LifeFactory

Once in a while I just have to share a great find. We've been looking and looking and looking for a "best" option for water bottles.  Not only do the kids use them daily but Mike and I try to carry water with us all the time as well.  I have always had an acute (understatement) sense of smell and taste when it comes to water so I'm usually put off by most options. At home I actually drink from a pitcher of water with lemon all the the time - the lemon at least masks the taste of anything that might be in there.
We have selected BPA free options for the kids, and yet when I have had to drink from their bottles it tastes so much like plastic I have to spit it out. Don't tell me nothing weird is getting into the water if it tastes that bad.  And the aluminum options just don't keep the water cool for long enough.
Enter the solution:

So I went to one of our funky earth friendly stores in town and found the answer. LifeFactory glass bottles.  I was excited but skeptical. I like glass (even used glass baby bottles) but of course it is heavy and scary to have the kids take it to school.  So I bought ONE and had Kaelyn try it (went with the 16 oz with the straw).

She LOVES it.

She has always been a great water drinker but she has at least doubled her intake.  It is definitely heavy. And she knows it. But I ask if she's okay carrying it around and she proudly says yes.  She loves it.

So we bought a smaller one for Andrew (12 oz with straw).  And he loves it equally well.

They actually don't drop them much (although I'll admit my kids aren't very clutsy so this may be a factor)...but the occasional drop has ended well - no breakage at all.

Of course, they are pricey -but we have limited our bottle collection to 1 per person. So not only do our cabinets have more space (actually, they're always in use so really, they are never even in the cabinet) but the price evens out - not to mention I imagine we won't have to replace them as often as you do with the plastic and even the aluminum).

No- I'm not getting paid for this advertisement. Just looking to make life a little easier for you, if you happen to be in the market for the "best water bottle option"....this one gets my vote...and Kaelyn, and Andrew, and Mike's!

Keeping it real! Kathy

Pancakes with a twist

I am really having a hard time getting food into Andrew lately - especially protein.  His favorite food, that he would eat every day all day, is pancakes.  In my opinion, one of the less nutrient dense options.  So I'm playing with getting more of the good stuff inside and thought I'd share today's winner...

Can you guess what is inside?  Kinda purple....kinda green??
Here is the recipe for a double batch of my
Blueberry Spinach Pancakes

3 cups organic whole wheat flour
7 teaspoons aluminum free baking powder (this is what makes them fluffy)
1 teaspoon kelp (yep - you read that right - I sub kelp for salt if I can hide it! It is a great source of Iodine)
1 banana
1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries
1 cup spinach
1/2 cup milk (I use coconut milk)
2 pastured eggs (please find and use pastured eggs - you get natural omegas from these good guys)
6 Tablespoons coconut oil, melted


In a blender, mix banana, milk, spinach, blueberries, and eggs till liquidy.
In a bowl mix flour, baking powder, and kelp.  Then quickly and gently mix in the blended ingredients.  The baking soda really gets going and it thickens and expands quickly.  Before it's all mixed together mix in the coconut oil. The only reason I add this last is b/c coconut oil can harden when it gets warm and you want it to stay melted.  Then if the batter is too thick, I add more milk to get it to a wetter consistency that will spoon out well onto my griddle.

Then scoop the batter and place onto griddle, cooking each side for about 2 minutes. I find these are so fluffy I have to smash them down a little to keep them flatter and cooking quicker/all the way through.

Add your choice of toppings - we use real maple syrup and a little bit of pastured butter.

Andrew also loves making the batter - here he is excited to mix in the blended wet ingredients which promised to make a fun purple pancake!

Obviously if your kids wanted a pink or red pancake you could use strawberries or raspberries.  Just know that green items (aka spinach) turn it brown.

Keeping it real! Kathy

Favorite "Squash Bread" recipes

I have a couple of go-to recipes for fun breads that I thought I'd share. The first is super simple and always delish.
It is designed to be a Pumpkin Bar/Muffin.

