Hopefully My Answer To "Gogurts"

I hope these fun little things will be my savior this summer.  I read about them on 100 Days of Real Food and bought them on Amazon.  I used to buy the girls "gogurts" or "squishers" once a month as a treat.  They go crazy for them in the grocery store. I guess their shape and packaging is what they love about them and that all their friends "have" them.  But its just regular yogurt on the inside.  I used to cave about once a month and buy them for the girls.  But I have decided I am not going to do dairy treats anymore, even if it is just once a month.  If Chad and the girls choose to have dairy outside of the house, that is their choice.  But, I just cant do it.  Especially after recently watching this news about the relationship between acne and dairy.  I WILL be the mean mom who doesn't let my children have dairy if it might prevent the heartache I experienced growing up with acne.  There are thousands of reasons I do not like dairy, but I guess my tipping point was listening to the Harvard Nurses' Study associating skim milk with acne.

Thus, I bought these silicone freeze pop holders.  They are the same shape as gogurts, are fun colors, and the girls did get excited about them when I opened the package.  Today, I got an email from Dr. Fuhrman with his recipe for berry yogurt.  I decided to try this in the pop holders.  We will know tomorrow if they are a success.  Using Dr. Fuhrmans recipe as a guide I put the following in my Vitamix:
1 cup of frozen blueberries
1 cup of raspberries
1 cup of unsweetened, organic soy milk
2 TB ground flax seet
3 pitted dates

I poured them in the pop holders, and put them in the freezer.  Keep your fingers crossed for me that the girls will like them tomorrow afternoon!

BTW - you can change up this recipe with different fruit, different plant based milks, or add in a little cocoa powder!

Seriously, what do you REALLY eat? - Lunches

OMG Lunches:

I so wish I could follow in the footsteps of Vegan Lunch Box.  I read her blog and have her cookbook.  But I just can't seem to plan ahead.  I do however highly recommend her cookbooks and her blog for inspiration.  It is amazing all that you can do for kids lunches.  I tend to throw together whatever I can between sips of coffee.  I DO ask the girls what they want, but if I do this the night before, it often changes the next morning.  

On to what I really packed in their lunches:

Monday

Si- requested black beans, mixed with cut up carrots and cucumbers.  I added a little bit of balsamic vinegar.  She likes vinegar, Ry would not have liked it.

 Ry - had  her "salad" sandwich (Udi's GF bread, veganaise, spinach)

They both had:

•  An apple "smore" - two apple slices with the chocolate peanut butter in between
• Annie's cheddar bunnies (These are NOT VG or GF)
• GF Rice Crispy Bar - Whole Foods
• Raw broccoli

Me- a big salad with beans

Tuesday

Girls:

• Black beans, mixed with cut up carrots and cucumbers - again.
• A sunflower butter lettuce wrap with dried cranberries
• Soy yogurt - make sure its organic
  
• An apple
• Gluten free rice crispy bar - Whole Foods

Me: left over from dinner, chickpeas and marinara, cauliflower with black bean dip

Wednesday

Girls:

• Apple "smore" - 2 apple slices with chocolate peanut butter
• Lentils and Rice (left over from dinner)
• Cucumber
• Soy Drink
• Corn Chips

Me: Butternut Squash Soup, brussel sprouts, frozen mangos

Thursday

Girls:

• Apple with sunflower butter
• Frozen black bean taquitos from Trader Joes, and Ry had frozen mini pizzas
• Soy drink
• Pistachios
• Annie's cheddar bunnies

I went to Sheik Burrito for lunch!

