shake and bake homemade popcorn - progress reports are in

shake and bake homemade popcorn

this is where it's at - pj's, harry potter and popcorn.

mac and abbie brought home super duper progress reports.  we didn't go through their book bags until sunday night (yea we procrastinate!) and boy what a fun celebratory dinner we had.  you better believe i was reminiscing...  it's unbelievable what a difference a year has made with the two of them.  never in a million years did i think mac would earn an A in handwriting... and i was definitely holding.my.breath with abbie.  was her academic progress just a dream?  would she continue to improve on pace with the rest of the class' expectations in 2nd grade?!  yippy ki-yaaaaaa, she's right on target!!  

this better food=better brains thang is foh real.  i mean, i simply can't give chris and my genetics all the credit now, that would just not be seeing the big picture.  HA!

...however, abbie lost her glasses somewhere, somehow yesterday... and we can't find them.  argh!!

the best "shake and bake" homemade popcorn

1/3 c organic popcorn kernels

2-3 T organic coconut oil (i scoop and dump it... eyeball style)

sea salt

melt the oil in a large pan over med high heat.  place three popcorn kernels in the oil, salt it and lid it.  wait until the few kernels pop and then dump the rest to shake and bake.  background dancers necessary & a clear lid is super fun.

xoxo

a tribe wellness guest post!

huge big thanks to Amy at tribewellness.com for having me on the weekend as a guest blogger!  i have really enjoyed connecting with her.  i found tribewellness very early on in our food change a year ago and it's a favorite space that will be bookmarked in the mullies foh-evah.

enjoy my post and have a crazy.ballz.out.amazing.weekend.

it's gonna be beautiful here in chi-town and i can't wait to get one last boat ride in.  sigh.

pumpkin soup here i come!

can you believe this one!?  tommy eating a lettuce wrap... the sky must be falling... it took some major cajoling though, so don't be feeling like i have it figured out yet!!!!!!

xoxo

mexican lucky burrito babies

Mexican Lucky Burrito Groovin

now that i've got you in the mood to make some burrito babies, here is how we made em real nice!

mexican lucky burritos
(i try to use organic ingredients whenever my budget allows)

1 pint cherry tomatoes (or about 2 cups blended tomatoes of any sort)
3 c mushrooms finely chopped
3 c kale finely chopped (spinach or chard would rock here too)
1 onion finely chopped
1 T ghee
1 can/box black beans
2 c leftover quinoa (or brown rice would be nice)
1 T chili pepper
2 tsp cumin
3 tsp oregano
2 T coconut palm sugar (sucanat or brown sugar would work well too!)
1/2 c nutritional yeast (add more to taste - this gives it a zesty cheesy flavor)
1 can enchilada sauce
1 package paleo wraps (or whatever type of tortilla floats your boat.  paleo wraps=coconut meat/coconut water and they don't taste like coconuts!!!! YES!!!!)
grated imported sheep's cheese (omit this if you want dairy free)

toppings:
whole plain sheep's milk yogurt (plain yogurt=best sour cream e.v.e.r)
diced avocado
salsa
go crazy cuz your gonna get lucky.

preheat oven to 350 degrees. melt ghee and sauté onion until translucent.  add mushrooms and cook until moisture has released and begins to brown/carmelize.  add kale and cook down until wilted.  puree tomatoes in a food processor or blender and add to pan.  drain and rinse black beans - add to pan.  mix in s&p, spices, sugar and nutritional yeast - i actually eyeballed all of these ingredients to taste, so feel free to do the same... it's so fun to do it that way!   wrap up your "burrito babies" and place in your casserole.  pour enchilada sauce over the top and sprinkle with grated cheese.  place uncovered into the oven and cook for 25 minutes or until cheese is melty and bubbly.

thanks for the inspo daft punk!!

i hope it makes your mexican lucky day:)

xoxo

a corn chowder soup challenge

did i include enough pictures for you?!  HA!

we invited the kids to join us in cooking our september food ambassador challenge recipe but alas, the kids just wanted to play.  and that's just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.  christina and i sure had fun picking herbs from her garden, tossing back a glass of wine and cooking up some soup together on a lazy friday night:)  

here is the fabuloso corn chowder recipe that YOU MUST MAKE!  why?

