Mindful Mama

Do you ever feel that your physically in a space but your mind is a million miles away? Do you ever realize your hearing someone talk but have no idea what they just said?  Or maybe that your trying to juggle twenty things at once and really can't remember what's supposed to happen when or where or even why? Do you wonder how life is flying by so quickly? Or when you'll actually have time for yourself again?

These are all questions I've asked or answered yes to since entering into mama-hood.  It's a time of transition and change and growth and it's not always easy.  It's a gift and unbelievably beautiful but it doesn't always feel beautiful.

Being a parent is intense.  Intensely inspiring.  Intensely amazing.  Intensely beautiful.  Intensely divine. Intensely moving.  Intensely overwhelming.  Intensely emotional. Intensely consuming.  Intensely self-less.  Intensely tiring.  Intensely full of change.   Intensely ________  (I'm sure you have some of your own to add!)

As we talk about nutrition and food, I think it's important to not get to stuck or consumed there.  There are so many things that "feed" us.  Now don't get me wrong, I love food, I love to cook, I love to read about nutrition.   I think these things are invaluable. What we put in our bodies affects how we feel, our energy, our mood, our physical health and disease prevention.... BUT I believe there are even bigger things that feed us. REST. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. RELATIONSHIPS. FAITH. PURPOSE.  I think some of these things can trump and 'feed' us more than any amount of kale ever could.  It's not just the physical heart that needs to be well and strong but also the spiritual heart and soul. 

What if you were to ask yourself, "What feeds me well?"  "What do I walk away from feeling refreshed, rejuvenated, restored?"  "What do I truly crave when things seem overwhelming?"  There are lots of answers to these questions and each person will likely have a different answer.  Maybe for you it's tea with a friend, a walk in the woods, a massage, a good long nights sleep, listening to an inspiring teacher, being part of a community of faith, time with family or friends, yoga, a good book, a hot bath, a night away....the list can go on and on.  It's discovering what keeps you fed and making sure you aren't starving yourself.

I write this because I've found myself  'starving' a many times over the past few years.   A longing and craving that food doesn't and won't ever fulfill.  The realization that at times I haven't cared for myself well.  That I have lacked at 'feeding' my heart and soul.  At the same time feeling like I am pushed up against a wall in trying to find time and/or space to actually be fed.  It's not easy. 

This is where I come back to siting with the idea of being mindful. Mindfulness is being present, aware, of holding the mind in the same space where the body is and with whatever the body is doing.  Engaging the senses in what is happening.  Mindfulness is a way of being present with what is happening to me physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually right here in this moment.

So this raises the question..."Am I living mindfully?"

Can I take some time to just sit and breathe and realize I'm not going to achieve perfection in this life? Can I let go of some of the expectations I'm living in?  My house isn't going to be spotless. My kids aren't always going to behave perfectly, especially in front of other people.  I won't do it all right.  I am going to make mistakes.  I don't have all the answers.  I'm not the perfect parent and never will be.  My kids aren't going to eat perfectly or do anything else perfectly all the time. I won't always have beautiful, organic, homemade meals on the table.

I think in letting go of some of expectations, whether conscious or subconscious, we find freedom.  Freedom to be.  Freedom to not be perfect.  Freedom to be on the journey.  And in finding this freedom I believe we give our kiddos a gift of not having to be perfect as well.  To give them permission to explore and learn and make mistakes. That in my opinion is priceless. 

So today my friend may you take a moment to just sit and breath and ask what it is that you need to be truly fed.

Grace & Peace to you!

Gluten Free Peach Cobbler & Vegan Maple Walnut Ice Cream

This peach cobbler has become one of my favorite desserts, which says a lot for me because I'm typically a chocolate kind of girl.  This cobbler has appeared a few times on our counter since peach season began, and I'm guessing with all the peaches in my freezer it will appear a few more times throughout the winter!! And really I'm ok with it appearing quite often because it's really healthy and packs a pretty good nutritional punch.  Not to mention that there is no problem getting my girls to eat this tasty treat.  In fact we may just warm the rest of it up for breakfast tomorrow morning.


