Sunday, July 20, 2014

I am not a hippie...

So since having my youngest I've gotten into a healthier kick.  Maybe it's because I'm trying to lose baby weight, maybe it's because I'm determined to do it right the second time around when it comes to parenting or maybe it's because I have an amazing new kitchen and love spending time in it!  Regardless, I one of my neighbors referred to me the other day as someone who eats/cooks healthy!  I had to pause and give that statement the true moment it deserves.  (And I did not inform her that I was eating an oreo while on the phone with her...oops).

Anyhow, since becoming a family of 4 I've really focused on providing my kids with healthier alternatives that don't taste like cardboard and trying my best to carry that mindset into other avenues.  I've fallen in love with essential oils and have seen amazing results in just a few short months.  The whole reason I remembered about this blog is because I've been wanting to document some of my journey with oils as well!

My 3.5 yr old loves to cook and we've had fun trying new healthier recipes.  Once school starts the experimentation will be at a minimum so I'm trying a lot over the summer to know which ones are keepers.  During this process I made my first absolute fail in cooking...so bad we didn't finish the meal, threw it away and busted out with some ramen....ugh.  Mulligan?

I realize that so much of this is trial and error and with any new recipe, you're taking a leap of faith on whether or not you'll like it (cooking metaphor for life??  hmmmm).  I digress.

My current list of go-to's for healthier eating comes from www.100daysofrealfood.com

I found this website when I was searching for healthy toddler meals as our new daycare has me bring lunches for my 3.5yr old.  I thought they might label me "that mom" if I only ever sent her with quesadillas, grilled cheese, pasta, etc.  She has a 1 week meal plan for every season complete with a shopping list and prices.  I don't go as far as she does and make everything from scratch but I'm taking baby steps.

So far I highly recommend the Granola, Caprese pasta salad, and Carnitas.  I had some issues with the yeast I used when making the pizza pockets and that was my awful failed meal.  Plus, that was the one that was hard for me to have the little one help with so I'm going to move forward and accept failure on that one.

I also made an amazing Iced Lemon Pound Cake that tastes just like the one from Starbucks and while not labeled healthy...It's a much healthier version.  I pinned the recipe for that one for sure.

The lemon pound cake actually is made with Lemon essential oils in it rather than rind!



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