The Dogs

The dogs were all ready to go this morning at 6:45, I would have loved that last 15 minutes but alas they had another idea.

Lucy in the kitchen(the little one)



Bonnie 'the mummy'& three of her pups: Adventure, Shadow and Pearl



Elwood(who guards the house all night)


Adventure and Bonnie 'bed sharing'

The "Cooking" Farm

The Farm


















Tonight has already been eventful and it's only 7PM! The girls and I made creme brulee(recipe from Alton Brown's, Food Network), up to the part in the recipe where you need to chill the custard overnight.

The red ramekins filled...



Next, JP(12 year old boy) and I made the gluten free pizza- Bob's Red Mill mix. We made plain(with mozz and marinara sauce) and bbq chicken(leftover roasted chicken from Whole Foods shredded by hand, with about 1/2 cup of gluten free bbq sauce-cooked at low heat for 5 minutes). The kids had carrots and baby spinach for veggies on the side.

Pizza dough going in the oven

My plate(the kids DEMOLISHED their pizza)

Downtown Mall Day

Today I spent most of the morning at the Downtown Mall, where there are quirky little shops, and the best day spa in the country- Oasis! I was given an hour and a half massage from my cousin. It was a perfect end to this week. The masseuse, Emily, was really nice and worked out those knows- which before a weekend with three kids was much needed. :)

Oasis Day Spa
103 Water St
Charlottesville, VA 22902
(434) 244-9667
www.oasisdayspaandbodyshop.com


Afterwards, I headed down to Revolutionary Soup, which I was excited to see right around the corner from Oasis. They pride themselves in having local veggies, and high quality ingredients. I picked out two soups that were gluten free. The Spicy Senegalese Peanut Tofu soup which said it was a "spicy blend of jalapenos combined with mild peanut soup garnished with scallions & cilantro." I also got the Butternut Squash Bisque. I brought them home so I could have them for this weekend. But alas, the peanut soup(about half of it) ended up being my lunch. :) I plopped some roasted chicken straight into it for little more protein.



Revolutionary Soup
info@revolutionarysoup.com
434-296-SOUP
108 2nd Street SW
Charlottesville, VA 22902


The girls REALLY wanted to make creme brulee, so as of right now we are in the second step of making 6 ramekins worth. I wonder if I could make it with whole milk, or even low fat milk and it would still taste as good or set?

Breakfast for dinner

Breakfast for dinner tonight- yummo!!

One of the ladies and I are writing this post together tonight.

Lu says, "We had bagels, eggles, pancakes, apple slices, and turkey bacon for dinner. Oh and we had cream cheese, too. That's all! "

Lu and her dinner...



I could not partake in most of dinner- so my plate looked a little different.




Not only is breakfast for dinner fun, but it's a good way to get some added protein(eggs) into your day!

We've got school talent show auditions tomorrow- time to go listen to "Soak up the Sun" and "Doctor My Eyes" over and over again...

Another day...

Another day is coming to an end on the farm, and the sunlit is hitting the front fields so beautifully- I had to try and show you(see picture above).

I went back to the ACAC(the local gym) today and took an Endurance spin class. It was 90 minutes long, and by the end I will admit I was dragging. Yet, I decided since the stair climb is coming up soon, I should get on the stepmill for another 10 minutes of cardio to round my workout out to a grand total of 100 minutes. I lasted 7 minutes, before deciding I should take the time to stretch( aka my legs for tired).

Then after kid pick up today, I took the girls to see a friend of the families baby, Link. He is super cute and the girls had a good time playing around their house and holding the baby.

Now, we're back at the house and it's homework time. The amount of reading these three children do is astounding- they could read for hours. Every afternoon, the girls are downstairs on the dog beds with the dogs, on the couch in the kitchen, or the kitchen table reading for 30-40 minutes at a time. During the school week the house rule is no television or DS(handheld Nintendo) and without fuss, they just read in their beds for atleast another half an hour. It's awesome!!

Reading with the dogs...


For lunch today I had another "every veggie in the kitchen" salad. I found a yellow pepper, tomatoes, baby spinach, carrots and a small amount of avocado. An entire roasted chicken was only $5.99 today at Whole Foods, so I added about 3/4 cup of chicken(without the skin) to the salad as well, and some toasted pine nuts for good measure. It was soooo good and sooo filling!

Tonight for dinner we're having breakfast. The kids love breakfast, and were SUPER excited about this idea.

Off to feed the troops...

