Homemade Popsicles {Performance Pops}

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 Wow!  It has been HOT around here!!  I like warm temps but this is not for me and the baby! The kids have been able to enjoy the heat a little but I worry about them overheating.

So, I found a neat way to keep the kids hydrated and keep having fun at the same time!

We make "Performance Pops"!!

Basically, we make our own popsicles using a natural sports drink.  

They kids go nuts for this stuff and I don't have to worry about the sugar in popsicles and this stuff keeps them hydrated better than water alone.

(The Olympic Athletes even use this!) 

We just start with empty popsicle containers and a container of Performance.  (We have orange flavor today but we like Lemon Lime too!)

Then we make add the Performance powder to water.

(I added extra powder here because it tastes so good!)

Then, I add the drink to the container and put them in the freezer!

It's so easy and the kids love helping me make them.

They keep checking to see if they are ready yet, lol!

Then they get to enjoy and natural, hydrating popsicle that they made them self!!

It's a WIN-WIN!!  Everyone is happy!!

The kids love the taste and I love that it keeps them hydrated with all the bad stuff! :)

What ways are you staying hydrated this summer?

Enjoy the heat!

Have a great day!

Follow House of Grace on Facebook today!! 

Order your own Performance today!

 

Strawberry Protein Smoothie

Today I want to share a simple and healthy smoothie recipe with you.  Well, it is not a recipe per say but I will just tell you what I do.

My family LOVES smoothies!!!

We make them ALL the time, especially during the summer!  It is a great healthy meal that requires little prep and clean-up time plus it is a great way to get you’re your family to eat a healthy meal!

We make them a little different everyday because we just use what is on hand.  I don’t think 

I ever had a smoothie that I didn’t like.

I started with lots of fresh strawberries (I usually use frozen but these were on sale and I didn’t have time to freeze these.)

We like a lot of strawberries! 

Then I added 2 bananas and some milk.

I don’t measure the milk, I just pour (or have the kids help me.)

I ALWAYS add a quality protein to make it a complete meal.  This is especially important 

with breakfast.

I always let the kids take turns pushing the buttons, lol!  Why do they always fight over that?

We bring it to a nice vortex.

Since we didn’t use frozen bananas or strawberries, I had the kids add ice through the top 

one at a time.

Then we enjoy!!! 

We ALL enjoy these shakes and it is super easy and healthy!!!

Cleaning Tip:  

Wash your blender right away before the shake starts to harden on to the blender. 

What is your favorite smoothie?

Bonnie :)

How Can Families Be Healthier?

Involving the whole family is the best way to promote better eating habits and healthy activities for your children. A whole-family approach simply means that everyone - parents and kids alike - works together as a team to achieve good health and well being. As with any team, there's a leader or coach - and that's you!

Lead by example.

Adult family members are important role models for healthy eating and exercise. Talk about why you eat fruit as a snack, take an exercise class, or go for walks.

I often include my kids in my workouts, especially outside.  I run with the baby in the stroller while the other kids are bike riding. 

Start 'em young.

Don't wait until your child is at an unhealthy weight to institute good eating and activity habits. It's much easier to maintain a healthy weight than to lose pounds later.

I taught my kids about the healthy food groups and what is healthy and what is not.  They know that too much sugar makes them sick and cranky and fruit and veggies give them good energy.  Even at 3 and 5, I am confident that my kids can make healthier choices even when I am not around.  Really, they do! 

 

Be active together.

Make it usual for the family to be active, not sedentary. Being active as a family allows kids to expend energy in a positive way, and adults reap the health benefits, too.

We play a lot of outside sports and games such as red light, green light, tag and other things to get the kids to run around.  Now that it is getting colder, we are going to do more indoor activities and classes.

Cook together.

It may be impractical to do it every day, but invite kids into the process of preparing food. Little kids can learn math skills by measuring and they'll begin to understand the chemistry of cooking. They'll also gain an understanding of healthy ingredients. Older kids will enjoy having the authority to select and prepare foods they like and will be more likely to eat what they've made. It may even inspire them to make healthy choices on their own.

My kids LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to help me in the kitchen!  They think it is so fun!  I can’t wait until they can cook for me, ha.

Eat together.

