Balancing the Intensity of Travel Sports

Travel sports can come with a lot of pressure. The competition is tough, and the expectations can run high. Sure, you could join a lower-skilled team, but that comes with it’s own set of struggles (like playing a losing season or not having to work hard to earn playing time).

Plus, I’ve also seen how that intensity pushes my daughter to be focused, disciplined, and goal-oriented. It teaches her how to show up for something bigger than herself—how to be dependable for her teammates, how to prepare her mind and body, and how to respond when things don’t go her way. It’s taught her to deal with disappointment, let go of her mistakes, and be patient while seeing the big picture.

Still, I’ve found that the best balance comes when we pair that intensity with something low-pressure: training that lets her just work on her skills without worrying about game-day performance. She needs time to make mistakes, to be creative, and to reconnect with the love of the sport. A mix of intense and low-pressure training gives her the balance she needs—that breathing room where not every minute needs to be about winning.

The Value of Doing a Little Every Day

One of the biggest things I’ve seen through my daughter’s training is the value of consistency. Doing just a little bit every day—whether it’s 20 minutes of shooting in the driveway or a short skill session at the gym—can make a bigger difference than a marathon practice once a week.

It’s not just about repetition, though that matters. It’s also about building habits. When she makes the effort to work on her sport even when she’s tired, or when no one is watching, that’s where growth happens. I’m not just talking about skill development. I’m talking about the mental side of it: showing up with focus, working through frustration, and learning how to enjoy the process.

Working With Different Trainers

It’s easy to think you should stick with one great coach when you find them. But over time, I’ve come to appreciate the value of mixing it up. Different trainers bring different perspectives, different skills, and different connections.

Some focus on technique, others speed, some on mindset. Some are intense, some are encouraging, some are cool and people she wants to impress. All of them offer something valuable. Exposure to multiple voices helps her become adaptable. It pushes her to listen, to adjust, and to take what works for her. And let’s be honest—sometimes hearing the same message in a different voice makes it click in a way it didn’t before (this is ESPECIALLY true when it comes to things her dad and I have told her several times that seem to magically make sense in the voice of a coach).

Finding Trainers That Care

That said, not every coach or trainer is the right fit. One thing I’ve become more aware of is how important it is to find people who genuinely care. It’s pretty easy to find someone who will take your money and just run drills. What’s a difference-maker is finding those skilled trainers and coaches who see my daughter as a whole person—who ask how she’s feeling that day, who notice when she’s mentally checked out or carrying something heavy, and who take the time to connect or give her the space she needs.

The best trainers I’ve found are the ones who know how to challenge her without breaking her spirit. They create an environment where she can grow—not just as an athlete, but as a young person finding her way. They cheer her on, but they also hold her accountable and know what she’s capable of. And they care just as much about how she’s developing off the court as on it.

Life Skills Sports Training Builds in Your Kid

At the end of the day, it’s about so much more than a potential scholarship or career in sports. I value sports because of what they can teach our kids. Here are a few life skills I’ve seen sports training build in my daughter.

• Showing Up When She Doesn’t Feel Like It: There are days when she’s tired or discouraged. And yet, she is learning how to show up and how to balance those feelings (like also taking breaks when she’s not up to it). That kind of discipline and follow-through is something she will value as an adult.
• Learning How To Be Coachable: Taking feedback without shutting down isn’t easy, especially for kids. Training teaches her how to listen, how to ask questions, and how to apply corrections without taking it personally. One day, she’ll realize how much that applies to her workplace or family dynamic.
• Resilience: Not every session goes well. Sometimes she struggles. Sometimes she fails. But she learns to bounce back, to try again, and to keep moving forward even when it’s hard.
• Confidence in Progress: Little wins matter. When she finally nails a move she’s been working on, her whole face lights up. Some sessions, her metrics for success need to change, like when she needs to focus on trying new moves that are unfamiliar (and not worrying about the “make” like she would during a game).
• Time Management: Balancing school, practice, rest, and everything else has helped her become more organized. She’s starting to take ownership of her equipment, schedule, and free time. And we encourage her to find ways to truly rest in between her most difficult training sessions.
• Healthy Habits: Eating a balanced diet, drinking lots of water, and taking certain supplements are crucial if she wants to train without feeling drained. I love that this empowers her to manage and understand her physical health in ways I never thought about until I was an adult.

Sports training takes a lot of effort (and money). But the lessons she’s learning? Those are going to stick with her far beyond the final whistle. At the end of the day, it’s so important to surround your kids with the right people to help them grow without burning out.

Why Having the Right Equipment at Home Helps

Something else that’s made a big difference in our journey has been having a few pieces of equipment at home. It doesn’t take a full gym or fancy setup—just a few tools to make training easier, more effective, and less time-consuming. Here are some of our favorite items that aren’t super expensive and don’t take up a lot of space.

Note: These are all items similar to what we own, but the links are Amazon Affiliate links. That means I can earn a small amount from any sales made on these links. The recommendations here are based on what has worked best for my family and some of them came as part of the Amazon Vine program.

Items To Help With At-Home Training

• Weighted Ball – Helps strengthen hand control and build muscle during dribbling drills.
• Silent Ball – Allows for quiet indoor practice without the risk of damaging floors or furniture.
• Bumping Pads – Adds realistic physical pressure during dribbling or finishing to build toughness and composure.
• Agility Hurdles – Improve foot speed, balance, and coordination with quick, targeted movement drills.
• Shooting Obstacle – Encourages better shot arc and accuracy by simulating defenders or hand contests.
• Dribbling Obstacle – Enhances ball-handling and footwork by requiring precise control around fixed markers.

Items To Help With Recovery

• Slant Board – Aids in flexibility and injury prevention by targeting tight calves, ankles, and hamstrings.
• Heating Plush – These cute stuffed animals go in the microwave to provide gentle heat and comfort to soothe sore muscles after training.
• Cold Ice Packs – Help reduce inflammation and aid recovery by delivering cooling relief to overworked areas.

All of these small tools give her the flexibility to train when she wants, where she wants, without making it feel like more of a chore than it is. It makes daily training doable—and recovery too.

The post The Importance of Sports Training for Kids appeared first on MidKid Mama.

