Buffet Style Eating

My version of a buffet

Two weeks ago, I blogged about an Easy Snack Platter.  I had said that there were variations on that theme.  This time I want to show my version of a buffet.  It's quick and easy to put together.  It is great for on-the-go people and/or those who feel a little lazy like me.

It was simple to put this buffet together.  All I needed was were my partitioned dishes.  Mine are red.  Then, I chose the foods I wanted in each section.  I chose red grapes, red apples, baby carrots, baby spinach, cheese cubes, ham, and turkey breast.  Of course, pickles and cherry tomatoes can round this buffet out.  I also included ranch dressing for the carrots and spinach.

Grapes, apples, and carrots for buffet

Daughter helped with washing fruits and veggies

My choices from the buffet

Leftovers waiting for later

Whatever we did not eat, I scooted over to one dish.  I covered the dish with the Press 'n Seal wrap.  We won't have to prepare this again.  We'll just bring it out later when we get hungry again.  It really saves time and keeps me from getting cranky when I must eat right away.

 

Well, thanks for reading about our buffet style eating.  I hope this has taught y'all about a quick set of snacks to throw together.

 

What about you, my readers? Do you like finger foods? Do you like cheese, pickles, and ham?  Combining fruits, veggies, and meat into a buffet is easy.  I encourage you to get creative with colorful foods.  Don't shy away from allowing your family members to eat what they want to eat, as long as they are eating from the recommended food groups, too.

May God bless you with His peace and wisdom, my beloveds.

This has been an entry for Saturday Spreads. I hope you enjoyed it!

Healthy Snack Alternatives

Hubby bought me this cake for Mother's Day.

Before I start on today's blog entry, I want to say a little bit about my health condition.  When I am struck with inflammation, I become limited in my mobility.  That leads me to not be able to exercise as I would like.  That's why I am having to discontinue my exercising for the duration that my pain exists.  I will pick up the exercising again as soon as my heath gets better.

The cake I love so much is processed food--not good.

Now that my update has been given, I want to tell you about some plans.  I will start a fast of sorts beginning this Wednesday.  I am hoping to stay away from soda and salty snacks like potato chips.  I am wanting to detox from all the chemicals of processed foods.  I am also wanting to sacrifice the cravings to draw closer to God.

To that end, I present a few healthier snacks that have worked for me.  I hope to keep incorporating these kind of healthy snacks into my life.  My children need me to eat healthier.  I want to be around for them for as long as possible.  They also need these better alternatives.

These cereals can be put into snack bags and eaten without guilt.

I am a big fan of snack bags.  I measure a cup of healthy cereal, like Kashi Cinnamon Harvest and/or plain Cheerios.  I pour the cup into the baggie.  The amount is just right as a single serving.  Once I've eaten all of the cereal in the bag, I am full and do not overeat.

This is a great combo of fruit and cereal.

Here's a wonderful alternative.  I should have included the milk in this picture.  Anyway, you can eat bran cereal and real strawberries with milk.  You can also use bananas.  Bran cereal is a healthier alternative to the sugar-laden cereals and adding the fruit can give you the sweetness you still crave.

A healthy snack to take along in a trip.

Finally, here is a pre-packaged alternative to the sugary snacks-Mott's fruit sauces.  I personally like the Granny Smith apple variety.  My children like the blueberry-flavored sauce.  It says on the label that no sugar has been added to these.  I like that these are individually wrapped and that I can reuse the cups for other projects like seed planting.

Well, I hope that you will continue to pray for me as I work on my health.  I remain optimistic that I can regain my good health.  I will keep praying to God.  I am trusting Him to help me with my health.  I will keep you all updated as to what can be done to squelch the inflammation because I know that many suffer with it, often unknowingly.

How about you, my readers?  Do you snack?  Are you selecting the right snacks?  I hope so.  I pray that you seek out the best snacks for the sake of your health.  The children in your life are also depending on you to choose the best snacks for them, too.

May God bless you all with His wisdom and peace.  

This is an entry for Medical Mondays.  For past entries, click here.

Disclaimer: The viewpoints that I discussed here are just my opinions.  Please consult your physician before altering anything relating to your health.  I am only suggesting here to take charge of your health.  Don't just leave your health in the hands of your doctors; become your own advocate.  You know best how your body is doing.

Gardening Vegetables and Fruit

Bell pepper and tomato plants needed replanting.

We had a busy day.  I usually like to post as early as possible, but I wanted to blog about our garden which was not ready.  Days ago, my hubby had placed cinder blocks in the shape of a rectangle in the area that we had chosen.  We had even put some garden soil inside the rectangle yesterday.  We just needed a few bags of extra ingredients to finish it up.

Before: Garden soil was bought at Keller Material.

In the afternoon, we went to Home Depot to buy 3 bags of  cow manure, 2 large bags of Miracle Gro organic garden mix, and 1 large bag of cedar mulch.  I also thought to buy 3 pairs of neon green gardening gloves for the three older kids.  Kaelyn had small red gloves. The lonely plant is sage that lived on from last year's planting.  The plant survived freezing and hot temperatures!

Cow manure mixed in the garden soil.

Miracle Gro mixed in the soil.

The kids and hubby mixed in the cow manure and Miracle Gro.  They used rakes and shovels.  I asked them to put on their gloves.  (I don't like the idea of the kids touching manure with their bare hands.)  Then, it was time to plant the bell pepper and tomato plants.

I tapped those baby plants out of their small container.

I estimated where I wanted the plants.  They have to be about a foot apart.  I used empty pots to plot the locations.  I pushed the pots into the ground to "stencil" where the plants were to go.  The kids then dug the hole in those spots.

I placed each baby plant in the hole and the kids did the rest.

I turned the plants upside down and tapped hard at the bottom of the small containers to tease them out.  I placed each plant in the holes that the kids made.  The kids then buried the plant.  We've been through this before so they know to tamp down the soil.  After that, came the mulch.

Cedar mulch keeps the moisture from evaporating.

The kids, hubby, and I mulched the plants.  I asked the kids to first surround the plants.  We started with handfuls of mulch.  Hubby shoveled mulch into the garden bed.  Then, he dumped the remainder of the bag.  We finished by spreading the mulch with shovels and rakes.

After: Mulch surrounds the tomato and bell pepper plants.  

The last ingredient was the water.  Thirsty plants require water.  Water makes the tomatoes plump.  With mulch, you don't have to worry about the plants going too dry in the heat.  We need to mulch for the Texas heat.

Hubby watered the plants.

 

  

We made sure to put our tools and gloves away.  It's important to teach the kids to put away the shovels and rakes.  It's not enough to teach them how to garden.  Little details like that can help to know where the tools are next time.  We will be using the tools again for another vegetable garden.   

Gloves go into a hanging shoe organizer.

I'm so proud of my kids and hubby.

Lastly, we had a little treat because the kids did such a good job.  I had bought some badminton gear.  We played until we got tuckered out.  Not even the darkness could dissuade us from playing.  We enjoyed our family time together.

Badminton gear--some I bought today, as a special treat.

Well, I hope you liked this blog entry.  I wanted to show how easy it is as a family to garden.  Gardening is good for your health because of the good foods you get out of it.  You exercise and get to shop in your own backyard.  Later, I hope to show how to tend and harvest the garden.

How about you, my dear readers?  Do you like gardening?  Are you gardening?  If so, what?    I would highly encourage those who haven't to start small.  Container gardening is possible for those with limited space.

God bless you all with His peace and wisdom, my beloveds.

This has been a Saturday Spreads entry.