A Veggie Mom Raising Her Kids Right
Party of Four
Feb 7th
It’s Halftime of the Super Bowl, and since I have no clue who “The Who” is, I thought’d I’d take this time to talk about myself. It was pretty amusing when Pea Daddy and I reenacted “Who’s on First?” when I was trying to find out if the Superbowl Halftime Committee had gone the Rolling Stones (old people) or Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake (boobage) route.
Me: “Who is the Halftime Show?”
PD: “Yup.”
This went on for the duration of a shockingly violent Doritos commercial and an unshockingly sexist Go Daddy commercial until I finally realized I didn’t need to be watching Halftime.
After church, including a ten minute, neck pinching performance of Gigi with her preschool,
and our routine after church trip to Great Harvest,
we came home and started getting ready for our Superbowl party. Either everyone we know just had plans, we aren’t as cool as we think we are, or my house really does perpetually smell like a combination of steamed broccoli, Tommy Bahama cologne and leave-in conditioner, but we had no guests or invites today.
Still, we had our own traditions to uphold, like snacking. Every year I make Pea Daddy a 7-layer bean dip, but since we’re in a recession, this year it’s a 5-Layer Bean Dip.
This is super easy to make, but don’t tell Pea Daddy…he feels pretty special that I make it just for him, and I”m still working on that Vita Mix or at the very least a back rub.
- 1 can of Amy’s refried beans thinned with salsa
- 1 tub of organic sour cream mixed with 1/2 a packet of taco seasoning
- 1 c. Trader Joe’s organic shredded cheese
- tomatoes
- sliced olives
I served it up with some organic chips from Trader Joe’s.
For a second (aka Mommy) dip, I made a Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip using my absurd purchase of Veganaise. I don’t like mayo, why would I need a vegan version? For Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip, of course.
- 8 oz. frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
- 14 oz. jar of artichoke hearts in water
- 4 oz. Tofutti vegan cream cheese
- 2 T. Veganaise
- 1 T. lemon juice
- 2 cloves of garlic
- salt and pepper
- 2 t. chopped basil
- 1 T. nutritional yeast
- 1/4 c. vegan whole grain cracker or bread crumbs (I used Back to Nature “Buttery Rounds”)
Preheat oven to 375. Combine all ingredients except cracker/bread crumbs and mix well.
Put into a greased casserole dish
and top with cracker crumbs.
Bake for 25 minutes.
We also had a huge veggie plate for dipping,
and the requisite small doses of junk food with M&M trail mix and Australian red licorice.
Between the pregame and kickoff, our trail mix got pillaged.
By the end of the game, it’s bound to be just peanuts.
I also baked some Vegan Almond Joy Cookie Bars.
I fully expect chocolate chips to be excavated from these treats as well.
The full spread, in all its glory.
Did I mention there are only two adults and two “we only eat chocolate” children?
Somehow the tone of this post implies that a game is being watched. However, only when we were eating were we all focused on the field.
The rest of the time has been tea parties,
puzzles,
and arts and crafts.
Poor Pea Daddy. At least he has a pound of bean dip and a bowl of peanuts to help ease the pain.
Hitting P-Town
Feb 6th
Or Pea-Town. Or Pee-Town…as the case may be.
We took the girls to Portland today to stimulate the economy. Shopping with kids is a necessary evil. If I didn’t just suck up the fact that 85% of our time in the store would be spent pulling Lulu out from underneath her clothes-rounder sweat lodge or explaining to Gigi that yes, pink sequined mini dresses are pretty but not everyday mommywear, well, I’d still be wearing maternity clothes (that silk tunic doesn’t count, and even if it did, I removed the maternity tag).
So after a typical Saturday morning, filled with a run, green smoothies,
- 2 c. spinach
- 1/2 c. pineapple + 1/4 c. pineapple juice
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
- 1/3 c. light coconut milk
- ice
- 1/2 t. guar gum
- 3/4 t. xanthan gum
musical chairs,
and a quick salad for lunch, we headed out. We did some much needed grocery shopping, and I caught a short nap in the car the rest of the way to Portland, which was continuously cut short by Gigi chirping, “Are you still asleep, Mom?!?!”
Much like this blog, the humor wore off after a few times.
We ended up at the Nordstrom Rack, and Gigi and I had found a few tops for Hawaii without sequins and a dress, when Daddy and Livy approached and I’d noticed his shirt was soaked. Short of being a middle school girl in white pants during Social Studies when you get “the gift,” there’s nothing like the joy of having your child wet through their pants and your shirt in a crowded department store 50 miles from home.
Pea Daddy kept it together, bought a new shirt and took Lulu across the street to Gymboree while I selfishly waited in line for the dressing rooms with the cast of High School Musical 3. I ended up finding a few things and to my delight the Pea Pee duo returned looking better than ever! Daddy had found the pants that were made to go with Lulu’s shirt!
I’m kind of wishing I’d wet myself in the Rack too and been forced to buy those True Religion boyfriend jeans I’d been eyeing.