Ingredients

For the Pork:

• 2-3 lbs pork (trimmed of fat and cut into bite-sized pieces)
• BBQ rub (your favorite blend)
• Black pepper to taste
• Accent seasoning (optional, but adds to the richness)
• 1/2 to 1 cup BBQ sauce
• Pork fat (or 2 tbsp cooking oil if fat is unavailable)
• Red wine (optional to add richness to the sauce)

For the Pasta:

• 12-16 oz gluten-free pasta (rotini, farfalle, fusilli, or shells)
• 2 tbsp butter or margarine
• 2 small zucchini (optional, sliced or diced)
• 1 bell pepper (optional, diced)
• 1 jar Alfredo sauce
• 1/4 cup milk
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp dried basil (or 1-2 tbsp fresh, chopped)
• 1 tsp dried oregano (or 1 tbsp fresh, chopped)
• Black pepper to taste

Optional Veggie Side (Pick One):

• Broccoli (steamed)
• Green beans (steamed and then sautéed in butter once soft)
• Brussels sprouts (sautéed in butter)
• Asparagus (sautéed or air fried with oil)
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

Prepare the Pork:

1. In a cast iron skillet, render trimmed pork fat over medium heat until it turns into liquid fat. If you don’t have a lot of fat to trim off, you can just use vegetable, olive, or canola oil for this step.
2. While fat renders, season bite-sized pork pieces with BBQ rub, black pepper, and Accent to taste.
3. Once oil is hot and fat is crispy, remove the crispy fat pieces and discard. Add pork pieces to hot oil.
4. Cook the pork, flipping once it begins to brown.
5. If excess liquid accumulates, drain it off (but reserve the liquid to mix with BBQ sauce later), then return the pork to the pan.
6. Continue cooking until the pork edges are well-browned and slightly crispy.
7. Add red wine first if you want to include it. Then, add BBQ sauce (and reserved juices, if desired) and lower the heat. Simmer on low and stir occasionally while you prepare the rest of the meal.

Cook the Pasta and Sauce:

1. Boil the gluten-free pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain and set aside.
2. In the same pot, melt butter or margarine over medium heat.
3. Add zucchini and/or peppers. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté until they begin to soften.
4. Stir in minced garlic and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute).
5. Sprinkle in basil, oregano, and black pepper. Stir to coat the vegetables.
6. Pour in the Alfredo sauce and stir to combine.
7. Pour 1/4 cup milk into the empty Alfredo jar, shake to collect the remaining sauce, and add to the pot.
8. Simmer the sauce gently, then add the drained pasta back in. Stir until pasta is well coated.

Prepare the Veggie Side (Optional):

• Steam broccoli or green beans until just tender. Season with salt and pepper.
• Or, sauté Brussels sprouts in butter or asparagus in olive oil over medium heat until browned and tender. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve

Plate the creamy Alfredo pasta alongside a generous helping of BBQ pork and your veggie of choice. This meal balances rich, smoky, sweet, creamy, and salty flavors, making it perfect for weeknights or family dinners.

Best of all, it can be a very cost-effective meal—especially if select a pork cut and vegetable that is on sale (I try to find pork for under $2/lb)!

I’ve used all cuts of pork, including pork butt and pork loin—just ensure you take the time to trim the fat and cut it to bite sizes. Rendering the fat to liquid adds a richness to the meat that is totally worth your time! With a cast iron skillet, you can really get a hot pot to get the early sizzle and finish it out with the slow cook that softens the meat.

The post BBQ Pork Alfredo Pasta Recipe appeared first on MidKid Mama.

The Purpose Behind Our At-Home Training

The goal of training at home isn’t to replace professional coaching, but to reinforce it. When we sign our kids up for teams or training sessions, we want them to actually apply and practice what they’re learning. Short workouts at home mean they aren’t trying to fit their entire growth into one or two weekly sessions. Regular work at home gives them the reps they need to grow more comfortable with moves and increase the impact of those sessions.

At-home sessions also teach them discipline. They’re learning how to take initiative, to work even when no one’s watching, and to feel the pride that comes from steady improvement. Plus, it’s really important that they have something physical when art, reading, and video games are pretty stationary activities.

7 Simple Agility and Speed Training Ideas for Kids at Home

Training at home doesn’t need to be complicated. With just a few tools and a little creativity, you can give your kids a workout that keeps them busy in your house or backyard. Here are some of the activities we use between trainings or team practices.

Note: These are all items similar to what we own, but the links are Amazon Affiliate links. That means I can earn a small amount from any sales made on these links. The recommendations here are based on what has worked best for my family, and some are items I got to try out through the Amazon Vine program.

Bodyweight Strength Training

It’s great to start with bodyweight exercises to build core and leg strength because they are totally free and you don’t need any equipment! Squats, lunges, pushups, and planks are all great options for younger kids. You can do these in short circuits—30 reps (or seconds of work), 15 seconds of rest, repeating each set two or three times. It helps warm up their bodies and builds the muscle they need to stay quick on their feet.

Running Form Exercises

My kids like to race, but I also want them to run well. You can break down running form with simple drills like high knees, butt kicks, A-skips, B-skips, C-skips, and karaokes. As they work on running, have them practice quick arms (that don’t cross the body) and staying light on their feet. My oldest two (ages 10 and 11) just joined a track training development group to help keep their energy high and further reinforcing technique with talented coaches.

Agility Toss Game for Hand-Eye Coordination

One of our favorite games involves tossing a small ball, beanbag, or even a tennis ball while doing footwork or balance drills. For example, my daughter might hop on one foot while I toss the ball back and forth. It improves her hand-eye coordination, body control, and reaction time—and it makes training feel more like play.

Ladder + Cones for Speed

You can use a speed ladder and cones to set up short reaction and sprint drills. I’ll call out patterns, or place cones in different sequences for them to sprint to and backpedal from. Ladder drills like in-in-out-out or sideways shuffles get their feet moving fast, while cone drills like zig-zags and shuttle runs help improve their change of direction and acceleration.

