When it’s 90 and humid, the logical thing to do is keep cool by swimming. Especially when you have a pool in your backyard. The kids and I were all ready to take advantage of our pool yesterday. But when we went outside to open up the pool gate, there was a friendly, hairy little critter floating across the pool, no longer living. It was gross. He was big. I think it was a big squirrel. So. Instead of telling the kids about it, which would have turned into screaming from both of them, I just said the pool was too dirty to swim and we would try again tomorrow.…

Ahhhh. Summer. The time where you try to balance the outdoor fun activities with maintaining the house, a little. Or in my case, barely. I’ve got to admit, this has been the best summer so far. The kids are at a great age to FINALLY do fun things without a million interruptions; blow out diapers, nursing every few hours, two naps a day, just baby stuff in general. We have taken FULL advantage of the nice weather so far. And we are grateful for the time and resources to be able to do so. Anyway, yesterday was busy with errands and then water table in the afternoon. Dinner had to…

I was in the middle of making dinner tonight (a whole 20 min) when the paper towel ran out. Lately I’ve been finding the good in everything. So. What good comes from running out of paper towel? Restocking, only to find out that ITS TIME TO GO TO TARGET AND BUY MORE BULK PAPER TOWEL!!!! Target. Ahhhh. Bliss. The big, red comforting shopping cart that sweeps me and my diaper bag right off my tired feet. That smell of something new around the corner that I don’t really need but will probably buy anyway. And the HINT of STARBUCKS that I shouldn’t have at 8pm, but it’s a Chai, so…

My pantry always has two or three Campbell’s Soup Sauce Starters in it. These are great for nights like tonight where nothing is thawed and I’m not in the mood to cook a big meal. At 4:30 we decided to make Chicken Marsala using the Campbell’s Soup Sauce starter and the microwave to thaw chicken. The allergy information is always clearly stated under ingredients, which I love. Thanks, Dad. Chicken Marsala  1 pound chicken Campbell’s Sauce packet Favorite vegetable Pasta, rice, or couscous Directions In a pre-heated 425* oven, add your vegetable to roast for 30-40 minutes. Tonight we did asparagus. Broccoli, brussel sprouts, baby carrots, etc. All taste amazing roasted.…

Has the month of May been as crazy for you as it has been for me? With the school year winding down, summer gearing up, family vacations and a slu of summer events on the horizon, I feel like I’m constantly on the go. It’s hard to be in the  moment and conscious of what we’re eating when we’re thinking about something else. The mornings are hectic. Wake kids at 6:45. Dress kids. Brush their teeth. Comb hair. Open drapes. (multiply this times 3 because I’ve already repeated myself 3-5 times and I’m starting to sweat. Already 1,500 steps on fitbit). Throw some clothes. Messy bun and brush my teeth.…

Did you know that the FDA classifies coconut as a tree-nut; therefore, every time we use coconut we need to check on the manufacturing facility? Thankfully, Hy-Vee has a wonderful service department always willing to answer my allergy questions, as soon as possible. This time, they called me back in 4 minutes. Outstanding. The news they gave me about the Hy-Vee brand coconut made my week. The coconut distributor that they work with to put the Hy-Vee brand name on, is only made in a facility with other coconut products, no tree-nuts. The Hy-Vee brand was THE ONLY brand at the store that was NOT MADE IN A FACILITY WITH…

Sort of, not really. More like my entire counter top was covered in pea soup looking liquid. If you follow me on insta, you saw the beautifully posed food, food-porn-like photo-shoot, that I so proudly (hahaha) displayed showing the array of GREEN loveliness that would soon nourish my cleansed + detoxed soul. Are you laughing yet? I hope so. Shortly there after, it erupted. The last step of the recipe told me to put the entire soup into a 12 cup food processor. I did that. What I didn’t know was that I put too much in (batching the soup is better), it was hot, and it needed to breathe. Thus, soup was spewing…

A phrase that is so rarely uttered in this house at meal time, I did a double take. Day 3 of CCN healthy eating challenge is going well – the dinner recipes are what I really enjoy making. The smoothies for breakfast (why we shouldn’t drink all of our calories later*) and snacks aren’t my favorite, but keeping lunches simple with salads is easy and delicious. Last night was Lentil Soup + tonight we had Crockpot Chicken Tacos. The kids and husband LOVED both. This rarely happens, and I feel as though I’ve recently won the lottery, despite this darn head cold. The meals were SO easy to make, just about 20…

Today was amazing. It was almost 70* here in Madison and the kids played outside for 3 hours. By the time we all came inside, we were exhausted. Fresh air will do that. Instead of making what I had originally planned, Chloe asked for black bean burritos. It was a great idea + time saver for my sleepy kids who definitely needed baths! Here’s what I did: Black bean burritos, herbed rice, broccoli + fruit Ingredients 2 cans low-sodium black beans, drained + rinsed 3 shakes of Penzeys garlic powder 3 shakes of Penzeys onion powder 3 shakes of Penzeys oregano 1/4 cup water or chicken stock 4 large tortillas (wheat or…

Weeknights are crazy – the hubs call schedule, school and kiddo activities, plus trying to carve out some time to spend doing something for myself. Dinner is so important to us as a family so here is one more quick, easy, weeknight idea that had everyone clearing their plates this week. Ingredients 2/3 C soy sauce (low sodium) 1/4 C brown sugar, packed 1/2 tsp ginger (fresh or ground) 1 pinch red pepper flakes 2 tbsp. water 2 tbsp. cornstarch 2 tsp olive oil or vegetable oil 2-3 chicken breasts, I prefer Bare brand 3 cups broccoli 1 onion, sliced 2 cloves garlic, minced Directions Stir soy sauce, brown sugar and ginger…

This classic Indian recipe has been modified slightly to fit our families needs. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did! This recipe was adapted from Epicurious. For the chicken: 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (3 to 4 breast halves total) 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 teaspoon lemon juice 1 large clove garlic, minced For the sauce 1 tablespoon ground coriander 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika 1/2 teaspoon cayenne 1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger (from 1-inch piece) 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter 1 large white onion, finely…

2016 is a year of “yes, I can,” for me. When my daughter was diagnosed with her food allergies, I put up a wall, a barrier of, “I can’t” eat this type of food anymore. That was depressing. Thai peanut sauce is so yummy. And so are crunchy walnuts on a fresh pear and spinach salad. I’m challenging myself to think outside the box. Sometimes it’s easy. Sometimes it takes creativity. I’m determined to show my family how delicious the world can be by making multi-cultural meal experiences by adapting recipes to fit our lifestyle. Tonight. Wednesday in our house means fast dinner. Mom and Dad have to be on…