The food revolution

So Sunday night, I was bone tired after being in the car for the better part of the day, and was ready to hit the hay at 9:00 pm, when I saw the show “Jamie Oliver, food revolution” was coming on. Good nutrition is sort of a passion of mine. I learn new things constantly, and then incorporate them into my family’s meals. But I have to admit that some times, more often than I care to admit, my kids will eat school lunches, or the occasional fast food meal. The school lunches are usually not too bad, but because of the socioeconomic state of my area, all of the schools in my area receive free breakfast, this is where my hackles go up. They serve things like margarine on “wheat” bread, which in my mind is like serving plastic on glue; the bread is as close to being wheat as I am to being Julia Roberts. It is brown this is true, but is really just a slightly darker version of wonder bread. And margarine, well I personally think margarine is up there with crack as far as how bad for you it is. Needless to say, it is not a popular breakfast. They also serve things like cereal bars, honey nut cheerios, trix, and golden graham bars, held together by marshmallows. Wow, really, let’s just inject sugar into their veins and call it good. Don’t get me wrong, I get that our school children need the food, for many kids the breakfast and lunches they eat at school, are the closest thing to nutritious food they will eat all day, and for far too many they are the only two meals they will get in a day. So I understand that the food program is important, but really do we have to feed them crap?


This is where Jamie Oliver comes in; the premise of the show is that he goes into the schools in Huntington West Virginia to change what the kids eat into something nutritious, and stripped of chemicals and additives. If you are not familiar with Jamie, he is also known as The naked chef, I at first thought that meant he cooked naked, but he actually is passionate about whole, real food, and teaches people how easy it really is to cook that way.

My kids of course, have eaten some of the food served at their schools, despite having had breakfast at home most of the time, but because of the stripped down way we eat as a family, they will often report a chemical taste when they have eaten the school breakfasts. Now I am not a complete NAZI as far as food goes, if you read my blog you know that I love to bake, and cook, and yes sometimes it is fun to have a treat, but I do my best to make it with fresh, or at the very least whole ingredients, and personally I would rather have one of my whole wheat brownies than any mix you could buy. And they are occasional treats, not a nightly or even weekly event.

Inspired by the food revolution show, my oldest son, who was entering a drawing for Google’s “Doodle for Google” decided to scrap his original idea of making the word Google be all sorts of various art elements, and instead decided to do a commentary on the school food. He is at an age where taking your own lunch to school is tantamount to kissing your Mother in public, so he buys most every day, but he makes the healthiest choices he can at school. He has seen Super Size me twice, and it really made an impression on him, so much so that he boycotted meat for nearly a year. He is also very aware of what he puts in his body, and is constantly asking about the nutritional value of various foods we eat. Of course like any teenager, he loves food, but he does his best to make the better food choice. He told me he is concerned about going into High School next year because of the things he has heard about the food. (In my high school we got served chic filet, and had a little Debbie station, delicious yes, good for you? Not so much). The upside is, he is open to taking left overs for next year, or at the very least packing his lunch, because the High schools have microwaves so you can warm up your own food.

My youngest little boy is in his first year of preschool, and we noticed some severe behavior problems when he started school, despite my efforts of feeding him a nutritious breakfast each morning, he was eating the school breakfast (they called it their snack) the preschool food menu was even more appalling than the older grades. They were serving things like sugary cereals, chocolate/chocolate chip muffins, and flavored milk. Finally after the umpteenth note home about his behavior, I told the teachers that under no circumstances were he to eat the school “snack”. I started packing him food that I find acceptable, and guess what? His behavior improved dramatically. It is tricky sometimes to send food in because he is a super picky eater, but we have managed to come to a compromise on what he loves and what I approve of.

My middle boys will more often than not take a homemade lunch. Yes they do get the occasional treat in their lunch, but again I do my best to make the healthier choices, like whole grain pretzels, or organic chips. Whole grain tortillas, made with canola oil, organic yogurts etc...

So back to the entire reason I wrote this, I hope Jamie Oliver succeeds, he is trying to change the way we feed our precious children in this country. He knows that most of what is served in school lunchrooms across the nation is worse than many fast food chains. And much of what is served in school cafeterias, most adults wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole. A few of the points he brought up in Sunday nights show made me examine some of my habits a little more closely, and there is definitely room for improvement. I went to THIS site and “signed” the petition for change in our schools.

