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This post was sponsored by CookSmarts. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Hi Friends-

Today I want to introduce you to one of our Elf For Health Sponsors- A meal planning service called Cook Smarts! If you’ve been reading The Bean for a while, you may remember that I introduced you to them about a year ago when I reviewed them for the first time. Well guess what? I like them so much we’re going to talk about them again!

Our Elf4Health challenge for today is to plan and prep some healthy meals for the week and Cook Smarts is the perfect tool to help you do that! This year they’re giving our Elf  For Health winners a 3 month subscription to their meal planning service,  however, I think a lot of you could benefit from their services so I thought I’d tell you about them again in case you’re not familiar with them.

Cook Smarts was created by an amazing woman named Jess who was diagnosed with Hepetitis C in high school and decided while she was going through treatment that if she survived, she would dedicate her life to doing something that would help people!

From their website:

WHAT EXACTLY IS COOK SMARTS?

Cook Smarts’ mission is to empower home cooks with the inspiration and education needed to live their healthiest and happiest life in the kitchen. We do this by creating lots of practical cooking resources (think the Home Ec class you never got to take), free recipes that work for your busy life, and weekly meal plans that also teach you how to cook. I’ve been lucky to find a great team of kitchen cheerleaders to help me slowly expand the content, products, and services we offer.

WHY DID YOU START COOK SMARTS?

As I mentioned above, the need to start Cook Smarts was motivated by a personal promise. However, when I quit my job in October of 2011, I honestly had no clue what Cook Smarts was going to be when it grew up. All I had was a strong belief that the ability to cook simple and real food could contribute to a healthier and happier world. As someone who has always valued the power of education, I wanted to create a company that focused on giving people the smarts and tools they needed to succeed in the kitchen and take control of their health.

As a dietitian, there is SO much I love about this company. While I’m usually able to just wing it in the kitchen, I know there are lots of people out there who benefit from planning out their meals for the week. But let’s be honest, that can be a lot of work! Cook Smarts does that work for you! It provides a meal plan- which you can customize to be gluten-free, vegetarian or paleo if necessary to fit your dietary needs, compiles a grocery list for you and even tells you what you can prep ahead of time over the weekend. It also provides you with notes about ingredients, ideas for leftovers and cooking videos. Plus they have a great blog!

Here’s what it looks like:

When you sign up, they share several meal ideas each week. Here’s what’s on tap for next week:

You choose which meals you want to make and the ingredients are added to a grocery list:

The colored letters indicate which meal the ingredient is for and you can remove items you already have on hand at home.

You can also check out your instructions for things you can prep ahead of time over the weekend:

And when you’re ready to make a meal, they give you complete directions, along with links to instructional videos!

If you don’t like what’s on the menu for the week you can search their meals to add different ones to your meal plan:

Cook Smarts offers gift subscriptions that would be perfect for the holidays! You can give 3 months of meal plans for $21, 6 months for $42 or one whole year for $72. PLUS through Dec 3rd all subscriptions and gift subscriptions are 40% off!  If you’re reading this from Dec 3 – Dec 21st, use the code ELF4HLTH14 for 20% off subscriptions!

They have an awesome website with a great Resources section and you can check out their past meal plans to get an idea of what their recipes are like! And the best part? If you think this sounds good but you’re not ready to commit, they let you try 3 meal plans for free!

I made this Open Faced Turkey Pesto Avocado Melt last week and it was a delicious combo of flavors!

And next time my hubby asks for chicken tenders, I’m trying this version:

So, if you’re interested in learning more about Cook Smarts, check out their website! If you’re ready to give them a try, sign up HERE!

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Hi Friends!

This whole week pretty much revolves around food since it’s Thanksgiving tomorrow, right? So I thought it’d be a good time to share another roundup of what some of my favorite busy moms feed their kids!

If you like this post, be sure to check out What Registered Dietitians Feed Their Kids and What Busy Moms Feed Their Kids – Part 1! Hope this gives you moms out there some new food ideas!

Brittany
Delights and Delectables (delightsanddelectables.com)
“Baby Delight” 8 months

1. What do your children typically eat for breakfast?
Right now, he is still mainly on formula.  However, about 1 hour after his morning bottle he has some form of “big kid” food.  That is when I introduce new foods every 4 days.

