Today has been FULL of waste. Yep, that's right! I woke up to my 2 year old, laying butt naked in her soaking wet bed. But, it gets better than that. After running my errands, I came home to mow the lawn, but first, I had to pick up dog poop and sticks. Then, we come in the house, and C poops her pants, pulls them down, sits on the potty and basically spreads the fecal matter all over her body and toys.
Prior to the most recent wasteful experience, I would have said that its been a good day. Hmmm...I think I'll change my mind ;)
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
To See or Not to See
It truly was a fantastic day. My back was killing me in cardio kickboxing, so I opted for a water aerobics class and really enjoyed it. The instructor told me that actually saw all 5 of her kids being born via c-section, so when I went to my ob appointment later today, I asked if that would be possible. Of course, I have to wait until I meet with my doctor, but I'm still up in the air about whether or not I want to actually see my daughter be born. How stinkin' awesome would that be to see and experience that, instead of just laying there, staring at a blue wall, waiting for them to stick a baby over the top of it. On the other hand, how very gross and worrisome. Yuck! I have 10 more weeks to figure it out, I guess.
P doesn't even want to be in the OR with me when the baby's born. He's said that if you've seen 1 c-section, you've seen them all, so why not let my mom or sister come in. Obviously, that's NOT going to happen. First, can you imagine having that story come out when your child is a teen, "Daddy didn't love you enough to stay and watch you be born." At least, I know that's how my siblings would have portrayed it to each other. Since he feels so strongly about not seeing anymore blood and gore, how can I have them take the curtain down? He'd probably pass out.
Speaking of passing out, I did once see my carpal tunnel release surgery, and ended up passing out. Maybe I should take the hit. Hmmm....
Only time will tell
P doesn't even want to be in the OR with me when the baby's born. He's said that if you've seen 1 c-section, you've seen them all, so why not let my mom or sister come in. Obviously, that's NOT going to happen. First, can you imagine having that story come out when your child is a teen, "Daddy didn't love you enough to stay and watch you be born." At least, I know that's how my siblings would have portrayed it to each other. Since he feels so strongly about not seeing anymore blood and gore, how can I have them take the curtain down? He'd probably pass out.
Speaking of passing out, I did once see my carpal tunnel release surgery, and ended up passing out. Maybe I should take the hit. Hmmm....
Only time will tell
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Random rants from a pregnant mommy
Its been a while since I actually sat down to blog. There's been so much going on in our lives, some areas for improvement have been identified and we've experienced some really great family moments, like on our recent day trip to Hershey Park. I've really been trying hard to focus on the positives, to yell at my kids less, and all and all, be a better mom/wife. Last night though, I had such a trying, whirlwind of an evening (C pooped on the kitchen floor, Piglet got herself all wrapped up in her leash and covered in mud, etc etc), and not even an early bedtime could get me back on track to prepare for the things the world chose to throw at me today.
Let me begin with the crotch rubber that I parked next to at a local grocery store. I was so thrilled that I was able to park in the 3rd spot, woohoo, right? Wrong! When I looked over at the man in the green Lexus, I noticed that he was on the phone, rubbing his wiener through his pants. I looked away, right? Nope. I was mesmerized. Seriously, I could not take my eyes off of him because I could just not believe that he had the nerve to sit there, so close to the door and potentially prying eyes while doing that, at noon! Come on! I had to call P at work to tell him, and of course he says to me, go park somewhere else. That kind of snapped me out of it. Sheesh! Scary!
That should have been enough to get me to change stores, but no, I wanted to earn money off of my gas. Big mistake! The store is being redone and it seriously took us 2 hours to get out of there. $184 later, I feel like I have little to nothing to show for my trip. It truly is a shame that fresh/real food costs so darn much! I really did stick to the outside lanes at the market, venturing in just for my dog food, paper products, canned artichoke hearts and a couple boxes of junk to make for the bake sale at the YMCA. Just crap! They didn't have the low sugar jelly that I like to get for the kids, and only had 1 loaf of the 100% whole wheat bread that I buy. I even tried to buy a different loaf of bread when L pointed out that "it doesn't say 100%, mom!" Really love that kid! Needless to say, I will have to revisit the grocery store later this week for more bread...boo!
And don't get me started on food, in general. Why the heck do our schools and restaurants push such junky crap?! Really. I know the answer is that the profit ratio is nice and people will buy it. But, that doesn't make it right. While watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution tonight, I learned that butchers sell their junk cuts that are not consumable to a company that essentially separates and cleans the junk with ammonia in order to make it fit for human consumption. That is so freakin' disturbing. Seriously. Why the hell does the USDA allow for that? Are they there for the industries or for the consumers?! Then, to see the pure amount of sugar that we allow our kids to consume because we want them to be healthy and drink their milk, gross! And, this is when the healthiness of milk is up in the air. But, by all means, we need to support our farmers, so if they make unfounded statements about the health of their product, let's push it on our kids. Grrr! Its so frustrating. I often times feel like I shouldn't feed my kids anything that I didn't grow myself, and since there is no way that's going to happen, I should be able to trust the food I buy at the store and/or the food served to me and my family when we are not at home. Right?! Or am I just naive? Europeans don't live like this. Why do we?! Our industries have to start being more responsible, and so do the consumers!
