become a food patriot today

two links in honor of becoming a food patriot today.

this food babe post rocks me.

and i made a video this morning and actually edited it myself.  i.can't.believe.it.  this is trouble folks.

a green smoothie for YOU

come on red, white and blue, let's turn things around with some real food.

xoxo

happy birthday - the mullies turns 1

a year ago this weekend, i went to my oldest son's flag football game and talked to my girlfriend jen about what i was about to do:  clean out my fridge and pantry and go grocery shopping for "cleaner' food.

yesterday we had another flag football game.  i saw her, gave her a big hug and said,  "you and i spoke exactly one year ago today.  today was the first day of my food change."  

i really don't even know how to describe how i felt watching the game.  reflecting on how i took my family's food life by the "go-nads" without any guarantees that it would work.

man, am i glad i did.  

today is the day i tackled blogger and signed myself up for one crazy ride.

oh jen.  thank you so much for cheering me on that day, for not telling me i was crazy and for sharing your successful experiences with food and family.  you were such an inspiration that day and you still are.  totes to you my dear.

it got HOT sitting on those bleachers, so i went down under to see where the kids were all hanging out and popped a squat myself in my beach chair.

i told abbie what day it was and she gave me that face.  HA!!

so far so good in 2nd grade.  

i still feel like i'm in a cage sometimes, with the weight of the bleachers on my shoulders.  

and sometimes i feel like this.  like i just won the lottery.  because i really have.  this life of mine.  i love it and i hope that i leave some real good stuff behind.

bring on the yin and yang spiderman.

what will year two bring?

ohhhhh dolly miss molly... a lot of sunshine i hope.

hope #1: to inspire more families to get their lean.mean.fighting.machines cleaner and having fun cookin in their kitchens.

hope #2: it's sunday people.  today marks the 1st day of the bears road to a superbowl victory. 

DAAAAAAAA bears da bears da bears da bears da bears da bears da bears...

xoxo

ps

and how about this timing?  the top 5 finalists in jamie oliver's search for a food tube star have been announced TODAY!!!  i didn't make it (drat) but i sure had a hoot making this entry video.  i'm really glad i didn't have to narrow down the field, and i'm really happy to see these individuals as finalists.  i love them all.  ***if you look fast at the first block of videos in the beginning montage, i get a shout out on the bottom middle square... look quick!  i think jamie and the food tube liked it!!!!!  yea baby yea!!!!  

NOW GO VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE(s) TO WIN!!!  i'm voting for 2 i think:)

zucchini saves labor day - cookies - salad - lasagna - oh my

that's it, i'm sold.

zucchinis are totes.

i made three recipes over the weekend with these bad boys.

first came the cookies - and i made em TWICE.

second came the salad instagram inspo from my northern wisconsin neighbor and fellow food amabassador, the lovely Thippi Flickenstein.

third came the metamorphosis of her salad into my lasagna.  i love transformers.

there is nothing better than stretching some fresh produce, saving some bucks and your meal planning sanity.  i hope you think these recipes are the cat's banana hammock too.

gf oats.  but i didn't have enough!!!!

so how about some quinoa flakes?  can you believe they make this stuff into flakes and flour!?  you can get either in bulk at whole foods.

my sugar sugars.

dough deliciousness.

three thumbs to the SKY!!!!!  mac is really playing it cool.

you must check out the original recipe and see what i did to it.  i didn't plan on changing it.  but when i went to collect my ingredients, i simply did not have enough so i improvised and swapped out a few more... oh yea, my kitchen=art class.

totes zucchini cookies
adapted from two peas in their pod's zucchini cookies

2 c gf flour blend
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
whisk up together in a bowl until combined.

8 T coconut oil (softened like room temp butter)
1 c coconut palm sugar
1/2 c organic sugar
cream together with a stand or hand held mixer.

2 lg pastured and organic eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 c shredded organic zucchini
add above ingredients into creamed sugar and coconut oil.

1/2 c gf old fashioned oats
1/2 c unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 c quinoa flour or flakes
dump the flour blend/soda/sea salt and the above ingredients into the bowl and mix until well combined.

3/4 c mini chocolate chips (enjoy life brand)
yea, don't forget these:)

preheat oven to 350 degrees (i used my convection setting).  Bake for 8 min.  if you use normal oven setting, prob 12 minutes... just check it before you wreck it.

so then came this sweet facebook post from Thippi and i whipped up her little dream boat on labor day.