Pumpkin Muffins 

1 c pumpkin puree


1 c almond butter (I use raw creamy from Trader Joes)

1/2 c raw honey

2 eggs

1 1/2 t baking powder


1/2 t baking soda


1 t vanilla extract


1 t cinnamon


1/4 t nutmeg


1/4 t cloves

Simply mix it all together and stick it in the oven.  350 degrees - 15 mins for cupcakes or 30 for bars/bread.  They are super moist.  The only negative is that it doesn't make that many!  I have substituted butternut squash and they are equally yum.  You probably could do banana, but cut the honey or they'd be too sweet.  I will admit, I added 2 leaves of Kale to this batch. Can you see the flecks?  Can't taste it.  (I blended it in my vitamix first).

And here is a basic recipe that I tweak. I just try to keep the wet ingredients in the same quantity range.  When I'm swimming in meyer lemons I add one (zest and juice) and it does just fine. Today I added butternut squash.  Yum.

Whole Wheat Zucchini Banana Bread

Adapted from: Marcus Samuelsson

Yields: 1 Loaf | Prep Time: 20 minutes | Bake Time:  55 minutes

2 eggs


1/2 cup honey


1 cup mashed banana


1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste


1 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour


1 tsp salt


1 tsp baking powder


1/2 tsp baking soda


1 tsp ground cinnamon


1 medium zucchini, grated


1 cup chocolate chips, raisins, dried fruit, nuts, or a mixture of any of these

Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease a standard-sized loaf pan.

Beat together the eggs, honey, banana, brown sugar, and vanilla until well-combined.

In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.  Mix into the egg/banana mixture just until combined.

Stir in the zucchini and chocolate chips, just until combined.

Pour into the loaf pan and bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Let rest for 20 minutes before removing from the loaf pan.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

For best results, store loosely draped with a kitchen towel. Wrapping your bread in plastic or foil will result in gummy texture.

I found this on this website: http://delishhh.com/2011/08/16/whole-wheat-zucchini-banana-bread/

Keeping it real! Kathy

Peaches and Cream Oatmeal Improved!

Peaches and Cream Oatmeal was one of my favorite things to eat for breakfast growing up. Last year I posted a homemade version here.

Since then I became a Dr. Sears LEAN Coach - which I'll tell you more about in a future post..but for now, I wanted to share what I did to improve the oatmeal now that I know so much more about what kids need to eat in order to fuel their growth.

The omega fats are a huge factor for healthy brains, and we already know how important protein is for energy and general growth.  Here is my oatmeal recipe to give the kids a great start to their day. Feel free to substitute with any fruit.  I use frozen blueberries when fresh fruit isn't a great option.  Always organic - everything (except I can't afford organic almond butter!).

1 cup oats
2 cups milk (I use rice or coconut milk but any milk will work)
1 T coconut oil
1 t cinnamon
2 peaches - peeled and diced

I put it all in at once and bring to a boil, then let it simmer till it's almost the right consistency (stirring occasionally).  Making it all at once makes it much creamier than when you bring the water to a boil first.  Then I add 1 T of almond butter.  If it makes it too gooey you can add a little milk to make it the consistency you love.

I top it with 1 T maple syrup (the real stuff).

The whole family loves this.  And it's super quick to make for those rushed mornings.  I make extra and serve it leftover the next morning sometimes.


Keeping it real! Kathy

When life gives you lemons...

Okay I know it's hokey but it's kinda our reality right now. I don't even want to talk about the "lemons" in our life right now but we are definitely trying our best to make lemonade!

We are working diligently to carve out our future life for ourselves.  I can tell you this much - it is going to include lemons. Lots of them.

Here are Kaelyn, Andrew and I getting started.... planting the seeds....

Keeping it real! Kathy

Tinker things

We celebrated Kaelyn's birthday month (a while ago) with lots of Tinkerbell things. She got the movie so I finally learned that Tinkerbell's magic is "tinkering" - aka fixing things or making things!

