Here’s a great deal from Six O’Clock Scramble (and really, who doesn’t want meal planning to be easier, but also healthy and inexpensive?) – Sign up for two years of the weekly meal planning service for only $64.50 (the one-year subscription is $54.50)!

If you aren’t familiar with this cool service, here’s the dish (no pun intended)…Six O’Clock Scramble sends you 5 recipes (replete with nutritional information) and a complete grocery list, all customizable according to your family’s dietary needs, etc. All recipes take 30 minutes or less to prepare (that’s quick!), and you can save your favorite recipes for future use in the online “recipe box. ” They also send a weekly newsletter with lots of tips for making daily food choices easier, healthier, and inexpensive.

You can also get a FREE report, “Snack Attack: 50 Ideas for Healthy Family Snacks,” without a subscription, so pop over and grab that regardless – it has lots of great tips.

And be sure to check out the blog – also full of great advice and delicious recipes!

I have a new obsession: my morning bowl of apple-walnut oatmeal. Love it, love it, love it. It is low-sugar, high fiber, and boasts a respectable amount of protein. It is a delicious, winter breakfast that, 1) keeps blood sugar levels stable, and 2) provides oodles of energy for your morning workout. Oh, and this is all “home made,” not out of a box. Here’s the recipe so that you can try it too:

1/3 cup Bob’s Red Mill 5 Grain rolled whole grain hot cereal (a mix of whole grain oats, wheat, rye, barley, triticale, and flaxseed). I sometimes add an additional tablespoon of ground flaxseed, just for kicks ;0)

Soymilk (low-fat, plain), but certainly low-fat or fat-free milk would work. I like my oatmeal thick, so I add enough to cover the oatmeal, nuke it in the microwave for about 1 minute, and continue to add soymilk and re-nuke until I get the consistency I like.

1 organic apple, chopped, any variety will do

1-2 tablespoons crushed walnuts

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

The exact calorie count will vary depending on the amount of milk and walnuts you use, but Bob’s Red Mill 5-grain cereal has 120 calories per 1/3 cup serving, 1.5 g of fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 0 mg of sodium (yay), 24 g of carbohydrate, of which, 5 g is insoluble fiber and 1 g is soluble fiber; and finally, 5 g of protein.

Every day I pile fruit and veggies onto each of my children’s plates, and every day I ladle them, untouched, into a storage container to be eaten, by me, later. Only one of my four children, in fact, eats fruits and vegetables with any kind of enthusiasm. I’ve read (on numerous occasions) that if you put produce on their plates every day, they will eventually eat it. I’m not buying it. Marin and Addison used to like vegetables, if served cold and with hummus or salad dressing. They even loved salad…for about one month. Now, all bets are of. On a good day, they’ll eat a banana AND sliced apples. It drives me nuts, and naturally, I worry whether they are getting adequate nutrition. But enough about me – I’m writing this because I bumped into a resource that might just “trick” kids into eating their fruits and veggies – by way of charity!

Produce for Kids is an organization that works with both the produce industry and grociers to promote healthy eating for kids. The organization also raises funds and awareness for non-profits (Children’s Miracle Network Hospital and PBS Kids.)

How it works: For every produce item purchased at one of these stores: Public, Meijer, Giant, Price Chopper, Kroger, and ACME, PFK sponsors make a donation to your local Children’s Miracle Network. It’s simple, and a worthwhile cause kids and parents can both sink their teeth into (no pun intended.)

The PFK website also has fun games for kids, resources for parents and teachers, and lots of healthy recipes to test on your picky little eaters.