A classic

Who doesn't love cheesy and crispy chicken parmesan, it's a classic. But it's not the healthiest. I believe that almost everything can be made into a healthier version of it's original self. I've created a baked version that is equally delicious.

Let's begin!!!

Start with two chicken breasts sliced horizontally through the middle, making 4 thin slices of chicken breast. In a bowl combine Parmesan, Italian seasoning, basil, garlic powder, sea salt, and pepper. Coat each chicken breast on both sides with the cheese mix and lay in a baking dish coated with non stick spray.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 min.

Topped with marinara sauce and served with a side of whole wheat elbow pasta. A delicious and healthy classic Italian dinner.

Creamy soup

I have a serious love for soup. It's comforting, filling, and my soup is always packing a big nutritional bang. What I love about this soup is how quick it is to throw together. And also how warm and comforting this bowl of soup is.

In a big pot combine:

1 TB. olive oil

1 diced onion and shallot

1 package frozen broccoli

1 package frozen hash browns

1 quart organic non fat milk

spices: Italian seasoning, garlic, red chili flakes, sea salt, pepper, and basil

2 diced Tj's sun dried tomato chicken sausage

1/4 cup reduced fat cheddar cheese

*Bring to a slow boil and reduce heat to medium. Simmer on low-medium for 30 min.

This is a great soup to freeze and save for a mid week last minute dinner. I would also suggest serving this with a nice crusty soup type bread. A perfect soup for dipping.

Date night

What's the best thing about weekends, it's date nights. And what's the best thing to do on a date night, when you want to just stay home and relax. Cook together and make pizza makes for a nice evening if I do say so myself . So that's what my Saturday night plans were.

Me and my date made homemade pizza. It was delicious and easy to make.

I was in charge of making the dough while my date was chopping away on the veggies. I used a recipe from Jenna. The dough was simple to make and came out soft and delicious, you can find the recipe HERE. Topped off with homemade pizza sauce (a can of tomato sauce, basil, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and garlic). The veggies included red bell pepper, mushrooms, zucchini, and red onion, along with some local mozzarella cheese.

This was the best pizza ever and a great meal for two on a rainy night. Great when you just want to stay in and watch a movie.

Apple cinnamon mini stack

An apple a day keeps the doctor way, and makes for a tasty breakfast.

For me apples are sometimes that forgotten fruit that can be enjoyed many ways for breakfast. Such as mixed in creamy oatmeal, on top of waffles, mixed with yogurt, or made into a topping for pancakes.

This little mini stack includes layers of mini Kodiak pancakes with sauteed apples. The apples were peeled, diced, and mixed with cinnamon, pure maple syrup, and a dash of water for some moisture.

Layered and stacked up with a drizzle of almond butter and a sprinkle of Yogi walnut spice granola.

This will help change up my usual morning banana slump and help me make it to the summer growing season.

How Much Sleep Do Kids Need?

By Gariane Gunter, M.D.

Children these days are busier than ever!  I often hear from parents that it is such a rush to fit everything in and still get the kids to bed on time.  I struggle with the same dilemma at my house.  As a mom, I understand how difficult early bedtimes can be, however, as a psychiatrist, I know why an adequate sleep schedule is so significant for our child's physical and emotional health.   

The American Academy of Pediatrics Guide to Your Child's Sleep provides some helpful guidelines regarding just how much sleep children need at different stages in their development. Keep in mind that these numbers reflect total sleep hours in a 24-hour period. So if your child still naps, you'll need to take that into account when you add up his typical sleep hours.

Birth-6 Months, children need 16-20 hours

6-12 Months, children need 14-15 hours

Ages 1-3, children need 10-13 hours

Ages 3-10, children need 10-12 hours

Ages 11-12, children need 9-12 hours

Teenagers need 10-12 hours of sleep per night

Kids need a lot of sleep, huh?!  Children and teens who are sleep deprived may show some difficult behaviors.  They may display frequent irritability, overreact emotionally, have difficulty concentrating, forget things easily, wake often during the night, and may even display hyperactive behaviors.

Teaching kids how to keep a nighttime routine that gets them to bed early will help your children be at their best.  Sweet Dreams!

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New direction

I feel like a computer nerd lately. Spending hours trying to figure out what is the issue with my computer. Why are things so challenging sometimes. But some good things have come out of this down time. I have spent some time thinking about some things and making a few decisions.

I have decided that as my life goes in a new direction I'm also ready for my blog to go in a new direction. I have decided to focus more on testing and creating healthy recipes and sharing those recipes with everyone. So what this new direction means is that I will not be posting twice a day or even everyday. And I will not be focusing on a day in the life of me.

Instead I will be posting about every other day. And when I do I will be sharing a delicious and healthy recipe. Whether it's breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, or dessert inspired. And don't you worry, I will still be whipping up a lot of recipes using oats.

Test test, hello

Well it sounds like I don't need a new computer. Just some up grades, more memory for my computer, and a different way of organizing my pictures and publishing my posts. Please hang with me. I'm getting things worked out and you know I will be back better then ever very soon.