When I realized I’d be home before the boys tonight, I asked DJ what he’d like for Valentine’s Day dinner. He said, “I don’t know. Something heart-shaped.”
And this? Is why so many people have fallen in love with Pinterest. One search for “heart-shaped” yielded me three easy courses for our special Valentine’s Day breakfast-for-dinner.
(Red-and-white heart-shaped pancakes, heart-shaped bacon, heart-shaped watermelon.)
January was a busy month of business travel for me. With three business trips in as many weeks (two of which were cross-country) as well as three separate trips (one for all of us, two others for Scoot) to the Bay, it would have been easy for any one of the four of us to have a complete meltdown. I was pleasantly surprised with how well it went. Though most of the credit goes to having a more-than-capable husband willing and able to stand in for me while I’m away and my dad who pinched hit for a couple days while we were both away, I also like to think that the tricks I’ve developed over the years have helped make my absence less burdensome to Scoot and the boys. In the hopes of helping others relieve some of the stress (and, perhaps, guilt) that come with being a traveling working mom, I thought I’d share my experiences.
So that’s it. I hope some of these tips help relieve the stress and guilt that can accompany a business trip when you’re a wife and mom. What about you? What do you do to make sure everyone survives when you’re from home?
When we picked DJ up from school last week, he asked if he could choose an ornament from his after school program’s “Adopt a Family” tree. “Of course,” we said. After careful consideration, he chose to take responsibility for buying an 8-year-old boy (his age) a pair of pajamas.
We went to the store and picked out a pair. Knowing nothing about this boy, it was tough to figure out what size to get (DJ himself is often between sizes). I suggested that we get a slightly larger size because flannel pajamas were likely to shrink when they were washed.
“But, mom, I don’t think they have a washing machine,” he said.
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
“They might live in a car. You know, some kids don’t have houses like we do.”
We’ve been working to teach DJ about giving to others who don’t have access to the things we do. Each year, he goes through his playroom and donates his toys to kids who aren’t as fortunate. He sets aside one-third of his modest allowance to give to charities of his choice. It’s not easy giving on a budget. That has become all that much more obvious over the past few years as we’ve had to cut back our own charitable giving budget. That is exactly why I was so impressed when Megan told me about Feeding America and asked me to help.
The programs offered by Feeding America are vast – from a nationwide network of supported food banks, to programs to supplement government poverty programs that are constantly on the chopping block given our economy, to disaster relief for those facing an unforeseen emergency. These programs help the nearly 49 million Americans – including an astonishing 1 in 5 American children – who go hungry every day.
With just $1, Feeding America can provide 8 nutritious meals to those in need. EIGHT!!!! $5 = 40 meals! $25 = 200!!!
DJ and I talked about how much we feel comfortable giving. What about you? You can click here to donate. When you’re done, head on over to Undomestic Diva’s blog, leave her one comment for every $5 you donate and you can win a $50 gift card to Starbucks.
And if you need help, you can head over to Feeding America’s site to find out more.
May you all have a very happy Thanksgiving.
Hey, remember me? Yeah, I own this here little place of the interwebs. Nice to see you again. I could write a post (ok, I did…and decided not to hit publish…again) about where I’ve been but instead I thought I’d just cut to the chase and post something new. So here you go…
10 Things I Smiled About Today
1. The # I saw on the scale this morning.
2. Achieving my goal of getting up without hitting the snooze button.
3. DJ choosing to do his homework this morning (rather than tomorrow night) without any prompting.
4. Scoot baking cookies for the Mother-Son Dance Friday night.
5. Having enough calories left today to help be a taste tester of the aforementioned cookies.
6. Catching up with an old friend/colleague.
7. Seeing a new friend/colleague achieve well-deserved satisfaction.
8. Getting an email from my friend who seems to make it her life’s work to have me in stitches on a daily basis.
9. Looking at a calendar and realizing I will be seeing a bunch of my friends real soon.
10. Straightening my desk before I left the office for the night.
What made you smile today?
