sloppy josephs {paleo-friendly!}

one of the biggest hurdles for me on our clean-eating journey has been coming up with healthy meals that are kid-friendly.
my kids aren't picky eaters by most standards.  but still, they are kids.
where i could eat bacon-roasted brussels sprouts and a fried egg or two for dinner two or three nights a week, that's not going to fly for multiple meals with them.
they love anything "taco"...tacos, fajitas, taco salad...those are all good with them. thankfully we have a very reasonably-priced organic beef source, so i have no qualms about feeding them beef a couple nights a week.
still, though, one can only fix taco-stuff and egg dishes (thank goodness they like eggs, too) so many times...and then i'm left scrambling for ideas again. 

think about it...
when you eliminate all of the unhealthy foods that usually cater to children--
chicken nuggets, frozen/refrigerated/take-out pizza, fish sticks, hot dogs, corn dogs, tater tots, 
and on the list goes--you're not left with a whole lot of "convenience food" options to serve.

thus, i've been going through my mental list of all-time kid favorites, and searching for nutritious, 
from-scratch recipes for these menu staples.

i'm thrilled to report that this recipe is such a thing.
no, sorry, it doesn't taste like Manwich.
it's only about a hundred times better.
my husband (which, aren't all men just big kids at heart?) couldn't get over how yummy it was.  
my son (who is my pickiest eater) wanted fourths...as in a fourth helping.

i doubled this recipe (and adapted it quite a bit) and still didn't have enough left over to freeze.  
next time, i'll triple or quadruple the recipe--it's that good (and i really, really like to have leftovers to freeze--the only thing better than a healthy meal is a convenient healthy meal).

and since it's all dignified...you know, loaded with veggies, made-from-scratch and all, "joe" just wouldn't suffice.  
no, sireeee.  these are sloppy josephs, my dear.



☛sloppy josephs
2 pounds ground beef (or other ground meat of your choice--i used beef)
2 medium shredded carrots (i whizzed mine in the food processor)
1 whole red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
½ large red onion, diced
2 8oz. cans tomato sauce
1 6oz. can tomato paste
¼ cup ketchup (mine is from Whole Foods and doesn't have bad stuff in it)
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1-2 Tbsp. minced garlic (to taste)
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. paprika
½ tsp. black pepper
½ tsp. dry mustard
½ tsp. chili powder
½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. ground all spice

¹⁄₈ tsp. ground cloves

brown and drain meat.  put meat back into pot with all other ingredients.  heat until bubbling.  reduce to simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes, until flavors have melded.

i served this to my kids on regular hamburger buns (i know, i know...so not healthy.  but it's all about baby steps, right?) and my hubs and i ate it on romaine leaves, lettuce-wrap-style.

oh.  and i know all those spices sound odd.  i even considered omitting the all spice and cloves...those just did not sound right to me.  i'm so glad i trusted the recipe this time...all the spices are SO good, even the two vinegars.  just trust me...use them.  you won't be sorry.

i'm so glad i have this to tuck into my healthy kid's foods "arsenal!"  if you try it, please let me know what you think!

enjoy!

summer lake days...

disclaimer: this is a photo-heavy post...

mostly for the aunts and uncles and cousins...

but you're more than welcome to peek in if you're interested!

any day that you can't imagine being anyone else, 

anywhere else,

is holy.

~jenna woginrich

the goal is to be sure that your own heart is rich

so that when you teach your children

you can give out of your own treasure.

~sally clarkson

youth is happy because it has the capacity to see beauty.

anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty

never grows old.

~franz kafka

write it on your heart that every day

is the best day in the year.

~ralph waldo emerson

i used to be afraid of failing at something

that really mattered to me...

but now i'm more afraid of succeeding

at things that don't matter.

~bob goff

children will read our lives as

the most important book they will ever know.

~sally clarkson

{they're no relation to us at all...

i just couldn't resist snapping a picture.}

everything changed the day she discovered

there was exactly enough time

for the important things in her life.

~the story people

creamy paleo basil-ranch dressing

a long while back, my friend shared her fabulous French balsamic dressing recipe with me and my hubby and we've been hooked on it ever since. 
thankfully, it's both paleo and whole 30 compliant.

still, as they say, "man shall not live by vinaigrette alone"....
they do say that, right?
of course they do.

anywhooo...
i've been craving a bit of creamy goodness for my salad, 
and decided i'd try my hand at a paleo/W30 ranch-style dressing.
my back-porch basil plant was in need of trimming back, 
so this ended up being a kill-two-birds-with-one-stone sort of dressing.

