getting ready for summer

It’s getting really muggy and hot outside for my taste. The sunshine is doing great things for our garden, and ruining our usual appetite for soups and hot rice dishes. I’m eating 80% raw again this summer, as I’ve found it gives me much more energy and leaves me feeling less “blah” in general. Less constipation, less allergies, less edema, better sleep, better energy levels. I’m also trying to still be totally wheat free/gluten free, since Noni is still nursing and her eczema is reminiscent of what
Essie’s was like in the summer of her second year. I will say that I always feel more alive and less “stuffed” (for lack of a more pleasant word) inside when I’m vegan/GF/mostly raw. It’s one of the nice things about summer. )

Lunch:

Here’s what I had my first day:
-berry juice and apples with a smear of PB
-greens from our garden, hummus, red bell and some carrots
-mesquite soy jerky
-3/4 C rice pudding :OP, half an apple
-some cranberry juice and seltzer water
-Bocca “chicken” sandwich, with tomato, spinach on tapioca bread
-emergen-C

Sandals are the staple of my summer footwear. I really love them. They’re like an extension of my feet, hehe. My last pair broke after living through three years and a pregnancy, which, if you’ve never found yourself knocked up, is hard on the shoes. ;O)

This year, I decided to try my luck with a company in Kenya called ECOSANDALS that recycles tire tread into sandal soles, and benefits the shantytowns in Kenya. It was about the same as I pay for a nice pair of sandals in a shoe store here, so I figured, hey! At the very least, I’d be contributing to a very worthy cause.

They’re so cute and well constructed and tough and comfortable!!
Seriously, every hippie dude or chick needs a pair of these. I love ‘em.

They’re really sturdy, and super, super cute. I doubt I’ll need another pair for a few years. <3

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My friend Jen made these gorgeous dresses for the girls out of recycled men’s shirts.
I had to post a picture of them, because they’re so darn cute! The girls were so proud walking around the grocery store in their “twirly dresses”, and Noni wanted to wear hers the next day, too.

At the veg table…our winter hobby

One of the most tolerable things about being cooped up inside for the winter is good soup.

We’ve been experimenting, much to Essa’s delight. That girl loves to cook almost as much as N and I do. Noni has been trying her hand at helping, too, throwing veggies in the pot, and gravely warning us that the pot is “Hot, hot!!”

My current favorite two recipes is Sprouted Lentil, Onion and Fresh Tomato soup, and also the soup in the last entry, Cream of Zucchini soup. Yummmm.

The coolest thing about these two are that they’re shockingly easy to conjure up on a busy evening during what all parents know as the “Crazy Hour”, or, “The Hour From Hades”. Just a few steps, and, voila!! Soup’s on!

For kicks, just in case anyone’s interested, I’ll post my version of both.

Sprouted Lentil, Onion and Fresh Tomato soup

1 onion, diced
2 celery stalks, chopped
1.5 C soaked & sprouted lentils (I used brown, but red would be prettier!)
3 C Veg broth
2 large tomatoes, diced
your favorite herbs (I used Rosemary, Basil, Thyme, and Oregano) to taste
salt, pepper

Saute onions and celery in olive oil until clear. Add lentils, and cook for 2 min. Add veg broth, tomatoes and herbs, simmer 22-25 min. Blend in blender until smooth, and serve hot.

Mmmmmm. Lentil goodness. D

Cream of Zucchini Soup

3 large zucchini
oregano, fresh, if possible (but dried works, too)
2T butter
1T Olive oil
1/2 C cream
4oz feta
3 C veg broth

Sautee 4 large zucchini, 3/4 T oregano and 1/2 an onion in 2T butter and 1T olive oil over med heat until veggies are soft. Stir in 3 C veg broth and simmer for 10 min. Place 4oz crumbled feta cheese in bottom of blender and pour HOT soup in on top, blend until very smooth. Return to soup pot (med heat) and stir in 1/2 C of cream. Add pepper and salt, if desired, and you can make it fancy shmancy if you want with cream doodles and fresh oregano on top, if you’re feeling particularly artsy.

You could sub the butter for olive oil and use less if you want (I did), and use less cream, too, and it would be just as tasty.

Trust me, you WON’T be sorry you tried this one. D

Coming in a close third is the baked baby vegetables and mozzarella, with soaked brown rice, black bean and cilantro soup (and whatever else was left in the cabinet, lol) That one’s easy enough. Toss every baby veg possible in olive oil and herbs and bake the heck out of it, then top it with high quality mozzarella for the last 10min of baking. Very yum.