Do I feed my kids pizza? Yes I do, but it is usually the homemade variety, with fresh ingredients. I also give them chicken nuggets and French fries, but the nuggets are coated in whole wheat, and lightly “fried” in olive oil, the French fries are baked in the oven. I will get off my soap box in just a minute, I am just a girl who is trying to feed her family the best way she can, and yes it is on a budget. And I just think good nutrition should not be a luxury few can afford. It should be accessible to all who want it.

So with all that being said, I am making a renewed effort to feed my family with the freshest ingredients possible, with as much homemade as possible. I know I have gotten lax this past year, and have bought my share of preservative laden foods; even things that I, previous to Sunday thought were “healthier” because of the companies that made them. I was really inspired by the show, and am making my own pledge to give my kids bodies the best chances they have to grow and be healthy. Of course I won’t be perfect in this, but my goal is to, more often than not, make the better choices when it comes to feeding my family.

You can find more informaiton about the show HERE

Birthday bugs

Today we are celebrating round these parts. The little boy I tend turned 3 yesterday, and because he was home with his parents on his actual Birthday, we decided to have our own little celebration today because I will be out of town for his party. Making special cakes for my loved ones Birthdays is a personal tradition. Last week, I asked him what kind of cupcakes he wanted, and he said “Lady bugs!” He has been very interested in bugs and Dinosaurs for the last few months, personally I am glad he said ladybugs and not dinosaurs, those would be much trickier.


I had visions in my head of creating elaborate ladybugs with red and black frosting and black licorice rope, but it would be very time consuming, and most likely not turn out well. Then I decided to try making them out of gum drops and jelly beans. I figured that like their orange counterparts, that red gum drops would be uber popular. I would be wrong. So I had to settle for a small tub of assorted gumdrops. I did manage to find 13 red ones in it, then just tried to make other bugs with the different colors, after my first few other bug attempts, I gave up and just made different colored lady bugs. I did manage a terrible butterfly, and a mediocre spider, and a pathetic bee. Those disasters will get eaten by the kids, because all they care about is the sugar anyway.

Completely by coincidence, he is getting a ladybug game from me for his birthday. We have one and he LOVES it (which I suspect is why he chose ladybugs as the theme). That and one of those cool wooden block do-hickeys that are attached with rubber bands, to keep little hands occupied for hours. (I found it at the cracker barrel on my trip last weekend). Happy Birthday little friend!

Road tripping, and hurdles

Last weekend my family and I headed off for a road trip to Ohio to participate in my friends wedding. Never having been farther East than Chicago, I was nervous about the drive. I have had acute anxiety for about 15 years. It started when I was pregnant with my oldest child, and has never let up. I grind my teeth in my sleep as a result, and constantly have a surge of adrenaline coursing through me. You might imagine that this makes relaxing and sleeping difficult, it does indeed. It also prevents me from driving on certain roads, and to certain destinations. As a result of this, I have never even driven past O’Hare airport, even driving there has been an exercise in major self talk “ You will be fine, just breathe, relax, stay in the right lane…” etc... Exhausting!


Now recently, my anxiety levels have decreased dramatically, I am still under stress, in fact more now than ever, as I found out that I am losing one of our sources of income starting in June. Usually this would have me in a fine tizzy, but I have just taken it in stride. The only thing I can attribute it to is acupuncture. I told my Chiropractor about the relief from the stress, and he was surprised as well, but pleased none the less. Along with the absence of the anxiety has been the absence of the tightness in my throat (most likely a form of anxiety in itself). So eating and drinking has been comfortable again.

So that is why when my husband announced approx. 150 miles from home that I really needed to drive because his arm was completely asleep (he had pinched a nerve while driving). He announced this at a rest stop, as he headed to the bathrooms. I initially told him I couldn’t possibly handle it, feeling the familiar pricks of panic set in, then I remembered that the severe anxiety that had handicapped me for the last 15 years, was just a memory, only showing up when absolutely appropriate (like when I thought I had lost my cell phone on the trip, that has our navigation on it) So by the time he came back from the restroom, I told him that I would in fact be able to drive home.

After a quick potty break, I was ready; I put in some Bob Marley, because being able to sing to something familiar helps keep me calm. So off I headed, and surprise of all surprises, my anxiety only resurfaced when the brilliant driver in front of me cut off the Semi next to them, and nearly caused an accident.

