Savory Sweet Potato & Veggie Hash

Originally the dish was served to me with Salmon - I love it that way too, but it is just SO versatile!

Five years ago, I took my first big trip as a mom - a cross-country flight to Seattle, SOLO with my 10 week old daughter. To say I was nervous heading into it would be the understatement of the century. I thought "She's going to cry, or just make a lot of noise and everyone around me will be so mad to be near us..."  I contemplated cancelling the trip, but it was an exciting opportunity to check out a new city and meet my husband there for a long weekend tagged onto his work trip.  We went for it.

Essentially the opposite of all of my fears came true on my travels.  People can be so good to one another.

I stepped onto the plane and the flight attendant immediately ushered me to the front row so I'd have extra room to move around. When I turned to the man next to me to preemptively apologize for the next four hours, he assured me that he too, a dad, had been in my shoes and he was there to help if I needed anything. Later on in the flight, too timid to ask for help, he saw me shifting to get up for a bag and told me to sit down and relax as he got my bag for me. And my daughter, she was happily nursing or sleeping the entire time. I always think back to that trip and remember the angels that helped me get through one of my first experiences as a mom.

The other thing I remember from that trip is a meal I had. Kind people and yummy meals. That'll do it. Every fall since then I have done my best to recreate the autumnal meal and every fall, it takes me back to that Seattle hotel room when my husband was at a work meeting, my newborn was asleep next to me, and a delicious room-service meal assured me that even as a new parent I would be able to enjoy grown up things.

Each year I change the ingredients a bit and I encourage you to do the same. This is the first time I added asparagus (not exactly a fall veg) as the market had some that looked good. Next time I think I'll try some parsnips... the possibilities are endless. Enjoy!

Savory Sweet Potato & Veggie Hash
2t Olive Oil
1 Medium Sweet Potato, peeled & diced (2 cups)
1c diced onion
1c diced baby Bella Mushrooms
1c asparagus, trimmed and cut to 1cm "diced sized" pieces
2c de-stemmed, chopped Kale
Salt & Pepper to taste

Dice the Veggies.

Heat the oil over medium heat.

Cook the onion until slightly translucent, about 2 minutes.

Add Sweet Potato to the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes until it starts to soften, just slightly.

Add mushroom. Cook another 2 minutes.

Add asparagus.

Add chopped Kale. Stir veggies until the kale is wilted. Turn off heat.

Season the Hash with salt & pepper, to taste.

Serve Hash alone, with Salmon, Eggs over-easy, scramble it in eggs for breakfast - this hash is SO seasonal and versatile!

Do my kids eat the entire hash? Sadly, no. 

But I make some of the sweet potatoes alone and they will happily munch on those!

Good ol' fashioned chicken noodle soup. In 10 minutes.

As the temps start to drop, I get excited for the crockpot and all the roasted veggies. But to be honest, some of the stuff I am most looking forward to (chili, stew...), it would be shocking to me if my kids ate it. I always do my due-diligence and require they take a bite of new things. (They are not otherwise allowed to say they don't like it.) Sometimes the bite is all it takes to make a fan, sometimes they still aren't interested. In any event, they still need to eat, and mama is a vegetable pusher.

So one of my favorite ways to push veggies is with a batch of good ol'fashioned chicken noodle soup. But it also needs to be fast. So I have been making a 10 minute chicken noodle soup that is loaded with veggies and every person in my family asks for seconds. Mama's pusher-dreams come true.

