Hide yo' kids, Hide yo' veggies

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This year in an effort to be more consistent with Goal #3 (and #1 too I suppose), I'm taking part in the #NoExcuses #SweatPink challenge. Back when I was a good little blogger (and runner), I became an SweatPink Ambassador or SPA. It's a great community of physically active bloggers who want to change the world one burpee at a time.

So as part of the challenge, every Sunday for the entire year, we receive an email that lays out a different task for each day of that week. I've done squats, ran/walked a mile and for today, I'm sharing a healthy snack with you. As if all my recipes weren't super healthy. Pffft. As if.

Becoming a mom put so much of life into perspective. Especially when it comes to food. From eating right while nursing to keep up supply and provide nutrients to now feeding a ever eating toddler (seriously, I cringe when I think about the teenage years of watching my kid go to the fridge at stare into only to come out with the fixings for a Dagwood sandwich).

Now I know how to eat to maintain a healthy lifestyle. I lost thirty pounds before I had Monkey by doing so. That was when I only had me to worry about. There was no teething, roaring, pooping pterodactyl screaming in my ear for me to put something, anything in front of him to devour. One of my biggest challenges is veggies. I'll eat them all day long. In fact, I even have favorite vegetables (asparagus, lima beans and peas are my top three. Stop gagging you big baby). Husband, on the other hand, will only eat corn. And not even corn in a variety of ways. Just corn or corn on the cob. Guess what vegetable I hate? Corn. And I actually loathe corn on the cob (my biggest nightmare involves eating corn on the cob and discovering that the dental floss factory has burned down).

So what's a girl to do to make sure her child is getting a balanced diet? She purees the shizz out of veggies and puts them in everything. No really, EVERYTHING.

Last night I opened a can of beets (small can, I wasn't even confident to begin with) to introduce to Monkey. Bad, just bad (how are these things a super food?!). Even I wouldn't try them. So bad. Rather than waste them because there are starving kids in China (thanks maternal unit for that therapy session), I pureed the beets with some frozen spinach, frozen fruit (I used a no sugar added blend) and water and voila! That puree will go in Monkey's oatmeal (part of his high iron diet). It will go in his plain Greek yogurt. Perfect for adding to pancakes and waffles. I may even spread some on his toast. Winning!

Beet Puree

Printable Version

1 8oz can sliced beets

1/4 cup frozen chopped spinach

1/2 cup frozen fruit of choice

water (enough to help liquify)

Place all ingredients in blender. Blend until desired consistency. (Mine was smoothie like)

I ams what I ams

Let's face it: Betty Crocker I am not. I'm not even close to being on the same kitchen plane as my Maternal Unit (who coincidentally, won a Betty Crocker Homemaker award when she was in high school; this apple fell so far from the tree we're not even the same fruit any more).

However, I don't pretend to be some culinary genius or crafty great. My creative juices flow as far as writing down a few clever phrases here, adding a half edited picture and calling it a blog. I wish I had the aptitude to spend hours in the kitchen, perfecting recipes and then putting them on display for all the world to see; after all, I certainly had the time when I was unemployed. I just don't have the desire to force myself to be in a four foot by two foot space without monetary reward.

There would, I suppose, be the pride in having other people make my recipes. The flip side of that would be the worry of ramifications if I mistyped "T" instead of "t" and someone put 2 tablespoons of yeast in their bread, which caused it to overflow in their bread machine, which let to a short in the electrical system, which shut down the fridge, which caused the milk to go bad (anyone else seen this commercial? with the laptop and the power goes out and zombies. Makes me throw up a little in my mouth every time)...I just don't think I could live with the guilt of knowing that one of my recipes caused the Zombie apocalypse.

So I spend hours pouring over Allrecipes.com and actual cookbooks and food bloggers blogs to find things to make that Husband will eat. Every week there's a menu and I'm sound in the knowledge that none of it will give me a desire to eat Husband's brains. The desire to kick him when he leaves his wet work jackets on my kitchen table, well that's another story.

My first foray into DIY food-the Cheese Turkeyburger

So, are you a completely gourmet cook, indulging your family in your every culinary whim? Or do you rely heavily on takeout menus and food that comes in reheatable Styrofoam containers? Or does your kitchen prowess lay somewhere in between?

Progress...

Bubbles is not in his cage, the laundry space hasn't been measured yet, all clothes are still in the bins they were packed in and I have no clue where my contacts are BUT my kitchen is completely finished and stocked. We actually sat at our kitchen table for a meal for the first time since...moving on, I have so missed cooking. I could feel the stress melt away as the apartment filled with the smell of minestrone. Finally beginning to feel like we're home. Haven't made it to pomegranate margarita time yet but only because I just found the ice cube tray. One thing at a time.

I have room for my table!! And the pretty Husband "bought" for me.

Ahoy there matey. (Get it? Galley kitchen, naval reference? Get it?)

Getting ready for our first meal.

**Meatless Monday** Girl Pizza

On Saturday, Husband and I ventured over to the home of the Sweet Pea family, thusly named because their three year old daughter is just the most darling girl and her daddy calls her Sweet Pea. We are super fond of the whole family (their house is where the Sunday Brunch group meets) and spend a lot of time with them.

Recently, we exchanged our couches for the use of their laundry room so that our clothes would be clean for the move, so Saturday was not just about eating. I'm a user.

The Sweet Pea wanted to do pizza, so her mom bought all the ingredients. Momma Sweet Pea made the man pizza and I tackled the girl pizza. It included garlic white sauce, spinach, roma tomatoes, mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, some other cheese and a blend of italian seasonings. Quite possibly the best pizza I've ever had the privilege to put together. I even rolled out the (pre-made) pizza dough. 

Hungry??

Time for a photo dump! Here are all the goodies that I've made over the past few months and may or may not have posted. I will try and make the recipes available (if I can remember what the heck it was that I made).

Homemade mac and cheese because let's face it, I make it at least once a week.

My new fave enchiladas.

I quite literally licked the plate when I made these.

My #1 comfort food: chicken pot pie.

Chicken casserole that was quite scrumptious.

Slow cooker turkey meatballs

MY FIRST OMELET EVER!! Thanks maternal unit for letting me experiment on your breakfast.

 Thanks for looking! Oh and don't forget to answer the poll or leave a comment here.

Oh the humanity! The shame! The...oh forget it.

As someone who's favorite activity is cooking (outside of sleeping, eating, snuggles with the girls and plotting to take over the world), I had a hard time coming to the decision of shopping in the frozen food aisle yesterday. *gasp* *shock and alarm*

I know. Preservatives, sodium, fat content all come to mind. However, we vacate California in 12 days and I've already packed the kitchen, except for 1 pot, 1 pan and a cookie sheet. So last night, we had Safeway brand cheese lasagna and Safeway brand garlic bread and who cares if it cost more than it would had I made it myself? It was fast and edible. Do I cringe knowing that I make a super lasagna in the crock pot? Actually...yes, I cringe a lot. Do I die a little inside knowing that I can make garlic bread from scratch? Well, I wouldn't go so far as that, but there are parts of me on life support.

I absolutely cannot wait to be moved and settled. I've already started planning the menu for our first week in the new place. So far, it's looking like chicken pot pie, meat loaf and maybe, if I'm feeling ambitious, a dessert of some kind. I'm thinking fudge brownies with chocolate chips. And peanut butter icing. And a glass of milk. And a nap.

Iz a good napper.