Problem?! Money! That's right! It just isn't feasible to feed my family healthy and nutritious meals on our current budget, and we are very fortunate that my husband has a good job. What about the rest of the country? What about the rest of the middle class? Its just next to impossible to sustain a healthy level of nutrition when you can go from spending literally $0-$5 on a meal for your family to $15 (lean protein, veggies). Seriously, I can get food for free by using coupons, or even pay just a couple of bucks for some pasta and sauce, but what value will that really bring to them? I'll tell you, it'll bring you fat. Yep. That's right. I tried to do the cheap food thing, and I got up to just over 200 pounds. I started working out, but didn't change my food at all. I lost nothing, not even a pound. Then, it hit me; I needed to change what I was eating. Bingo, bango. I was able to drop 40 pounds in less than 4 months, and kept it off. Just so darn frustrating that eating the right way can do the wrong thing to your checkbook. Grrr!
Well, those are my rants...for now. Got to get those darn taxes finalized so we can get our money, and not get in trouble for being bad citizens.
Let me begin with the crotch rubber that I parked next to at a local grocery store. I was so thrilled that I was able to park in the 3rd spot, woohoo, right? Wrong! When I looked over at the man in the green Lexus, I noticed that he was on the phone, rubbing his wiener through his pants. I looked away, right? Nope. I was mesmerized. Seriously, I could not take my eyes off of him because I could just not believe that he had the nerve to sit there, so close to the door and potentially prying eyes while doing that, at noon! Come on! I had to call P at work to tell him, and of course he says to me, go park somewhere else. That kind of snapped me out of it. Sheesh! Scary!
That should have been enough to get me to change stores, but no, I wanted to earn money off of my gas. Big mistake! The store is being redone and it seriously took us 2 hours to get out of there. $184 later, I feel like I have little to nothing to show for my trip. It truly is a shame that fresh/real food costs so darn much! I really did stick to the outside lanes at the market, venturing in just for my dog food, paper products, canned artichoke hearts and a couple boxes of junk to make for the bake sale at the YMCA. Just crap! They didn't have the low sugar jelly that I like to get for the kids, and only had 1 loaf of the 100% whole wheat bread that I buy. I even tried to buy a different loaf of bread when L pointed out that "it doesn't say 100%, mom!" Really love that kid! Needless to say, I will have to revisit the grocery store later this week for more bread...boo!
And don't get me started on food, in general. Why the heck do our schools and restaurants push such junky crap?! Really. I know the answer is that the profit ratio is nice and people will buy it. But, that doesn't make it right. While watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution tonight, I learned that butchers sell their junk cuts that are not consumable to a company that essentially separates and cleans the junk with ammonia in order to make it fit for human consumption. That is so freakin' disturbing. Seriously. Why the hell does the USDA allow for that? Are they there for the industries or for the consumers?! Then, to see the pure amount of sugar that we allow our kids to consume because we want them to be healthy and drink their milk, gross! And, this is when the healthiness of milk is up in the air. But, by all means, we need to support our farmers, so if they make unfounded statements about the health of their product, let's push it on our kids. Grrr! Its so frustrating. I often times feel like I shouldn't feed my kids anything that I didn't grow myself, and since there is no way that's going to happen, I should be able to trust the food I buy at the store and/or the food served to me and my family when we are not at home. Right?! Or am I just naive? Europeans don't live like this. Why do we?! Our industries have to start being more responsible, and so do the consumers!
Problem?! Money! That's right! It just isn't feasible to feed my family healthy and nutritious meals on our current budget, and we are very fortunate that my husband has a good job. What about the rest of the country? What about the rest of the middle class? Its just next to impossible to sustain a healthy level of nutrition when you can go from spending literally $0-$5 on a meal for your family to $15 (lean protein, veggies). Seriously, I can get food for free by using coupons, or even pay just a couple of bucks for some pasta and sauce, but what value will that really bring to them? I'll tell you, it'll bring you fat. Yep. That's right. I tried to do the cheap food thing, and I got up to just over 200 pounds. I started working out, but didn't change my food at all. I lost nothing, not even a pound. Then, it hit me; I needed to change what I was eating. Bingo, bango. I was able to drop 40 pounds in less than 4 months, and kept it off. Just so darn frustrating that eating the right way can do the wrong thing to your checkbook. Grrr!
