Grub

Common Lunch

I have posted before about our vegan lifestyle around here and how it all came about. This post is a little update on the grub that fills our tummies. Starting out on this vegan journey is hard, no doubt about it. Like most things I guess, we were idealistic about what it would all look like and how great we would feel. But then after the first two weeks of meal plans were eaten up we started thinking... 'what now? How do we cook tofu 10 different ways? Do we really even like tofu? Remember cheese?'

The big thing for us in the beginning was the recipe learning curve... we had to avoid some common staples and learn some new tricks in the kitchen. Also, an unexpected issue (for Josh especially) was trying to feel "really full" after meals. I guess that whole post-eating stupor had become the norm around here after a good steak. When you aren't eating meat, it takes a greater volume of food to fill you up. We also discovered that variety was key to being happy eaters. PB &J is vegan, but you obviously can't survive on the stuff, or at least we can't.

So here is where we are now: we are not 100% vegan. We now fit into the vegetarian category, but we play around with a lot of vegan dishes and I honestly do prefer serving them. So although we want to stay away from dairy, its still incorporated into my cooking. However we don't drink milk, it just makes the kids tummies feel icky.. which is what got us thinking vegan in the first place. We really enjoy rice or almond milk,and Josh and I use soy for our lattes... rice just doesn't do it for us in the foam department.

We use vegan butter, tofu, etc and grub on heaps of fruit and veggies. Our food is yummy and simple. We don't eat any eggs,and we still don't eat any meat, at least at home, but if its being served through the loving hospitality of a friend or family member we are all over it.

To fill up my hardworking hubby I research lots of filling recipes and that's where the following comes in... this is our new fav, totally yummy, totally vegan: THAI PIZZA Thanks to Renae for this recipe. My buddy Allison thinks it would be good with chicken on top too. For more ideas on healthy eating and a killer spinach lasagna recipe, check out Mandy's blog!


Thai Pizza

Thai Pizza

Ingredients
pizza dough
carrots
green onions
cilantro
bean sprouts

Peanut Sauce
(Your favorite peanut sauce can be substituted here, but we follow a basic satay recipe)
2 T. vegetable oil
1-2 c. peanut butter
2-3 T. soy sauce
1-2 cloves minced garlic
2-3 T. honey

Heat the oil in a small pot and add in the minced garlic until fragrant. Whisk in the peanut butter, soy sauce and honey until combined and a creamy texture. Our measurements are leave room for your creativity because we just add the ammount that looks right!

-Bake your favorite pizza dough recipe (we use a breadmaker for our dough, but have heard that Trader Joe's is great too)
-After it is cooked to a golden hue, layer it with peanut sauce and top with the sliced veggies. Drizzle any remaining peanut sauce over the top and serve.
This is highly addictive, crunchy and filling!

Proof

Hurray for pictures! I finally got some of our photos off of Josh's computer and onto my laptop.... so without further adeiu...here is the proof that we actually do have a two month old!

Sloppy...

So, I tried to add new wallpaper to the blog and have no idea what I am doing. So, its going to look like this until Josh can fix it...just so you all know this whole sloppy business isn't coming from him. He's a consumate professional you know.

Random Happenings

I'm awake at midnight and really should be sleeping,but decided to post to my blog instead!!!

- I'm reading a book of essays on Paris and am completely facinated. I'm convinced its the greatest way to travel in the days of nurturing young kiddos. Did you know excersise as we know it in the US is pretty non-existent there? Can anyone with some real knowledge of France confirm this? I am considering a diet of chocolate and wine to help my potato shaped body get whipped into shape!

-I am consumed with planning for next school year... what our days will look like, what books we will use, what classes we will participate in at the homeschool co-op...please pray that I would be tender to the leading of the Lord throughout this process. Josh and I have made all major decisions already (this is going to be a topic of a later post) but the details are falling together now.

-Josh's business is blowing my mind. I am so amazed to be married to a man who was courageous enough to begin his own company and create a life for us that is full of passion as he works doing what he loves. Not only that, the boy is driven! He is a huge inpiration to me as he lives a life that is alive and full, from a place of contentment even among sixteen hour days. And he still rocks it out as a hubby and dad. He is really my hero. He just hired 2 new employees, so the 16 hour stuff should slow down a bit pretty soon... whoo-hoo!

- Halle and Maia are turning the living room into a gymnastics studio as they practice their routines for their gym's "June Jubilee" show next month. Its pretty adorable...

-Jones has a double ear infection and couldn't be more polite about it...asking for ibuprofen with heaps of sweetness and thanking us for water, ear drops,etc. He's been so cuddly, I will secretly miss this time when he is back to full speed.

- Lael is doing great. She is seriously the cutest baby in the world. I am not exaggerating one bit here. I've not posted anything about her medical issues, but she has been having seizures and we are heading to Children's for some further testing. We feel very blessed by the awesome medical attention she has received and are thrilled with our pediatric neurologist at Children's. He was the Dr. that finally gave me some answers about on-going medical issues about 10 years ago... so it couldn't be a better fit. I will post more as news comes down the wire, but please pray that all goes well in the next week. My momma heart is a little nervous for the anesthesia she has to undergo for her MRI...

-I am currently taking applications from teenage boys (or girls if they have the gumption) to till my backyard this weekend so I can plant hydro-seed... any takers? Pizza will be served.

- Cloth diaper update: Wow, is all I can say. I love them.

