Food, Health, Garden....

Here's to rambling: My thoughts on all things healthy and edible.

It's no secret I like to cook (and eat) good food. But I like it to be healthy too. Shaun is SUPER into health and eating right and feeling good. We've listened to several conferences from Bethel church in redding california about health and wellness and eating right. And it's so stinkin' fascinating besides just being good for you.

In the spring I decided to plant a teeny tiny little vegetable garden. I tried starting some of my plants from seed, which I've never done before. I used baby food jars and toothpicks and made little flags from tiny pieces of paper so I would know what was what as it came up. The baby food jars weren't the best for starting things indoors as they have no drainage, but I was trying to do it using things I already had and spending as little money as possible. My cucumber plant did awesome, and so did the lettuce. But my peppers never came up, and my tomatoes came up but then died. I ended up starting my peppers from seed outside once it got warmer, and I also had several tomatoes come up around where my tomato plant had been last year that I transplanted. I planted carrots and more lettuce once it got warmer outside. I ended up buying one pepper plant, one tomato plant and one cucumber plant that were further along than mine so that I wouldn't have everything becoming ready at the same time. And the thing I'm most proud of is my little orange bell pepper plant that I started from the seeds from a pepper I picked up from the grocery store... I mean, who knew?? Aren't you supposed to buy "planting" seeds in a little packet at a hardware store? Can you seriously grow plants from seeds from actual vegetables?? Wow. This is exciting news. (I know I am a blonde, so just in case you think I was serious, that was sarcasm...) And let me just say, it is the best feeling EVER to just walk out the back door and pick something and turn it into a meal.

We have gotten several cucumbers, lots of lettuce, a bunch of tomatoes, and at least ten banana peppers so far. One of my favorite things is that you have to be a bit creative to use what you have when it's ready. Pico de gallo is perfect for using tomatoes and whatever kind of peppers. I make a new batch of this every few days and we eat it on wraps and salads and as a dip... Another favorite is my no bake bruschetta. My best friend made this for me the first time I had it. Just slice a baguette, top with olive oil, a slice of mozerella cheese, a slice of tomato and a sprinkle of garlic salt and mccormicks Italian Herb Grinder... They look fancy and taste delicious, but are super
simple to make :)

And mint. It grows like nobody's business.... I have more than I know what to do with. If I don't keep my eye on it I'm pretty sure it has a secret agenda to one day take over my entire back yard... It keeps me busy trying to find legitimate reasons to cut it back. I make mint tea pretty often, but we also found a "recipe" for mineral water. Basically, take a jar, and whatever kind of fruit or herbs you want, fill the jar with water and said fruits/herbs, and let sit in the fridge over night. We tried pineapple mint. It just gives a hint of flavor to the water and is nice and light. Shaun makes it all the time to take with him when he's landscaping. I want to try raspberry lime sometime too. It's fun to try to be creative with what you have....

Sliced cucumber and sea salt. Simple. And perfect. One of the things the seminar on wellness we listened to said was that it's important to eat a fat, a carb, and a protein each meal. The combination of the three will keep your blood sugar nice and steady and help to prevent an afternoon energy crash... They gave examples of healthy options for each category. Fat: avocado, coconut oil, butter, olive oil...  Carbs: fruits & veggies, quinoa, wraps, pasta... Protein: eggs, chicken, beef, turkey, salmon. Tonight I made one of my favorite pastas for dinner and it is perfect because it provides something from each category. It's a Bacon Basil and Avocado Pasta. I made it with egg noodles. And it is SO good... :)
Another healthy kick we are on is (dun dun dun...) Yonanas!!! If you haven't heard of it, now you have. :-P Our friends Meg and Joel introduced us to it and I bought one for Shaun for father's day. I got it from Bed Bath and Beyond. It turns frozen fruit into ice cream. Yup. Frozen fruit.... into ice cream. Bananas make it creamy, and just add in whatever other frozen fruit you want. I like it with berries... No sugar. No dairy. Just frozen fruit. And it's delicious. You can mix in chocolate chips or peanut butter if you feel you need to have something less healthy to make it count as "dessert". ;-) But it's great all by itself.
We have been listening to a lot of messages by Kris Vallotton lately. He has been preaching on us being not just spiritual beings, but on having a body and soul that shouldn't be neglected either. It feels good to take care of the body God created for me. I am definitely not a fanatic (yet) and still eat normal desserts and processed foods too. But there are so many awesome foods that are good for us too... Why not choose those when I have the choice?
Hope somewhere in my ramblings there was maybe one fun, healthy inspiration for you!

little pretties around the house.

I like to take pictures of the way I decorate my house for a couple reasons. First, it's fun to see your style evolve and develop and change over time. Second, it's helpful to look back at what you've done and liked as inspiration for future interior design. And sometimes looking back at photos of the special touches you put into your home makes you feel good and happy and remember the extra effort you put into something to create a certain feel... 