So Mel has been talking about wanting to make crazy smoothies for weeks now. I’m so glad she decided to write a post about them. Since I’ve been training for my relay this weekend, I’ve been thinking a lot about how to maintain a healthy diet. What better way than to drink your fruits and veggies?
- EmmieJ
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About two years after I had my first daughter (who will be 10 next month OMG!) I spoke with my PCP about the drop in my energy level and some trouble maintaining my weight. She sent me down to the lab for blood work which confirmed that I had an underactive thyroid or hypothyroidism. I’ve been on medication ever since, but lately I’ve been feeling a little blah. I believe it has a lot to do with my thyroid as well as my lack of exercise and taking time for me. So this past week I made the decision to do whatever it took to get myself healthier, physically and emotionally.
I’ve been seeing a lot on the internet about green smoothies. There are tons of websites and recipes out there. I didn’t follow any one specifically, but without the information or recipes I obtained from these sites and a few others, I would’ve been lost.
Green smoothies are a combination of about 60% fruits and 40% raw vegetables to create a blend that is not only pumping you with tons of vitamins, but it will give you a natural energy boost. These smoothies are a complete food because they still have fiber, unlike juicing. According to these sites, those who consumed green smoothies regularly started to enjoy eating more greens and would actually crave them. They said I would stay full longer and that even my kids would enjoy them. I was sold.
You will find that the recipes used various types of greens. I decided that spinach would be my choice of greens to start off with. According to Nutrition Data and Wikipedia, spinach is extremely rich in antioxidants, especially when fresh, steamed, or quickly boiled. It is low in calories (about 10 per cup) a great source of vitamins A, B6, C, E and K, as well as magnesium, folate and folic acid, iron and potassium. To improve iron absorption, eat your spinach with vitamin C-rich foods such as orange juice, tomatoes, and citrus fruit.
Saturday morning before the kids were up, I told Tim I was off to the store to get stuff for breakfast. I picked up some organic baby spinach, mangos, bananas, pears and gala apples. I also grabbed a couple of those new Yoplait Greek yogurts that I saw on The Biggest Loser the other night. (I’m not a huge fan of Greek yogurt unless it’s in the form of tzatziki and smothered on top of a chicken gyro, but I know it’s suppose to be good for you and it has 2x the protein people!!! 2x more than what I have no clue. Hey, I’m just trying to be honest and whatever Jillian Michaels or Bob Harper say is truth in my book.) Ahem, back to the smoothie. So, I get home and send a tweet of course and then I go in and tell Tim that we are about to get our smoothie on.
Many sites recommend a Vita-mix blender, which is like $400 bucks so unless you have money throw around, you can use a strong blender with ice crushing like I did or some mention the Magic Bullet. If you are going to use bananas, some recommend freezing them (peel first) beforehand.
What I used in the order they were place in the blender:
Here is a picture after the fact because I forgot before I started. I also suck at taking and editing pictures, so please bear with me. Thanks.
I started the blender and poured about ½ cup of water through the top to help it blend. It took a bit at first because it has to break up the ice. Once it was well blended, I added another handful of spinach. In total, I think I used ¾ of the package. It was thick like a milkshake, but it says you can add water or juice until it’s the desired consistency.
It was really good and I was surprised that even though I only used one banana; I could really taste that the most. Haley tried it and said that she would rather me not use banana next time. However, I’ll let the pictures tell you what Rory thought.
She refused to give it up, but I had to take it and put it in a sippy cup because she almost spilled it a few times. So I gave her back her cup of water in the meantime while I did this.
She was NOT amused.
Once the tears stopped, Tim, Rory and I enjoyed our smoothies. The next day I made them again but used a pear (skin on) in place of the banana. To give you an idea we had lunch at about 11:45 and then got ready for Haley’s lacrosse game. We didn’t get home until after 6 and I realized we weren’t as hungry as we probably should’ve been. Tim and I are hooked and will be making these daily. He plans on adding some whey protein powder to his and we’ve learned that you can add Things like crushed almonds and ground flax-seed. I’d like to hear from anyone who has used these as meal replacement in the morning or before/after working out. What are your favorites and any other helpful tips or information you can share?
