Spring means fresh fruits and the beginning whispers of fresh vegetables (asparagus, anyone?). As the temperatures warm up, we’re outside more which means different dinner menus. Our fare has gone from hearty and filling to lighter and filling.
Last weekend, our family went to a dinner party at a friend’s house. Our contribution was a large, fabulous salad that was a huge hit. It was fancy by our standards, and I guess it was a fantasy salad by everyone else’s standards, too. Maybe they also grab a bag of greens and toss salad dressing on them?
This salad was so refreshing and delicious that I just knew I had to share it with you. Best yet, it is super-easy to make.
Salad dressing to taste (I used 2 ounces of Balsamic with Honey Dressing)
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
*To make the candied pecans… Melt a tablespoon of butter in a small pan. Add a tablespoon of light brown sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Mix together. Toss in 1/3 cup chopped pecans and stir to coat. Let cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from pan and set on wax paper until cool.
We served this salad as a side, but it is also wonderful with chicken for a main course.
Throw this together for a mid-week dinner and let me know in the comments what you think.
It’s been one of those days. Shoot, it’s been one of those WEEKS! My daughters are taking turns being the conductor and the engineer of the crazy train, I’m working, school is taking forever to complete because of their misbehavior, and some crazy evil spirit has possessed my usually angelic younger child, a spirit that can’t be exercised exorcised because her soccer practices have been cancelled all week due to rain.
After a particularly trying day today, I was ready for a 2″ tall chocolate cupcake “lightly” frosted with 4″ of buttercream icing. Upon hearing that, my teen – God bless her! – started tossing dark chocolate Doves at me. That got us through inverse logarithms. But dang, I still was having lustful urges towards cupcakes or these new espresso brownies our local coffee shop posted to their Instagram feed yesterday. You know, when things are going to crap, you just want some comfort food, and my comfort comes in the form of chocolate.
Español: chocolate en piezas (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Yet, comfort food isn’t exactly good for the waist, nor is it good when one is trying to live the healthy coastal lifestyle. So what’s a person to do? Easy! Just eat the damn dessert already! When the spirit is drained, the head is pounding, and you just want to crawl up and have a good cry, just eat the blasted sweets! Take comfort where you can. Tomorrow you can get back to pounding the pavement.
And total psychological recovery requires both. Don’t deprive yourself of the treat, but also don’t beat yourself up for indulging in it. When you go to bed, the day is over, and when you awaken the next morning, it’s the perfect opportunity to start all over fresh. It’s also the perfect time to lace up the sneakers and get outside. Take a walk or a jog. The important part here is to get fresh air, clear your mind, and get some exercise. Follow that with some mindful stretching, yoga, perhaps. Fuel up for the day, and swing right back into the healthy coastal lifestyle.
How do you recover after a particularly stressful day? Comment below.
A couple of weeks ago, I shared how my journey toward the healthy coastal lifestyle began with exercise. As I began this journey, I determined to keep a food journal in my phone. This helped me see what I was eating, how much I was eating, and how healthily I was eating. After sweating through my first months of exercise, I decided to start getting serious about eating healthily. If I was doing all this work, I definitely wanted to make sure I wasn’t sabotaging my efforts.
Now, for my caveat… I don’t have any dietary restrictions or health conditions that prevent me from eating whatever I want. I do have a genetic predisposition towards high cholesterol, which often sucks, given how much I like eggs, shrimp, and liver pudding, so I do limit myself on these foods. If you have questions or concerns about how to adjust your diet, talk to your doctor first. These tricks are what have worked for me.
Things to be aware of… Sugar is the basic source of energy for us people. Our bodies burn off simple sugars first – sucrose, fructose, glucose. Then they go to carbohydrates, converting carbs into sugars. Once our bodies don’t have any carbohydrates to consume as energy, they start attacking fat, converting fat into sugars for its use. Keep that in mind, as it is very important for how you eat.
The food journal/diary is very important. It’s an old trick, it’s fairly simple with today’s technology, but it’s still important. You can go old school and write down what you eat with pen and paper. There are computer programs and device apps that keep track of your meals, your calorie and nutrient intake, and whatever else you could want. Mine also keeps up with my nutrient score and rewards me with a badge when I hit 80 or above (the closer to 100, the better).