My husband, bless him, kept his mouth shut about me being able to do it all along, we both know that wasn’t true, because I have had to pull over at exits and ordered him to drive before. Instead he just smiled each time I passed an exit that led to some attraction, I had previously been unable to drive to. I noted the different highways we traveled over, and asked him if this one led to the raceway, or to the zoo, or to six flags he just said “Yep” to which I replied “Huh? Who knew?” Certainly not me.

I have in the past taken baby steps towards being able to drive to Chicago, I have forced myself to drive through rush hour in Denver, and Salt Lake City, and a few other big cities while on trips, but since I actually lived in few of those cities, it was sort of like slipping on a comfortable pair of shoes. Chicago has been a whole different ball of wax for me. I can get there by train with little difficulty, but the traffic has always deterred me, or seriously made me a nervous wreck, even while being a passenger.

So does this mean I can drive to Downtown Chicago? I hope so, now driving through the actual city, well that is another matter altogether. But for now, I will hold on to this accomplishment like it is the blue ribbon in a bake off. It may seem small, but it is a HUGE accomplishment for me.

Happy St Patricks' day

I love St Patricks’ day, it always says spring to me. And it actually feels like spring here in my neck of the woods, which makes the day all the sweeter. Each year I look forward to corned beef and cabbage, with red potatoes, and sometimes I even make Irish soda bread, or biscuits. This year I will be doing neither, my kids really don’t like corned beef soup. At first they did, but eventually their taste for it dropped like flies. So this year I decided to make Reuben’s instead. I LOVE Reuben’s, they are perhaps my favorite of all the deli sandwiches, and since the kids aren’t huge fans of the holiday meat, I have NEVER made these tasty treats for them. I did however make them when I worked as a barista in Colorado, which is coincidently where I fell in love with them. And the kids agreed to try them this year, I have a feeling they will absolutely love them, if not more sauerkraut for me. (Plus they haven’t actually figured out that we are still having, a form of corned beef and cabbage.


One thing that will remain the same is the St Patty’s day dessert. If this holiday were to have an official dessert, I would hope it would be my family’s favorite; crème de menthe brownies. These little gems make me take the Lords name in vain, they are that good! The reason I believe these puppies are so tasty, is the layers on them. You start out with a standard brownie recipe (mine is called “the best brownies ever” recipe). Cook them according to directions, and then let them cool. While they are cooling, you make a luscious buttercream frosting and flavor it with peppermint, and color it green. You slather it on the cooled brownies (I like to make a layer as thick as the brownie itself) then you melt chocolate chips and butter together to make a sort of ganache, which you spread over the brownies. This you let set up for several hours till firm, or if you are completely impatient like me, you put the whole thing in the freezer for 30 minutes or so until firm, yes the chocolate will get a little white, but you will not care once you try one. Our family loves these so much, that they beg for them throughout the year, now usually when we have a special dessert for a specific holiday, I will not make it more than once a year, but these babies, have also earned a spotlight for Halloween as well. Only then I make orange flavored butter cream frosting, and of course use orange food coloring. They are divine either way.



Crème de menthe brownies

(Best brownies ever recipe)

3 eggs

2 C sugar

1 t vanilla

1C butter softened

1 ¼ C flour (I use whole wheat, but they taste great either way)

¾ C cocoa powder (I use half regular cocoa and half extra dark,. But they taste great either way)

1/2t baking powder

1/2 t salt

Melt butter and set aside. Beat eggs into a froth. Add sugar and vanilla. Beat until thick and light. Add butter, mix completely, then add rest of ingredients. Place in a 9x13 pan and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. (I take mine out a little before they are completely done for a softer edge). Let brownies cool until they are room temperature.



Crème de menthe frosting

1C butter softened

2t vanilla

3T milk

1 dash salt (about ¼ t)

Approx. 16 oz. bag powdered sugar

2t peppermint extract

Green food coloring,

Beat butter till light, add vanilla and powdered sugar, then milk and salt. Beat till light and fluffy then add peppermint extract. If frosting is too thick add ½ t milk at a time until desired texture is achieved. If frosting is too thin, then add ¼ C of powdered sugar at a time until favorable texture is reached. Frost cooled brownies.