2. What do they typically eat for lunch?
Formula.  We pretend it is filet mignon though.  😉

3. Do you all sit down as a family for dinner?
Yes!  We want to institute that early in life.  We do the best we can with him.  Dinner is usually his “witching hour” so it can get interesting.

4. What happens if they don’t like what you’re making for dinners?
We try, try again.  I am dealing with trying to decide if he has a food allergy or intolerance to certain foods, or if he just doesn’t like them.  Right now, he despises bananas.  I plan to reintroduce them in a couple of weeks.  The key is patience…. Sometimes it takes several introductions to a new food before they like it.

5. What are the kids’ favorite snacks? What are some snacks you never leave the house without?
His favorite foods right now are sweet potato and avocado.  We aren’t really doing portable snacks right now, but I always make sure to have extra formula with me!

6.  Are any foods off limits?
We aren’t doing any gluten or grains until he is older.  Our doctor told us of some new research that suggests this keeps babies from developing food allergies.  Since I have a ton of allergies, I want to keep Baby D allergy free if possible!  Plus, we aren’t sure if there are food allergies in his family history.

7. Any tips for picky eaters?
Keep trying and be patient.  Sometimes it can be a sensory or texture issue.  Someone told me it could take up to 30 times before a child accepts the food.

8. Do any of your kids have food allergies? How do you deal with that both at home and when in public?
Not yet!! Fingers crossed!!

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Courtney
Sweet Tooth, Sweet Life (www.sweettoothsweetlife.com)
Lucas, 13 months

1. What do your children typically eat for breakfast?
Full fat yogurt, banana, and a pancake

2. What do they typically eat for lunch?
PB&J on whole wheat bread, homemade chicken meatballs with peas and carrots, homemade spinach mac & cheese, and deli turkey with string cheese are a few favorites these days.

3. Do you all sit down as a family for dinner?
We try really hard to all sit together, but 90% of the time, it’s usually Lucas eating while at least one of us sits with him. As hard as we try, we aren’t always able to get his food AND our food on the table at the same time.

4. What happens if they don’t like what you’re making for dinners?
We might attempt to feed it to him a different way (sometimes he won’t want to pick it up himself, but he’ll eat it with a fork, etc.) but if he’s really not into it, we’ll usually go to one of his typical lunch favorites. And some nights, all he wants is blueberries and Cheerios. It happens.

5. What are the kids’ favorite snacks? What are some snacks you never leave the house without?
Cheerios are a MUST for us right now. Fruit and veggie food pouches are also great for on-the-go snacks (although we need to watch him with them now because he likes to squirt them anywhere but in his mouth).

6. Are any foods off limits?
Not really at this point, but limit the added sugars/sweets to special occasions.

7. Any tips for picky eaters?
Sometimes, adding a little butter or cheese and extra spices to veggies has made a huge difference for Lucas.

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Jess Allen
Blonde Ponytail (blondeponytail.com)
Jada, 15 months

1. What do your children typically eat for breakfast?
Fruit (usually a banana), cheerios, sometimes pancakes if I can get my act together and cook! Things she can feed herself, as she is Miss Independent now! 😉

2. What do they typically eat for lunch?
Chicken & peas (she love these), or if we are on-the-go, a Sunbutter & jelly sandwich on whole wheat with raspberries on the side. We also do whole milk with added DHA.

3. Do you all sit down as a family for dinner?
We try to, but my husband is a baseball coach, so his hours can get late! For dinner, she loves turkey burgers and Amy’s organic veggie bowls, so I try to play into her veggie interest as much as possible.

4. What happens if they don’t like what you’re making for dinners?
I usually default to a pre-made pouch from Happy Tots or Plum. Right now, she is teething, so soft foods seem to be preferable.

5. What are the kids’ favorite snacks?
What are some snacks you never leave the house without? Again, the pre-made pouches, Cheerios or puffs, and usually a cereal bar. Plus, her water bottle!

6. Are any foods off limits?
Because Jada is only 15 months, no choking hazards like hot dogs, raw veggies, chips, candy, etc. Otherwise, I let her try sweets, not too many, but she’s a big fan of ice cream like her mama. 😉

7. Any tips for picky eaters?
Make it fun by encouraging independence. I let her feed herself as much as she can. I also always try to sit down and eat with her, so it’s a family experience.

