I’m known for throwing things together. You know those stories where someone tries to get a family recipe from a grandmother or great aunt, only to realize they throw things together without any measurements? That’s me. I also rarely repeat a recipe twice because I’m always interested in trying something new or trying a new ingredient. Or, because I don’t write things down (I really do mean to!), I simply forget the ingredients I used.
… Read More »Weekly Menu February 25th to March 4th
Apologies for the lack of menus! I had a sudden influx of work. Last week, we had quite a few recipes out of one of my favorite new cookbooks—Danielle Walker’s Eat What You Love. So far, we’ve enjoyed everything we’ve cooked out of it. I’m sorry that I’m unable to link to the recipes, however.
… Read More »Salmon Salad
I based this salmon salad on a dish from one of my favorite local restaurants. I love all of the flavors together, and they present it so prettily on a half sheet pan, arranged in rows kind of like in the photos on this page.
This salad is so easy to make, and it’s full of bright, delicious flavors that can help bring you out of the January-February-middle-of-winter funk. But it’s also perfect for summer when you can get peak-fresh ingredients and even grill them!
… Read More »Weekly Menu, January 28th to February 1st
So, last week’s menu included spaghetti squash with ragu as well as coconut lime chicken. I will include links where possible! Also, lunch for the baby and me didn’t change—sometimes, if she’s eating it and loving it, I’m not really inclined to change.
- Breakfast:
- Kale sautéed with lemon, coconut oil, and a little bit of apple, Applegate organic sausage, half a sweet potato, half an avocado, bacon
Lunch:
- Salad with sundried tomato chicken sausage from Trader Joe’s
- I made a sort of dressing by combining half an avocado, a teaspoon or so of mayonnaise, another two teaspoons or so of Dijon mustard, and a tablespoon or so of hummus (Blue Moose brand is my current favorite).
- Raw sauerkraut
- Chicken bone broth
Dinner:
- 1: Spaghetti Squash with Ragu and Super Meatballs:
- I used this recipe for ragu, which I received in a newsletter from Mollie Chen (I know we’d be friends if we knew each other. So would our daughters… haha).
- The only thing I changed was that I made meatballs that I combined with spinach instead of adding the meat to the sauce.
- These are very toddler-approved! She called them “meebees” and ate at last five, all from off my plate
- The only thing I changed was that I made meatballs that I combined with spinach instead of adding the meat to the sauce.
- The spaghetti squash I made in the Instant Pot (cut in half, a cup of water, and 20 minutes make it perfectly easy to remove).
- I used this recipe for ragu, which I received in a newsletter from Mollie Chen (I know we’d be friends if we knew each other. So would our daughters… haha).
- 2: Coconut Lime Chicken:
- I just followed this recipebut added some coconut aminos for extra flavor.
Toddler Breakfast:
- Oatmeal
- I’ve been throwing her Vitamin D supplement and probiotics in to the oatmeal after it’s been cooked. It helps me ensure she actually eats them.
Toddler Lunch:
- Sundried tomato chicken sausage from Trader Joe’s
- Raw sauerkraut
- Peas and broccoli with ghee
- Avocado
- A satsuma (or two, or three, or four, depending on her mood)
Toddler Snacks:
- Bananas
- Apples with sunflower butter
- Simple Mills Sprouted Seed Crackers with hummus
Weekly Menu from January 21st
Jury duty is over, I’m more or less caught up with work, and able to finally get back to the blog. So, here is the first weekly menu for 2019. This is our weekly menu from last week (since I end up frequently changing our menu for one reason for another, I thought it might be good to wait until the week after to write out the menu).
I’m also now including breakfast as well as toddler meals and toddlers snacks!
So:
Breakfast:
- Scrambled eggs, Applegate organic sausage, organic greens sautéed in ghee, half an avocado, salsa
Lunch:
- Wrap with lettuce, hummus, and a sundried tomato chicken sausage from Trader Joe’s, and a Siete Foods tortilla
- Green drink with some protein powder plus collagen peptides from Vital Proteins
Dinner:
- 1: Stir Fry:
- Pork chops from the freezer
- Mixed veggies, including broccoli, bell peppers, baby kale, onion
- Sauce: a mixture of miso, coconut
aminos , sesame oil, rice vinegar, ginger, and vinegar
- Either rice or spaghetti squash
- 2: Salmon Salad (which will be up on the blog next week!):
- Salmon roasted at 375° with salt, pepper, and some spice
- Mixture of romaine lettuce and little gem lettuce, corn, tomatoes
- Honey mustard dressing
Toddler Breakfast:
- Eggs, avocado, orange and/or banana
Toddler Lunch:
- Sundried tomato chicken sausage from Trader Joe’s
- Peas with ghee
- green drink with protein powder and collagen peptides
Toddler Snacks:
- Bananas
- Apples with sunflower butter
- Simple Mills Sprouted Seed Crackers with hummus
Happy New Year: Setting Goals, Looking Forward
I started writing this blog in my head while lying awake at four this morning. And with 2019 right around the corner, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and planning.
The past six years have been momentous, wonderful, and difficult: I met and married my husband, I adopted the floofy love of my life and gained another wonderful dog when we got married, we moved four times, my husband fell ill, my sister got sick, I quit a job to pursue the type of writing I love, my husband left a terrible job, was let go from another job, and started a business two months before our daughter was born six weeks early. We’ve had money troubles, car troubles, home troubles, and I’ve had quite a few anxiety troubles, some that left me almost unable to function.