Eating a meal as a family sends the right messages about nutrition. Kids will see their parents eating healthy food and may be inspired to try new foods. They will also come to see mealtime as a time for socializing and sharing. Parents get a chance to offer nutritious food, note their child's likes and dislikes, and tune in to their child's triumphs and troubles through conversation.

We eat our meals as a family everyday and sometimes that is my favorite time of my day! 

Supplement.

If you’re like nine out of 10 Americans, you don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables, which can really affect your health down the line. That’s a great reason to supplement what you eat. But the important question is, how do you feel today? Your answer should be nothing short of fantastic.

We have been supplementing with Shaklee’s supplements for over 13 years and LOVE them!

What do you do to keep your family healthy?

Have a great weekend!

Bonnie :)

Benefits of Flaxseeds

Good morning!

I recently posted on facebook about how I sneak in flaxseed into my oatmeal and got a lot of response so I thought I would share here too!

I try to sneak flaxseed into our dishes whenever I can because of the fiber and omega benefits!   It is great for the whole family!

I found some interesting facts from Low Carb Diets that I thought you would like!

What are flax seeds and flax seed meal?:

Flax seeds are very low carb, high nutrition seeds that are useful in a low of recipes. They are the seeds of the flax plant, which linen cloth is made from. Flax has a pleasantly nutty taste. The whole seeds keep well, but they need to be ground into meal for us to get their full nutritional benefit. A simple spice or coffee grinder can do this in seconds.

What are flax seeds good for?:

For making low carb baked goods, and adding nutrition to other foods. There's lots of information about flax in this article, and here is a list of recipes and other ways to eat flax.

Where can I find it, and which kind is best?:

Health food stores and specialty stores (e.g. Trader Joe's) carry flax seed, and many regular grocery stores as well. Whole flax seed stays fresh for up to a year if stored safely, however flax seed meal (ground flax seed) goes rancid more quickly. If you question how long the product has been on the shelves or how it has been stored, it is highly recommended that you purchase whole flax seed and grind it yourself. It's also less expensive to buy it whole.

Easy and tasty ways to add flax seed meal to your diet:

1) Put it On or Mix it In With Other Foods

Such as:

• Yogurt and fruit
• Cottage or ricotta cheese and fruit
• Yogurt or ricotta with a sugar-free syrup
• Smoothies and shakes
• Mix it into pancake or muffin batter, or other baked goods (you'll probably need to add a little more water)

2) Make a Sweet or Savory Instant Porridge or "Mush"

The idea here is to pour boiling water over flax seed meal to make a kind of porridge that can be flavored in many ways, both sweet and savory. The amount of water will vary according to taste, but about twice the amount of water as flax seed meal is a good starting place. I also like to add a pinch of salt, and if I am going to the sweet side, a little sweetener as well. Let it thicken for a couple of minutes while the seeds absorb the water. If it's too thick and "gel-like", add more water.

Here are some ideas for "mix-ins" for flax meal.

• Peanut butter and cinnamon
• Any nut butter
• Cinnamon, sweetener, and butter
• Chopped Nuts
• Berries
• Chopped Apple and cinnamon
• Chopped Peaches
• Sugar Free Maple Syrup
• Other sugar-free syrups
• Sugar-free jam
• Unsweetened coconut
• To make it deluxe, add sugar-free chocolate with the coconut
• Coconut milk and sugar-free jam (raspberry is good)
• Butter
• Shredded cheese
• Shredded cheese and chiles (or pepper cheese)
• Cheese and chives
• Cheese and garlic

3) Flax Seed Recipes

Flax seed meal can be the basis for some yummy recipes. Here are all the recipes on the site using flax seed meal:

• Flax Seed Focaccia-Style Bread
• Flax Seed Pizza Crust
• Miracle Brownies
• Apple Flax Muffins
• Chelsie's Cinnamon Flax Cranberry Muffins
• Low-Carb "Doughnut" Muffins
• Garlic Parmesan Flax Seed Crackers
• Flax Seed Peanut Butter Hot Cereal
• Hot Pumpkin "Cereal"
• Satisfying Breakfast Shake
• Berry Protein Fiber Shake
• Flax Meal Breakfast Microwave Pudding

Do you eat flaxseed?

What do recipe do you use it in?

Have a great day! :)

Start your day with breakfast.