❧creamy paleo basil-ranch dressing❧
1 cup homemade mayo (I always use this recipe)
3/4 cup basil leaves, loosely packed (rinsed and patted dry)
1½ teaspoons dried parsley
1½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
¾ teaspoon garlic powder
¾ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
¼ teaspoon thyme
⅓ - ½ cup coconut milk

Put all ingredients in blender, except coconut milk.  Liquefy, adding coconut milk slowly, until desired consistency is reached.  Best served chilled.  Makes approximately one pint.

So far I've eaten it on cucumber slices, pretzel twists (only a few--and no, not W30 compliant), and plantain chips (yes, W30 compliant, from Trader Joe's).  It's yummmmmy.  
I do believe we'll have it on our dinner salads tonight.

Try it!  I really think you'll like it!

on loving your neighbor...

"And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,

and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, 

and with all thy strength:

this is the first commandment.

And the second is like, namely this,

Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

There is none other commandment greater than these."

Mark 12:30-31

"We'll get something to eat when we get to Auntie's house.  

Momma didn't think to bring y'all food."

I had just sat down.

We had arrived at the beach thirty minutes prior.

Getting settled in for a good long beach day is no small feat.

I don't believe in packing light for beach days.

There's the Beach Bin...a monstrosity of a Rubbermaid tote that lives in the back of our minivan for the all-too-few weeks of summer that we have.  It's loaded with sand toys, water shoes, sunscreen, extra sunglasses, and blanket-sized towels.  And yes, the whole bin comes out when we get to the beach.

Then there's The Cooler...what my steel-handled, red, vintage Thermos cooler lacks in practicality, it more than makes up for in looks.  Although, I've got to admit, I've caught myself enviously eyeballing those modern rolling contraptions more than once...especially while struggling with lugging our heavy beast.

To these, you can add a beach chair, a watermelon and tray (we always take a watermelon to the beach with us), a bag loaded with books, and the usual over-filled mom-purse.

Lightly-packed? No.

Prepared for practically any need my children could possibly have over the next six hours? Yes.

So...

We had arrived.

And I had opened the Beach Bin.

I'd set the towels in a neat pile, waiting for the wet hands and sandy feet that might need them.

I'd hauled the brightly-colored plastic buckets and spades and boats out onto the sand, at the ready for castle-building exploits.

I'd sprayed sunscreen onto every square inch of exposed skin...on four very fair-skinned little people.

I'd spread out the Beach Quilt...successfully outsmarting the wind, getting each of the four corners to mind my bidding, laying smoothly on the grass.

I'd set My Beach Chair in just the right spot, perfect for staying out of the sun's harsh direct light while still maintaining an ideal vantage point to monitor the kiddos.

I'd handed out snacks, passed out water bottles, piled up flip-flops and set aside dry clothes.

I had my Beach Hat, my sunglasses, my Beach Book, and my blue mason jar of lemon water...

They were ready for me.

I was finally able to sit down.

"I'm sorry, baby.  Here.  Eat another fruit snack.  

Let's play a little while longer.  I promise we'll get some food on the way home.  

Momma's so silly.  Why didn't she think of that?"

I was sitting.

Relaxing.

This is what I had come for.

And then He told me to cut her some watermelon.

My watermelon would help her babies not be so hungry.

My watermelon would buy them a little more time at the beach.

My watermelon was way too big for my family to eat all of it, anyway.

But my watermelon was behind me.

On the Watermelon Tray.  On top of The Cooler.

And I was in front of The Cooler.

On My Beach Chair.

With my Beach Book.

And my sunglasses.

And my lemon water.

And I had just.sat.down.

Did He realize this?

Of course He did.

And then, plain as day, I heard the still small voice...

"Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."

It wasn't that I didn't want to share...you get that, right?

It was that I didn't want to share right now.

I was comfortable.

This was my pay-off for all that hard work.

I wasn't being stingy.

I was willing to share...

in a few minutes.

in a little while.

Just please let me sit a bit first.

But little tummies don't wait.

And little bodies hold little patience.

And my watermelon was needed now.

Not in a little while.

Not in a few minutes.

"Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."

And I obeyed.

Because today, loving my neighbor meant sharing my watermelon.

It meant sharing my watermelon now.

It meant getting up.

It meant moving.

It meant giving up a few moments of convenience...of "me-time"...of "but I just sat down!"

What does loving your neighbor look like to you?