Now the ice cream was a new, random creation tonight. I started brainstorming some ideas for what kind of ice cream to make that would pair well with the cobbler.  Well this was it! So, so, so good.  It was actually incredibly delicious ice cream.   It would be really great with an apple crisp as well.  Perhaps next week....

Peach Cobbler

½ cup succant (or other granular sugar or sweetener of choice)

2 TBS arrowroot powder

1 cup water

6 peaches

1 cup flour (I used 1/3 cup each of millet, rice, tapioca) (feel free to use reg. flour here or other GF flour combos)

¼ c ground flax seeds

½ cup ground almonds

Ground cinnamon

1 ½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

2 TBS maple syrup

3 TBS coconut oil

½ cup  non-dairy milk

Preheat oven to 400

Combine sugar & arrowroot in saucepan.  Stir in peaches and water.  Bring to boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Pour into baking dish and sprinkle with ground cinnamon. (I used 8 x 11 dish and I would use that size or smaller).

Combine flour, maple syrup, baking powder and salt.  Cut in coconut oil until mixture resembles cornmeal.  Stir in milk until mixed and then drop by spoonfuls onto hot fruit.  Bake until golden brown.  Approx 25 minutes.

Maple Walnut Ice Cream

1 can full fat coconut milk

½ cup non-dairy milk

½ cup pure maple syrup

1 frozen banana

1 ½ tsp vanilla

½  cup chopped finely chopped walnuts

Combine all ingredient except walnuts in blender.  Process in ice cream maker.  During the last few minutes of freezing add walnuts.

****if you don't have an ice cream maker then you could experiment with putting the blended mixture in a bowl in the freezer for a couple hours until it's frozen and then serving.  If it gets to hard you'll need to let it sit on the counter for a few minutes before serving.  You'll probably have to play and experiment with times but it can be done so don't fret if an ice creamer maker isn't in your cupboard!

***You'll have to excuse my lack of pictures but when my girls catch wind of having dessert they are more than a little excited. For some reason they seem to lose all patience with mom taking pictures of their food before they can eat it!! So this is what I could grab before they started devouring it.

Garden Fresh Nachos

I get really excited when I make a meal that is a hit with both of my girls and they are begging for more.   Now  that excitement increases even more when that meal that they are begging for is loaded up with veggie goodness.  Nacho night at the Byrne house last week was one of these nights.  My girls couldn't get enough.   My favorite part was my new vegan, raw nacho cheese I created.  Oh my goodness!!!. So delish!
Who would've known that cashews could make such an amazing 'cheese'.  It's easy, it's cheaper than all those cheese substitutes out there and those of us with a dairy intolerance can enjoy the creamy cheese topping that I've personally missed at times over the years.  I hope you enjoy our new found love!

Vegan Nacho Cheese

1 cup of cashews

½ red pepper

¼ cup water

1 clove garlic

1/2 small onion

2 TBS nutritional yeast

2 TBS fresh Chives

1/4-1/2 tsp Chilli powder

1/4 tsp Turmeric

1/2 tsp Cumin

1/2 tsp Paprika

Sea Salt

Pinch of ground Chipotle

Soak cashews for 2 hours.  Drain and rinse.  If you don't have time to soak cashews or forget sometimes I will just put them in hot water for 10-15 minutes, which helps soften them up and create a creamy texture.
Add cashews and rest of ingredients to blender.  Blend until smooth.  Add more water for a thinner 'cheese' spread. 
You can play with the amount of spices so that it suits your family's personal taste preferences.
This 'cheese' was amazing on nachos but I also did quesadillas for the girls with it and they just loved it! 

 To make nachos, layer tortilla chips of choice on baking sheet or jelly roll pan.  Top with already cooked rice.  Add veggies...red peppers, onions, green peppers, whatever you have on hand that you feel would go well with your nacho mix.  Add beans...pinto, black beans, refried beans, again what's handy and available.  Top with raw, vegan nacho cheese.  Put in oven at 350 for 10-15 minutes or until it looks like cheese is melting. 