We rewarded the girls for their good behavior (?!?) by taking them to a well known Portland toy store: Finnegan’s.
Gigi “assumed the position,” being overwhelmed at all the toys,
while Lulu made a beeline for the bikes.
I’m not sure if she thought this basket was a helmet,
or if she just wanted a nice weave on her head. I’m pretty sure I just lost the vast majority of my readers with that joke. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.
The girls settled on some choices that we are hoping will buy us some Superbowl viewing time tomorrow:
some sun catchers to paint,
and a new puzzle.
I talked Daddy out of buying the Obama action figure, and we headed to dinner.
We wanted to take the girls to The Old Spaghetti Factory (Gigi asked if they had meatballs made out of vegetables), but the wait was 45 minutes. As much as I wanted to corral two hungry kidlets around velour couches and oversized mirrors in a crowded seating area only to pay $4.50 for a side of broccoli, we let Gigi down easy and went somewhere else.
Wood paneling and a cozy booth (with a nice, new dry shirted Pea Daddy),
and Lulu shoveling cottage cheese like it’s vanilla soft serve? It’s got to be Sweet Tomatoes!
I had a bowl of vegetable soup,
my usual salad,
- romaine
- spinach
- carrots
- cucumbers
- beets
- celery
- green pepper
- chickpeas
- croutons
- low fat honey mustard dressing,
and I’m a bit ashamed to admit that that’s my Diet Coke peeking out of the corner. Free is free. If they handed out free tanning booth coupons and boxes of wine, I’d probably be Britney Spears take those too.
We made it home finally, and are happy to be laying low tomorrow watching the Superbowl (aka snacks, commercials and a halftime show), but more importantly, Gigi is singing at church in the morning. I’m so excited, I might just need new pants.
I’m Going Through “The Change”
Feb 5th
Before Gigi started preschool, I was terrified. To know Gigi, is to love her. I know it’s cliche, but she just has sunshine coming out of her fingertips and joy coming out of her curls.
I’m a creature of habit, and the fact that for nine hours a week I would not have her warmth around me made me want to lock her in our house, sew all of her clothes, and never let her cut her hair.
Yet somehow, Lulu and I have settled into our mornings without Gigi.
We clean up after breakfast.
Why is there an English muffin on the potty? Only Lulu knows.
She colors while I write or make a grocery list.
She’ll pop her head over now and again, hand me a crayon and request a sketch.
That’s a pink gorilla. She actually said, “Pink Crayola,” but I’d already drawn a malformed, effeminate primate by the time the Lulu translator in my brain kicked in.
She mocked my drawing.
We also tell jokes.
“Knock knock” (as she pantomimes knocking).
“Who’s there?”
“Banana.”
“Banana who?”
“Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, banana phone!”
No matter how lame my own “knock knock” joke may be, she always says, “That was a good one, Mommy!” I think Pea Daddy has trained her after being heckled one too many times.
We’ve come to enjoy our time, just the two of us.
The point of this anecdote is that change, while not always comfortable, IS possible. I remember a little over a year ago, when I first contemplated starting a food blog (thereby becoming accountable for my food choices), then transitioning to becoming vegetarian, then a vegan, it all seemed so “out there” to me. I had developed some really unhealthy eating patterns and behaviors, and I couldn’t really wrap my brain around the thought that I would be able to eat three or more balanced meals per day, let alone that those meals would be meat and animal product free. Yet, it was something I was compelled to do, to become healthier, happier and a better role model for my daughters. And it happened.
I had planned on taking a break from posting tonight (you may wished I had after this nonsense), and so while I photographed my meals, I didn’t try to be creative or inspiring. But then tonight, when I was sitting down to eat dinner, I realized that without effort or forethought, everything I ate today was balanced, nutritious, vegan and mostly raw.
Green smoothie in a bowl (spinach, ice, xanthan gum, guar gum, stevia, frozen peaches, almond milk, protein powder, high fiber cereal, low fat cinnamon raisin granola)
Large salad (spinach, broccoli, carrots, salsa, hummus, meatless meatballs)
Salad (spinach, carrots, yellow pepper, sesame sticks) with homemade almond butter dressing (almond butter, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, stevia, lemon juice) and carrot fries
+ unpictured snacks of carrots and salsa, protein cookie dough and whatever I snack on this evening.
You see, even with someone as stubborn, stuck in their ways, and compulsive as me, change is possible. While at first it may take some planning, some thought and a continual effort, over time it will become second nature. Maybe you aren’t looking to overcome poor eating behaviors, maybe you want to quit smoking, stop swearing or get through a breakup. Maybe you just have to deal with the fact that your mom got your hair cut and everyone is looking at you like she shaved your head like Britney Spears.
(As an aside, I got the “Why did you do that?!?” from two parents today)
It’s not easy to change, but if you go through the paces every day, keeping in mind the big reasons motivating you,
it suddenly becomes effortless.