Cutting wood

What have I done today:

- 35 minutes of cardio(including the stepmill)
- 35 minutes of strength
- used a chainsaw to cut a tree
- split wood with an ax
- laundry
- made dinner for a family of 5(three kids and two adults) PLUS 6 dogs
- drove children to and from school
- did I mention I used a CHAINSAW & an AX!!!!!





My breakfast
- 1 slice of Abigail's bread
- 1 egg
- 1/8 of an avocado

My lunch:
- spicy peanut soup(extra's from lunch yesterday)
- salad with cherry tomatoes, yellow pepper, carrots, toasted pine nuts, and avocado on mixed greens with a viniagrette

Dinner tonight for the "family"
- broccoli
- pasta(not gluten free)
- pasta sauce
- 90/93% lean meatballs
- baby spinach and carrots(for the kids)


Meatball recipe:

- 1 lbs. of ground 93% turkey OR 93% lean red meat
- 1 egg
- 1 piece of toast(gluten free or NOT) OR 1/4 cup of oats
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1/8 cup of parm or mozz
- 1 tbls. of tomato sauce(use the rest later)


Preheat oven to 400F. Food process toast or oats until meal-like in consistency then add cloves of garlic and pulse again. Add all ingredients together and bind with hands or spoon. Place meat, made into balls, onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until fully cooked through. Place cooked meatballs into sauce and let simmer on low until pasta or spaghetti squash is cooked. I personally like these meatballs with spaghetti squash which I use in place of pasta.

Morning a' buzz...

I was awoken this morning with one of the puppies(who are now 17 months and over 80 lbs.) licking my face. It was Pearl who I had enclosed in the dog room last night and had jumped the gate and brought the grand total to FOUR over 80 lbs. dogs in my room at 6AM! The snoring from Elwood(the Pyrenees) and Bonnie(a Newfie) was hysterical!!

I made the kids low-fat cinnamon rolls with strawberries and scrambled eggs this morning for breakfast, and they were gone so fast I couldn't take a picture- sorry!

I made lunches today for all three kids.
Items included: cheese stick, atleast one piece of fruit, second piece of fruit or a veggie, sandwich(pb & j or turkey), sesame blues chips and a z-bar.




I'm off to yoga this morning again- I don't know though if I can take an hour and 45 minutes in hotness everyday though! We'll see!!

Ut-o puppies upstairs....got to go...

Dinner last night

Dinner last night after the basketball game:

Brown rice risotto with peas and parm
Bell and Evans chicken nuggets(quick!)
baby spinach
carrots(for the kids)

dessert: coconut or chocolate gelato(small amount)

Family Life on the Farm

Kitchen Window

Today has been a blur- with making lunches, getting the kids to school, yoga(1 hour and 45 minute class!), grocery shopping, kid pickup and granola bar making...and it's only 3:30...

My plan for the kids(two 9 year old girls & one 12 year old boy)this week is to get them to try new things- including more veggies, new recipes(turkey meatballs,etc),and healthier snacks!


Lunch for the twins today:

peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat
carrots or red pepper slices
cheese stick or cheese crackers
peanut butter cookie
clementine or pear
water

School snack: Z-bar or yogurt

Snack this afternoon for the ladies(we're going to their brother's basketball game soon!)
piece of fruit
cheese-its(they were in the house- and they both wanted them)
water


My breakfast today:
2x slices of brown rice and millet bread(I brought it)
1/4 avocado



My Lunch:
spicy peanut soup from Arches(I will write more on this place later)
1/2 sandwich without the bread(turkey, lettuce, cheddar, sprouts, tomato)



I still really miss Lola even through the hustle bustle of life here! These faces are helping though... Shadow, Bonnie, and Lucy(only three of the six dogs!)

Forgot my salad...

All that work to get organized for my trip and I forgot my veggies for lunch! Argh!!!

I ended up getting a salad from Au Bon Pain with chicken, olives, tomatoes, cukes,and feta! It was only $6.49- not too bad for an airport salad!




It was pretty good, and held me over til I got to Charlottesville where I had a wonderful dinner of salmon, asparagus, and salad! Yummy!! Of course, I ended up making peanut butter cookies for everyone as dessert! :)

Busy Sunday

Our first day without Lola has been hard, but we've kept busy going to brunch with Dave's family, watching the Pat's game(yikes), packing for VA, and tonight heading to a friend's house for dinner.