Thippi's cucumber OR zucchini salad

2-3 lg organic cucumbers or zucchinis sliced, halved or quartered
1 pint garden cherry tomatoes halved
3 T fresh basil roughly chopped
3 T fresh mint roughly chopped (thanks becky for sharing your garden with me!!!)
3 T fresh parsley (i didn't have any)
1/2 c capers (oh just add as much as you want)
1/4-1/2 red onion thinly sliced (ditto)
1/2 c each evoo & balsamic vinegar (i think... i honestly just eyeballed it so you can do that too!!)
s&p to taste

mix it all up.  dunzo.

and then when you have leftovers... chop it up all nice and fine and make some lasagna!!

freshly chopped organic spinach.

blurred spinach lines.

here is the lasagna recipe inspo from ohsheglows.com.

before you get all crazy on me and freak out, i too would have slapped you across the face if you told me to make a lasagna without cheese.  so here's the dealio: i still top mine off with some really great italian imported sheep's cheese called cacio de roma (it acts just like mozzarella) and perhaps a little romano, maybe manchego... oh yes please.  goat and sheep's cheeses are the only dairy we have in the house nowadays and we use as little as possible... kinda like sugar:)

do i miss all the cheese in my life?  i truly love it so.  and here are the reasons we aren't a big cheesy family anymore:

#1 i do not miss my zits.
#2 abbie prefers a cheese free and cow's milk free environment.
#3 mac has an intolerance to cow's milk (he is fine with goat and sheep).
#4 tommy loves the cheese we buy.
#5 this rabbit hole i like to read about on the milk debate.  oye.

poor chris.  he still loves my "old" lasagna and really misses it.  he says this one gets sort of close... thumbs up and sideways from my four love bugs.  my mother and father-in-law came over and shared this dish with us too!  mary is a big fan of zucchini (yes!) and larry i love you for eating it and it was a big complement when you said, "it's not bad lindsey!"  i loves you for eating my new all veggie and gluten free creation.

so there you go.  if you have a reason to knock out or limit the cheese in your life, this is a way to go.

or, simply use your own tried and true recipe and add in the zucchini and spinach.  here is the lasagna recipe that i used to make.

no matter what lasagna floats your boat, go get your apron ON!!  it's your from scratch lasagna creation, and you make it the way YOU WANT:)  i hope i gave you some inspiring ideas!

...sorry i forgot to take a picture of the finished creation.  this place just gets too busy sometimes:)

ps

i couldn't resist.  my green smoothie looked like our lake:)  so gross but sooo good.

and you MUST bookmark this handy definitions list compiled by kidsorganics.com.  i sure did.

annoyed by hearing "gluten free" yet?  HA!  here's mark sisson's take on the gluten free trend.  

hangin onto summer's last breaths.  cheers babycakies.

xoxo

hot mamas and papas - a whole fish fry

real men rock.it.hot in kid aprons.

captain america showed iron man how to fry a whole fish and it was a huge hit.

the kids could not believe there was a real fish in our house.  it went something along these lines:

tommy:  ewwwwww, is that an eyeball mama??l!  i don't want the eyeball.
abbie:  gross, we are going to eat a real fish!?  i don't want the eyeball!!!!
mac:  omg, cool!!!!!  do i have to eat the eyeball?!!

it's part of the disconnect we have from our food source.

bring on the food education - this was a 1st for the mullies kitchen!

kurt and christina found this red snapper at our local mariano's grocery store.  it was so much less expensive to buy the whole fish vs have it filleted (that word just doesn't look right... filleted...)

we had some celebrating to do: christina applied and was officially accepted as a new mundelein food ambassador!  yea baby yea!  welcome to the global ambassador team my dear!!!!

seasoning with s&p.

kurt's fish seasoning plate:
sliced lemons
freshly chopped parsley
minced garlic
sliced red onion.
s&p
evoo

can i get a what what!?

look, it's my homemade ketchup as a salmon marinade!!!

prepping the zucchini for the grill:
evoo
s&p
oregano

freshly picked green beans:
evoo
3-4 whole garlic cloves
s&p
roughly chopped almonds (those didn't make the pic, sorry!)

preheat your oven at 375 degrees and roast em for 15-20 minutes (we didn't have enough room on the grill)

our whole red snapper, halibut filets and salmon.

apron man love!!!!

can't you just hear the them sizzling on the cast iron!!!
shrimp
ghee
s&p

we also roasted up some onions and peppers (simply dressed with evoo and s&p) on the grill.

all gone GONE GONE GONE GONE GONE!!!!!  i cannot believe how better abbie is at trying and eating new foods... never in a million years would i have that thought my little girl (who used to... ehem, puke at the table) would be cleaning her plate like this today.  oh this food change is worth every.stinkin.whine baby and it's actually working!  albeit slowly, my kids' palates are actually changing...

let's just take a moment and bow our heads... cue the music and DANCE!!!!!

cuz i'll have have at least one or more of these "tongue-out-yucks" tonight i'm sure.  

would my family order and eat a plate full of veggies yet?  um, no, not a chance:)  

goal=someday... and i'm trying to take it slow.  patience young grasshoppah!

splish splash, processed food is takin a bath!

i hope your labor day weekend is long and lovely and full of real good food and friends.

cook it UP!!!

xoxo

links to love & bento boxing

a nice quickie post for hump day.

i could not pass this link up.

i love finding other families whose food change stories run parallel with mine.

enjoy!  this one gave me the tinglies:)

against all grain - Cannon's story

in other news...

