Making Dinners Archives - Wannabe Balanced Mom

August 15, 2018 · in back to school· healthy drinks· Making Dinners

A Summer BBQ to End the Season with a Bang

Well, the sunny season is about over, and the air is about to have a nip. So, if you want to make the most of the summer before dips in the pool and squirt gun fights with the kids is over, then you might as well send the season off in the right way by throwing the perfect end of summer BBQ. If you’re looking for some ideas about how your backyard can rock such an event, then check out these tips to help you throw a hit BBQ…

Check out the video tour of my newly decorated back yard.

Have Your Guests RSVP

When you start planning this puppy, you want to make sure that you get enough meat and other goodies to throw the perfect party. For this reason, you want to get RSVPs from everyone who is going to show up. It might seem a little annoying, but it’s not as annoying as finding out that you either over or under-bought everything you needed because your guests were too lazy to let you know if they were coming or not. Also, if you have some definite RSVPs, then you can have people bring some things that you won’t have time to do right, yourself. And if you’re needing some healthy BBQ food ideas then check out my latest YouTube video.

Have Plenty of Tableware

Too often when people plan a kickass barbecue do they forget to account for how much tableware they need. It’s easy to buy the food and start cooking a sweet meal that you’re excited for everyone to try, but you need to make sure that there are easy ways for everyone to conveniently partake of these party favors. For this reason, make sure that you stock up on the plastic and paper goods, including plates, cups, forks, knives, and the like. If it comes down to it, you can have people just use your normal dishes, but be prepared for them to get lost or broken.

Make Cool Hangout Spots

Any party, whether it is a BBQ or a house party or whatever, needs a variety of different hangout spots where people can gather and fraternize. This is the key essence of a “get together.” Because of this, you want to figure out what areas of your backyard make the right hangout spots. Obviously, a patio is a natural hanging out environment, provided that you add some tables and seating. In addition, a built-in firepit can be a great addition to your backyard. You should also have an area inside of your home that people can chill at, if they want to step into an air conditioned room for a little bit.

Have Games Planned

When your BBQ is in full swing, you’ll probably have lots of responsibilities that you’ll be tending to, not least of which is actually cooking the food. Because of this, you’ll want a lot of different activities that your guests can partake in, so that they don’t get bored. This can be accomplished by setting up a variety of fun backyard games to play. If you have a pool, make sure that it is clean, open, and ready to go. Likewise, put out any types of games that can be played on the lawn, such as cornhole, bocce ball, croquet, or any other favorites. If lots of kids are going to be at the party, then water games will especially be a hit.

Add a Pinch of Music

If you really want the perfect cherry to put on top of your BBQ, and are looking for a way to keep life injected into the party, then have a way to play music in your backyard throughout the event. This can be done by using a bluetooth speaker or, if you really want to go above and beyond, renting a PA system for the event. An extra bonus of getting a PA system is that many places will rent out a karaoke system, as well, so guests can take turns performing their best/worst renditions of everyone’s favorite songs!

September 19, 2017 · in Activities For Kids· back to school· Making Dinners

5 Simple Back to School Dinners

Ever since I first became a mom, I’ve known the importance of family meal time. Have I been very good at making it happen? NOPE

Having all these babies has given me plenty of excues NOT to do it, since babies don’t let you sit for very long, and I feel like I’m constantly making separate meals for each child based on their pickiness and moods.

This year I REALLY want to make an effort to make family meal time more meaningful and fun. So I’m getting myself a little more organized and have found some great resources to help me out (I’ve listed them below). I also LOVE getting festive, and so do my kids. I’ve decided to create one of these blog posts with meal ideas for each month of the year. This month being the Back to School Theme. I have a lot of fun and festive ideas for next month too so be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter in order to be notified when I post.

First of all, I created this free printable for you. It’s 5 simple dinner ideas with a grocery list included. You can find all my free printables in my RESOURCE LIBRARY. Also, be sure to watch my YouTube video demonstrating how I make all these meals.

Here are some great resources I’ve found on Amazon. My goal is to make meal time, festive, spiritual, and fun! So with these two books and dinner games, I’m finding it that much easier to do.

