One Tough Cookie

I'm training for a triathlon sprint this June and so I've been getting into shape. Plus, it allows me to eat more delicious food like the yogurt I just made tonight. Yum! My cousin, Daphne, sent me this tank top for Christmas and when Henry saw it he said, "Mom, is..is that a cookie on your shirt???" (look of disbelief) I said it was and then he was at first concerned that someone had taken a bite out of it, but then he thought for a second and said very seriously, "mom, I really love that shirt".

500 heirloom tomato plants anyone? and not quite mozzarella

I have 500 heirloom tomato plants growing in my basement. I hope no one looks in the egress window and thinks it's something that shouldn't be growing down there. I also tried making my own mozzarella the other day and it turned out more like cream cheese, but it's the tastiest and most expensive cream cheese ever! Making cheese with an entire gallon of whole milk makes you rethink eating so much cheese at one sitting. You only get 3/4lb of mozzarella after your pour off all the water. I can eat that in one sitting, but would I ever dream of drinking a gallon of whole milk? NEVER!, but now I know it contains the same amount of fat so I might as well. Ech.


My cheese wouldn't form a thick curd even though I followed the directions exactly and so it wouldn't stretch when I melted it. I poured it into an unappetizing ziplock container and we've been eating it with crackers all day. Bea loves it melted all over her baby food. It's all organic too! Yea for organic cheese.

Also, Here's a photo of a chocolate mold I forgot to take a photo of. It's a 3D bunny pulling an egg cart. The inside of the cart is hollow and we filled it with other chocolates we made. So darling:)

"Thmoovie"

Henry has a hard time using the "th" sound. Especially when there are double syllables with a "th" in the middle. He always ends up putting it up front as in "thumfing" for "something" and "Thmoovie" for "smoothie". We have been making some yummy breakfast smoothies lately with our unsweetened, organic yogurt and various fruits. They are seriously delicious. We use organic strawberries(always do organic with strawberries) normal bananas(never treated with pesticides anyway), plain yogurt, frozen berries that I picked last summer (black raspberries, mulberries, and blueberries) and milk. It is a delicious and healthy way to start your morning!

Easter Treats

Here are some things I have been working on for Easter. I made Easter themed chocolate suckers, sewed Beatrice an Easter dress (cuter photos of her in her dress to come on beabella.blogspot.com) and coloring eggs. I have to say that brown eggs are so much more beautiful when colored and I used the old school method with the vinegar and dye pellets. The more pastel ones are white eggs and the lovely earthy colored ones are the brown eggs. I'm definitely not going to buy white eggs for coloring again.

Better than candy

One thing we loved about early spring last year is that we noticed that we had forgotten to harvest a few carrots from our patch and they started to re-sprout as soon as it got warm enough. I decided to try it again last year and left quite a few in the ground but they were found by some sort of animal so we ended up with only about 5 or 6 total, but boy were they tasty!! How delicious are home grown carrots? Better than candy.

Also in our efforts to go organic and also decrease refined sugar intake I made Henry popsicles out of blended watermelon, strawberries and black raspberries. They are really tasty!

Going Local and Organic: Worth the effort

Well, I read a book about why to go organic and I'm finally convinced. This book doesn't say that everything has to be organic, but it's nice to know what the facts are and even though I'm going to miss buying strawberries for $1 per pound, I think I'll feel better about what I'm feeding my kids and what my body is feeding Bea through nursing and what a growing baby would be absorbing while developing(No I'm not pregnant). Check it out. To Buy or Not to Buy Organic: What You Need to Know to Choose the Healthiest, Safest, Most Earth-Friendly Food by Cindy Burke

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is such a quick and easy read about the dangers of eating some conventional foods. It lets you know what you should eat organic or locally grown and what you can eat conventionally grown. I am most definitely going organic. Everyone should also know what the dirty dozen is! You'll be grossed out at what you've been eating!


View all my reviews.

I also read this book a while ago and you should definitely read up on the dangers of soy. The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America's Favorite Health Food by Kaayla T. Daniel

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
The information in this book is "must know" but this almost 400 page book is a little long to read fully. Basically, stay away from soy. We're at the mercy of the government and food industry on the misinformation we're getting about the nutritional benefits of soy. It's a poison from being packed with estrogen(bad for men) and preventing the absorption of vitamins (called an anti-nutrient) it should be avoided at all costs. If you don't read this book, at least be informed.


View all my reviews.