Today's Lunch: Vegetarian Style

We've been giving a good effort towards improving our eating habits around here.  In the past, we'd make grand plans to eat better!  More vegetables!  Less sugar!  HEALTHY, HEALTHY, HEALTHY!

But after the first two days of steamed brocccoli and bland chicken, we'd invariably give up and go back to our old ways.

And really, our old way sure tasted delcious, so who could blame us?

But with me being pregnant and Shaun wanting to improve his own health, we decided to it another roll.

This time, we're focusing on great recipes that highlight our favorite vegetables and using proteins (for both of us), and grains (for me) as supplements to the base dish.

I subscribe to Vegetarian Times magazine, which I LOVE, though a lot of the recipes tend to be a bit time consuming or require too many obscure ingredients.

But we got adventurous.  And today?  Today we tried Sesame Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Broccoli.

It was absolutely delicious.  The combination of the lightly browned and roasted sweet potatoes and broccoli and the tangy mixture of sauce was awesome.

The verdict?  A complete hit with everyone, including Bean.  C?   C didn't get to try it this time... She ate this instead:

Not exactly as delectable as our lunch was, but her turn will come.

The recipe itself is in under the link.  (Let me know if you have trouble seeing it).  I adjusted a bit by serving the roasted veggies over a spring mix of lettuce instead of baby spinach (we were out).  I'm not a particularly big fan of ginger, so I left that out as well.  (I also didn't have any).  In the future, we'll also add more broccoli. 

Everyone except for Shaun had a side of quinoa.  I made the quinoa in the rice cooker with three quarters orange juice and one quarter water, which highlighted the flavors in the original recipe.  Other than that?  Wouldn't change a thing.

One thing we noted is that if you don't have some of those ingredients on hand, the initial making of the recipe can be pricey.  But if you consider the possibility of making more dishes that are similar or possibly repeating this recipe, the successive makings are considerably less expensive.

The prep work was minimal and the most time consuming part of the recipe was waiting for the vegetables to roast.  

Anyway, definitely let me know if you give it a go!  I recommend this more highly than the Mac and Cheese from last time.  (So does everyone else).

Who knew healthy could taste so dang good?

A Little Bloggy Love

I'm running here and there and everywhere tonight, so I am going to be neglecting the poor bitty blog, but I wanted to give some love to my good friend Maya of Springtree Road and one of her recent blog posts about a pretty little (big?) thrift store hat that her prettier little (big!) daughter is currently in love with.

Check it out and leave her some love!  Isn't her girl adorable?!

Snow Days

We had a delightful bit of snow right in time for Bean's birthday.  She was absolutely thrilled at the chance to go outside and play in something other than frozen temperatures.  And of course, I was elated to go with her.  

We visited the animals in her zoo where she fed the tigers snow sandwiches and snow noodles.  The bears had a full helping of snow soup.

 

Then we chased the dogs around and watched them try to eat the snow.  I taught her the ever important snow play mantra, "Watch out where the doggies go, and don't you eat that yellow snow."  She dubbed it "pee-pee snow" and wrinkled her nose when she came across it on her treks through the yard.

  

We hid in the magic tree for awhile and tried to stay away from the big, giant DRAGON MONSTER!  The tree provides optimal invisibility.

We only thought we saw him a few times...  then he turned into a nice dragon monster, so we invited him into our tree area for a snack and some tea.  Bean was sort of shocked at how big he was.
 

 

But he settled right in and we served snow cakes and stick popsicles lightly dusted with some snow sprinkles.  The dragon's particular favorite was the snow pie, but I wasn't a huge fan.  After awhile, the dragon gave Bean a nuzzle and flew off to his cave for a nap.

We went in for dinner and then to bed for some nice dreams, lightly sprinkled with the possibility of more snow.   

Cute Dreams

Last night around 9:30, I went into Bean's room to check on her before tucking myself in.  Bean's eyes weren't closed like they were supposed to be.  Instead, they were as wide as little saucers and she very quietly said to me,

"Mommy...  it went away."  Her face looked so very sad and I still couldn't figure out what she was talking about so I asked her to say it again.

"It went away.  My dream went away!"

I asked her what she was dreaming about. 

"I dreamed I was a cooker in a big kitchen and then...  it went away!" 

She was really bummed.  Like, almost in tears bummed.  So I told her that if she closed her eyes and thought about being a "cooker" again, the dream would probably come back.

Worked like a charm.  She giggled, closed her eyes, and went right back to sleep. 

I like cuteness before I go to sleep.  Makes my dreams that much sweeter, too.

Baby Update

We went to the OB today, (all four of us actually, in the ice covered world where we live... we were quite a sight to see).  Everything checked out and we all got to hear the quiet but rapid heartbeat of what will be our third born. 

YAY!

And for those of you that want to hate me a little, here's the weight update:  I've lost two pounds since the beginning.  This is despite not getting too terribly sick too often and eating like an adolescent boy.  Trust me, I'm not remotely trying to diet.  (Current craving?  Stuffed crust pizza from Pizza Hut.  It's not going to happen, but MAN, it sounds good). 