Well, those are my rants...for now. Got to get those darn taxes finalized so we can get our money, and not get in trouble for being bad citizens.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Not "just another" drizzly Wednesday
Every so often, you have one of those days/moments when you think, "Booyah, baby! My kid rocks," and that was my today. Okay, it didn't start that way. Its a Wednesday after all, that means swim day, which in our house, means a battle in the morning over getting dressed. The kids have to wear their clothes over their swimsuits, and every time, I must listen to L whine that his pants are too small, yada yada yada. Today was no different.
Usually, my girlfriends and I take the kids to Friendly's for lunch (there's a deal on Wednesdays and the kids are famished from swimming), but today, we went for the free buffet at Pizza Hut. This is where it began. Though, I won't say that they were perfect, I will say that even with 11 kids, 5 and under, and 6 moms, you wouldn't have noticed our party over any other. Well, that's of course beyond the enormous size of the table. The kids were surprisingly well behaved, all of them.
When we got home, from a brief and drizzly park date, I was beat and both the girls were knocked out (yes, the heavens were good to me today). L and I hung out in the living room where I took a nap. This kid was absolutely amazing! He took the dog out and let her in, and then when J woke up, he got her a cup of milk and even cleaned up the mess when he spilled it. We bought a PetSafe static stimulation collar for our dog today, and he was very responsible about ensuring the dog didn't get zapped for no reason, but instead that we used the noise function instead. Add to that, when J complained that she was chilly, he took his sweatshirt off and let her wear it. My heart was just so full of pride and joy that he is such an amazing kid. I could go on and on, but I will stop bragging.
For this reason, and this reason alone, I decided not to flake on making dinner and actually cook. I was so zonked that I was going to use my fall back plan of leftover sweet potato and barley soup, but instead I went with my original plan: pecan crusted tofu. Okay, doesn't sound like something my kids would like, but I had previously made tofu that was covered in wheat germ and baked, it was a tofu nugget, if you will, and the kids loved them, so I felt confident that they'd feel the same way about this recipe.
A friend of mine told me about this recipe at the gym this morning and was so generous to bring me some pecans to make it. Here's the recipe for every 1/2 pound of extra firm tofu:
2 Tbsp. chopped pecans
1 Tbsp. shredded unsweetened coconut
Dash of salt
Dash of pepper
Dash of cayenne
--Cut the tofu into chunks and then coat in a mixture of the above items. Bake on 350 degrees for 20 minutes, flipping 1/2 way through the cooking time.
I had to quadruple the recipe for my one block of tofu and didn't have enough pecans. Not to worry though, I had macadamia nuts in the pantry which I used for the second half of the tofu block. When I asked P which he liked better, he said, "ummm...neither. Let's not do that again." L was definitely in agreement with him, and I'm certain that J wouldn't miss it if we never served it again either, though she did eat it. C ate all of hers though, and asked for more. In the end, we only had 3 little pieces go uneaten, but there was no ringing endorsement for it.
I served the tofu with Cremini mushrooms sauteed with Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt and pepper, and some sauteed frozen spinach with garlic and salt. In general, my kids despise mushrooms, but they really enjoyed these and asked for more. The spinach though, was surprisingly not enjoyed. Maybe because it was originally frozen and I usually buy fresh. Whatever the reason, it was the least enjoyed of the 3 items. Actually, the fresh cut raw carrots I served the kids while the food cooked were the popular thing they ate. Kind of frustrating that they liked raw carrots better than food I cooked, but its healthy, so I'll get over it.
If you are interested in trying this recipe, I recommend serving the tofu atop of a green salad. There is a nutty coconut flavor that is really a nice addition to crunching mixed greens.
Not sure this recipe will ever see my kitchen again, but I think that by adding a marinade prior to encrusting the tofu, there would be more success. Food for thought.
Usually, my girlfriends and I take the kids to Friendly's for lunch (there's a deal on Wednesdays and the kids are famished from swimming), but today, we went for the free buffet at Pizza Hut. This is where it began. Though, I won't say that they were perfect, I will say that even with 11 kids, 5 and under, and 6 moms, you wouldn't have noticed our party over any other. Well, that's of course beyond the enormous size of the table. The kids were surprisingly well behaved, all of them.
When we got home, from a brief and drizzly park date, I was beat and both the girls were knocked out (yes, the heavens were good to me today). L and I hung out in the living room where I took a nap. This kid was absolutely amazing! He took the dog out and let her in, and then when J woke up, he got her a cup of milk and even cleaned up the mess when he spilled it. We bought a PetSafe static stimulation collar for our dog today, and he was very responsible about ensuring the dog didn't get zapped for no reason, but instead that we used the noise function instead. Add to that, when J complained that she was chilly, he took his sweatshirt off and let her wear it. My heart was just so full of pride and joy that he is such an amazing kid. I could go on and on, but I will stop bragging.
