Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp backing soda

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 stick (1/2 cup) softened butter

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour, falt, and baking soda in a bowl and set aside.  Combine brown sugar, white sugar, butter and vanilla and beat until creamy.  Add eggs and beat.  Add dry ingredients and mix well.  Sitr in walnuts and chocolate chips.  Drop  mixture by very generous spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake 8-9 minutes (times may vary depending different ovens).  

Food on a Road Trip

I took a road trip with my kids recently.  I was very pleased I only spent approximately $25.00 total on food for all of us!  How did I do this?  I will share my plan of action. 

--I had a case of bottled water in the car.  

--I only drank bottled water while driving.

--I filled my kids' sippy cups with water and refilled with water every time we stopped.

--At each stop for gasoline, I allowed the kids to pick out ONE packaged cracker snack.  Each of these cost 50cents to $1.00.  I also picked one up for myself.

--I planned to stop for lunch.  We paid about $10.00 total for lunch, each way.  We ate chicken sandwiches, fruit slices and juice.

Tip I learned:  stopping every hour or so is not only good for everyone to stretched their legs and use the "potty," but it also helps in alertness.  One of the dangers of drinking so much soda and coffee (and consuming high sugar snacks) is while they initially give you a burst of energy, they also bring your alertness even lower than it started--causing you to consume yet another high sugar energy "booster."  Drinking water, eating fairly healthy and stopping freqently had the same effect, was healthier and cost soooo much less!  This tip seemed to work great on this trip.  We'll see if it holds next time I find myself on the road.  I would be curious if anyone else has any great nutrition and cost saving tips for road trips, with or without kids! 

Honey Milk Balls

A yummy and nutritious snack aid!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup peanut butter*

1 cup dry milk solids

1 cup uncooked rolled oats

Mix all ingredients well, then kneed until blended.  Shape into small balls.  These taste best cold!

*even better to use natural peanut butter

Healthy Yogurt Snack

Ingredients:

Plain Yogurt

Organic Granola

Blueberries

Mix desired amount of each together!  Yum!

Tips:  I buy generic, plain yogurt for less than $2.00 a tub.  I also buy the generic granola for less than $3.00 a box and will sometimes subsitute raspberries, or bananas for this snack.  Berries are usually better priced in the spring and summer months!

Car Food Box

A tip on how to save some mega $$ when in the car.

We've all been there.  We're out and about with the kids (or just ourselves) and hunger strikes!  What to do?  The strong temptation, of course, is to pull through the drive through window of a nearby fast food joint.  If you're looking for a way to tame the fast food monster, save some money, yet not let hunger linger on--consider keeping a box of food and drinks in the car.  It doesn't have to be huge or elaborate, just functional.  We keep a small box in the back of our van filled with cheese/cracker snacks, juice bottles, water bottles, a jar of peanuts, a few bags of dehydrated fruit, and plain crackers.  Make sure anything you keep back there is "non perishable."