Thursday, March 21, 2013
Quick and Easy Fish Tacos
With a new baby keeping me busy, I’ve had to find ways to save time in the kitchen. The first step was to be as organized as possible with the initial meal planning and grocery shopping. On Friday nights at dinner, we decide as a family what meals we’re going to have for the following week. Everyone gets to pick at least one meal. I was hoping this would result in less whining at mealtimes, but unfortunately the boys often change their minds and decide they don’t like what they originally picked. Seriously? I don’t have the energy right now to worry about it too much though. If they don’t like it, too bad, I tried. Anyway, on Saturday morning I take that meal plan and make a shopping list, then I take crayons and colour-code the list by sections in the grocery store so I can get my shopping done faster and more efficiently.
I put the meal plan on the fridge so everyone can see what’s on the menu for that day and I don’t have to cringe at that perpetual question: “what’s for dinner?” It also makes it easier for Tony to help get dinner started if I’m preoccupied with the baby. He does alright with cooking as long as he knows what he has to make and has a recipe for it. I’ve been trying to keep meals as simple as possible so that he can help out more. These fish tacos are definitely simple enough for him. We used frozen fish sticks as a shortcut and they worked great. Dinner was ready in 20 minutes and it was a big hit with everyone, even the boys. They loved being able to assemble their own tacos with their favourite fixings. There was no whining…except when the tacos were all gone!
Quick and Easy Fish Tacos
10 frozen fish sticks
10 small flour tortillas
Suggested Toppings:
Avocado lime sauce (recipe below)
Shredded cheese
Coleslaw mix
Diced tomatoes
Salsa
Cook fish sticks according to package directions. Wrap tortillas in foil and put them in oven with the fish sticks for the last 10 minutes of cooking. When fish sticks are cooked, cut them into bite-sized pieces and put them on a plate. Serve fish sticks, tortillas, and toppings buffet-style and let your family dig in!
Avocado Lime Sauce
1 avocado
1 small lime
2 tbsp sour cream
1/2 tsp honey
1 tsp taco seasoning
salt, to taste (optional)
Remove pit and skin from avocado, cut avocado into chunks and put them in a small bowl or large measuring cup. Squeeze out lime juice over the avocado. Grate about 1 tsp of lime zest over top. Add sour cream and honey. Blend with an immersion blender until smooth. Stir in taco seasoning. If your seasoning doesn’t have added salt, you may want to add some.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Banana Oatmeal Muffins
I haven't posted much on Food and Whine in a while, but I promise I have a good excuse. Here she is...
Our darling little Ayla was born on February 8th. I can't believe that was almost a month ago already! If this first month is any indication of how fast the time will fly, my year of maternity leave will be finished before I know it. I thought I'd have more time to blog but so far it's been a little hectic. I've been recovering from a c-section and I finally feel almost back to normal again, but I'm still adjusting to functioning on little to no sleep while looking after two kids and a baby.
One of my many challenges is making the kids' lunches every day. They can't have peanuts at school, so peanut butter sandwiches are not an option. Luckily the boys both love Wow Butter (soy butter). I make sandwiches with it, but that gets a little boring. I added soy butter to these delicious oatmeal muffins and they turned out really well. There's no flour in them, only oats, so they're basically a baked oatmeal. They are perfect for a quick breakfast on the go or for packing in lunches. They also have very little sugar in them. I did add a few chocolate chips on top, just enough to entice the boys to eat them while not overloading them with chocolate. The boys took the bait...and they liked it! These muffins made packing lunches a little easier, which is exactly what I need right now.
Banana Oatmeal Muffins
Adapted from Green Lite Bites
3 very ripe mashed bananas
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
2 eggs
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup soy butter
3 cups rolled oats
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tbsp ground flaxseed
60 chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease or line muffin tin. In a large bowl, combine bananas, almond milk, eggs, honey, vanilla, and soy butter. In another bowl, combine oats, baking powder and flax. Add to wet ingredients and stir until combined. Scoop batter evenly into 15 muffin cups. Top with 4 chocolate chips on each muffin. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until edges begin to brown.
My kids like to whine, especially when it comes to the food they eat, but that doesn’t stop me from trying to make tasty and healthy meals for them. Follow along as I share family-friendly recipes and reviews from my picky family members, who I lovingly call “The Whine Critics.” 
