Family trip to Dutch Country

Have you been to Lancaster Pennsylvania? I would not have believed you, if you told me it was a great place for kids... but it was. It was really amazing. There was everything, ice cream factories, water parks, steam trains, amish villages and a tourist trap awesomeness to boot. 

This was our itinerary and some notes from the trip. 


On Friday afternoon our first stop was at the Turkey Hill Experience. My four-year old really liked the interactive exhibits. They had a milking cow that you can try to milk (don't worry it's water) and the cow is plastic.  There is an old style milk truck that the kids drive and honk the horn. There was even some anti-bacteria video games that talked about the good and bad bacteria in milk. The exhibit also features the "Tasting Lab" where you can experience life as a food scientist and create your own ice cream flavors. Tickets were reasonable, $10 for adults and kids 4 and under are free. There were no lines and it is all you can eat ice cream and iced tea samples. 

 We checked in to the Double Tree in Lancaster. It was a little bit pricey for two rooms, since we went with my mom. But it was a very nice hotel. There is a large pool and then a splash park for the kids to play in. It was a great save, because the first day my mom went, but the second she napped and just Freddy and I went down to swim. 

The hotel accommodations were clean and updated, the staff was super family friendly and kind, and there was a very nice restaurant in the hotel that was not that expensive. 

There was even a wedding going on during our stay, and we still catered too as if we were the only guests. My son really wanted to try room service but we will have to save that for another time. 

For dinner, the first night we went to Hershey Farm Inn and Restaurant. It was a great place for kids, there is a little farm, you can see the Tom Turkey and Freddy were making introductions. The farm had chickens and goats and few other animals. The property is gorgeous with a lovely garden to walk through, a large pond and a playground. They also have a huge market with a couple of stores, a green house, and a bakery. Don't miss the huge Amish Farmer and the horse buggy coach you can try. The food was good home-style country cooking. I got a Amish dish that was sauerkraut and roasted pork. But they had everything from hot-dogs and  chicken nuggets to salad and soup. They also host a Smorgasbord (huge buffet) with a chocolate fountain, but we resisted and stuck with the smaller less expensive menu.  

 On the way back to the hotel we stopped at the local Grocery Store, Weiss. The only reason I write about it because if you do decide to go Dutch Wonderland Amusement Park you want to stop there to pick up tickets. You can save $10 a ticket. But we went to pick up milk and yogurt for the room for breakfast. It is also nice to be near a grocery store when you have a little one. You never know when you need to restock fruit snacks and water bottles.







Saturday morning we went to the Strasburg Rail Road. It was an incredibly preserved Steam Train from 1915. We bought our tickets from the hotel, which saved us about $10 a ticket. The train yard has so much to do, we could have spent all day there. There is a huge museum. The train ride itself takes about 45 minutes. But there are two stops, a picnic ground if you want to pack a lunch and a farm with attractions. The inside of the train was gorgeous, with green velvet seats, wooden trimming, antique iron lighting fixtures, and working coal burning ovens for heat in the winter months. We got on the train early to save our seats. It is really magical, even a cynic like myself got into waving at everyone as we rode by. 

The train ride was lovely passing through pristine farm land and green meadows. There were plenty of farm animals to keep the kids entertained and we sped by. 

When we got back to the train yard we spent plenty of time in the Thomas the Train toy shops, the playground, and the little train rides they have. 






Our next stop was the Kettle Kitchen Village. I would love to go back to with my girlfriends to go shopping. The Village was lovely, and so friendly. We had lunch in the Kling House Restaurant which was delicious, inexpensive and family friendly. The village shops are just darling, there is a super cute quilt shop, lovely tin works, delicious fudge shop, a bakery, a canning shop that has hundreds of tasters and a bakery. There was live music playing in the middle of the village and a place to have some treats and enjoy the sunshine. If you go to bakery you can buy a cookie for a $1 and the kids are given a tray of colorful royal icing they can use to decorate their gingerbread man. Freddy loved it and he conned me into buying him one of those huge unicorn lollipops. After our busy Saturday we went back to the hotel. My mom took a nap and Freddy and I played in the pool. We decided to keep it low key and had dinner in the hotel restaurant.  

 The next morning, we went to Miller's Breakfast Smorgasbord. Which had an outstanding breakfast and plenty of kid friendly foods. Many of the shops, restaurants, and farmers markets are closed on Sunday, so you have to be careful. But we managed to see the Miller's Quilting shop which was like going to an art museum and you have to wear a glove. Then finally we stopped at Dutch Haven. You can't miss a tourist trap especially with a huge sign that says "Amish Stuff." We had shoo-fly pie, popcorn and home-made root beer. Freddy got a post card for his other Grammy and my mom bought a beautiful blanket.  All in all it was a fantastic trip and I can't wait to go back again in the Fall. 

