Decoding our food

Recently I was flipping through a magazine at my kids' dentist office and saw a small article about the little stickers on our grocery store fruit, and how the numbers on the stickers had meaning. Who knew? I certainly didn't! I thought they were just there for pricing purposes.

If there are FOUR digits: It's conventionally grown.

If it starts with a NINE, it's organic.

If it starts with an EIGHT, it's genetically modified (i.e. yuck)

Pretty interesting stuff, no?

What I Ate Wednesday

Welcome back to What I Ate Wednesday, where we take a look at what I've been cooking up/preparing in the kitchen.

For breakfast I had a special breakfast guest (courtesy of my sweet daughter!) The big guy was dining on Shredded Wheat, Grapenuts, old-fashioned oats, grapes, banana and soy milk. Yum.

Lunch is now portable because (drum roll...) I am now working part time during the day! My go-to easy-to-prepare and quick-to-eat lunch is some carrots and dip (this here is a lentil hummus) and some whole wheat couscous with toasted pecans, chopped apricot and raw red pepper. Simple, easy and cheap! And to think I used to always eat peanut butter and jelly!

Snack was pure luxury (wink, wink, Tom!) and all antioxidant! A POM pomegranate and a couple squares of super dark chocolate. Yum times two. Yum.

Dinner was some baked buttercup squash, sweet potato mash, roasted shallots and brussel sprouts, creamy kale (made with tahini and lemon) and an apple cranberry bake.

Thanks for checking in today. Remember, most Wednesdays are "What I Ate Wednesday" days :)

Cool Stuff At Trader Joe's

After a long, lazy holiday break, I'm finally back!!! I missed writing my posts and apologize for my delay. Thank you for your patience!

It's hard for me to say goodbye to the holidays and the sweet decorations around the house, but I have to say, the fresh-start feeling of January is great in its own way, isn't it?

But back to the holidays a minute...

I made my favorite fall/winter dessert twice during the season, Oh She Glow's gingerbread, which you can find here:

  http://nicole-veganmama.blogspot.com/search/label/Gingerbread

And the perfect topping for the heavenly gingerbread is Trader Joe's Soy Creamy vanilla soy icecream. If you haven't ever tried soy icecream I think this is a good place to start. It's sweet and creamy and (in my humble opinion!) tastes great!

Cool Stuff At Trader Joe's

If you've been following me a while you know I love a smoothie in the afternoon. Even when it's cold outside (and it certainly is in New England!) I still try to make one each day. It's a fun snack and a nice way to get a good dose of nutrients.

My daughter's favorite smoothies are tropical: a mix of ice, frozen banana, frozen pineapple and frozen mango. Trader Joe's sells a good assortment of frozen fruits for cheap! Hurray!

Being Kind to Ourselves During the Holidays

 
Raise your hand (or glass!) if you can't believe it's already December. Maybe it's part of being a busy mom, but once Halloween ends, I feel like I blink and it's Christmas!

One of the great joys of the holidays is the food with make, share and eat with friends and family. Ask most people about their happiest moments in life and I'm guessing they'll say it was time spent sharing meals with loved ones. Food is one of life's greatest pleasures, and when we remember to savor our meals with a spirit of gratitude, there are few things better!

One of my pet peeves this time of year is listening to the media pushing sweets, rich foods (all good things in moderation, I really mean that!), but then quickly turning to "diet this, diet that" on January 1st. The old "I'm going to lose weight" New Year's Resolution is so boring to me.  Of course I'm a big proponent of taking great care of your health and often shedding a few pounds is a side effect of that, but it bums me out that people are focused on the negative. The weight. Focusing on what we don't love about ourselves. A "why did I eat that?" mentality.

It's too bad because negativity like that can rob us of an otherwise joyful experience.

So, this season, I say, why not choose self love? Yeah, yeah, I know I sound like a hippie (which I proudly am!), but I'm serious. Yes, you might gain a couple of pounds eating rich yummy foods this season, but instead of punishing yourself and setting yourself up for disappointment, just enjoy the holiday because you're lucky to be alive and lucky to be in the company of loved ones.

What I Ate Wednesday

Did you miss me last week? What can I say? It's a very busy (but fun!) time of year!

Breakfast, I'm sure you're shocked, was the same old yummy bowl of Shredded Wheat, oats and Uncle Sam cereal topped with red grapes and banana. I love it so much it never gets boring!
 

Snack was a scoop of store-bought red pepper hummus with vegetables.

Lunch was a head of romaine lettuce, baby carrots, mushrooms, sliced Trader Joe's marinated tofu, Whole Foods "Health Starts Here" salad dressing and raw sesame seeds!

Dinner was some rice pilaf, Greek baby lima beans, sauteed cabbage with carmelized onions (yum!!) and roasted buttercup squash.

Cool Stuff At Trader Joe's

Carrot juice! In the past, I really didn't get it, but one day I had a glass and it quickly became one of my favorite drinks. Trader Joe's carrot juice is great because for $3.89 you can get a large-sized bottle of organic juice that will last you the whole week.