Woman in Real Life

After a few weeks of playing it by ear, I am back to menu planning for this week. We tend to eat healthier, better meals when I plan ahead.

I am also back to emphasizing fruit consumption for me and my family. For several weeks I was greeting the kids almost every day with an after-school snack of fruit on a tray or fruit salad. They enjoyed it and I felt good about them getting more fruit. So, I'm back at it again. Here's a fruit salad I presented them with after school one day this week, above. I cut up a pear, an orange, a peach, a banana and strawberries and then threw in some raspberries. My favourite part is the fresh berries. The kids love them too, but I'm finding I have to stop by a store every two or three days to buy more.

Turns out, my family included several of my favourite self-nurturing items in their Mother’s Day gift, which they presented in a charming little suitcase.

So, I figured, why not a comfort box rather than a comfort drawer? It has the added advantage of being portable, which might just come in handy if you would rather sit and mope in front of the fireplace than in your bed.

My husband and the kids went shopping together, and picked out a magazine, some books, a movie, sweet potato chips, body lotion, chocolate and some Swedish Berries.  I am quite impressed by their choices…these are many of my favourite small comforts.

Look at it purely as an opportunity to celebrate the special people in your life—partners, parents, children and friends. You don’t even need to spend any money. Just make a card, or better yet, a cake.

How about a breakfast in bed? Or, for the busy parent, a coupon to be redeemed later for some precious alone time?

It was in this spirit of celebration that my sister-in-law and I held an after-school Valentine’s party for our kids this past Friday. The kids were so excited to spend some time with their cousins, doing some simple crafts and decorating cupcakes.


The “secret” ingredient combination is silken tofu blended with real strawberries.

Here’s one of my nieces with her cupcake creation (a little bit of licorice on top).

Here’s my son with his cupcake. He’s often a lone boy in a sea of girls, I’m afraid. Luckily, daddy came home after work to join him.

We did simple, dollar store crafts—nothing too taxing for the moms to come up with. Here’s my daughter with her door hanger craft.

  

Here’s my niece with a card she made for my daughter.

Happy Valentine's Day!



First, I want to say I don’t think there is anything particularly “skinny” about the recipes. But they are healthy, and they use mainly whole foods that are already on my shopping list. (I don’t know if almond milk is on your shopping list, buy hey, give it a try if it isn’t! ) I hate nothing more than a long list of hard-to-find (and expensive ) ingredients.

Butternut Squash Soup with Poppy Seeds

Barnouin’s Banana and Cinnamon Muffins offer a new and delicious twist on the vegan banana muffin, with a crunchy topping that makes them look nice for company. Next time I’m going to make sure there is some company around when I make them, because they are best eaten the first day. The Coconut Banana French Toast was sweet and tasty, and my son said it tasted like “deep fried banana tempura.” He also liked the Coconut- and Almond-Crusted Tofu, which he called a “treat.” I have also made the Pumpkin Pecan Banana Bread (pictured at top). It was so yummy, I made it again (minus the pecans, so the kids could take some to school).

Coconut- and Almond-Crusted Tofu with mango salsa