A Favorite Snack: Chreese Dip

A few months ago, my mom found this awesome non-dairy dip for me on one of our trips down to MD.  Whenever I come to visit, she always tries to stock up on whatever vegan food she can find. Isn't she thoughtful? Well, she really scored with this one. The two flavors I've tried are delicious.  I assumed it would be heavily processed with loads of ingredients, but surprisingly the ingredient list on the back was very simple.  Just oatmeal, sesame, coconut oil, nutritional yeast, and some spices.  Wow! I can make this at home (and reduce my purchasing of products packaged in plastic).  When I returned home, I shared this new, yummy discovery with my friend, Christina, who immediately set out to making her own version (Even before I got around to it! That's how awesome and motivated she is.) So, she inspired me to get started on making my own, too, which I've been doing ever since... (except for the day when they were buy 2 get 1 free at Whole Foods. I couldn't resist... the texture of the store bought kind is inevitably better!).  Here's my recipe for a spicy version. Note: I'm not good with measurements.  I just kind of shake the spices in.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup oats (made into powder in blender)
1 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp coconut oil
about 1 tsp. chili powder
some hot sauce
sea salt
1 tbsp nutritional yeast (this gives it the "cheesy" flavor)

Steps:
1. Make oatmeal with the oats. Boil 2/3 cup water then add oats to cook.  Store for a few hours in the fridge. (This helps get a better consistency)
2. Blend everything together.  Add more oil as needed.  That's it!

Kai and I both love this dip.  We usually eat it on toast, crackers, or blue corn chips.  Enjoy!

Monday Moments... and an Eco-Tip

If it wasn't for Kai, I would hardly remember to take my vitamin or give Kai his.  Everyday, without fail, he leads me into the kitchen with his favorite sentence, "Mommy, let's go!", points up to the shelf where the vitamins reside and says, "Mommy, take vitamin, now!"  I'm sure his consistency and determination must come from a strong enjoyment of the strawberry flavor of his "candy" vitamin... but I like to think he just knows mama needs a little reminding sometimes.  


Plastic Bag Eco-Tip

I try my very best to avoid plastic bags at all costs.  I always bring my own grocery bags, produce bags, and bulk food bags to the store or farmer's market, but sometimes they can't always be avoided.  It's usually the bread bags that I end up with. So, when I do find myself with plastic bags, I try to reuse them by bringing them to the store for my produce or for storing veggies in the fridge.  But, I always used to find them so annoying to clean and dry.  No matter what I did, they always seemed to stay wet with little drops of water throughout; and where to put them to dry was always an issue too.  A couple of years ago a friend showed me a great trick.  Simply turn the bag inside out, place a magnet inside, near the bottom of the bag, turn upside down, and attach to side of fridge.  It'll dry in no time.  I guess it kind of seems like a no-brainer, but had someone not shown it to me, I probably wouldn't have thought of it!  Also, this is a good way to put to use those advertisement magnets that sometimes come in the mail.  My grandma gave me an idea to cut them up into smaller magnets.  I made four magnets from one unneeded Domino's magnet, and now I use those ones for my bag drying.

Lemon Broccoli Pasta

Some evenings, preparing dinner can be very challenging. Usually, I wait to start cooking until Graham gets home from work so he can entertain and play with Kai (who, for some reason, always gets a little needy and fussy right around 5:00). But on other evenings, like tonight, when Graham goes to the gym after work, I have to start getting dinner ready before he gets home.  0n these nights, it's best to either have left overs ready to pop in the oven or to make something quick and easy. 


Kai can be a little demanding of my attention at times, so it's difficult to make a dinner with any sort of complexity when I'm on my own. He's not one of those kids who will sit and play quietly near me or in the other room while I do something that doesn't include him.  If my attention wavers from him for too long, he'll be at my feet pleading "Mommy, look me!".  Just the short week we spent alone together while Graham was away on a school trip was quite challenging, especially when it came to meal time.  I realized how difficult it must be for single parents to do it all on their own.  I can completely understand why so many turn to frozen dinners or take-out! 


