Mother's Day

Low key , quiet sort of day yesterday. Highlights seemed to be sick boy, haircut, attack of pollen and gathering of supplies. It was Mothers Day, and the guys made/finished breakfast off for me

Overnight oats are so easy anyone can to them in the morning. Start the night before by boiling 4 cups of water with a bit of tried fruit, stir in 1 cup steel cut oats, remove from the heat and cover overnight.In the morning add whatever additions you wish ( this time it was chopped apple) and heat for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Quick, healthy and delicious !

Bob had two masses and I spent the morning making lists for the science store, rethinking curriculum, checking on Nick the sick and tinkering with making some Cream of whatever Soup for lunch.


Seen here with an open faced grilled cheese hummus sandwich and banana. To make the soup take 2 cups of medicinal grade homemade chicken and herb stock, 3 chopped onions, 3 diced carrots and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 15 minutes and add 1 cup frozen broccoli and 1/2 cup frozen peas. Cover and cook another 10 minutes. Remove from heat and take an immersion blender and puree ( or let cook and process in a blender). Season to taste- I mixed in a spoon of peanut butter because it just seemed to be what was needed. Any veggies you have could be substituted for the ones mentioned.

After lunch we headed out for necessary errands, and other fancy stuff. Once we came back home, The Family of Man embarked on a hair cutting project. Daddy makes haircuts fun it seems through doing silly things to the hair in the process. Like this :

Haircuts for Nick are a major thing( Because of Autism haircuts are a bombardment of sensations has him hysterical most times and often I am the one who has to do it). Bob giving him a haircut and Nick smiling through it was a better Mothers Day Present than anything that could be sold in stores.

Dinner was spaghetti with Italian sausage and a simple salad of greens, sliced tomatoes and pumpkin seeds. Not glamorous but quick, easy and using items from my pantry and freezer.

Not sure how things will go today- Nick has been coughing and last night began to sound like he was losing his voice and complaining that it really hurt. I spent the evening sneezing and having my voice cut out due to the ride out in the lovely pollen yesterday. It seems that everything is blooming about a month early here, the blossoms are lasting longer due to the cooler temps and as a result this cold is hitting me harder than usual. There is improvement , but it disapears the minute I set foot outside right now. Local honey better work quicker !!!

Peanut soup, pesto and weigh in

Good day as far as school and exercise were concerned. We did 2 sessions of walking, spent time with weights( non traditional kinds called cans and raw fruit in bags) and moved through the days lessons without serious incident. It's nice to have a day that is an even keel ! Friday means the end to the rhythm of the main week and into the pace of the weekend. Okay, for me it is just grocery shopping and errands, but it is different ! After our breakfast of oatmeal and our lunch of split pea soup with veggies and hummus, , the plan was to make yet an0other soup- this time a twist on an old favorite. I was going to make Peanut Soup. Normally I woulod make it with 4 cups of chicken stock, a can of solid packed pumpkin, 2 stalks chopped celery , one chopped onion and a cup of peanut butter- thick, yummy, cheap but could be made better. I came across this recipe and decided I HAD to try it out . Very glad I did, as it was heavenly . I paired it with open faced grilled cheese sandwiches with cilantro pesto. Cilantro has a possible connection with cheleation( removal of metal toxins in the body ). It also has a reputation to be an anti-inflammatory( reduces swelling in the body), helping to lower cholesterol and more, so along with a good taste it can do your body good. My main reason for choosing this recipe was that I had a ton of it in my fridge as well as in my freezer !

Peanut soup

1 medium butternut squash peeled and cubed
1 cup broccoli florets
1/2 cup lentils
1 medium beet -- shredded
2 sweet potatoes, chopped
1 small zucchini (cut into chunks)
1/2 cup raw cashews
12 whole pitted dates
1 apple, chopped
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup peanut butter

Simmer first 10 ingredients, for 45 minutes or until vegetables are very
tender. Blend all ingredients with immersion blender until smooth and
creamy.Add peanut butter , heat through and serve.

Cilantro CHELATION PESTO

4 cloves garlic
1/3 cup Brazil nuts (selenium)
1/3 cup sunflower seeds (cysteine)
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds (zinc, magnesium)
2 cups packed fresh cilantro (Chinese parsley) (vitamin A)
2/3 cup olive oil
4 tablespoons lemon juice (vitamin C)
2 tsp dulse powder
Sea salt to taste
Process the cilantro and oil in a blender until the coriander
is chopped. Add the garlic, nuts and seeds, dulse and lemon juice and mix
until the mixture is finely blended into a paste. Add a pinch of sea
salt to taste and blend again.