Weighted Ball for Arm Strength and Balance

A small weighted ball is perfect for improving arm drive and balance. You can have them hold the ball while doing knee drives or running in place, keeping their form tight. We also use the ball during crunches or while jumping to strengthen the core and legs. The ball doesn’t need to be heavy (3-5lbs) for it to make a difference after several reps.

Bumping Pads for Going Through Contact

If your child plays a contact sport like soccer, basketball, or football, learning how to absorb and push through contact is important. We use foam bumping pads for this. I might thump an arm or hip while they dribble a ball, sprint, or make a move around cones. It helps them stay strong on their feet and maintain focus even when challenged.

Agility Hurdles for Jumping and Foot Coordination

Agility hurdles are great for quick hops, bounding drills, and building explosive movement. We set them up in rows for them to hop over, side shuffle through, or use in reaction drills. My daughter’s basketball trainer even uses them for the girls to dribble over, gaining more control in their crossover.

Use a Checklist To Encourage Success

One of the simplest things that made a huge impact for us last summer was creating a training checklist. My daughter used to get overwhelmed by the idea of “needing to workout” on her off days without a clear end. Just “go train” often led to frustration or short, unfocused efforts. So I put together three different lists she could pick from, each with about five types of workouts that worked different muscle groups and movement patterns.

Having that checklist gave her a sense of control and clarity. She could choose what to do, mark it off as she went, and actually feel like she had accomplished something when she finished. It took the guesswork out of non-practice days and made the process simple, repeatable, and even a little fun. It also helped her take more ownership of her training and built a rhythm she could stick with without needing a coach or parent right by her side.

The post Simple At-Home Agility Drills That Keep My Kids Active and Focused appeared first on MidKid Mama.

How To Make Chicken Veggie Soup

Ingredients

• 2-3lbs bone-in chicken thighs
• Head of cauliflower, minced
• 10-12 oz Carrots, julienned
• 1/2 onion, minced
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• Paprika
• Cumin
• Bay leaves
• Salt and pepper

Prepare the Chicken

Remove skin from chicken thighs. Sauté half in a large skillet (or in your soup stockpot) on medium-low heat to render the fat. Set the other half of the skins aside to make chicken stock.

While fat is rendering, generously sprinkle chicken thighs with salt, pepper, paprika and a little cumin. Remove skin from pan once golden on both sides (you should have several tablespoons of oil in the pan) and turn heat to medium-high. Add chicken thighs and fry until a deep golden brown color on both sides. Remove from heat and allow to cool. When cooled enough to handle, remove meat from the bone and chop.

Note: At this point, chicken may not be fully cooked through to the bone—this is fine, since it will cook again in the soup, but use precautions for handling raw chicken.

Move chopped and cooked chicken to the fridge and hold onto the bones for the next step (bone broth).

Make Chicken Bone Broth / Stock

Did you buy bone-in chicken? If so, making broth or stock to go with the recipe is easy!

In a large stockpot, add the second half of chicken skins (about 3-4) and render on medium-low heat until golden brown on both sides. Add chicken bones. After allowing bones to heat for a few minutes add onion, peppers (optional), garlic cloves and sauté for several minutes until soft. Fill pot with water. Add carrot, celery, bay leaves and spinach. Bring to a boil and simmer until needed or (12-24 hours for true bone broth). Use a mesh strainer to separate broth from ingredients, reserving the broth in a large bowl.

Chicken Veggie Soup

While your broth is simmering, you can start softening vegetables for your soup.

In a large stockpot, heat the olive oil to shimmering. Add carrots until they begin to soften. Add minced onions and cauliflower. When all veggies are soft, add at least four cups of chicken stock and add chopped chicken. Allow soup to reach a simmer. Add more broth if desired. Once you have the ideal broth-to-ingredients ratio, taste the broth and adjust seasoning to make it very flavorful.

Optional: If you like thicker broth, mix 2 tsp corn starch in a small cup of broth to the side until a smooth mixture forms. Add corn starch broth mixture to soup pot and stir in completely, bringing back to a boil for two minutes.

Faster Veggie Prep: I run my carrots through the grating disk on my Cuisinart Food Processor. After adding the carrots to start simmering in the oil, I also run the cauliflower and onions through that disk. That allows each ingredient to be very thin and add flavor without taking over the soup. By the time the soup is ready to serve, these ingredients should practically melt in your mouth.

Add Carbs: This is a great low-carb recipe, but if you want a more filling family meal, simply add noodles to your soup! I sometimes add gluten-free (rice-based) shells. You could also use rice, tortellini or gnocchi in this soup as well. You can even cook these carbs on the side with some of the excess broth and selectively add them to the dishes for those who want more carbs. Or, add a side of delicious bread!

Freeze Extra Broth: When you are finished mixing up the soup, add water to the broth pot and keep it simmering. Bone broth can cook for 8-12 hours for additional flavor. Use a mesh strainer to drain cooled broth into a large bowl. Ladle broth into plastic (or glass) food storage containers. Label with “Chicken Bone Broth” and the date using masking tape and a Sharpie. Freeze for later recipes.

The post Chicken Veggie Soup appeared first on MidKid Mama.

Gluten-Free Loaded Potato Soup Recipe

Give yourself at least an hour to have this made and ready to serve. This loaded potato soup recipe will make a side for 6-8.

Potato Soup Ingredients

• 4-5 large russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 8-10 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 cups whipping milk or whole milk (or use 4 cups of a milk substitute—like rice milk—and skip the broth)
• 2 cups chicken broth (vegetable broth or water would work too)
• 8 oz smokey mild cheddar cheese, hand shredded
• 3 Tbsp King Arthur’s Gluten-Free 1-1 Flour
• Bacon bits
• 1/2 medium white onion, diced
• Green onions
• Salt and pepper

How to Make Loaded Potato Soup

In a large pot, melt 8 Tbsp of the butter and add potatoes. Cover and stir occasionally, keeping the heat on medium-low, allowing the potatoes to soften without browning or sticking to the bottom. When potatoes are cooked, remove to a separate bowl.

Melt the remaining butter in the large pot and use a whisk to mix in the flour and diced onions. Allow the flour to just start browning before adding in the milk and broth. Continue mixing and reduce heat to avoid reaching a boil. Mixture should be very runny and smooth.