Chocolate topping

1C chocolate chips (I use semi sweet)

6T butter

In small sauce pan melt together butter and chocolate chips until well blended. Spread over frosted brownies, smooth and let cool. (You can put the brownies in the freezer or fridge until the chocolate has set up). Enjoy!

Pi, Sponch, Canelitas, and blackmail, all in a days work

So Sunday was pi day. (As in π 3.1415926535…). My son mentioned that they would be celebrating at school on Monday, and that if he wanted he could bring in donuts for all the kids (because of their circular shape…). Ever thoughtful, he of course just figured 3 dozen donuts (yep have to buy for the teachers too, and of course a dozen is cheaper than individual donuts) would be like $5. When I broke it to him that each dozen is about $7, and it would be around $21 plus tax and really I couldn’t justify spending that much right now, he just sort of shrugged. I thought the matter was settled until last night that is.

So I get my acupuncture last night, I come home to find that my hubby has cleaned up and gotten the kids into jammies, and they are just killing 10 minutes till bedtime. Bedtime comes and goes, kids are snuggled in their beds when my thoughtful donut loving son comes out again… “Hey Mom, can I please bring in donuts tomorrow?”

Me, puzzled “Wasn’t today Pi celebration day?”

Thoughtful son “ Yeah, but only one kid brought in cookies, so the teacher said we have another chance to actually bring in something round for tomorrow, because we are extending the celebration”.

Me, resisting the urge to roll my eyes as I am wont to do “So you were supposed to bring in something round that is food? You were assigned to bring it in?”

Thoughtful son (by this time it is somewhere in the realm of way past his bedtime, and I have switched to a near vegetative state for the evening). “Yeah, Mr blahdee blah (name changed to protect the innocent) said we had to bring in round food… that is treat like. “ (He added that as I glanced at the mammoth Costco sized box of Ritz crackers sitting on the table).

Me “*Sigh* Ok bud, even if I have to make 3 dozen cookies tonight, I promise you that there will be something round to take to school tomorrow.” I was so not in the mood to bake.

As soon as he was in bed, my husband asked if he could play his video game that I abhor. Sure, when he asks, it makes me sound like some tyrannical husband from the 50’s but trust me, if he thought he could get away with it, he would only play video games, and give up work, family, sleeping and eating. Recently, he caught on that I don’t mind nearly as much if he plays, as long as he will do some of the dirty work around here, like I don’t know, picking up approx. 28-36 round food/treat type items for his very thoughtful son, and sweeping a floor or two, sure it is a sort of blackmail, but it works. Win/win.

Off he went to the little Mexican grocery store 2 blocks away (The closest “American” grocery is a few miles away). He came back with delicious looking Mexican, round vanilla cookies filled with pink marshmallow goo and rolled in coconut called sponch!, and another Mexican wafer type cookies covered in cinnamon and sugar, called canelitas. I called my very thoughtful son back out of bed, and asked him to choose, ‘cause Momma needed some sugar, so whichever the loser was, was getting in my belly. He, of course, chose the pink fluffy ones (who wouldn't want sponch)? So I opened the other ones, and to my delight they were simply amazing. They taste rather like a cinnamon shortbread (shortbread happens to be my favorite type of cookie) and they are super addicting. I kind of hope pi day gets s third term in office, momma needs more cookies.

Bribery?! You bet!

Mornings around here are usually pretty hectic, with 4 kids leaving for 4 different busses between 7:00 and 8:15 every morning, plus the 2 kids I tend, and getting everyone, dressed and out the door with homework, and lunches, and instruments is tricky enough, add to that children who are fighting, and it gets pretty hairy around here. I have been pondering for a while something that might motivate my children to have more consideration for one another and be nicer in general to everyone they encounter So the hectic mornings can at least be pleasant. I came up with an idea for a “Good Manners Jar” for each of my children.


The idea is sort of like a swear jar, but instead of paying when you swear, you get paid for showing kindness and consideration to others, and using good manners in general. The kids can also lose money for being unkind, or not using manners. They get whatever is in their jar at the end of the week. I am thinking a dime for each time I catch them using nice manners, and being kind, and subtracting a quarter for poor manners. I talked to them about it yesterday, and they all seemed very excited to earn the money, however being nice doesn’t altogether appeal to them, hence the need to use bribery. I know I feel more inclined to do my Job when I get a paycheck at the end of the week.