Today has been a MISERABLE day, nausea wise.  I've been feeling really good for a week or two but this morning, I was literally flattened on the bathroom floor for a good half hour.  The grossness of that feeling has lasted all day, through a nap, and into a headache.  I'm really hoping my mom is right and today is just the last hurrah before the blissful second trimester. 

All in all, though, it all looks good.  And I'll take nausea anyday for that to be the truth.

We have one more visit then a sonogram on March 17th.  And yes, we're finding out the sex.  Do you really think we have that kind of patience to wait?!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Bean!

Dear Beanie Girl,

Happy Birthday!  We've stretched the celebration out over the course of the last week and you've been floating high above the earth on a pink cupcake flavored cloud of bliss.  You worked really hard to figure out how to hold up just three fingers to show how old you were going to be on "Jan-oo-ary Twenty Seven".  It cracks me up that you use your thumb and first two fingers instead of your first three.  It looks kind of like you're trying to flash me a gang symbol.  Being as how you've been doing that since you were a wee little thing, it wouldn't surprise me.

 

Bean on her second birthday

Your likes and dislikes are becoming more pronounced and really give clues as to the you-ness of you.  Your favorite color is pink.  Your favorite food is a bagel, (still!).  You love broccoli and will eat it for a snack any day of the week.  You love dressing up and still prefer wearing a "princess" (skirt) to a pair of pants.  This summer, you practically lived in skirts.  You're more likely to wear long pants now, though I suspect that's more to do with your Daddy keeping the house at 62 degrees than because you really want to.

 

 "Olive you!" About 2.25 ys old

You've been potty trained for a long time.  You're sleeping well in your own bed and only occasionally crawl between us in the middle of the night.  When you do, you'll roll over and scoot your back against mine and sigh before dropping off to a peaceful sleep.   I can't say I mind those moments too much.

 Bean's first tricycle ride

Your favorite playtime activity is cooking in your play kitchen.  I can't even begin to tell you how many meals I've been served in an odd assortment of dish ware.  You love animals of all kinds, and if you had your choice?  We'd so have a cat.  Being as how I'm as allergic as they come and how we have a dog who would eat it, it's not likely to happen any day soon, but that doesn't stop you from hoping.

 Twenty Seven Months

You'll often come up to me when you should be doing something else, (like going to bed or going potty), and right as I'm about to get stern and send you off, you beat me to the punch and say something like, "I just wanted to hug you!  And now a kiss!"  Considering that you're generally too busy to stop and do that on a normal occassion, I don't fuss too much.

 Bean and Mommy :)

You are your father's daughter in that you're absolutely in your element when you're around a lot of people.  You're finally getting to the point where you don't get too shy when an adult speaks to you directly.  I used to rephrase the question to be more familiar to you or repeat it so you'd have time to think.  Now I have to bite my tongue and refrain from prompting because you'll often come up with your own response.

Showing Her Serious Side

You've taken to saying that you either want to be a chef or an animal doctor when you grow up.  I'd be ok with either, though if you end up as a chef, will you come and live at home again?

 And the not-so-serious side

You love talking on the phone, which is weird beyond belief to me.  Then again, if you're on the other end of the phone, I can't help but being excited to talk to you.  Since you're excited to talk to everyone, it makes sense to me.

 Now a Big Sister

You make a pretense of being frustrated by your little sister sometimes, but when we're out without her, you ask about her constantly.  After she wakes up from her nap, you'll often yell, "I'M GOING TO SEE C!" and race in there to say hello.  You LOVE making her laugh and she'd laugh at you before anyone else.  I hope and pray every day that you and C will always love each other, even when you're driving each other bat crazy.

Getting Bigger, And Showing a Flash of 16 yo Bean

I hear people tell me constantly, "Enjoy it!  It goes fast!"  And it does.  My heart aches a little daily at how quickly you're getting older.  I try to remember those first moments of your babyhood and have found that the crispness of the memories are fading with time.  Part of me rails against you getting older.  I want you to be 3, 2, 1, and a newborn all at once.  I want to scoop you up and drink in your first smile.  I want to catch you in my arms after your first steps.  I want to hear you call me Mama again.  I want to have these moments every day.

Bean's Best Buddy

As I'm grasping at the early memories, you'll run up and smile and I catch a glimpse of that first gummy grin behind your toothy smile.  I'll sense a wobbly first step in your running leaps.  I'll hear that baby lisp in the first hours of the morning when you call for me from your bed.  You're 3.  But you're 2 and 1 and earlier, all wrapped up in a pretty little package that still grins at me, runs to me, and reaches for me.  And the complexity of a person that you've become is made of those moments.  3 doesn't replace 2 just as 2 didn't replace 1.  It's all you.  And I couldn't love you more.

Happy 3rd Birthday!

Love,

Mommy

Mean Maraca

With my kid and her superhero hearing picking up every. single. word. breathed. when I get mad in the car, I think I need this hack.

The Mean Maraca via Parent Hacks

It reminds me of the time that Shaun got cut off by some crazy lady and instead of getting mad and yelling, we drove up next to her and took a few stuffed animals from the back and made them dance in the window at her.  We were laughing too hard to be mad anymore and she?  Well who knows, but if she didn't think about her craziness a little and loosen up, I'd be a little concerned about her lack of a sense of humor.