Global Writing Revolution

15 Tuesday May 2012

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Although I find it extremely difficult to keep up with all the daily blogs that my peers are rolling out, I have recently been thinking just how amazing all these women writers are. Actually that’s not true. I guess I really find it amazing that now, all of these amazing women have a way to be heard. Not until the past few years has it been so easy to find each other and share stories, advice, sorrow, excitement, love, dreams, ambition, recipes, fashion and desperately sought after information that helps us feel connected. Connected to other women going through the same things we are or went through years ago and can now offer guidance.

One of my girlfriends asked me why it is that I don’t talk that much about myself and my feelings one on one, but seem to have no trouble opening up when I write. I didn’t have any one solid answer then, but after mulling it over for a week or so, I think I have a better grasp on it. It’s much easier to purge my emotions to the keyboard because I don’t need to make eye contact with anyone or face judgement. It’s the coward’s way out I suppose, but still it’s true for me. Also, I write for myself as a therapy. When the day, week or whatever gets to be too much, I just mentally release it all to my computer and I don’t have to worry about it tuning me out because I’ve complained about the same thing over and over again. Which, let’s face it, we all do sometimes. Lastly, I get to edit what I write. Sadly, we can’t take back the words that we speak. They are just out there hanging in the air and have to deal with the consequences. Again, the cowards way out. It would be wonderful if I was courageous enough to speak my mind and emotions whenever I felt it, but not wanting to offend rules over that desire.

So, back to the original concept of this post. The internet has given us all a way to be closer to people we would have never known existed otherwise. A woman in London, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Alaska, New York, Boston, Germany, New Jersey… All connected by our need to be heard and more importantly, understood. Maybe we want some fresh feedback. Maybe we just want to feel like our feelings matter and that our likes and dislikes are shared by other women. Maybe we want to be the ones guiding our sisters through their tough times.

Whatever the reason that this global writing revolution started, I’m glad for it. I’m glad for all of the women that light up my computer screen, put knew meals on my table, teach me, inspire me and help me feel more connected everyday.

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Marathon Pizza

20 Friday Apr 2012

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My son, like most kids, LOOOOOOOOOVES pizza. He loves it in any form. I could give him anything with the elements of pizza and he would happily eat it. Pizza casserole, pizza soup, pizza mac and cheese… you get the picture. Knowing this, I try to make our “pizza” as healthy and as varied as possible.

Last night I made mini pizzas with slices of organic marathon bread from Wegman’s. It’s packed with protein (flax, sesame and sunflower seeds) and even has ground carrots and dried fruit. It has a great taste besides being the best “crust” I could think up at the time. I topped it with tomato sauce, goat cheese, spinach leaves and cheddar. We all have our topping preferences, so mini pizzas work out perfectly.

Miles had one with goat cheese and one with cheddar. He prefers raw spinach instead of cooked, so he had his on the side. Needless to say, dinner was fast and painless!

Strange New Smoothies (Even Stranger!)

18 Wednesday Apr 2012

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Yesterday was another warm one and I needed a speedy meal to fix for the whole family, since I was out the door to choral rehearsal right after. So of course I decided to make smoothies. While last time around I used cooked squash to add veg and body to the smoothies, I decided to go a different route last night. Secret ingredient? Frozen peas. I know, crazy right? Actually it turned out to be pretty wonderful. My husband couldn’t figure out what the ingredients were, but he chugged the whole dang thing. In fact, we all did (well, Juniper ate his with brown rice cereal). I did manage to get some photos of the ingredients and a bit of the finished product before it was all gone.

Recipe:

1 large banana

2 cups of frozen strawberries

3/4 cup of frozen peas

1 cup of plain whole milk yogurt

1 tsp of cinnamon

Honey to taste (I used brown rice syrup in Juniper’s, then added honey to the rest)

Milk- add enough to suit your desired thickness

Oh so refreshing! Give it a try, I dare you.

Follow me on Pinterest!

17 Tuesday Apr 2012

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Red Pinterest logo

Red Pinterest logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Hello all!

Today I took the leap and joined Pinterest. At first, I really had no interest in another internet time waster. I don’t get much down time, what with raising two little ones and all. I definitely couldn’t imagine having the time to spend a couple of hours a day trudging through images of pretty things. But, as two of my girlfriends were talking it up a couple of weeks ago, I started to wonder what all the hub bub was about.

After requesting an invitation and then being invited, here I am, a bona fide Pinner of images. It all so simple… and exciting! I can find recipes, DIY crafts and home decorating, cool new products and search for a dress for my 20th (Yikes!) high school reunion all in one place. Plus, I get to see what my friends are into these days.

Besides the obvious fun factor, I’m now thinking it may be the perfect way to get my natural products line (that will soon be on Etsy) off to a running start. What better way to gain new customers than to share lovely photos of my products on Pinterest?

Anyway, the link is below if you care to follow me. Thanks!

http://pinterest.com/mybabynatrually/pins/

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Making my own sunshine.

15 Sunday Apr 2012

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Good morning! It’s a partially gloomy Sunday morning in Somerville. The sun has been in and out, keeping us guessing since we woke up. So, I decided to make my own sunshine today by starting off with a tall glass of ridiculously yummy juice. I skipped a few days of juicing this week because we had house guests that kept us busier than usual. We had a wonderful visit, but my body truly missed the juicing that it’s gotten used to. I feel so much healthier and lighter today after getting my fruits and veggies.

Carrot, Golden Beet and Apple Juice to the rescue!

Recipe:

One handful of organic carrots (I get the 10 pound bag from Costco)

One small organic golden beet

One small organic apple

P.S. I always water down my juice a bit, otherwise it’s just too sweet.

I hope that everyone is enjoying their weekend and getting some sunshine, where ever you can find it.