Focus on carbs earlier in the day. This gives your body time to burn it off throughout the day. Shoot for absolutely no carbs after 5 p.m. (way easier said than done!). Each gram of carbs is worth 4 calories, so remember that when you’re ready to dive into that Cinnabon. I hit another plateau in my weight loss, so I started cutting back on carbohydrates, forcing my body into fat-burning mode with the twice-weekly aerobics classes and thrice-weekly walk/jogs.
Working, exercising, straining muscles need protein. Proteins help repair muscles after workouts, though a protein hit an hour before your workout will boost you gloriously through it. I grab milk, peanuts, a protein bar, or a cheese stick. Proteins will also help you feel fuller for longer, so you won’t be as tempted to snack.
We can’t forget the fats, though. It’s gratifying seeing that I truly am cutting carbs, but it’s also disheartening to see the fat grams stacking up. Our bodies need fat, though. It’s essential to the metabolism of vitamins A, D, E, and K. Keep it lean as much as humanly possible, though, avoiding saturated fats and embracing unsaturated.
I honestly deny myself nothing. If I want dessert, I eat dessert – but only if I’ve kept the eating limited throughout the day. When I know I’m going to be eating heavily, such as at special dinners, I just go with some lean protein for lunch. I learned several years ago that when I crave something, I should enjoy it in moderation and get rid of the craving. Otherwise, that craving becomes an obsession. At the same time, I listen to my body’s cravings, because usually it craves foods with nutrients it needs.
Working out paired with dietary changes has made a huge difference in how I’ve felt and in my healthy lifestyle journey. I had to make a wardrobe transition, donating too-big clothes and buying new clothes that are already feeling loose. But it’s all good, because I see the changes in my body, both in the mirror and when I feel the new muscle tone in my back, arms, abs, and thighs. And just Sunday, a friend/aerobics instructor said she could see in my face that I’ve lost weight. When I washed my face last night, I could see my cheekbones have reemerged – those lovely cheekbones that bely my Cherokee heritage. It’s so good seeing them again!
What steps will you make towards embracing the healthy coastal lifestyle? Here we are, early in the year with New Year’s resolutions and Super Bowl junk foodin’ behind us. It’s a great time to get serious! We’ve got this!
This week has included celebration as a bunch of a friend’s friends and I celebrated her 10-pound weight loss in the last month. That’s tremendous, because she owns the fact that all she’s done is hit the treadmill. Yet, she’s not seeing results as she’s expecting.
Thinking about Kim’s success made me think back over my health journey and what I would tell someone who’s just starting out – what’s worked, what hasn’t, what my obstacles and frustrations have been. For me, it started with a decision.
There’s what I stated publicly – very specific, measurable goals.
My publicly stated goals
But then I also had some powerful internal motivations, as well. My husband has a seizure disorder, and nothing makes me feel more powerless than seeing him on the floor and not having the upper body strength to even come close to helping him up. I’m an only child of parents that are getting older. When they get older and not able to take care of themselves, I’ll need to take care of them. I also have an aunt who doesn’t have children and therefore, no one but me to take care of her when she reaches her advanced years. I’ll own that I haven’t always been in good physical shape, so I want to make sure that I’m healthy enough to ease the burden on my own family should I need them to care for me at some point. Basically, a large part of my motivation is to be in shape to care for others.
Caveat: What I’m describing is what has worked for me. Every single body is different with different needs for different daily activities. I’ll cover my dietary restrictions – or lack thereof – in a future post.
On 1 October 2016, after months of high-level stressors including the loss of a once-cherished friend, I frankly got tired of being fat and feeling unhealthy. I was tired of not looking good in my clothes, despite the slight strengthening I’d felt in my legs from months of rehab and in my arms from some light weightlifting. So, I girled up and stepped on the scales. After all, I had to learn where I was before I could determine where I needed to go.
It had begun with rehab the January before. Doing one set each of exercises in the beginning was all well and good, but as the number of sets increased, I had to have something to do in those rest periods besides twiddle my thumbs and peruse Facebook. So, I grabbed a pair of 2-pound weights and started doing arm exercises. It was good, but not enough.
One of the key factors I had to take into consideration was the strength and durability of my knees, my recovering right one, especially. I began to walk. And walk. And walk. I found I really loved walking outside and would do so every chance I had. We live in a safe neighborhood, and our town boasts a lovely, well-maintained pedestrian/bike trail that circles the historic downtown area. I’d walk throughout the neighborhood 2-3 days a week – it’s 2.6 miles twice around – then I’d walk around downtown while my teen was in her weekly dance class.