DAY 8: EAT BREAKFAST

Good morning!!!

Today I wanted to share the importance of eating breakfast with you.

So many people are confused about whether you should eat breakfast or not.

Trust me, you need to “break the fast”. 

Eating breakfast will give you more energy if you eat a healthy meal.   We can all use more energy, right?

Can eating breakfast help you lose weight?

YES!!!

“Breaking the fast” can actually get your metabolism going and that’s a good thing.  Plus, you can help to curb your hunger and prevent binge eating later in the day.  According to the U.S. National Weight Control Registry, 4 out of 5 people who have successfully lost weight and kept it off eat breakfast every day.

Also, the Harvard Medical School found that obesity and rates of insulin resistance were up to 50 percent lower with the people that ate breakfast daily. They also found breakfast eaters were also less likely to develop heart disease.

Another reason to eat breakfast is to make sure you are getting all your daily nutrients.  You might skip out on essential vitamins that your body needs.

What if you are not hungry?

Don’t eat before you go to bed or eat a lighter dinner.  (Dinner should be your lightest meal anyway.)  Also, try eating before you drink your morning coffee.

What if you don’t have the time?

You can wake up a little earlier.  Prepare your meal ahead of time.  Stock up on healthy food.  Make boiled eggs.  Make a quick protein shake. Find a healthy on-the-go meal bar.

Why should kids eat breakfast?

Breakfast is especially important for children and adolescents. According to the American Dietetic Association, children who eat a healthy breakfast are more likely to:

Meet daily nutrient requirements

Concentrate better

Have better problem-solving skills

Have better hand-eye coordination

Be more alert

Be more creative

Miss fewer days of school

Be more physically active

What is a good breakfast?

I good breakfast includes a low fat protein, carbs from fruit or whole grains and a little healthy fat.

Some examples would be…

whole grain bagel with cream cheese and strawberries

eggs, toasts and blueberries

oatmeal, yogurt and nuts

protein shake and strawberries

whole wheat pancakes, cottage cheese and raspberries

I found this on Mercola.com

According to Cereal FACTS (Food Advertising to Children and Teens Score), which was developed based on the best available science, in consultation with a steering committee of experts in nutrition, marketing, and public health, 

the 10 worst breakfast cereals based on nutrition score are:

1. Kellogg - Corn Pops (or Pops) - Chocolate Peanut Butter
2. Quaker - Cap'n Crunch - w/ Crunchberries
3. Kellogg - Special K - Chocolatey Delight
4. Kellogg - Special K - Blueberry
5. General Mills - Reese's Puffs
6. General Mills - Fiber One - Caramel Delight
7. Kellogg - Cocoa Krispies - Choconilla
8. General Mills - Golden Grahams
9. General Mills - Cinnamon Toast Crunch
10. Kellogg - Corn Pops

Do you eat daily breakfast?

Do your kids?

What is your favorite breakfast?

What did you eat this morning?

What did you feed your kids this morning?

I would love to hear about it!!!

Have a great day! :)

Bonnie 

Want a Healthy Family? Get your Kids Involved!

Welcome to day 6 of my 31 Days to Better Health series! 

How are you liking it so far?

I am having a blast!

Today, I took some pictures/videos of us making lunch.  I feel that one of the best and easiest ways to get your family eating healthy is by getting your kids involved!  They love eating what they make.  I take my kids shopping with me and I also have them help me in the kitchen all the time!

DAY 6: LET YOUR KIDS HELP IN THE KITCHEN

Today we made tuna sandwiches with a twist!

We made tuna mix with tuna, relish and organic mayo and organic wheat bread.

We added organic lettuce.

And here’s the twist… we used cookie cutters for fun! Doesn’t everything taste better when it is shaped like a star?

I had Grace help me today!

She loves stars!!

She has so much fun helping me!

What a big girl.

Perfect!

How fun!!

Then she added the lettuce.

She is very proud of her work!

While she was busy at work, I made the extra bread into bread crumbs.

I didn’t want to waste anything.

Now, I can freeze it for later.

Yum… Lookin’ good!

I made a short video of her today.

We all loved the sandwiches! Thanks Gracie

Do your kids love to help you too? 

What do you like to make together?

Have a healthy day!

Bonnie :)