Paleo Asian Lunch Meal Prep

I did my lunch box a little different this week. I only cooked one dish, and the other boxes I filled with fruit, nuts, and all natural mint chocolate treat. Last time I actually cooked 4 different dishes. Not surprisingly last week took me a lot longer to prep 5 meals. This week my boxes consisted of: 

Paleo Chicken Stir Fry with Asian Vegetables
2 clementines
1/4 cup of sesame cashews
1 all natural honey mint chocolate treat 


The only thing about making your boxes this way, is you want to take out your main dish and heat it up separately. But we should all heat our meals in glass anyway. I definitely, prefer cooking only one dish rather than 4. It was a lot easier, and lot faster. I also liked incorporating fresh fruit and treat into my lunch. The bulk of my meal is plant based. I gave myself a little shortcut using organic frozen stir-fry vegetables rather than doing all the washing and chopping myself. Using frozen in the winter definitely is a cost and time saver. In the spring, summer and fall, I hope to eat locally and raw. But for now, frozen is a frozen does. 

So this is my lunch for the week... and I can't wait. 

Paleo Breakfast Meal Prep

So this my second week meal prepping. I made 5 breakfast boxes and 5 lunch boxes. It took me a little less than 2 hours to make all 10 meals. I really love having a hot breakfast on a cold day. It is like waking up and knowing that you get to put on a super cozy sweater. It makes waiting on the metro platform for 20 minutes in below freezing temperatures totally bearable. For my breakfast box this week:

Spinach and Wild Mushroom Baked Omelettes

Frozen Organic Strawberries and Blueberries 

Paleo Banana Bread 

So you say, "that is a lot of food". And I say, yes, but I space it out. I try to have about 300 calories every four hours or so. When I get to work I heat up the entire try for 2 minutes in the microwave and with my infused water, I have my omelette. Then about 10:30 am, I have my banana bread, fruit, and a coffee. I like using frozen fruit in the winter because it is cheaper, I plan to cook it anyway, and it is great way to make sure I have organic produce. Overall I really liked my breakfast box. I certainly liked it more than last weeks. Last weeks box included: 

Tri-color Pepper Baked Omelette

Roasted White Potatoes with Cajun Seasoning

Stewed Apples with Cranberries

Most people recommend meal prepping for a few reasons: 

• Saves Money
• Saves Calories 
• Less likely to cheat your special diet
• Better for you
• Saves time and clean-up 

I can definetly say, meal prepping saves me calories and time. I am happy to say that this week was completely Paleo, which is a goal of mine. As for money... I always eat a breakfast from home, so I can't say I am really saving any money making my boxes. I do harness quite a bit of disdain for my co-workers for their hot breakfast that they picked up from those hot bars filled with french toast. I am trying to eat more vegetables in the  morning. This certainly an easy way to make sure that my meal is organic. I look forward to spring when I can have organic and local fresh meals. As for now, I am happy to use frozen veggies. Thus, my little packed boxes are my take-away joy. 

Snow Day

Snow days. Who doesn't love a day of playing outside the snow. It is funny to me, that times have changed. It used to be that kids had to play outside by themselves and make their own fun. Nowadays, each child is accompanied by two parents. It could be parents are more protective, or the world is more dangerous, or that parents just want to have fun with their kids. I think I will choose to be the latter. And fun, fun we had. 

There was snow balls and snow angels. But the most fun was climbing up the hill by the train tracks and sliding down the hill on our bottoms. With some LL Bean water-proof pants, we slid like Teflon at no less than 15 miles an hour. It was so much fun. 

Mardi Gras Dinner Party

I heart NOLA. I heart Bourbon Street Jazz. I heart all Creole Food. Suffice it say, I really wanted a big Mardi Gras Party this year. Alas, it was not in the cards; our kid and his friends are still too little. But we did compromise with a Mardi Gras potluck. Which was FANTASTIC. Here is what was brought and made... 

Hurricanes and Abita

Creole Shrimp on Polenta Cakes

Muffleta Dip and Crostini

Jambalaya

King Cake  

Suffice it say it was an absolute hoot. I think it was all the hurricanes. I always say it is a good party when you leave clothing behind and despite the frigid temperatures we did have folks leave without their coat. Thankfully they were only walking a couple of doors down. I would absolutely do it all again. The only thing different, would be a I would definitely hydrate more before and maybe 1 or 5 less hurricanes for me... 