And on the other days, I did strength training – squats, lunges, bridge lifts, crunches (soooo many crunches!), bicep curls, lateral lifts, and tricep curls. I also began to keep a food journal in my phone; the Samsung Health app includes all this. I was feeling great! I was disciplined, and nothing was going to keep me from achieving my goals.
I was three months in. My clothes were getting loose, and unseasonably warm temps meant I was outside a LOT. Time to step on the scales for the first time after the holidays. I’d lost… 3 pounds. THREE. Not 13. Not 30. 3. At that point, I decided to start looking at measurements instead of weight. That was much more delightful to track, because while I was burning fat, I was also building muscle. Often, my losses and my gains canceled each other out. But imagine a pound of feathers. Pretty bulky and voluptuous, right? Now imagine a pound of brick. It still weighs the same as the feathers, but it’s compact. That’s what was going on in my body. The fat has more volume than the muscle, so it takes up more space.
I kept at it, adding biking when the weather warmed up and swimming when things got really hot. I walked still and ran up and down the field with my soccer teams. The pounds and inches kept disappearing, the clothes got baggier and baggier. Last fall, I got tired of the plateau I’d hit and kicked things up with low-impact aerobics. That lasted just a few weeks before winter break, so I found a Dance2Fit class offered for free just a couple of miles from home. That’s seriously high intensity that leaves me pouring sweat by the time I’m done. It’s great!
Throughout all these exercises, some things changed on my inside. First, if I exercise in the second half of the day, I sleep much better at night. Exercising that strenuously has also been a good way to increase my water intake. As I resumed walking last month, yet another change became apparent. The dancing and aerobics have strengthened my heart muscle (yes, the heart is technically a muscle), and what used to feel “strenuous” is now easy to me. My rate of speed has increased by a half mile per hour in the last year and I’ve even been able to jog some. Yet, my heartrate stays comfortably on target or even a little below. It looks like my challenge will be to kick things up a little bit more.
That’s the cardio side of things, but what about the strength training? I’ve gotten heavier weights that I’ve been using, and the results are becoming more and more apparent. For the first time since I was six, I’m able to wear an off-the-shoulder blouse, because I have the sexy shoulders to pull it off.
Woohoo! Sexy shoulders!
The gain has been worth the pain, that’s for sure! My core is stronger, giving me a stronger back and better posture. My arms and legs have new contours and sleeker appearances, and both are stronger, able to do more, lift more, live more.
When it comes to living the healthy coastal lifestyle, exercise will come easier to some people, while eating right will be easier for others. I liked starting with exercise, because I was adding something positive to my life. When that friendship I mentioned above blew up, suddenly I had lots more time in my days to devote to taking care of myself. Eating the right way inevitably means taking out something we like. Maybe it’s that bit of sweet after dinner or the cold PopTarts breakfast as we run out the door. Working out and beginning to feel those results – while also keeping a food journal – served as great motivation to change my eating habits, which I’ll discuss in the next post.
We’re one month into the New Year. How are those resolutions coming? Is your gym membership card or that new piece of exercise equipment starting to collect dust? Time to dust it off. Don’t let a week or two of slackness derail your goals. You’ve got this!
My days are seeing something new and wonderful – warmer temperatures, longer days, and free time to get outside. With these delightful improvements over snow, ice, and below-freezing wind chills, I’m taking every advantage of them that I can. I’ve gotten outside and walked. Then, the other day, something new and cool happened.
I was walking and feeling a little winded. That didn’t make sense, since I’d already done cardio two other times earlier in the week. When my fitness app gave me my 1-mile progress report, I discovered why I’d felt winded – I was averaging 3.8 miles per hour! Talk about some hustle, and that’s a pretty significant improvement over last year at this time! Then something totally new happened. I was into my second lap, and my stride shortened and my steps quickened, and next thing I know, I’m jogging and loving it! Except for up and down the football pitch with kids, I haven’t jogged since high school.
With all this time outside and the dry winter air, my skin needs a little extra TLC. After I exercise, I shower with a luscious beer- or milk-based soap. Currently, I’m
Outer Banks Beer Soap. Ideal for men, but perfect for both men and women.
using a bar of a vintage beer soap from my old brand, but if I were to use any soap I have on hand, this time of year just screams for Lavender & Goat Milk.
Goat’s Milk & Lavender Lotion – all natural with oodles of skin lovin’ stuff!