We had brunch at The Old Salt in Hampton, New Hampshire. I hadn't been to a buffet in a really long time, and was surprised about how many unhealthy options they had. Also, for people who have allergies it's not the easiest. So, I got a omelet with tomatoes, peppers, cheese, onions and broccili that was made fresh for me. I also had two small pieces of turkey and a mixed green salad, with dill yogurt sauce. The table of desserts was covered in cakes, brownies and bars, and NOT gluten free. But their Belgian dark chocolate fountain(gluten free) had strawberries and pineapple(fresh) to dip into it, so I had a couple of pieces of dipped fruit. Overall, I think I had made some good choices.

The Old Salt


Now, I've been packing and getting ready for my trip- making piles, and organizing. For instance, when traveling and being an airport, I find it hard to find healthy options- so I usually bring my own.

A couple helpful items I always have on me, just in case:

- empty Sigg bottle(I ask Starbuck's to fill it for me AFTER I got through security)
- fruit(pear or an apple) and/or veggies(like carrots)
- granola(usually wholemade, but it doesn't matter) or a bar
- salad(if I'm going to be in the airport during lunch or dinner time- from Whole Foods or I make it myself)
- to go coffee mug & tea bags(hot water is free!)

I think of it as a way to save money! Why purchase items at the airport that are double if not triple the price and then not be happy with the choices I've made- ugh no thanks!

Dinner with the Ladies

Last night, Dave and I went to dinner at friend from school's house. We had such a nice time, and she is an amazing cook. She was so considerate to cook soft food for Dave and her husband kept the wine flowing... :) Great night with all ladies from school and it helped ease the pain of starting another semester...atleast we have each other!

Dinner: salmon, tarragon peas, acorn squash with apples and walnuts, and corn pudding



Creme brulee :)



Dipped strawberries & chocolate meringues


This am I went to the Bunker Hill monument to do a practice climb before my big stair climb at One Boston Place for the American Lung Association in February. It was killer on the lungs, but felt good when it was over.

Our Lola & The Trip

Today, is our last full day with Ms. Lola- who is passed OUT next to me right now. We've been playing all afternoon in the backyard, and in the house. She got a new 'cuz' ball, which as some of your dog owners know that dogs LOVE. She also got a frozen marrow meat bone from Whole Foods today. Someone at our dog park told me about these bones, awhile back, and they are Lola's favorite. We keep them frozen and she loves to lick, chew, and nibble on the bone and the marrow inside. It's not cooked so it won't break into little sliver pieces in her system. I wanted to spoil her rotten ;)
We are going to miss her so much, but know making this transition is the best thing for her. Tomorrow afternoon we will meet the shelter/adoption agency in a field in CT and make the very tearful transition.





On Monday, I'm heading out of town for about a week and half to Charlottesville, VA. My cousin needed some help taking care of her children, the dogs and horses - I was happy to help. I get to play mummy for the week, and will be busy and hopefully not thinking about Lola so much. I love Charlottesville, the people especially my family, the food and the glorious landscape. I'm going to do yoga everyday while the kids(there are three) are in school. I've looked into the Charlottesville Bikram studio, and thought I would try it out. Also, I'm going to try out a couple recipes on the kids. I know the girls like to cook, so I hope to have some fun in the kitchen when them, and hopefully get them to try some new foods with Meggie!

Food & Farming

My online adventure today started with an article that Mark Bittman(author of the blog Bitten and The Minimalist column in the New York Times) had mentioned on his post for today. I thought this writer, Russ Parsons, presented some information on food and farming well. As a consumer, and a student in the nutrition world I think it is important to read not only the journal articles, but also opinions and thoughts that are in the popular press on food and farming.

Russ Parsons The Facts about Food and Farming:

* Agriculture is a business. Farming without a financial motive is gardening. I use that line a lot when I'm giving talks, and it always gets a laugh. But it's deadly serious. Not only do farmers have expenses to meet just like any other business, but they also need to be rewarded when they do good work. Any plan that places further demands on farmers without an offsetting profit incentive is doomed to fail.

* What's past is past. Over the last 50 years, American farmers performed an agricultural miracle, all but eliminating hunger as a serious health issue in this country. But that battle has been won, and though those gains must be maintained, the demands of today -- developing a system that delivers flavor as well as quantity and does it in an environmentally friendly way -- are different.

* Food is not just a culinary abstraction. No matter how much you and I might appreciate the amazing bounty produced by talented, quality-driven farmers, we also have to acknowledge that sometimes food is . . . well, just food. So when we start dreaming about how to make our epicurean utopia, we also have to keep in mind that our first obligation is to make sure that healthful, fresh food remains plentiful and inexpensive enough that anyone can afford it.

