Mason Jar Salad: A Creativity and Health Fist-Bump.

I got this idea from another blog, and wanted to try it myself. There's an excess of mason jars in the house, and as long as it's not mid-summer (canning season!) I usually have a few out to use and experiment with.

If you haven't already read my Trucking post, you should know that I'm in the position of needing to be extra creative with making healthy meals for my traveling husband. Between his food preferences, storage options, and time away, it's usually basic fare. 

Thankfully, he is gracious and doesn't mind the same food each day while he's on the road. For his vegetables, I usually just pack a large container of either green beans or carrots: easy to eat without a mess. Still, I'm always on the look-out for ideas to add for my meal vault. 

Let's try this here salad in a jar:

~Bear in mind I usually make a weeks worth of meals at a time, so I'm doing seven of these babies. Four for Travis, three for me. It's easier to eat well when worthwhile food has been prepared. Gives less opportunity for excuses and temptation, from which I use all the help I can get!~

Set out the ingredients all at once, so you're not dashing back and forth.

I'm loving my twist on jar lids by the way; bought here on Amazon. 

Pour in whatever dressing you'd like first; this keeps the veggies from spoiling. 

I'm tossing in some olive oil (so good), red wine vinegar, as I have bad taste memories of white from previous morning sickness, and Braggs liquid aminos, which should speak for itself. 

Then chop the veggies. I'm going to layer carrots, green peppers, and beets next. Beets are new to our diet, as I'm trying to add more color.

I didn't cut the pieces too small; remember, you're trying to layer and keep things fresh and out of the dressing. 

I might have been motivated by these healthy mason jars to make a small lunch of my own.

Then add whatever healthy goodness is on hand. We're avoiding nuts and dried fruit at the moment while healing our teeth, so it's a few shakes of Nutritional Yeast  and ground flax seed  on top of the lettuce. Just used up my Chia  seeds in my last batch of mason jar oatmeal. Sad. 

When you're ready to eat, either snag a bowl and dump it out, or shake the jar and dig in. 

 Simple, tasty, and husband-approved. 

The Perfect Family?

This past week, I went to the grocery store with my youngest for some Mama-Cedric time, also known as What You Forgot To Buy Before Dinner.  

Not at the store that moment, but a successful carry shot nonetheless.

Let me be clear: I enjoy seeing people smile at my babies. I would rather people be excited and affectionate towards babies (and perhaps make me uncomfortable with their friendly intrusiveness) than be neutral or annoyed. It's not always the case, but to me it's an attitude of celebrating life. Or, at least, that's what I was told by a friend after wanting to smack a cashier's hands away from my hugely pregnant belly a couple of years ago. I still might not let people touch my stomach, but I have grown to appreciate their enthusiasm. 

ahem. 

back on track.

ish?

As we cruised around, singing to the store radio and gurgling at one another, an older man came up to me and haled my son. The usual 'hello, look at you!' and 'what a friendly baby' and then

 'now all you need is a sister'.

 Then he wandered away. 

I assume, he wasn't trying to be negative.

I assume, he was being friendly and enthusiastic about growing families. 

I'm just wondering: 

is it so bad that he has a brother instead? 

It's not so much this kind older gentleman in particular as it is the mindset that I've experienced many times over the last 14 months: as soon as we found out we were having a second boy. In addition to generous congratulations, we also received a lot of comments similar to these: 

'

You'll just have to try again for that girl!

Hopefully you won't have a third boy.

Will you keep having children until you have one of each?

The funny thing was, it seemed to be completely normal to say this to us. 

Now, I'd love to have a girl. I'm actually worried she'll end up being like me and we'll drive each other insane, but I'd love to have more children with my husband, and if we have a girl, for the win, I can't wait to see who she is.

I'll be honest: I want to use my saved clothes and toys and barbies and that silly pink tent that makes tucking in the sheets an absolute nightmare but is so cool to an eight-year old girl. I want to share make-up tips and go camping and use glitter without being Superman and raise a daughter of God in all the complexity that He created her to be.
Just know that if we have six more boys, I will also be pretty stoked. 

So why the push for us to forget the awesomeness of having two boys and immediately begin thinking of getting another in the mix? 

Perhaps the mindset of most people has become a bit too quota-oriented. At least, in the case of children. For the workplace and perhaps other areas, (cooking! I need seven loaves of chocolate banana nut bread!) that's one way to measure productivity. I'm not smashing the idea in terms of goals. I am, however, cheerfully stomping on the toes of the 'perfect family' concept. 

One of each? If that's what you'd like, and that's what you got, congratulations. God has blessed you with children. Awesome!

Two of each? more blessings.

Two of one and one of the other? more. 

Four of one and three of the other? Six of one? and people start giving me the

 'you obviously haven't heard about conserving resources, realistic child-rearing expenses and planetary overpopulation' look. 

O, sorry, Didn't we fight a war over selective breeding a while ago? 

This isn't me bashing anyone who has said this; there's no way for me to know what their motivations were unless I ask them, and I wouldn't bother. I'd rather take the congratulations. 

I'm just sitting here after checking on my boys snoozing in their rooms, and standing there for a while listening to their breathing.

So happy to have them.

That's all. 

Spiced Hot Chocolate

Tonight, I find myself in need of some comfort food.

I want chocolate.

Instead of going out and buying (and eating) a bag of Hershey Kisses--it has, sadly for my waist line and goal of health, been done--I will make myself a small smackerel of hot chocolate.
note to self: limit watching Winnie The Pooh with Jesse for a bit, it's starting to show.