For this reason, and this reason alone, I decided not to flake on making dinner and actually cook. I was so zonked that I was going to use my fall back plan of leftover sweet potato and barley soup, but instead I went with my original plan: pecan crusted tofu. Okay, doesn't sound like something my kids would like, but I had previously made tofu that was covered in wheat germ and baked, it was a tofu nugget, if you will, and the kids loved them, so I felt confident that they'd feel the same way about this recipe.
A friend of mine told me about this recipe at the gym this morning and was so generous to bring me some pecans to make it. Here's the recipe for every 1/2 pound of extra firm tofu:
2 Tbsp. chopped pecans
1 Tbsp. shredded unsweetened coconut
Dash of salt
Dash of pepper
Dash of cayenne
--Cut the tofu into chunks and then coat in a mixture of the above items. Bake on 350 degrees for 20 minutes, flipping 1/2 way through the cooking time.
I had to quadruple the recipe for my one block of tofu and didn't have enough pecans. Not to worry though, I had macadamia nuts in the pantry which I used for the second half of the tofu block. When I asked P which he liked better, he said, "ummm...neither. Let's not do that again." L was definitely in agreement with him, and I'm certain that J wouldn't miss it if we never served it again either, though she did eat it. C ate all of hers though, and asked for more. In the end, we only had 3 little pieces go uneaten, but there was no ringing endorsement for it.
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| The kids are stealing P's carrot sticks! |
I served the tofu with Cremini mushrooms sauteed with Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt and pepper, and some sauteed frozen spinach with garlic and salt. In general, my kids despise mushrooms, but they really enjoyed these and asked for more. The spinach though, was surprisingly not enjoyed. Maybe because it was originally frozen and I usually buy fresh. Whatever the reason, it was the least enjoyed of the 3 items. Actually, the fresh cut raw carrots I served the kids while the food cooked were the popular thing they ate. Kind of frustrating that they liked raw carrots better than food I cooked, but its healthy, so I'll get over it.
If you are interested in trying this recipe, I recommend serving the tofu atop of a green salad. There is a nutty coconut flavor that is really a nice addition to crunching mixed greens.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
But I don't like shrimp!
My girlfriend and I were discussing her weekly menu when she said she was going to be making shrimp. Shrimp? Really. I had shrimp in my freezer, but really no clue about how or when I was going to be using it, so of course, I drilled her about her plans for her shrimp...shrimp and veggie kabobs cooked on her indoor grill plate. Ok...so, I don't have any more kabob sticks nor do I own a grill plate. Now my craving for shrimp was feeling farther and farther away.
After scouring the Internet for a recipe that my husband wouldn't hate and one that used only ingredients I had on hand, I came upon one that met my criteria: shrimp veracruz recipe. Of course, there was no way that I was going to serve anything with jalapeños to my kids, so I just modified the recipe as they suggested. So easy!
Essentially, I sauted an onion, red bell pepper, 3 tomatoes, 4 cloves of garlic, and a handful of slice green olives with a bay leaf. Since the shrimp I had were already cooked and deveined, I simply added them when the tomatoes began to break down in order to warm them up. When I served it with veggies, I just sprinkled some lime juice over them. L and P..."but, I don't like shrimp!"
Meanwhile, the girls were both asking for 2nds and 3rds. The verdict: P enjoyed them, several of them, and L ate his 3, but wasn't interested in having any additional ones. Thumbs up for this recipe. The sauce ended up being something that disguised the fishy taste that turns some people off of shrimp. Thanks, Eating Well!
Paired with curried cauliflower and leftover broccoli and butternut, this was a delicious and nutritious meal. Needless to say, I really enjoyed it.
After scouring the Internet for a recipe that my husband wouldn't hate and one that used only ingredients I had on hand, I came upon one that met my criteria: shrimp veracruz recipe. Of course, there was no way that I was going to serve anything with jalapeños to my kids, so I just modified the recipe as they suggested. So easy!
Essentially, I sauted an onion, red bell pepper, 3 tomatoes, 4 cloves of garlic, and a handful of slice green olives with a bay leaf. Since the shrimp I had were already cooked and deveined, I simply added them when the tomatoes began to break down in order to warm them up. When I served it with veggies, I just sprinkled some lime juice over them. L and P..."but, I don't like shrimp!"
Meanwhile, the girls were both asking for 2nds and 3rds. The verdict: P enjoyed them, several of them, and L ate his 3, but wasn't interested in having any additional ones. Thumbs up for this recipe. The sauce ended up being something that disguised the fishy taste that turns some people off of shrimp. Thanks, Eating Well!