Hairy Man

Just to make everyone feel like an awesome mom this mother's day, I decided to post a picutre of Jones and his super hairy arms. This is obviously an example of the excellent care and supervision he receives from me everyday. I'm especially moved by how proud he is of his manliness in these photos.

Happy Bums

There have been several blog posts rolling around in my mind the last few weeks, but I can't seem to actually put them into words... still working on exactly what I want to say (Can anyone tell I have some slight issues with perfectionism?). In the meantime, I decided to write about baby bottoms... lucky you!

When I had my first baby, cloth diapering wasn't even on my radar. But by the time my second rolled around I really wanted to give it a try. Josh and I purchased Fuzzi Buns and although I liked using them, at the time it seemed like alot of work to have so much extra laundry. I got a little lazy and decided that for my sanity at the time I needed to give them to a friend and just use disposables. Now with four kids, I am one with the laundry room... because let's face it, if I'm not hanging out there everyday, things get ugly pretty quickly around here.

Since Lael was born I have wanted to give cloth diapers another try. Josh has been slow to convince because he was worried about the extra work for me, but the clincher came last week at Costco. Math people, its all about the math.

2 children in diapers at $35 per month each of Costco diapers = $70
Wipes from Costco= $16
Damage to the planet= we don't even want to know, but its got to be heaps right?
VS.
14 cloth diapers with inserts + doublers for overnight at $17.95 each
20% off Mother's Day special factored in takes off $2.69 per diaper....
To be used forever and ever = pretty much a whole lot less!

We decided to go with the bum genius brand this time around because of this incredible feature: they adjust from newborn size to toddler with cutie little snaps!!! That's right... Jones and Lael can both wear them. They are cute too. We decided white is a bit boring and so we got the lime green, light blue, yellow and pink. They are soft and toasty in the winter and will wick away moisture in the summer. They wash SOOO easily as well: no soaking required. Just rinse, wash, rinse, plop in dryer, that's it.

I know it seems silly, but I almost cried when Jones told me " like it mama, like it" when I put his first one on him today. We will begin potty training him this summer (even though he already turned 2,its my style to just let kids be naked through this process and that doesn't happen easily in the winter months around here) so I know its not a long time for him to wear these new diapers,but it was just so nice to put something comfy on him today. Hooray for happy bums!

UNDER CONSTRUCTION!

You may have noticed some interesting changes in the look of this blog since yesterday... that is because my sweet web-designer husband is fooling around with it...exploring the html code that lies behind the scenes and mixing up the formating and colors for me. Since he does this in his free time, it will probably look kind of quirky for a little while before it settles into an ultra cool style. So, bear with us and enjoy the changes that may come along!

Late Easter

So, Easter has come and gone but I neglected to post some cutie pictures for the grandmas (and lets face it,for me to share cute pictures!!!). Since Passover is this weekend, I thought the timing was semi-appropriate! So, here are the belated pictures of my sweet children. Sorry there are no pictures of Lael, at the time she was only 12 days old and I was snuggled inside with her copping out on all the egg hunting fun!
P.S. My favorite picture is the one of Grandma Jan sticking her tongue out for the camera... I think we have some old pictures of her doing this at about age 15 too!

Nectar

So, I realized lately that I feed my kids a lot of sugar... I love to bake and to smother their otherwise healthy flaxseed waffles with syrup every morning. There has been considerable guilt about this on my part, but then I consider: "hey... I have 4 kids and they are so much happier with slurpy, syrupy waffles at 7am, so what the heck." I was fairly resigned to continue this pre-diabetic breakfast feast until I read Jodi's blog about Agave Nectar (otherwise known as : fruit of the gods). You have got to read all the information she has there about how this kind of sugar is actually good for you, as far as sugar can be good for you, of course...

Now I am happy to report that my children are receiving Agave Nectar on their waffles and they haven't even noticed the swap! This was highly unexpected as my children notice the ever so subltle differences between regular or light vanilla soy milk. Score one for me! And please don't mention this post to them if you bump into them at breakfast time.

Our Sweet Garden

We dedicated our Lael Harue last Sunday. Sitting in our living room, surrounded by my parents, my sister Julie and her husband Ryan and my sweet nephew Zeke. Our good friends Dan and Allison were here with their boys, Zeke and Reed as well. It was a sweet moment in time that I have been replaying in my mind all week, just relishing...

Josh shared about Lael's name (which is Hebrew for "of God"), annointed her with oil and asked me to share a vision that we have for all of our daughters before praying over little Ellie (her official nickname).

We believe so passionately in the importance of having our home be a vibrant place of life, creativity, learning,and relationships. We have a purpose for the connections that take shape within these walls and what happens when we head out from them into the wide open world! We are also passionate about the beauty of femininity and in the calling God has placed on women to be beautifying sources of help and support.

We love the image of the wife in the Song of Solomon, where she is described as a walled garden full of splendor and beauty, protected and preserved by the wall, which is not restrictive, but rather lovingly and carefully guarding her. We see Lael (and our other daughters) as a beautiful garden. They are to be treasured and nourished,watered and tended with all the energy a watchful gardener can muster. We asked our family to join Josh and I in our role as Lael's garden wall; we asked them to help guard and protect her sweet fragrance, her innocence, her purity...her heart. We closed our time by singing "The Lord Bless You and Keep You" all together... it was glorious.

Our Sweet Garden... our sweet girl, we are so very blessed to love her and bring her before our God.