Family Time Fun Dinner Games and Activities

One Year of Dinner Table Devotions

Mealtime Devotions: 90 Faith-Building Ideas Your Kids Will Eat Up! (Adventures in Odyssey Books)

&nbs

March 2, 2017 · in crafts· drinks· happiness· Inspiration· Making Dinners

6 Creative Outlets for “Non-Creative” People

I’ve noticed that many people out there don’t consider themselves creatives, just because they don’t have a knack for painting, graphic design, photography, writing, music, or something else of that nature. But honestly, I think there’s a creative pursuit out there for just about anyone, “creative” or not. In other words—if you don’t consider yourself a creative person, maybe it’s simply because you haven’t found the right creative outlet yet. For those who need a creative outlet but don’t consider themselves very creative people, here is a look at some different creative outlets for you to try.

Cooking

Fresh colorful organic vegetables on a rustic wooden table background, farming and healthy food concept

And by cooking I mean cooking or baking. Cooking is something you do on a daily basis anyway (at least ideally), so it’s a great venue to seek inspiration. You don’t have to be artistic or a master chef to be a good cook; you simply need to be able to follow a recipe! And once you’ve mastered the basics, there are a wealth of creative possibilities out there. You could start creating your own smoothie recipes, having fun with cookie decorating, or play around with tweaking favorite recipes.

Knitting

yarn lying on a wooden table next to a stack of sweaters and brown plaid

Knitting seems to be climbing in popularity these days, and the great thing about it is that even a beginner can pick it up with just a little effort. Sure, you might not be knitting Norwegian sweaters tomorrow, but you could quite possibly knit a scarf in under a week. There are definitely advantages to having a creative eye for knitting, but even if you don’t have one, all you need is a good pattern and some attention to detail to create something amazing.

Sewing

Similar to knitting, sewing is a creative activity that at the beginning is really all about learning concepts. If you can learn how to use a sewing machine (remember, it is, at the end of the day, just a machine), as well as how to follow a sewing pattern, then you can learn to sew. Keep relying entirely on sewing patterns as you develop your sewing skills, or begin to start making your own creations from scratch once you feel you have the skill—either way, you’ll get your creative juices flowing.

Dancing

If you think about it, dancing is built entirely on creativity. As soon as you turn up the music and start jamming out to your favorite songs, it’s entirely up to you to create dance moves that line up with the beat. Many people are too shy to hit the dance floor at public events; if this is you, why not set aside time for some solo dancing in the comfort of your own living room? You’ll be surprised by how therapeutic it is, and as this article states, dancing can really help you knock down some of your personal barriers. Tip: If you’re too shy to even dance in your own living room, try dimming the lights and dancing with headphones in. It’s surprisingly fun, especially with multiple people!

Music

Okay, hear me out. Some people definitely have more of a knack for music than others. But if it’s always been your dream to play an instrument, I say go for it! Learning to play an instrument is less about creativity at first and more about being diligent with your practice. So it’s really no pressure if you don’t consider yourself a creative person. Find a local teacher and have some fun picking out songs that you’d like to learn to play. As a bonus, this article points out that studying music can strengthen the mind overall (which is great for your supposedly logical mind).

Photography

Vintage, retro SLR camera and accessories on wood surface

Photography is an excellent creative outlet for the more logically minded because it actually draws on many scientific concepts. In photography, you study how manipulating light exposure, focal length, aperture, and shutter speed can influence how a photo turns out. Check out my Photography 101 article. Now, this isn’t to say that being a good photographer is all about owning a nice camera and knowing the science behind it. There are always going to be those people who are more creatively minded and who are simply photography artists. But that shouldn’t stop you from trying your hand at it! The process of learning the fundamental concepts behind photography is a fun creative pursuit all on its own—and chances are you’ll be surprised by the works of art you produce along the way.

February 3, 2017 · in Activities For Kids· Life of a Wannabe· Making Dinners· Mom Stuff

2 Family Valentines Day Ideas Your Kids Will L.O.V.E

Isn’t this such a great time of year to celebrate LOVE in all forms? Love for our spouse, love for our family and love for ourselfes. If you’re struggling with low confidence then check out my 14 Days of Loving Yourself post I created last year.

I really try to make holidays special for my kids. It’s doesn’t always happen every year and for every holiday, but I do my best. Most years we’ve done some kind of activity as a family for Valentines Day. So I thought I’d create this post to highlight some of the things we’ve done over the years to help give you some ideas for your family.

Family Dinner

Decorating the table and making fun “heart” themed dinners seem to be quite the hit in our house. The kids think it’s so much fun to create as many different heart shaped foods as possible! A couple years ago we even made it restarant style and had menus and everything. It was a lot of fun for the kids to act as servers by taking orders and serving up the meals themselves. Keep in mind I’m sharing old pics as well as some new. My old pictures aren’t the best quality. I’ve come a long way with my photography skills, haha.

