Thursday, March 22, 2012

Menu Plan March 19 - 23


The weeks (a month?!) have passed and I have been neglectful of writing here.  I had it all planned out in January in a separate calendar, what to write each week.  Life happened and Lila's eczema kept getting worse and worse and I kept wondering about a "non-steroid cream" solution.  The doctor says she will always have the issues, although she may grow out of it... someday.  I started reading, reading, reading my time consumed with the possibility of healing through our diet.  I have been reading blogs (gleaning recipes), the journey of other moms, information on dairy sensitivities  and books.  Really, the Whole Food Kitchen Online Workshop could not have been better timed for me as most of the recipes are dairy free (and most meat/wheat free as well) focused primarily on eating vegetables whole grains and legumes.  The workshop has changed the way we eat and I am only implementing 2-3 new recipes a week.  The mindset is completely different though, and now I spend the majority of my time in the grocery store in the produce section, and also in the organic section (picking up some hemp milk usually!)  I made salads on the weekend and Tim made a comment when I suggested adding hemp seeds along with the sunflower and pumpkin seeds to his salad (along with peppers, roasted beets and crumbled black bean veggie burgers...).  "I might as well be totally granola!" (Or something to that effect.)  I am more aware.  Not hyper controlling aware, but definitely more aware of the food that nourishes and fuels us.

So we are dairy free at the moment, soon to be wheat free.  Lila's eczema improved tremendously after going dairy free but the past week it has reappeared.  Another book arrived for me at the library today and I am looking forward to reading more on wheat and gluten free.  It makes eating out and eating with friends a bit difficult, yes.  I am working on being able to have food prepared and food to share when we visit friends.  It is a challenge for me!  (Especially since cooking is not one of my favorite pastimes.)  My mindset is changing though, viewing cooking through the lens of food that nourishes and sustains my loved ones.

Another week of food.  I am a bit hesitant to share my menu plan this week as it does not reflect what we have been implementing in our life (very meat heavy as opposed to a vegetable/legume focus).  Ironically, Tim went to the grocery store last week and came home with three huge hams and other boxes of frozen meats.  Was he trying to tell me something?!   

Monday: Spaghetti with ground beef (hormone free from our market) and loaded with veggies
Tuesday: Ham and mashed potatoes with steamed fresh green beans
Wednesday: Tasty rice and beans in whole wheat tortillas (recipe from the course)
Thursday: leftovers
Friday: Charlotte's request - chicken nuggets and french fries (both homemade/baked) and salad
Saturday: something from the course, probably kale based as I have some to use up and green smoothies won't quite use it up!  Maybe the Portobello mushroom. potato, kale and egg recipe.
Sunday: Pancakes?  I loved the quiona ones from the PC website! (I will substitute Bob's Red Mill gluten free flour for regular flour and rice or coconut milk for the cow's milk)

Check our organizing junkie for more menu planning and organizing ideas!

With all of my gabbing about food, here are some pictures portraying our life these days...




Books, books, we read lots and lots!  Dora (definitely not my favorite!), chapter books (fairy books, The Littles), Richard Scarry, and many many others.

Charlotte's first drawing of a person - for her cousin's birthday card!

Our preschool times have been happening when Lila naps, and for a few days we played "fair" (like a carnival?!) which consisted of all of Charlotte's favorite board games including "Sneaky Snake".  Great for number recognition, counting and one to one correspondence.  

Pretend play happens all the time around here, this was Saturday afternoon hair dressing and styling - daddy was the stylist and I had the privileged of getting my hair done too.  (Charlotte styled Daddy's hair!)

Cleaning off our patio table - the weather has been unseasonably warm.  Yesterday we were out in shorts and t-shirts and ate supper outside! 

There are still some snowbanks though!  We thoroughly enjoyed sledding in our backyard this winter, thanks Aunt Trudy for the sleds!

5 comments:

  1. Thank you for the pictures of those beautiful granddaughters. They are so sweet and I see that Charlotte is still wearing her twirly (Christmas) dress. Looking forward to seeing them soon, hopefully April or May. Love you guys!! Mom

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  2. This is our favourite pancake recipe. It's dairy free, super adaptable and soooo yummy! I've made it with sourdough, brown rice flour and coconut flour, and coconut was my personal favourite. Plus they're so easy to throw together :)

    http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/recipes/orange-vegetable-pancakes/

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  3. Thanks for the update:) I love the look at of those pancakes Emily! Pamela, are there any games out there that would be suitable for Eden's age? She really likes to be played with right now and it would be nice to have some new material!

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  4. Love the photos!! Wanted to let you know that I got Charlotte's card in the mail! I loved it, thought it was so funny that there was no message from you guys, just drawings from her!! Tell her thank you for me, it's sitting on top of my bookshelf! Hope to see you guys soon.
    Heather

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  5. Hi Heather! Charlotte... well she is often determined to have just her writing and art in the cards she makes because she wants it to be just from her. So there you go..... we love you though and hope to see you soon as well! I overheard Charlotte in the living room this morning saying something about Auntie Heather... who lives in Halifax and is taking care of Eden! She's got her facts a bit mixed up, but I thought it was cute!!

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