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Say It Ain't So

I have just finished reading Michael Pollan's brilliant tome, In Defense of Food. I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. It gives profound testimony to the notion that we are what we eat and we are eating some CRAP. He cites example after example of a population's health deteriorating only after being introduced to a diet of processed western foods.

While I enjoyed it and it definitely made me re-examine what I'm eating (and what my family is eating), some of its assertions were (forgive the pun) hard to swallow. Contained in its depths, is a narrative about how the modern American family has dinner: Mom makes (or nukes) something for herself, and dad and the kids rotate through the kitchen, nuking various prepared food items for themselves. Whole foods don't really exist, nor does the family dinner hour.

I did a quick, unscientific survey via Facebook. Most everyone said sure they eat the occasional box of mac 'n' cheese, but overall, it is the “norm” to make a home-cooked meal and sit down together as a family. I am relieved, but wonder if it is based on demographics. Because, as a couple of people responded, “Have you ever seen the crap other people put in their grocery carts??” I have seen this and done a silent head-shake too. I don't mean to be judgmental, but I kind of am …

And there is lots for someone else to be judgmental of my eating habits as well. Overall, I fancy I do pretty well. We eat dinner at home at least 4x/week (usually more) and those are usually very healthful meals and increasingly meatless in nature. Fast food is an occasional indulgence, usually when we are out, and things take too long and Tabby (or one of us) is about to melt-down if she doesn't get something to eat RIGHT.NOW. We do have some TV dinners lurking in the freezer. I tend to take them for lunch when dinner doesn't produce leftovers and there is nothing else I can slap together. But it is readily evident how infrequently this happens when I go to open one and the sucker is freezer-burned all to hell. You will also find an array of “snacks” in our pantry and I have a diet soda or two almost every day (despite knowing that it's not good for me and I really should stop).

For my own part, I am re-committing to healthy food. I am going to try my hardest to get the food-products (junk) out of my diet and our house, including making more things from scratch and using better meat, even if it means less.

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Dude, Where’s My Weekend???

I am a lucky lucky lady. I have worked it with my job so that I almost always get long weekends. This is a total lifesaver, especially on a weekend like this where even 3 days went “poof!”

Thursday Matt took Ben to the doctor’s office because he had been running a low-grade fever all week and hadn’t been his usual charming self (he was a complete whiny, grumpy mess, actually). We expected them to say “it’s a virus, let it run its course …” but to our surprise he had an ear infection. I ♥ antibiotics. Brave soul that my mom is, she agreed to take him and Tabby anyhow so we could do pub quiz night with my cousins, which was scads of fun as usual, though as usual we also stank it up with our 40th percentile score. To our delight and surprise, when we went to pick up the kids, my mom suggested we let them sleep over and before she could change her mind, we scooted out of there and got the first 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep we’ve had in … umm… well at least a year for me, 8 or so months for Matt.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday blazed by in a blur of gym, basement and errands. We are so close on the basement, but even so close takes a lot of time. My awesome cousins kindly came over this afternoon to give us a hand and we are that much closer to having it done!

The big surprise of the weekend has been Ben. I had no intentions of working on his sleep training this weekend with him coming off having an ear infection and all. But we had a couple of moments where he WOULD.NOT go to sleep, no how and no amount of cuddles or bottle or whatever would help, so we ended up letting him (yikes!) cry it out a bit and it has really worked – and it didn’t even take too long! 15 minutes at the worst. He is going to bed on his own without a bottle and we even got him BACK to sleep last night without one. I am crossing my fingers and holding my breath that we are on to something good.

Also – that boy LOVES spaghetti.

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These are a few of my favorite things …

1. Philosophy Tinted Moisturizer – I wear practically 0 makeup. It doesn't seem to work for my skin and it takes away precious minutes from the scant sleep I do get, so this and some lip-gloss are about it for me. It's very light, not greasy and sort of evens everything out. Also SPF 15 – very important.

2. My Bag – I have been loving on my Sherpani Lily bag for a long time now. It is very cute and it holds everything I need – a lot of stuff. I tote around all of the normal purse essentials (including water bottle) as well as my DS, work papers and sometimes my netbook. On the weekends and evenings I drop in a diaper and bottle and a few wipes for the kids. I also recently acquired a KEEN Twenty-six, which is about the same size (a bit bigger) and I am loving it too. I also have to give props to my two favorite weekender bags: Sherpani Meridian and LeSportsac Large Weekender

3. Heart Rate Monitor – I have the cute green FT40 from Polar and I love it. It tracks workout time, heart rate and calories burned and holds those workouts for review. You can download the data to your computer as well.

