St. Patrick’s Spinach Pancakes

These green spinach packed pancakes are the perfect start to St. Patty’s day, but we honestly eat them all year round! They freeze great and are an easy way to sneak in some veggies for the picky eaters in your life. Top them with chopped green apple, a drizzle of your favorite nut butter, or a little maple syrup. 

Ingredients: 

2 cups oats

2 cups spinach

1 1/2 cups milk (or milk alternative)

1 banana

1/3 cup apple sauce 
1/4 cup raisins

1/2 tsp baking powder 

1 tsp vanilla 

1 tsp cinnamon 

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in the blender. Blend until very well combined. Let batter sit for about 10 minutes to let thicken slightly. Cook pancakes in skillet over medium low heat for 3-4 minutes per side. 

Kid, mom, and RD approved!

Makes about 13 pancakes (using 1/4 cup of batter per pancake)

Recipe adapted from www.fitmomma.com

Simplify Your Morning Routine

About a month ago I hit my limit with hectic mornings. Let’s just say, it wasn’t only my baby that shed a few tears. I’ve always been a morning person, but I had let myself get away from my normal morning habits that allow for a smooth start to the day. Since then I’ve been working on getting back into a good morning routine. Here are my best practices to simplify your mornings and help get you out the door on time:

1. Place your alarm to where you must get out of bed to turn it off. The snooze button is my worst enemy! I feel so much better when I get out of bed when my alarm goes off the first time. Pressing snooze over and over (and over) again isn’t productive, doesn’t allow of any additional good quality sleep, and starts your day out on the wrong foot. Setting backup alarms is a good idea, just in case you manage to sleep walk over to your alarm and turn it off. But, set your backup alarms close together. I set 3 alarms, 3 minutes apart. That way you don’t get too far off your schedule even if you wake up a little later than anticipated.
2. Preset your coffee maker. Waking up to fresh brewed coffee is so much better than struggling to make it while you’re still half asleep. Bonus points for starting your day well if you spend a few quite moments sipping your coffee. Whether you pray, meditate, or simply sit in silence for a few minutes, this helps focus your mind on the day ahead.
3. Prep the night before. And I’m talking about everything!

   -Meal Prep: Breakfast, lunch, and snacks for the whole family. Have easy grab-and-go breakfast items available. I love to freeze homemade muffins (like these) into individual packs, then simply heat in the microwave in the morning. I even like to go ahead and set out my travel coffee mug by the coffee maker, its one less thing to look for in the mornings. 

   -Bags: Pack any bags you can the night before. I like to pack Eli’s backpack, my work bag, and breast pump bag as much as I can the night before. There are always a few things (like cooler packs) I have to add in the morning, but it’s better than doing it all! 

   -Clothes: Lay out clothes for you and your kids. Everything from undies, to shoes and accessories.

4. Load your bags into the car early. Getting a kid fed, dressed, ready, and in the car is enough to worry about without also balancing an arm full of bags. Before I get my son up, I like to go ahead and put his backpack and my bags in the car. It’s one less thing to do later while he is at my feet. If you don’t have to pack anything that requires refrigeration, you can even go ahead and load your bags into your car at night! Before I had a kid I still liked to do this because I found I was much less likely to forget anything!
5. Set an alarm for 10 minutes before you need to leave. This is what I have affectionately named the “Get Your Booty in the Car Alarm”. It may sound silly to you, but if you have any trouble leaving the house on time, try it! It gives you a ten-minute heads up that you need to kick it into high gear to get wherever you’re going on time.

I hope these tips help start your mornings off right! -Margaret

Batch Freezer Smoothies

I love smoothies because they are convenient to eat on the go and are packed with vitamins, minerals, and fiber. But I really hate the hassle of getting all the ingredients out each time I want one and despise cleaning the blender! To make life easier, I’ve started making a big batch and then freezing single servings in mason jars. If you want to have a smoothie for breakfast, just move it to the fridge to thaw overnight (at least 8 hours). If you want to have it later in the day, take it out of the freezer in the morning, let it thaw at room temp, and it’ll be ready by lunch time! Here is one of my favorite recipes, it makes 5 servings and freezes great.

Ingredients:

4 cups of spinach

5 cups milk (I use coconut milk, but any kind will do)

3 bananas

4 cups frozen mixed berries

1 cup frozen pineapple

3 tablespoons hemp seeds (chia seeds or ground flax seeds are also great!)

4 tablespoons sunflower seed butter (or nut butter of your choice)

Directions: Put all ingredients in the blender in the order listed above (this ensures that the spinach gets blended well). Blend until smoothie consistency. Pour equal amounts of smoothie into 5 mason jars, make sure to leave a little room at the top for it to expand as it freezes. Put the lids on the mason jars and place in freezer. Enjoy!