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Can you believe that March is already over? Spring is here and the year is a quarter of the way over! I don’t know about you, but for me time just seems to be flying. And we have had some amazing months already with Get Real and the best is still to come! This month we focused on pasta largely in part to it’s simplicity and ease for those weeknights when you have NO idea what you’re having for dinner.
Our first week we talked about what you find in your grocery store. The boxed pastas on the shelves may seem like they are simple, but when you have to add vitamins, minerals, omega 3s etc., it’s not real anymore. It’s a supplement food. We challenged you to branch out from what you normally buy and try out whole wheat pasta. What did you think?
Next we had Kristen of Dine & Dish stop by and show us how to create delicious egg noodles from scratch. They are great with just about any sauce or in your favorite chicken noodle soup. Did you like the ease of the noodles and how tasty they were? Raviolis are like a mini meal in one bite. You can fill them with whatever you desire and again top them with anything! I took Kristen’s noodle recipe and then created my own filling. I froze a few raw and cooked, and they both turned out delicious! So I know you can have success with them with your Once A Month Cooking days!
Gnocchis were last on our plates this month. Dense Italian potato dumplings just melt in your mouth and provide pasta making fun for the whole family. They are THE most freezer friendly pasta you could possibly ask for. They are also hearty just like the raviolis, leaving you with little want for more!
It really was a fun month for me to get into the kitchen and get my hands dirty. However, it was quite a challenge for me to keep up with the Get Real goals earlier in the month. My youngest son was hospitalized with bronchilitis, and there I was in the hospital with very limited food options. Not only was everything processed or had artificial sugar, but almost everything had dairy which I’m trying to avoid for a gassy baby as well! I ended up eating plain oatmeal and a fruit cup which I washed out the syrup. Talk about bland. The next day I got a few more options from the tiny bistro, but not much.
It’s just amazing to me how I was in a place for healing tiny tummies and the options were so limited for healthy eating! And yes, they did have allergy options, but we were at a Children’s Hospital satellite facility, so they don’t have a full cafeteria and can’t give those meals to parents. I was grateful for the care they provided and understood the policies, but it sure was tough running on empty and having a sick baby!
As part of my quest to Get Real and to always pay it forward in my life, I decided to make up some parent baggies. And we went by last weekend and dropped off some Lara bars, some shelf stable coconut milks, bags of almonds and walnuts, a few adult toothbrushes, and other travel toiletries for the parents to snack on in case of allergies and unexpected overnight stays! They were very grateful to have some extra items for parents in need.
What was YOUR favorite part about the pasta month? Tell me where are you in the challenge? Is it what you expected? In which areas are you succeeding? Where are you having the most trouble? Please comment a recap of yours or link up a blog post recap if you have one! We want to hear about YOURS too!
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March Get Real:
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