Thanks!
- Mel
I have been incredibly busy and stressed the last couple of weeks, in part because I’m in the middle of a 5 or 6 week stretch where I’ll be away from home every weekend. Weekends are the time that I meal-plan (yes, I plan the meals even though Scoot cooks them) and grocery shop so in addition to the fact that my house is a mess, my sleep is out of whack and my yard desperately needs some mowing and weeding, I get nervous about not eating well. Now, before I go any further, let me note that there are a couple of really awesome reasons why I’m not going to be around on the weekends, so I’m not complaining. But I still wanted to head down to the salad bar and meet some new veggies over a nice cold glass of milk. (Wait…what are we talking about?)
Anyhow, my parents had received a delivery of their co-op produce while they were on vacation so my mom had plenty to share. Most of it I tried already or was lettuce and really? I feel like if I bring you all lettuce you’d laugh in my face. So I said, “F it. I’m gonna cook some radishes. I can just roast them, right? Toss ‘em in some oil and sprinkle on salt and be done with it. Right?” And that’s basically all I did. The end. You’re welcome. Oh, you want more? Ok…
-EmmieJ
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Radishes are root vegetables in the same family as turnips and mustard. I learned from some website (woohoo…I can say website without the AP style guide saying I’m wrong!) that I forgot to bookmark that one serving of radishes has as much potassium as a banana and as much ascorbic acid as an orange. They’re very low on calories and are mostly water. But pregnant ladies, listen up…they’re also high in folic acid! Woohoo! So…if you’re pregnant and you can’t stand taking those gawd awful vitamins because you burp and the nasty metal flavor comes up and makes you throw up, just grab a handful of radishes and go to town.
Most people eat radishes raw on salads, but I had to be different.
We got home from the Bay pretty late on Sunday but my MIL had given us a bag of cooked rice for the road and I had pre-cooked a meatloaf and left it in the fridge for just such an occassion. (I know us too well.) I threw together a “salad” of Romaine lettuce and ranch dressing (classy, I know) so everything was basically ready to go.
As I was getting things out of the fridge and unpacking the random treats my MIL gave us (we also got Fuji apples and Rice Krispies treats…what can I say, she loves us), I preheated the oven to 375 degrees.
I washed and trimmed the radishes. These are pretty small ones but the spring radish seasons runs from April until June so they were probably harvested on the early side.
Fresh radishes.
I quartered them (or halved the smaller ones), tossed in a bit of extra virgin olive oil (not very much though…I was scraping the bottom of the barrel), sprinkled wish Kosher salt and popped them in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes.
Wait…hold on…I lied. I really put them in for like 15 minutes but the rest of dinner was done heating up and we were hungry and it was getting late and I just had to get dinner on the table, ok? BUT, trust me…do the full 20 – 25 minutes because mine, while delicious, were not yet carmelized and we all know that the carmelization is the super yummy part.
Not quite carmelized but still oh so good.
I put one on DJ’s plate and told him all he had to do was eat it. (He hates being my guinea pig.) A few minutes later I looked and it was gone. “Did you eat it or throw it away?” I asked. “I ate it,” he said. I was amazed I didn’t witness any the death scene enactments he usually puts on when I make him try something. “Does that mean you liked it,” I asked hopefully. “No.” Oh well, a mom can dream.
As for me and Scoot, we both thought they tasted pretty good. I ate about half on their own and the other half ended up getting enveloped in my gourmet salad. Both ways were great.
I’d definitely make it again.
* Apologies for the awful cell phone pictures. Our regular camera was out of batteries and I was trying to hurry.*
** Random tip for parents: radishes’ genus is named after the Greek word for “quick growing.” From seed to harvest only takes a few weeks so they’re an awesome plant to add to your kids’ garden.**
***Question: My friend Chantel asked what a radish tastes like and I couldn’t explain it to her. Some website said it tastes like mustard and turnips but I’ve never tasted them (other than the liquid mustard variety…heh) so I don’t know if that’s accurate. What do you think? If you’ve tasted radishes before, what do you think they taste like?***
When I was a kid, my mom made spaghetti squash and I was absolutely amazed with it. I mean, it’s a squash for gosh sake. And then it turns into…spaghetti? How cool is that? (Dude, I was like six…let me have my moment.) Well, true to form, Mel comes and shows how bad ass spaghetti squash can be. You see why I like her so much? Without further ado…
- EmmieJ
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In my last post I mentioned I was going to work on cooking up some squash next. If you are like me, you were probably all “Ewww, what? Why?” Because let’s face it, it’s not the most appealing group of vegetables. They come in odd shapes, the skin is tough and when I’ve ever seen it cooked it just looked like a pile of orange mush.
