Camping! notes from the trip...

SOOOOOO
heading up shawn and i realised that we forgot pretty much all of the yummy food! What??!? but thankfully had enough to tide us over anyway. and we ate a ton of marshmallows!


here is the scoop:

MEALS
cereal and scrambled eggs for breakfast - FORGOT THE EGGS CEREAL WAS BREAKFAST
easy chili - frozen, to be thawed and eaten 2nd day - YEAH THIS WAS GOOD! CUT UP AVOCADO TO GO WITH.
organic hot dogs from dufferin grove farmers market & beans from rural quebec bean restaurant called "la binerie". - FORGOT THE HOT DOGS, STOPPED FOR YVES VEGGIE DOGS EN ROUTE TO CAMPSITE, THE BEANS WERE EATEN AT TWO MEALS
egg salad sandwiches and canned soup - THESE SANDWICHES HELD US OVER THE SNACK ATTACKS ON DAY ONE

SNACKS
nacho chips with salsa and guacamole - FORGOT THE SALSA, NEVER BOTHERED TO MAKE THE GUAC.
cut up fruit & veg - FORGOT
large bag o' smartfood - ATE THIS FIRST DAY ON BEACH
quinoa banana berry loaf - muffin recipie baked in loaf pan - easier to transport - FORGOT
a few homemade larabars  - FORGOT
also planning a trip to the campground snackbar for a grilled cheese here - NO GRILLED CHEESE BUT HELLO DILL PICKLE CHIPS!!!


we are going camping again next month, i think we have learned our lesson...


also i THINK my kids are slowing down on the snacking front? did i just jinx myself?

Camping!

tomorrow we go camping for the second time ever with kids. last year was good and bad. daughter loved it while son cried pretty much the entire weekend. ROUGH. thinking/hoping this year will be better. here is the plan for food...

MEALS
cereal and scrambled eggs for breakfast
easy chili - frozen, to be thawed and eaten 2nd day
organic hot dogs from dufferin grove farmers market & beans from rural quebec bean restaurant called "la binerie". plan to eat this awesome meal twice - fire cooked hotdogs YES!
egg salad sandwiches and canned soup

SNACKS
nacho chips with salsa and guacamole
cut up fruit & veg
large bag o' smartfood
quinoa banana berry loaf - muffin recipie baked in loaf pan - easier to transport
i also made a few homemade larabars but then my brand new (cheap) food processor died on the second batch. note these bars are KILLER good will post the recipe when we get back
also planning a trip to the campground snackbar for a grilled cheese here and there MAYBE an ice cream cone too

looks like they are calling for thunderstorms for day one of camping - perfect. will let you know how the camping adventure goes...and what food notes i will have for next year's trip.

Random Parenting Book Recommendations

this is not really anything to do with cooking, but i promised my sister i would make her a list of my faves just in case she ever wanted to do some prep work (no pressure buddy!!). i will update this list as i find more books i wish i had read before i had kids!!

Feeding The Whole Family a must, i mentioned this in my first post i think. each recipe includes a baby friendly version so you can include the littlest one in the family meal - just say no to custom meals for kids, make them eat what you eat! super healthy yummy whole food recipes and lots of health food info too.











How To Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk lays it out real simple. i like.













Buddism for Mothers not saying i am by any means close to a Buddhist, but just reading this calms me down. now if i could only apply to my life perhaps the yelling will one day cease...












Simplicity Parenting from a Waldorf perspective.

Free-Range Kids love this idea. let the kids be. worry less.

Lazy Time Lime Water

cut 2-3 slices of lime.
put in pitcher of water.
place in fridge.
cool your self down.

easier than lemonade & just as refreshing. limes just make everything better.

ps: i am so friggin overheated/sticky/grumpy. but i still love you summer!

pps: in other news i got a little food processor today so i can make faux powerbars out of dates and nuts and other yummy stuff. this means i can eat/continue to thrive with out cooking once i get a batch of these whipped up. party!

GENIUS Snack Solution

OK so while the kids were away for a week shawn and i had an AMAZING time. one of the highlights - no joke - was giving our fridge a deep clean (finally!! and thank you shawn!). i decided to then assign the bottom shelf to kids snacks. now if/when the kids are hungry they can go to the fridge by themselves and take a snack. the only rule is that they have to take a different snack each time. here is what i have right now for snacking:


- bowl of chick peas
- pint of blueberries
- bowl of watermelon chunks
- cheesestrings
- leftover pasta from dinner
- bowl of grapes
- hummus and mini pitas


* and that rule is actually working. eva goes for a single grape then 5 minutes later a chunk of watermelon or a handful of chick peas. very cute. seriously this is a life changing solution (for me at least) that takes a very little amount of time to prep and i think it makes the kids feel all independent and kinda grownup. also very cute.

Yummy Drink for Damn Hot Days

from the weelicious website. i am sure this would be good with any other juicy berry or fruit and would be fun to make with the kids. mmmm!

Blackberry Agua Fresca (Serves 4)

1 1/2 Cups Blackberries, rinsed (or Frozen Blackberries, defrosted)
4 Cups Water
2 Tbsp Agave
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice

pour blackberries, water and agave in a blender and puree
strain mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a pitcher, i'd say this is skippable if you don't really care about pulp, teeny seeds in your drink and are feeling lazy.
stir in the lemon juice
Refrigerate until icy cold

Coconut Cherry Fro Yo...yo.

i am totally reposting this from smitten kitchen because i need to make this. my mom just dropped off a basket of fresh niagara cherries so i could really pull this recipe off - and eat it before the kids come home... (even if i have sworn off the dairy due to the fact that it makes me feel totally insane AND more importantly i do not have an ice cream maker - whatever. maybe i can just freeze this right? like what is so special about an ice cream maker?? perhaps i can just google that question for myself and report back).


Coconut Pinkcherry Yogurt
Adapted from The Perfect Scoop
Makes about 1 quart
3 cups Greek-style yogurt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3/4 cup cherries, pits removed and roughly chopped
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk


Mix the yogurt, sugar, almond extract, cherries and coconut milk. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Refrigerate 1 hour.


Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.


**filed under things i want to make one day....soon!!

Kids Are Away - NO COOKING!!

the kids are off to grandma's cottage for a week!!!

it's a cooking holiday - one of the best things i have ever experienced. the peace and mental clarity that i have on day two is unreal. if i ever win a lottery i am hiring a personal chef asap. i think the world would be a better place if i didn't have to cook food. straight up.

our big plan is to not cook anything all week. don't worry i promise we will not whither away. shawn and i will be eating cookies and popcorn all week and it will be awesome.

* we went out for dinner last night and i almost exploded from fullness. shawn thinks it is due to the fact there were no children to share food with, spill drinks, run after and interrupt my normal speed eating.

AHHH YEAH!

http://www.whatthefuckshouldimakefordinner.com/

amazing.