green and clean

The move to clean up our eating by the Smith clan has been long overdue. Last week when I ended up researching curly hair, I had actually started out the evening by researching healthy eating. Here is my disclaimer: I wasn't looking to become vegetarian and the changes needed to be kid-friendly. If you were to ask me if our family eats healthy, I would have said most of the time. Meals are made by moi (unless we go out to a restaurant), we choose whole grain over white, we don't eat dessert all the time, our breakfasts consist of homemade granola or homemade pancakes (oats, spelt flour), we strive to eat all the food groups in accordance with recommendations. That being said, we had room to improve. I knew we could be eating more fruits and veggies, and, the thing I am most guilty of, I knew we could be eating a better variety of things. One of my survival tactics has been to eat generally the same breakfast (as mentioned)/lunch (carrots, cuc, a form of grain, a form of fruit). Dinner was the ticket to variety.

The first thing that came to my attention was the need to increase our fruits and vegetables. The easiest way I could see to do this was by drinking a green smoothie. I have always loved smoothies, but have never stayed on the bandwagon for long. However, after all the different variations I found, I thought we should give these a try. And Ben was on board (phew). The first one we tried was called "Everything Green Smoothie" (go big or go home, right?). Here it is in our blender. And guess what? It was delicious!! Who knew kale, spinach, chard, cuc, apple, banana, flax, almond milk, and ice would be sooooo delish?? We have tried two other smoothie recipes (a toddler friendly one which I changed around a little which was the most disgusting, and a chocolately chocolate green smoothie), and this one has remained our fave (I pinned it on pinterest too).

Everything Green Smoothie

Since last Sunday, Ben and I have had a green smoothie every morning. The girls have tried each one, but haven't really gotten on board. It is important to model healthy eating and talk about it. They might come around one day.

The next thing I discovered was our reliance on wheat and wheat products. Who doesn't love cookies, crackers, and freshly baked bread?? I wanted to cut down on our wheat consumption, not go totally gluten-free.

And protein? We got most of our protein from meat. This was going to change. Ben asked if we were becoming vegetarians. Remember that Big Green Egg? The smoker/griller that Ben loves to use? I laughed and told him no. I just wanted to decrease our intake of animal products.

Last, but not least, is the topic of sugar. I am married to a man who LOVES chocolate, and Ro has adopted that sweet tooth. I have a little experience with avoiding sugar (I was off it for 1 year before I had Ro - had to bring my yeast levels down and my good bacteria levels up) and it can be done. I relied on maple syrup and honey. But already, I have used something called agave nectar (or syrup) in smoothies and the chocolate pudding (see below). So far, we likey.

The biggest lesson I have learned through the research process is the need to be really intentional about what we eat. Yes people, this means planning and be organized. Now, for those of you who know me, this isn't a huge stretch (hee hee). I thrive on this stuff! We have been eating black bean soup, chicken teriyaki (with homemade teryaki sauce and kamut and vegetable pasta), squash and apple quinoa, barley with beans and avocado, veggie guacamole, veggies and hummus, and chocolate pudding. Chocolate pudding??!! You betcha!

Chocolate pudding - amazing!!

My hubby is a pretty particular guy. This, at times, has frustrated me, but I love the fact that he will try everything (he just make not like it - and he will tell you). So, one night this week, I told him I had made chocolate pudding and that he had to try just a teensy bit (even though he has given up chocolate for Lent). Ben tried it ... and he really liked this pudding!! And guess what? It is made with avocado!!?? Really and truly it is! And it is delicious and you can't even tell. You must try this recipe. Now.

So far, I have had a lot of fun coming up with things for us to eat. The kids are enjoying everything (I have really good eaters) as am I. The challenge has been to keep everything dairy-free for Vi, but so far, so good. I found a product called "Earth Balance Buttery Spread" and it is going to be our butter substitue in baking, etc. I'll keep you posted as to how this works out. :)

And, to save you from asking, this changes aren't just from a health standpoint. Yes, we are very concerned with the chemicals being added to our food (check this out on canola oil). Yes, I want to protect my girls (and us). But I also want to start living in a more responsible manner, cognizant of our food supply, transporting goods, farming practices, affects on the environment, etc. Guess you can't take the farm out of a farm girl, huh? The changes are also rooted in a spiritual viewpoint also. Our bodies are temples for God. We should really start to treat them as such.

Well, there is another recipe I want to try out tonight, so I better run. Here's to eating green and clean,
Tam

Cheerios and Arrowroots...

...are Smith family staples. Ben just got home from work (it's 9 pm) and he is eating a bowl of Cheerios. Ro would eat them for all 3 meals. She often asks if she can have a bowl for dessert after supper. Vi eats them while we are eating our supper, after she has had her injection of "real" (nutritious) food. They are great to pack for a snack. You can eat them dry or with milk. You can eat them one at a time, or by the handful. You can add them to a munchies mix.