Not the best quality picture but this was before I knew a thing or two about photography.

You can use heart shaped cookie cutters or even kitchen scissors to cut food into hearts.

We made some yummy healthy jello in this heart shaped pan, topped with vegan coconut whip cream and fruit! This is my favorite!

We made these fun frozen yogurt hearts out of home made strawberry Kefir. So they are low in sugar and full of probiotics. All you need is some nice Easy Flex Heart 24-Cavity Silicone Molds.

14 Days of Love Lessons

Festive dinners and foods are fun but mostly I want to teach my children the importance of LOVE. So with the inspiration of one of my friends, I set aside a little time each night in February leading up to Valentines to have lessons on love. I found these cute heart shaped containers at the dollor store and inside I’ve placed a piece of paper with a small list of things we will do and talk about.

I love taking advantage of all the wonderful resources on YouTube. We’ve kind of made it a tradition now with each holiday we look up YouTube videos. Here’s a list below of some ideas you can include in your daily lesson and activity.

~Make Class Valentines and boxes together as a family

~Make special drinks you can call “Cupids Brew” In this drink below we put a little sherbet ice cream in Marinelli’s

~Play games: Toss candy hearts into cups

~Watch our own home videos

~Make fruit plates

~Play I love you game: have each person say what they love about each member of the family.

~Look through family photo albums and share favorite memories.

~Decorate heart shaped cupcakes or cookies.

YouTube Videos

~Love One Another

~Love Thy Neighbor

~Families Can Be Together Forever

~What Matters Most

~Bullying- Stop It

~Moments That Matter Most

~My Brother Hyrum

~Continue in Patience

Scriptures on Love

John 13:34-35

1 John 4:11

Mosiah 4:14-15

Moses 5:2

Matt. 16:19

D&C 110:13-14,16

D&C 132:15-21

4 Nephi 1:15

3 Nephi 11:22,29

Proverbs 15:1

Proverbs 17:17

Moroni 8:26

Honestly friends, these are the 2 best family valentines day activities our children love doing. What about you? What have you planned for your family valentines day? I’d love to hear about it!

October 31, 2016 · in gluten free· Making Dinners

Oodles of Zoodles

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #PickedAtPeak #CollectiveBias

I want to share one of my favorite go to recipes that is perfect for quick week night meals. I’m all about simplifying my life, so when I learned about the new Prego Farmers’ Market® picked at peak, spaghetti sauce at Walmart, I was excited to try it. I’m not the kind of mom that makes everything from scratch. Trust me, I’d really like to be, but “ain’t no momma got time for that”. This sauce actually DOES taste like home made sauce. It’s made with the kind of ingredients you’d find at your local farmers market. Vine ripened tomatoes, garlic, basil and oregano. Here’s a coupon for you .

So I made my weekly trip to Walmart and picked up the sauce as well as some fresh zucchini for the noodles and yellow cherry tomatoes for a pop of color. I also grabbed some ground turkey and parmesan cheese.

First prepare the zoodles with a Veggitti Pro , also found at Walmart. Then just brown the ground turkey (see vegan option below), drained out the grease and added the sauce to the pan to warm the sauce.

TIP: Make meal prep easier and prepare LOTS of zoodles at once. You can save them in an air tight container in the fridge for up to a week. This way you kill two birds with one stone and can create a whole new dish with the zoodles on a different night of the week. Like an Asian dish would be yum!

Then in a separate pan, add the zoodles, cherry tomatoes, a spoonful of coconut oil, sprinkle with salt and cook literally only 2 minutes or so. I like my zoodles to be as raw as possible. Just basically warming them up. The longer you cook them, the less nutrition they have. So less is more I always say.

LOTS AND LOTS OF PARMESAN!!!!

Vegan’s I’ve got you covered…

Don’t worry, I have a vegan option for ya. If you have my Wannabe Healthy book, you know I’m really into sprouting. Sprouting your nuts, seeds and grains is a great way to enhance the nutrition and enzyme content of your food. So instead of the turkey, you can make these yummy sprouted lentil patties for protein.

First you just need to sprout your lentils. All you do to sprout is soak the lentils in water for a few hours, then drain and rinse. After you’ve rinsed the lentils thoroughly just set them on your counter with a paper towel over the bowl and watch the magic begin. After a couple days you will see them begin to sprout. Be sure to rinse them about 3 times a day to prevent bacteria growth.