Goat’s milk has awesome skin-loving vitamins with antioxidant properties, and the lavender simply soothes the soul. This soap leaves my skin soft, supple, and moisturized – perfect for everyday skin comfort.
Truth: Right now, I’m wearing pants all day every day, which means I really don’t care how my legs look. When I do care, like when someone may actually see them, I follow my shower with a light application of Orange Blossom & Amber Body Creme. Not only does it smell heavenly, but the blend of coconut cream and avocado oil slays the alligators my legs can become on the driest of days.
Orange Blossom & Amber Coconut & Avocado Body Creme
Body Creme or not, I finish my body care routine with a light application of Tahiti Kiss Face Creme. This is my most popular product ever, and for good reason. This whisper-light face creme soaks into skin, bathing it instantly in rich
Tahiti Kiss, a luxuriously extraordinary face crème, will treat your skin to a taste of the South Pacific
moisture that doesn’t leave skin greasy. Plus, its light floral scent lingers gently all day without clashing with your favorite body scents. One customer said that it makes her skin look bronze (there’s no coloring added). Another commented about how it makes her skin glow. This creme is fabulous for either day or night!
Once I’ve exercised, washed, and moisturized, I’m ready to tackle anything the day can throw at me! Taking just that little bit of time to pamper my skin feels luxurious and indulgent, which is a great way to kick off the day!
I hope you’ll join us tomorrow, Tuesday, 23 January, as I go live talking about these awesome products and sharing some new discoveries I’ve made in pursuing the healthy coastal lifestyle. You can join us at noon eastern in the Coastal Carolina Soap Co. Facebook group.
Unless you’ve been living in a cave, are not from the U.S., or have no access to outside news, you know that the better part of the East Coast has been dealing with way sub-freezing temperatures, snow, and ice. Even Florida saw wintry weather, and they almost never get yucky winter weather! Here in coastal North Carolina, we got ice and snow. That in and of itself isn’t really remarkable; it’s certainly not the first snowstorm we’ve gotten since we’ve lived here. A layer of ice then snow usually brings some widespread power outages – around 24 hours of no electricity and quality family time. This is followed by a day of full sun and 55 degrees to bring on the melting.
That didn’t happen this time. We got a little icy precipitation and we were supposed to get 1-3″ of snow. We got more like 6″ of snow. And we have yet to see temperatures climb to 40, let alone the coveted 55.
A section of our backyard on Thursday morning.
On the plus side, we didn’t lose electricity, for which we are grateful. This snow has been hanging out since Wednesday night, and it was beautiful. Thursday, it was brutally cold and we enjoyed some time playing in it. Friday was still very cold, and the girls enjoyed throwing snowballs at the house. Today, colder still. Tomorrow promises more of the same, and lows are staying in the teens, so the ice isn’t going away very quickly. But… Monday’s coming!
As I looked at the weather forecast on my phone and felt the delirious excitement of what’s to come, I remembered this episode of Northern Exposure. You may remember this dramedy from the early 90s about a young New York doctor sent to a small town of quirky residents in Alaska to help pay off his med school loan. In this one particular episode, as the days begin to get longer, the residents are excited and planning a huge celebration. At last, the long darkness of winter is over!
That’s me as I think about this coming week. The temperatures will rise and the snow will melt completely. I will be free to leave our property safely to run errands and take care of business for the first time since New Year’s Day. I’m almost giddy with excitement! Me, who spent so much time in December bemoaning how busy I was with all the running around! I get to run errands and spend over an hour in grueling torment at Dance2Fit. Yes, it’ll be glorious!
The week has brought ministers snow surfing; teens, kids, and adults playing in snow; snow people; snow angels; snowball fights; widely impassible roads; and many school and business closures. Even our church is planning its first web-worship, live on Facebook. It’s also brought salty waves kissing snow-laden beaches and eerily desolate footprints on an empty, snowy pier. The week made a liar out of me again, as I’d told my oldest when we moved down here that we probably wouldn’t see snow much anymore.
These are the trials and joys of living at the beach. Snow here is pretty unusual, so the excitement of “just a snow day” ramps up exponentially. But just like spring’s rains and summer’s heat, too much of a good thing makes it less of a good thing, and we’re ready for the thaw and the promised 70 degrees of later this week.
The time stuck inside being warm has made it easy for me to move on my soap restocking. Follow me on Instagram and Facebook to see what we’re brewing up that’s new and awesome. And I’d love for you to join our Facebook group for the first peek at new products and the first tidbits of news from Coastal Carolina Soap Co.