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Strange New Smoothies

06 Friday Apr 2012

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Last night felt like a good night to try out a new smoothie recipe. My husband was off to band practice after work, so it didn’t seem right to cook a whole chicken for just Miles and me. Besides, with a smoothie, Juniper could easily have some too. I decided to add some veggies to the mix to make the smoothie even more filling and nutritious. I just happen to have half of a cooked kabocha squash in the fridge and that fit the bill perfectly. If you’ve never had kabocha squash before, you really should try it. It’s sweet and mild tasting and happens to purée perfectly. It’s wonderful for baby food.

Here’s the recipe below. Give it a shot!

1 large banana
1/2 a cooked kabocha squash (skinned of course)
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup organic whole milk yogurt
1/3 cup brown rice syrup
As much milk as desired for preferred thickness

BLEND!

All dairy can be replaced with non dairy options. I used brown rice syrup in place of honey so that Juniper could share in the yumminess.

I wish I had a photo to share, but we drank it all up to quickly!

Gracefully

04 Wednesday Apr 2012

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I sincerely believe that women are far better off embracing the years they’ve lived, rather than pretending that they’ve never happened. We’ve all seen countless photos of older female (and sometimes barely out of their twenties) celebrities that have altered their bodies to look younger. More times than not, they end up looking nothing like their former selves. Sadly, there are those that have completely sacrificed beauty to the knife and have come out looking somewhat alien.

Last year I was taking an afternoon to myself, reading magazines and sipping coffee at Borders. I was fulfilling my guilty pleasure of losing myself in a fashion magazine. I believe it was the Vogue age issue. So of course they had models in their 20′s, 30′s, 40′s, 50′s, 60′s and possibly even their 70′s. I came across this photo of a gorgeous woman that seemed ageless to me. A lovely face framed by long silver hair, wearing a simple, yet chic outfit. Yes, I realize that all the photos were airbrushed. Even so, there was something radiant about this woman. She didn’t cut her hair short, like many women do when their hair turns grey. She seemed so confident and comfortable in her skin. I snapped a picture of the page to remind myself of the way I hoped to feel when I reached her age, what ever that age was.

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Busy Mama’s Breakfast Cookies

31 Saturday Mar 2012

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Three and a half years ago, I was stressed out, half crazed and completely famished due to first time motherhood. I was more worried about keeping my son fed than feeding myself, as most new mothers are. I just couldn’t find the time or energy to cook anything for myself during the day and I was losing weight far too fast, according to my family.

So, one day, when Miles was about two months old, my sister came to visit (and to fatten me up). She baked and cooked and baked some more, until my freezer and refrigerator were filled with yummy, nutritious foods. The most important aspect of these foods where that they could be defrosted quickly and eaten on the run. My favorite of all was the fruit and nut breakfast bread. She’d made a double batch, so that I would have plenty to last me until I had time to start cooking for myself. Well, breakfast bread soon turned into snack bread, lunch bread and running out the door bread. After my sister’s bread was gone, I started baking my own.

Over the years, the bread recipe has morphed into breakfast cookies that the whole family loves. Now, after the birth of my second son, Juniper, I bake them on the weekends to enjoy during the week. They are HUGE, so it’s easy to see why they are called breakfast cookies. I hope that you love them as much as we do. Enjoy!

1 cup honey

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/3 cup melted butter

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 milled flax seeds

1 cup old fashioned oats

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

2 cups fruit (dried and/or pureed) -In this batch I used apple sauce and chopped dates.

1 cup chopped nuts or seeds – I chose raw unsalted pumpkin seeds for these

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend together dry ingredients in large bowl. Blend together all wet ingredients in small bowl. Combine wet and dry ingredients with a spoon, not a mixer, in large bowl. Fold in fruit and nuts. With a large serving spoon, spoon batter on to a greased or parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes.

Two Places I love in Somerville, NJ

26 Monday Mar 2012

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This weekend was rushed through and filled with much more work than play. Now, on Monday morning, I find myself trying to remember the good points so that I can hold on to them just a little longer.

Saturday morning I got up as early as usual (since babies never seem to acknowledge weekends). I got fresh juice and breakfast on the table and then began to bake. I was baking my Busy Mama’s Breakfast Cookies to enter in to the From Scratch Contest at our favorite local bakery, The Dessert Plate.

The Dessert Plate has become my weekly destination of choice when out for walks with the kids. Miles calls it the cookie store. We always get yummy treats and lots of smiles from the ladies. They also, without a doubt, have the best coffee in town. They only serve organic, fair trade coffees in regular or decaf. It goes perfectly with the cookies, scones, muffins etc… baked from scratch of course.

My breakfast cookies didn’t win the contest, but I had fun making them and treated myself to a giant brownie and a coffee upon delivery.

Later that day, I took a stroll downtown by myself and decided to stop in to a local consignment shop that features a lot of vintage clothes as well as current styles. Ella Fabrici Women’s Boutique, has a great selection. I just happen to walk in on a day when they were filling the $2 bins with end of season clearance items. Lucky me! I quickly found a rust colored suede jacket that was just waiting to be rescued. That’s right a ridiculously cool suede jacket circa 1970 something for $2. I know I’m a dork, but these things make me very excited.

Isn’t the store gorgeous? Not you average consignment store. I also stumbled upon a Free People mini dress for a measly $9. So, I walked out with a fantastic new outfit for 11 bucks! Woo hoo!!

I love the detail on the dress. So pretty.

Unfortunately, like I said before, the weekend went way too fast. I ended up spending all day Sunday watching the kids by myself while Kofi helped his friend move a giant jungle gym from one town to another. So, I feel like I need another day to myself to feel human again. Not this week. The best I can hope for is that next weekend, I can get away downtown and find some more hidden treasures and time for a great cup of coffee.

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