Then finish off  cooked nachos with your favorite toppings.  I love fresh, homemade salsa which includes a bunch more garden fresh veggies (tomatoes, onions, peppers, cilantro, garlic).  Add some homemade guacamole or chopped avocado.  Oh my....amazing, delicious goodness that even a 3 year old will be begging for more!

 I wanted to add some greens to mine so I used the toppings and made quite an amazing taco salad over a bed of greens.  Either way you go, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised and how scrumptious this is and how many veggies can be included!

Chipotle Corn Soup

This summer my husband and I did a week of raw food.  We did it mostly for fun and as a gentle little cleanse on the body.  I get real excited about stuff like this because it challenges me and encourages me find new recipes and experiment with food in different ways.  Sometimes I feel like I get stuck in a rut with cooking and need some new freshness breathed in.  This did exactly that.  It was glorious! We felt great and didn't actually realize how great we felt until we went off of it and started re-introducing some cooked foods back into our life.  Whoa!

In the nutrition world, raw food diets are becoming quite the craze.  The folks following this way of eating are called Raw Foodies.  It's great. I am intrigued by it.  There are some fabulous websites and cookbooks (I guess it would be an un-cookbook).  The idea is that the enzymes in the food are destroyed when cooking it and by eating raw so much more nutrients and minerals are intact.  It's a great theory and I am intrigued by all the crazy raw recipes out there but I also know it's only good for me, for a time and season. 

I think summer is an amazing time to experiment and eat raw.  My girls love raw food.  One example is, I was getting pretty tired of zucchini this summer and trying to figure out what to do with my abundance of it.  I really am not a fan of cooked zucchini and neither are my girls.  It's great in baked goods but really I didn't want to be inside baking this summer so we started calling them zucchini pickles and my girls gobbled them up raw.   I really realized during this week that my kiddos do have a preference to have most of the summer veggies raw.  They tend to be a little pickier when the veggies come on warm dishes.  Raw they tend to gobble them up.  Now I know this will shift now that the weather is cooling down and we are all desiring more warming foods.  It's an interesting thing to start noticing what your body is craving and desiring as the seasons change.  Also to take a walk at your local farmers market and see how the produce changes as the seasons change. 

As for raw food, I think it has a time and place in my opinion.  It's great to experiment and add more raw food to your diet but I think as the cooler weather sets in it doesn't do our body a great service by eating all raw, cool foods.  As temperatures begin to drop we naturally crave warming foods. Now perhaps if your living in Hawaii this is a different story for you! But I think it's really important to get in tune with the rhythms of our bodies and of nature.  Most of us aren't eating summer squash in January nor are we craving hot soups in the middle of the summer.  It's good for foods to change throughout the year.  That is one more reason why it's so fabulous to support your local farmers market. 

So all that said I really started this post to share with you one of my favorite soups I discovered while doing our week of raw food.  It was middle of the summer when we did all "raw week" so we ate this cool.  In Michigan our temperatures are all over the place lately.  We haven't quite settled into the full swing of fall and yet the intense heat has passed.  I saw some fresh corn at the market this morning and thought of this soup.  When really good quality corn has just been picked it's so sweet and tender you can eat it right off the cob raw.  It's light and refreshing.  Not to heavy, which makes this soup great paired with a salad or other veggies, perhaps kale chips.  My girls enjoyed this as well the second time I made it.  The first time I added a bit to much chipotle and it was to spicy for them and my husband!

I found this recipe on Rawmazing.com.  Great resource for raw food recipes....especially salads and desserts! I tweeked it a bit and this is what I came up with.

Chipotle Corn Soup

• 4-5 cups fresh corn (approximately 6 ears)
• 1 1/2 cups water (filtered)
• pinch of  chipotle (can adjust to taste)
• pinch Himalayan salt (or sea salt)
• pinch smoked paprika (optional)

1. Place all ingredients in blender. Blend until well combined and creamy.
2. To have a smoother consistency strain through strainer (you may have to assist the liquid through the strainer by stirring it.) (we didn't strain it and I thought the texture was fine)
3. Serve topped with a pinch of the smoked paprika and/or guacamole.
4.  Can serve at room temperature or warm slightly on stove if your not concerned about it being truly raw!

Enjoy some of the last little reminders of a beautiful summer!