I caught this photo of Mike and Andrew "tinkering" with the new Jeep.  I had to share.  It is quite cute.  The kids are super excited to put this new Jeep to use.  They want to ride in it all the time!

Mike and I booked a trip to Moab, Utah in May.  Sans kiddos.  We can't wait.

Adventure is on the horizon!


Keeping it real! Kathy

Restaurant Review: The Linkery $$

One of our favorites (sinful, but still) is The Linkery.  This place is all about sausage, which really I don't generally go for. But in the interest of supporting local restaurants who value local whole/real food, we wanted to check it out.  You won't be disappointed.  I can't rave about the health benefits of their food - but the sausage is home made and their offerings differ daily.  Their sauerkraut is delicious and definitely a healthy option! It's a unique (and very urban) environment with upbeat staff and a fun crowd.

Keeping it real! Kathy

Restaurant Review: Urban Plates $

We also got to sneak off to a date night at Urban Plates located in Del Mar. This is a really cool place (similar to Tender Greens).   Their slogan is "Farm to Plate and Won't Break the Bank."  So true.  It's amazing what they can do for some pretty standard (California) prices.   First of all, it's a very urban environment -think long wood table where several different eating pairs can pull up and form a little community.  Rustic but not too rustic.   It is set up cafeteria style so you order from the person who makes your food - there is a salad section, a meat section, soup, etc.  It doesn't sound great but it is.  The food is local and organic and very tasty. They even make their own soda.

Keeping it real! Kathy

Restaurant Review: Prep Kitchen $$

I was lucky enough to discover the Prep Kitchen in Little Italy at a business lunch (not appropriate to take photos so none for you, sorry). Then I took Mike to the one in La Jolla on our date (too dark for photos - sorry once again).  The restaurant ambiance is night and day difference between the two.  I strongly prefer the Little Italy location.  The food was excellent and somewhat unique.  Also a focus on locally sourced food.  I have to say that I absolutely LOVE when you know what farm the food comes from. As farmer's market shoppers it's even more fun when we know the farmer and can make that connection.

The Prep Kitchen is worth a visit for lunch or for dinner. The Kale salad with pumpkin is yummy.  Even the standard spinach salad with apples, bacon and blue cheese was out of this world.  We shared the Porter Braised Short Ribs which were just melt in your mouth.  Even though that is not something normally on our food list, when we get to know the farm where meat comes from we make allowances :-)  What a difference too.   

Definitely visit the Prep Kitchen - it's in the same restaurant group as Whiskandladle...

Keeping it real! Kathy

Restaurant Review: Starlite $$

We've had a hard time getting out to visit different restaurants since we keep changing nanny's.   It is funny, we are never able to plan our dates in advance.  Even if we have it on the calendar for a while, it always seems when we are rushing out the door we have no idea what we will be doing!  So for the last few dates I pick up my trusty restaurant guide - Edible San Diego.  Each major city has one specific to the city. We grab them at our farmer's market each week but you can also subscribe (and support the wonderful publication). We find our selves going through the list of restaurants, looking up their menus on the ipad and then giving them a try!  So far, it's been a giant success.  These restaurant's aren't necessarily going for "healthy" or "vegetarian" but they are definitely all going for locally sourced and REAL food.  Homemade, all natural, mainly organic, and VERY gourmet.  They even have a Sunday brunch that would be fun.

We visited the Starlite recently.  Starlight is a 21 and over establishment which we found kinda fun.  They have a mixologist (or two), a super cool and large bar in the middle of the restaurant, and some wonderfully fun drinks.  I tried two of them.  Mike stuck with beer (snore).  The food was delicious.  I had a cauliflower with a special sauce that was really good.  Mike had a burger and really raved about it. Even the bun was specially sourced.

I highly recommend this restaurant. It's not much to pull up to but inside is special - and a modern throwback to the 60s/70s.  Fun fun!

Sorry I don't have a photo - I gotta get better at taking them!

