My Favorite Things & My Absolutely Least Favorite Thing EVER

   Wanted to share some of my new favorite things with you all. These are little items that make me oh so happy and I wonder how I ever lived without.

   We are slowly making our home non-toxic. It is really important to me to have safe dishes for the girls. We have cheap plastic dishes for them and it kills me. I just feel the toxins leaching onto their food. Finally added these wonderful dishes into our cupboard. Green Eats is such a great brand. Made here in the U.S. out of recycled plastic, which is way cool. They feel so sturdy and safe. I love them! We have a couple plates and bowls for now. Looking forward to adding their utensils and cups in the near future.

     Our dog really needed a bed. I finally made her one. It was so easy and super inexpensive. I knew I wanted a bed with a pillow case for her so I could wash it weekly. The beds sold at the store with cases were ridiculously priced. Seriously? It's just for my dog. She loves this thing. We used to find her sleeping on the couch in the middle of the night. And she used to wake up with us when we had to deal with the girls late night needs. The first night she got her bed she didn't move! We no longer find her wondering or on the couch! 

     I wanted the bed to be a neutral color that blended into our home and hid any hair she would shed. I was so excited when this fabric was $1 a yard! I made the pillow orange. That pop of color really makes me happy. These were my first button holes! It was nice making something for a dog so I wouldn't be freaking out about it being made perfectly. It is what it is. 

   This is my new favorite book series for kids. My First Pictures of Easter is such a great book to teach kids about Easter. I love it because it is short while explaining important details about Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday and the rest of Holy Week. Kind of bummed it doesn't include the Agony of the Garden, but all in all, I think this book is fantastic. One reading, and it takes your kids right in the moment. 

   I love how they portray the Resurrection. Mary Magdalene weeping, then rejoicing. Helps kids understand how everyone was feeling.

FREEZER MEALS! Okay, let me just say, I'm in love with freezer meals. The first time I made them, I was alone with the girls, I made a weeks worth of meals and had the kitchen cleaned by noon! This project makes the rest of the week dish and labor free! This is seriously amazing to me. I just stick the defrosted meal in the crock pot or in a pot on the stove on the day we are ready to eat it. 

     After I did this the first time, I would find minutes here or there to throw a meal together to stick in the freezer. Yesterday I set the day aside to make a bunch of meals. I didn't go shoping for it, and it turned into me finding a way to use up all the produce we had in our fridge. I would have prefered to do this on Saturday and rest Sunday, but I was busy Saturday. I didn't get started till afternoon. Between this big project and the girls...really pooped me out big time. 

  This is actually a picture from a couple weeks ago. What I made yesterday: Scalloped Potatoes, Tortilla Soup, Zucchini and Corn Cannelloni (I made my own vegan ricotta for this), Rice Frittata, Rustic Pot Pie. All dishes except the soup and cannelloni were from Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker. 

   I also made oat bars for snacks to eat throughout the week. I used cranberries instead of dried cherries. Monique and I love them. Thérèse doesn't know what all the fuss is about. 

     I also love reusable toys! A sweet friend is sharing this jumper with Athena. I've been wanting to get this for her, she is definitely my active one. I rearrangned my tiny living room to make space for this. I love changing our living room up. We've lived in this home a year and three months and I've change the living room around about four or five times. I can just see the girls as adults in therapy, "Our lives were so unstable as children. Our mom was always rearranging the living room furniture." 

     OKAY, LEAST FAVORITE THING: SWITCHING OUT THE GIRLS' OUTGROWN CLOTHES FOR A BIGGER SIZE, which is actually way harder than it sounds. I used to hate doing this when I just had Thérèse. Now I have to do this times three. I can handle pretty much everything involving the care and hard labor of children and I love it. But this, THIS is just my least favorite thing about having kids. I must be doing something wrong because it is such a huge task and takes me forever. I go through every article of clothing to know if it needs to be stored, donated or for current use. It took me about eight hours to get all three girls' clothes done. But every box with clothes in the garage is now perfectly organized, and every drawer in this house looks so beautiful I don't even recognize it. It's like Real Simple came into my home and fixed 'em drawers. So I guess it was worth it. So glad it's over. This Saturday project drained me. And then to spending Sunday cooking! I was basically worthless today. We had a pajama party. Thérèse won since she stayed in her pajamas the longest. 