Monday, April 4, 2011
Potty Training Success!...I hope
Potty training is one of things every parent dreads. Its that difficult step between constantly changing diapers to waste cleanup freedom, and probably one of the grossest periods of time in any parent's life.
L was a fairly easy kid to train. When he was 16 months old, he started peeing on the potty, but he refused to take that next step until he was exactly 2 1/2 years old. We had to promise him one of those drive in Jeeps to get the complete potty training success. We had tried charts, rewarding with toy cars, and even took toys away when he was too busy playing to be bothered with using the potty.
J was super easy. When L was 30 months old, she was 10 months old and really interested in using the potty like "Dodo". Needless to say, she was completely trained by the time she was 17 months. I had learned my lesson with L, that J needed to be trained and away from diapers before C joined us, since he went through a period of regression after J was born. Success never felt so good.
Then, we get to C. I was all prepared to let her take her time, well, that was until I found out that Q would be joining us. There is just something about 2 kids in a diaper that scares me. Maybe its the cost, maybe its the sheer amount of diapers, or the big poos. Who knows. I just know that I'm not interested. So, I started training in November 2010, but C's urologist told me in December that I needed to nix that idea until she was completely ready to make that leap herself. Turns out that holding urine in increases the likelihood of a bladder infection, which is exactly what we are trying to avoid with her since she has grade IV bilateral primary vesicoureteral reflux and infections can cause scarring of the kidneys.
My thoughts after this warning were 1. yay! No pressure to train this one and 2. Come on! I do not want 2 kids in diapers! Of course, whatever her doctor recommended was going to be followed. So, I backed off and just left the potties around the house. Every time we had some success, it would be followed with many failures, especially when it came to #2. She just was not interested in it...until last week. We were at the library when L had to "go poop," as he announced to the entire story time. C just had to go with him and watched as he went. She was so thrilled and clapped for him. That probably has something to do with the fact that every time she uses the potty, L practically throws a party for her...too cute! She immediately climbed on the potty and went #2 herself. Sweet success...or not. But, Friday, she wasn't successful and as a result, made quite the mess. She was mortified.
And that seems to be all it took. Today was day 3 with undies on and no accidents! I really hope that I haven't spoken too soon, again, but I really think we have a potty trained girl here. I think the fact that her bestie, G, is recently wearing undies too will help her stay on track. She was even dry when she woke up this morning. This is huge since she was leaking out of her diaper every day for the past 2 weeks. No matter how she got there, I am stoked. Just reaffirms for me that no matter how hard you try, your child will do some things (like using the potty) when they are ready to do them, no matter how hard you try to encourage a quicker response.
Congrats to my big girl rock star! Mommy is so proud of you!
L was a fairly easy kid to train. When he was 16 months old, he started peeing on the potty, but he refused to take that next step until he was exactly 2 1/2 years old. We had to promise him one of those drive in Jeeps to get the complete potty training success. We had tried charts, rewarding with toy cars, and even took toys away when he was too busy playing to be bothered with using the potty.
J was super easy. When L was 30 months old, she was 10 months old and really interested in using the potty like "Dodo". Needless to say, she was completely trained by the time she was 17 months. I had learned my lesson with L, that J needed to be trained and away from diapers before C joined us, since he went through a period of regression after J was born. Success never felt so good.
Then, we get to C. I was all prepared to let her take her time, well, that was until I found out that Q would be joining us. There is just something about 2 kids in a diaper that scares me. Maybe its the cost, maybe its the sheer amount of diapers, or the big poos. Who knows. I just know that I'm not interested. So, I started training in November 2010, but C's urologist told me in December that I needed to nix that idea until she was completely ready to make that leap herself. Turns out that holding urine in increases the likelihood of a bladder infection, which is exactly what we are trying to avoid with her since she has grade IV bilateral primary vesicoureteral reflux and infections can cause scarring of the kidneys.
My thoughts after this warning were 1. yay! No pressure to train this one and 2. Come on! I do not want 2 kids in diapers! Of course, whatever her doctor recommended was going to be followed. So, I backed off and just left the potties around the house. Every time we had some success, it would be followed with many failures, especially when it came to #2. She just was not interested in it...until last week. We were at the library when L had to "go poop," as he announced to the entire story time. C just had to go with him and watched as he went. She was so thrilled and clapped for him. That probably has something to do with the fact that every time she uses the potty, L practically throws a party for her...too cute! She immediately climbed on the potty and went #2 herself. Sweet success...or not. But, Friday, she wasn't successful and as a result, made quite the mess. She was mortified.
And that seems to be all it took. Today was day 3 with undies on and no accidents! I really hope that I haven't spoken too soon, again, but I really think we have a potty trained girl here. I think the fact that her bestie, G, is recently wearing undies too will help her stay on track. She was even dry when she woke up this morning. This is huge since she was leaking out of her diaper every day for the past 2 weeks. No matter how she got there, I am stoked. Just reaffirms for me that no matter how hard you try, your child will do some things (like using the potty) when they are ready to do them, no matter how hard you try to encourage a quicker response.