8. Do any of your kids have food allergies?
She had a reaction to peanut butter early on, so we stick with almond butter and Sunbutter. Usually, people are really good about asking what she can & can’t have, especially since she is so young.

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Melanie Flinn
Nutritious Eats (nutritiouseats.com)
Lucas 7, Sage 5, Roman 2, and Evangeline 9 months

1. What do your children typically eat for breakfast?
They rotate between scrambled eggs and toast, cereal, oatmeal, pancakes, breakfast tacos, and bagels with cream cheese. In addition, they have yogurt every single morning- they are obsessed, and often fruit.

2. What do they typically eat for lunch?

Main entree is usually one of the following:

• Homemade “lunchables” with cheese, crackers, and uncured, nitrate-free ham or turkey
• Sandwiches: egg and cheese, uncured ham or turkey and cheese or peanut butter and jelly
• Leftover pasta-either pesto, marinara or mac n’ cheese
• Soup
• Breakfast tacos-usually potato and egg made in the morning before school

Sides (I give them 2 or 3 sides depending on the day):

• Hummus and crackers
• Tortilla chips or pretzels
• Fruit (they eat every type)
• Nuts
• Granola bars- both homemade and store-bought
• Snack balls
• Carrots sticks or cherry tomatoes

The baby is eating mostly finger food with the addition of a little pureed baby food. She eats all the soft table food we eat like avocado, pita bread, hummus, potato, chicken, pesto pasta, cheese pizza, fruits and tons of veggies—she loves them all!

3. Do you all sit down as a family for dinner?
Yes, every night. Since the baby has to go to bed the earliest we aim to eat at 5:45pm so that we can all sit together.

4. What happens if they don’t like what you’re making for dinners?
It doesn’t happen often because I usually cook things I know they like. However, if it’s something new and they don’t think they like it, I encourage (or rather make) them try at least one bite. If I am cooking something that isn’t their favorite, I always include at least one food item I know they like. For example, if I make a seafood and pasta dish with marinara, I know they don’t like seafood but they love pasta so I’d simply set aside some plain marinara. I always have frozen veggies on hand if they don’t like the fresh veggies I am cooking with and I have no problem defrosting what they like. That’s about as far as I cater to them.

5. What are the kids’ favorite snacks? What are some snacks you never leave the house without?
They love crunchy stuff like Pirate Booty, pretzels, gold fish, or Annie’s brand snacks. They also love any kind of fruit and nuts (mostly cashews and pistachios), granola bars (typically homemade Lara bars), homemade fruit or nut snack balls.

6. Are any foods off limits?
Not really. I refuse to buy highly processed foods or things with artificial dyes. However, if they are offered those sorts of things at school parties, birthday parties, soccer games, etc. they are allowed to eat them. Obviously we aim to keep those as very occasional foods.

7. Any tips for picky eaters?
If they are under 2 years old, just be patient. Food tastes change all the time. Plus, everyone has different preferences so you can’t force them to like something just because you like it. If they are 2+ years and old enough to help you in the kitchen, absolutely get them involved. This always helps my kids to be more open to trying new foods.

8. Do any of your kids have food allergies? How do you deal with that both at home and when in public?
My 2 year old has an egg allergy. It’s not very serious, but as he continues to test positive, I avoid giving him whole eggs and I often bake with flax as an egg substitute. He can tolerate eggs in baked goods in small amounts so it hasn’t been a huge issue thus far.

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Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Hi Friends!

Elf For Health is back for another year and it’s time to kick things off!

Three years ago Elle of  According to Elle (formerly Nutritionella) and I started this challenge to promote health and wellness during the holidays, a time when healthy habits tend to fall to the wayside. In years past, all challenge participants were paired up as elves to support and encourage each other during the holidays.

We recognize this is an especially busy time of year and not everyone can commit to having an elf, so this year you’ll have the option of having an elf assigned to you, or participating solo. Regardless of whether you want your very own elf or choose the solo route, all elves are welcome to join our awesome community on Facebook, as well as by using the #elf4health hashtag on Twitter and Instagram.

Here are all the details about what the challenge entails and how to sign up!

