Gratitude for all of August

I've selected what I've been told will be the hottest month of the year, in my new super hot home in Texas, to practice a month of gratitude.  I'm tempted to double post it all here, because this is my more popular blog, but I'm really wanting to get my business blog up and running, so I will be tracking my progress primarily on my Mindful Wellness blog, which is my business page.

By the way, I started a business page.  Also by the way, I am only 7 two hour classes from completing my diploma of Hypnotherapy.  Can I get a "whoop whoop?"  I am assuming you are all fist pumping Arsinio Hall style- NOT like on the Jersey Shore, and essentially barking at your computers.

So excited to be completing this schooling, which has been so enriching and rewarding, but also very time consuming.  Sometimes I think I should have just done one of those 5 day programs or a few weekends, but then I realize that I have learned SO much and had over 300 hours of instruction, and I know this was the right program for me.

I also made jerky from mushrooms yesterday, so I'll be posting that as soon as I can pry my phone from the kung fu grip of my daughter who has figured out how to use my Netflix app (the world will never be the same). 

So join me for a month of gratitude.  I'll be posting journal prompts, inspirations, etc to keep you motivated along the way.  When we stop and say thank you for what we have, the desire for more wanes, right?  Let's find out together.

Figs!

We got our first ripe fig off our tree today!

My great grandma loved figs.  When figs were in season, my mom and I would drive around looking for fig trees, and as the cute kid it was always my job to go knock on the person's door and ask if I could pick some figs for my grandma.

Finally, my mom and I got her a fig tree and planted it in the back yard, and were thrilled that it started producing the very first year.  Planting a tree in her yard when she was older and not in great health was an act of faith.  It was a promise of something great to live for.  My grandmother used to say that she just wanted to see me graduate high school, and after that we said to look forward to my college graduation, but that seemed to far off, so figs in the summer were quite possibly what gave my grandmother a few more years.

Sometimes it just takes one small, sweet, beautiful creation of nature to keep us rising each morning.  The thought of daffodils in Spring can always give me hope that things will change and get better.

Also exciting about these figs is that they are yellow calymara figs, which I have never had fresh- only dried.  I've eaten so many mission figs, but this is a whole delicious new ballgame!  

Next to ripen in the yard are my jujubees.  That's right, I have a fruit growing in my yard called a jujubee.

What Does Your Kid Eat?

People are always asking what my kids eat.  Each day is totally unique, so a typical day is hard to find. Some nights, the kids totally shun dinner, last night my son (he will be two in a few months) ate two avocados and a bowl of GF brown rice noodles with sauce and some quinoa and chickpea "nuggest" that I made.

Anyway, my daughter's food choices today cracked me up, so this is a good day to share.  She chose most of these foods on her own (the watermelon blended was something I was drinking and I gave her her own glass of it, and dinner was dinner for the family, so she didn't really get to select much there.)

This is what my 3 year old (almost 4) has eaten today:

• An apple
• A Carrot
• Several sheets of nori (seaweed in sheets like they wrap sushi in)
• A banana with worchestershire sauce (vegan), balsamic, and soy sauce (this was her own creation)...
• Watermelon, cucumber, and lemon juice that I blended up- she said it was so good and thanked me but only drank a little.  
• The steamed artichokes I made for dinner and she found... She loves artichokes
• Some plain canned garbanzo beans that I rinsed and put in a bowl for her
• A small handful of chocolate chips
• Several of these cookies, but I used maple and coconut sugars plus molasses in place of honey. 
• Dinner, which was porchini risotto with sauteed home grown oyster mushrooms on top, artichokes (I ended up making more) and kale chips.  She ate all her artichoke half plus some of her brother's, a few bites of risotto and a few mushrooms, and a few kale chips.
• More of those cookies

To drink, other than the watermelon blend, she drank water all day, which is typical for us.

So that's what she eats.  

Applesauce Egg Replacer

Vegan baking often calls for applesauce to replace eggs or oil. It adds moisture and helps bind the dough.

To make 1/4 applesauce, you can simply chop an apple and blend in your high speed blender until smooth, adding a little water if needed. Quick and easy and no boiling or peeling needed (so you get all the nutrients in the peel too).

*You can blend it all, including seeds, but I don't recommend it.