     I feel like throwing up just looking at this picture. 

     So after this very hard weekend, I was so excited to sleep. Went in my room to find my spot on the bed occupied by this person. Which is the creepiest thing ever. I don't know who did this, but it's not okay. 

     Speaking of babies...my eight month old has SIX TEETH! Yeah...I've had kids before...and I've seen it all...but this is a first...

     Sorry this is blurry. She doesn't stay still. 

All In A Sunday Afternoon

     Yesterday we went to mass and then ran a ton of errands. Usually afterwards, I'm beat and ready for a nap (I hate running errands), but yesterday I rested for a bit, and then spent the rest of the afternoon/evening working in the kitchen, made dinner, fit in a quick run, and gave all the girls a shower. The only way I can explain all this extra energy is that I went on a three mile run on Friday and the energy carried over throughout the weekend. Plus, I find working in the kitchen can be relaxing when you have someone to help with the kids! 

    I didn't run all last week. Consequently, my headaches were at a level ten (I have daily TMJ headaches), I didn't sleep well, and I was super depressed. I need to get my lazy feet out the door and remember to run at least every other day.

    Anyway, here are a couple of the things I made yesterday:

 

Hungry Man's Double Chocolate Trail Mix: Dark chocolate covered pretzels, dark chocolate covered raisins, dried cranberries, raw almonds, raw pecans. 

   Daniel is notorious for grabbing a handful of chocolate chips when he is hungry. This kills me because 1) Chocolate chips are for baking 2) There is zero nutrition in that and chocolate chips are not filling. I finally got around to making him this mix and stuck it where the chocolate chips used to be.

   We are trying to save money in every way possible. So I decided to be the biggest freak on the block and make my own dog treats. I realize dogs aren't vegan, but obviously, we only have vegan ingredients in our home, so these ended up being veg. Doesn't matter because she loves them. This was a fun project for Thérèse and me while Monique and Athena slept.

Vegan Pumpkin Doggie Cookies

2 1/2 cups flour (I used self rising flour because I've been trying to use it up)

2 tbsp ground flax seed mixed in 6 tbsps water

2/3 cup pumpkin purée 

3 tbsp peanut or almond butter 

2 tablespoons canola oil

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place flour, flax seed mixture, pumpkin and nut butter in a mixing bowl. Stir it together then add oil. Add more water if too dry, add flour if too wet. Stir and then knead together to form a dough. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4-inch think. I used an empty spice jar to cut out 1-inch cookies. Keep rolling out and cutting till all the dough is used up. Place on a baking sheet, it's okay to crowd them since they won't be expanding. Bake for 25 minutes for crunchy cookies.

Tip: I used canned pumpkin purée from thanksgiving. Since I didn't use the whole can, I divided the remaining pumpkin into three zip lock baggies putting 2/3 cup into each one and freezing, ready for the next time I  make these. 

EXPERIMENT OF THE DAY:

I also made bagels! What?? They turned out to be more like unleavened bread. Daniel figures there must be something wrong with the yeast (expired or opened to long) because I followed the directions perfectly and they didn't rise. I didn't realize till the last step that they were not shaping up to be the way they were supposed to be. Whoops. I was about to have a melt down, but Daniel gave me a lecture about how I can't expect perfection when I try something the first time. Apparently this is the same talk he gives his emotionally disturbed students everyday. Great.

 Here are some girl pics for you all:

Athena and Thérèse morning cuddles.

 

The four of us after our shower and so ready for bed!

After this busy weekend, I'm okay with it being Monday. Kind of. Kind of okay with Monday. You know what makes Mondays great? Freezer crock pot lasagna! All made and defrosting in the sink. I used one of my freezer slow cooker meals last week and was so excited by the zero work and five minute clean up! I was so pumped that I made two more meals Friday morning before I left town for a couple days. Why did I never do this before?

Family is All I Need

Recently I had a follower email me requesting

a prenatal vitamin recommendation.

New Chapter, baby!

They make the best vitamins.

I've been taking them for three years since I've been 

pregnant then nursing, then pregnant then nursing.

I love them.

Other vitamins made me nauseous. 

These are small and are taken three times a day.

When I first had to get into the habit of taking a vitamin three times a day

I would make checks on my calendar so I could keep track.

I also take their Vitamin B since I don't eat meat!