Roasted Tomatoes

 

Cooler days are beginning to settle in.  It's such a beautiful time of year.  Crisp mornings, warm afternoons, cool evenings. As much as our family loves all of the adventures and outside activities that summer weather brings, I love the entry into fall.  The smell, the colors, the coziness of it all. It's change and I am often reminded by the changing seasons that change is good.  

This is also a time to start thinking about preserving the harvest. To start stowing away fruits, veggies, herbs and such that you've spent time and energy tending to all summer.  Or things that are available to you from your local farmer or farmer's market.  Every year I'm learning a little bit more about this idea, and trying something different each year.  I love pulling out a can of homemade tomato sauce in the middle of January.  Tomato sauce that was made from veggies from my garden.  It's a treat. And while I still am very much a newbie in this department, I'm learning and asking questions from those that have more experience is this area and I get excited about the possibilities.  So far my deep freeze has 50 pounds of strawberries, 65 pounds of blueberries, and a bushel of peaches.  That's more than we've ever done before, and yet I realize we will probably go through it quicker than before now that we have 2 little girls who love their fruit and fruit smoothies.  I'm just starting to head into canning tomatoes.  I love canning tomatoes for stews and soups throughout the winter.  I also love doing tomato sauce that we use for pizzas, pastas, and various dishes throughout the winter.  So I share this to say I get real excited about preserving bits and pieces of the bounty of amazing, locally grown produce that is in full swing right now.  

If you have a little baby who will be eating purees over the winter now is an amazing time to start making purees and storing them away.  Puree. Freeze in ice cube trays.  Store in freezer containers. It's really quite easy and quite inexpensive.  Local, organic food for baby's first foods.  Awesome!

As the cooler days set in and I start desiring more warming foods, roasted tomatoes have become a favorite in our house.  I love the smell of slowly roasting tomatoes and the sweetness of the tomatoes after.  My girls just gobble these up.  Both of my girls have had reactions to store bought canned tomato products but they don't have any reactions to home canned tomatoes.  So this encourages me even more to can my own tomatoes and tomato sauce.  I haven't quite figured out why the reaction but it's consistent in both of them.  Another interesting thing is that my husband tends to get heartburn from commercial tomato products but also does just fine with our home canned stuff.  So this is my motivation for putting the work into. I don't know exactly why they all react but I know they do and it's not pleasant.  I know buy buying good quality tomatoes and putting in some work, I can have some yummy goodness for my family for the cooler months ahead.

 

I like chop up any tomatoes I have that need to get used up.  I will toss in heirlooms (all sizes and colors), romas, cherry, and grapes.  I love the way they all combine to add an amazing sweet taste.  I'll also add additional summer veggies to the mix.  Zucchini.  Summer Squash.  Carrots.  Garlic.  Onion.  I chop them up and put them on jelly roll pans (basically cookie sheets that have sides).  I toss them with a bit of olive oil.  I roast them at 300 degrees for between 1 1/2-2 hours.  Check periodically to make sure they aren't burning.  And settle in and enjoy the smell!

 

 

 Once they are done allow to cool.  Then simply put them in a blender or food processor.  The sauce that is the result of this is my absolute favorite sauce.  You can add fresh herbs or spices as you like.  I think there are some canning rules about not adding to much fresh herbs because they may go bad...don't quote me on that but I feel like I read that a few different places. I usually add minimal herbs or spices and instead opt to add them when I open the jars of sauce.  This way I can adjust the spices to whatever I'm cooking or using the sauce in. 

This sauce can be used in a variety of ways.  Added to your favorite pasta.  Over a grain. On top of baked or grilled polenta.  As pizza sauce (which is by far our favorite way to use it!) 

I mean look at this amazing garden fresh pizza (minus the kalmattas!).  You could always add a favorite cheese of choice but it's really quite delish just like this.  Sauce, fresh garlic, sweet onions, sweet pepper, kalmattas and a some extra tomato slices.  Amazing!

Or you can just put it in quart or pint jars and can it for use all winter long! I hope you enjoy some roasted tomatoes and/or some amazingly delish roasted tomato sauce.  Happy September to you!