Well, OK it's 2017. The kids are back to school, that means back to lunches. Almost every kid I know loves their peanut butter and jam. Becasue of allergies peanut butter is a no go in a lot of classrooms and day cares. I get around it by using Sunbutter. Sunbutter is sunflower seed butter and is safe for people with peanut allergies. It is free from the top eight allergens (peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, wheat, fish, shellfish, soy and is non-GMO). I think it is the best tasting peanut butter alternative by far. I use it anywhere that I would use peanut butter. My kids love it, they don't even notice a difference. So all their favorites are good to go. Hudson does not have to be peanut free but I still use it in his lunches, that's how much we love it.

My favortite place to use Sunbutter is in No Bake Protein Bombs.

Ingedients:
1 cup oats
1/2 cup Sunbutter
1/2 cup ground flax meal
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips 
1/4 cup honey

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined.
2. Roll into 1" inch diameter balls. 
3. Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week or freeze for up to six months.

And the best part: I have partnered with Sunbutter to giveaway three jars of Sunbutter! Head over to my Instagram account to enter (*this giveaway is now closed).

If you follow me on social media you see Squooshi pouches in Hudson's school lunch. I love them. First off let me tell you a bit about them. They are cute and refillable squeeze pouches that let you decide what your kids eat in a fun container they'll love to use. With a sturdy zip-lock style seal located on the bottom of the pouch and a choke-proof cap, Squooshi reusable food pouches can be filled with whatever squishy wholesome goodness you and your little ones desire for a healthy, on-the go snack or meal. 

Of course when Squooshi sent me a filling station with 6 large pouches to try out I was pretty pumped, when they sent a whole set to give away I was super pumped! Head over to my Instagram (tiffany_dietitian) to enter. (*Please note this contest is now closed*).

I don't think the filling station is 100% necessary, I have no problems filling the pouches from the bottom. The kids thought it was super fun to use though. We filled ours with a Greek yogurt, raspberry, banana and coconut smoothie. Some to eat now and some for the freezer to make lunch making easy. I have also been known to grab one out of the freezer in a pinch.  

So get over to my Instagram and enter, good luck!

Hudson won an award yesterday at school. There was a ceremony in the gym. I was there along with my husband, my brother and my father-in–law. Now, I am sure Hudson would tell you, this award for self-discipline is his crowning achievement to date. I have learned through this mothering gig that different kids are motivated in different ways. Hudson thrives under encouraging words, praise and positive attention from adults. I share this trait with Hudson. Sawyer, my middle, is motivated by competition. He wants to win and compete, which he shares with my husband. Milo is still in the puzzle of toddlerhood, we are still figuring out what makes him tick. 
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Seeing Hudson’s proud little face today made me feel all the feelings. Of course I am proud of him for being chosen for the award, but mostly I was so happy to see him excel at something that means so much to him. We always talk about how fun kids are at the holidays because they remind us what it’s like to be kids again, the magic. Today brought back some of those same feelings for me. I remember winning a citizenship award in elementary school. My parents where there to watch, they told the my extended family. It felt great. School was always my thing, that’s where I was competitive. Not on the field or court or ice. It is a funny thing to see some of your traits in your own children. It’s another way nature binds us together. 

Looking at my kindergartener I see endless possibilities. But the best part is that most kindergarteners see that in themselves. The idea that they could write a book, create art daily, become a garbage man, become a Jedi….all plausible, doable. I am not sure when we start telling ourselves it’s not.

Yoga was one of the things I had added to my not doable list. A while back I was telling someone (I wish I remember who) that I hate yoga and then proceeded to blather on about the reasons why (I could get quite passionate about it). She looked at me and said “it sounds like you don’t like things you are not immediately good at”. I started to say something, then stopped and had to agree. I thought a lot about it.

After a change of plans I kind of accidentally ended up in a yoga class at Flow Yoga. I didn’t hate it. At all. I wasn’t immediately super good at it, maybe not even a little good at it. But I liked that it was a challenge. It was hard. It feels like there is so much to learn. It’s like I am in kindergarten again and there is a whole yoga world to progress through. I get to progress on my own time line, not my class mates, or some ideal, just mine. 