And being Saturday, it is time for another weigh in. One thing that I have succeeded in doing is restoring my fertility , and I am once again falling into a pattern of a gain each month with ovulation. Nothing to be done about it but applaud that it is less than it was when I was younger.It happened when I lost 110 lbs to get pregnant- I went from having an erratic cycle to becoming as regular as clockwork and conceiving. The nutrient rich diet has given my cycle rebirth - an indicator that some really deep level things are happening in my body and weight is just not the focus. Truly balanced health is, so i am not at all bummed about the gain. This too will pass.

Me- UP 2.8
Nick- DOWN 0.2
Bob- DOWN 1.6 ( his body is really responding to the eating, and he LOOKS like he has lost much more and seems to have more energy)

Domestic Violence - or is it violins ?

My home is trying to kill me !

I have come to this conclusion after events of this week. There is a joke that says that housework , if done correctly can kill you. I think my home environment got wind of this and is testing out the theory.

The morning started out with a huge sigh of relief that this was not going to be yet another day of cooking , clean up and other household tasks. It was going to be MY day - well okay, my day to focus on schooling and exercise. We are working with a really interesting unit study for the science portion of our school and we would be able to follow all the "rabbit trails" we came across without having to worry about time needed for other subjects plus he flow of the day. Nice feeling in that.


breakfast was fruity oats with pumpkin seeds. It is amazing how much sweet is given to oats when you cook fresh fruit in the water for a few minutes. A pear, an apple and a spoon ful of raisins make the oats extra yummy ! Pumpkin seeds are a good source of zinc- something that helps ward off colds, protects men from prostate cancer and other good things.

So we began school and had such a fun, rewarding day that we had a late lunch that we had to force ourselves to stop for. No reflection on the lunch but wetland ecology was just so much more interesting !
The 15 bean soup, veggies and hummus was worth the break though!

The plan for the afternoon was to head to the woods for a nice long walk once Bob got home. It was a beautiful day and I was itching to get out there. We finished school, got cleaned up and then Bob came home and we grabbed our shoes to get out the door. It was then i learned that I was not going to go anywhere because my house is trying to kill me. Monday while doing one of many clean up jobs I caught my big toe on either the bottom of the closet door or pedal on the garbage can and I cut all the skin off the top of it. I remember whacking my foot, saying ouch but needing to move on to complete things. I did not notice how bad I injured muyself till I sat down to do the Wii with Nick and he pointed out my bloody toe. So I cleaned it up, put a bandage on it and went about my barefoot way. This was the first time I put a shoe on since the scrape, and putting a show on the foot made me VERY aware of the cut and it's severity . So I took my shoes off and went to go try to find other footware, only to discover I have none. My son's flip flops are too big, my husband does not own any and it is too cold and the parking lot is too filled with broken glass and oil spills to go barefoot. So I was grounded, and really disappointed ! We stayed home and played with the Wii, while I decided that the house is definitely trying to kill me.

Dinner was one of the better crockpot recipies I have- Italian sausage soup with greens. Take a pound of italian sausage and cut it into coins. Toss in the crock pot and slice 3 cloves of garlic and add. Pour in 4 cups chicken stock and a can of tomato paste and cook on low for 4-8 hrs. Half hour before serving turn the crockpot up to high and add 1/2 cup small shell pasta ( I was out so I added 8 oz of whole wheat rotini so that the remaining 2 ounces in the bag would stop falling out everytime I opened the cabinet door and create either dishwater noodle soup or Crunchy floor) and 6 cups chopped greens - I used rainbow chard and arugula this time. I paired this with a sandwich of hummus spread on a Deli flat and a string cheese sliced into coins and cooked at 350 for 10 minutes. Top with fresh spinach- fast and yummy !

After dinner we watched The Biggest Loser ( I am getting so bored with that show !) and the next episode of 19 Kids and Counting. I felt off because I had not really gotten any serious exercise in for the day , and my body was missing the endorphins ! I am going to baby my toe till the weekend, and in the mean time go back to the hallway workout here. At least I can walk the always in my stocking feet and my toe will develop a happy, protective scab so i can once again wear shoes !