Keeping it real! Kathy

Thanksgiving Fare

I wanted to post some of our Thanksgiving goodies.  This year I straddled the line.  I made food that everyone would eat, but I made sure many of the items had only ingredients that are on our list of "okay" foods.  I think it went well but I will say that I did learn that butter does always make it better.  Next year I'm going to brine my turkey so we don't need butter.  I must get away from butter ;-)

I like to make my own cranberry sauce and good ole Trader Joe is kind enough to carry organic cranberries!  I put them in a pot of water and simmer them with cinnamon and cloves until they look like this. Then I add honey to taste.  They were quite tart this year so I put in a whole cup of honey and they were still tart.  I've put orange juice in them before which helps a lot but I was short the oranges this year.  Still - Kaelyn loved dipping her turkey in it!

My favorite part was my stuffing. I'll admit - I've always been a boxed stuffing girl and yes, it's my favorite part of the meal.  So I wanted to make my own this year and didn't even use a recipe.  I purchased the Health Starts Here Whole Grain Bread from Whole foods (a friend of mine just informed me they actually cell the bread crumbs if you prefer a crumby stuffing - I like mine chunky!).  I cut off the hardest part of the crust and then cut the bread in to 1/2 inch pieces.  I sauteed 4 celery stalks and a whole onion in butter (1/4 cup).  I then added 2 cups of vegetable stock, 1/2 teaspoon each of sage, fresh thyme, rosemary and poultry seasoning, and 2 cups of baby kale/chard/spinach (also sold at Trader Joe's).  Then I tossed it all together and baked it for 1/2 hour.  I think it was delish.  Next year I will try to make it without the butter.  I didn't want to take too many chances the first time around!

Persimmon pie. This is one of my favorites. And when I've served it in the past it's been a favorite. I'll admit our families did not choose this - they opted for the regular apple or pumpkin cheesecake (not on our approved ingredient lists!) but my family is not the most open to our type of food.  That said, this pie was really good.

Above is the "before baking" shot and below you can se it amidst the other pies (which I'll pride myself on switching my sister to butter and 1/2 whole wheat flour rather than the usual shortening and white flour).  It is the top left pie.  I make it without a crust (I am not fond of crust anyway) and put a yummy topping on it.

Persimmon Pie Recipe

Slice 8-10 fuyu persimmons (thin)

1/4 cup maple syrup (the real raw stuff...not Log Cabin!)

1 T corn starch

(Let this sit while you prepare the cobbler, or even longer. If any juices collect, drain them out.)

Topping:

1 C oats (best to go with non quick cooking oats b/c you want the texture to remain in tact as much as possible)

1/2 C whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 C honey

1 t cinnamon

1/3 C butter (softenend, not melted) or melted coconut oil

1/3 C greek yogurt 

Directions

Prepare oven at 400 degrees

Stir topping together and spread it over the peaches to create a top-layer crust.

Bake for 20-25 minutes

Let cool for 20-30 mins and eat!

By the way - this pie is equally good with apples or peaches.  I haven't tried it with berries yet but I'm sure that would be good too!

Keeping it real! Kathy

GOMBO - Souper Immunity Soup

I'm back in action. I've been set back with more than a few nanny transitions in the past few months, plus a really bad cold...but we're on the up and up and I'm more committed to ever to bring this blog back to life!

I'm going to start with a very exciting winter soup.  I'm so proud of this soup. I was out shopping at the Farmer's Market on Sunday and had no list (gasp).  So I thought to myself, hey - what sounds good? What could I make?  Well, the mushrooms looked good. The asparagus were fresh.  Hmmm...white beans...can't go wrong with Kale.  I think I'll make a soup!  By the time I got the soup together and was talking to my friend Karen who was also down with the flu, I realized this soup had all of the components of the GOMBS Diet (Dr. Furman's anti-cancer diet) she had told me about the week before.  It stands for Greens, Onions, Mushrooms, Beans/Berries, and Seeds.  Okay - so it's missing the seeds.  If you feel inclined, add them to the top of your soup!.  This soup was delicious. I will be making it again.  We cleverly named it Gombo as a take on "gumbo." Of course on a quick internet search I found that gombo actually is okra.  But I'm sticking to it anyway...