So, for tonight's dinner I had some plain soba noodles already cooked from the day before.  I decided to turn them and whatever vegetables I had left in the fridge into a pasta dish. And... it turned out pretty good! It was so simple and easy.  I was able to prepare the roux (creamy sauce) in between building a tower with Kai, and I chopped the vegetables at the table while Kai had a snack.  I then let Kai "help" by cleaning up the discarded ends of the broccoli, putting them into a bowl, and dumping it into our compost bag. And throwing the veggies, noodles, and sauce all into a pan to cook, was, of course, super easy. Just FYI- soba noodles are a good source of protein (and broccoli has protein, too!), so you don't need meat in this dish!


Ingredients:
*vegan (or not, your choice) roux (recipe to follow)
*lemon juice (about 1tbsp or more depending on how lemony you like things)
*a couple heads of broccoli (chopped)
*a few stalks of asparagus (diced)
*garlic 
*soba noodles (or any other pasta)


Roux Ingredients:
*approx. 1 tbsp of margarine (Earth Balance) or olive oil
*approx. 1 and 1/2 tbsp of flour
*about 1 cup of liquid ( I used a mixture of almond milk and  veggie broth)
*1 spoonful of miso
*a few sprinkles of nutritional yeast (This isn't essential. If you aren't vegan, I imagine you wouldn't have it on hand. But it is tasty and adds a nice cheesy taste)


Roux Steps:
1. In a small pot on med. low heat, melt margarine (or oil) and flour. Stir about 2-3 minutes. It will condense and begin to thicken.
2. Pour in a little liquid and stir. Then slowly add more liquid and stir.  Do this until desired consistency.. the more liquid the thinner the sauce. 
3. In a separate bowl mix a tbsp of liquid with a tbsp of miso.
4. Add miso mix, nutritional yeast, and lemon juice. Stir.  Set aside.


Recipe Steps:
1. Saute broccoli, asparagus, garlic in olive oil until dark green.
2. Add cooked noodles to pan, and maybe a little more oil.
3. Pour in roux.
4. Done! That's it. So easy!

Try- A Haiku

I've never before

created my own haiku,

but today, I try.

*Inspired by Brandi from Mama Knows It All and her weekly Haiku Link-Up!

The Story of Stuff... and Why I Thrift

My lovely Aunt shared with me this informative you tube video about the process of "stuff". The narrator details, in a very clear, simple, and concise manner, the life cycle of consumer goods.  She discusses such things as how these goods are produced, what toxins they use, how those toxins effect our health and environment, why they are so cheap, and why producing and buying them inadvertently poses serious risks and dangers to impoverished people around the globe.  This video is very eye-opening and extremely relevant.  As consumers, we all need to try our best to be more responsible for the choices we are making.  It's hard, I know.  There is just so much out there, right at our fingertips, staring us in the face everyday.  How could you know that buying that $4.99 plastic radio at Radioshack (an example from the video) could carry so many repercussions for people all over the world and for the planet? There is no label to tell you that.  I know sometimes it seems hopeless, like we are too insignificant to make any lasting changes, but little by little we can make a difference.  We can start by simply paying more attention to what we buy, and asking ourselves, "Do I really need this?"  Don't be daunted when you see that this video is 20 minutes! Just stick with it, it's worth it!


So many of the things discussed in this video, are reasons why I thrift as much as possible.  Whenever there is something I need around the house, I always check out the local Salvation Army before going anywhere else.  There are multiple benefits to shopping there or at Goodwill.  1. Repurposing unwanted "stuff", 2. Keeping "stuff" out of the landfills, 3. Finding cheap hidden treasures, 4. Giving money to a good cause.  Just recently, I needed a new toothbrush holder.. got a beautiful ceramic one at Salvation Army for 1 dollar.  I needed a flower pot for my basil plant... got it for 69 cents. I wanted to get Kai some little pots and pans  for his toy kitchen... got 'em for about 2 dollars, and not plastic ones either.. real ones, just tiny size! Kai needed a pair of summer shoes... got an adorable pair in new condition for $1.79. And just yesterday, I bought Kai his very first mini hot wheels skateboard (new they go for 25 dollars and up) for just 3.99, as well as 3 books in perfect condition for 25 cents each.  These are all convincing enough reasons to get thrifting, aren't they??

Smoothie Juice, Please!

