The Beautiful Life

Project 52–Week 17

This week’s theme is “Yellow.” Yellow just makes me happy, especially in the Spring.

Let’s Eat Some Real Food

I’ll admit it, I love to read books about food. I just find food so interesting. I used to be incredibly picky, but thanks to my food-loving husband, now I’ll try just about anything once. In the almost nine years that we have been married, I’ve gone from a “Campbell’s Soup Cookbook” kind of girl to a sometime vegetarian to a raw foodie to a local & natural food proponent.

So when James brought home the book, Real Food, from the library last week, we fought over who got to read it first. We were so excited, because it fit in perfectly with the food lifestyle we were aiming for already. Almost everything you eat is locally grown, without chemicals or engineering. Dairy is raw if possible, eggs are fresh, sugar is a special treat. It’s about getting back to how we used to eat–eating “real foods”, not 20th century, industrially-created fake food. Now that’s something I can get behind!

If you are curious about locally grown food, and what’s really in the stuff you buy at the grocery store, it’s definitely worth reading. It may even change the way you eat!

*Note, there are several references to evolution, so for those of you who are sensitive to that, just skip over those parts.

Project 52–Week 16

As a parent of three small children, I’m always looking for opportunities to capture them smiling, laughing and having a good time. But then I find that out of all of the pictures I take, I’m most drawn to the ones in which they aren’t smiling. So this week’s theme is “Be Serious!”

Here’s mine. I snapped this right after breakfast the other day (note the bedhead!) and I just love how you are immediately drawn to his eyes. Doesn’t he look so wise?

Slowing down

Today was another one of those days. We just couldn’t get started doing anything. There were lists of things to check off, things to catch up on, school work to be done, it was cloudy and cold and I just couldn’t do it.

So instead we spent the morning hanging out in our pajamas, reading emails and looking at pretty things, making sandwiches, just taking time to hug and love on these sweet kids of mine.

After a humble, thrown-together lunch involving 2 carrots, some leftover pepperoni, cheese and sliced apples, we got to work.

But instead of starting at the top of the list and working our way down, I began with something fun. And messy. And colorful. There was paper everywhere and there were sticky fingers and big smiles. We didn’t rush, taking our time to sort and cut and paste. We didn’t clean up as we went along, or multi-task by listening to a story or reciting a verse. We were in the moment. And it was nice. Over an hour later, this is what we had:

(And we did eventually get to the not-so-fun stuff.)

Breakfast of Champions?

Many mornings for the last 14 months or so, we’ve started our day with this:

Yeah, I know it’s green. But it’s so yummy! The boys actually cry when it’s all gone, and if I go too many days without making it, James asks for it. And it’s full of things that are really good for you, giving your day a great jump start.

Here’s how to shake things up at breakfast (pun intended–sorry, I couldn’t resist):

Green Smoothie

Fill up your blender with the following ingredients:

20 oz. cold water
1 1/2 c. fresh or frozen fruit (we like strawberries & mangoes, but you can also use blueberries, raspberries, overripe pears, peaches, etc.)
2 bananas (the riper, the better)
a couple of handfuls of Spinach
a leaf or two of Kale (optional)
1/4 c. wheat germ (optional)
lemon juice (optional, use if you aren’t using any tropical fruit)
a big squirt of honey (optional, use if your fruit is not in season or completely ripe)

Blend together for about a minute, until everything is really well combined. Serve in a glass with a straw. Straws (and chopsticks) make everything taste better!

Project 52–Week 15

This week’s theme is “At the table.” What goes on around the table at your house? Today we did a Think! Experiment with rice krispie cereal and marshmallows, trying to make animal sculptures. I didn’t use enough marshmallows, so it didn’t hold together all that great. We ended up using cookie cutters instead, and also smooshed it together to make a couple of butterflies. But that’s why it’s called an experiment, right?

That’s okay, you can have my temper

The other day I was trying to print some school stuff and I thought I’d save paper by printing double-sided. It was an 80 page document, and about halfway through the second printing, the paper jammed. So I wasted 40 sheets of paper. I took a deep breath, and put in 40 more sheets and started over. And it happened again. At this point, I’m getting mad. I finally hit the printer and yank out the piece of paper that has caused the jam.

Meanwhile, my sweet five year old is sitting next to me, watching me lose it. I look over at him, and apologize, saying “I’m sorry, Mommy lost her temper.” He gets a really concerned look on his face and says,

“Oh, no. Poor Mommy. She lost her temper. What will we do? I know, you can have my temper. Is that very nice?”

Blueberry Multigrain Muffins

These muffins are a not-too-sweet alternative to traditional blueberry muffins.

Blueberry Multigrain Muffins
(adapted from Food Network Kitchens)

1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup wheat germ
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large eggs
1 large egg white
1 1/4 cups milk
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1-2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (strawberries or dried cranberries are also delicious!)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs until pale. Add in honey, milk and oil. Whisk until blended. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, and mix until just incorporated. Distribute evenly over the cups of a lightly greased muffin tin. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Best served warm, with a bit of butter and some honey drizzled over the top. Makes 12 muffins.

Project 52–Week 14

This week’s theme is “Machines.” Today we went to Tons of Trucks and saw tractors, firetrucks, police cars, everything! Even though it was cold and rainy the kids still had a great time, and we finished up with hot cocoa at home.