Unstealing...

This has nothing to do with food, other than we were at a restaurant, but I thought this was pretty funny. We were at the local Village Inn and we had just received our ticket and I had given her my credit card. She brought me back my receipt and a pen. She had personalized pens with a little note that says "This pen was stolen from....." and her name. As I was signing my name my little Jayce, who is just learning to read, asked his sister to read the pen to him. She read it verbatim...... "This pen was stolen from Mary Smith" (I don't remember the waitresses name) and Jayce stopped and stared at me. After thinking for a minute he said, "Mommy, it's not nice to steal! You should unsteal it right now!"

After I finished laughing and signed the receipt, I walked with Jayce over to the waitress and handed her her pen back and apologized to her for stealing her pen. She looked puzzled for a minute and then upon looking down at Jayce and back at the pen you could see it dawn on her what was going on. She thanked me for returning her pen and I could hear her chuckling as we walked away. Little Jayce was so proud of himself for rescuing the pen that I have not been able to tell him yet, that mommy would never steal something and that was just her way of keeping track of her pens. Funny adult jokes are most often lost on the small innocence of children.

Summer Garden Salad

I am all for easy and good and this recipe satisfies both. It is a great summer time salad to start any dinner off right. It's mixture of flavors and textures will satisfy even picky eaters and the over all presentation is beautiful. Add a bread stick or two and this could be a complete meal by itself.

1 head iceberg lettuce
1 head romaine lettuce
2 ripe avocados, sliced
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
2 medium carrots, grated
4 medium radishes, sliced
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 small yellow bell pepper, chopped

Chop and mix the lettuces. Add all remaining ingredients and toss. Dress with a light vinegar and oil or vinaigrette dressing.

Work At Home Mother's Babysitter

I have been a work at home mom (which I feel is a very redundant title) for the last 4 years and I love it. But I have had trouble with the kids eating while I am working and their Dad is not yet home. Most of the time they are really great at watching television and playing quietly but the television is upstairs, just outside the kitchen, in the living room. My office is downstairs.

The little ones will pour themselves bowls of cereal, make themselves sandwiches and even toast. All the while my older children are totally engrossed in what ever television show they are watching. So I have devised a plan. I have the tv mounted on the wall furthest away from the door to the kitchen. I have mounted nursery camera's facing the television (not only can I see the children, I also always know what they are watching) and I can see when the little ones get up and head for the kitchen giving me time to stop them. So far so good, this has been working. But the best deterrent has been always having an appropriate snack out that they can eat with out worry. I will usually put out celery or carrot sticks and ranch dressing, peanut butter cracker sandwiches or fruit slices. Things that they can not make too large a mess with, that are healthy and won't ruin their dinner too terribly.

Food on the run

I can not count the many, many times I find myself out and about when my children's tummies decide that it is lunchtime and they need food now! Unfortunately I think I got defective children because from the time they came off the assembly line their tummies never did function normally. It began a little bit at a time, first the spitting up and constant pooping, then the picky eating and now they are completely whacked! When my children's tummies are hungry it messes up the whole system! We can be driving along singing, playing silly car games and laughing and it's almost like someone threw a switch. Tummies hungry so the brain gets irritated, the face becomes contorted in a fit of anger at a simple gesture of fun from Brother. I have not yet figured out how to rewire my children so that when they are hungry the rest of their little bodies stay normal and their mouths just say, "Mommy, I am hungry. Can I eat as soon as we get home? I can wait an hour or so for you to finish all the errands you have to run." Yeah, so I am dreaming!

But what is a mother to do? I have worn out my ability to eat at McDonald's, just the thought is enough to turn my stomach. Arby's and Wendy's are overdone as well and most everything else is too expensive. I wish they made dash kits that installed easily into a mini van and at the touch of a button could pop out a fully prepared dish of Baked Alaskan Salmon or Veggies and Pasta tossed in a light Garlic Butter Sauce. (i.e. healthy, delicious food). I have just had way more than my share of greasy fast food.

Well, so far as I can find, something like that is years in the making. But until then I have found that carrying a baggie of healthy, relatively non-messy treats like carrots, raisins or cheese and peanut butter crackers, helps to ease the raging tummies until we can get home and have something that will not give us a heart attack. Plus it's a good alternative for me when the munchies strike as well. I have started keeping a bag of treats in my van at all times. It has worked wonders for my family.

Chocolate, the Devil in Disguise???

I am a huge chocolate fan, some kindly refer to me as a chocoholic which I could never deny, however, I began to worry about the effects that the chocolate I eat daily, and in amounts that would make an elephant ill, could be having on my body. The first and most noticeable signs are the slightly bulging tummy and the ever increasing need for a good acne treatment. However, what other effects could it be having on me?

Well, I decided to try an experiment, one I don't expect to work too well as I am constantly surrounded by chocolate and I have the self control of a hungry wolf, but still, I am going to try it. I am going to attempt a chocolate fast. For three days I will attempt to restrain from consuming any chocolate at all. (Those of you who know me are already shaking your heads. You of little faith! I may show you all!)

My reasoning for this is that lately I just generally feel crappy all the time. I am tired and achy and one of the things that has changed most drastically in my recent life is my chocolate intake. So, in an attempt to narrow down what could be making me feel so yucky all the time, I am going to attack first, my diet. I will update with my progress as I crash and burn!