Things enter your life when you are ready. My body has been returned to me. I am no longer growing babies, laboring babies into the world or nursing them. I owe my body for doing all that; I need to care for it now. It needs to move and stretch and be challenged. For right now I have found the way to pay back that debt. Just to be clear I still get a thrill and a boost of motivation when the teacher tells me I am doing something well or have improved but I don’t need it as much as I once did.
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Being on the eve of 37 has brought me closer to my five year old self. The one that is a lot less limited by fear of failure. I think I am starting to get over myself.

I am going to talk about food. I haven't blogged in a while, I guess I had a lot to get off my chest. I have found a few fun things in the grocery store (one of my favorite places).

First up, I have been all over frozen veggies. I have always been a big fan of frozen fruit but wasn’t a fan of most frozen veggies. Mostly for texture reasons. I like most of my veggies with a little crunch. I am loving frozen diced butternut squash. I bought mine at Superstore but Costco also carries it. Every time I cut up squash I feel like I am going to lose a finger or sever something. No cutting, no peeling! Let that sink it for a minute. I have used it in soup, chilli and curries with great results and huge time savings. It takes some meals from not achievable in the post-work, weeknight dinner mayhem time slot to downright quick. No stitches required. Nothing delays dinner like a trip to the ER. 

I found frozen chopped kale at Save-On-Foods. I don’t often use kale in smoothies because it takes time to wash is and de-rib it. My mornings can't even handle that. Throw in a handful of this and you are off and running, or off wiping up the kale smoothie your kids just spilled. Also good for stir-fries, scrambled eggs and curries. I usually keep frozen green peas, shelled edamame and corn on hand too. Great for when the fridge gets a little empty and they won’t go bad in the crisper like fresh veg can. 

Frozen veggies are just as nutritious as fresh, and in some cases more, especially in the winter months. Frozen veggies are picked when they are fully ripe and often frozen on site. The veggies that travel to us are often picked before ripe to make the trip and are not the best quality by the time they arrive on our plate.

Next up is PB2. Powdered peanut butter. I heard about it a while back but it wasn’t available in Canada. Now it is, I picked some up at Healthy Way ($6.99). The big claim is all the peanut flavor without the fat. To make PB2 the oil is squeezed from the peanuts then what’s left is dehydrated. The result amounts to mostly carbohydrate and protein. I am a fan of the healthy fats in natural peanut butter. The heart healthy fat keeps you full and satisfied until your next meal. I do like how easy it is to scoop into the blender to make smoothies. The chunky monkey smoothie I made with PB2 tasted great and had a much smoother texture. It also mixed well into oatmeal. There is instructions on how to mix it into a spread by adding water. I can’t say I would ever do this. I would just eat regular PB with the healthy fats. Not sure if I would buy more, I think I need to play around with it some more before I decide.

Anyone else love/hate it?
If you have found something new/exciting/time saving in the grocery store let me know, would love to hear about it. ​

I have been posting photos of Hudson's school lunches on Instagram and Facebook. It's become a thing for me. In that I am really having  a lot of fun with it all. Makes sense though, it combines food with fun little containers, all things I like. The icing on the cake is that Hudson has been enjoying it too. And eating most/all of it. I thought I would post a little round up of the lunches so far and share a few of my time saving tips and tricks. For more on where I bought all my supplies look here.

I am not often starting from scratch every morning. My freezer is my lunch life saver (also my dinner life saver). Spaghetti and chicken noodle soup are lunch favorites. I freeze lunch size portions in mason jars. I pop them in the fridge the night before, into the microwave in the morning and into his Thermos. I like using mason jars because they are great in the freezer and microwave. I also batch make and freeze things like: Sunbutter and jam roll ups, cream cheese and cinnamon pin wheels, mini pizzas, quesadillas and smoothies. I always make his lunch the night before, so things thaw in the fridge overnight. I find it takes some of the crazy out of the morning rush. I also keep homemade mini-muffins, pumpkin loaf, mini-naan breads, individual hummus portions, pancakes and waffles in the freezer, I store them in large ziptop bags so I can see what there is. This allows me to offer a variety of foods while minimizing waste. I cannot stand food waste.