Essa is very fond of black olives, and we have to watch her like a hawk…otherwise she’ll sneak up on us and try to steal all of our olives, giggling the whole time. Noni, on the other hand, sticks to soup. She doesn’t much care for the texture of veggies all by themselves yet, and prefers them (TMI ahead: ) pre-chewed. Guess who lost their baby food grinder?

Nothing more attractive to a woman….

Than the man you love happily juggling caring for the children you love and cooking the food you love…and loving on you. At least not to this woman.

I’m telling you, though I do the bulk of the cooking during the week because of schedule restraints, N. can out-cook just about anyone I know. My self excluded, of course. *brag, brag, shameless brag* He made this amazing zucchini and feta soup this weekend that was really very yummy.

The girls liked it, so that was a score. Nooms is fond of zucchini. It’s actually one of the *only* foods she’s very fond of, with bananas coming in a close second…perhaps a tie. Essie wouldn’t deign to touch the eggplant Parmesan (Annie’s, not homemade, lest you began to think I’m truly spoiled rotten..I’ve only got a few brown spots, rather than being rotten to the core) with so much as a tine of her fork, until we said, “It’s eggplant!” Then she said, “OH!!” and preceded to gobble it down eagerly. N and I giggled at our child who’s actually reassured when informed that her food has eggplant.

Essie just informed me, “Oh, mommy! I love little Noom’s ears. I love the way God made them!”
*melt*

Earlier today, she and N. serenaded us all on the way home from the Seven Day Adventist veg grocery with a heart warming spin on an old Shirley Temple classic: “Animal CRACK-ers in my POOP, monkeys and lions loop thaaa LOOP!” Sillies.

In other mindless yammering, I started my second game of Civilization with Nate this morning, this time being promoted to “Warlord” difficulty, rather than being a mere settler. It’s shockingly addictive. Leisurely world domination over a cup a tea in one”s pajamas can be almost bonding.

Weekend Bliss

First off, a pat on my own back for doing pretty darn good with my no sugar resolution…today consisted of a hemp smoothie for breakfast (me not having the beefed up version with PB and coconut oil that I served Nate and the girls, lol), a veggie burrito for lunch at Moe’s, and some chicken and rice for dinner, along with some spinach veggie bites.

I tried making some naturally sweetened cookies, but didn’t have the baking soda they required. And, yes, they DO require it. That didn’t go so well. Lindsay may now snicker at my baking incompetence. No matter. I’ll just go to her house and eat up all her goodies.

Which brings me to a reason to smile: I got 10lbs of GF flour from Living Foods in the mail yesterday, with the xanthan gum already mixed in. It was a good deal, too. This translates into me being able to cook my kiddos waffles or pizza crust without having to check and see if the health food store is open so I can go out and pay $34 for a whimwock off a goose’s bridle. Those of you who have gluten sensitivities will understand.

Tomorrow, I think we’re venturing out to the Aquarium in the morning before housechurch has a long overdue meeting. I’ve missed those guys over the holidays, and can’t wait to hug my “girls”….and hopefully treat myself to a well-deserved swig of my good friend’s famous iced tea.

Beneath my feet is the glorious feeling of a smooth, well-polished floor. The dishwasher is humming in the background. That alone is a reason to grin. Nate got on his hands and knees and shined our living room floor and mopped the kitchen. He’s my hero today.

Essie just announced, “When I was a baby, I was *this big* (demonstrates with her arms). Now, if I stand up in the grocery cart, I’m so tall, I could fall out! And when I’m 39, I’ll be able to do cartwheels.” That’s right, baby! That’s the spirit. D

More tomorrow…

Peace

Hanging up my Sweet Addiction

I’m day #2 of being processed sugar and wheat free, and I’m not *quite* climbing the walls yet.

I think it must be easier to quit smoking than it is to quit refined sugar. Sweets are such a drug for me, and I always feel so much more tranquil and focused after I get through the initial “ready to go rob a Hostess truck” phase. That phase should arrive, oh, 4pm tomorrow. (A friend mentioned recently that the 3rd day of sugar detoxing is always the toughest, and my experience lines up with that perfectly. Poor Nate is always met at the door by a wild eyed zombie creature, eying his pockets for candy or stowaway Twinkies. And I don’t even LIKE Twinkies. )

So. I’m armed with plenty of good munching foods, protein for breakfast, and the emergency agave nectar and stevia as I wean off the “hard” stuff, namely, white sugar and high fructose corn syrup. Hopefully, my moods and blood sugar levels won’t be all over the charts, and my immune system will be stronger, to boot.