Gombo

1 medium brown/yellow onion chopped finely
2 cups crimini mushrooms cleaned and sliced
1 small head cabbage shredded
1 bunch of asparagus chopped into 1 inch pieces
1/2 bunch Kale chopped into small pieces
2 cans great northern beans (or 3 cups soaked over night and cooked a few hours)
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 t cumin
4 cups veggie broth


Dry saute the onion (using a few T of veggie broth) until translucent and slightly browned. Add garlic and mushrooms and saute with more veggie broth as needed for about 5 minutes (until mushrooms are softened slightly).  Add the broth, beans, asparagus, kale, and cabbage and bring to a boil.  Add the cumin and reduce to a rapid simmer for about 20 minutes.  Add sea salt to taste.

Did you know mushrooms are SUPER full of benefits and the longer you cook them the more you get out of them?  Love it!

Eat up!  Stay Healthy!


Keeping it real! Kathy

Freezer meatballs and sweet potato fries

We've been struggling to get enough food planned out to get through the week. By the time we get to Thursday we inevitably have no dinner!

So, this weekend we came up with yet another new plan to keep us on better track.  One night per weekend we will make a meal that makes enough for at least one meal to freeze and eat later.

I know, it's not brain science.  But I'll share my meal with you anyway!

Meatballs with lots of Veggies and Sweet Potato Fries.

Make Ahead Frozen Meatballs Recipe

The Players

3 eggs from pastured hens

1 small onion, chopped (or half a large one)

1 1/3 C. almond meal

1 cup peas (thawed)

1 cup shredded zucchini

1 cup shredded carrots

1 cup shredded spinach

2 1/4 tsp. sea salt 

1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp. Italian herb blend

1/4 tsp. pepper

3 lbs. grass-fed ground beef

Combine all ingredients and bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 on a baking sheet.

Freeze whatever you don't eat - I like to put enough for a meal into individual ziploc baggies - I usually get about 3 meals out of these. Add them to a pesto pasta, just dip them in sauce, or add them to anything else that calls for meatballs!

I always have a hard time making my own fries b/c they get smushy after baking them. But then I figured out a little secret.  Freeze them first!  Then cook them at a high temperature - that way they don't get overcooked in the middle!
Also - this is the first time I used the super cool fry maker from Pampered Chef.  It is not easy to use but it did make nice fries!

Sweet Potato Fries

1 bag organic sweet potatoes

olive oil

sea salt

Peel potatoes.  Either use a fry cutter or slice potatoes into fry shapes.  Put them into a gallon size ziploc bag - then add oil (about 2 tbsp) and sea salt (about 1 tsp) and shake to coat the fries.

To eat immediately, put in 450-degree oven for about 10-15 minutes, flipping the fries once to ensure an even crisp.

Freeze the rest and cook the same way in the oven but don't defrost them first!

I have to say, it feels good to have some frozen meals in the fridge again - and I like that the meatballs have as much veggie as they do meat!

The other magic is that my kids love this meal so I know they will eat it...

Happy November!

Keeping it real! Kathy

Harvest Sunday

Sunday around our house is a little crazy.  Most people spend their weekends relaxing - and especially Sundays. We usually end up more tired at the end of a Sunday than we are from a whole week.  We fall into bed exhausted and we wonder why we punish ourselves.