Kai, the forever fussy-eater, does have one continuous love in the way of solid food...and it's his "smoothie juice" or "ice juice" (when it's been frozen into cubes).  Smoothies obviously aren't an original idea or anything, but I do devote A LOT of my time to making them, so I thought they deserved a special blog.  I also just so happened to make one today.  Everyday, without fail, when I ask Kai what he wants to eat, whether it be for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, he always answers "ice juice".  It is, hands down, his favorite thing to eat.  He devours that cube, never stopping to put it down, even though his little fingers must be freezing as he holds it. And I know they are because his hands are always so cold after he eats one. So, because they are requested so often in this house, I have devised a technique to make them as convenient to have on hand as possible. Also, because smoothies are one of Kai's main sources of nourishment, they are jam packed with healthy goodness.  I usually make about one or two blender fulls a week. He always drinks a cup of the smoothie when I first make it and the rest gets poured into the ice cube tray and popped in the freezer.  The smoothies are always changing depending on what I have on hand, but here's an idea of what goes into them.


Smoothie Juice 
-2 ice cubes of mixed veggie juice (usually carrot/celery/cucumber/wheat grass). (I juice a lot at one time and store in an ice cube tray so I don't have to keep juicing every time I make a smoothie.  That juicer is a PAIN to clean!)
-1 banana (sometimes frozen, sometimes fresh)
-strawberries and blueberries (usually frozen, I plan to use fresh fruit once they are in season here)
-apple juice (and any other juice I may have on hand)
-a few leaves of chopped kale and some chopped spinach
-almond (usually homemade) or coconut milk
-molasses
-sometimes 1/2 container of coconut or almond milk yogurt if it happened to be on sale that week


*Most of the fruits (including apple juice) and veggies I use in this smoothie are organic as they are pretty much all on the dirty dozen list.
*I went ahead and purchased a stainless steel ice cube tray since I am always feeding Kai something in the form of an ice cube.  I do my best to avoid BPA at all costs.  They are a little pricey, but definitely a good investment and considering I rarely buy anything new, I thought it was fair.
*After finishing his smoothie juice, Kai must check out his "dirty face" in the bathroom mirror.  He gets such a kick out of himself!

The Ultimate Challenge: A Successful Meal

Kai has never been much of an eater.  He doesn't devour a meal or show interest in a snack the way some young kids do.  Even if he really likes something, he'll have just a few bites and then move on to something else. He's always been more of a cracker and pretzel kind of kid... hold the peanut butter, please.  Of course, every once and a while he will chow down, but more often than not we are pleading with him to take a bite.  But, in accordance with all the research I've done on the subject of picky toddler eaters (and I've done lots), I try not to push the issue too much.  Apparently, they know when they are hungry and when they are not, and it does seem like every time we stop worrying about it, he starts eating.  Alas, I still feel like I spend a large part of my day in the kitchen testing out healthy concoctions or sifting through cookbooks trying to find that magical recipe that will get him happily eating away.  There are so many days when I feel like I'm failing at getting Kai to "pack on the pounds", but every few days or so I have a success in the kitchen, and it sets my mind at ease. When that happens, Kai willingly and happily eats his meal and even asks for "more".  Tonight, at dinner, I even got a "so yummy, yummy, YUMMY" out of him!  And it was just a simple veggie hash, inspired by a free sample we had tried at the farmer's market.  This meal was incredibly easy to make and is definitely not just for kids or vegans.  Everyone will enjoy it, and it can easily be changed or adapted to your liking.  So, here is the winning dish:

Veggie Hash

Ingredients:

1 diced carrot 

3 diced asparagus spears 

1 thinly sliced leek 

some diced bok choy

1/2 block of chopped tempeh (pre-boiled to remove bitterness and marinated in soy sauce)

garlic powder

soy sauce

sesame oil and olive oil

Steps:

1. Start with a few splashes of sesame oil and a little olive oil in pan.  

2. Saute leeks until soft, then add carrots and asparagus.

3. Next add tempeh. (I never really time any of this, I just start adding ingredients when it feels right)

4. Add bok choy.

5. Sprinkle in some garlic powder and soy sauce.

6. Cook until it tastes to your liking.

We ate it with some quinoa and it sure was yummy.  There was only enough just for Kai and I, which was perfect considering Graham is out of town (you can expect a future blog about my week long experiment with "single parenting").  If it had been the three of us, I would have cooked the whole block of tempeh and probably added another carrot and a few more asparagus spears.  Now that I think about it, I wish I had done that anyway so we could have had some leftovers!