Here’s what I ended up eating yesterday:

-Breakfast: hemp protein shake with banana, apples and some green juice
-a few dates
-Lunch: sauteed wild rice tempeh and red bell peppers, and some wasabi peas
-cup of berry applesauce (sugar free, and thankfully, sucralose-free)
-Dinner: rice dolmades with goat cheese and sundried tomatoes, and spaghetti squash
-half a pomegranate…mmmmmm

Today, so far, we’ve had:
- apples and cashew butter. yummy.
-rice pasta with homemade pesto and steamed veggies, with a TB of hemp protein added to the mix
-a couple of hunks of dried papaya

The immediate change in the girls’ and my moods has been drastic and near magical. :-O I’m so much more serene, it’s honestly amazing. The girls have been playing together without major altercation for most of the afternoon. You gotta love any lifestyle change that can do that for you.

Oh! And I’m allowing myself *one* sweet treat on the weekend, so I’ll be sure and make my one treat something worth my while. (not something as banal and gross as circus peanuts or gummi worms. Seriously…why would I want to EAT those?? And yet, if you stick it in front of me in a moment of agitation or boredom, I’ll eat a whole bag full. Yucky. )

I think I need to invest in a sippy cup for N’s smoothie.

What a day

I’ve been weepy all week long. It was enough to make me do the motherly version of the walk of shame: elbowing my way through the crowded, trinket-filled Dollar Tree with two dollars, two prowling toddlers and two pregnancy tests. I had my brilliant comeback all planned out, in case any opinionated cashier chose to weigh in on whether or not I needed another child.

For you inquiring minds out there, they were negative.

So, I’m just more in touch with my emotions, apparently. Maybe feeling safe enough and relaxed enough to let my sappy hair down. I don’t mind. I appreciate the arrival of tears, actually, because for a while it’s been tough for me to cry. Births and sweet moments with my babies usually get the squeezed out tear or two, but now I seem to have no shortage. Not opposed to tears, I’m usually the first to encourage friends to cry if they need to. I just have I tough time making myself do it.

I’ve even stood in the shower or the rain before, grimacing, hoping it might have a similar effect on my body and soul. It does not.

Anyway, I’m crying now.

Note to self: buy Kleenex. Maybe I’ll make myself a cute little pocket tissue cozy.

This afternoon was a beast. Nooms has 6 teeth coming in at once, and Essie is in desperate need of a nap. Nate hasn’t eaten in, oh, two days, so I figured it was a good idea to do the friendly thing and do the cooking tonight. The girls were yowling at the gate, quite miffed that I was doing dinner prep without their assistance. Poor sweeties. My nerves just couldn’t take it tonight.

So. We’re having four cheese pizza for starters, then homemade curried lentil soup and for desert…homemade rum cake. Mmmmmmmmmm.

Bananas over Bento

When I was a kid, my mom used to make lunchtime fun.

It’s one of my favorite memories-sitting at the kitchen table munching away on some veggie/fruit/PB hybrid that had been transformed into “toad in a hole” or “ants on a log” or “ladybugs” or a “soccer ball”. She rocked and it was fun.

I struggle at making toddler lunches everyday, and had forgotten that little trick until I came across something the other day that sparked warm fuzzy memories. “Bento” is a the Japanese tradition of “cute cooking”, and now mom’s lunches have a official title, lol.

This totally appeals to my creative side that’s been pining away during the endless, repetitive nature of mommy chores. I just get bored. (I really struggle with 3 square meals a day, and have a rotten tenancy to let the day slide by on rice cakes and raisins. )

Here is excitement! Here is playful pizazz!! Here is something nostalgic that I can pass on to my girls, as goofy as it may be. Heh heh.

A gluten free muffin becomes a chocolate-banana flavored monkey!
Kiwis are served in silly muffin liners.
Hippos are invited to take a dip in the smoothie pond (Essie’s own unique spin on things, lol!)

Funny thing I’ve noticed is that E. is eating her food more slowly, and seems to be consuming and enjoying more. (score!) I’m more motivated to put a really decent lunch together, so it works out for everybody. It’s nice when needs and personality quirks collide.

So here’s to you, mom. <3