10-minute Chicken Noodle Soup
Serves 4-6

6-8c low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth (add more if you like once the noodles are al dente)
1c Frozen corn
1/2c frozen peas
1c sliced carrots (i have been using fresh because I always have them on hand but frozen would work just fine)
2c chopped broccoli (another veg I almost always have fresh on-hand, but save the chopping step and use frozen if you like!)
2c uncooked noodles (I'll use whatever I've got but whole wheat rotini is a good go-to. Bonus points for using Banza chickpea noodles - in soup my kids don't notice a difference)
2t Flavor God Garlic lover seasoning
Salt & Pepper to taste
2-3c No salt added, rotisserie chicken, chopped

Add broth to medium saucepan and turn heat the medium-high. Add all veggies. Once broth is at a boil, add uncooked pasta and seasoning. Cook until al dente, about 8min. In the last few minutes of pasta cooking, add chicken. Serve. (I throw an ice cube in each kid's bowl so I can save my breath cooling it down for them and still eat mine warm! Magic.)

Rise and Grind, Mamas.

Once I had it in my mind that I'd be starting a new job, I knew that getting into a routine once the school year started was going to be key in keeping health and fitness a top priority in a busy day.  As much as I wished there was another option, I knew that early mornings would be the most consistent opportunity for me to workout.  In the afternoons the kids have different schedules and activities each day of the week, in the evenings there are often times I can't get away for a workout or I want to focus on family time. And I really didn't want to have to shower more than once a day... so the mornings seemed to make sense. 5am is early, really early.  Luckily, while I wouldn't lie and say "5am is natural for me," it is doable.  If forced to decide, I have always been more of a morning person than a night owl.

The first week back to work I think was pure adrenaline.  I was pulling double workouts of lifting and a run each morning and still having time to relax on the porch with my coffee.  By the time week two rolled around, the new schedule was catching up to me. I started hitting snooze a few extra minutes most mornings, but still getting the work in, though it wasn't quite a "bounce out of bed" experience.  By week 3, however, I could tell the habit was starting to stick.  I'm a solid month in now and I have grown to love the "me time."  I love that my kids know mommy gets up before everyone to exercise.  I love the energy and endorphins that I get to start my day. I love that my 5 year old asked me if I would wait a little later to exercise on Saturday so she could go for a run with me. #hearteyeemoji

When I was deciding on what my routine would be, I made sure to do it prior to the changes.  I wrote down my intentions and reminded myself of why it was important to me. I made specific goals regarding how often, the duration, and the focus of my workouts. I shared my goals with my accountability partners. I can promise you that if I hadn't have made my goals known, there are at least a few mornings that I would have opted for the extra snooze, but instead I answered the bell.

Rising before the sun and greeting the day with a run.

There have been some pretty awesome side perks to my early workouts too.  In addition to the energy boost I get, I notice that my eyes are way less puffy and awake after a morning workout. I get to drink my coffee while its HOT because the children are still asleep.  I feel so good after my workout that I find the rest of my day filed with a string of good-for-me-choices.

And one more thing. No one is perfect. The snooze button may win some days. This VERY day that I am writing this to you was a morning-after-vacation-and-late-flight-Monday when 5 am just came way too early and a afternoon workout won.  Sometimes you just listen to your body.  When you have routines, you can know that this time, you need the extra hour, but it's going to get you back on track so that tomorrow, a fresh start, you're back to the routine that works best for you. No matter what time of day you decide works best for you: Listen to your body, Trust your strength, Dominate your goals.

On the vacation that made me too sleepy to get up this morning, I got in a long bike ride with friends, and a nice run with the desert mountains.

   

"I can't get this door to close!" Or... "How I Decided to Go Back to Work."

Have you ever heard the saying, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans?" As a natural-born, type-A planner, I try to ignore this thought as much as my life allows. Surely God approves of my beautiful lists written in color-coordinated ink and menus that bring me sanity throughout each busy week. Surely.  And surely when my husband and I have worked out a timeline of how long I'd be a stay-at-home-mom, that was approved as well...right?

But then I had to go and open my big mouth. And a new door opened and no matter how hard I apparently tried to shut it, other plans had been orchestrated for me.

Let me back up.

Last spring, in the weekly newsletter for my daughter's school, I read a "farewell" from the school to a teacher who was moving and would no longer be teaching there the coming year. I was certified to teach her position, so it caught my eye.

