Eating
What a wonderful weekend! It was more action packed than usual, but all with wonderful things. Starting with dear friends for Pizza Fridays, Saturday had Moms group, swim lessons, errands, take out, and Sunday rounded out with a sweet early mass, brunch with friends, sewing sewing sewing, and lots of dancing to this song. My stellar husband wound up the weekend making a castle for the kids out of a huge box and everyone is a knight wielding a lance now. Pirates & knights. It’s our life. Kelly asked about what I’ve been reading lately so I dished. Others had WAY better ideas than me so go hop and read. Bridget has been listing her weekly meal plan to my GREAT delight. The lemon chicken?! And when I saw that Grace had a groundhog day at Target I was like YES THAT WAS ME LAST WEEK. Looking way less cute, but still. I’ve started being part of a sweet instagram sale group. We’re all Catholic artisans. Everything is at least 25% off and free shipping. We post all day Tuesdays (and that’s the only day to buy). This week I have this little set! Check out our IG account (Shop Zelie & Co) and follow! My own Whole Parenting Goods shop is clearing out leggings and there are only a handful left with free shipping before I release spring fabrics! Use code {freeshipping} for it. Over here. Laura & Nancy & I strike again and make a Waiting in the Word…
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What can I say? I was raised on Velveeta and Tastee bread. But I’ve come around to love real food. And love making it for my family. So much so that when we took a family-do-nothing-vacation, I relished the opportunity to cook–> photos back here. I used to blog a lot more about food so recipes & other items related to food & garden are here. I ran a meal planning linkup for a while, too, called WeekEats. I’ll even throw up food pics on instagram under #wholeparentingeats But now, I’m a slacker in this. Trying to get back into planning ahead. With three kids at home with me and always underfoot, I’ve finally figured out how to make dinner without crashing and burning. I make it during NAPS in the afternoon. And then warm it up for their 5pm dinner time. My husband doesn’t get home til after six, but at least the kids aren’t howling monkeys, or if they are, it’s not for empty stomaching. A quick list of things that make my multitasking life easier in the kitchen: 1) Digital Probe Meat Thermometer. Gift from my sister Bridget a few years back. I use it on meatballs, meat on the grill, you name it. Love it. So so much. I summarily wipe the pointy blade clean and put it away. No more wondering if the chicken is done and overcooking it. Like I did for about a decade. 2) Plastic Cutting Board with Grip. I’m picky about not…
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We ate like royalty on our vacation. As promised, a run down. The kids ate everything! The marathon-training-husband needed lots of calories so we ate and ate and ate. It was so easy to cook and clean up with another adult around to play and be with the kids. Rocket science, right? When I devised our grocery list before going on the trip, I wanted foods that could do double duty and that I knew the kids would eat. They’re good eaters and eat just about everything we do so that wasn’t too terrible. When in doubt, oatmeal and yogurt and blueberries, right? I had to fuel up with chai every day because the baby took to sleeping like a newborn, literally. He had been sleeping through the night for over a month and night weaned. #regression. Ground turkey, organic pasta, chopped carrots, basil (ended up doing a lemon juice//sour cream//greek yogurt//diced garlic sauce). Mixed greens, pear, peach, salted & roasted sunflower seeds with a homemade vinaigrette. Mixed greens with hard boiled eggs, avocado, dried cherries, and pistachios with a homemade french dressing. Ground turkey, black beans, white rice, flour tortilla, topped with avocado, garden heirloom tomatoes, shredded colby, and a dollop of sour cream. All pork hot dogs, the avocado salad, my new fav dill cabbage dish, corn chips, and CORN on the cob! Snack: hardboiled eggs, garden fresh tomatoes, cottage cheese, and pepper. Big roasted chicken that still had a toe nail, much to the kids’ delight and…
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I wish I could invite you all into my kitchen. It’s a spacious kitchen. It could probably fit almost all of you 😉 But truly, breaking bread with friends or bringing bread to them is one of my most rewarding actions in life. So because you live in your computer as I live in mine, let’s do this virtually. Before I give you the food that we’ve been gulping down, a few places to feed your brain: 1) Building Bridges Podcast I talk with Cristina & Jenna about our approach to parenting which is a mesh of attachment & survival. I think we all want this golden ticket for parenting: this amazing approach + book that will ensure the best children and best parenting experience ever. It does not exist. I repeat: it doesn’t! My little girl and big boy even make a cameo interruption. Yes, we talk about co-sleeping & sex too. 2) Shake it off, Jesus Edition My devotion that addresses how evangelizing works within relationships and a world that may not agree with you. How to not personalize, love, and just truck along with your beliefs while accepting others where they are. 3) FOOOOOOD Smitten Kitchen’s Raspberry Cake. Alice Waters’ Yellow Cake + my mom’s chocolate frosting from scratch Lavender Blueberry Muffins modified from King Arthur Flour recipe. Smitten Kitchen Slaw // modified with red cabbage. Roasted asparagus. Olive oil & broil + salt + pepper. Loaded nachos. Broiled in toaster…
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My dad is a gastroenterologist. We grew up around the house, car, soccer game, hearing about stomach lining, perforated colons, and of course, poop. No part of the human digestive system went unspoken of. You can imagine this has naturally translated for the kids with their grandfather “Baba” as they call him. I overheard my son explain to my daughter the other day that poop was the lining of the colon sloughing off. This was while he allegedly was prepping her for a procedure {!!}. Her response? I want to keep it. Lots of body talk around here. Along with all that for me came a fascination with the gut. Gut bacteria, in particular, and how this world of microbiology and each individual person’s microbiome that is as particularized as our palate. Enter probiotics. A field of medical supplements aimed to help repopulate your gut with the good guys of bacteria. I’ve been adding them to our kids’ food off & on since they were babies to regulate poop and boost health. We are working on eating more fermented foods that contain helpful bacteria (working on that thanks to my dear friend Mary’s expertise!). AA loves the fermented taste. The kids are getting used to it. I’ll forever not love but force myself to gulp it down. Speaking of health foods: Wellness Media, a service of Wellness Mama, run by a lovely friend, is offering an e-bundle of over 50 ebooks, ecourses and meal plans this week. This once a year sale ends…
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Hi. Remember me? With my high resolutions about meal planning? It’s been a bit of a mess over here. But I’m determined to get back on my own band wagon. Is it called a band wagon if it was yours? Like you, singular? The purpose of Week Eats is to give each other ideas and inspiration on what we’re preparing for the week for food. And if you’re a blogger, and you blogged about food in any capacity this week, link up so we can get inspiration there, too? Peas and thanks. My friend Rachel started a great Facebook group with her meal plans for the week. Talk about saweeeet? Yup. Sweet. So ask to join here and see what wonders she performs. I’m inspired. And hungry just reading it. I’m going to borrow a little from Rachel and then scoot back to my usual and predictable ways, Smitten Kitchen, et al. The week is a special one because our dear friends in a band are staying with us. So I’ll be feeding seven hungry men in addition to my usual crew. Monday: steak night and celebrating a special birthday I’ve been doing steaks the Alton Brown method with cast iron skillets in a 500 degree oven. And they’ve been really ruddy good. So go read his method here. Cinnamon roasted butternut squash. Mushroom risotto with peas. Sweet potato fries made right. Two desserts: strawberry mousse and lemon poppy seed cake. Tuesday: Beef Chili & chocolate cake. I won’t eat…
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