I also got another great idea from my eleven years old teachers. In his classes, they are learning about life skills, and the kids can earn pretend money for doing jobs. They first have to interview for the jobs, with the understanding that some jobs pay more than others. They also have to budget their pretend money and use it to pay for things like sharpening a pencil, free time, and bathroom privileges, free time, they even pay taxes! I am thinking of using a similar system for my kids, so they can earn TV time, computer and video game time, or just play time. (something they believe they are just entitled to, my Husband feels the same way, so I may have an uphill battle there) but I think it is such a great idea for them to have something tangible that they have to give up in order to get the payoff. I like the idea that it teaches them to budget as well. We have given them allowance since they were each about 4 years old for chores, but it has lost its appeal, as the kids think they should earn way more than they currently do, so it has led to apathy towards their tasks. So I think I will use the fake money idea that they can cash in for their privileges. I am also in love with the idea of interviewing them for each chore; I have my bets hedged as to which kid will choose what. I wonder if it works on husbands.

Beautiful Disaster

Video for Beautiful disaster


It’s not often that a song takes my breath away, but when it happens I sit up and take notice. I heard “Beautiful Disaster” today by Jon Mclaughlin. At first blush, I loved the melody, his voice, and the haunting way he was singing. So I decided to download it. In the course of doing so I actually listened to the lyrics, and then the chills began. The song is simply beautiful in every way.


It is about every girl who doesn’t fit in, who doesn’t think she is beautiful, and because she doesn’t look like the magazine images she is bombarded with, she feels she is worthless, and doing it all wrong. The song resonates with me because it could have been written about me as a young Woman; even in part (though I hate to admit it) myself a little bit now. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of some way to improve myself physically, or mentally beat myself up for not being the magazine standard.

So bravo to Mr. Jon Mclaughlin for having such a beautiful song, recognizing the real feelings of so many young women.



Beautiful Disaster

She loves her momma's lemonade

Hates the sound that goodbyes make

She prays one day she'll find someone to need her

She swears that there's no difference between the lies and compliments

It's all the same if everybody leaves her



And every magazine tells her she's not good enough

The pictures that she sees make her cry



She would change everything, everything, just ask her

Caught in the in between of beautiful disaster

She just needs someone to take her home



She's giving boys what they want

Tries to act so nonchalant

Afraid to see that she's lost her direction

She never stays the same for long

Assuming that she'll get it wrong

Perfect only in her imperfection



She's not a drama queen

She doesn't wanna feel this way

Only 17 and tired, yeah



She would change everything for happy ever after

Caught in the in between of beautiful disaster

She just needs someone to take her home



She's just the way she is

But no one's told her that's OK



She would change everything, everything, just ask her

Caught in the in between of beautiful disaster



She would change everything for happy ever after

Caught in the in between of beautiful disaster

She just needs someone to take her home

She just needs someone to take her home

A touch of red? Or a touch of Dead...

There was much flack to be had on my family’s blog regarding Vampires and the like, but that will not deter me from professing my love for the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris. To say I LOVED these books would be putting it mildly. I crawled inside them and ate up every last morsel. I then watched the first season of True Blood from HBO. (based on said novels) It was pretty good, though not as good as the books. I am without any premium channels, but I really love many of the shows offered by Showtime and HBO. So my Netflix queue is frequently filled to the brim with various TV episodes (mostly from those 2 channels).


Back to topic. I wonder if Stephenie Meyer didn’t take a gander at the Sookie novels before trying her hand at her own series. There are certainly the similarities of the Vampires being cold and hard as stone, and their hatred of werewolves. And a female lead who is lusted after by any straight male who breathes. But the similarities end there. Charlaine paints a vivid picture that draws you into the small town southern life of a girl who is just a barmaid, and a telepath, and good at both. She has adventures, and sex, lots of it. Which to be honest makes them way, way better than the twilight books.

Sookie is a hot commodity, not only for her talent of reading minds, but for her pretty face, and rockin size 10 bod. Sadly in 9 books, she never figures out that when she wears a formal, there will be blood, lots of it, and it will ruin her ensemble. She has unfailingly good manners, which frankly are in short supply these days.

For the record, I am well aware that Bill Compton, and Eric Northman, like Edward Cullen, will never love me, but a girl can dream right?