About 13 1/2 months ago, I set out on a new health improvement regimen with four specific goals in mind:
Lose 50 pounds.
Improve my knee health.
Prepare my body for mission trips.
Be able to wear my favorite velvet choker again.
The rebrand of last year and the beginning of my new health goals that came just a few months later led my business in ways I couldn’t have even conceived when I was sitting up in bed late at night, legal pad on my knees, scribbling away at ideas. No longer was my brand just about enjoying the beach with every bath, but it became instead how you can enjoy this beach life with us as I invited you along on beach trips, the ups and downs (and bruises and road rash) of getting fit, and how we eat in our healthy coastal lifestyle.
So, here it is, over a year later. How did I do? Pretty well, but I’m not done, yet. I haven’t yet lost 50 pounds. I’ve lost 22 pounds and a LOT of inches. My knees feel awesome! The aggravation in my left knee from trying to be active with too much weight on it is gone, and my compromised right knee is doing just fine. In fact, my knees made it through two soccer seasons with no brace and just the very occasional use of NSAIDs. Back in May, I had the opportunity to go on my first mission trip since starting this journey. My dad was concerned that all the walking would stress my knees, leaving me unfit for the real work, but I was fine after some light stretches each evening. And today… This morning, I took a few moments and tried on my beloved choker, discovering to my delight that it fits again.
The past year saw some frustrations as I tried to get the rest of the family on board with my goals. However, it didn’t take more than a few months – OK, somewhere between a “few” and “several” – for my other half to stop preparing 900-calorie dinners on his nights to cook. On the other hand, it also saw me learning how to cook tasty, filling meals that weren’t horrendously laden with calories. I also got stuck on a plateau. The same weight for MONTHS! Oh my gosh, that drove me crazy! It’s only been in the past month that I’ve broken that plateau and continued dropping. But, oh, the joy! The joy of trying on jeans that are one size smaller than I had been wearing (and hiking up all the time) and instructing my poor, beleaguered daughter to “take these and see if there’s a pair smaller.” Then there is the delightful hilarity of modeling those jeans and appreciating how well they hug in all the right places. There may have been singing and dancing involved in the appreciation.
After the fall soccer season ended, I wanted to do something to keep that activity up. Nothing beats running up and down a football pitch with a dozen littles for burning calories! Our church offers aerobics once a week, so I decided to take advantage of it. This is what last week’s class looked like on my fitness app.
Sweet! 500 calories burned in just 48 minutes!
Aerobics has become fellowship time as we talk through the workouts. Some walks present holy moments with one of my daughters, usually the younger. Other walks clear my head and help me be more creative. Today’s, for example, gave me space for some crazy poetry writing, as well as drafting this article. Everything I do for me ultimately benefits my family and my business, as well.
I’m so thankful for this journey, because it has helped me get healthier, helped me be able to enjoy the beach more, helped my business grow, and helped my family. On top of that, it’s also made it possible for me to meet several new people and get to know many others better. I’m thankful that you, my customers, have willingly traversed this road with me, and I hope we continue to grow in healthiness and all that brings with it. After all, what good is living the beach life if we’re not in shape to enjoy it?
You are invited to continue to follow my progress as I continue to push to that 50-pound mark. I’ll be posting new winning recipes as I discover them and grumblinggrunting sharing what’s new in my workouts. (My aerobics instructor is talking “steps” for January, and I think half my Christmas list is from Dick’s.) And just… Thank you. From the bottom of my heart.
I was talking to my newish friend Joy a few weeks ago, and being that Joy is a newish friend, we’re still in that getting-to-know-your-life-story stage. I asked her, “What brought you to this area?” Come to find out, Joy and her husband moved here from the same basic area we did. Most people down here with young families are either natives or moved here for work. Then there’s Joy and me.
Why did we move here? What did we envision life would be like down here? The why is easy: It’s the coast! And what did I expect life would be like? Picture it… You drive down to the beach for a weekend or a week, and along the way, winding along two-lane state highways, you see road-side stand after road-side stand, selling fresh fruits and vegetables. As you get closer to your destination, the scent of briny sea air teases your nose and fills your lungs. You think, What I wouldn’t give to live down here! We’d hang out at the beach all the time, eat fresh vegetables and fruit every day, and have locally caught seafood a few times a week. At least, that’s pretty close to what I thought.