I was inspired a few weeks ago when I read a post over here, which was in turn inspired by the new show Food Revolution hosted by Jamie Oliver. I began searching Google and found what a spaghetti squash looked like, how to know when it’s ripe and how to cook/prepare it. I searched a few other sites like Live Strong and Nutrition Data and found that spaghetti squash not only have both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, but some important vitamins and minerals. So I decided to cook up some of it for the family this weekend.
At the grocery store I searched for the most yellow spaghetti squash I could find. They all looked exactly the same, so I started feeling around for soft spots because, according to the site, it shouldn’t have any. I brought it home and stuck it on the bottom shelf of the fridge for 3 days. I realized the cooking part would be the easiest. It would be the convincing your family what you are making for dinner and getting them to jump on board with it is when you have to put your game face on.
Saturday I started preparing it. It said to cut it length wise, but honestly I couldn’t find a knife that would get through it. I even tried putting it in the microwave for 2 minutes, twice and nothing.
Spaghetti squash coming out of the oven.
Tim asked what I was doing and when he heard I was making spaghetti squash for dinner he was all “Sorry, but I don’t see myself eating that. I hope you are making something else to go with it…” I asked him if he even knew what it was and how I was going to prepare it. His answer: “Um, yeah, the yellow thing you just took out of the fridge. You’re going to have to grate it up and make it look like spaghetti.”
So of course I laughed at him, explained how it’s not the same orange mush I myself had feared and that once it’s cooked, the flesh will scoop out into strands that resemble spaghetti. I told him, “People on the internet cook it and said they’re kids even like it!” I was determined to make him believe he would like it because how could I get the kids to try it if he wouldn’t.
Since my cutting efforts failed me, I place the squash on a baking sheet.
It says to poke holes but I had already had at it with a knife so I figured I was good.
Put the oven on 375 and waited about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, I was able to slice it and placed both sides face down on the pan and surrounded it with water. Back in the oven it went for another 30 minutes.
Once they were out, I was ready to dig in. I took a fork and scooped out the darker strands and the seeds and then scooped out the soft spaghetti like flesh into bowls. As the recipes mentioned, kids prefer just a little butter and parmesan cheese but I did have a simple tomato sauce prepared just in case.
For the kiddies...
I tried the dish with butter and cheese and it was really good. It was light and a little sweet, but buttery and yummy. The squash isn’t as soft as pasta, at least that’s not how it came out. It has a snap to it, I guess you could compare it to al dente, but it’s not as thick either. I would prefer to eat it this way. Haley tasted it this way as well and said, “It doesn’t even taste like squash!” which I really don’t understand considering she’s never had squash in her life, but I’ll take it. That had Tim digging in and although he thought the butter and cheese was good, he took a bowlful topped with tomato sauce and it was gone within minutes.
Rory, she spit it right out. I have a feeling this was due to texture, but she’s only 18 months old so I plan on introducing it to her again in the future.
With tomato sauce
- Mel
I had a conference call on our drive home yesterday…one that wasn’t for work!!! (Thank Gawd!) In fact, the call was with a number of my Eat.Blog.Run. teammates. Together, we’ll be eating, blogging and running our way through 200 miles of the San Francisco Bay Area as we “compete” (I use that term loosely) in The Relay.
The race starts in Calistoga and finishes in Santa Cruz. My legs are 7.1 miles in Marin County, 3.7 miles in San Mateo County and 6.2 miles in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The race as a whole will take us around 33 hours, give or take, starting at 7 am on Saturday, May 1st and ending the afternoon of Sunday, May 2nd. DUDE, THAT’S THREE WEEKS AWAY!
