieces, all over the place

(Arms spreading slightly)

Threee pieces

(Arms winding around and spreading a little more)

Threeee pieces

(Arms winding and spreading as big as they can)

THREEEE PIECES!!!

I might be just a little biased, but I think it's a great song.