And then sometimes taking pictures of things you like shines a little light on just what it is that you do like. I suddenly realized that I like groups of things together much more than any one thing by itself. Whether it's an arrangement of objects or a photo collage on the wall, I like to pull several things together to signify my style or a feel. I have a hard time committing to just one big signature piece all by its lonesome. 

This is the ledge above my kitchen sink. Fresh basil and nectarines. I couldn't even just let the basil sit by itself, I had to put another summery, fresh, wholesome thing with it. Interesting...

A tiny portion of my mantle. There are several groupings of old books in various faded colors, candles, greenery and this beautiful little pot from anthropologie that was part of my bridesmaid gift from Brittany. 

Foot rest turned end table. The lid of this cube flips upside down to become a tray. Pottery barn lantern filled with moss and a candle, orange calla lillies in an izzy bottle and my Bible, with another piece of my bridemaids gift from Brittany. :)

Other end table. Pottery barn lamp, plant on a simple black pedestal, black and white photo and dark wooden coasters. 

There. A few pretty little things I like to look at... :)

Rainy Saturday updates on life

It's a cozy, rainy day here at our house this Saturday morning. The heat has backed off and its a nice, restful gray outside... The rain's coming down steadily and we are all tucked into the house for the day. Shaun's playing some beautiful worship music on the guitar in the living room and the boys are playing with toys on the floor. It's perfect, really, since they are still in the final stages of recovery from a yucky virus that went through our house. I keep thinking I'm getting it but miraculously am still feeling fine. Thank the Lord. 

Isaiah is all of the sudden not a baby anymore. (We left for vacation, were gone for 1 week, and when we came back we had to immediately lower his crib mattress and put up a gate at the bottom of the steps and put outlet covers in the outlets... it changed that fast). He started crawling a little less than a month ago. Now he's pulling up to standing on things and taking little steps holding on. He climbed the whole way up the stairs a few days ago. And he's COMMUNICATING. That boy, he is so very social, this should be no surprise. He's been saying mama since about five months old. In the last month or so he's added quite a few more communications to his repertoire... :) When I say "Give mommy kisses!" he leans toward me with his mouth wide open and kisses my lips. He claps his hands when he's excited about something. When he's headed toward things he knows I don't want him to do (such as the dog bowl, to try to eat Zion's food, or the toilet paper roll, to unravel the whole thing) I say "Isaiah Matthew..." and he looks at me and starts shaking his head no with an ornery little look on his face. If he hears "no no" or "don't" he starts shaking his head too, and sometimes he will be shaking his head like he's trying to tell himself "No No" while in the midst of doing something he shouldn't be. He says "maaaa" with a growl when he wants more food. He started playing peek-a-boo where he is the one holding the blanket over his face about 5 or 6 days ago. He is SO happy all of the time, but if he does get his feelings hurt, or fall down and it actually hurts him, he cries like his little world is falling apart and it just breaks your heart. Usually within a minute though he is back to his happy little self. 

Drew is our little musician. I've gotten a few home videos of him lately singing his little heart out either into his microphone or while playing his guitar. His favorite worship song is "10,000 reasons" by  Matt Redman. His version though is "Bwess da ORD oh my soul, worship my God, Sing ike NEVER BEFORE!!! oh my soul, worship Jesus...." (He really gets into the "never before" part... sings it so loud and will sometimes shake his head or lean over really far... it's adorable. He's a just a little charismatic I think....;) ) He has entered in the "why" phase of life. He asks it about everything. Still my little perfectionist. Everything has to be just so for him. He plays perfectly, wants to know exactly how to do something before he will try it, and walks around with a miniature version of what I call the "Kauffman swagger" :) He still wants me to hold him as often as he can get me to. And yet he's also started saying he wants to do things "by MYSELF!" The other day it hit me that he will be THREE in the fall... I cried. That's half way to six. And six seems so old, and these three years have flown by... Time just needs to slow down. Besides being super into music he's also a little pro at technology. The other day I came downstairs and he had our gps at the counter and was doing who knows what on the touch screen... I asked him what he was doing and he looks at me with his big, innocent brown eyes and says "Mommy, I'm just sending e-mail..." As I type I can hear him on his pretend cell phone having a conversation with someone. Then he says to me "mommy, she didn't answer, so I just eft a voicemail..." 

My boys may have a few similarities, but they have SO many differences. The amazing thing about being a mother is that you can whole-heartedly love opposite traits when they appear in your two children. I love Drew's sensitivity and Isaiah's orneriness equally. I adore them both for exactly who they are. When I compare them it is only because I can't believe that combinations of the same two people could come out so differently. I don't want either to ever feel he needs to be more like the other. I want them both to be fully appreciated and praised and unconditionally loved for the individual God made them to be. I smile as I type... I just love them both so much. :)