This Week's Eatin' 9-19-9/25

I really do love meal-planning but I don't always love sticking with it.  I try to be mindful about switching plans and make sure that I am not adding to the grocery bill for a specific craving.  Sometimes I do go off the plan and throw something together.  :)

I roasted a pumpkin yesterday and made pumpkin walnut cupcakes with a chocolate mousse frosting.  I have leftover pumpkin so that is why you see my menu a little pumpkin-heavy. 

Pumpkin symbolizes Fall to me; the air is getting crisp and the kitchen smells of apples, pumpkins and cinnamon--YUM!

Sunday 9/19

Breakfast:  cereal

Lunch:  vegetable quinoa soup and tempeh sandwiches

Dinner:  bringing herbed black-eyed peas to a party :)

Monday 9/20

Breakfast:  pumpkin yogurt bread and fruit

Lunch:  leftovers (coleslaw, cheese and crackers, etc for the kiddos)

Dinner:  pizza and veggies with homemade vegan ranch

Tuesday 9/21

Breakfast:  cereal and fruit

Lunch:  leftover pizza for kids, chickpea sandwiches

Dinner:  chili mac and roasted acorn squash

Wednesday 9/22

Breakfast:  toast and applesauce

Lunch:  buttered noodles for kids, pasta veggie salad

Dinner:  tofu and brown rice teriyaki, veggie

Thursday 9/23

Breakfast:  coconut chai coffee cake

Lunch:  leftover tofu and rice teriyaki

Dinner:  roasted vegetable barley soup, homemade french bread

Friday 9/24

Breakfast:  cereal and yogurt

Lunch:  bean burritos and quesadillas

Dinner:  fettucine alfredo, veggies

Saturday 9/25

Breakfast:  chocolate chip scones and apple sauce

Lunch:  Indian buffet

Dinner:  whatever is inspiring from the farmer's market.  :)

Special Snacks/Treats for Lunchbox LOVE: 

fruit gel babies (vegan jello), pumpkin cookies

*If you are interested in any of the recipes that I don't have linked to a website, just ASK.  :) 

I will be more than happy to share them with you...they just usually aren't electronic*

Little Lunchbox

This is a BIG year for us...my oldest is now in full-day school and she gets to bring a lunch which means that we have to be very creative because little missy, she doesn't prefer most sandwiches!  So I thought that I would make a list of all the different *healthy* things we are packing or excited to pack...

Equipment:

Horsie Lunchbag

(Really?!?  I never knew she likes horses!)

Little BPA-Free Bento lunchbox containers

(I don't have a picture but they are containers with lids--all sizes)

Wide thermos

(and it has a pop-out spoon)

BPA- Free Water Bottle

Washcloth (for messy kiddos)

It's only day three but we have been very excited about what we pack for lunch.  Since my girl is at school all day, she needs a morning snack as well as an afternoon one along with her lunch.  I am all about the healthy with a dab of the treat so it has been an interesting balance.  I empower my daughter by giving her some options and letting her make the choices. 

So far, some of the snacks we have chosen or have planned:

Annie's bunny Mix

Organic string cheese

Organic applesauce

Homemade carrot-rasin muffins (I doubled a batch, flash-froze them and threw them in a freezer bag to be individually defrosted)

Veggies with various dips (hummus, ranch, honey mustard)

Crackers with cheese

Homemade chex mix

Dried cereal

Other homemade treats (coffee cake, scones, muffins, cereal bars, etc)

We have only had two main dishes thus far, because she liked the first one so much she wanted it the next day.  The thermos keeps things temperature-ready, so it has been really helpful.  And when our sassafras isn't taking it to school, her daddy takes it to work...who cares if it is pink? 

Some non-sandwich, non-peanut butter entree choices:

Bean burritos

Spaghetti (she actually wanted to take the leftovers with lentils and zucchini...who IS this kid?!?)

Buttered noodles

Butter and jelly sandwich

Miso soup

Pizza (small, but a few of them)

Hummus and Pita (or veggies)

Fondue (with chips, veggies, bread, etc)

And I give her little treats to eat with her lunch..

Newman's Alphabet cookies

Homemade vegan chocolate chip cookies

Chocolate chips...

