A Life Inspired

Who inspires you?  It’s been exactly one year today since I started blogging and each post makes me love it even more.  As I look back over the past year, I think of the word “inspiration”.  We all can be inspired at any given moment with the right words, the right picture, the right happenstance.  And what I long to create with this blog is a place to inspire, educate and motivate you.  That’s right – I care about you.  I may have met you in the past, or I may not even know you.  But I want to help you and your family make healthier choices through quick and healthy meal ideas, fun ways to spend time together in the kitchen and the garden and learn how to make educated decisions in the supermarket aisles.

So back to the question of who inspires you?  I can honestly say that one person that has inspired me over the last year is Michelle Obama.  Politics aside, I admire how she has taken a stance against childhood obesity by creating such engaging programs like Let’s Move, the vegetable garden at the White House and now motivating families to balance their plates with MyPlate recipe ideas.  The MyPlate Recipes are congregated together on Pinterest – making it easier to think of balanced meal ideas for your family.  Even the book, American Grown, was something I had to have on pre-order before it came out.  My story of starting the Sprouts Garden seems so closely aligned with Michelle Obama’s garden story.

First Lady Michelle Obama and White House Chef...
First Lady Michelle Obama and White House Chef Sam Kass show students from the Bancroft Elementary how to plant a garden. The White House Vegetable Garden was officially planted today. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As a registered dietitian, these programs give me inspiration and hope for the future.  Inspiration to keep on creating, dreaming and promoting a healthier tomorrow for families.  It wouldn’t hurt to accomplish something I’ve been wanting to do too in the next four years – visit the White House garden and meet Michelle Obama.  What I would say to her at that moment, I don’t know – other than thank you.  Thank you for bringing awareness to this country of the need to value health and our children.  Thank you for creating programs to help promote healthier choices and inspire others to do the same.  And can I spend time with you in the garden?  🙂

Along with that inspiration, I want to share a recipe with you that started it all for me back in the kitchen so long ago growing up on a farm surrounded by food.  When I say surrounded by food, I mean that we had a large garden which grew many vegetables, we had our own apple trees, we had our own beef cattle, chickens and pigs that we would care for dearly but in the end would also eventually care for us.  This recipe is one of my family’s favorites, so much so that I make a few loaves and throw them in the freezer and take one out each week for breakfast.  I made it over just a little from my mom’s recipe to make it a little more healthy by adding whole grain and decreasing saturated fat by using plain Greek yogurt.  And of course, made it into a MyPlate Meal!

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And good thing I had a loaf in the freezer.  Because it turned out to be a snow day.  And the one day my kids could sleep in, they get up at 6:15 a.m. so they can go outside and play in the snow! Compare this to the mornings that involve getting ready for school, where “hurry up” is my favorite phrase. (really would like to eliminate that from my vocabulary!)

Mom’s Best Ever Banana Bread (with a little makeover)

Makes 1 loaf.

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/4 cup plain, non-fat Greek yogurt
  • 3 ripe bananas
  • 3 tablespoons buttermilk (despite the name, it’s actually low in fat!)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup crushed walnuts, if desired
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream sugar, butter and yogurt together using medium speed mixer.
  2. Add bananas and buttermilk. Blend.
  3. Add baking soda, flours and salt to creamed mixture.  Mix thoroughly.  Stir in walnuts, if desired.
  4. Pour dough into 9-inch loaf pan. Bake 50-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean.

Thank you for sticking with me over the past year, I look forward to a second exciting year of blogging!

Who inspires you?

2 Comments

  1. Betsy on March 5, 2013 at 5:27 pm

    Jen, I totally agree with you on Michelle Obama. She has done more than any other figure in modern history for the health of our nation, specifically our kids. Your recipe looks divine and your kids are super cute. Keep up the great work and being an inspiration to us all.
    Warm Regards,
    Betsy Ramirez

    • Jen Haugen on March 5, 2013 at 5:32 pm

      Thanks Betsy! My kids were way more awake than I was at that time of the morning, but had to snap that picture. Kids are a great reminder to get up and keep moving, there is so much to live for, create and dream!

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