Can't get your kid off the 'Helper??

I had a dear friend tell me the other day she wished I could put a 'healthy spin' on Hamburger Helper.
My mind lit up like fireworks.

I too used to eat this nasty, nasty stuff. Cringe. Not only did I eat it, I fed it to my child and even served it to guests! Wow. Not proud to say that but there it is. I'm glad I now know better and know there are so many better options:

1) There are healthier boxed meals in the Health Market of your local grocer. (Annie's and Back to Nature are the two that come to the top of my mind.)

2) (and better yet) Make your own!! Grab some whole wheat pasta, a meat of your choice (ground turkey or tuna preferably), add some fresh or frozen veggies and top it all off with a sauce of your choice!

Don't make it too difficult on yourself! It's really just as easy as the box and BETTER! Have fun with your food!

I thought it to be such a chore for the longest time to cook with my daughter because that would take patience, and this mommy does not come by patience naturally. But when I let her pick some ingredients and she gets to help put them together she is much more apt to try the finished product! And it is FUN! We're getting pretty good at it if, I may say so. =]

Still not convinced? Try this on for size, and I'm sure it's not the only of its kind:
Hamburger Helper is Killing Me (and You)

The Beginning

I was about to talk about my Super Bowl wins and losses, recipes that is, until I realized I had never told anyone who I am or why I'm here happy you're read this.

I am a busy soccer mom-fiance-student-office manager-independent consultant that donates her free time to the Lion's Club International, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and to running marathons among other various activities. I'm like every other busy mother, parent and/or student out there looking for something quick to feed myself and my family for dinner on a hectic week night.

I'm studying Entrepreneurship at The Henry W. Bloch School of Management (the business school at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.) With the aid of top Entrepreneurial Scholars from across the world and the best of Kansas City's business community supporting me, I have decided to delve into the local health food scene, dissect it piece by piece and serve it up deliciously simple on a platter -- so to speak.

Through Healthy Thoughts on Healthy Foods' top notch community interaction, I hope to get to the bottom of what is stopping us from feeding our children the healthiest meals possible. Is there no time? Are we unaware of the resources at our disposal? Do our children simply refuse to eat nutritional meals? Or maybe you're the parent that has it all figured out. I want to talk to you too. I want to talk to all of you. I want to speak with the local farmers in the community, the health food enthusiasts, the parent that doesn't understand what's wrong with typical fast food meals, and everyone in between.

So in short, that's why I'm here. I hope you've realized you'd like to stick around too and see what this is really all about and most of all leave your input, as community feedback is what I need the most.