4. ING Direct – ING Direct allows you to open an unlimited number of accounts with them and transfer in $$ automatically. So we have about 8 different accounts, all ear-marked for different purposes (Christmas, kids' college, etc.) that we automatically add to on a monthly basis. It takes the discipline out of saving money.

5. Etsy – From jewelry to amazing artwork for our house to gifts for loved ones, I always love to turn to Etsy to find something fun and unique. It's also great to support independent artists … and I get packages in the mail!

6. Netbook – I am digging on my baby computer. It is light and nice to carry around the house and perfect for web surfing and looking at recipes in the kitchen. We also use it to Skype with family in Nashville and it is the perfect size for Tabby (though I notice ASUS now carries a Disney princess netbook). Also love it for on-the-go at the gym or (theoretically anyhow) a coffee shop.

7. Squeezebox – two (really?) Christmases ago, Matt and I gave each other a Logitech Squeezebox. It has been one of the best purchases we've ever made. It brings your MP3 collection from your computer to your stereo system. It also plays internet radio like Pandora. Super simple and works great.

8. Ceramic Planer – I bought this ceramic planer (a small hand-held scraping/planing tool) on a suggestion from some blog I read and I've always been glad I did. It's made of ceramic and is very gentle on surfaces (unlike a metal blade) and it will take up just about anything off the surfaces in our house without damaging them.

9. Nikon D200 – This sucker was pricey, but I have loved it. I hardly want to be bothered with a point-and-shoot. The best thing about it is its lighting fast response. I hardly ever miss a cute shot because of camera delay. I also love having a variety of lenses to play with.

10. Eat.Shop.Denver – I love this little guide of locally owned, off the-beaten-path shops and eateries. It is fun to try out new places and we've found some of our favorites in this cool little guide. Guides are also available for many major metropolitan areas (NYC, San Fran, DC, KC, Seattle, LA). And I will be picking up guides for my fave cities as I get back to traveling more.

11. I also love comments … so delurk! It's national delurking day, or so I'm told.

Not that raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens and and such aren't great …

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The Haps

• Wheezed my way through my first run in over two weeks. It didn’t not go particularly well. I am getting a bit nervous about our half marathon. Eep!
• Ben has something. Lowgrade fever, wheezy breathing, tons of gas, sleeping even worse than before. Hope it passes soon for both our sakes. Might have to put off the sleep-training until next weekend.
• Carpet goes in next week, sometime between Tuesday & Thursday. I.Cannot.Wait!
• Since the carpet (the very last step in the construction phase of our remodel) goes in next week, that means we have to finish up a few things this weekend, including installing a banister and finishing up a bit of painting in the stairs.
• Found some amazing artwork on Etsy for the kids’ playroom and Matt’s office. I will not link to it just yet since I want it in a “big reveal” sort of post. But I’m very excited about it!
• Have done very well with cooking at home this week … Tabby started gymnastics again last night and we have almost always eaten out on those nights, but last night we had leftover sloppy joes and still made it to gymnastics with plenty of time and no more $$ spent and much healthier as well.
• Tonight I am making Stir Fried Turkey Lettuce Wraps – very excited about that.
• Got an awesome new bag and new shoes from my mom as a belated Christmas gift (exchange for some boots that didn’t work out) and I love both of them very much!
• Lost my sunglasses at the gym on Sunday and they turned up there this morning. Woot!
• I am going to try no-knead bread this weekend … or at very least get the bread maker out. Swear!
• Thinking of installing this laptop station in the playroom for when I’m hanging around down there. Unfortunately, that means a trip next door to UT, where “next door” is like 10 hours away. Boo.
• Just one more day ’til the weekend. Yay!

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Sloppy Joes

from: Ellie Krieger

Ingredients
1 pound extra-lean ground beef
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, minced
1 red pepper, diced
1 can small red beans or pinto beans, preferably low sodium drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups no-salt-added tomato sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon molasses
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon mustard powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
8 whole-wheat burger buns

Directions
Brown the meat and the onion in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, breaking up the meat into crumbles as it cooks. Pour the drippings out of the pan and discard. Add the garlic, jalapeno, and red pepper and cook 5 minutes more, stirring occasionally. Stir in the rest of the ingredients, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 5 minutes more. Place a half-cup scoop of the mixture onto each bun and serve.

Nutritional Info (1 sloppy joe (makes 8)(
Calories: 248; Carbohydrates: 37 grams; Total Fat: 4 grams; Saturated Fat: 1.1 gram; Protein: 18 grams; Fiber: 7 grams; Sodium: 535 milligrams

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Energy Bars

from: Ellie Krieger

Ingredients
Cooking spray
1 cup quick cooking rolled oats
1/2 cup raw unsalted sunflower seeds
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
1/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup pitted dried dates
1/2 cup powdered nonfat dry milk
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
2 large eggs

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Place all ingredients except the syrup and eggs in a food processor and pulse until the mixture is finely chopped. Add the syrup and eggs and pulse until the mixture is well combined. It will resemble a coarse paste.