Then curiosity killed the cat. Or in my case, got me a job.  The next time I saw the principal, I very casually asked if the position was full or part-time.  Full, he said. Ok, great, I said. Not interested. Peace out.

Then a month later, when I was picking my girls up from summer camp at the same school, the principal was waiting outside at pick-up.  He approached me and said there had been some changes in the needs of the school and the position was going to be part-time. Was that of interest to me? Well, crap.  I guess I'd have to think about it. I'll think about it and call you...

I didn't cal him.

Two weeks passed. He called me. They were interviewing other candidates and thought I might like to come in on the same day. um. This was NOT in my agenda, nor my scope and sequence for the summer. Think about it, he said. Let me know by Friday.

At this point, I had to really think about it. Truth is, it had been on my mind since I heard it was part time but I just was too indecisive to make a decision. And I kept convincing myself that with our "out of the blue" move, and upcoming trips it would all just be too hectic for my linear brain.  But now. They seem to want me. What part of that wouldn't feel enticing? Two years out of that line of work and still seeming so desirable to an employer?  It just seemed like too good of an opportunity to dust off my skills.  I called him back.

After much discussion with my husband, we decided I would go to the interview, put my best foot forward, all the while being very transparent about our needs and the value on work life balance.  I basically interviewed my very best, followed up with a few gentle demands, and then said, "I totally understand if I'm asking too much and you decide another candidate is a better fit." They went with me.

It wasn't until a few weeks later, when I was being introduced to the other staff members, that I realized how much they were on to me and my subtle resistance but just seemed to feel that it was right, and it would all work out.  They showed me a great amount of Grace in the process. One of the administrators told the staff, "She told us she had a vacation that she couldn't change in August, but we want her here much longer than that so we made it work." Amazing. Not something you stumble into everyday (which is perfect considering my entry was indeed not the most gracious).

That's the long and the short of it. So now we are adjusting the the chaos of the mornings and families all across the world do every day. But I get to commute with my girls which is kind of fun an kind of hectic but we're making it work. Then we come home and race through lunch and my little guy has a string of meltdowns because his nap should have started 30 minutes ago. But in all the chaos, there is a great deal of balance. Something that apparently, no amount of planning or list-writing could I have figured out on my own.

Where have you BEEN, Mama?

Well, a little thing happened this summer where all at once, we unexpectedly decided to move, I was offered an opportunity to teach part time in a "would be so silly to pass up" kind of situation...oh, and all of this was going to happen in the same 2 week span that we had a long standing vacation planned that couldn't be moved.  So...I disappeared a bit from the Mama's Blue Binder World and put my blinders on to G.S.D.

We made it!  I spent the entire month of July, one nap-time at a time, slowly packing up our house and getting ready for the move.  Living in boxes for an extended period of time was kind of my own personal hell, so we were 90% out of boxes within 3 DAYS after moving into our new house.  They just had to be gone.  The other 10% are hiding in a spare closet, and while they are nagging at my brain, my eyes don't have to see them all the time so it will probably be a bit before they are emptied. We seem to be getting along just fine without them.

The sun set on one chapter, but a new one has just begun.

The new job: just crazy.  I didn't really feel ready to go back to work - I was still embracing my ability to be home with my littles, (...and honestly looking forward to the fact that two of them would be in school a few hours each day this year.  One kid?! For multiple hours a day?! Being so used to three, the possibilities seemed endless! )

But isn't that a question so many parents deal with all the time? Stay home and enjoy that gig, but fear being "irrelevant" once the time comes to reenter the workplace?  Maybe everyone doesn't feel that, but I certainly did. And then comes along this unicorn position thats part-time and as much as I tried to give them every opportunity to go with someone else, they wanted me! The 2-year stay at home mom! It was too perfect.

Family Vaca! These are my people.

So we moved.
We vacationed.
I went back to work for the first time in 2 years the day after we got back from vacation.