I do follow a sort of formula for building his lunch. I aim for an entrée type item, a fruit, a veggie, a snacky type item and a protein food (cheese, Greek yogurt, seeds, nuts, nut butter for dipping, etc).  I only send water to drink. I often include some kind of treat like food, but I keep the portions small, so he doesn't fill up on it and ignore the rest of his lunch.

Hudson was not really a veggie guy. At the start of school he only ate carrots. By adding a few things into his lunch he has expanded to celery, snap peas and raw green beans. That is enough to float my lunch making boat right there. Cucumbers are still a no go. He also added pears and raspberries to his fruit repertoire.

So onto the food:

I am hoping this post helps as one stop spot for lunch ideas, for those days when you are stuck or feeling uninspired. I love to hear what you are making and what your kids are loving too. All ideas welcome. Enjoy the winter break from school and lunch making. I will be back to posting school lunches in the new year.

Fall is back. Back with all things I love: slow cookers, back to school, scarves, the desire to get cozy and a new sense of routine (with a few bumps along the way). When I was asked if I would like to try out one of Ricardo’s slow cooker recipes I jumped at the chance. When I saw slow cooker rice pudding I was sold. I used to think both rice pudding and tapioca pudding were gross. Once I tried rice pudding I quickly changed my tune. Rice is normal food, tapioca ball things are not. Still in the gross category for me.

Now that my oldest is in school I have more time with my middle, Sawyer. He was the perfect assistant to help with this recipe. Middle children are sneaky. They grow up when you aren't looking. Everything is anticipated with the oldest: walking, talking, school. The middle is who they are right now, I am so much more in the moment with him. So he surprises me when I notice the passing of time. My husband picked him up yesterday, he was so long. We were both gob smacked. So sneaky. The third is a whole other story. He has three molars. We just noticed them. Yikes. We catch on, eventually.

On a side note: moving forward most of my blog posts will feature iPhone snaps. I realized that I was blogging less because in the chaos of my life the simple act of grabbing my digital SLR camera was too much. I don’t think you are here for the beautifully styled food photos anyways. You are here for ideas and my undeniable wit and charm, right?

So onto the rice pudding recipe...

Ingredients:
1 cup (250 ml) arborio or other short-grain rice
1 cup (250 ml) 10% half and half
4 cups (1 litre) 3.5 % milk
1 pinch salt
3/4 cup (125 ml) sugar
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
Cinnamon to top

Directions:

In the slow cooker, combine the rice, cream, milk and salt. Cover and cook on high heat for 2 hours. Add the sugar and vanilla and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Let cool partially. Serve warm with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top, or cover and chill.

Turned out beautifully; creamy, perfectly sweet and cozy. I prefer it a little warm, it is easy to reheat in the microwave. All my kids liked it and I may of even converted my husband to the “not the gross food I thought it was" category. Of course you can add raisins or nuts or whatever you feel like. I took it to work for breakfast one morning with almonds and raspberries thrown in. I played around with the milk and cream in the recipe to use what I had on hand.  I also decreased the sugar a bit, because why not. As you can tell by the brief directions, this is simple. Great chance for your kids to help out.

So I hope the start of your fall has brought good things with it.

Here we are....the eve of the first day of kindergarten. Big day for Hudson tomorrow. I could say all the usual stuff: time flies, he was just a baby, etc. But really I am just excited for him. I had such a postive experience at school and I am hoping the same for him too. It is going to be an adjustment for sure. The Monday to Friday, the driving, the lunch making.

Knowing what I know about Hudson I think his biggest challenge will be focusing enough to eat his lunch. All the other kids around, so much more fun to make farting noises than eat. My goal is to send mostly finger foods that are quick to eat and easy to handle.