I think, so often, we think loving our neighbor looks like The Big Things.

It looks like the special offerings in church.

It looks like hospital visits and meals to homes.

It looks like donations to causes and volunteering for missions.

It looks like days spent serving in shelters and ministering to the downtrodden.

It looks like foreign lands, and unknown languages, and unfamiliar cultures.

It looks like poverty and famine and real need.

But sometimes, more often than I believe we realize, loving our neighbor actually looks far more little.

It looks like the kind word said in passing.

It looks like the smile as you pass through the doorway.

It looks like the wave as you allow someone to pull out into traffic.

It looks like the spare change for the lady ahead of you that's 59¢ short.

It looks like reaching that top-shelf item for the older lady that's just a bit too short.

And sometimes, it might just look like sharing your watermelon at the beach.

on treating yourself...

it's no secret that i'm doing the Whole 30.

i've heard that it's a really big thing now...

i guess it's been on the news and talk shows and morning shows and all that jazz.

for the record, i did it before it became a big thing.

for the record.

just in case you're keeping track.

one of the biggest lessons i've learned while doing the Whole 30 (this is actually my *third* W30...
and this time i'm actually doing it for 52 days, not just 30) is that i have to re-think the concept of "treating myself."

we have gotten so used to the idea of "treating" ourselves with food.

and it's usually not fresh raspberries.

or grilled zucchini.

or even an all-fruit smoothie.

no.

we "treat" ourselves with cupcakes.

and chocolate.

lots of chocolate.

and carry-out pizzas.

and heaping bowls of ice cream.  topped with whipped "cream." 

(sorry. you do know there is nothing "real-cream-y" about that whipped cream, right?)

don't get me wrong.

i think food splurges have their time and place.

i just think those times and those places are far, far fewer and farther between than we'd like to think.

thus...

thus re-thinking my concept of "treating myself."

what follows are some random ideas i've had for ways to treat myself.

ways to make myself feel rewarded.

ways to give myself a pay-off.

ways to splurge.

and yes, some of them...most of them cost a certain bit of money.

but then again, so did that 410-calorie grande frappuccino you just gulped down. 

(yes.  410 calories.  i googled it.)

✓a manicure or pedicure.  or both.  hey, just the time of kid-free silence is well worth the cost!

✓a quart or two of fresh berries from the farmer's market.  in fact, some of my favorite "treats" come from the farm stand.  to be able to choose from all the in-season fruits and veggies...that is something worth celebrating! i love to try new produce...and take it home to try in a new recipe.  fun!

✓a hot bath.  or if baths aren't your thing, an extra-long hot shower.  lock the door.  plug your ears.  

or wait until the kids are in bed...whatever ya gotta do.

✓a new book.  yep.  this one just arrived today!

✓a new app.  geezlouise...splurge and get yourself that $1.99 app you've been pining after, wishing it was free.  just think, it's calorie-free!

✓one of these drinks.  why, yes, as a matter of fact, these just arrived today, too. (i love my amazon prime membership.  there's a completely unsponsored, un-paid-for plug right there.)  and before you gawk at the $23.50 price tag, remember that's for twenty-four. that's a little less than a dollar each.  i hate to keep harping on the poor old frappies, but you know how much you'd spend on twenty-four of them??  and at 90 calories each, these are pretty much guilt-free. (i should probably also clarify here that, while the ingredients of izze are all W30 compliant, izze drinks as a whole are not W30 approved.  one of those annoying W30 loopholes that sometimes i choose to ignore.  yah.  i'm a rebel like that.)

✓watch that show/movie/documentary/whatever that you've been wanting to see.  do it.  don't put it off.  treat yourself.

✓try a new lotion/soap/shampoo/conditioner/eye shadow/lipstick/nail polish/what-have-you.  for some reason, i get the cheapest little thrill out of trying new toiletries/cosmetics.  i do.  and i figure if i do, then probably plenty of other people do, too.  we just don't think of them when we think of treating ourselves.  