Using an immersion blender (or potato masher), blend some of the cooked potatoes in the separate bowl smooth before returning them to the large pot with the milk and flour mixture. Allow some of the potatoes to remain chunky. Mix in the pot well to fully combine liquids with potatoes, adding salt and pepper to taste.

You may need to add additional milk or water to get the consistency of a thick soup (not mashed potatoes). When the soup is just a bit thinner than you want, add about half the shredded cheese and turn the heat off.

Serve topped with shredded cheese, bacon and green onions.

Make it a full meal and serve loaded potato soup with:

• Easy Honey Baked Salmon
• Sausage Pepper Skillet
• Or my Apple Cherry Glazed Holiday Ham for special occasions!

Recipe Notes

If you are using another kind of flour, add a Tbsp or two more to the recipe. King Arthur GF flour tends to give a thicker result than most flours.

Cooking the potatoes fully in the oil (butter) before adding any water (milk or broth) allowed the potatoes to cook without the starches interacting with the water. Only simmmer after adding the milk and cheese to avoid curdling. This resulted in a very smooth and creamy potato soup that wasn’t at all “gluey” or grainy.

It may be tempting not to add a bunch of other ingredients (like garlic), but the simple flavors here are incredible—especially if you find a smoky cheddar to use as a highlight ingredient.

Pin it now to make later:

The post Gluten-Free Loaded Potato Soup appeared first on MidKid Mama.

Here is the image I saw from John Belvedere and used for inspiration (I have no clue what flavors they use):

At first, you might think this is incredibly filling. But, mac ‘n cheese, fries or baked beans are common sides to include next to a burger. So, really, this just cuts out the bun. It also goes great with lower-carb sides (fruits and vegetables) to help balance it out.

Mac N Cheese Waffle Burger Ingredients

For each burger, you will need: two waffle squares, two smash burger patties, bacon, smoked cheddar sauce, mac n cheese sauce and smoky honey mustard.

Mac N Cheese Waffle “Bun” (and Mac N Cheese Sauce)

• 1 package macaroni
• 32 oz Velveeta original cheese, divided
• 8 oz smoked white cheddar
• 4 oz smoked sweet Swiss
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup flour
• approx. 1/2 cup whipping cream, divided
• 1/4 cup butter
• Seasoning (I used black pepper, Lawry’s and Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb)

Smoked White Cheddar Sauce

• 4 oz smoked white cheddar cheese
• 2 tbsp whipping cream
• 1 tbsp butter

Smoky Honey Mustard Sauce

• 2 tbsp mayo
• 2 tbsp Heinz Carolina Sweet Mustard BBQ sauce
• 1 tbsp Roasted Pepper Sauce
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp ground paprika
• 4-7 drops of liquid smoke

Mac N Cheese Waffle Burger Instructions

Mac N Cheese Waffle Buns: Start by melting the butter in a large sauce pan over low heat. Add about 2/3 of the Velveeta cheese, sliced into 1/2 inch slices. Allow to sit on low heat for a few minutes, softening. Meanwhile, start water in a large sauce pan for noodles with 1tbsp salt, Lawrys and Mrs. Dash (to flavor noodles). Strain noodles when they are al dente (about 6 minutes) and run under cold water until completely cooled.

Grate the cheddar and Swiss cheese, adding it to the Velveeta mixture. Add approximately 1-2 tsp. of black pepper, Mrs. Dash and Lawry’s (to taste). Add 1/4 cup whipping cream and stir until cheeses are smooth and mixture is thick, but creamy. In a separate small bowl, mix remaining whipping cream (about 1/4 cup) and flour until smooth.

In a large bowl, pour all but about 1 cup of the Velveeta mixture (set the 1 cup aside for Mac N Cheese Sauce). Add the flour mixture to your large bowl of Mac N Cheese sauce and mix well. Add noodles and gently fold in until completely coated. Add both eggs and gently mix in until the egg is no longer separate from the cheese mixture at all.

When the waffle iron or press is hot, spray with nonstick spray and add the Mac N Cheese. Press the iron together and hold to ensure the crevices’ are filled. Check, cooking until waffles start to turn golden brown (this takes longer than waffles). Spread buns on a baking sheet and place in the oven at 300° while you make the rest of the buns, burgers and sauces.

As you are making waffles, fry up bacon and then make your smash patties (just very thin patties). I seasoned my patties with a little pepper and Lawrys.

Sauces: For the Smoked White Cheddar Sauce, simply melt ingredients slowly on the stove or in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds. For the Smoky Honey Mustard Sauce, whisk all ingredients together. For the Mac N Cheese Sauce, add 2-4 more tbsp to the 1 cup of reserved Mac N Cheese mix and melt together until smooth.

Assembling the Mac N Cheese Waffle Burgers

Not too bad, right? At this point, you just layer your ingredients.

• Bottom Mac N Cheese Waffle square
• Smoky Honey Mustard Sauce
• 1st burger patty
• Smoked White Cheddar Sauce
• Smoky Honey Mustard Sauce
• 2nd burger patty
• Bacon
• Mac N Cheese Sauce
• Top Mac N Cheese Waffle square

This burger went really well with asparagus and fresh watermelon!

Make sure you pin it for later:

The post Mac ‘N Cheese Waffle Burger Recipe appeared first on MidKid Mama.

You are busy, tired and burned-out by the end of the day. I get it. I really do.

But, family meals are too important to skip. Eating together has always played a key role in training kids and keeping families healthy.

If you don’t know, we spend a lot of time together as a family. Even when Knick is busy with coaching and I’m stretched thin, we still eat 99% of our dinners together. It is easier to do this with little kids, since they will be busy themselves as they get older. But, eating together requires prioritizing family meals at all times. Understanding the importance of eating together as a family and how you can make that easier is the first step to establishing that priority.

September is National Family Meals Month and I am so excited to partner with the FMI Foundation to bring you this post on family meals.

Keep reading for some helpful tips and inspiration to get you started on making those family memories across the table.

Are Family Meals Really that Important?

“Home Cooking in America 2020,” by the FMI Foundation[1] notes the biggest reasons families don’t cook meals and eat together at home include lacking time, energy and inspiration. But, homemade family meals create a deep connection, can cost less and can be healthier.