I’m nervous that I’m slightly out of my mind, but mostly I’m excited, especially after talking to my teammates today. They’re an awesome group of bloggers.
But I could use your help. Here’s how:
1. If you’re in the area, come cheer us on! You’ll find a map of the routes at the link above. I’m running legs 11, 23 and 35 but all of my teammates would love the encouragement.
2. Follow us on Twitter to watch us freak out over our last three weeks of training and be part of our team as we tweet our way across the finish line.
3. Ditto on the official Eat.Blog.Run. blog. We love comments like, “You can do eeeettt. You can do eet ALL NIGHT LONG,” because, well, we’ll be running all night long.
4. If you or someone you know wants to support us as a sponsor, let me know. We could use things like water, food and snacks, etc. for the days of the race. We’d be happy to show our gratitude by acknowledging your support.
5. If you’re a member of DailyMile, follow me over there as I wrap up my training for this crazy race.
I’m amped. I can’t wait to tell you how it all goes!
Wow…I come back from vacation and it’s like I don’t know how to do anything anymore. Sorry this post is delayed. On our drive back from Disneyland, we had to swing through the Bay Area to pick up our dogs that my parents had graciously entertained while we were gone. I called my mom in her office to tell her that we were there and about to leave and wouldn’t you know it, she said another bag of produce from their co-op had arrived. I went through the goods and decided to grab some leeks. I have made leek soup before but every time I told someone I was going to try leeks they said, “Yum, I love potato leek soup.” But, leeks aren’t just for soup, people.
This is the scene that always comes in my head when I think of leeks. (Image from http://blu-ray.com)
- EmmieJ
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“What is a leek?” you may ask. Well, it looks like a green onion on steroids. It’s green leaves are tougher than an onion’s, however. It smells like a cross between onion and garlic but not as strong as either. It’s like a gentle giant. The leek is related to garlic and onion in the Allium family of vegetables. According to the World’s Healthiest Foods, a high intake of Allium vegetables can help lower bad cholesterol, raise good cholesterol, protect against a number of cancers, and stabilize blood sugar. And you know what? They taste good too.
Seeing as I’m a lazy bones, I didn’t want to do something really complicated. I DO HAVE A VACATION TO RECOVER FROM! I started looking online for recipes and stumbled upon a leek salad recipe that looked yummy and easy. Woot! Double bonus: I had all except for one ingredient already in my cabinets. I headed over to Safeway and picked up two more leeks (the recipe calls for 8 but I halved it) and some tarragon.
Here’s what I used:
Ingredients. Notice the huge leeks are from the organic co-op and the puny ones are the ones I got from Safeway.
It was really easy to make the salad. Here’s how:
Leek salad.
You’re supposed to “chill well” but I didn’t have time so I threw it in the freezer for a few minutes while I was dishing up and it was fine. I could see serving it to guests very cold but this worked for a quick mid-week family meal.
Because of the vinegar, it ended up a bit like the kind of coleslaw that doesn’t have mayonnaise in it. Do you know what I mean? Pickly. It was about the same texture as the seaweed salad served at Japanese restaurants. Maybe a smidge crispier. If you wanted it more al dente, you could just cook it for a bit less time, I suppose.
The moment of truth came when I set it on a plate with some spaghetti and mini-meatballs and garlic bread. The boys…drumroll please…ATE IT! Kind of. DJ had it with Caesar dressing (which he calls “spicy ranch”) on it. Weird, I know, but whatever, if there’s ranch dressing on something he’ll eat it so let’s go with it, shall we? He liked it so much he had leftovers the next day in his lunch. I was impressed. And excited.
This recipe is definitely going to be added to our salad rotation. I hate making multi-ingredient salad during the week because of all the chopping. But this was so easy since it was just one vegetable. Plus, I imagine it’d be good with other pre-made or store-bought vinaigrettes as well so I may give that a whirl too. Anything to add some variety and deliciousness to our dinners.
