slumber party approved - beanie brownies

slumber parties.

remember yours?  i remembered lots of mine this weekend...

happy birthday my sweetheart.  you are the mullies... thank you for finally.falling.asleep.

abbie's beanie brownies (gluten and dairy free)
adapted from here & discovered on pinterest

15 oz can organic black beans
3 organic, pastured eggs
3 T sunflower oil or melted coconut oil
3/4 c coconut palm sugar (or any sugar)
1/2 raw cacao powder (or unsweetened cocoa powder)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking powder (aluminum free)
a pinch of sea salt
1/2 c mini semi-sweet chocolate chips divided (enjoy life brand)

preheat oven to 350 degrees.
lightly coat 8x8 pan with coconut oil on a paper towel.
rinse and drain beans and blend until smooth in a food processor.
dump all ingredients into the bowl except 1/4 cup of the chips and blend until smooth.
pour batter into pan and sprinkle the rest of the chips over the surface.
bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick come out clean from the middle.
cool & slice.

girlie girl goodie bags: 
abbie's beanie brownie recipe handwritten on this free printable
personal paper fashion creations
a variety of gorgeous scrapbooking paper = neverendingart

xoxo

come join us at IIT - a food patriots screening event with net impact!

spread the word birds!

come join us this coming thursday at IIT for a free screening and film discussion of food patriots! i'm so honored and excited to have been invited as a food ambassador & food patriot to help inspire others towards a healthier real food life!

here's the story of how this all came together...

this past december, i reached out to jennifer and jeff spitz, the fabulous filmmakers of the food patriots with a #FRD2014 initiative to get as many people as i could to "become food patriots and join the food revolution".  soon afterwards, she invited me to a lovely women in green event downtown to meet in person for the first time!  before jennifer and i connected up, i met xiaoqian (flora) ruan of IIT's net impact.  flora was intrigued by my food ambassadorship with jamie oliver's food foundation and we networked with a small group of women for about 20 minutes about real food, the food industry, cooking from scratch and getting our global message out.

flora & net impact invited me out to speak as a food rev ambassador and after discussing my connection to the food patriots and the incredible impact of the film, they decided to host a screening!  what fun!!

so that's the story of how this exciting event came to be and i'm just super juiced about it all!!  big thanks to jenna giandoni, the president of net impact tech chapter who has been wonderful in helping to coordinate the event with the food patriots - i'm in countdown mode to meet you all!!

so, check those busy calendars and come to an event that could inspire some BIG growth in your newly sprouting real.food.love.life.

see you there baby!!

xoxo

the mullies + the dominican republic = rad

yup i got my self in some dudu alright.

before i take you on my wild vacation ride, i just found this AMAZING article connecting ADHD to food sensitivities and it 100% correlates to our family's experience.

food intolerance and ADHD - what every parent should know

read.it.now.  then check out & bookmark this sweet ADHD blog later when you have more time.

a lot of people wonder what in the world "to the mullies" means...

we're all trying to get somewhere
whether we are
in our house
or on a vaca
swinging from a tree
or a zip line
or some monkey bars
or simply trying to get down the stairs
it's time to take a chance
and try to get where we want to be
there's nothing to lose
we may fall a bit awkwardly
but it is always and forever
worth
it

here's a little video that perfectly explains: me = swinging to the mullies 

now you know how i like to go for it... balls out baby.  no regrets... i guess until i break my face in la la land.

me and my guy love the dominican republic.

i'm that blog right now... jet setting and showing off... but this here's my little diary and one must share when we get to swing far away into wonderlands.

it was two vacations in one:
the first five days were spend with my wonderful sis and bro-in-law.
the second five days with a big group of lovely friends.

from cabarete's el magnifico hotel to cabrera's villa de flor - thank you from the bottom of my full belly up to my big heavy heart - i hope the memory of good-family-friends-food-sun-surf will live in my brain forever.

i have fallen for you, mi republica dominicana... with a big splash.

enjoy my super serious zoolander illustrated portfolio.  katie made.me.do.it.

do you think i could kite board like that someday?

everyone fought over reading tina fey's bossy pants.  hold on to your b-holes, you'll lol on every page... i'm not kidding about that... the entire beach could hear us.

the best.restaurant.in.cabarete = la casita de papi.  i will be chasing this "a la papi sauce" for the rest of my life...  stay tuned for that adventure:)

and then we landed in cabrera's villa de flor...

whaaaaaaaaat!!!

we still have water in our ears from waterfall jumping, cliff repelling and scuba diving... wicked stuff.

my best and biggest wishes to a new friend, ty.  have a ball in your upcoming adventure to pennsylvania and i hope you get to connect up with food revolution pittsburg.  when and if you ever return from the states to your lovely dominican home, may the food rev follow you and your wonderful dreams.  there is no doubt you will light.it.up no matter where life takes you my friend.

thank you thank you thank you

miss you, love you and we.will.be.back with our three little amigos soon:)

xoxoxo

layering breakfast & coconut yogurt simplified

ahhhhhh breakfast.  i've got the kids layering their own parfaits!  i love LOVE my chop chop mag and the kids are enjoying flipping through it themselves.  in this month's issue they layered oranges, bananas and almonds.  we subbed our gf granola for the nuts:)  i hope you enjoy checking out chop chop's resources as much as i do!

i have two kids that like my coconut yogurt and one that does not.  phoooeeeeey.

today i'm attempting to use a portion of my last batch of coconut yogurt to culture a new batch... i used this article to help me figure out how much culture to add.

i am excited to report that the yogurt recipe has been simplified after some more experimentation and of course i'll report back if the culture works:)  my 1st coconut yogurt recipe included arrowroot and two cans of whole fat coconut milk, which results in slightly thicker yogurt with no difference in taste.

the mullies coconut yogurt

2 cans light coconut milk (i like trader joe's brand... one ingredient and it's cheap)
1 can organic full fat coconut milk
-combine in a small saucepan and heat to 180 degrees.
-let cool to 110 degrees.

