Burgers and brats and brownies, oh my!

It's a holiday weekend which means there is food all around and not necessarily the healthiest of foods! Now I don't think there's anything wrong with enjoying a good hot dog or burger every once in a while but since I am in weight loss mode and haven't gotten to the gym much this week I feel the need to make extra wise choices today and tomorrow.  Thankfully, the bbq we are attending tonight with our small group is a potluck so I get to be in control of what I'll take and plan to not indulge in meat, breads and desserts.  I'm ok with this because we're going to hang out with friends and meet new people, therefore food is an accessory to the fun not all of the fun (some of y'all don't struggle with this but I do so it's a process of reminding myself). 

This past week we tried some really good vegeterian dishes from an awesome website called Peas and Thank You which my friend Brittany recommended (thanks Britt!).  One of them was a Peanut Noodle Salad that rocked our faces off! One of Scott's favorite things is peanut sauce  and this gave us the chance to add some healthy bok choy, beautiful red bell pepper and crunchy edamame! I've never purchased the fire roasted tomatoes that she uses in this recipe and I seriously could have just eaten them straight from the can...so smoky, so juicy, so summer.  For that recipe visit the site at http://peasandthankyou.com/recipage/?recipe_id=6001878. 

Here's my sweet "W" helping me that night by tasting the peanut butter!

Since I have a toddler who only wants to dine on goldfish crackers, fruit loops and the occasional leaf off the ground it's become a challenge to get him excited about eating vegetables.  I have to 'sneak' a lot of things in his foods.  He LOVES zuchinni chips and we made those this week as well as sweet potato pancakes--yum! If any of you have sneaky healthy foods you give your kids don't hold back, share the recipes and ideas!  I'm a huge fan of the Deceptively Delicious Cookbook by Jessica Seinfeld and we get our beet pink pancakes and  sweet potato pancakes from her if you are interested.

I hope everyone enjoys this holiday weekend and I hope you'll be seeing less of me next week!!