It is so important to take vitamins since our soil is so depleted.

You can get them inexpensively online from vitacost.com.

Time with My Girls!

My past couple weeks have been terrible! 

I've been so stressed and busy with midterms and events.

Now that they are all over with,

I set yesterday aside to do nothing but spend time with my family.

Of course, for a Mother,

"Nothing" mean doing three loads of laundry,

scrubbing both bathrooms,

and making three means from scratch,

Yummy!

It was such a great relaxing, memorable day. 

A perfect day for me includes 

working in the kitchen with my toddler!

I found this Itsy Bitsy Spider Tutorial

on Natalie's blog and I had to make them with my girls.  

I consider this a great treat because it really isn't bad.

Well chocolate, yes.

I only think about the good qualities of chocolate when I'm eating it though.

Of course I eliminated the shortening,

I used canola oil instead.

We used raisins as eyes instead of sprinkles,

and I didn't use the reese's pieces.

But other than that, come on,

crackers, pretzels, peanut butter...sounds like a perfect snack to me.

Plus singing the itsy bitsy spider is an essential part of our day.

We are major fans of the guy. 

These were so fun to make together.

Thérèse dipping the crackers into the chocolate.

Working very hard to get that chocolate spread on.

Putting on the eyes.

Pretzels dipped in chocolate.

Her art. 

AH! Spiders. Yes I want one! 

As I was eating mine,

I felt like I was four.

After a week of midterms...

yes I want to feel four again. 

Stick them in the fridge so they can hold together.

Yesterday we also loaded the girls into the trailer 

and road our bides to the park.

So fun!

Monique is my energetic one!

I don't know if she'll ever sit still enough to cook with me in the kitchen.

The other day we carved pumpkins.

I was stunned that when we were finished,

they looked like our personality.

On the left, we have my brother-in-law,

who is always making THAT face when he can't believe 

he is eating yet another vegan meal.

HAha. (Btw: He secretly loves being vegan).

The middle is me, I'm the stressed/uptight/annoyed one.

At the right, my husband.

Enough said. 

I think you can understand his personality just by looking at that thing.

Too happy about life. 

First Day Back and No Bake Energy Bars

Today I started back on my vegan diet.

It went great!

Until we went to Costco 

and I just had to have a couple bites of my husband's pizza.

Really, it was just a couple bites.

But since I really want my skin to glow,

I don't want to be indulging for a few weeks.

But like my mother (who wishes she were Scarlett O'Hara),

always says,"'Tomorrow is another day!"

Today I ate:

Breakfast: Oatmeal with quinoa, prunes and walnuts.

I throw some quinoa into the boiling water 

along with my oatmeal to get more protein.

I also had carrot juice with swiss chard, beet and celery. Yum!

My toddler loved it too!

Lunch: Kale with Udon noodles.

I really layered on the sesame oil and 

umeboshi plum vinegar so it tasted so yummy!

Snack: A COUPLE bites of cheese pizza. 

Talk about grease! 

Dinner: Sesame - Hiziki Croquette with Ginger -Tahini Dressing, 

a salad from Vegan Family Meals. 

A great way for me to eat sea vegetables.

They are some of the most nutritious foods.

This salad makes them taste like the superstar that they are.

Dessert: I found some strawberries in the fridge 

and ate them with chocolate chips.

Lazy version of chocolate dipped strawberries.

My toddler and I made these No-bake Energy Bars

I found from Do it Delicious.

They were a huge hit with my hubby and toddler,

but I wasn't too big on them. 

I think it was the flax meal or chia seed,

some flavor in there I'm not used to.

I'm not complaining.

If they love this healthy snack I'll make it for them anytime.

It's loaded with good stuff.

If I make it again I'll be using about 1/4 cup more 

brown rice syrup 

so it will stick better.

I substituted goji berries for shredded coconut 

since my hubby isn't a fan.

I had goji berries in the house,

but I'm sure any dried fruit would work.

Don't get me wrong, 

these are good,

I just would never eat them in the large quantities 

they were consuming them.

Thank you for all the encouraging comments 

and emails I received after my last post!

It feels good to have all your support!

And I hope I'm helping all of you 

take itty-bitty steps, or dramatic changes 

to your own healthy lifestyle!

Here's to living large!