Well, Sunday is our farmer's market day.  It runs from 10-2. Although people have started shopping by 9am now so you really have to get there early if you want to get the good stuff. This does usually allow us a little time to enjoy a slow breakfast together which is always nice.  But once the shopping starts, the day speeds up quickly.  The Farmer's Market results in probably 35 pounds of food. Usually carried on my body! If we bring the kids we can shove it into the stroller but I always feel a little silly pushing the stroller full of food when I don't bring the kids!!!  At the market we get 90% of our fruits and veggies.  I finally figured out a way to get some fruits that we can keep and eat at the end of the week - Melons! I put them in the fridge and cut them on Thursday. This is great so we don't have to go back to the store mid-week.
We come home and cut everything up - serve a random lunch of fresh produce, and Andrew goes down for a nap. Then I usually run to Trader Joes for everything else I need for the week.

When I'm really organized, I usually get some cooking done for the week by 3pm - then we enjoy ourselves for a couple hours before getting dinner on the table and....well, then the whole bedtime routine kicks in as well as packing lunches and getting organized for the week.

We also have to do all of our yardwork and gardening on Sundays.  Today the kids wanted to help so they got to stay home with Mike and "work" with him as he pulled out tomato plants and got the gardens ready for fall planting (not sure when we'll actually be able to put plants IN the ground tho!).

So Sundays are all about harvesting.  I've begun to almost dread it b/c I know it's going to be exhausting...but then I remind myself that if I were a farmer, this would be every day for me.  Oh - and I'd have to pick ALL of the 35 pounds I carried around the market!

Here are a few of the fun things I did with today's load:

Arugula salad with yellow tomatoes, roasted yellow beets, broccoli rabe, and goat cheese.

Broccoli Rabe (or Rapini) is one of my favorite things. They even sell it at Trader Joes in ORGANIC!  I just throw some olive oil and garlic into a saute pan and saute it for about 10 minutes.  It stays crisp which is nice. And you eat more of the stems then you would on regular broccoli. If you can ever get this stuff fresh out of a garden it's amazing.

And here's something fun - did you know you can cook the green tops from beets? The tops of some of the root vegetables are actually more nutrient dense than the actual vegetable. Beet tops and carrots are two such cases.  Beet tops are yummier than spinach when you cook them - just wilt them down in either steaming water or olive oil.  Add a touch of salt and you're set.  Kaelyn loves these!  Carrot tops are not so yummy cooked -I put them in smoothies. 

I hope you enjoyed your Sunday -whatever you did!

Keeping it real! Kathy

Pumpkin Smoothie - Hits all the marks!

This one is a winner on all counts.  I mean, you really can't go wrong with pumpkin, in my opinion.  But this one has some extra goodness in it!  It's a perfect breakfast.

Recipe slightly altered from Angela Liddon's from Oh She Glows

Ingredients:
2 cups almond milk
1/2 cups rolled oats
2 tbsp chia seeds
1 t vanilla
1/2 T blackstrap molasses
1 ripe banana
2 t cinnamon
1/2 t ground ginger
1/4 t ground nutmeg
1.5-2 T pure maple syrup
1 cup canned or real pumpkin
10-15 ice cubes

Start with the first ingredient and add them in order into a blender.  Blend until smooth.

The kids LOVED this one.  It's a true breakfast in a cup - this one is great for the road.  I'm thinking of adding 2 dates to the next one for a little extra sweetness and some extra vitamins.


Keeping it real! Kathy

An important proposition

I'm continuously surprised at how many people are unaware of the fact that most of the food at the grocery stores has been genetically modified - and why that is not a good thing. On the ballot this year (in CA) you'll have an opportunity to put your foot down on GMO food - by at least making it something that you will be aware of.  Everyone has a right to make their own choices but we don't realize that we're making choices about things that we don't even know about.  It is so important for the labeling to become a part of our food choice process.

I ran across this super easy and compelling blog post about a mom on a mission for GMO labeling.

And I watched the video within it which I highly recommend you watch. Here is the link.

It's always good to educate yourself... even if it's hard to hear...

And even if it's not for you - vote for the children of our future...
Vote Yes on 37...
 
Keeping it real! Kathy

Zucchini Enchilada Boats

Have you heard of Punchfork?  It's like Pinterest meets Betty Crocker.  Well - WAY better than Betty (no offense!).

