Fighting Colds, One Meal at a Thyme

I love cooking from scratch but sometimes I just don't have time to whip up waffles on the spot. So Trader Joes does it again. I love TJS everything. But their waffle/pancake mix is my favorite. The recipe calls for 1 cup of mix, two Tbl butter, 3/4 cup water and an egg. Instead I like to mix it up, I use two Tbl of melted coconut oil, 3/4 cup coconut milk, 1 banana and a grated apple. No egg, no butter. It makes me feel just a little bit better indulging in waffles. Now H has no problem eating two full Belgian waffles, something Mr. King and I can't even do. I like to eat healthy, but also believe in moderation. Moderation as in eating two sausage links, not five. I love food, and trying a little bit of everything. I don't exclude things from my diet, I just try to eat a lot of the 'good-for-you' foods, and only a few nibbles of the delicious 'bad-for-you' foods. 

Every meal I feed my little lady, I try to incorporate a lot of fruit and veggies.  What's even more important right now is feeding the right foods to help our immune systems. With the mass amounts of snow, cold weather and germs everywhere it's so beneficial to fill up on superfoods to help us not get sick. 

Eating one orange a day gives you your daily intake of vitamin C, as well as a being a great source of Fiber. Bananas are loaded with potassium, and boosts your metabolism. And honey (which we put on almost everything), improves sleep, soothes sore throats, eases stress, helps skin and so much more. Just remember use Raw Honey for all health benefits.

Banana not shown, he was an after picture thought.

After nap time we decided to enjoy a little smoothie. I love smoothies, it's just another great way to incorporate all the delicious, nutritious health benefitting fruits and/or veggies. Pineapple, mango and banana are my favorites, so they obviously showed up today. I'm really working on fighting this oncoming cold so I snuck in some ingredients I don't usually add like, cayenne pepper and apple cider vinegar. Ever since my first Chai Fresca I have been completely obsessed with those little guys, so I through about four tablespoons in. I also added, maple syrup, 1/4 cup strongly steeped lemon-lime tea, grated ginger, cinnamon, coconut milk, orange-pineapple juice and a tangerine. It was delicious. A little on the tarter side of things, I would have put maybe a tablespoon more maple syrup or some honey if I tasted it before dispersing between glasses. Also thinking about it now I could have used up a few yellow and orange carrots. But I didn't, and it was still so good. H finished her smoothie first, no compaints of tartness coming from her way. After her first sip she told me "my belly and nose feel better already" so there you go. Miracle cold fighting smoothie. 

H had quite the cinnamon-chai mustache. Love her. 

Don't mind the mid-day jammies, it was our first day home and we are being lazy and comfortable all day long. 

Enjoy

-K