2 tsp pomona's universal pectin
2 tsp calcium water
1 packet yogurt starter + powder from 3 probiotic tablets OR 2 tsp of yogurt from previous batch.
-whiz up with the yogurt, pectin, calcium water and starter in a blender or nutribullet for 20-30 sec.
-pour into a yogurt maker or a 110 degree oven and let it culture for 10 hours (8-10 is recommended)

that's it!

have fabulous weekend and keep it real baby:)

xoxo


ps

don't panic if the mullies is quiet for a bit...  i'm taking a lil break until the end of the month!:)

community garden gathering - prosser career academy

jennifer spitz answers a question during the post screening discussion.

i attended a prosser career academy high school foot patriots screening on friday!  over 200 international baccalaureate program students filled the auditorium for an ecology club community garden presentation, food patriots screening, chipolte luncheon and discussion.  i tell you what, there is nothing better than feeling more inspired and more educated than when you arrived... i run after that.

prosser's staff and students simply blew.me.away.  it was amazing to watch the evolution of their garden project that started with the food patriots student engagement program.  after going through the program a year ago with her students, marnie ware, a food patriot and biology teacher at prosser, took the bull by the horns and began creating something truly special with her prosser team.  it takes a TON of work, a true gathering of do'ers to bring these inspired ideas into reality.  students' real food brainstorming and the collective desire to change school food started a groundswell of food education and activism.  here is their video which was created a year ago:  after climbing a fence into a vacant soccer field, students voiced their hopes and dreams of a community garden into film and these "seeds" will now be taking root just a few weeks from today!

my jaw is still on the floor.

i hope you take the time to read marni's amazing blog post... i adore her every.single.word.  

i am learning so much about the good food movement in chicagoland.  will allen of growing power visited prosser a few weeks ago.  growing power's vision is to "inspire communities to build sustainable food systems that are equitable and ecologically sound, to create a just world, one food-secure community at a time".  he spoke to the students, congratulated them on their amazing project and shared how gp's organically grown carrots will be used by chicago public schools (cps) this year - how incredible is that?!

two year ago, i was not aware of these programs.   "real food", "food systems", "gardens" and "groundswells" were words that swirled around me without connection.  a whole new universe has opened up to me and i could not be more excited and grateful to be a part of the food revolution going on all around me.  the journey that began with my family's real food change is ever evolving... grow baby grow.

huge thanks to jennifer, jeff, marnie and the other prosser staff members for filling my brain and heart with such insightful and powerful sparks that have become a part of me.  your school and energy lit.me.up and i feel so fortunate to have met prosser's food patriots.  i can't wait to come back and get your dirt under my fingernails!

little do my kiddos know, but we'll be volunteering this spring, summer and fall to help cultivate our fremont township's community garden.  i can't hardly wait!

happy monday everyone... it's gonna be 50 DEGREES TODAY!!!!

melt.snow.melt

we have some gardens to grow!

xoxo



ps

i made this rockin recipe on saturday and it blew my husband back to his beloved ireland.  i'm having leftovers for lunch today:)

make it:  guiness stew with dumplings

mullies notes:
subbed a gluten free dark lager for the guinness
used organic, grassfed beef
subbed gf flour
omitted cheese

i see your pancakes!

i learned a lot about myself and technology on #mypancakeday.

tip: never EVER upload your photos and videos to your computer AND delete them from your phone before you upload your sweet imovie to youtube or dropbox.

dropbox saved my arse today.  i literally drop kicked myself to the face a few times... cuz little did i know, once you delete videos from your iphone, you can't get them back on so easily...

you know that feeling when you spend all night on a final term paper and then your computer crashes?

chocolate pancakes with raspberries and chocolate chippies
gluten and dairy free

1 cup gf flour (just eyeball it in a mug... thanks for the tip dj bbq and jamie!)
1 cup rice milk + coconut milk (eyeballs)
1 organic, pasture raised egg
1/3 c raw cacao powder
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
heaping T of coconut sugar (or whatever sugar you have on hand)
2 heaping scoops of homemade coconut yogurt (this is optional... use any plain yogurt you want!)

mix it all up and add more rice milk if you want thinner batter!  top it off with fresh or frozen (thawed) raspberries and your favorite "clean" chocolate chips!

i can't wait to see what all the ambassadors across the globe are whipping up today...

i am exhausted yet so happy that i was able to get our pancake festivas back...  i didn't give up on it.

it's like my long lost puppy...

happy pancake day - happy fat tuesday - happy shrove tuesday!

now i'm going to light my flag on fire for being in idiot...

i hope i see your pancakes today:)

iko iko anday!

xoxo

need a cooking cure?

how funny is my cute hubby's shirt!?  a gift from one muscle man to another:)

oh it's monday and chicago is still an ice berg... and i found something super fun to do in the mullies before i snap and move to tahiti!!

i'm following along with this fun cooking program starting today!

won't you join me!?

the cooking cure spring 2014

check it - we can share notes:)

xoxo