I just uploaded 225 photos from my camera onto the computer. So now what are the chances I ever get around to doing anything with them on the blog?!?
I have been so swamped with this distance learning life (and backyard remodel) that I haven’t had a spare second to touch base here on the blog.
But I’d be lying if I said I missed it. I haven’t missed it. I haven’t even had a second to think about it!
Also our internet can barely handle two kids on zoom all day so I haven’t even been able to connect to the internet for any of the limited “free” time I have. Free time!! HA! What a joke.
I live the weirdest existence right now. I know many can relate. Isolated and lonely and yet so so busy with the day to day management of my kids’ lives. Trying to keep us all sane in the midst of a pandemic that keeps us away from others while the horrible smoke filled air quality keeps us pent up inside. It’s…not the best.
But now I’m going to focus on the things I do have control over. My response. The vibes I put out. Not that I’m going to fake a happy facade. But there is enough negative stuff bombarding us every minute of the day. We could all use a break.
And since the main area I have success in is the kitchen…here are some of the meals we have been eating since I last popped in here…a month ago. 😛
Salmon is such a treat!
I pan fried it in coconut oil and tamari and served it with a saute of green stuff (including bok choy and snap peas) and wild rice. I think snap peas are the best stir fry veggie there is. They still have a nice crunchy pop to them providing much needed texture amongst the other cooked veggies.
Ok, so rather than try to go back to September, I’m going to start in the present and work my way back.
This weekend I prepped a bunch of banana pancakes for the kids. Having breakfast ready to go is essential because as soon as they finish eating I can go workout and they can play until school time.
We reconvene after my shower for our pre-school ritual – in which I go over la fecha and we discuss el dia de la semana, el mes, el año, la estacion, and anything else I want to review; after which we read a book (or a chapter from a book). Sometimes we do this for 15 minutes, sometimes we bust it out in 5, but it has come to be something that they know automatically signifies the start of the “school” day and then they log onto their zoom calls by 8:30 am.
Which is when I try to do all. the. things. Including eating breakfast and caffeinating. Subsequently, I have taken to eating energy ball/cookie type breakfasts because they allow my to do laundry or clean the house or assist with computer/tech/schoolwork/etc while I eat.
I used this recipe for the oatmeal bites above. I love them so much I now make them without the brewers yeast.
The no bake peanut butter balls below still need some tweaking though.
It’s similar to the TJs recipe on the back of the bag of ground flax, but I added shredded coconut so I increased the liquid ingredients too. They taste awesome, but were a total pain to roll into balls so maybe I need to try different proportions next time.
Before I sign off, here is one “recipe” that I came up with on the fly that was really great. Kyle had been out of town for the week so I had been lazily making leftovers and random freezer stuff into meals to avoid going to the store (per usual), so this was created using basically every remaining produce item in the house.
First I massaged half a bag of broccoli slaw and spinach and 1 head of steamed cauliflower in a tahini dressing (1/2 cup tahini, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp warm water, 1 tbsp maple syrup, 1 tsp salt).
Next I roasted sweet potatoes (2 sweet potatoes, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp salt) for 15 minutes at 400 degrees F.
For carbs and protein I used both shredded chicken and chickpeas.
Then I combined it all and added salt and pepper to taste!
You could easily combine steps if you don’t have leftover chicken and cauli on hand like I did (roasting/baking everything together when you are making the sweet potatoes). You could also keep this vegetarian by omitting the chicken and swapping in a crunchy nut or seed topping (ie sunflower seeds or almonds).
Happy October everyone!