If you have any ideas, please feel free to share!  :) 

I hope our enthusiasm keeps up for the whole school year!  :)

"Crazy kids-err thirty-somethings these days!"

My husband got me exactly what I wanted for my 30th birthday...a tattoo.  Now most of you will say, "ok, big deal?" or "why?!?" and the reason is simple:  I had wanted one for ten years. My parents had the brilliant plan that if I did any of the tattooing and piercing in college, they wouldn't pay for college anymore.  So I waited.  When I met my husband, he was pierced, but not tattooed because he isn't such a fan...so I put it off and off.  And bam!  Happy 30th Birthday to me.  He was not only going to take me, he was going to hold my hand and not say anything negative about it.  :)


I have found that most un-tattooed people don't like to stare at it for fear of being rude or uncomfortableness in general...and they sure don't ask what it means whereas some people will lift my arm and ask me to tell them the story behind it.  If you know me for real, you know there is *always* a story and I want to share it with those of you who don't know the story.  :P

We love music in my house...every morning my husband feeds the kids breakfast while I check my email, read the news, blog, etc.  And the music is always roaring from the kitchen.  A family favorite is Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds".  My middle guy, four years old, ADORES music and he would go around the house singing the words:

Don't worry about a thing,

'Cause every little thing gonna be all right.

Singin': "Don't worry about a thing,

'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!"

Rise up this mornin',

Smiled with the risin' sun,

Three little birds

Pitch by my doorstep

Singin' sweet songs

Of melodies pure and true,

Sayin', "This is my message to you-ou-ou"

I settled on three little birds for my three little birds.  My friend drew it up and here we are today.  Now I also chose to include the words be love. underneath it.  My boyfriend, Jason Mraz :P, was talking in an interview about how most of us wait for the opportunities to be in love with someone...that feeling of love and waiting to love and be loved.  In life, every action we do should be love.  Everybody should be treated with love and compassion.  This is my daily reminder.

My friend found me a place about an hour away that is supposed to be a little more "clean"..they don't add all the extra preservatives to the ink so we headed down there.  And it hurt BAD.  But I love it and want another one.  :)

I chose my arm because I want to be able to look at it all the time...why go through the pain if you can't see it.? 

So don't forget to be love in everything you do today.  :)

Please Excuse My Contemplation...

life is about relationships

and matters of our hearts

wisdom to accept mistakes graciously

and move on with wondrous start.

I'm grateful for all who love

and give me inspiration everyday

those who give stories

those who live stories

those who ARE stories

touching me in every way.

Meal Plans Week of 8/14-8/20

My grocery budget REALLY missed meal-planning.  There have been some weeks that I have hit the grocery store EVERYDAY which truthfully, I don't mind because I *heart* Whole Foods, but seriously, it is a huge waste of time, gas and money. 


I picked up my veggies from my local farmer yesterday and oh.my.gosh did I get a TON of food.  Sweet corn, beets, onions, broccoli, green beans, tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, summer squash, zuchinni, cantaloupe, potatoes, onions...YUM.  As I mentally prepared and processed my bounty, I came up with meal ideas for the week, mostly main courses because I will have to fit in veggie side dishes depending on what is left.  :)

Yesterday 8/14: 

Breakfast:  cereal

Lunch:  out--Indian Buffet...AMAZING!

Dinner: Fresh gazpacho, tuscan bread, corn on the cob

Sunday 8/15:
Breakfast: cereal
Lunch:out--homemade pizza, leftover gazpacho

Dinner: black eyed peas, roasted veggies, coleslaw, bread

Monday 8/16:

Breakfast: chocolate chip scones and cantaloupe

Lunch:  out--cucumber hummus with veggie sticks and apple slices

Dinner: pasta with broccoli, tomatoes and white beans, salad

Tuesday 8/17:
Breakfast: cereal
Lunch: chickpea salad
Dinner: dill veggie alphabet soup, fresh bread

Wednesday 8/18:
Breakfast: toast and bananas
Lunch:  green been and carrot salad
Dinner: spicy hoisin glazed eggplant, grilled veggies

Thursday 8/19:

Breakfast: banana muffins
Lunch: sandwiches
Dinner: baked ziti, corn on the cob

Friday 8/20:
Breakfast: cereal
Lunch:  leftover pasta
Dinner: Homemade pizza with leftover veggies

I meal-planned and then went to the store...I was ELATED to find dried black-eyed peas!  I swear I have been looking for them forever.  At 20 grams of protein per serving, my belly will be happy too.  :)  So I came home and had to adjust the plan accordingly...I can't wait to eat them, YUM!! 

