Simply Sustainable Family

Simple, Sustainable, and Healthy Homestead Lifestyle

Best Meatloaf with Grape Juice: Sweet and Savory Meatloaf

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Meatloaf is a classic main dish for many families, including mine. It is versatile and forgiving, so I can adapt it to fit the ingredients I have available at the time. However, it has never been one of my favorite recipes. Frankly, I usually find meatloaf pretty boring. The flavor tends to be very basic or even shallow. I end up trying to compensate for that by putting ketchup on it, or serving it with spicy or sweet side dishes. But, this week, my toddler requested “meatloaf” for dinner. It became my goal for that day to develop a meatloaf recipe that was both sweet and savory and definitely not boring. The result was a meatloaf with grape juice, multiple savory spices, and a drizzle of maple syrup.

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slice of meatloaf in a bowl with a glass of wine in the background.
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How to Keep Babies from Becoming Picky Eaters

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We have all encountered the kids that will not eat anything but chicken nuggets and cheese. Maybe that even describes one of your own little ones. I think we all would love to see our kids enjoying a wide range of tastes and textures. And, maybe even choosing the broccoli on their plate over the french fries (we can dream, right?!). I made some commitments to myself before my oldest was even born. I wanted to do whatever it took to keep my babies from becoming picky eaters.

Any extra effort that I put in early on, was well worth it down the road. I wanted healthy kids that would eat anything. My efforts paid off. Both of my boys will literally eat anything (even the occasional woodchip or dandelion from the yard). Cooking is way more fun if you know everyone in the family will love the meal no matter what is in it.

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Infant in a highchair eating a bowl of beet and veggie soup
Jack (8 months old), is eating a beet, sausage, and mixed veggie soup with a bone broth base.
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The Easy Way to Pick and Cook Dandelion Greens

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For cooking, my favorite time of year on a homestead is definitely Summer and Fall. This is the time when the garden is producing like crazy, and I have more fresh produce than I know what to do with. The hardest time of year is the end of Winter into early Spring. This is when I have usually used up most of my canned, frozen, and stored produce. And, it is still too cold for even the early crops to be up yet. I even sometimes resort to buying some frozen veggies from the store (shocking I know – homesteading is supposed to be perfect, right?). But, around the beginning of April, a solution shows up in our backyard. Dandelions are delicious, nutritious, and simple to use. I have developed a very easy way to pick and cook Dandelion Greens. And, they end up being a staple in our spring diet.

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pinterest pinnable showing the steps to picking and cooking dandelion greens
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