Now once they have sprouted, just place in a blender with a little water, spagetti sauce, brown rice flour, and salt. I don’t usally measure, but I’m guessing I used about 2 cups of the lentils, 2T water, 1/4 cup spag. sauce, 1T. brown rice flour and a sprinkle of sea salt.

Blend for just a few seconds. I don’t like it to be completly pureed, it’s nice to have a little texture.

Then just add a little coconut oil to your skillet, heat the pan, and scoop out the lentil mixture and create little patties with you spoon.

After the patties are cooked you can just place it right on top of your zoodles and pour over the sauce. It’s super yummy!!!

Mmmmmmm, this is hands down one of my favorite things to eat. What’s your favorite fall comfort food?

March 10, 2011 · in 52 Weeks of Balance Project· Giveaways· Life of a Wannabe· Making Dinners

Tortillas Soup PLUS Another Planner Giveaway!!!

As most of you already know I’ve developed a day planner I like to call the Wanna Be Balanced Planner. Inside this planner you’ll find all kinds of useful organizational tools as well as 3 months of meal plans WITH weekly grocery lists. My goal is to make 12 months of meals, so far I have 5. You can buy the additional months as they become available.

I’ve borrowed recipes from all over the web, but now my new goal is to start creating my own. I usually add my personal touch to basic recipes anyway, so I thought why not share them with you.

Another thing I’m working on to go in the day planners is a 4 week exercise program with meal plans catering more towards weight loss. This can be purchased separately as well. It should be ready to present to you within the next couple of weeks.

Last week I made some delicious Tortilla Soup ( recipe is included in month 5 of the planners). I’ll share the recipe first, then below I’ll give you the details on the giveaway. You’ll all have a chance to WIN one of my specialty day planners.

Here are ALMOST all the items you’ll need for the soup. Later I decided that the consistency was too soupy for my liking. I like soups to be on the thicker side, so I added a can of tomato sauce.

Chop the onions WITHOUT tearing up in the process.
Man I think my eyes are just so sensitive because every time I cut onions my eyes are burning so bad to the point where I’m cutting with my eyes closed.
I’m known for my brains 🙂

Chop 3 cloves of garlic, then saute them in a tablespoons of olive oil.

I really hate measuring, so I usually just guess, but I would say that a couple teaspoons of chili powder would do the trick.

Then a couple sprinkles of dried oregano…

Add a can of diced tomatoes and green chilies…

A can of chicken broth…

Then a can of rinsed black beans and a can of corn…

Chop up some fresh cilantro and add it to the pot. About 1/4 cup.

I really hate cooking chicken. Handling it raw just grosses me out and I never seem to cook it right. Either I don’t cook it enough and the middle is pink which of course makes me lose my appetite and end up throwing it out, OR it’s extremely dry. So in my opinion, buying the rotisserie is the way to go:) It saves time, is cooked to perfection and tastes incredible!!!

Just start pulling it apart with a fork and adding pieces to the soup.

Now here is where I noticed I needed to add the tomato sauce to thicken it up.

Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes or so. While it’s simmering you can get your garnishes ready.

Crushed tortilla chips, avocado’s my favorite, green onions, Monterey jack cheese, and sour cream.

Isn’t it beautiful!!!!

Okay, now for the giveaway!!! One of you lucky ladies now has the chance to get one of these for FREE. Just help me spread the word by doing some of these things below, then you can leave a separate comment in the comment section of this post for each thing you do. Be sure to leave your email address if it’s not already public in your profile. This way I have a way of contacting you if you’re the winner. Giveaway ends 3-25. The winner will be selected using Random.org.

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*Become of fan of Balanced Moms on Facebook. Just click the “like” button.

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Also, I’d love it if you voted for me on Top Mommy Blogs. Just click this icon below and that counts as a vote. No need to do anything else beyond that. Just click!!!

Next week on Wanna Be Balanced Mom

*Turning 30
My dreaded 30th birthday is on Monday. Can we just skip that day?

*Spring Fashion
I’ll be posting some cute spring finds for ya.

*Purse Pics
What’s in your purse? If you’d like to submit your purse pics then email me at crystal@escoweb.net. I’ll be sharing your pics next week. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, refer to this blog post for the details.
http://www.wannabbalancedmom.com/2011/02/whats-in-your-bag.html