It's like an online recipe catalog.  Pure awesomeness.  Basically it's a photo of a great dish and when you click on it, it links to the recipe and credits who posted it.  It's totally addictive.  The recipes range from healthy to the opposite, as well as fun, complicated, or super easy.

I've been finding my favorite recipes and then pinning them into my Wanna Try Recipes repository.

I'll admit - I usually amend the recipes to make sure they fit our food requirements...but darn is it a fun way to find new ideas!   I can look for hours!

Today, I found these fun Zucchini Enchilada Boats.  An old nanny stopped by last week and brought us a 2 foot zucchini that we weren't sure what to do with (especially since the kids don't like Zucchini). I had it figured for the compost bin.  But alas - I thought I'd give this recipe a try.  OMG.  That's all I can say. The photo below is only 1/2 of the zucchini.  And Mike and I split one of them for dinner (I will dream of eating the other half for lunch tomorrow as I sleep tonight!).

As I mentioned, my kiddos don't eat zucchini (knowingly) so I put the "stuffing" into an organic whole wheat tortilla (still looking for a 'best' option of these) and Kaelyn loved it.  Andrew was fine as long as he closed his eyes and made a game of it. Once he saw what was inside he couldn't get past it.  What is WITH the kids who have issues with how food looks?  Drives me insane.

Here is my recipe.  It's pretty similar to the original.

Ingredients

• 4 medium to large zuchini
• 2 (about 8 oz total) small zucchini
• 1 package or jar of enchilada sauce
• 8 oz cooked shredded chicken breast 
• 1 t crushed coriander
• 1 t sea salt
• 1 tsp oil
• 1/2 cup green onions, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 cup diced green purple or red pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 cup frozen spinach
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 3 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp enchilada sauce
• salt and pepper to taste

For the Topping:

• 3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar (organic raw milk or grass fed)
• chopped scallions and cilantro for garnish

Directions

Place chicken in oiled glass dish.  Season with salt and coriander. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.

Boil a pot of water.

Cut zucchini in half lengthwise and using a small spoon or melon baller, scoop out flesh, leaving 1/4" thick. Chop the additional smaller zucchini to use in your stuffing.

Drop the zucchini halves in boiling water and cook 2-4 minutes, depending on how thick they are; remove from water.

In a large saute pan, heat oil and add onion, garlic and bell pepper. Cook on medium-low heat for about 2-3 minutes. Add chopped zucchini, spinach, and cilantro; season with salt and pepper and cook about 4 minutes. Add the cumin, oregano, chili powder, water, and enchilada sauce and cook a few more minutes, then add in chicken; mix and cook 3 more minutes.

Place 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a large (or 2 small) baking dish, and place zucchini halves cut side up. Using a spoon, fill each hollowed zucchini with 1/3 cup chicken mixture, pressing firmly. Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce on top of the stuffed zucchini boats.

Top each boat with 1 1/2 tablespoons each of shredded cheese.

Cover with foil and bake 35 minutes until cheese is melted and zucchini is cooked through.

Top with scallions and cilantro for garnish and serve with greek yogurt if desired.

The stuffing is so good you could mix it with quinoa, top a salad, eat it with chips, etc... It's very versatile. Easy to make extra and freeze for another time...or even make on Sunday night to use later in the week.

Keeping it real! Kathy

Easy Strawberry Smoothie - non-dairy

Recently I was visiting a grand "re-opening" of Healthy Creations.  They have added some yummy smoothies to their menu.

While we were at the party, they snuck a little cinnamon into their Goji Berry smoothie and it was so yummy we told them to put it on their menu!

I decided to make one of my own to share with the kids.  It's a bit of a knock off - but the cinnamon again, is the special secret!

Strawberry Smoothie

1 cup almond milk (or other dairy/non-dairy option)

1 bag frozen strawberries (Trader Joe's)

4 dates, pitted and quartered

1/2 t cinnamon

Blend till smoothilicsious!