It showed that during the COVID-19 pandemic:

• 40% of American adults say they are cooking more
• 23% are planning more meals in advance
• 18% are trying new dishes more often

Studies show that family meals improve fruit and vegetable consumption. My kids are always more willing to try vegetables if they see us (especially dad) eating them first. Family meals improve communication, teach table behavior and give us a set time to spend time together each day.

Whatever our new normal will be, we need to stay physically and emotionally fit. Family meals help with both. But, so many meals at home means we need to get creative with options for healthy, cheap and easy meals.

Cheap, Healthy and Filling Family Meals

I know all too well what it’s like to feel broke and in need of a cheap meal. Sometimes money gets tight and that’s when you need meal ideas that will stretch out those pay periods without sacrificing your family’s health. Rather than spend money on fast food, you can make cheaper dinners at home. My go-to cost-conscious meal typically involves:

Chicken: usually the cheapest by the pound of the meats, chicken is also one of the more nutritious—high in protein and low in fat. I try to find on-the-bone meat for around $.99/lb and boneless for under $2/lb. It can be added to pasta, grilled, baked or fried.

Green vegetable: Adding a green food to the plate adds nutrients and vitamins without starches or carbs. In-season vegetables are the cheapest and can be as low as $.99/lb. Asparagus, green beans, bell peppers (we eat these raw) and broccoli are all great vegetables to snag when they are on sale. You can also opt for a bag of frozen peas for $1. Kids are probably going to push back a bit on this, but it’s really important to keep putting green foods in front of your kids, despite their protest. I personally make my kids (over 2) eat at least one bite.

Potatoes: Not necessarily the healthiest vegetable, but kids do need carbs to fuel their incredible energy. Unprocessed potatoes are natural and filling. Sweet potatoes are the most nutrient-dense and are a complex carb. Potatoes are very cheap per pound (less than $1) and easy to roast with a little butter or oil, salt, pepper and seasoning salt. They should be started early, since they will usually take longer than the rest of your meal. If you are in a hurry, try microwaving for 3-4 minutes before putting them in the oven to speed up their cooking process.

For our family, a home-cooked meal of chicken, vegetables and potatoes will cost around $10. Add in something fun, like watermelon, and you can still stay under $15.

Not bad for a family meal, right?

You can switch it up with these cheap ingredients instead of the potatoes:

• Pasta noodles (Hearty Chicken and Noodles Soup or chicken parmesan)
• Rice (chicken stir fry or just as a side)
• Homemade bread (it’s cheap and delicious! Try my Perfectly Homemade Dinner Rolls)
• Tortillas (chicken tacos)
• Tortilla chips (chicken nachos)
• Beans (buy them dried in the bag for a healthier, cheaper option)

Fast and Easy Family Meals

I like to make complicated meals because cooking is an art form. But, sometimes you are short on time. Making pretty or complicated food isn’t the point. Sometimes we hold ourselves back because we put too much pressure on the process.

I reached out to Krista Marshall, creator of Everyday Moms Meals, and she stated it perfectly: “Putting a delicious meal on the table to bring your family together can be the best part of a busy day. No matter how simple the meal might be, the most important thing is everyone sharing time with one another, creating memories.”

My personal go-to meals when I’m in a rush are spaghetti and tacos.

It’s also a huge time-saver if I have the chance to make meals ahead of time for the freezer to heat up on another day for dinner. Meatloaf, quiche and chili are a few of my top homemade freezer meals. Even just freezing the cooked meat can be a huge time-saver (like cooked ground beef for spaghetti or tacos). I also tend to put big batches of chicken or burgers on the grill if I can, saving part of the batch in the freezer for a future meal.

Special Family Meals

Sometimes you can splurge—in time or cost—and those are special family meals! While all family meals are important, the special ones can be the most memorable. Some of our favorite ideas for changing up the scene include:

• Outdoor (picnic blanket in the backyard before we had a patio set)
• Our local cinema bar and grille or drive-in movie theater
• Party platters (they love crackers, cheese, sliced meats and wings they can self-serve)

Get creative with your family meals!

When I was a kid, my family ate a lot of meals together. However, some of the most memorable family meals I participated in were at my friend’s house—her parents would let the teens plan a themed family dinner we prepared mostly unaided and presented to the rest of the group. We did a drive-in Dog ‘n Suds while on rollerblades, a very wild Alice in Wonderland Mad Hatter Tea Party and other creative themes.

Eat More Meals as a Family

So, how many meals should you eat as a family?

According to the FMI: As many as you can.

The Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior (JNEB) recently published a review[2] that sorted through over 1200 studies to look for dietary outcomes linked to family meals. The review found studies agreed on a noticeably higher level of fruit and vegetables during family meals and a lower number of sugar-sweetened beverages.

Did you know September is National Fruit and Veggies Month too? So, take this as your reminder that the goal is  1-2 cups of both fruits and vegetables for kids aged 2-13. Planting a garden has gone far in getting my kids excited about trying vegetables. Having them help make the meal really helps them want to eat it–but that’s a whole other can of worms for another post.

Keep bringing your family together for meals and check out the Family Meals Movement for more ideas and information!

Additional Sources:
<sub>1. FMI Foundation. (2020). Home Cooking in America 2020, a Special Report based on U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends.
2. Robson SM, McCullough MB, Rex S, Munafò MR, Taylor G. Family Meal Frequency, Diet, and Family Functioning: A Systematic Review with Meta-analyses. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2020;52(5):553-564. doi:10.1016/j.jneb.2019.12.012</sub> 

The post Get Your Crew Together: Science Says Family Meals are Important appeared first on MidKid Mama.

And I love art projects that:

• Are fun crafts for my kids
• Teach a lesson
• Make a memory
• Are something I want to keep

Handprint crafts are some of my favorite because it reminds me just how small they were at one point. So, combine that with a dinosaur kids craft about nighttime and daytime–and we’ve got a winner.

My kids are always thrilled to use paint. They love anything that could potentially destroy the house.

How to Make Dinosaur Handprints (And Dinosaur Footprints too!)