✓go for a picture-taking walk. what???  yes.  drive yourself to a location that you've driven past a hundred times and thought, "oh! i'd love to take a picture of that." and do it.  walk around.  see the sights.  just because.
✓get yourself some flowers!  look out in your backyard...is your apple tree in bloom?  what about your peonies?  there's nothing like a fresh branch of blossoms or a big puffy bouquet to make your living space come alive.  and to make you feel just that extra bit of special.  if nothing is showing its color near your house, i've seen gorgeous bouquets at Trader Joe's (and other grocery stores), reasonably priced, too! 
✓take the time to make that phone call you've been longing for.  is there a friend you haven't talked to in ages?  you think about her daily...several times a day...and wish you could just sit and chat about everything and nothing and life and nonsense?  mark it on your calendar.  set aside the time.  pop a movie in for the littles, make sure they have juice cups and fruit snacks, and sit yourself down on the couch and call that friend.
*a word to the wise...text that friend ahead of time and set up a "phone appointment" with her.  remember, her life is probably just as crazy as yours!
✓get yourself that new paint brush/pair of scissors/roll of washi tape/fat quarter/embroidery hoop you've been eyeballing.  instead of piling on calories, which will only serve to make you feel worse in the end, why not treat yourself to something that enriches your creative pursuits?
✓or you could always get yourself a new sports bra/running shorts/pair of dumbbells/fitness DVD/yoga mat.  same concept here.  instead of self-sabotage, your "treat" is actually good for you! (and a new yoga mat is tops on my wish-list right now! i've been doing my daily crunches with Jillian on a folded up blanket!)


...and now it's your turn!!!  i'd love to hear how you "treat" yourself!  
i'm always looking for new ideas...
it keeps me from cramming ALLLLLLLL.the.CHOCOLATE. in my mouth!!! 
so i'm kind-of-sort-of begging...be a dear and share your ideas in the comments below.  
my waistline thanks you!

almond-crusted egg florentine with heirloom-ish tomatoes

this past weekend, i found a new-to-me Instagram account that i just knew i had to follow.
not only do i like the girl's photos, but i seriously want to make every.single.recipe she's posted.
she knows how to take some pretty fabulous food shots, too--an area in which I could use more than a little help.
and those of you who are health-conscious will love this...most (if not all) of her recipes are paleo.  she has a range of food issues in her family--from celiac disease to type 1 diabetes--so we are talking healthy food here.  but don't let healthy be interpreted as tasteless.  because that just simply isn't so.  not here.

tonight, i made her recipe for almond-crusted egg florentine with heirloom tomatoes.
i mean, i mostly made it.
i did the almond-crusted part...and the egg part...but i'm fairly certain there was nothing heirloom about my Aldi-bought, 99¢ a pound, Roma tomatoes.

it was fabulous.
i mean, it was really, really, REALLY good.
my hubby told me how good it was while he was eating.
and then an hour or two later, he stopped what he was doing just to tell me again how good it was. 

so.  here you have it. {{my notes/variations follow the recipe.  because you know me--i can never make a recipe exactly as it reads.}}

@snailsandponytails's Almond Crusted Egg Florentine with Heirloom Tomatoes {{copied directly from her IG post}}
12 pastured eggs whisked and set aside.
In a large cast iron skillet, chop 2 small red onions, place in skillet with a couple Tbsp. of olive or coconut oil.  Add a 10oz. bag of chopped spinach, a pinch of sea salt, and a tsp. each of garlic powder and herbes de Provence.
Saute until softened.
Spread veggies evenly over bottom of pan {skillet} and pour eggs over.
Top with thinly sliced tomatoes.
Bake at 350º until almost set.
In separate bowl, mix 1 cup almond flour with about 3 cloves of grated garlic, 1 tsp {or to taste} red chili flakes, a pinch of salt and black pepper. Then add ½Tbsp. olive oil and mix with your hands.
Sprinkle evenly over egg bake and broil on high for about 10 minutes or until set and crumbs are slightly browned. 
Enjoy!

☞i always like to have leftovers, so i actually doubled this recipe, and baked it in TWO large cast iron skillets.
☞i browned a pound of organic chicken breakfast sausage in a skillet...then divided it evenly between the two skillets...turned them both on medium-ish heat and tossed in the red onion and spinach.  i also added colored bell peppers here.  this past weekend, at the grocery, i grabbed sliced mushrooms, planning on adding them when i make this again this week. i think this step right here is where you can get the most creative.  you could toss in any variety of vegetables--sautéed zucchini, chopped asparagus, diced tomatoes (perhaps try to avoid a bit of their watery juices), diced sweet potato (ooooo!  *that* idea just popped into my head...and i know immediately that i'm also adding that when i make it this week)--use your imagination!!!  the more the merrier!
☞i used fresh minced garlic (not garlic powder), eliminated the herbes de Provence (because i didn't have any), and tossed in some freshly ground black pepper and Italian seasoning.
☞i added a few extra eggs...because my skillets were deep enough to do so....and...leftovers.☺
☞for the "bread crumb" topping, i used half almond flour/meal and half coconut flour.  
i *loved* the sweet-ish taste that the coconut flour gave.
☞in the topping, i didn't have grated garlic on hand...and was too lazy to use my microplane.  so i used garlic powder.  i also used ground cayenne pepper rather than the red pepper flakes (but only a ½tsp. cayenne pepper per skillet).
☞my skillets baked for 25-30 minutes before they were ready for the breading.  next time, i think i should put the breading on when the eggs are still a bit more "wet" on top...a lot of the breading didn't "stick" and fell off when i served it up.  the breading is one of the best parts...you don't want to lose it!
☞even though i had my broiler setting on low, and i had the skillets on one of the lower oven racks, the topping still browned *very* quickly.  keep an eye on it.  it probably won't need the full 10 minutes.