Introducing the Elf for Health Holiday Challenge! This is a four week challenge that will run from the Monday November 24th thru December 21, 2013. The challenges fall into 4 different categories: Food, Fitness, For You & For Others. There will be daily tasks, daily winners, prizes, weekly newsletters, and a Facebook group for support.

And are you ready for the best part? You’ll have an elf to support and encourage you! When you sign up, you will also be committing to be an elf for someone in return. Over the course of the challenge, you will have two different elves.

Sounds like a great way to stay motivated and meet new people over the holidays doesn’t it?! Since this challenge is internet based, anyone can participate… no matter where you’re located! All you need is access to the internet and an email address.

So what does an Elf do?

Elf Duties

As an Elf, you are expected to support your assigned buddy with their holiday health goals and the daily challenges. Elves & buddies will be reassigned after 2 weeks so that hopefully you get to meet 2 new people! You are only asked to email your buddy 2 times per week:

• Monday: Send your buddy an email to help them with the challenges for that week. Ideas of things to include/attach: your own personal tips & tricks, inspiring words and/or images, a new, healthy recipe or workout to try.
• Thursday – Saturday: Any time during these days, check in with your buddy! For example, ask them if they tried a new recipe, workout, or had fun with any certain challenges. Feel free to tell them how you did with your challenges, too!

Anything more than those 2 emails is up to you but feel free to go above and beyond this to show your support! Just a few ideas: send your buddy Tweets, shout outs on our Facebook Page, email a fun workout you liked or send a hand written recipe or note.

Important Dates

• *Friday, November 21st at 11:59pm EST: sign up deadline
• Sunday, November 23rd: Round 1 Elf assignments emailed
• Monday, November 254h – Sunday, December 7th: Round 1
• Sunday, December 7th: Round 2 Elf assignments emailed; Round 1 “Best Elf” winners chosen
• Monday, December 8th – Sunday, December 21st: Round 2
• Sunday, December 21st: Round 1 “Best Elf” & participant grand prize winners chosen

*If you missed the initial sign up deadline, you can still participate:

• Sign up before December 5th for Round 2

Not clear about something? Email Elle or Lindsay!

Prizes

We have some fabulous prizes from some of our favorite companies to give to the winners.

• 2 prizes for “Best Elf”, one awarded at the end of each round
• 1 grand prize for best participant awarded at the end of the challenge determined by participation, hashtagging and being an awesome Elf.

There will be a daily challenge winner chosen each day. Daily winners will be entered for a chance to win the grand prize!

Best elf prizes will given based on participation and nomination. If you love your elf, let us know so we can consider them for a Best Elf prize. Best Elf prizes will be awarded at the end of each round.

Prizes will be provided by our 2014 Challenge Sponsors:

Prize packs will include 3 months of meal planning from Cook Smarts, beautiful workout gear from Sweaty Betty, hemp seed protein powder from Manitoba Harvest, and more from Swanson Health, Love Grown Foods, Nuttzo, Cabot Cheese, and Sizzlefish.

** Unfortunately, due to shipping costs, only USA residents are eligible to win prizes. But we’d still love to have you participate, even if you’re from somewhere else!**

Still with me?

Challenge Calendar

If so, you’re probably wondering what the daily challenges are, right? Here’s a nice square image that you can save on the lock screen of your phone to remind you of the challenges!

You can see more detailed descriptions on the calendar below and we’ll expand even more on the challenges in each weekly newsletter. See below for a printable list! Print it out and hang it somewhere to remind you participate, or add it to your Google calendar!

Sign Up

Want to sign up?! Fill out the form below.

We will be sending out a weekly newsletter reminding you of the weekly challenges so look out for a confirmation email to confirm your participation & newsletter subscription. If you don’t receive a confirmation email, check your spam box. If you still can’t find a confirmation email, let one of us (Elle or Lindsay) know ASAP and we’ll add you to the list.

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Hi Friends!

We’re changing things up here today and chatting a little bit about water. How does water affect your mood, you might ask? My friend and fellow RD Jenna from Fresh Food Perspectives is here to offer some info on its’ impact. I think it’s super interesting and I hope you will too! Jenna is mom to two little boys and she’s been a great source of information and support during my pregnancy/new mom journey, which I really appreciate! Check out her blog for healthy recipes and nutrition tips!