#1 inexpensive ingredients.

#2 it is easy peasy & FAST to make = key for school/work nights.

#3 we ALL loved it!

the only thing we changed? we used gluten free flour and swapped out the cow's milk and used 4 cups organic rice milk + 1 can of trader joe's light coconut milk to make it dairy & gluten free.  it was really really good.

breaking news: abbie has put in an official request to the mullies test kitchen to make this over and over again.  i was so happy i broke out in a jig.  

the last three pictures are my saturday left-over soup bowl (i hogged it to myself).  i jazzed it up with a little buffalo hot wing sauce and fresh avocado.  oh.my.word.good.

christina's garlic bread: broil buttered/oiled bread, simply rub a little garlic over the top.  

i save the "butts" of our Udi's sandwich bread - no wasting here!!  thanks to christina, i'm officially converting from my "garlic salt method" to the "real garlic rub method".  the best part? the kids can totally rub the garlic on the "butts" next time!  talk about laughing in the kitchen together... hee hee!!

each month our food revolution lake county team is going to try and get together and tackle the ambassador recipe challenges.  miss briana had a wedding this time around (boo) so she couldn't make it and we're sure looking forward to blowing up next month's recipe together!  it may not always work out with our cray cray schedules, but that's our goal!

thanks food revolution for inspiring us to make that tasty, easy soup.  i'm going to try this minestrone soup next, as it looks ahmazeballs (don't forget to check out out all their wonderful library of recipes on the right side bar)... meal planning here i come... yes please!

xoxo

ps

did i mention we multi-tasked while we were chowdah cookin...

christina's butternut squash tip of the day:

"Slice it up, toss it in a little evoo and roast it on a silpat for 20 min at 375 degrees.  it takes so much less time in the oven, not to mention way easier getting the tough outer skin off."  

yea baby yea.

and then she turned it into this last night... butternut squash gnocci and pork with a balsamic fig glaze.... ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh and the crowd goes wild!!!!

live with flavor living radio TODAY at 2pm CST

have you ever heard of blogtalkradio?  i have been invited along with three other Jamie Oliver food ambassadors to chat live today with flavor living radio!  Here is the link where you can tune in today at 2pm central/chicago time!  

i'm so excited to talk with the flavor living radio host Bryant Johnson and the other fabulous food ambassadors who are working hard to bring the message of real food to all. check out the others who will be joining me!

Sabina Safsten - A Utah Food Ambassador, working with a local grocery store and helping schools in the right direction for eating healthy.

Sarvin Haghighi - Sarvin Haghighi originally from Iran and started as Dubai's food revolution ambassador has now moved to Chicago and trying to find new ways to raise awareness on better food choices.

Sharon Badian - Set up and runs the Boulder Colorado Food Revolution and the School of Eating Good.

you can join flavor living radio on the web, twitter & facebook to get tons of recipes, food trends, restaurants picks and eating insights.  i sure have:)  i just love their quote:

"Food Words: There is no sincerer love than the love of food."

Go Food Revolution!!  i can't wait and  i'll be talking to you all soon!"

xoxo

who wants to make a video? a food tube star is about to be crowned!

i have been keeping tabs on jamie oliver & uncle ben's search for a food tube contest and wanted to write one.more.post as it is wrapping up today!  

abbie and i just watched finalist amber kelley's latest video together on the couch.  as soon as it was over, she wanted to watch another and excitedly asked, "mom, can i help you make breakfast today!?"  now that's what i'm talking bout!!!!  no lecturing or nagging from mom needed after you watch this little star.

it's game day - amber's crazy quinoa

so who is going to be the next food tube star!?  there is no doubt that felicitas pizzaro is on the road to victory.  she's kicking bootie with over 14,000 likes for her fabulous video.  i am looking forward to seeing her on the food tube cuz she "had me at merlot too"!!!