I wanted to share what I bought to prepare for the long haul of lunch making. I feel like being prepared is half the battle. I have been purchasing things over the summer so Hudson had time to practice opening and closing. Plus I am a wee bit weird and want things to match.

Everything, unless otherwise mentioned, was purchased at Superstore. I didn't want things to be too precious. If and when they get lost I don't want to be out $30 per piece. I did label everything.

So top left is his zip up insulated lunch kit. beside it are two mini-icepacks. Middle right are two reuseable, velcro food bags. Good for foods like crackers, apple slices, grapes and sandwiches. Bottom right are silicone muffin liners. These are great to put inside other contains filled with dips (hummus, guacamole, nut butter) or little items like rasins, cubed fruit, veg and cheese. They are flexible so they can be molded around whatever else is in the container. Bottom left is re-useable squeezie bags. These are great for smoothies, yogurt and applesauce. I ordered these online from a company called Squooshi.

Top right is a thermos. I will be sending mostly spaghetti and homemade chicken noodle soup, his two faves. Middle right is two straw based water bottles and finally some fun shaped containers.

Again we have some larger assorted containers. Bottom left is a dinosaur bread/sandwhich cutter.

I re-purposed an old tote to store all this gear together. It is in a low cupboard. Hudson knows to return his empty lunch kit back into the bin at the end of the day.

We have been doing some chatting about what he would like to bring in his lunch. He is by far my most unadventuresome eater. I have frozen portions of pizza and chicken noodle soup at the ready.

I will share some of his lunches on Facebook and Instagram so make sure you follow along. Feel free to share your ideas too.

Tomorrow, the big day. Good luck my son, I know you are more than ready. And good luck to all your kids, and of course to you. We are going to need it.

  Have you seen those pins on Pinterest? You know the ones: “20 Freezer Meals in One Hour for under $100”. There are always accompanying photos of a bunch of neatly stacked and labeled Ziplock bags filled with food. The posts promise a shopping list and a host of other tips. I decided I wanted to try this. I rounded up a group of five willing friends with the promise of wine and leaving with six slow cooker meals. I offered to do the recipe selection and grocery shopping. I asked for a volunteer host with a large kitchen.

I thought my task would be easy. There were so many freezer meal plans to choose from. No big deal. Well upon closer inspection a lot of the recipes called for a can of cream of whatever soup, ranch dressing powder, processed cheese product, etc. Not things I cook with. So that was kind of a letdown. I quickly realized I was going to have to choose my own recipes. 

I decided on a bit of a criteria:
-nothing that needed per-cooking, browning, searing. This eliminated the prospect of using any ground meat. I couldn’t imagine browning 12+ pounds of ground meat, then putting warm meat into a bag (I am making the bletch face right now)
-I tried to vary the type of meats and types of dishes (not all soups)
-aim for a variety of flavours (I would go for all Mexican)

I settled on Chicken Fajitas, Beef and Broccoli, Balsamic Pork Tenderloin, Chicken Enchilada Soup, Vegetarian Chili and Thai Chicken Coconut Curry Soup (click for recipe). I compiled a master grocery list and did the shopping the day of to keep things fresh.

I told everyone to bring a cutting board, their favorite knife, a can opener  and some measuring spoons. I prepped the Ziplock bags by writing the contents, date and instructions (i.e. cook on low for 6-8 hrs). Then it was time to get to work….well drink wine too.

It took us about three hours to prep all 36 meals. Not bad. By far the most time was put into chopping peppers (30 of them) and onions (24). It could have been a lot faster if I had of thought of getting someone to bring a food processor. Grating ginger was a huge chore too (sorry Stacey). I thought to buy a jar of minced garlic but not ginger….next time. It worked well to do assembly line style; one person adds meat, another veg, another spices, etc. Less room for error that way.

When all 36 meals were done we were feeling pretty pleased with ourselves. Boom, six dinners we don’t have to worry about. It worked out to $12/meal. The meals are quite generous, for sure enough for dinner and left overs and in some cases two dinners.