—————–

Hey everyone! It’s so nice to meet you via this wonderful blog. I am a fellow RD blogger over at Fresh Food Perspectives where I like to share a fresh perspective on real-life healthy living. I’m a wife to a football coach, a mom to two little boys, and a working girl at both the University of North Florida and in my private nutrition practice/blog.. Join in by adding ideas, articles, recipes, tips, workouts or anything that makes healthy living easier for you by using the hashtag #MakeHealthyEasy. Read more about it at this blog post.

Today I’d like to talk to you about what you’re drinking and how it makes you feel. And no, I’m not referring to sugary drinks or alcohol. I’m talking about your water intake. How does water affect your mood?

Please stick with me. This is isn’t your same old drink more water information.

I typically think of water intake as like a “Behavior Change 101” step. When I teach healthy living classes, this is one of the first things I start with: drink more water! We all probably know that this is an important step for being healthy.

But, have you checked in on this habit in a while? Do you really know that you’re drinking enough? Did you know that your water intake could be directly impacting your mood and brain power?

OK, that was a lot of questions, but hopefully you really thought about them.

I recently had to ask myself all these questions about my water intake because I just assume that I drink enough. What I found out though, was that I was not drinking as much as I thought and it was negatively affecting my mood, energy level and emotions.

What got me thinking about my water was a very interesting study I came across recently that looked at the connection between water intake, emotions, energy, and mental performance.

{Bear with me as I geek out on the science here for just a second…}

The study tracked changes in people’s mood when they went from either a restricted intake of water (1 Liter/day) to a high water intake (2.5 Liters/day) or vice versa. For a frame of reference, 1 Liter is about 4 ¼ cups and 2.5 Liters is about 10 ½ cups.

When participants went from a time of restricted intake (1 Liter) to elevated water intake (2.5 Liters), they experienced significantly less fatigue and sleepiness with improved brain power (less confusion). On the flip side, when participants went from a high water intake to a restricted intake, participants experienced a drop in “vigor”, contentedness, ability to stay calm and overall positive feelings.

{Geek out session is now over.}

**Editor’s note: If you’re a longtime reader you probably know that I (Lindsay) am a huge water lover. My giant water bottle makes an appearance in many of my meal pics!**

After doing a quick self assessment, I realized a few things: I am getting headaches more frequently, I am a lot more tired, I’d say my brain is running on about 50% these days, some days I feel more overwhelmed by motherhood than I am proud to admit, and yes, I’m not drinking enough water due to a variety of reasons. Hmmm. Maybe water intake isn’t so “101” level afterall.

In the past week, I have really put forth effort in drinking more water. (Yes, this is happening to me like right now). As I sit here typing, I am realizing I have had less headaches, my brain feels a touch sharper and I’m in a much better mood-place this week.

You and I both know that water is an important component to good health. But, as I’ve personally found, it’s easy to forget and easy to neglect in our day to day minutiae. In fact, let me take a brief moment to remind us all of something important about healthy living in general: It’s always good to do a check-in on your day to day behaviors, even if you think you’re OK.

When working with clients over the years, I have found that when life changes (in big or small ways) it’s important take a moment to make sure your normal healthy habits are still working for you. It can be frustrating when your typical strategies aren’t producing the same results anymore. But you know what, that’s pretty normal. I suggest pulling out a pen and paper and jotting down a few new strategies for accomplishing your goal. Being deliberate is the only way to make a change.

And sometimes, you just need a fresh plan of attack.

**Editor’s note: One of my favorite ways to keep my water intake up in the colder months- hot water with lemon and fresh ginger**

I’ve needed a new plan of attack for drinking more water. One of my ideas is to add dehydrated lemon slices to my water because it makes it just a little more delicious and fun. (You can read my blog post on how to dehydrate at home to do the same.)

So take a quick moment to really think about how you’re feeling these days, and how much water you’re really drinking. Maybe you’re need a little water check up and it could make a really big difference in how you feel too.

Wouldn’t it be nice for us all to feel better and have more brain power just by drinking more water? That’s certainly a way to #MakeHealthyEasy.

[Tweet “Come learn how water intake can impact your mood from @JbraddockRD and @leangrnbeanblog”]

You can also connect with Jenna via the social media links below:

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Pinterest

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Let’s chat:
Do you have any tips or strategies you have for drinking enough water?