 Measure your milk in your mug, then pour into the saucepan. 

This ensures you don't make too much. I did not do this. 

I did, however, use raw milk, which somewhat mitigates my earlier failing. 

Most recipes call for semi-sweet chocolate chips. If I keep those at home, I will eat them. Know your weaknesses. Unsweetened cocoa powder is not so tempting. 2 spoonfuls 

Sugar is your own prerogative. Tonight I added 2 small spoonfuls of sugar, but I might try stevia, xylitol, or honey  next time. 

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 

 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, or 1 drop cinnamon oil for ya'll essential oil users.

 Whisk and heat, baby. Whisk and heat. 

Attempt to pour into mug.

Fail. 

Clean up the unsurprising mess and add a Peppermint stick or 1 drop of Peppermint oil, if desired. 

Maybe some whipped cream and pink sprinkles. 

Why not, it's February 1st.

Now, if only I could watch Chocolat, things would be perfect. 

I have, however, a manly man waiting to read me the next chapter in the Lord of the Rings so I can inevitably fall asleep to the sultry sound of his voice.

Not too shabby.

Frugal Meal of the day: Chicken

Weekend days are cooking days. Travis leaves Monday mornings for his trip, and we're working on sending him with enough food to avoid fast-food restaurants.

This week, Chicken was on sale. Hurray! 

As it's a weeks worth of meals, I tend to do three or four at a time if I can. I'm making fried chicken, salsa chicken, boiled chicken (to make a decision about a meal later), and chicken broth. Fried chicken for tonight, and the rest to be divvied up for Travis's meals and our leftovers. Maybe some soup from the scraps. This is how we save the moolah!

First, unwrap it, rinse, and divvy the chicken up: Two in the pan for fried chicken, two in the pot for boiling, and two in the pyrex. Put oven to 375 degrees and set ya spices up 

Chicken stock: fill the large pot with water; add spices and any vegetable scraps. Put on low and await chicken bones.

Fried chicken:

Put a tablespoon or two coconut oil (buy here)on the iron skillet--my favorite to cook--add spices to chicken. I like to add garlic, pepper, chili powder, paprika, and maybe some italian spices or adobe for fun.

Brown on medium until the skin is crispy, then transfer to baking dish and place in oven.

 I find this is a successful fried chicken that is healthier as we've avoided Canola oil. It's also egg, dairy, and grain-free for a bonus.

Meanwhile, add some water and spices to the chicken in the saucepot; put on low and cover. Cut up some onions and and split them between this and the broth pot.

 Ideally, I would put this in the crock pot, but it's currently being used for yogurt. Get a second one for my next birthday maybe?

Pause and take a moment to find your child

he's fine. 

Go add spices to the chicken in the Pyrex, then add brown mustard and salsa (instructions to come next time I make more). Place in oven.

homemade salsa can't be beat 

I know most people don't like to put more than one dish in the oven at a time, but when I'm home all day and aren't in a time-constraint for meals, this is what I do).

Chicken is fully cooked at the minimum of 165 degrees; use the meat thermometer after maybe 45 minutes. I'm not big on times with meals; you each know your own oven and this one runs hot.

When everything is fully cooked, store the chicken easily in the fridge when cooled and add side dishes when needed.

This one I just tore up into strips and put into a large container for Travis to eat while he drives; no need for sauces or fanciness for him. 

I'll be making mashed cauliflower and boiled spinach with the fried chicken tonight, maybe chicken tortilla soup with the salsa chicken, and whatever leftover meat will go in a nice cream of chicken soup. The bones will be added to the stock pot, kept on low for at least a day or two, then drank every morning and night, as well as used as baby food.

See how much you can make?

This isn't so much a step-by-step recipe tutorial a it is an example of how to stretch your grocery budget in healthy living. It IS possible!

What do you do to make your family healthy meals on a small budget?

Blackberry Maple Overnight Oatmeal

I found this oatmeal to be the relief of our breakfast quandary. My manly man is gone several days at a time, and I was at a loss for what to make him for breakfast, as he is equipped with a...fridge. Gah.

I'm amazed I hadn't heard of this before now! It's simple, easy, and you can use almost any fruit and additive you want. I got a basic recipe and then played around. 

Ingredients:
1/4 Cup rolled oats
1/3 Cup milk-I use raw or whole
1/4 yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoons chia seeds or ground flaxseeds
1/4 teaspoon wheat germ
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1/4 Blackberries (fill the jar if you have a half-pint)

I make at least 4-6 of these at a time; a week's worth for Travis and some for me.

Put oats, then yogurt, milk, and chia seeds/flaxseeds/wheatgerm, and shake.

Add the fruit and syrup, then shake once more

Place in the fridge overnight, although they can last 3-6 days depending on fruit. Berries keep well, mango, kiwi, bananas not so much. 

If you have them, this recipe will fill a half-pint jar. The amount is satisfying

enough, however, that I don't like to double it and haven't bothered to get the jars. 

I did, however, invest a few dollars in these lids from amazon, so Travis doesn't need to bother with lids and bands on the road. Nice. 

If you want a raspberry vanilla version, replace the maple syrup with 1 teaspoon vanilla; use 1/4 cup red raspberries. 

note: buy fruit in-season or frozen, so as to get the best quality. 

Play around! use molasses for extra iron; add stevia for sweetness, quinoa for fun texture. 

The best part, besides getting up in the morning knowing I can grab a jar for my breakfast? 

My oatmeal-disdaining man liked it.