au naturale

ive had myself a sort of food revolution recently.
ive always cared about what i ate, and before kids always watched my fruits and veggies and portions.
and then i had kids and all care as to what was entering MY mouth flew out the window, accompanied by daily showers, alone time, and the "perfect clean house."
now that i think about it, the time i spent carrying and breastfeeding my children should have been the most AWARE periods of my food-and-drink-consuming life, buuuuuut i didnt always have the time {or stomach} to do more than just grab a bag of chips.

SO, after grabbing said bag of chips a couple weeks ago for the kazillionth time....i decided i was disgusting and everything i ate probably had some form of red dye 40 or some cancer causing processed THING in it.

i decided i {and my children/family} needed to enter into a healthier, more conscious way of living.
organic as much as possible, and processed as little as possible.
{cause seriously how much processed junk does bennett eat? for real. too much.}

its amazing how many resources there are out there to educate you on things like this.  i definitely need to learn a lot more, but for now im doing what i can with the time and resources i have to help make us just that much healthier.
it definitely takes more effort, but i really believe this effort is some of the most important effort you could put forth, especially for your kids.
plus, you can buy organic at wal mart if necessary and it DOES taste better.

my first attempt to TRY a little harder came at lunch.  i made homemade little pizzas with whole wheat english muffins, organic marinara, sliced mushrooms, and cheese {all organic}.

emory and i ate them UP and bennett took a couple bites before gagging and asking for a pb&j.
*sigh*
i tried.
bennett has definitely NOT been my biggest cheerleader.
in fact he is either wanting mac and cheese or a cereal bar 99% of the time.
it comes with his age, i know...but i WILL keep working on him.

something else emory LOVES is carrot cashew spread.

Carrot Cashew Spread
{from wholefoodsmarket.com}

3 carrots, chopped
3/4 cup raw cashew pieces
15 dried apricots, quartered

put carrots in small pot and cover with 2 inches water. bring to a boil, reduce to medium low heat, and simmer about 10 minutes. add cashews and apricots and cook for about 5-7 more minutes. reserve 1/2c cooking water, and drain well.  place carrot mixture and reserved liquid in food processor and blend until smooth.  chill for at least one hour.  spread on whole wheat organic crackers, or emory likes it on toast and even just off a spoon :)

mmmm.
and healthy!

eating "organic" and "natural" i.e. less processed may not always work or be realistic, but i am serious in making this a conscious effort for my family and our daily eating habits.  its amazing what having children will do to your outlook/perspective on things!

ill let you know what other recipes i find but i would love any advice on kid friendly tips/methods for getting your three year old to eat more than cereal bars {which have been banned} and mac and cheese {oops! sorry bennett we dont have any}.


and thanks for your concern for our crazy ridic fourth of july.  i am happy to report that, after a late straggler caught a killer fever version of the mutant virus {stephen} we are all healthy and actually feeling better than ever {bout time this second trimester thing started to ACT LIKE IT}.

cheers to health!