Hawaiian Curried Chicken
What to do with that leftover chicken besides eating it as a plain chicken with veggies again? I definitely didn't want to that. I scoured the Internet in search for leftover chicken recipes. Most of what I found were sandwiches, salads, or ways to mix it with pasta. I'm not even going to attempt a salad with my kids, and bread and pasta don't necessarily fit in with my reduced grains/flour lifestyle. Very frustrating, until I came upon this recipe for Hawaiian Curried Chicken.
I just had to figure out what to serve it over, instead of rice...sweet potatoes! Of course, if you can eat something over rice, you can eat it over pasta or potatoes. I made a couple of modifications (cooking spray instead of oil/butter and crushed pineapple instead of chunks) to the recipe and what turned out, according to L, was a "very tasty chicken, full of flavor". Yes, my 5 year old describes food like that, strange, huh?
I think my kids liked it because they love pineapple and coconut. They even ate their veggies (well, L didn't eat his tomato) because they were able to dip them in sauce from the chicken. C actually is the only one that gave me a hard time about eating dinner tonight, though she gobbled up the zucchini because she thought they were cucumbers. In the end, the girls cleaned their plates, but only after refusing to let them down from the table or give them extra pineapple until they did. Frankly, I think C is just in a "fight my mom over everything" kind of a stage right now. I really hope that ends soon, though.
When P got home, I asked him what he thought. His response: "it was different." Okay, I'm shocked. J and L gave the chicken "2 thumbs up," and C ate it without fighting me too much in the end. Personally, I enjoyed it as well. I think I will make this again, perhaps adding the veggies into the sauce. All and all, I do recommend you give it a try!
I just had to figure out what to serve it over, instead of rice...sweet potatoes! Of course, if you can eat something over rice, you can eat it over pasta or potatoes. I made a couple of modifications (cooking spray instead of oil/butter and crushed pineapple instead of chunks) to the recipe and what turned out, according to L, was a "very tasty chicken, full of flavor". Yes, my 5 year old describes food like that, strange, huh?
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| Paul's plate. The kids and I shared a sweet potato with cinnamon sprinkled on it. |
When P got home, I asked him what he thought. His response: "it was different." Okay, I'm shocked. J and L gave the chicken "2 thumbs up," and C ate it without fighting me too much in the end. Personally, I enjoyed it as well. I think I will make this again, perhaps adding the veggies into the sauce. All and all, I do recommend you give it a try!
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Bambu - Shabu and Tapas
P and I went to Bambu, Shabu and Tapas for our anniversary dinner, after attempting to go to 3 other places. Its located in Clarks Summit, PA, next to Gourmet Family diner and across from So. Abington Middle School. This location has seen such a wide variety of restaurants over the last couple of years, but none have really seemed to last. There was a chicken and ribs place called Juniors before Bambu, and then it was Bambu Noodle House. The noodle house was a bit pricey, but we enjoyed it. Actually, my parents loved it. There were just too many other restaurants that we enjoy to make it one of our frequent stops.
The new menu takes this place from I enjoyed it to WooHoo, we'll be back! If you're not familiar with Shabu, the best way to describe it is liken it to an Asian inspired fondue house. When you sit down, you can select from the tapas (appetizers), and then the shabu menu. On the shabu menu you first select your cooking liquid (broth), dashi (chicken soup base), miso, or veggie broth. Then, you select the foods that you'd like to cook in your boiling broth. They have beef sirloin, 2 kinds of pork, a variety of seafood (shrimp, scallops, tilapia, squid, etc), noodles (vermicelli, udon or ramen), and a large variety of vegetables (bamboo shoots, asparagus, 3 kinds of mushrooms, spinach, carrots, 2 preparations of tofu, watercress, etc...). Then, they bring 2 sauces for which to dip your cooked food, a red one and a ponzu sauce. We ordered a la carte and selected the beef sirloin, scallops, vermicelli, asparagus and bamboo shoots with dashi, and a gyoza tapa.
The gyoga was fine, I've had better, but really it was the dipping sauce that was lacking. Usually, you receive a soy, sesame and ginger sauce, but instead, this tasted simply like some soup base poured in a bowl. The shabu though, was good. It was fun to drop your food in the boiling broth and watch it cook. Really, everything was done in less than 2 minutes, and the ponzu sauce that I dipped it in was great! The red sauce? Blah.
