Ranch Dressing

Craig and I have always appreciated a good salad.  We tend to prefer vinaigrette dressings, with balsamic vinaigrette being a favorite. In a desire to increase the kids salad consumption we asked what we could do to make them more desirable.  Eva wants no toppings, just lettuce and the balsamic dressing - easy enough.  Elias claimed that anything works, but he likes going to Sweet Tomato's for the ranch.  Ranch isn't something I use often.  My grandma always made a fabulous homemade one, so I set out to recreate a homemade version that Elias would appreciate.  He is now requesting salads.  

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise


• 1/2 cup buttermilk


• 1/2 cup sour cream


• 1/2 teaspoon dried chives


• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley


• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed


• 1    teaspoon garlic powder


• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder


• 1/4 teaspoon salt


• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper


• Dash of cayenne

Eating Healthy this Week

Here are a couple kid approved meals that are healthy. The last couple months have left me with little motivation or consideration towards our diet. As such we have had lots of quick and easy, not so health conscious meals. This week has started off better.


Garlic mashed potatoes with French lentil/spinach cakes surrounded by sautéed tomato and onion puree. The kids love things that are shaped hence the approval of the lentil cakes.

Cheesy polenta topped with mixed bean (black, pinto, adzuki, kidney)paste with spinach. Lots of greens in this...I put spinach in the polenta and the bean paste. There is also garlic and tomato in the bean paste. Elias did the decorating on these, so instead of the cool looking spiral of bean paste we wound up with piles of it...not so pretty. :)

Normally we would serve these with a big green salad, but I have yet to make it to the store for groceries.

Morning Discovery

We woke up early this morning and rather than hang around the house, head to the farmer's market or do chores we took off and went to Saguaro National Monument. We loaded up the car and grabbed easy breakfast snacks. It was before 7 am when we drove into Saguaro.

There are several favorite spots in Saguaro and today we decided to take the kids to Freeman Loop (a short 1 mile trail down into a wash where an old homestead used to be). The kids took off down the trail, Eva as anxious to be down and hike as the rest of us. Elias was hoping to see lots of lizards; Eva wanting to touch every plant, cactus and rock on the trail.

It rained last night, making this morning humid and buggy. The trail crosses a hill and gradually goes down into a wash. We saw numerous types of butterflies, lots of lizards, a king snake and spiders. The birds were singing and the flies were buzzing. Elias blew kisses at all his cactus friends and chased after lizards. Eva would walk a bit and then sit down to grab handfuls of rocks. Some of the barrel cactus were blooming and we looked at the fish hook shape of the needles. Elias skiped along talking about the desert and naming the plants. Eva walked about half the loop and then wanted to be carried. There is a plugged well down near the ravine and we stopped for a drink and some observation time, then it was up the hill to the car. Overall, it was a nice peaceful walk.

Flipping for Flexibility

Elias has been doing gymnastics the last few months. It is a preschool class where they walk balance beams, stretch, swing on the bars and in general try to gain some coordination. Elias loves this class and is gaining confidence with every lesson. You can now regularly find him upside down against the wall or couch, flipping over on the bar on the play set or somersaulting across the grass.

On several occasions his class has been small with just him and one other kid or on Thursday, just him. He spends these classes going from one piece of equipment to another practicing, jumping and never taking breaks. His teacher came out to talk to me after the 45 minutes of non-stop action and told me "he is such a dream to work with". That is SO nice to hear when you have spent the week feeling like he never listens! She has made comments before about how well he listens and understands what she is teaching and at this point said he has to move up. He has the skills and the behavior to move up to the 5-6 year old boys class. So next week we will have a new teacher, a new time and a longer more involved gymnastics lesson. He is thrilled!

Big Fat Juicy, Itty Bitty Teeny Worms!

What kind of pet do you have!? Worms? Okay, maybe they aren't pets, but they are awfully fun to watch. Elias loves to pick them up, feed them compostables, talk about the microbes they are eating, count babies, shred paper and in the future mix the worm castings into the garden soil.


We have been working on keeping a good moistness, enough food and a bug free environment for our worms. We are still in the learning phase and there have been many adjustments. It is too dry and hot for the worms outside and the bin is easily flooded. I think I am getting the hang of it and might even order a few more worms. I look forward to all the wonderful worm castings that will enrich our garden soil.

Morning Independence

Faces and shapes = taste better!

Elias loves to wake up early and he wakes up hungry. Eva loves to sleep in and nurse. This creates a problem...especially on those days Craig is up early and out the door cycling. The solution has come about with age. Elias is now old enough and big enough to open the refrigerator, pour pre-measured milk, and in general grab a snack for breakfast.

We have been trying to place some kind of morning snack in the refrigerator or on the table where he can immediately access it in the morning. He loves this! It is a surprise to see what we made and I think the feeling of independence is heady. So here are some of the morning ideas:

Sunshine fruit.

Hard boiled eggs (pre-peeled)
Cheese (cubed or cut into fun shapes)
Muffins/rolls
Fruits
Cereal with milk in a cup
Nuts/seeds
Yogurt with chopped fruit/seeds

The trick is to make them simple to eat; no heating or mixing. Just add milk or sprinkle fruit/seeds. Shapes and faces, colors and dips are always favorites. Sometimes these are his breakfast and at other times they are a start until I can get up and make something hot!