For this dinosaur kids craft, the supply list isn’t long:

• Acrylic paint (I personally use professional paint and avoid “washable” kids paint that isn’t really made for long-term value)
• Paintbrushes (large and small)
• Cardstock paper (I used black and parchment)
• Paper plates or bowls (to hold paint)
• Baby wipes

Start with Handprints (or Footprints)

Pro tip: practice having them keep their hands open before you paint. Mix colors to get a more textured/dynamic dino. Talk about how cold the paint feels and keep reminding them to keep their hands open.

We also talk a lot about not touching anything else. Tell them just to focus on holding their fingers open and not trying to touch the paper. You do all the work of placing their hand and gently pressing up each finger. Pull the hand straight up to get a clean handprint.

Wipe down immediately with wipes (and keep an old grocery sack on hand for the messy wipes. Wash hands after most of the paint is off. So far (fingers crossed), we’ve never made any messes with handprint art projects.

Add a Simple Prehistoric Background

Before adding details to the dinosaur handprints, I had the boys help me add backgrounds. We kept them very simple with a line of brown paint for the ground (and maybe a few green leaves). We added stars and moon to the black paper while we talked about night time, and we added the sun to the parchment when as we talked about day time.

My preschooler had to be more “accurate” with his sun, moon, stars and plants, but I gave my 2-year-old more freedom. Klay added lots of yellow “sun” to his and I love it.

Add the Details

I helped them add tails, legs, spines and teeth to their dinosaurs as needed. We waited until they were dry and then added faces with an extra-fine Sharpie marker.

They really loved this dinosaur print project and it went on the fridge as soon as it was dry and dated. (Pro tip: always add names and dates in the bottom corner because you will always forget. Always.)

Check out more adorable handprint and footprint projects!

Pin This Dinosaur Kids Craft for Later!

The post Dinosaur Kids Craft with Handprints and Footprints appeared first on MidKid Mama.

Fall Vegetable Seeds for August in Zone 5 or 6

We sit right in between growing zones 5 and 6 here in our spot in the midwest. Technically, I think we are now zone 5b, but it has changed and could also be considered 6a.

 A week ago I planted my leftover Swiss Chard, spinach and onion seeds. Here are some things you can plant in August if you are zone 5 or 6:

• Carrots
• Spinach
• Swiss Chard
• Kale
• Collards
• Bok Choy
• Lettuce
• Broccoli
• Celery
• Beets
• Green Onions
• Fall Radishes
• Summer squash and zucchini (zone 6a or 6b)

I’m getting a lot of tomatoes and seeing the beginnings of peppers right now. But setting up another round of greens is really exciting for me this year.

Vegetable Growth Progress in August

Right now, the greens are slowing down and some of them are trying to bolt. I’ve been really impressed with the Blue Kale I have from Bakersfield. It seems highly heat resistant and hasn’t bolted at all, plus the bugs don’t seem to bother it much.

This is Chinese Multicolor Spinach and it’s been really fun and pretty. It is really happy in my tall planters, handles low water very well, doesn’t mind heat and has hardly had a bug bite at all!

I LOVE Swiss Chard. I grabbed Vulcan Swiss Chard this year and it’s been happy. Unfortunately, the rabbits loved it too and ate one of my rows completely. But, thankfully, I had some in the tall planter (where they can’t reach), though it isn’t as happy with the placement and is definitely on the small side.

I have a terrible time with collards. I’m going to figure it out someday (and that is the beauty of gardening), but for now, they are always spindly and bug-ridden. I keep killing worms and pulling off chewed-up leaves. This year’s look better than last years and I have gotten a few decent leaves. But, at some point, I’m going to figure it out.

Onions have been a favorite this year. I have had some great success with them popping up everywhere (and even returning from last year to SEED!). And the kids have been practically fighting over who gets to eat their “spicy” green onion leaves. I’m more than happy to hand them some green foods to munch on while outside.

But hooray for fall seedlings! I’m really excited about these. I ran out of my greens powder really fast last year and I’m planning on making a LOT more this year. I already have two jars full!

So get your fall vegetable seeds in now before the end of August!

The post Fall Vegetables to Plant *Right Now* for Zone 5, 5b or 6 appeared first on MidKid Mama.

Check out my latest podcast on chalk walking with kids:

We spend an entire day sweating over 8’ squares in the middle of Main Street. It’s intensive and grueling. We might be a little crazy to have done it for 10 years.

And, yes…since I’m the only one pushing it, I realize I’m basically talking about myself in plural. But, technically, I’ve drug my husband and kids into it as well.

Anyways.

This year was a little different…and WE WON!

Check out this blog for a brief history of our (my) street drawings and tips for chalk walking yourself!

Chalk Walking Since ‘06

If you didn’t know, I have my degree in art. It’s been a passion since I was little, though that is a topic for another post. In college, I heard about our local chalk walk because a sponsored opportunity came up.

That first year, our piece was semi-terrible. There is a bit of a learning curve for working that big and working in chalk. But it was still fun and I came back the next year ready.

There are a few things that make chalk walks really fun. In our city, the chalk walk is part of our biggest festival and our biggest art-centered event. Thousands of artists flood our street to create eight foot blocks of art.

Tips for a Chalk Walk

If you’ve never worked on an eight foot square, you’d probably be surprised at just how much work it is and how many things you do differently than with a normal drawing. There are things you have to remember or you will either burn out, hate your final result or regret it the next day. Here are some things I’ve learned from more than a decade of experience.

1. Skew the Image

In our Trolls piece, for example, their heads had to get larger toward the top of the square. If you viewed it from straight above, it looked warped with a larger top and their legs tiny in comparison, but from the sidewalk it looked right.

To get the shapes right, I used a trick from art class: take a picture. For some reason, when you look at the picture of your picture, you get a new perspective and it highlights your proportion or shape flaws.

• We did this all the time with our still lives and paintings—especially if they were big or you had been working on them a while. It gives you fresh eyes somehow.
• Draw a quick outline sketch on your square in a mid-tone color (nothing that’s hard to cover over.
• Take a picture on your cell phone from where most viewers will be standing.
• If it looks warped (i.e. you want to get higher for a more accurate picture), adjust for the proportions by enlarging the top of the image.
• Take pictures as you go to make sure the proportions are staying correct.

