Food for thought.

       Lunch is done and my ailing children all consented to a nap.  Although I dislike seeing them sick, I love having them home and caring for them on all levels, especially through creating good meals.  Today's lunch of Toad-in-a-Hole was a request by M, but a true fave of all. (fyi: piece of buttered bread - middle cut out with a biscuit cutter - crack an egg in the hole and fry 'til done - yum!)
       Ok, so truth be told, from trying new foods, enjoying old favorites to just preparing great meals together, we LOVE food here!  That being said, we are no stranger to processed dinners, junk food and fast food! This year we ARE making a change.  I am excited to share with our journey & recipes with you!
        The first step has already begun with weaning off sugary drinks.
Amazingly enough, water is the #1 drink of choice here with milk a close second but, we have struggled with many sugar-filled drinks in the past.
Pop, for the kids, is now hardly ever.  A 2 liter of  lemon/lime or root beer will sneak in maybe once a month. For me it's even less... Mr. T.  has 2-3 carbonated bevs a day. I've made my case, but this is an ongoing battle because the choice of pop contains no sugar. (don't get me started on artificial sweetener!)
        I can't remember the last time we had drink mixes and we cut out store juice back in September. Lately we have been lucky enough to have fresh squeezed O.J. ( I've been mixing the orange juice with the juice of half a lemon & about a tsp. of honey in a mug, filled the rest of the way with boiling water. It's a great boost for the body, soothes coughs and sore throats too.
P.s. the honey is from bees that reside on our property!)
       We have also discovered "Italian Soda" thanks to our new year's party which had an Italian theme - Buon Anno! This makes for a great carbonated drink - all the kick minus the ick! ;)  Club soda has no sugar and is not a drink the kids like to over consume and the flavoring syrup we use, (Torani - in the coffee section of Walmart) is also sugar free.
For special occasions, add homemade whipped cream and a cherry to top it off.
     We already feel better, fewer tummy aches, headaches and sugar crashes!
I am posting a link to the Martha Stewart recipe for Italian soda, mainly because I like the photo. Her recipe calls for seltzer or mineral water, either one is fine too. I used up to a TBS. of syrup per 4 oz glass. 
Martha's recipe for Italian Soda!