Hope your week is filled with

much love and good food.  :)

Yummy Scones!

I made the most amazing scones last night! I am not normally a scone-eater, I find them to be too dry for my liking...but these were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside! YUM! I had three very sad-looking Georgia peaches left and they inspired this beautiful breakfast (as well as late-night Top Chef snack). :)

Peach Coconut Scones
(adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance
by Isa Chandra Moskowitz)
Makes 16 Scones


3 cups All-Purpose Flour
2 T Baking Powder
1/4 cup Sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1/4 t. Salt
1/4 cup Shredded, Unsweetened Coconut

1/3 cup Grapeseed Oil (or any mild vegetable oil)
1/2 cup French Vanilla Coconut Milk Creamer
3/4 cup Almond Milk
1 t. Vanilla
3 Sad-Looking Peaches, chopped :)


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a cookie sheet. Mix all dry ingredients together and add wet ingredients. Fold in peaches. If the mixture looks a little dry, add a tiny bit of water. Use your 1/4 c measuring cup and scoop mixtue onto prepared pan, flattening the top a bit. Sprinkle some sugar on top and bake for 12-15 minutes (the bottoms should be browned and the tops should be firm).


Seriously, these are delicious.
Obviously, you can un-veganize them by adding milk and creamer or half and half.
See, everyone can try the LOVE!

Personal Responsibility

I received a text the other day from a dear friend telling me that our beloved Avalon Organics shampoo no longer scored "low risk" on the Cosmetic Database; it had switched to a 6...on the higher end of "moderate risk".  I was really bummed.  Perhaps the "New Formula" sticker should have alarmed me that the company changed things up and added a few not-so-great things into the product.  Yuck.  I could probably *deal* with the fact that it isn't under the "don't buy" hazard score, but I use this stuff on my sweet six year old.  I don't want to be putting toxins onto her hair to be absorbed into her skin...

I was recently told by a friend that her "parents did it like this when she was little and look how well she grew up".  THIS LOGIC DOESN'T WORK, PEOPLE.  Give me one product or technique that has stayed exactly the same in the last 30 years and *maybe* I will consider it.  Give me the research that supports your decision and *maybe* I will look into it.  But the truth is that companies change their beloved "family-tested" and "tried and true" formulas to make them cheaper and more efficient.  So that wonderful "natural" product you have been using for the last few years?  Double-check it.  With the economy being as stinky as it is, companies are cutting corners...and it is affecting your health.

I went into Whole Foods last year and bought some teething gel for the littlest one.  I had my three little ones with me and it was making for a difficult time so I threw in a tube of gel made by a respectable natural company.  I took it home to read that there were two different kinds of parabens in it...WHAT?!?:!?  Parabens are linked to many different kinds of cancers (including reproductive issues) and I am supposed to put this directly into my baby's gums?  NO WAY.  So I marched back into Whole Foods and got into a mild disagreement with the head of Health and Beauty about why they would even carry a product with something as controversial as parabens.  His response?  The FDA says it's OK and hasn't banned it yet.  UGH.  He also said that the store needs to provide choices for the consumer.  Makes sense now, but I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that out FDA allows something this awful to be put directly in the mouths of babes.

I need to be more responsible.  I need to read, research and check my products on a continuous basis. The FDA is not going to keep us safe and it is my own personal responsibility to make sure my family is healthy.  So please, please, PLEASE read your labels.  Food, personal hygiene products, everything.  We can't blame everybody when we could be better consumers and just think...maybe our shopping dollars will vote for a healthier world.  If we refuse to spend our money on crap, unhealthy, toxic products, companies may hold their own products to better standards. 

 Yes,

it takes a little bit of time, but chances are you could make the time if it was worth it to you...
is it worth it to you?