Saturday, September 29, 2012

Why I don't need TV (part 2)

That last post of mine was missing two videos...Let's see if I can get them to upload this time... they'll be well worth the watch.  Our boys are great sources of entertainment!
Gregory was gracious enough to play both Goldilocks and Daddy Bear.  He maintains his masculinity at the end by beating up and chasing off Goldilocks with a stick (who is now imaginary).  :)


Finally, there's Emmanuel.  He's such a sweetie!

Here he is playing his favorite game on his Mommy's phone.  
We absolutely adore how he tries to mouth the words!

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Why I don't need TV...

As you can see from my previous post (yes, it's Pete again), I recently uploaded pics from our digital camera... well, I found a few darling videos as well.  They all reminded me of how blessed I am to be father to such darling boys and the proud husband of such a wonderful mommy/wife!  Here's one of the videos I found... (more later if Blogger cooperates).  Enjoy!

Is he trying to light the candle?  It appears so... he's so cute!  (This was taken after the famous Childrens' Mass video.)






Closet transformation

--This post was written by Pete.--

Apparently lots of people have "that one closet" that they're always afraid of going into because of the amount of clutter that has built up... I had a closet like that, but I hated it more for it's uselessness... It was far too deep, you'd have to crawl up into it to get anything into the way back and plus the doors were so narrow that I always felt claustrophobic.  In sum, it was a waste of space and it soon became "that one closet"... we'd just throw things into it that we couldn't find a space for.

Here are some before pictures:
You can't see the doors because they're hidden.  (Yes, I'm being sarcastic).

The doors weighed a ton and the magnetic release thing didn't work correctly, so opening the closet was already a pain.  It was the type that you were supposed to push in and then the spring would push the doors out and they would be released... well, I'm not sure if it was the weight of the doors, the '70s carpet that was rubbing the bottom... or just the fact that the doors were no longer square to the frame.

Regardless of the fact that the doors didn't open well, I just didn't like the closet... I wanted to get rid of the whole thing, but Theresa didn't like my idea of eliminating the whole thing (that might be noticeable).

What she suggested was just make the doors wider and so...

Several hours of labor later and way more dust than I anticipated, and voila!  The space was transformed from a closet into...

An office!  OK, so it's not ideal to have an office in a closet, but when you're an amazing mother of four little boys who works from home, this comes in handy!  The desk fit just perfectly!

Anyway, I much prefer the use of space now.  Would I do it again knowing what I know now?  Probably... I'm a sucker for projects.


Friday, September 14, 2012

Melt in Your Mouth Pancakes!

Well, since I'm on a roll...

Eating plant-based does not have to be LIMITING!  That's why I've been inspired to share a couple recipes here.

We don't use butter; we don't use eggs, we don't use milk.  
So are things like pancakes off limits?  Not at all!  
You just have to be willing to be adventurous!

Melt in Your Mouth Pancakes!
(recipe created by me! based on a couple pancake recipes I've used in the past and adjusted to fit our new plant-based style.)

Before you begin any breakfast recipe, you must have the right liquid refreshment...this morning's choice to sooth my throat is hot tea with a splash of almond milk. :-)

You'll need 2 mixing bowls.  Plus 3 bananas (or 4 if you don't have applesauce), 1 cup of applesauce, stone ground whole wheat flour, baking powder, dash of salt, almond milk, 100% pure maple syrup, dash of cinnamon and extras if you want: carob chips or dark chocolate chips or blueberries or raspberries or whatever!

Start by mashing your bananas in the small bowl.  I didn't have applesauce so I mashed 4 bananas.  Started mashing bananas at 7:20am.
Be aware, you might want to keep little pieces of a banana out to keep the natives from getting too restless!

Cute little native :-)

 In the large bowl, place 3 cups of stone ground whole wheat flour, Hodgson Mill is SO TASTY!

Add 2 Tbs baking powder and MIX.

Add mashed bananas & 2 cups of vanilla almond milk! Stir well.

 Okay normally you want to blend 1 Tbs of ground flaxseed with 3Tbs of water and then add it to the mix.  (Acts as egg replacement, but flaxseed has been found to be great for regulating hormones - so good to add to any meal! Even has been known to increase a woman's libido...no, really!)
  I'm doing this step differently by just adding the flaxseed and water right in, oops!  Not to worry, it'll still taste good!

 Without applesauce, it might not be as sweet as you or your family likes.  To sweeten healthfully, add 1-2Tbs of 100% pure maple syrup

 Just a dash of cinnamon, mix and we're ready to cook them!
It's now only 7:32am!  Quick and EASY!

Adding blueberries or chocolate chips (or carob chips), makes the pancakes fun! 
 (But don't add them until the pancakes are poured onto the pan or else it will make the batter grey and the pancakes grey too, which isn't the biggest deal - just not as appealing.)

 After you pour batter in the pan, drop the chips or blueberries onto each pancake...

 Flip!

 Breaking little bits off to feed the natives and keep them at bay while you finish the batch helps tamper down on the number of uprisings...

 Serve and ENJOY!

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Cream of Broccoli Soup!

Whose HUNGRY for Yummy-Healthy?!

Hi! So, we haven't posted on this blog for a while...oops! looks like over a year! lol! Well, I'm changing that! (This is Theresa posting now.)

Here's a recipe I recently posted on FB!

How to make plant-based Cream of Broccoli soup!


yeah, I know I look goofy, but I got my new Forks Over Knives cookbook today!!! Over 300 recipes for great plant-based eating!
And I'm going to walk you through one of our family favorites: Cream of Broccoli Soup!


Okay! you need some potatoes, fresh broccoli, onions, bell peppers, garlic, cashews, carrots, celery, thyme, salt free veggie broth, black pepper, dash of salt.
1st - skin and cube potatoes! The way I see it, eating plant-based is not about what you canNOT eat but what you CAN! If you like potatoes, put extra in!
started prepping potatoes at 5:45pm


Okay, I missed the photo but blend 1 cup of cashews and 1 cup of broth - until smooth, set aside.
Here are the onions and celery (and I didn't have carrots, but you're supposed to)


in just 1 cup of broth, cook onions, celery (& carrots) for 5 minutes over medium heat.


stirring occasionally ;-)


while that's cooking, chop garlic & bell peppers. After the 5 minutes is up ADD peppers, garlic and potatoes and continue to cook for 2 more minutes.


Then ADD 4 more cups of broth and chopped broccoli!


plus 2tsp of thyme ... hmmmm that's about 2 tsp right? Lol! I'd drive the rule followers nuts in my kitchen!
Plus! 1/2 tsp of pepper and 1 tsp salt. SIMMER and cook until potatoes and broccoli are soft - at least 10 minutes. (I usually have to go 13)
While cooking, I read part of a book, checked FB, had a drink...


Here is my blended nuts (I was out of cashews so I used almonds! Don't be afraid to bend the rules!)
And I've just tasted the potatoes, perfect! Mix the blended nuts into soup!


Stir them together well!


Then you will blend half the soup in the blender, but in small increments. So, you scoop it out carefully and blend. 


Then add the blended mixture back to the soup and stir!


ENJOY! When we were taking our first bites it was 6:40pm. Fast and healthy!!!
Your family might be a little hesitant at first...


But one bite and they LOVE it!


Gregory was licking his bowl clean!
I dare you to find any leftovers with this yummy plant-based cream of broccoli soup!