in honor of this super fun contest wrapping up today, paul (the superman behind my entry) and i wanted to extend a little gift out there to anyone who would like help in creating a Visual Keepsakes montage for the upcoming holidays (gulp, yes they are coming...) or just because you want to!  here is link to one of his family's montages that gives me the tinglies everytime.  i hope it'll get your creative juices flowing for what he could create for you and yours.  a summer sports recap, vacation memories, a birthday or an anniversary gift... the sky is the limit, right?!  in case you did not get a chance to see the other videos he has done for me in the mullies, here they are:  a mullies cooking class & a mullies suit and tie cooking party.  we watch them over and over and over...

Visual Keepsakes would like to offer any mullies readers 10% off a video creation.  basic photo montages start at $50 and videos start at $75.  pretty rad huh?  

Paul Molidor

630.697.1180

paulmolidor@gmail.com

just tell him i sent ya.

congratulations to the five finalists, high fives to felicitas for smashing it and i hope you love the food tube as much as we do!!  i am particularly loving the new save with jamie videos.  save some $$$ and save your belly... yes please, may i have another?

xoxo

Michael Schulson's story & a real good dip

check out this must.read.article.i.just.found on yet another successful ADHD diet change story about

celeb-chef Michael Schulson's experience with his 6 year old son.  it made my heart skip a beat:)  

WOW! there are more of us telling our stories!!!!

after spreading seeds on saturday, i was short on time, feeling creative and late getting to a festive family friendly party celebrating two momentous occasions:

#1 it's halfway to healthy for my beautiful, fierce friend melissa who is kicking cancer in the tailpipe!

#2 it's her 3 year old daughter's birthday!

a giardiniera hummus 

2 cans rinsed chickpeas (i had a can of butter beans and mixed beans that worked perfectly)

1 jar mild giardiniera drained

1/2 c tahini

1/2 tsp salt (or more to taste)

2-3 T evoo

dump the first 4 ingredients in your food processor or blender.  while blending, pour in the evoo slowly until you like the consistency.  scrape as needed and blend again.  serve it up with chopped veggies and/or a 100% whole grain cracker snack of choice. 

today, go take a gander at the ingredients on your chips & snacks.  don't recognize something and need a switch?  is there a whole looooooong list of foreign words?  here is our favorite new chip brand!!  i found them at mariano's and let me tell you, these chips are way better.  move over doritos, their "sweet chili" kicks YOU in the tailpipe.

GO TEAM MELISSA!!!!!  i love you girl!!!!

xoxo

spreading seeds & volunteering

i took abbie and tommy with me last saturday morning to our local whole foods market - kildeer kids' day of service at citizens for conservation.  i wasn't sure what to expect but knew this little adventure had all the right bones for the three of us.  volunteers and members gather every saturday morning from 9-11am at their barrington site all year round.  i will definitely be bringing my love bugs back (i can't wait to see what mac thinks about it all - the little bugger had flag football).

we saw two beautiful cranes who live on the reserve, learned about prairie restoration, filled a whole bag of seeds and finished the morning with a lovely picnic provided by whole foods kildeer.  thank you tanya and WF for such a great kids' event.

i wonder where our little compass seeds will find a home?  it's fun knowing and teaching the kids that we are part of something BIG and that our few hours of work will spread beyond our knowledge and time on earth.  

oh stop me, i'm gettin all sappy now...  

ps

if you think your kids are gonna be all cheery and happy to volunteer, well, it might not work out like you picture it.  my kids did not "skip to my lou my darling".  as it was our very first time doing something like this, the enthusiasm was definitely lacking.  they perked up occasionally, got bored, picked some seeds, listened to the members teach and mostly whined to go home.  two hours is definitely their max and that's ok.  they loved eating!!!

when we got in the car, i asked "so, did you two have fun!?"  and they both surprisingly said yes and that they'd do it again.  

well, hot diggity.  our family volunteering phase has finally begun.  the whines are rolling off easier, that's for sure.