Tuna fish, we meet again

In my last post I mentioned my love of Lenten Fish Fries. I forgot until this morning that along with Fish Fries, Lent also brings one of my most hated foods: canned tuna fish.

If you didn't already know, Catholics are supposed to abstain from eating meat on Fridays in Lent, as well as Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. I tend to solve this problem by eating a vegetarian meal or having some sort of fish filet. Jim tends to solve this by making tuna fish sandwiches.

I have several issues with canned tuna fish.

1. It comes in a can that looks like it could be mistaken for cat food (which, in my opinion, it probably is)

2. It looks like something my toddler ate then spit out

3. It makes the entire house reek and requires hours of fumigation/gas masks/candles to get rid of the smell

4. It is generally paired with one of my other most hated foods, celery

5. Tuna can be absolutely delicious when it is served properly (mmm, ahi tuna) and it's insulting to me that someone decided to turn something scrumptious into a pile of cat puke

Every year I debate whether canned tuna fish is too much of a price to pay for the crispy greasy goodness of Friday Fish Fry. Maybe in true Catholic fashion I should just offer it up.

Happy Fat Tuesday!

I'm celebrating Fat Tuesday by being a fatass and consuming a piece of cherry pie. It's all for the greater good. Although I won't be fasting tomorrow (I'm sure God and the pope understand I have to consume 5000000 calories a day while nursing), I feel that at the very least I can give up eating sweets for a day. Plus, Jim will be fasting and I won't be inconsiderate and eat pie in front of him while he is hungry (you're welcome). I mean, someone has to eat this thing before it goes bad, right?

Tomorrow starts my favorite liturgical season: Fish Fry season.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Bars

A while ago I found a recipe for homemade granola bars on Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts but never got around to making them. Recently, though, Ella has been on a big kick with helping me in the kitchen so I decided since it was a fairly easy recipe to make, we would finally make them. They came out super yummy and definitely are both toddler and mommy approved. The only downside is you have to store them in the fridge, meaning they aren't exactly something to toss in the diaper bag. 

The recipe calls for mini marshmallow bites. I searched in several stores around here and couldn't find such a thing. I ended up using regular marshmallows and tearing them into small pieces. Not quite as aesthetically pleasing, but I'm guessing a similar end result. 

Helping mix everything together (and taste testing while she's at it)

The finished product. You can see the big chunks of marshmallow. 

Enjoying the fruits of her labor. 

The recipe, as found on Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts:

1/2 c peanut butter
1/3 c honey
1/4 c coconut oil
1 1/2 c old fashioned rolled oats
2 tbsp wheat germ
1/2 c flax meal
1/4 c mini marshmallow bites
1/4 c mini chocolate chips

Line an 8-inch baking dish with foil and set aside.

Heat peanut butter, honey, and coconut oil in a small sauce pan until melted, stirring frequently.

In a bowl, mix together oats, wheat germ, flax meal, and marshmallow bites. Pour in the melted peanut butter mixture and stir well to combine. Put the mixture into the baking dish. Press down gently with a greased spatula. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the top and press in gently into the bars.

Let set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Store in the fridge.

The Pinterest/Food Blog Rule

I am enacting the following rule for myself: No looking at Pinterest/food blogs when pregnant. Or possibly ever.

Why? Because now I have ingredients to make peanut butter granola bars, graham crackers, and frozen yogurt. What's the problem with that, you might ask? Well, now instead of already having peanut butter granola bars, graham crackers, and frozen yogurt waiting for me in my kitchen, I have to make them myself. And while looking at all these pictures of yummy foods and going to the grocery store, I conveniently forgot how little I would actually want to stand in the kitchen for hours making all this stuff. Somehow I don't think I'll be able to con sweet talk Jim into making them for me.

My problem with eating healthy

I try to eat healthy. I seriously do. I'm big into making the majority of our food from scratch instead of buying pre-made food. I mean, hello, I even have made my kid her own snack crackers. Obviously I wouldn't go through that much of an effort if I was not passionate about making sure we eat healthy.

But I have a problem with this. A big problem.

See, here is what happens. I go to the grocery store, feeling self-righteous in the fact that while other people are putting soda and potato chips into their cart, mine is being filled with things like broccoli and quinoa.

I get home, and start making all sorts of delicious, nutritious things for us to eat. Everything is going great. I am smug in my knowledge that while I could have bought ice cream, instead I am making banana bread as a treat.

Then a day comes where I look to see what there is to eat. As I peer through the fridge and pantry, I start to feel incredibly stabby. "Who the heck had the brilliant idea that I should eat granola and yogurt for breakfast?!" I think angrily.

Usually this ends with me finding the bag of chocolate chips I had hidden from myself in the back of the pantry. Feeling remorseful, I go off to the grocery store, determined that this week I will not fall victim to the siren call of sugary goodness.

It's a vicious cycle.

Homemade cheesy crackers

Ella loves (and I mean loves) goldfish crackers. So imagine how excited I was when I came across a recipe for homemade goldfish crackers on Tasty Kitchen! I don't have a food processor so I had to fudge it a bit with a blender, but I think they still came out amazing. If you do use the blender, do it in small batches and on a low setting. We used mini holiday cookie cutters for ours, as that's what I have around the house. The recipe states that it makes around 7 dozen, but we were able to make a bit more than that- there's a whole other baking sheet not pictured, just to give you an idea. The best part is, they are both husband and toddler approved! 

Our holiday-shaped cheesy crackers

Nom nom- toddler approved! She kept asking for more. 

Here is the recipe, as found on Tasty Kitchen:

8 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
4 tbsp butter, cut into cubes
1 cup flour
3/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp cold water

Pulse everything (except water) in the food processor until the dough resembles coarse sand.

Pulse in water, 1 tbsp at a time.

Remove dough from the processor, wrap in plastic, and chill for 20 minutes.

Roll the dough out and cut into desired shapes. Place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until crispy.

Makes approximately 7 dozen crackers.