Keeping it real! Kathy

Back to the Basics – Camping at Palomar Mountain

Mike and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary with a “adult only” trip to the Bahamas back in May.  Our anniversary is in July but we needed to have one of my sister’s come watch the kids and since they are teachers – it has to happen in May or August.  We chose the cooler month here in San Diego…. knowing we’d fry on the beach in August.

We enjoyed our time on a remote island with only 1,500 inhabitants.  We were there for only 5 nights.  It was all we dreamed of – very remote beach with fine flour soft white/pink sand.  Calm turquoise water.  You get the picture. 

 It was life changing.

A couple of days into the trip we took part in an impromptu adventure including a very risky ride in a 1947 Army Jeep – no seatbelts, heck no windows or roll bar either.   It was one of those things that just happened – without thought.  And suddenly I was bumping along in this jeep on an unpaved road, inches from certain death, when I realized I was having fun (kinda like the old days!), but equally freaked out about orphaning my children.

When we came home, we realized how far away we’ve been from fun.  Unprompted, unplanned, unsafe fun.

And we started to talk about how we grew up.

No seatbelts

No carseats

No parents on bike rides into town

Don’t get me wrong.  My parents were strict.  Notoriously strict. 

But that didn’t stop us from having fun.

My dad had his own small airplane. We flew to Florida all the time.  We took a Winnebago and drove from Chicago through Colorado to Lake Powell and then took a houseboat for a week on the lake.  We rafted the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon 13 times (we got hooked!).  Heck, we hiked the Grand Canyon twice and took the mules two other times (North AND South Rim!).   We hiked Havasupai Canyon – and stayed in a Havasupai Indian’s house when we determined we couldn’t make it back out in the same day! 

I distinctly remember

-being stuck on several occasions in the middle of the desert with an overheated car and not enough water for survival. 

-falling on a cactus on a hike and getting more needles in my arm than were in the cactus in the first place.

-bouncing around in the airplane in the middle of a thunderstorm unable to find an airport and puking into a bucket.

- peeing in a large coffee can on the airplane anytime you had to pee since we always flew for 8 hours before stopping for fuel.

-looking at the stars in the desert sky while sleeping on cots – seeing who could find a satellite first, or name a proper constellation.

-making lifelong relationships with other campers.

Then I grew up.  On my own I backpacked through Europe.  Para glided and Canyoned in the Swiss Alps.  Drove across the country and across Baja Mexico(pre drug-wars, but still, those teenage militia guys were everywhere!).  I won’t even tell you the things I did while living near South Central Los Angeles for College!

And Mike – he grew up on BMX bikes, then motocross.  He rode with one buddy up and down all of Baja Mexico.  His family was a camping family.  They were in the desert practically more than they were home.

But for the last 5 years, we’ve been having kids.  For the last 5 years we’ve stuck with a routine of napping and eating and not driving too too far. 

And now we’ve had enough. 

We’re turning over a new leaf!

We've reconfirmed our values and gotten centered about what we want the rest of our life to look like.

We’re going to camp with our kids.

We’re going to take our family on adventures.

We’re going to get away from the “safe” life we’ve created.  The one where we don’t think we’ll get hurt or sick but we also don’t form close friendships with the people around us.

And last weekend, we took a daytrip to get started.

Our friends have a campsite up on Palomar Mountain. They actually lease it so they are able to keep a small structure on their plot with all of their necessities in it.  It makes for an easy trip to go back and forth anytime they want.

We ate like kings.

We played like kids.

We got dirty, stinky, and eaten by mosquitoes (okay, at least I did – 27 on one leg and 39 on the other – I have SWEAT blood!).

 

I didn’t take enough pictures to record it.

But we’ll be going back.

Again and again and again.

The kids can’t wait!

And I’m looking more ideas for where to go to completely let loose and stop following rules!!!

 

Keeping it real! Kathy