* There's no free pass on progress. Just because you've always farmed a certain way does not mean that you are owed the right to continue farming that way in the future. The days of a small or medium-sized farm making a decent profit growing one or two crops and marketing it through the traditional commodity route are long past. The world is changing, and those who can adapt are the ones who will be successful.

* The world is not black and white. The issues facing agriculture today are much more complicated than lining up behind labels such as "local" and "organic," no matter how praiseworthy they might seem in the abstract.

* No farm is an island. That's not literally true, of course; there are several island farms in the Sacramento Delta. But even there, farmers have to remember that they're living in an ever-more crowded state where their actions affect others. Assuming that what happens on your land is nobody's business but your own just doesn't work anymore.

* Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Holding out for an unattainable dream may mean losing a chance at a more easily realized goal. At the same time, just because an idea may not be the perfect answer, it doesn't mean that there aren't benefits to it. A completely locavore diet is, well, loco, but buying as much locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables as you can is just common sense.

* Quality is more expensive than quantity. Farming fruits and vegetables that are not just healthful but also have great flavor takes a lot of time and work and usually means not growing as much as a neighbor who doesn't focus on flavor. So when you're shopping, don't begrudge a good farmer a little higher price -- that's what it takes to keep him in business.

* You don't climb a ladder starting at the top rung. In a system as complex as our food supply, change is evolutionary. Remember long-term goals, but focus on what's immediately achievable. Any argument that begins, "All we have to do is rewrite the Farm Bill," is probably decades, if not centuries, from reality. But there are plenty of small things we can do now to start us down that road.

* Don't assume that those who disagree with you are evil, stupid or greedy. And even when they are, that doesn't relieve you of the responsibility for making a constructive and convincing argument.

* What's political is also personal. If you believe in something, you should be willing to make sacrifices to support it, even if it's expensive or inconvenient. Wailing about farmers who use pesticides and then balking at paying extra for organic produce is hypocritical because the yields in organic farming are almost always lower. On the other hand, there's nothing wrong with doing the best you can whenever you can -- as long as you're willing to accept compromises from the other guy too.

* Finally, and most important: Beware the law of unintended consequences. Developing tasteless fruits and vegetables was not the goal of the last Green Revolution; it was a side effect of a system designed to eliminate hunger by providing plentiful, inexpensive food, but that also ended up rewarding quantity over quality. We should always keep in mind that when we're dreaming of a system that focuses on the reverse, we run the risk of creating something far worse than strawberries that
bounce.

Entire article: http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-calcook6-2010jan06,0,6888223.story
Russ Parsons
LA Times
1/6/2010

Veggie Planet

Oh, how I have missed Veggie Planet, it's a Harvard Square gem. Today, I met a friend for lunch and a movie date.

We went to VP(Veggie Planet) around 12:45 and there was a line of people waiting for their delicious treats. From fresh made pizza's made in a fire oven, to their wonderful "daily" soups, and great salads- VP has it all. Check out the lunch menu-http://www.veggieplanet.net/menu/lunch.pdf- their prices are great and for $7.25 I got this soup and salad combo, along with a piece of their pizza bread(which is NOT gluten free)so not edible for me.



My friend got a 'Doubleheader' which is two pizza entrees side by side. She had Henry's Lunch(roasted butternut squash, caramelized onions, rosemary & sage, goat cheese and asiago cheese) and the Safe & Sound(fresh marinated tomatoes, sliced mozzarella and asiago cheese topped with basil and fried garlic). My favorite before my gluten problem was the UnSafe and Sound(which is the above with rooster 'spicy' sauce on top) and the Casear on the Big Cheesy Crouton(romaine lettuce, tomatoes, broccoli, tofu croutons, and kalamata olives tossed with Caesar dressing[whole-made] and topped with asiago cheese on top of pizza dough encrusted with asiago cheese) -unbelivable!!! You must like garlic, because it is pretty much in everything! I love it because the prices are fantastic, it keeps me full for hours, they use high quality ingredients, and I am supporting local.

"Doubleheader"



Veggie Planet
47 Palmer St(off of Church St)
Cambridge, MA 02138
(617) 661-1513
www.veggieplanet.net


Workout today:
Hour of Power Yoga @ 6:30am

Meals today:
Breakfast: lettuce wraps(same as yesterday)
Snack: pear
Lunch: veggie planet(soup and salad)
Dinner: lettuce wraps(same)
snacks: 2x "special" gluten free peanut butter cookies(see recipe from last week)