The past six years have been a wonderful, wild, anxiety-causing, laughter-inducing, heart-filling ride.
And because of this, and because of my anxiety, I’ve been feeling incredibly scattered. There is so much I want to accomplish, so much I want to pursue, but I never seem to have enough time or energy. And because I feel so scattered, it’s difficult to focus on one thing, especially when life’s other issues always seem to get in the way. And as anyone with anxiety knows, feeling scattered and out of control can make your anxiety worse.
That’s why I’ve been working really hard on refining and simplifying my goals, both on paper and in my mind. These goals need to be something I can accomplish without driving myself crazy, that aren’t too out of reach, even with life’s everyday demands. Things I can accomplish with ease and clarity.
I also thought that this blog, which I’m evolving into food plus anxiety, parenting, and what comes in between, would be the perfect place to put these goals. I’m not calling them “resolutions,” but goals, because I just like the feel of one over the other. I can update the blog, and if you have any resolutions or goals you’d like to post, we can post updates together and be there for each other as we goal-seek.
So, here are my goals for 2019:
- Up My Writing
Between the baby and helping my husband with his business, I had to put my business aside for a while. I’m finally returning to it, and my goal is to start sending out pitch letters again. I also want to up the number of pitches I send out a week. I also finally sent out a pitch letter to a nationally-published publication, and I hope to continue to do so. (She liked the idea, but already has an article of the same idea in the works, which means I had a good idea!)
- Get a Children’s Book Ready to Send to a Publisher by Next December
In addition to freelance writing, I would love to start writing books, and I want to start with children’s books.
- Go Through the House Gently
Gently is the operative word, here. When we moved the last time, we moved very quickly to a smaller home with less storage, a smaller kitchen, and we also ended up with some of my mom’s stuff and my sister’s. Plus, I didn’t have the time to unpack and put everything away like I had during our previous moves. Needless to say, the house is not where I’d like it to be.
I am a neat and organized person, and the house is far from neat and organized. There’s too much stuff, there’s not enough room, and with everything going on, I haven’t been able to organize and get to things like I’d wanted. But, at the same time, I’m not going to go crazy. I’m going to go through things when I can and not feel badly that I’m not getting it done as quickly as I would like in an ideal situation. I’ll go through one corner at a time and gentlygo through the house over the next year.
- Return to the Blog
I love this blog, but I haven’t had much time for it the past year and a half, here on the actual blog or on social media. I will work to change that in 2019, at least as much as I can. As much as I love this blog, the baby, the businesses, and a little relaxation and self-care for me take precedence. My goal is to post at least once a week, with two healthy, easy-to-cook recipes a month and two non-recipe blogs. I would love to post more recipes, but the process of cooking, testing recipes, photographing, editing, and posting takes a lot longer than I have every week.
Another important goal is to truly remember to put myself first, sometimes, to relax, to give myself time to breath, and to give myself permission to take time for myself. As an avid reader, I would actually like to read some books off my list that just keeps growing. I, like many of you, take very little time for myself. Between everything going on and taking care of everyone, I end up putting myself and my needs last. I work and work and work until I feel like I’m going to collapse, then take a break because I have to, and once I feel better, I start all over again.
I know that balance is elusive, if it even exists at all. I’ve heard all of the arguments that you can’t have it all. So, I will just continue to do my best while trying to give myself time to relax, even if it means things fall to the wayside, or further down my never-ending list, or the house is messy.
So, I hope you all have a happy and healthy 2019. What are your goals or resolutions for 2019?
Happy New Year!
Updated Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookie Dough Truffles
So, a few years ago I did a series of holiday sweets (including treats for dogs). Although I make and love all of the recipes, one recipe is my absolute favorite. Even more importantly, it gets rave reviews whenever I make them! The recipe is for these simple, easy-to-make, and incredibly craveable Mexican chocolate cookie dough truffles! They’re sweet, no-bake, and easy to make almond-flour-based cookie dough enrobed in sweet, cinnamon-dusted chocolate—they are obsessively good! And anyone you bring them to—whether it’s for a party or for a gift—will love you forever!
…
Dear Moms of Preemies
Dear New Moms of Preemies,
What you’re going through is difficult. It’s so difficult! Not only do you have a new baby, but you have preemie. You’re trying to be a mother in the middle of a hospital ward, surrounded by other babies and nurses and machines beeping constantly. You’re facing the heartbreaking reality that even though you’re going home, your little one isn’t going home with you yet(!!!). You have to deal with IV tubes, oxygen, and feeding tubes in addition to diapers and the possibility of far-reaching issues even after your little one comes home. And, chances are, so much information is flying at you, you can’t keep it all straight.
And this is on top of the after-birth hormones raging through your system!
So, mothers of preemies……
Apple Pie Bites (Toddler-Friendly Snack)
I don’t know about you, but I always struggle to come up with snacks for my daughter and for me. Sometimes we go ultra-healthy, sometimes we go with cold-cut turkey, sometimes we do snack bar. And more often than not, we’re running out the door and need something portable….
Flurries of Flour Weekly Menu: August 27th to the 31st
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