They also serve chocolate fondue with either an assorted fruit plate or a fruit/nut/sweets plate. We didn't get any because P was full and I was satiated. Let's be honest though, I could have made room for some chocolate dipped fruit. They also had mochi and something else on the dessert menu. P had no problem staying while I enjoyed some dessert, but I have to admit that the service was a bit slow. I'm sure it had something to do with the fact that the table across the room knew our server and kept chatting with him about their son and other personal things. Ugh!
I'm sure that the server sensed my annoyance, so when the bill came, he had comped us the gyoza. We only ended up paying about $17 plus tip. Not bad for a meal that was entertaining and filled us up. I cannot wait to go back there and have some fondue! Even more so, I can't wait to take the kids there and let them drop their food in the broth. I'd have to imagine that they'll try whatever I order since it will be a cooking experience for them. And, with the price, I won't feel too guilty about treating them to a nice lunch or dinner. Okay, I'm sure that if I had made this at home, it would have been about $5, but I don't have a hot plate that heats to over 400 degrees and eating at a restaurant is always more fun than eating at home. Don't you think?!
To make a long story short, we recommend Bambu, Shabu and Tapas on Northern Blvd in Clarks Summit, PA. If you go, let me know what you think.
The new menu takes this place from I enjoyed it to WooHoo, we'll be back! If you're not familiar with Shabu, the best way to describe it is liken it to an Asian inspired fondue house. When you sit down, you can select from the tapas (appetizers), and then the shabu menu. On the shabu menu you first select your cooking liquid (broth), dashi (chicken soup base), miso, or veggie broth. Then, you select the foods that you'd like to cook in your boiling broth. They have beef sirloin, 2 kinds of pork, a variety of seafood (shrimp, scallops, tilapia, squid, etc), noodles (vermicelli, udon or ramen), and a large variety of vegetables (bamboo shoots, asparagus, 3 kinds of mushrooms, spinach, carrots, 2 preparations of tofu, watercress, etc...). Then, they bring 2 sauces for which to dip your cooked food, a red one and a ponzu sauce. We ordered a la carte and selected the beef sirloin, scallops, vermicelli, asparagus and bamboo shoots with dashi, and a gyoza tapa.
The gyoga was fine, I've had better, but really it was the dipping sauce that was lacking. Usually, you receive a soy, sesame and ginger sauce, but instead, this tasted simply like some soup base poured in a bowl. The shabu though, was good. It was fun to drop your food in the boiling broth and watch it cook. Really, everything was done in less than 2 minutes, and the ponzu sauce that I dipped it in was great! The red sauce? Blah.
They also serve chocolate fondue with either an assorted fruit plate or a fruit/nut/sweets plate. We didn't get any because P was full and I was satiated. Let's be honest though, I could have made room for some chocolate dipped fruit. They also had mochi and something else on the dessert menu. P had no problem staying while I enjoyed some dessert, but I have to admit that the service was a bit slow. I'm sure it had something to do with the fact that the table across the room knew our server and kept chatting with him about their son and other personal things. Ugh!
I'm sure that the server sensed my annoyance, so when the bill came, he had comped us the gyoza. We only ended up paying about $17 plus tip. Not bad for a meal that was entertaining and filled us up. I cannot wait to go back there and have some fondue! Even more so, I can't wait to take the kids there and let them drop their food in the broth. I'd have to imagine that they'll try whatever I order since it will be a cooking experience for them. And, with the price, I won't feel too guilty about treating them to a nice lunch or dinner. Okay, I'm sure that if I had made this at home, it would have been about $5, but I don't have a hot plate that heats to over 400 degrees and eating at a restaurant is always more fun than eating at home. Don't you think?!
To make a long story short, we recommend Bambu, Shabu and Tapas on Northern Blvd in Clarks Summit, PA. If you go, let me know what you think.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Nothing in the fridge or pantry
I just cleaned the fridge and pantry, but what about restocking it? Of course I didn't! I was a "single mom" for the last 5 days with a hormonal week and a goopy eyed girl, so I just didn't feel like going to the store. Not to mention, when daddy's away, dinners are super easy and consist of mostly leftovers or easy to throw together staples.
Daddy's home now and hasn't had anything healthy to eat in a few days, so I thought it was a great day to get this family back on track by decreasing our junk intake. Not to mention, I had some chicken breasts in the fridge that pretty much told me if I didn't cook them today, they refused to be consumed without giving us all tummy aches. There was no way that we'd be able to eat 6 chicken breasts though. Have you seen how big those suckers are?! The solution was to cut, lightly season, and griddle the chicken so that we could enjoy it today, and have some for salads and meals during the rest of the week.
But, with trying to reduce our grain/flour consumption (that whole going Paleo thing), I was perplexed about what to serve with it. Luckily, I found a butternut squash in my newly organized pantry, and some broccoli in the freezer. Yay! I usually roast butternut, but I was not in the mood to wait 40 minutes + to eat. Instead, I cut the butternut in half and microwaved it for almost 20 minutes. After slicing it on the kids' plates, I put a small dollop of butter and a little salt on it. Surprise! L loved it. I couldn't even believe it. I think C would've liked it too, if J hadn't smooshed hers all of the plate and then after it was cold, complained about eating it.