2. Paint a Base Layer

Cement will literally eat your chalk. Using tempura paint will give you a base layer to work on for better color accuracy and the good of your paint. You can see those first two examples above from college that I overdid the paint and we didn’t use much chalk at all. Now, I’ve learned to put down a more basic base that helps conserve colors but allows for the chalk medium.

3. Tape Your Square

Use tape to create a clean edge for your square. You might not think it’s a big deal, but when you are done and you pull away the tape, you have a very clean edge that gives the square a professional look. I have used most types of tape and duct tape is my favorite because it holds the best despite the wet paint and dirt. Have someone help you if possible and you will speed up the process for an 8’ square.

4. Pack the Right Chalk Walk Supplies

Aside from the obvious chalk and paint, there are a number of things you will want to bring to an intensive chalk walk.

Bathroom towel: You might want to sit on something besides the concrete (which gets very hard and very hot) You may want to wipe your sweat. Pick old towels you don’t care about—we have “garage” towels for this kind of thing (the place towels go when they are no longer fit for the bathroom).

Wear real shoes: Not everyone does this, but I find it incredibly important to wear real shoes that I will be as comfortable as I can be on the hard pavement all day. I bring flip flops for as soon as I’m done and ready to just walk around.

Water: Our chalk walk supplies ice cold water and wash stations, but you almost can’t have enough. I also bring a gallon jug of water for rinsing, mixing and whatever, and a canteen of ice water for drinking. You never know when water will run out and it’s just not worth having that happen!

Snacks: Preferably ones that won’t make you thirsty. Fruit snacks, celery, cheese (in a lunch cooler) are all good picks. You won’t want to eat a lot if it’s sunny, but you should take a few breaks.

A cart: Or, in my case, I’ve taken a stroller. It’s super helpful when you can roll all your stuff to your spot from wherever you finally found for free parking. I’m not sure what I’ll do next year when I have no strollers…not sure I’m ready to drag out a Radio Flyer, but it might come to that.

SUNSCREEN: I can’t stress this enough. Layer it on. Multiple times in the day. You will still get burned (especially if you are as white as me). My husband and kids have so far, never burned.

Printed reference images: It is SO hard to really see your phone in the sun. Do yourself a huge favor and print out a page of reference images for whatever you are making. All the cool kids do it. You can print it pretty cheap somewhere like Fed Ex Office if you don’t have a color printer. Take two copies in case you spill paint, or water, or smear chalk dust on one. Pin it down with a bottle of paint or box of chalk because it will always try to blow away from you no matter how dead and sweltering the air.

Paper towels: Take a whole roll. They are helpful for smearing chalk to preserve your fingers (and you NEED to preserve those fingers because they will go raw).

Shade: The jury is out on this one for me. Some chalk walkers bring their own tents, but I’m usually setting up by myself and don’t want the hassle. It would be awesome to have protection from the abusive sun, but I’ve also seen peoples tents blowing down the street when a quick wind picked up. And at a certain point, the sun will move to where the tent isn’t helpful to anyone but your neighbor (though it does a nice job during high noon).

Extra pastels: Save all your pastels that you don’t use so you have more for the next year. I have a whole box of pastels and I reorganize them after every chalk walk to condense my boxes and throw away any tiny nubs.

5. Start Ahead of Time

If you are putting down paint (which I highly recommend), then you will need to give it time to dry. This doesn’t take long, but you waste precious cool early morning hours if you do it the day of the event. If at all possible, go as soon as they give away the squares (ours allow us on the squares the Friday night before the Saturday chalk walk) and get the paint layer done.

If you are doing really big characters (like our Pikachu), you will need to do your quick sketch and paint the different sections accordingly to save time and resources. We could save a lot of yellow (Pikachu) by painting his whole shape yellow. The smaller characters could just be done on white. For the mermaid and Cinderella, I painted the background blue to save on the chalk too. Do big sections of color, not the whole thing white, if you want to save on chalk.

6. Create Something Recognizable

One of the most irritating questions you will hear over and over during the blistering hot experience is: “What is that????”

Now, it isn’t really the fault of the people passing by…they are just wandering around and talking about the art. But, in my opinion, it’s repetitive, semi-distracting and makes you feel like you need to tell them.

On the flip side, when they can immediately tell what it is, you get to hear how much they like it.

Maybe you don’t care.  And that’s cool too. Part of the experience for me is trying to get it to where most people can enjoy it for as much of the day as possible. I’ve realized this makes the whole process even more enjoyable.

Main character first: This feels so counter-intuitive to how I do art. Normally everything leads up to the focal point for me. But, start with the character sketch. When you like the proportions start detailing that character before you build in the background much at all. It also gives you an important boost to get something done before it gets too hot.

Start early: For our chalk walk, the bulk of people come around 10am-1pm. But many artists aren’t starting until 9! I try to get there early and I try to get my character pretty close to done before most people are walking through. Again, totally so I can hear the “ooh” and “ahh” over “Huh???” So, vanity purposes only…well, that and it’s cooler until around 10 anyways.

FACE THE RIGHT DIRECTION: Most people are walking on one side (the side walk side), but so many face toward the center of the street. Face where people are walking and they’ll be more captivated.

Don’t leave your reference paper out: Okay, totally differences of opinion here…I do NOT like to feel like I’m being compared to the reference I’m using. Some people tape a big version to the bottom of their square so passers can see it. I’m guessing it’s definitely so people won’t keep asking what they are working on. But, then you get to hear them mumbling about if you are off or not.

Choose something identifiable: It doesn’t have to be a cartoon character—it could be a beautiful country scene, animal, logo or artwork. People love pop culture references and movies, though. They get excited when they know what you are working on. Especially the kids. And, as much as you don’t turn around (there are just too many in the constant flow), it’s really neat to hear a little girl scream, “MOMMY, ARIEL! SHE’S SO PRETTY! AND FLOUNDER! OOH POKEMON!” and that happens a lot. I appreciate recognizable characters even more now that my own kids are that way. As I’ll share, they weren’t super jazzed by my latest square in tribute to Ernie Barnes).