(I believe that living a healthy lifestyle

increases the quality of life, not indulging in fatty foods.

But yeah, we got to have a couple bites sometimes.)

No-bake Energy Bars
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes
Yield: 14 bars

Ingredients:
cooking spray
¾ cup raw almonds
1 ¼ cups brown rice cereal
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
¼ cup unsweetened finely shredded coconut
¼ cup flax meal
¼ cup raw chia seeds
½ cup brown rice syrup
6 tablespoons almond butter
½ cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips

Directions:
Spray an 8- by 8-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides.

Place the almonds in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until evenly chopped. Transfer to a large bowl and combine with the rice cereal, oats, coconut, flax meal, and chia seeds.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the rice syrup and almond butter and cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring, until melted and creamy. Pour over the oat mixture and stir until well combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. Press evenly into the prepared pan and let cool completely (about 30 minutes). Grab the ends of the parchment and lift onto a cutting board. Slice into bars.

Cheesy Oozy Guacamole Bean Dip

This Cheesey, Oozy Guacamole Bean Dip

is from the Kind Life and

is one of my favorite things to make

when Daniel and I are going to have a date night in,

or if we want a yummy snack food around the house.

It's pretty basic to make.

If I have left-over beans in the fridge 

I'll use those. If not, I grab a can of beans,

my least favorite way to go. But still yummy!

Cheesy Oozy Guacamole Bean Dip

Spread beans on the bottom of an 8x8 in baking dish.

Monique can't wait to cook with us!

When that day comes, 

we are going to be crowded on my small counter! 

Mash avocados and mix with lime juice.

Spread evenly over the beans.

My cutie pie, climbing my leg 

and trying to get the camera. 

Mix taco seasonings with sour cream.

Spread over the avocados. 

Sprinkle sliced olives and diced tomatoes.

One of the main reasons Thérèse helps

me in the kitchen is so she can snack as she cooks!

Popping in a tomato. 

Sprinkle cheese on top. 

We used Daiya of course.

Bake and serve with tortilla chips!

Yum!

My hubby and I love munching on this!

My toddler doesn't so much because of all the spices. 

Fine by me! More for us!

Dips: When I dip you dip we dip

Dips, they are basically my favorite thing about a party. When I was in middle school I used to make a dip mixing sour cream, hot sauce and grated cheese. Yum. But that avenue of my life is over, and now I'm looking for a different brand of dips. 

These are all dips I'll mix up for home use 

so I can have a quick creamy and crunchy snack at my finger tips.
They are all loaded with protein and are good for you!  

The Pioneer Woman's Baba Ghanoush

Oh boy, this dip is gooood. Very creamy with a nice nutty taste to it. The flavors in here are delicious!

Spinach and White Bean Dip

I got this recipe from Real Simple Magazine and thought it was, well, bland. Sorry Real Simple. So I added 1 tablespoon more lemon and about 1/4 cup more dill. I would have added more dill if I had had some. Feel free to play with the ingredients as well. The reslut is a delicious way to eat your spinach!

White Bean Dip

I made this when we were at a family vacation in Sedona last fall. It was so good, my husband's friend cleaned out the bowl. Looking at this recipe, I'm realizing I totally didn't follow it. 

Here is what I made:

1 can rinsed cannelloni beans

1-2 tablespoons minced parsley

1 tablespoon lemon

salt to taste

Mash beans with a fork and mix in ingredients. Serve with tortilla chips. 

Emeril's Vegetarian Chili

I know chili isn't a dip, but I'm including it anyway because I serve it on top of a big bowl of tortilla chips. 

I've tried lots of different chili's and this is the best! So good, I never get tired of it. Daniel made it for his linguistics class last night and his Professor called him the "Vegetarian Chili King". Because this chili is loaded with so many chunky veggies, it's hard to notice it's missing meat. 

When I make this I eliminate the serrano peppers and go easy on the spices since our toddler feigns death anytime she eats anything remotely spicy. It's a great way to get kids to eat colorful veggies!

Daniel's friend from high school mentioned us in her blog! Check out her cute blog about newly married life. She posted some reef flip flops I told Daniel I'm getting this week. I'm trying to avoid leather, but recycled leather? Well, I can't pass that up.

Have a great weekend you all!