Regardless though, all of my kids had steamed broccoli, chicken, and butternut squash. All plates were licked clean. So happy! And, L even asked for seconds of butternut and chicken! So thrilled to reintroduce a veggie I love to my kids, and have them enjoy it too!
Daddy's home now and hasn't had anything healthy to eat in a few days, so I thought it was a great day to get this family back on track by decreasing our junk intake. Not to mention, I had some chicken breasts in the fridge that pretty much told me if I didn't cook them today, they refused to be consumed without giving us all tummy aches. There was no way that we'd be able to eat 6 chicken breasts though. Have you seen how big those suckers are?! The solution was to cut, lightly season, and griddle the chicken so that we could enjoy it today, and have some for salads and meals during the rest of the week.
But, with trying to reduce our grain/flour consumption (that whole going Paleo thing), I was perplexed about what to serve with it. Luckily, I found a butternut squash in my newly organized pantry, and some broccoli in the freezer. Yay! I usually roast butternut, but I was not in the mood to wait 40 minutes + to eat. Instead, I cut the butternut in half and microwaved it for almost 20 minutes. After slicing it on the kids' plates, I put a small dollop of butter and a little salt on it. Surprise! L loved it. I couldn't even believe it. I think C would've liked it too, if J hadn't smooshed hers all of the plate and then after it was cold, complained about eating it.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Project Simplify: Pantry and Refrigerator
This week's Project Simplify was to tackle your pantry and refrigerator. Not, just to clean them out, but to examine the food that we have in our homes and to determine if that food is working for our families or against them. I know I've said this every week, but its true, I swear they organizer of this project has somehow stolen my thoughts and picked this spot just for me.
My family knows this, most specifically, my husband, but our pantry closet is our catch all. Not only is it a fair size, but I use it to house items that have no real home or when guests are coming over and I have to quick clean up. I simply just throw everything in there and shut the door. Problem solved. Here's what I had to start with:
I'll tell you this, the pantry is probably 1 of the major things that really bugs my husband. Whenever something goes missing, he immediately assumes that I had picked it up and relocated it to the great abyss of that closet. Its hard to see in the those pictures, so here's what came out of that closet.
Oh yea, baby! That table seats 8-10 people. The kids and I ran out of room and had to stack the stuff on the floor. It was then that I realized that this was not going to be a 1 day project. It truly is scary, the items that came out of that closet.
Then, when I peered inside, I realized that the walls had never been painted. Luckily, I had pulled a can of primer out of the pantry, so I put 3 coats on the walls before restocking.
Here's where the fun starts.
1. All food items were inspected for expiration dates and old food was discarded. What a bummer! I didn't realize that my favorite salad dressing was expired.
2. All the food that I did not want to keep for my family was put in bags. The unopened items were donated to the food drive at our local YMCA. The opened items were given to a friend so that they didn't go to waste.
3. The pantry was restocked and the food items were organized. Its beautiful, really.
4. My kitchen appliances were added to the closet, along with my non-food kitchen items, i.e. extra foil, paper products
5. All of the remaining items were reorganized on the dining room table and found their permanent homes. Okay, not all of them. I have a lot of photos that need hung and I need P's opinion, so they will just have to stay where they are, awaiting his return. I'm sure he'll be thrilled to learn that that is how he will be spending his weekend.
Here's the final product:
Seriously, it was so pretty that I didn't want to shut the closet door. I can actually see the floor, and I know what items are in there. I also found a lot of great things I had thought I'd lost. Woo hoo!
The refrigerator was easy though, since I just cleaned the shelves and what not the other day. I'm also in need of a trip to the grocery store, so it didn't take long at all.
Before:
Essentially, I ended up throwing out some condiments that were purchased 2 Christmases ago by my in-laws and some salad dressings. That cleared out my doors and made room for the peanut butter and jelly that were on my shelves. My pet peeve? Having condiments in the refrigerator and not in the door. Can not stand it! Really, it gets my goat.
Anyway, here's my after:
Feeling so accomplished right now. The best thing about it? Now I know exactly what I have in my fridge. I was able to throw together a really wonderful dinner with my leftovers. I used some of the blue hake, put it on whole wheat tortillas with broccoli slaw and an Asian Goddess dressing for dinner. Less than 5 minutes and the kids were eating a healthy meal that otherwise would likely to have gone to waste due to oversight.
I should probably do this once a month. Doubtful, but a good idea. Even harder? To keep the junk out of my fridge and pantry. I'll give it my best shot, though!
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