Happy Muffins

These muffins are packed with vitamins, protein and are just so healthy but don’t taste it – if you know what I mean. Adapted from a blog here- I added a few more health nut treats. They are packed with flavor, texture even I really want to go back for another (trying to restrain myself)! The kids have no idea how much good protein, vitamins & fiber are packed in these “Cupcake Muffins”. Just don’t forget the happy sprinkles!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup of cooked quinoa (I cooked a batch with 1:1 ratio of apple juice and water for sweetness)
1/4 cup of light brown sugar
3/4 cup of a flour (I only use King Arthur)
1/4 cup of wheat germ
1/4 cup of gluten free flour blend (I used Bob’s Red Mill blend)
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt                                                                                                                                   1/3 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

1 tbsp Chia omega oil
1/4 cup of melted coconut oil, at room temperature
1/2 cup of Chobani vanilla or plain yogurt
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract                                                                                                                 ¼ cup agave syrup 
2 eggs, room temperature                                                                                                                     ½ cup peanut butter                                                                                                                                1 mashed banana

1/3 cup of old fashioned oats
1 cup of blueberries (frozen or fresh- I used frozen)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line your muffin pans with liners or spray with baking spray.  Set aside.

In your stand mixer, paddle attached, mix quinoa, brown sugar, flours, salt and soda – blend.  In a separate bowl, blend the coconut oil, banana, Chia oil, agave, Chobani, vanilla and eggs.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry and blend without over-mixing.  Then add the oats and blend.  By hand, blend in the blueberries gently.

Fill your muffin cups 3/4 of the way, top with happy sprinkles to make the kids think they are a special treat and bake for 20-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Let cool and enjoy!

Can you believe this dry quinoa was made into the delicious  muffins?

Don't forget the sprinkles!

mamma said there'd be days like these

have you ever watched someone else's kids and found yourself to be on your best behavior with them AND your own? suddenly you are creative, patient and even cut up carrot sticks just so. If not, this post might still make sense... even though i didn't tell the whole facebook world today what a good mom i am (just telling the whole blogosphere) i did have the urge to update my status during each bonding moment. because today it was if i had a supervisor or other little kids making sure i was on my best "mom game". i didn't have any visitors, but i totally brought it. (if i do say so myself)

pinterest "goo" recipe of cornstarch and dish soap! so great and a "clean" mess!

today i was the mom i always envisioned myself to be. life and sin gets in the way and usually i feel like i am carrying around a 100lb weight of guilt for all the "mommy things" i am not doing. well, someone should have been secretly video recording my day (and this day only) because I was all the things i hope to ever be to my little ones: patient, spontaneous, tickle-loving, hide-and-seek-playing, soccer ball kicking, devotional reading, cookie baking, craft making BOMB!

the reason i write all of this is not to show YOU or myself "see, was that so hard?" and feel the standard and pressure to live up to each day with my children to be super mom, but to remind myself that just like my bad days, i have good ones, too. Lord willing, these memories will outweigh the ones where i let them watch Curious George one too many times, give endless refills of goldfish, or I want to bake (or just simply do anything) alone.

today, God gave me a gift to be present with them and tend to their little hearts. tomorrow, i pray, i will have the same reserves and patience, but i am only human. thank you God, for loving me and speaking to my heart. (today's children's devo in Big Truths for Little Kids was on Samuel and the little boy who heard God's voice. )

P.S. the day still isn't over, so i am totally humble and praying that the other shoe could drop right in my face and all this mojo would be over. if that's the case, i will celebrate the little victories.

Power Nachos

hey sorry about the lack of post over the winter! (was catching up on important things like my twitter feeds and facebook statuses) but i am back baby!

had to make dinner last night with what was on hand, refusing to thaw anything from the freezer, I utilized fridge components: 

• baby kale, Mozzarella & Colby cheese, pico de gallo, and (frozen) corn.
• Then leaned on the pantry for GF humus chips (they are the bomb!), black beans, the Seeds of Change brown rice-black quinoa combo. 

Talk about fiber, protein, color, vitamins and flavor! My son asked for seconds! I think what was missing was fresh cilantro and lime juice. Diced mangoes on top would've been sublime, too. Anything you would've added?

veggie tales

what to do with those excessively large zucchinis and bulbous carrots from your garden? sure you could make bread or cakes, but you could also make.... PUPPETS!

Pirate Captian and his creator

dressing a field grouse

it is a special thing you can teach your kids: to live off the land. not only is it a survival skill to be able to fend for one's self, it more importantly (and probably more realistically) teaches children the respect for the life they are about to consume. while I am not all obsessed and eccentric when it comes to "respecting" the food, I do believe there is a serious epidemic of ignorance in our youth and culture- in regards to being disconnected from where we receive our sustenance. growing up, we ate carrots with the dirt on, crab apples with enough pucker to top a lemon, venison disguised in fajitas and duck on the dinner table in the spring. as most of us do, I have come full circle and seen the value and cherish the way I was raised- taking little for granted. perhaps if we were the ones doing the killing, dismembering, gutting, feathering and preparing of the majority of out foods, we would be less gluttonous, entitled and blasé. more thankful, aware and simpleminded in our approach to consumption. one can hope.

“I dislike the thought that some animal has been made miserable to feed me. If I am going to eat meat, I want it to be from an animal that has lived a pleasant, uncrowded life outdoors, on bountiful pasture, with good water nearby and trees for shade.”


― Wendell Berry, What are People For?

I am more

(because of You) I am more

more than a circumstance I cannot control

more than an ox with a burden

more than a series of catalogued mistakes

more than an broken soul crying out

I am more than

‘just’ a woman in a pair of high heels
more than ‘just’ a mom, exhausted and fulfilled
more than a set of morals & pleasantries

more than an embarrassed, clumsy, graceless, loud & unruly child

Because of You

I am peaceful

I am weightless

I am forgiven

I am redeemed

I am unconditionally loved

I am understood

I am KNOWN

I am embraced

Ashley Jackson 2011

put a bird on it

okay, so before i saw this hilarious clip from portlandia, i loved little bird icons. now, it feels utterly cliche, but i still like it. reed and i stenciled today and it was the perfect project for a toddler and crafty mom. he chose a gorilla, i chose, you guessed it! a bird. but there's two, so that's what makes it so cutting edge and unique. ;)
before i ruined a bunch of clothes, we started with some old flour sack dish towels lying around. now, i want to go crazy and stencil the walls, all our clothes, tablecloths, and toilet paper.

SEASONS

here is a jewel of a book that i checked out from the library for my kids. little did i know how i would fall head over heels with its vivid, iconic depictions of the seasons. fit for any age- i want to buy 2 of these books- one to set on the coffee table and one to take apart and frame pages. arguably the best whimsical decor i've seen thus far. what a bonus that i found a youtube video of it! enjoy!