Healthy Rice Crispy Treats

I want to share with you one of my #1 favorite snacks, Crispy Peanut Butter Treats. This is a great pick-me-up when I need something quick to eat. It's perfect to travel with and a real crowd pleaser. I made this for a play group and for my daughter's second birthday and everyone loved them. Marshmallows? What? These taste delicious without them!  

Please meet the star ingredient Mr. Brown Rice Syrup. 

Of all the sugar substitutes, Brown Rice Syrup is my absolute favorite. I love the sweet taste and it enters into your bloodstream very slowly, not causing it to spike up and make you crash later. I love this stuff! And I'll be including it in more recipes later. 

To make the crispy treats, you first need to melt the brown rice syrup since it's a little think. Once it gets back to room temperature, it's going to harden up and bind all the ingredients together. 

I play with the brown rice syrup measurements a lot. Sometimes I'll put in less than what the recipe calls for so the crispy treats will be less hard and more gooey. Yum. 

Stir in the nut butter of your choice. I put in almond butter this time, but for better flavor use peanut butter. 

Get out your rice crispy cereal. You can find lots of healthy ones with basic ingredients (brown rice, salt, that's it) at your health food store. 

Stir the syrup and peanut butter into your cereal. 

Here is my daughter helping me when she was about eighteen months old. She's always been anxious to help me out in the kitchen and I love our Mommy/Daughter time. 

That was her "cheese" smile.

I add both raisins and chocolate chips since I want the nutrients for the raisins and I can't pass up chocolate. 

Then press it into a dish or Tupperware container. I halfed the recipe since it tastes better when eaten within a few days and there are only three of us. 

Helping me out in the kitchen is her excuse to start munching! Here she flipped the cookbook to peanut butter cups. I'll be sharing those soon! They are so good and perfect for summer 'cause you don't need to put on the oven to make them. 

                         Hope you all are enjoying your week!  

How I Get Through My Day

In our house, Monday's are Mandatory-Get-Our-House-Clean days. Here are some of  the things I do to get through the day.

Eat a good breakfast

I'm pretty good at sneaking veggies. My two year old loves these.

Green Strawberry Shakes

1/2 heaping cup strawberries (fresh are best or rinsed well if frozen)

1/2 of banana

1 Tablespoon Almond Butter or nut butter of your choice

1/2 cup apple juice

1/4 cup water

2 cups lettuce (or spinach) 

Yesterday I made it with blueberries and different proportions. If the right texture isn't there, this shake doesn't work. I couldn't stand it. But Thérèse loved it. She drank hers, and then she drank mine.

She loved it so much that she put on music and danced while she ate it. 

I used to make my shakes with protein powder. I've tried lots of different powders, but mostly they just make me feel bloated. It only takes eight amino acids to make a complete protein. Bananas have all eight! So between the bananas and nut butter, this shakes ranks high in the protein.

Exercise

I don't always get to, but I love to start my days off exercising. Working out gets me ready to chase my babies around (by warming up my muscles) and gets my blood flowing. But I think the best part is the deep breathing. If I can't exercise in the morning, I like to get in a couple stretches and take a couple minutes to get in some good, steady, deep breathing. Really helps to energize and cut tension.

I work out with Tracy Anderson. She is fantastic, superb, I can't say enough about her. I have her post pregnancy work out and I love it! It's set to classical music which is nice if you have babies around. She doesn't talk to much so you really have to pay attention to what she is doing. But she is great 'cause she focuses on giving you a dancers body, compete with long muscles.

I now do her dance aerobic work out too. I'll put in the dvd, and skip around to different songs. If I can get 15 minutes in, I'm happy. 

Here is a sample work out she made. Beware! It's intense!

We couldn't stand looking at her undie thingy so I broke down and gave her a modesty skirt. Hehe.

Keep up with the work
My mother-in-law found this checklist. I now try to stick to it. It makes long term clean-up much easier.
Click on the picture to visit the site. 


Snack-Up!
I'm constantly hungry. I've always been this way. Always needing to eat. If my blood sugar level drops too low, I get tired and cranky. Since we don't have packaged snacks around, I'm always looking for something quick to make. Here is one of my favorites.

Toasted Ezekiel bread with butter, avocado slices and a little salt sprinkled on top. Sometimes I add sliced tomatoes on top too, but some days I don't have time for that!

How do you get through your day? Hope you all have a fabulous Monday!