The meals need to be thawed before cooking. I recommend putting the bag in your slow cooker insert in the fridge. There is a good likelihood that the bag will get punctured in your freezer while you are digging around in there. Having it leak all over the fridge = not fun. If it is not fully thawed just increase the cooking time a little.

Everyone was so happy with the process that there are plans to do another in early September. Plus it is a great excuse to hang out with your girlfriends. Of course this can be done in your own kitchen, but friends make everything better. There were suggestions that this should be my side project, facilitating groups of friends in bulk meal prep. Might be fun?

There have been a few changes in our house as of late. The biggest is that my middle, Sawyer, is lactose intolerant. He has been for a while. I only recently got around to investigating the reason that my three year old could fart like a 50 year old man after a chili eating contest followed by a few pints of draught beer. For real. It was a good source of entertainment, but the tummy pains were not. Basically lactose intolerance occurs when the sugar that naturally occurs in milk, lactose, can’t be broken down. This sugar then ends up in places it shouldn’t. The healthy bacteria in our gut have a total feast/party resulting in a lot of gas, bloating and pain. It is a good time to be lactose intolerant because lactose free milk, cheese and yogurt are widely available. A huge upside is that if Sawyer does want to have something containing lactose he can take a chewable pill that helps him digest the lactose. For the most part we aim for avoidance at home and have the pills for when we are out and about.

It does put a bit of a new spin on holidays like Easter. Milk chocolate = lactose. I decided this year to have a less candy/chocolate Easter basket. Not because I am a total candy Scrooge (or whatever the down on Easter version of that is). The kids are attending three Easter egg hunts. Plus two Easter dinners. There are going to be so many treats. Four day treat and lactose extravaganza. I feel I can easily pull back on the candy in their baskets without inciting feelings of hardship.

So I have decided to share with you what I did put in their baskets. The two older boys were essentially the same:
       - spring t-shirt
       - skipping rope
       - An Elephant and Piggie book
       - six pack of mini Play-Doh
       - a fun rubbery egg that looks like a splattered broken egg when you throw it at a hard surface
       - locally made little chocolate bunny (dark chocolate for Sawyer as good quality dark chocolate is lactose free)

For baby Milo:
        - a sippy cup
        - two t-shirts, one says "messy hair don't care" but I wish it said "fluffy hair don't care"
        - a felted egg shaped rattle
        - the cutest pair of Vancouver made Minimoc leather moccasins that I have been lusting over for a while

There are endless filling ideas: colouring books, crayons, little toys, stickers, puzzles, gift certificates for activities like a swimming pool visit. Endless.

On another note, I started this little blog four years ago today. I might not get to it as much as I once did but it still provides me with a creative outlet. I like that. A lot.

Happy Easter all, hope you are inspired to create a less candy Easter basket too.

Well, well, well....I have finally made my way back to my blog. I have many excuses: three busy boys, recent return to work, a computer that needs an upgrade, but none of that matters. I'm here.

Where to even start? We are all getting used to our new roles. Me: at work, pumping mom. Braden: stay at home, training for his forth triathalon dad. The boys: happy to have some wild dad time and maybe happy to have a more present mommy when I am home.

We drink a lot of smoothies around here. The whole family loves them. I also love mason jars. Imagine how excited I was to learn that a mason jar fits on the base of my blender.

I don't have a super fancy blender. I have had this one since I moved out of my parents house. It still works, but I am secretly hoping it will die so I can get a fancy one. Although this whole mason jar attachment has me pretty excited about my old, tired blender. It does let off that "forgot to disengage the emergency break and driving" kind of smell when it really works, so maybe close?

I had been lusting after these mason jar drink tops and straws.

I was waiting for them to go on sale. So they went on sale. At Target. Everything is on sale at Target. I don't even want to get into how sad I am that Target is closing. Anyways, I bought them and they are great. But maybe more great enjoyed with a costume on. I have also been using them for tea and iced coffee as well as to dispense home made vinaigrettes. The straw is wide enough for extra thick smoothies and all can be popped into the dishwasher.  

