Hold Your Bananas!!!

A little over a week ago, on Saturday, we went to a local produce market, and while we were there, we saw that they were selling bags of bruised and overripe bananas for only a dollar a bag! It was an amazing price, and we picked up two bags, with visions of banana bread and banana cookies dancing through our minds. The plan was to make the bread that day, but after going to two book sales, we decided it was a bad idea. So now the question was what to do with all these bananas since they would not last until Monday. Freezing them seemed like the best option, so I hopped on Google to find out what the best way would be. As it turns out, there really isn’t any one way that works best. You can either  freeze them with the peel on, with it off, cut up, or mashed! We chose to peel and freeze them.

First, you need bananas.  As you can see, ours were quite bruised.

Peel them, and place on wax paper covered trays so that they are not touching. Put them in the freezer over night, or until frozen. Freezing them on trays will keep them from freezing together into one big chunk in the bag.

Once they are frozen, put them into freezer bags. Next time you have a recipe that calls for bananas, pull out however many you need, thaw them, and enjoy!

We’ll post what we make with them when the time comes!

My Apologies

It has been about a month since we last posted {edit: I just realized it’s been 2 months since our last real post!}, and over that time I’ve wanted to get back to writing and posting, but something has held me back. Mostly it’s been the trouble I’ve had with actually writing, as well as not knowing how to break a silence. But it’s also been something else – the need to immerse myself in my family and home, seeking God on my knees in that safe and yet altogether trying environment, and avoiding the distraction and temptation I face when I start to do a lot on the computer. It has been a very blessed time, and God has given me back my words. He has set my heart at peace and renewed my desire to share online the joy and importance of serving my family.

Look forward to these posts over the next week:
Thrifty bananas
Family Economics 2012 trip report
Rambling thoughts on self-control

Until then, Cheerio!!! *smile*

Afternoon Snapshots

Our weather has been so lovely! Sitting outside late this afternoon having a “meeting” with Mama and Amanda I felt inspired to snap a few series’. Critique is welcome and appreciated.

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Amanda

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Michelle

Meal Planning for Travel

Sorry this is late. I tried writing after midnight on Saturday, but that didn’t work out so well!

Planning the food is one of the most exciting, though difficult, parts when we go on road trips. As we have been changing our diet to eliminate refined foods over the past years, and especially this past year to purposefully eat nutritious foods, it has become more complicated and sometimes less tasty. But this time, I believe our menu may have struck a balance! Mama and I are excited about it and look forward to seeing how it goes. If there’s one problem, it will be running out of cooler space…

MEALS

• We decided on sandwiches and cold salads for most of the lunches and dinners we had to bring:
  Brown Rice Salad with an Asian flair (pictured above) – we tried it on Wednesday (omitting the raisins), and it was delicious! The cashews really make it!
  Four Bean Salad (Simply in Season cookbook, pg 104)
  Vegetable Pasta Salad (Simply in Season, Pg 107)
• For a hot meal at the hotel, Mama made Lentils and Tomatoes – a simple dish with 13 cloves of garlic! A great immune system boost for vacation! She made it ahead and froze it in re-used jars (we used pasta sauce jars), so we have “disposable” glass containers. They’ll also serve as “ice” in our cooler. To go with it I made ahead and froze the best flaky whole wheat biscuits (tutorial coming soon).
• Lady L made a big batch of Whole Wheat Tortillas last week. Being very versatile, they can be eaten plain, with leftovers on them, as a sandwich wrap, or even with the snacks below. She also rolled some really thin and “over-cooked” them so they became crispy like crackers!

SNACKS

• Hummus! Another immune-boosting garlic dish! To make it even more economical and healthy, we soaked and cooked dry beans according to Sally Fallon’s directions in Nourishing Traditions. I’ll also be packing this in re-used jars – small ones so there’s no sharing in between seats and they’re used quickly and not left partially used in the cooler for long. We’re bringing crackers and tortilla chips to go with it – the tortillas themselves also are delicious!
• Granola Bars! We finally found a recipe that tastes almost like the ones from the store, but better! Made ahead and froze.
• It’s like a family tradition to bring a dessert when we go on a trip, usually cookies. I’ve been making these Chocolate Chip Cookies. Made with whole wheat flour and Sucanat (or Rapadura/Rapunzel) they are a delicious healthier cookie and come really close to Toll House. Once again, I made these ahead and froze them, but we’ve yet to see how they turn out when thawed!
• Fruit, of course. Apples, and bananas, and grapes, and oranges.
• Perhaps another family tradition – we bring homemade croutons to snack on. Seriously! It’s like garlic bread in cube form! Mama really likes them paired with grapes.
• Trail Mix – I LOVE cashews and tried making the Crispy Cashews from Nourishing Traditions. They taste good, but don’t have that signature cashew flavor and butter-i-ness that I love. It may be that I let them soak a little too long (my oven was in use – poor planning).

And that’s most of it! It sure does seem like a lot more when you’re making it. I’ve already had to fore-go making our own sandwich rolls and the salsa, but I’m still attempting crackers tomorrow morning… though, I must confess, we bought some at the store as back up! We leave in two days!

How do you plan nutritious food when traveling? How do you prepare?

I found the following pages and their comments helpful when planning:

• http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2010/06/healthy-frugal-travel-meals.html
• http://www.laurelofleaves.com/2011/02/healthy-eating-while-traveling/
• http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/08/31/menu-plan-monday-camping-edition/
• http://www.naturallyknockedup.com/eating-healthy-on-the-road/
• http://gnowfglins.com/2009/07/30/frugal-healthy-eating-while-travelling/
• http://realfoodforlessmoney.com/food-for-a-road-tripcamping-trip/

Trip Preparations

Yikes! I am really out of the habit of posting! Of course we have been quite busy, too. We’ll be leaving in less than a week for the Family Economics Conference 2012… and I’M SO EXCITED! There are so many happy little details that I could ramble on about, but to sum it all up, God has abundantly blessed us in being able to take this trip and attend the conference. I’m also thrilled to be doing a lot of the food planning and prep for this trip, which I hope to be posting about tomorrow. But for now, here are a few pictures of what’s been going on over the past few days.

With some lovely weather early in the week, Lady L and I went for a bike ride

At the dining room table - a busy hub of our family-centered-homeschooling-lifestyle. Amanda helping Lady L with some schoolwork while Mom works on something special...

Sewing Colonial dresses! It's been a "dream" of ours for awhile to make period clothing and go to/host historical events (history is a favorite subject), and this year, we will have the opportunity to do so by attending the Liberty Day Celebration held in conjunction with the Family Economics conference!

Lady L's dress, prior to hemming and finishing touches

Once again the dining room table is a mix of sewing station and school room

Practicing for piano lessons with Amanda

And lastly, trying out a new recipe for the trip - a sneak preview of tomorrow's post! Lady L did a great job putting it together and it was delicious!