Friday

Girls:

Si- Sunflower Butter and Jelly on Udi's GF Bread

Ry- "Salad" sandwich - veganaise and spinach on GF bread

• They split a sunflower butter and jelly sandwich with dried cranberriers
• GF / VG Jello - Trader Joes
• Granola Bar 
• Edamame Crackers - GF / VG at Trader Joes
• Blue Berries
• Cucumber

 

My goal is to always have these basics available for lunch:

• fresh fruit
• veggies
• granola bar 
• pretzels (I buy GF pretzels at WF) or Annie's cheddar bunnies (NOT GF/ VG)
• gluten free bread 
• nut butter, jelly, veganaise
• canned beans
• nuts
• dried fruits
• rice cakes

The girls also love taking soup for lunch, and beans and rice are a hit too.  Si has been taking bean dip to school with a bag of veggies and or lettuce to dip.  The bean dip is also a good spread on a sandwich.  I make at least one bean dip a week - 2 cans favorite beans, drained, 1 cup favorite salsa, cilantro if you have any!  And, always remember dinner left overs.  As you can see that is usually my lunch!

Picky Eaters

Yesterday was another food challenging day with Ry.  She simply doesnt know what she wants to eat.  After offering her several choices of food she previously enjoyed, I threw one last option out.  Ry, would you like to make your own pizza??  YES, she exclaimed!  This was a lazy Sunday, when we had the time for this option.  So, I pulled the Udi's frozen, gluten free pizza crust out of the freezer, along with 2 flavors of Daiya gluten free, vegan cheese, and Trader Joes' marinara sauce.  I gave Ry a spoon and told her to have fun.

She did a great job and enjoyed every bite of her lunch!

LottaFrutta Again

S in the window - she loves this place

My veggin hold the cheese

Mothers Day - Some want a fancy brunch - I want a vegan sandwich from Lotta Frutta on Auburn Avenue.  I know I posted about this restaurant before, but I cant stop thinking about their amazing vegan sandwich.  It is such a fun place.  I held my breath as I finally asked if the bread was vegan and to my surprise it was.  So, the Veggin, without cheese is vegan.  Chad enjoyed his turkey and havarti sandwich (more like a panni) - S ordered the veggin without cheese but added hummus and I had the veggin no cheese.  Great way to spend my mothers day, sitting in the sun enjoying my veggin.  (And, I havent even begun to tell you about their smoothies & fruit cups)

Chad's turkey / havarti

Osteria and Doc Chey's cater to our "mixed" taste

 

Osteria in Virginia Highlands has always been a family favorite.  They are  accommodating,  have friendly service, and serve good food.  Last week was no exception.  Chad ordered chicken picata, Ry - mac and cheese and S and I deliberated about a vegan option.  S decided it would be a great idea to create our own dish.  So, our waitress with amazing patience, waited  as I went through all the vegan topping options for a pizza.  The waitress confirmed there would be no problem in creating a vegan pizza for us.  S ordered a vegan pizza with artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers and spinach for us to share.  Amazing - seriously one of the best pizzas I have ever had (including those with cheese).  And, imagine S's pride that she created her own!  Bonus-  I noticed on the specials board that they are now serving gluten free noodles.  Way to go!

Doc Chey's is another family favorite where we can all order our own thing and all leave happy.  Tonight, though I decided to really make a challenge and request vegan - gluten free.  It so happens, their special Marco Polo's sauce is gluten free!  I ordered that with rice and tofu.  Amazing!  The girls both had noodle bowls with tofu and Chad had the chicken cashew nut stir fry.  We all loved our meals.

Rich Chey - I dont know him, but from what I read about him and heard from others, he is one inspirational entrepreneur.   First, he contributes so much to our neighborhood - his philanthropy is endless.  He host dine outs at his restaurants several times a year, for not one but several local schools.  He raises money for the fire station in our neighborhood and I know he give A LOT more, but I want to write about his other attributes - to create several restaurants that cater to young professionals before kids (ie me and Chad 7 years ago), AND families (now us), and even the girls grandparents love his restaurants.  That is a hard task to accomplish.  Beyond that, he is flexible with his food and can create dishes for every type of eater - Doc Chey - gluten free vegan is hard!

Thank you Rich for what you have done for our neighborhood and my family.  We love dining at your establishments.