I just kept telling myself, "get through August...thats all you have to do...September will be the new normal."

So thanks for your patience.  The Binder is back.

Weekly Food Prep: Kids edition

Around this time last year, I had just finished some VERY important food prep...for my 5 days away from my kiddos! We were fortunate to have a couple of family members come in for the long weekend get-away, and I wanted to do whatever I could to make it easier for them to care for 3 children under the age of 4! I spent an afternoon doing my best to make their lives easier by making convenient the things that my kids love AND that are colorful (aka HEALTHY!)

Here's a snapshot of the foods that can be prepped on a Sunday afternoon, stored in the fridge, and last throughout the week for easy summer lunches at home or on the go!

Most weeks you can find these items prepped and ready to go on a Sunday so we don't have to waste our summer sunshine inside cooking and cutting everyday!

Watermelon, grapes, strawberries, blueberries, cucumbers, peppers, pasta, chicken, hardboiled "eggies," steamed broccoli, beans and carrots.

Lunchtime Summer Salad from my Little Urban Garden

Today's lunch is special because when it was time to eat, I got to go out and pick my first round of Bibb Lettuce from our little city garden!

I washed the greens and added:
2 strawberries,
4 cherries,
1 diced slice of red onion,
s&p,
1/4 avocado and this
AMAZING lavender-infused balsamic vinegar that a friend gifted to me as an early birthday present. I had a little side car of cottage cheese for some protein…Lunch is served! I love summer.

Chocolate (Pumpkin) Donuts

I mean...what kid wouldn't be excited to hear those words come out of mom's mouth? And Mom, you can feel good about it! My 4 year old and I love to make these and they are always a hit. The recipe is an adaptation of a Jessica Seinfeld recipe, just tweaked a bit, a la #fitmamafitwifefitlife 

Makes 12 medium donuts

1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 coconut palm sugar
1/2c milk
1 egg white
1T Vanilla
1T coconut oil

1c AP flour (you can use whole wheat flour but it would need to be WW pastry flour to keep donuts light)
1t cinnamon
1t baking soda
1/2t baking powder
1T unsweetened cocoa powder
(Powdered sugar to make them pretty after baking)

Heat oven to 350*, spray donut mold (mini muffins work too if you don't have the donut pan)

Beat together palm sugar, egg white, pumpkin, milk, oil, vanilla. Add in flour, baking soda & powder, cinnamon & cocoa.

Fill pan and bake about 16 minutes (less for mini muffins)

Father's Day Crafting - Homemade Coaster Tiles

What's that? You forgot that Father's Day is this weekend?!  You need a quick homemade activity that can be done in one sitting?! I've got you covered.

(No time for the craft store?  Bonus…all of these materials are available via Amazon Prime. BOOM!)

Materials:
ModPodge
Foam Brushes
Scissors
Plain Tiles, Coaster size (think 4"x4")
City Map or Photos, depending on what look you're going for - we're doing a couple of each
Optional: Cookie Cutters & Small Felt Circles

Choose what you would like your coasters to have on them.

We are doing a couple of coasters with family pictures, and a couple with cut-outs from paper road maps of areas that we have lived.

(If you choose to get extra crafty, let the kids pick out their favorite shape cookie cutters to trace on the pictures or maps.)

Apply one coat of ModPodge to the coasters.  Place photo shapes or map cut-outs on the tiles while ModPodge is wet.

Apply 3 more coats of ModPodge over the images/maps.

The coats will look white-ish but will dry clear.  Allow at least 3 days for the tiles to dry before using…but feel free to wrap them after a day if needed ;-) We ended up doing our project outside and the summer heat REALLY helped to expedite our drying!

(If desired, you can stick felt pads on the bottom of the tiles to prevent any undesired scratching on furniture.)

Don't forget to pick up Dad's favorite Bevy to put the coasters to use on Sunday!

Need more Father's Day Ideas for Grandpa and Uncles?  Check this one out - Simplest.Craft.Ever.