Transfer to the baking pan and spread evenly. Bake until just done, about 20 minutes. Cut into 20 squares.

Nutritional Info (1 bar (makes 20)(
Calories 133; Total Fat: 5 grams; Saturated Fat: 0.6 grams; Protein: 5; grams; Carbohydrates: 20 grams; Fiber: 2.5 grams

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Sausage & Egg Casserole with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

from: Bon Appetit April 2002

Ingredients
1 pound Italian sweet turkey sausage, casings removed
½ cup chopped shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
5 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1 cup half and half
1 cup whipping cream
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
½ teaspoon salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Sauté sausage in medium nonstick skillet over medium heat until brown and cooked through, breaking up with back of fork into small pieces, about 10 minutes. Add shallots and garlic and sauté 3 minutes. Add sun-dried tomatoes and 2 tablespoons parsley; stir 1 minute. Spread sausage mixture in prepared dish. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Whisk eggs, egg yolks, half and half, whipping cream, 1 ½ cups cheese and salt in large bowl to blend well. Pour egg mixture over sausage mixture in dish. Sprinkle remaining ½ cup cheese and 2 tablespoons parsley over. Bake until top of casserole is golden brown and and knife inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

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(Not) Catching some Zs

Let me preface this by saying my children are both equally wonderful and sweet and frustrating, each in their own special ways. I am only comparing them because they are my only two experiences with babies and it's all I've got.

Tabby slept through the night at around 2.5 months. We could lie her down in her crib and she would happily drift off to sleep to the sounds of her music and wake up approximately 11 hours later refreshed and ready to go. If she did wake up in the night, all it took was a visit from the bink fairy to get her back to sleep. It was awesome. I will be the first to admit that it wasn't automatic, though. We had to, at least in part, work with her to get her doing this. A little bit of comforting, a bit of letting her cry for a while, etc. But the point is, we did it and it wasn't even too bad.

Then there's Ben. He has never slept through the night. Well maybe once, but it was probably a paltry 7 hours. These days on the good nights he goes down with a bottle between 6 and 7 wakes up between 10 and midnight for a bottle and then will sleep to 6 AM or so when Matt puts him in his swing and lets him watch Baby Einstein. It is doable. Not awesome, but doable, since Matt is frequently up that late and can take the late bottle. Sometimes we get a lot of good nights in a row … sometimes just one or two before we have a bad night. On bad nights Ben wakes up and stays up at 10 and then again 3 or 4 AM, sometimes for an hour. There are some intermittent wake-ups frequently as well. It.is.TERRIBLE.

I can accept that owing to his size, he may need to have a bottle in the middle of the night, though I think the need for this should be diminishing since he is eating solids now. And he hasn't really been finishing his bottles and frequently calms after just seeing us so this says to me it ain't just about sustenance anymore.

I think we've known for a while that it was something we needed to work on with him, but it has been nuts around our house lately with the holidays and the basement and the sickies. And despite Matt's intermittent threats to “ferberize his butt” we have yet to make any real attempts at teaching him to self-soothe. Also, we need to drop his crib because he can damn near climb out already being so big and fairly agile.

The day is drawing nigh. I am steeling myself for some more crying than normal and maybe a little less sleep. I'm reading up on my Baby Whisperer and maybe even checking out the man himself – Dr. Ferber. I need sleep really really badly.

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Back

Our break is over. It was just about the perfect length and certainly what we needed. By the end we were ready to head home. The kids (especially Ben) are super glad to be home in their own beds and I am glad to be back to my routine.

I skiied 3 days and Matt 4 and by Friday we were pretty fatigued, but we really had a great time. Tabby got out 3 times for a couple of hours and did great. She’s improving every time and most importantly, really enjoying herself.

It was a very big week in other ways too … Ben cut another tooth (5 now) and that gave us some difficulties with him. He napped even worse than usual and ate poorly (leading to bad sleep due to hunger). Tabby had her own breakthrough that at the risk of sounding mysterious I will not discuss at the moment lest I jinx it (though you can probably guess).

We left around 1 PM and after a stop for lunch and some traffic, made it home just before 4 PM. We unpacked and put away most of it and then took down and put away the Christmas tree and all related items. With the kids in bed, Matt and I have been tackling our own projects and catching up on this and that. Soon I will be turning off the laptop to focus on our messy bedroom and the tons of laundry that need folded and put away. Definitely back!