Lunch Meal Prep: Vegetarian Voudavan Curry, Quinoa, Roasted Beets, and Black Bean Brownies

Have you ever heard of meal prep? Basically, you cook for two hours on the weekend and you have some meals ready to go for the week. A lot of different people do it, for a lot of different reasons. Some folks do it for weight loss, saving money, dietary restrictions, body building, or time constraints. For me, it is a combination of all of these reasons, well save body building. Yes, when I was in high school, my best friend and I actually dressed up like Hans and Franz. 

OK, back to meal prep. This week my lunch menu included: 

Sweet Potato and Cauliflower Voudavan Curry

Organic Tri-colored Quinoa

Roasted Beet Salad

Black Bean Brownies 

I wasn't trying to make meals vegetarian this week, it just worked out that way. I love curries, they are so filling, and so warm and comforting during the dark cold months of winter. The beet salad was a happy accident, I had bought some organic beets at Trader Joes as an impulse purchase. (Wow, that sounds ridiculous. Am I the only person that buys organic vegetables on an impulse?) The Black Bean Brownies was no accident, I figured, I would need to have a dessert if I was going to eat the same thing all week. 

I think the best advice I have heard related to meal prep is make food you want to eat. If you don't, you won't eat it and you will have just wasted a lot of time and money. 

If you are looking for more inspiration on meal prep, my favorite meal prepper on YouTube is the MadBakingGymAddict. Check her out.

As always, much love, many blessings and happy meal prepping. 

Menu: Kid Valentine Brunch

I love brunch. I love kid’s parties. I love Valentine’s Day… we hosted a Kid Valentine Brunch. We had an absolutely wonderful time. We are so blessed that all of Freddy’s friends are just wonderful kids and their parents are pretty awesome. As my good friend Meg said, “we make awesome babies.” I wanted to share the menu from the party.

Kid Valentine Brunch Menu

Cheddar Bacon Biscuits

Sweet Potato Biscuits

Mini Cheese Quiches

Vegetable Frittatas

Ham and Cheese Roll-ups

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Jam Straws

Pancake Pops

Fruit Cups with Yogurt and Granola

Mimosa Punch

Juices, Lemonades and Champagne

Coffee

Spa Water

Pink White Chocolate Lattes

Pink Hot Chocolate

I was surprised but what was loved and less loved.  I will share the reviews first and then what I did prepare.  The kid’s, as expected, loved the pancake pops and the fruit cups. The mom’s seemed to eat the vegetable frittatas and the granola, yogurt and fruit cups. The dads tended to eat the ham and cheese roll ups, the mini quiches and some of the jam straws. As for drinks, the kids loved the juice, of course… no surprise. The mom’s all had one mimosa and then a coffee. Some had a white chocolate latte, but they only had one. The dad’s mostly had coffee and then water… I was surprised, I thought the biscuits and the mimosa punch would be a huge hit. So, next time, if I did again, I would do this menu… I think…

Ham and Cheese Roll-ups

Pancake Pops

Fruit Cups with Yogurt and Granola

Vegetable Frittatas

Valentine Donuts from Krispy Kreme 

Juices, Lemonades and Champagne

Coffee

Spa Water

I guess the reason I was surprised was the items that took the most time, the scratch made biscuits and the lattes didn’t really get yummed up. And the menu items that were easiest to prepare were demolished… Here was my plan to prepare…

Day before the party

• Baked the sweet potatoes for the biscuits
• Cooked the bacon for the biscuits
• Baked the Cheddar Bacon Biscuits
• Baked the Sweet Potato Biscuits
• Baked the Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Cooked the spinach for the Vegetable Frittatas
• Cut and froze the lemons and oranges for the Mimosa Punch and Spa Water

Morning of the Party

• Made the Mini Cheese Quiches
• Baked the Vegetable Frittatas
• Made the Ham and Cheese Roll-ups
• Baked the Jam Straws
• Cooked the Pancake Pops
• Cut up the fruit for the Fruit Cups and set out the Yogurt and Granola
• Stirred up the Mimosa Punch
• Set out Juices, Lemonades and Champagne
• Asked my husband make the Coffee
• Added the frozen lemons and filtered the tap for the Spa Water
• Set up the crock pot and mixed up the Pink White Chocolate Lattes
• Heat the milk and stir up the Pink Hot Chocolate

It really didn’t take that long, just about 2 hours on Saturday and 3 hours on Sunday morning. All and all it was a lovely party. I loved the décor and the favors. I will have to post about that soon.

As always much love, many blessings, and Happy Valentine’s Day.