i'm a tweak-er...a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants type cook.  i throw in whatever sounds good to me at the time, rarely keeping record of measurements or amounts.  i hope the notes above are helpful, but if you have questions, feel free to shoot them to me in the comments below...or you can contact me on my IG (@tweetpotatopie).

(to be fair, i should also mention that some of @snailsandponytails's recipe inspiration came from the cookbook Cooking for Isaiah by Silvana Nardone.)

on growing...

{see the rainbow??}

one of her favorite things to do right now is to go explore our yard, {iPod}camera in hand, running in later with a big smile on her face, itching to share special images she's captured.

and one of my favorite things to do right now is to go explore our yard with her, traipsing from bush to tree to plant to flower, crouching down to get just the right angle, catching the perfect sun-flare, capturing images, and sharing them with each other.

she taunts me, teases me..."oh! i just got the best shot! mom, it's gonna be so much better than yours!" 

genetics run strong with this one...my competitive streak goes through and through.

and i love every minute of it...every second of it.

i'm learning to grab time with her where i can, when i can.

and i love that she's developing her own interests.

one of the first steps in wing-spreading, yes?

i'm trying to nurture that more and more...the developing of her own, individual interests.
today, it meant an impromptu stop at the library.
and i let her go in without me.

that was huge.
do you remember the first time your mom let you go in somewhere without her?...all on your own?
how you felt like you had to walk straighter and taller just so people would realize how "totally okay" it was for you to be alone?
how you just knew that you looked...like...at least thirteen! like, totally!

she walked out with a Lego book {large enough to double as a doorstop}, a biography about Bess Brennan--Founder of The Perkins School for the Blind, two Hawkeye Collins mystery books, a superhero movie, and a cartoon movie for her two little sisters.
her tastes are nothing if not diverse.

i'm loving this stage.
some people love the infant stage...the chubby thighs, the murmured coos, the dimpled fists.
some love the toddler stage...the first tottering steps, the first halting words, the first bumps and bruises.
some love early childhood...the bright kindergarten days, the floaties in the swimming pool, the gap from the missing front teeth.

me?
i'm loving this stage.
the girl-getting-to-know-herself stage.
she's figuring out what she likes...what she prefers...what books she reads...what she likes to do.

and for now...for today, at least...that includes running haphazardly around our yard, shooting pictures of the peonies and the snowballs and the apple blossoms...
with me.

i love that.

{{and this.  i love this.  this is her photo.  taken all by herself.  

edited completely on her own...no guidance, steering, or help whatsoever.  

i'm kind of in love with it.}}

on living...

i'm sitting outside on my front porch right now.
it's twilight...the sun has set, but darkness hasn't fully taken over.
the birds are still singing, flying about, gathering the last bugs and seeds and blades of grass for a quick meal before heading to their nests for the evening.
the wind is stirring the tops of the trees, ushering in what's sure to be another thunderstorm...a sister-storm to the one that came through late this afternoon.
it was hot and humid today, but the rain that came through earlier--along with the rain that's on its way--brought with it a welcoming cooling.  the breeze that's blowing now is gloriously mild.

i've been doing this more lately.
forcing myself to stop.
to take in.
to sense.
to not only look, but to see.
to not only hear, but to listen.
to not only smell, but to inhale.
to not only touch, but to feel.
to not only taste, but to savor.

i've been taking little time-outs for myself.
making little time-outs for myself.

and somehow, 
somewhere in the fine grey mist,
in the line between looking and seeing,
between hearing and listening,
between smelling and inhaling,
between touching and feeling,
between tasting and savoring...
somewhere in there, i'm finding the difference between surviving and living.