here is this morning's lunchie munchie bento boxing:

ps

i have easy breakfasts on the brain.

and i want to make these zucchini coconut cookies soon, today maybe? with some gf flour of course:)

omg, zucchini nachos... yes please.

do you like pasta?  we sure do and here's a post to help you find the best.

i'm hungry.


pps

oh and just in case you haven't seen... my entry to become Jamie Oliver's next food tube star:)

yea baby yea!!!!

the trip that started the green juice... and gave inspo for a food tube star entry

good stories are sometimes long stories:)  

i want to tell you how my "Jamie Oliver and Uncle Ben's search for a food tube star" entry was born.  it's always fun to look back on a sequence of events and marvel on how it came together.   

so here goes...

it begins with a little road trip to see my chimmie laura.

this is my favorite spot at her house.  she got me hooked on her morning ritual: these green smoothies.  i have made them before, just not every day... we lingered in our pj's every morning watching our kiddos play in the backyard.

this adventure cleared my head a bit.  there is nothing better than getting out of your own kitchen sometimes!

this was the one night we went out on the town, that's why we look so darn cute.  so of course, we couldn't get our "going out" clothes all messed up!  we donned some aprons, cooked fast and got outta there with her hubby as soon after babysitter arrived.  he had a ball taking these pictures of us goofing off.

she makes me laugh so hard i pee a little.

can you tell we are both obsessed with kale chips?  the butt of many jokes...

made from scratch pizza, ranch and kale chips with some fruit and veggies - a dinner plate of champions.

uuuuuuummmmm you have something on your face...  the spirulina shots came later...

i think these pictures say it all.

laura (with her sweet nutritionist background that i mooch off of) has been telling me about kimberly snyder for months.  and i was like "ok, sure, i have to check her out!"  and i'm pretty positive laura responded, "i'm gonna cut you if you don't!!!!"

a light bulb came on about a week later for something i was dragging my feet on.

one of kimberly's recipes (the nuttty butter spread from her cucumber asian rolls) gave me the inspiration for a beach day cooking festivas with megan, one of my best girlfriends and hot mamas in the mullies.  i figured this might just be a good time to try taping for my entry.  would it work out?  who knew!?  who cares!?  it was gonna happen no.matter.what.  so i just jumped.  

on a friday morning,  megan came over with three kiddos and i had my 3 crazy daisies.  we had a cooking class of 5.  we cooked, prepped and assembled as fast as we could cuz they wanted to hit the beach!  she took all the pictures, took all the video (my computer got in on the action too) and boy oh boy did we have fun.  we just rolled the tape.  she's a teacher, i'm a coach... not a bad team when you're working with kids!  the kids came in and out, others left and played at times...  it was a team effort.  

megan's brother paul (who has a full time job separate from his super.crazy.mad.videographer.skills) edited the video for me.  i found the oh.so.perfect.lightening.from.the.sky music online and sent it to him to use with the footage.  i'll never forget the moment i started listening to "this is the future" ... the song gave me the tinglies:  

oh wow, this sounds like the beetles... 

i love the beetles... 

oh man, this has really good energy... 

and oooooh it's about today being the future... 

kinda like cooking with kids is our future... 

ohhhhhhh the kids ARE OUR FUTURE... OMG *(&&&*^(*&^*&^*&^*&^(&^(*&^*&).... 

i immediately dumped the other "favorited" tracks cuz i knew i had found the one.

here's the part that i'm.still.scratching.my.head.at:  after paul and i discussed what i envisioned, this crazy talented man sent one, ONE draft of the video to me about a week and a half later.  i told him to fix some spelling, add a few more video clips, switch the order of a few and add some pictures at the end.  he dropboxed it back a few days later, all pretty and perfect.  i submitted the entry about 15 minutes after receiving it from him.  i think i shocked him:)  that was it.  done.  he'd never created a video quite like this for the mullies (he collaborated twice before with meg to put these two montages together: our first mullies cooking class and our food revolution suit and tie party).  

paul and meg knew exactly the energy, the message, the story that i wanted to convey (and continue to convey) and he did it so perfectly i could squeeze him (and her) to bits.  it's like we all share the same brain... i think it's because i too have a red headed brother and sister... it must be our families' ginger power.  i put some ginger in my green smoothie this morning.  it's the best stuff ever.

so that's the story of how my food tube entry was born.  chimmie and i spent the most amazing weekend together.  she introduced me to kimberly snyder's awesome orange book of glorious clean food.  i hooked up with miss memories by megan photography for an unscripted beach day cooking adventure.  mr video keepsakes waved his magic wand with his sister's fairy dust and poof.  

we have a pumkin!!!

Monster Gorilla Wrap your Kids

the contest ends sept 1st.

Jamie O and crew will pick 5 finalists the week after closure.

once the finalists are announced, the winner will be decided on most "liked" votes on YouTube. "dislikes" will not count, whew!

so, i hope you "like" it if you love it:)

thank you thank you thank you megan, paul and all my little love bugs.  

i can't wait to do it again!!

xoxo