Vi had her first Arrowroot last week and LOVED it. You can often find Ben standing at our pantry, snacking on them. At 30 calories a pop, you can't beat the little bit of sugar. Ro takes them in her lunch as a "treat" (let's be clear - I alternate them with homemade cookies). Ben just reminded me we used to split a sleeve of them, like they were soda crackers, when we were in second year at McMaster. We drove together everyday, in our 1987 Honda Prelude (the year of our eating Arrowroots was 1995/1996). We thought we had the sweetest ride ever. We pooled our money, and bought that car while we were dating. We went to see it in the dark, and bought it. Soon after driving it for a little while, it became apparent some major components were held together by duct tape. Ah, the lessons we learned - never buy a car in the dark. :)

What makes Cheerios and Arrowroots such crowd pleasers? Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe there is an addictive ingredient...I feel another blog post coming on.

Here's to comfort foods, whatever form they take. Thank you Christie and General Mills!
Tam

one of the best meatloafs......ever

I spent some time recently rethinking the "mission statement" for our family blog - not that we have a formal mission statement, but something that takes a considerable amount of time should have a pretty clear purpose. You can see, there are several blogs I try to follow faithfully. Some of these bloggers are inspiring for different reasons - some are honest, some are amazingly witty, some are very helpful and insightful, some are raw, full of emotion, and challenging. I wanted our blog to be a honest sneak peek into who we are, what we do, why we decide what we decide...in all facets of our life, whether it be our leisure time, normal day in and day out operations (like parenting, cooking, etc.), or special events.

One of the things I haven't blogged about in a while is cooking/baking. I'm not sure why - but I just haven't and it is not due to not having ample opportunities. Ben got a wicked awesome smoker/griller earlier in the summer (oh, the Big Green Egg) so we have had the pleasure of having many people over for ribs, ribs, and more ribs, for pulled pork, for salmon, for burgers...and all the fixings. It's been an awesome way to spend time getting to know people, and loving on them. My husband is becoming quite the smoker/griller dude.

I undertook to learn how to work the egg this weekend, and grilled burgers. The results were quite good (beef is good on charcoal!) and I feel a little more confident in my egg abilities. Big Green Egg folks would call it my eggbilities (everything they talk about and sell has the word "egg" in it some where. There are even EggFests all over North America!!).

Well, with such meat fests on the weekends, I haven't done much cooking during the week, other than some pretty basic stuff (which I really don't mind. Eating simply during the week has freed up cash for our meat weekends too!). I had some hamburger that I wanted to use last week, so I decided to try a new recipe, Ratatouille Meatloaf (I love Rose Reisman recipes, and lucky me, I have two of her cookbooks). You must run home (or to your kitchen) and try this without delay (unless you are a vegetarian, or you don't like beef, but come on, who doesn't love beef??!! Okay, sorry, Suzanne). Let me add some comments on the recipe, whether you find them helpful or not.

1. First, I didn't use olives. Ben and Ro both don't like them. 
2. Ben also doesn't like goat cheese. Sucker. But he gave me his so I love him (another reason added to the hundred million quatrillion reasons). 
3. One of those big eggplants that you normally see in the produce section of the grocery store is more like 4 cups of eggplant (I sauteed the leftover eggplant at lunch today - heavenly!!). 
4. Half of a medium zucchini is about 1 cup.
5. Use a plain tomato pasta sauce as the flavours in this recipe are great as is.
6. I had run out of oregano so I made it without this wonderful herb. The results were still deeeelish!
7. The photo included with this recipe looks disgusting. I will take a picture of mine next time (I finished the leftovers tonight so a photo op is not possible)....

Stay tuned for more fun recipes, questions, and a mama sharing how her oldest child does on her first full day of school (so far, so good FYI).
Tam

vi eating

Some of our favourite moments over the last 2 weeks have revolved around Vi and food. Her facial expressions have been priceless! We started her on pureed peas, then headed to carrots, some watermelon, green beans, baby oatmeal, and now pears. I made all Ro's baby food, and so far have not done so for Vi (in typical 2nd child fashion - inferior treatment). However, all her food has been organic.

Vi has not been a big fan of purees. She would much rather have a big chuck of something, latch onto it, and suck the snot out of it (or juices). :)

Here she is trying peas for the first time.

Today we tried pureed pears. Check out her reaction on the video below.

I'm going to be heading out today to purchase one of those mesh sac food thingys that totally gross me out. We were given one for Ro, and I gave it away as she loved purees and food (another difference between the girls). I have a feeling Vi will think she has hit the jack pot!

Here's to days filled with bananas, avocados, and all things suckable! :)

Tam