Some tips to create a better smoothie:
-add fruit: frozen or fresh
-lots of veggies: greens, avocado
-a protein source: low fat Greek yogurt, nut butters
-healthy fats: flax or hemp seeds
-watch your liquid: choose low fat milk (dairy or unsweetened non-dairy) or water instead of fruit juice to keep the sugar content down
-any left overs are great to pour into a popsicle mold

When we want to switch it up a bit we make a funky monkey smoothie:

2 cups milk
1/2 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
1 frozen banana
1-2 tbsp. natural peanut butter
1-2 tbsp. cocoa powder
Serves 2

So hoping to be back here soon, there are certainly some recipes I am excited to share.


He's here. He's been here for almost 2 months. Milo Francis Rory. The final installment in our family. He has long fingers, funny toes and red hair. My oldest said it best; "He's the perfect one". That sentence rings true to me on a daily basis. He's so sweet it hurts. There is something to be said for knowing that this is the last baby. There are the up sides: no more being pregnant, no more labor. But there are downsides: no more tiniest diapers, no more sleepy newborn. I kind of want to keep him in the Ergo carrier forever. 

I am the mom with three boys now. I see a lot of people looking at me when we are out in the world and things are going sideways. I can read the "thank god that's not me" on their faces. But there are also the moms that know. They know how truly lucky I am. They know how much joy, challenge, patience testing, humour, dirt, sweetness, penis and absurdity that comes with three boys. I wouldn't change any of it. Are we going to try for a girl? No. I like my role as April O'Neil when we play Ninja Turtles, or as the Pink Power Ranger. No one is going to take that from me.   

I have had a few wonderful deliveries of huge, garden grown zucchini. I wanted to try something different with them. Zucchini Fritters for the win.  

Zucchini Fritters
Yield: About 10 2 1/2 inch fritters

1 pound (about 2 medium) zucchini
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt or Kosher salt, plus extra to taste
2 green onions, sliced thin
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Oil of your choice, for frying (I used canola)

To serve 
1 cup plain, Greek yogurt or sour cream
1 to 2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
Pinches of salt
1 small minced or crushed clove of garlic

Directions:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Have a baking sheet ready.

Trim ends off zucchini and grate them either on the large holes of a grater or, if you have one, using the shredding blade of a food processor. 

In a large bowl, toss zucchini with 1 teaspoon coarse salt and set aside for 10 minutes. Wring out the zucchini by squeezing out small handfuls at a time. Get out as much liquid as possible to prevent soggy fritters. 

Return deflated mass of zucchini shreds to bowl. Taste and if you think it could benefit from more salt (most gets lost when squeezing), add a little bit more; we found 1/4 teaspoon more just right. Stir in green onions, egg and some freshly ground black pepper. In a tiny dish, stir together flour and baking powder, then stir the mixture into the zucchini batter.

In a large heavy skillet heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Drop small bunches of the zucchini mixture onto the skillet a few at a time so they don’t become crowded and lightly nudge them flatter with the back of your spatula. Cook the fritters over moderately high heat until the edges underneath are golden, about 3 to 4 minutes. If you find this happening too quickly, reduce the heat to medium. Flip the fritters and fry them on the other side until browned again. Drain briefly on paper towels then transfer to baking sheet and then into the warm oven until needed. Repeat process, keeping the pan well-oiled, with remaining batter. I like to make sure that the fritters have at least 10 minutes in the oven to finish setting and getting extra crisp.

For the topping, if using, stir together the yogurt, lemon juice, zest, salt and garlic and adjust the flavors to your taste. Dollop on each fritter before serving. 


Adapted slightly from here.

These fritters keep well, either chilled in the fridge for the better part of a week and or frozen in a well-sealed package for months. When you’re ready to use them, simply spread them out on a tray in a 325 degree oven until they’re hot and crisp again. I also re-heated them on the top rack of the BBQ. 

These were viewed with skeptisism when I brought them to a potluck dinner. Everyone was more than pleasantly surprised and were fighting over who got seconds. For real, that good. So ditch the tired zuchhini bread recipe and give this a go.