My Little Mermaid square is a good example of what I’m talking about here. I wanted to reference the fact that Disney had just announced the live action Ariel will be played by Halle Bailey. We were excited about it, but I didn’t want her to be mistaken for “just some mermaid” because she isn’t the traditional Disney Ariel yet (and the movie itself hadn’t been made).

So, to help with the recognition and validation factor, I drew Flounder and Sebastian. So, clearly I didn’t draw Ariel’s face wrong because I know how to draw a character. It was a popular square and I got mostly positive feedback from people passing by.

Ooh and did you notice Goldeen in the corner? Yep, we had a floater come over from our neighboring Pokemon square, which only the truest of Pokemon nerds caught.

And the Pokemon square was another example of recognition because everyone knew Pikachu, most saw Charmander or Squirtle, and only a few knew background characters, like Meowth, Psyduck, Muchlax, Haunter and Wobbuffet. So it combined easy recognition with that deeper layer for the true fans.

7. Don’t Really Take a Break Until the End

It is super tempting to stop and walk around or go take a break. Take short breaks, but know it’s going to be a lot harder to come back. Once you go into the air conditioning, it’s basically over.

Stand up and stretch your back or sit down to give your feet a break, but don’t get too comfy. When it’s all over, you will have plenty of break time. The cold shower might be the best part of the day.

Chalk Walking with Kids

The big change came with the kids. There were a couple of summers where I had a tiny baby or was too pregnant to do it. But I missed it.

But, taking kids is hard. They don’t last nearly as long (heck, I barely last), and they either do their own thing or need to be told every step. I really wanted them to be able to participate so they would learn:

• Focus: it’s hard to stay focused on something big for so long
• Flexibility: You never know what the weather will be like. Last year, ours got washed away. This year, we did a virtual version. They have expectations, but they learn to adapt.
• Letting go: It’s hard to spend so much time on something and watch it get destroyed in the next day or two. It’s a great way for them to learn that we can spend a lot of time and effort on something and not have to keep it.
• Family Bond: We do this as a whole family (even including extended family!). So it has become a really fun tradition and the kids look forward to it. This year Kniya told me she would “never forget doing it on The Main Street.”

I could not do this without my MiL, FiL and husband, though. There is just no way I could do something very complicated if I had them all the whole time. Most years, we all go get the square(s), tape and paint the background on Friday night. Then, Saturday morning I get up early and leave to start.

Knick’s parents come to help with the kids while I’m free and clear at the chalk walk. A little after noon, the bring the kids over so they can help. Last year I had their square ready!

And, while they are helping, the other adults watch the babies (so far there’s always been at least one too young to help) and Knick helps the kids with their coloring. I’m usually still working on a different part (last year I was working on Ariel’s background).

This year it was a bit different because it was virtual. We still packed up and headed over to my aunt’s house to work in her driveway. The kids were not focused or into it! Ha. But they had a blast in her yard. And, when Knick came later with Klay, he helped me smooth in some backgrounds and got the kids to help me finish up.

Definitely not my best squares ever, but for four, I felt like it went well. And technically, my square was just the huge giraffe.

A Tribute to a Master

Normally, I don’t do the categories. I just get too competitive.

They usually aren’t really things I would naturally work on and I’d hate to work extremely hard all day on something I picked for a category with the sole purpose of winning. I tell my kids that’s not the point of the chalk walk at all. I’m not sure I’ve ever really entered unless I happened to do one that fits a category. I know in more than 10 years of chalk walks, I’ve never won before!

But, this year, after finishing four, I saw the category I couldn’t pass up.

I was preparing to submit my work for the virtual online gallery, when I noticed “Olympics” was one of the categories. Ernie Barnes was my favorite artist for a long time and has been one of my biggest influences. His fluid and powerful figures are not fake, but their realism is exaggerated. I was drawn to the elongation and how he seemed to capture the feeling of the moment.

In college, I had an assignment to contact a professional artist and interview them. We were supposed to try and pick someone famous and they had to be living (so we could actually interview them). I sent out requests to Kadir Nelson and Ernie Barnes.

Kadir Nelson emailed me back and was willing to answer my questions via email. Ernie Barnes’ assistant responded by passing me to another assistant. I’m not sure who I talked to or how many layers, but I finally convinced them that I had read every book on him (I owned them!) and just really wanted to talk to him. They had me send over a list of questions and told me I could call at a specified time for a 10-minute interview.

To say I was over the moon is an understatement. I floated on clouds.

The interview with Mr. Barnes started off a little stiff. He seemed unsure of why I wanted to talk to him or what we would have in common. I had read how much he didn’t like the more abstract and modern forms of art. I led with how I shared his perspective. As soon as I told him that, he opened up like a fire hose and told me so much. How he would take in a scene and just feel the rhythm before attempting any shapes. How important the feelings conveyed were and not just realism. I respected the 10-minute limit, as much as I could have listened to him talk for hours.

It is the 16^th century master painter Michelangelo in whom Barnes can be said to have found his strongest influence both spiritually and philosophically. Michelangelo’s figures of heroic proportion and spiritual nobility are far removed from the heretofore classical concepts of bodily movement and heft. Barnes’ symbols, like Michelangelo’s, derive their power from portraying the convolutions of the soul through the contortions of movement.

(Preface by Joan D’Arcy for From Pads to Pallets Ernie Barnes)

He was the 1984 official Olympic artist. This was a big deal, considering he grew up during Jim Crowe laws when he didn’t have access to museums and finding famous artists as inspiration. When he asked about where he could find “paintings by Negro artists” as a senior high school student on an art trip, the museum docent responded, “Your people don’t express themselves that way.”

He went on to become an NFL player before having the connections to start opening doors for his art! After retiring, he connected with NFL owners before eventually picking up commissions and getting a gallery opening.

He so influenced my own style, that I had to do a tribute.

So, during nap time, I grabbed my pastel box and got to work on a pavement section in our back yard during nap time. When my kids saw it, they were highly disappointed it wasn’t a Mickey Mouse square. But that’s okay. I did this one for myself.

I updated the jerseys a bit and I swapped out his lead runner for a Ussain Bolt reference. And I did it in my own style, which is a little softer.

Two days later it all washed away.

The post Participating in a Virtual Chalk Walk with My Kids appeared first on MidKid Mama.