English: Fresh produce Indoor market, Abergavenny. The market hall is also home to the September Food Festival. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I threw in, “Ride a bike around” and “Live a fit, healthy lifestyle” along with that. Sure, we’d have to work, but we’d be living the working vacation.
Come to find out, Joy and her husband had similar ideas. As I shared my vision, Joy nodded and “uh-huh’ed” in that tone that says, “Sounds familiar.” Their vision – being childless when they made the move – included sitting on the beach watching the sunset and the stars come out. They also saw themselves dining on fresh produce, freshly caught seafood, and living the healthy coastal lifestyle. They were able to catch some sunsets early on, but then life happens.
So, what is the coastal life like? I wake up in the morning and watch the world wake up as I sip my water (part of the HCLS – healthy coastal life style). Weather permitting, I open the sliding glass door, breathing deep draughts of fresh morning air. I’ve gotten good enough to determine the direction of the wind based on how the air smells. Fresh and clean means the air is coming from the north or the south. Tinged with l’aroma du pigs indicates the wind is coming from the west. Laced with the pungent scent of chemicals, and the wind is coming from the southeast. But the best breeze smells fresh, clean, salt-tinged, and just a titch fishy. This is the breeze from the due east or the northeast, where it’s blowing off the sea and coming inland.
After exercising, eating breakfast, and showering/dressing for the day, it’s time to start school. In between courses, I deal with emails. Once school is over, it’s time to get to work. Usually I’m able to knock out some to-dos right after the school day ends. The past two months and going into now, I spend time looking at soccer drill videos and drill instructions, planning what my players need and how to keep practices fun. After a little bit of work on two days of the week, we head out to the soccer fields for practice. By the time we get home from running up and down the fields many times, it’s late, and we’re ready for dinner.
This is where planning happens. If Peter is home, he’ll take care of dinner. On those nights when he’s at the fields, too, dinner goes into the slow cooker. It’s awesome coming home to a pot of soup or chili when it’s late and you’re famished!
On evenings we don’t have to go anywhere, we can spend more time and creativity on our dinner. After dinner, the girls go to bed, I get a little work done, and then Peter and I watch TV for a bit before bed.
Sounds pretty familiar, huh? This could be life anywhere in the state, anywhere in the country, except for different air and different work. Coastal life is simply life. Sure, we can take free days to hit the beach, and it’s easy having fresh produce without making a special farmer’s market run. Other than that, we work, we play, we have school, and we live life to the fullest. It’s not terribly romantic, but it’s the best we’ve had.
This is a special shout-out to all you parents of children who are or who have been in not-home school (public or private). Y’all, I am totally out of practice.
It’s no secret that part of our brand’s philosophy involves a healthy lifestyle, because that helps us enjoy our long, active, coastal life, and it’s something we practice at home on a daily basis. This week, Wee Princess is enjoying a marine biology camp at a local university and having a blast! Each day, she is supposed to start with a healthy breakfast and have with her a healthy lunch and a healthy snack. Since my husband rolls out the door with her between 7:15 and 7:30 each morning, I spend a little time each evening putting her breakfast together and preparing her lunch. Then, in the morning, all he has to do is grab the perishables from the fridge and put them in her lunch bag.
I made the mistake last week of leaving the girls unattended with my laptop and a Pinterest search for “Bento box lunches for kids” while I showered and dressed. When I came back down, the Wee Princess had a chart listing each day’s breakfast, lunch, and snack. And we’re talking good, balanced, nutritious options here! I was surprised, because when I ask her what she wants for lunch, the majority of the time it’s “cinnamon toast” or “quesadilla.” Most of this week, her breakfast choice is a smoothie of some sort – low added sugar, lots of fiber, tons of calcium and protein – perfect for exploring marshes and beaches!
Its so purple! Love blueberry smoothies!
I’ve home educated since Little Princess was in second grade (she’s not so little now, as she’s starting high school studies next week!), so having to do the daily lunch and breakfast prep is outside my realm of daily experience. I had forgotten how much extra work it is, just that little something extra to think about. It’s not like it’s actual work, but when I’m exhausted and ready for sleep and can finally get into the kitchen, it’s not something I’m dying to do. And now that so many children are at least sensitive, at worst, severely allergic to peanuts, it’s not as easy as slapping some peanut butter and homemade jam between two pieces of bread.
So, hats off to you parents who do this on a daily basis or used to when your children were little. Great job keeping it real, keeping it fresh, and keeping it healthy!
How do you do it? How do you make magic for your kids each day? Share in the comments below.
