Turtle Food Friday

 We’re finally building a home for our turtle, Hector, this weekend! We had a nice outdoor setup at our old home, but then we moved into an apartment while having a new home built and he had to go in a large plastic storage box. It wasn’t so bad since he spent most of the time hibernating, but now he’s out and ready for a big outdoor space again.

Kelley and I are excited for this project since it will be something we can do together and give a great turtle a great home. This means time out of the kitchen for me this weekend, and less involving meals to prepare for next week’s work lunches.

He loves his bugs!

Frozen bags of mixed beans with veggies and canned tuna or salmon in water are perfect for times like these. All you do is steam the veggies in the microwave, season as much or as little as you like, and viola, easy peasy steamed bean and veggie lunch. Add any whole grain and you’ll have a complete protein meal to enjoy.


Other flavors/add-ins I like are creamy goat cheese stirred into the mix while still hot, spicy brown mustard, Drew’s Smoked Tomato dressing (a Kelley favorite), salsa, and generous portions of cayenne. Steamed veggies make great turtle food too, so I can feed another member of the family simultaneously!


Turtles eat a lot of the same food we do, but nothing processed and packaged, just like we shouldn’t. They eat almost any whole food item like fruits, veggies, beans, eggs, tuna, and more. Hector’s favorites are apple cores, grape tomatoes, June beetles, and fat worms. He usually gets the same things I prepare for myself (less the insects, that’s all his) and he’ll eat most of it pretty well. I find myself catching bugs and freezing them for when I can’t find anything fresh, but living food is his preference.

I'm sure Hector will love microwave eggs as much as I do.
These will be fast and easy to make for next week!

We also have two cats (Gus and Lou) and a dog (Abby), but I claim Hector more than the others since he doesn’t shed or throw-up hairballs everywhere. I’ve always been a fan of reptiles for this reason (although snakes do shed, it’s not often); plus, they just interest me.

Simple mix of mushrooms, green onions, and tomatoes will compliment
canned tuna and cayenne well!

When time in the kitchen is limited, the foods I usually bake or prepare for myself (to avoid packaged products as much as possible) become scarce. Luckily, I saved some of my creations from past weeks in the freezer for times like these. It will be another week of having less pureed treats like I mentioned at the beginning of this week, but it’s not very bad like I expected it to be.

Phew! I just checked and luckily I have some of these Chocolate Acorn Squash Brownies saved!! I made these with this black bean brownie recipe, but with squash instead of beans.

Another thing I stopped doing is dicing carrots and apples to use as a cereal with mixed nuts and Ezekiel Cereal. Just peeling alone takes a lot of time, but for now I will just get baby carrots and only slice apples to eat them as finger foods; no cup and spoon needed. Sounds silly, but you haven’t seen me with a cup and spoon in hand; anything (as long as it's still healthy) is fair game!


I hope to bring a successful turtle home building message to all readers on Monday. Make sure to check back for the update!

This Chobani Greek Yogurt will help to hold me over too....yum! Check back next week for my review of their plain, non-fat variety and Giveaway Contest to boot!

Q: Do you have any constructive plans for the weekend? What do you think of turtles and other reptiles? Do you have any of your own?