Birthday dinners and Boston's favorite meal

My birthday dinner

A fav of Bostons

Dane's B day dinner

Every year on the Sunday before our birthdays, Dane and I make each other a birthday dinner of our choosing.  Dane chose chicken tacos and unfortunately he had to make the chicken himself, (the thought of Chicken makes me want to throw up when I'm pregnant) but I helped with the rest of taco (hehe) and made him Mountain Dew cupcakes.

Dane made me a delicious steak, funeral potatoes and a yummy Cesar salad and broccoli.  Yum, it was so good.  A favorite meal for Boston lately is noodles and fruit.  He loved this egg white noodle and strawberry combo.  He ate it all up!

Yummy eats

Delicious feta and parmesean salad with rainbow carrots.  They taste just the same as regular carrots...but are prettier. :)

home made strawberry pie with strawberries from the farm.

homemade omelet made with love by Dane, for Me

Made from scratch focacia bread.  I did this all by hand and it turned out pretty decent.

Dane called this a Brazilian meal.  We were working with what we had in the cupboards.

Rhubarb pie with Rhubarb from the farm.  The crust was so delicious!

Strawberry farm

The other weekend, we went to the Farms to pick strawberries and rhubarb.  We had a great time.  When I was little we had a garden and tons of fruit trees and plants.  It was one of my regular chores to pick the blueberries and I HATED it.  Who would of thought I would drive 45 minutes and pay to go pick fruit as an adult?  When we settle in a house I would like to have my own garden and grow lots of yummy fruits and veg.  Spending the day up at the Farms was so relaxing. It makes me realize that I could definitely enjoy a life away from the city.  We'll see where we end up!

Great Sunday, great food

Delicious (and might I add, beautiful)  omelet that Dane made me for breakfast.

Made from scratch Focaccia bread.

Sunday dinner

How much do you think he actually consumed?

Made from scratch rhubarb pie

Today was a day of homemade goodness.  Dane makes the best breakfast food!  For dinner I decided to try my hand at homemade bread.  This was completely from scratch...I didn't even use any tools (for the pie or the bread) just my hands!

Making the bread was so much fun and the process is beautiful!  I followed this video step by step for the bread and this blog for the pie.  For the rest of dinner I just made us our favorite cranberry salad, wild rice, and beans...with a lil' pineapple on the side.  :)

Survey says?  (Meaning did Dane like it?)

Dane loved the dinner and prefers wild rice to any other kind, which makes me happy cause it is much better for you than white and even brown. 

He liked the bread quite a bit.  Our only critiques are that it's a little salty and a little dense, but it had some GREAT flavor.  I will have to work on letting it rise better next time. 

Dane didn't like the pie as a whole.  It was his first time having rhubarb and he thought it was way too tart.  However he could not stop raving about the pie crust.  I have to say, it might be the best pie crust I've ever tasted.  Buttery and flaky delicious! I loved the pie.  The rhubarb was a little tart though, so maybe next time I will try a strawberry rhubarb pie.

Boston loved his salad and beans, although I'm not sure much made it to his mouth.

I love cooking good food for my family.  Happy Sunday!

Great produce = great dinners

feta goat cheese, parmesean cheese, cilantro, romaine lettuce, cranberries, tomatoes, green onions, real bacon bits, light raspberry viniagrette and those beautiful purple and orange things are  rainbow carrots (my new favorite veg).

Nothing feels better than feeding your family a home cooked meal.  Especially when it is
A. Delicious
and
B. Healthy

I am always trying new diets and attempting newer, healthier approaches to eating right, and nothing has ever stuck.  However I have gained a lot of knowledge of things that work, things that don't, and I understand more about nutrition.  Right now I have decided that I don't want to be on a diet, I don't even want to lose weight fast, I just want to develop healthy eating habits and enjoy healthy food in my home.  I am on a roll so far! 

It started with getting some motivation.  Here is my little trail of inspiration that lead me and my family to that delicious salad you see above.

I went to TED.com
I watched Jamie Oliver give a TED talk.
He spoke on Food Revolution and the obesity epidemic in our country.
I watched his show the Food Revolution.
I made a grocery list, found a local organic market and bought tons of amazing produce that was pretty and tasty. 
I went to Costco and picked out some great healthy foods, with a few treats (like trail mix and peanut butter crackers and slim fast shakes) for when we are in a hurry out the door and just want a little snacky. 
Dane, me and Boston all went up to some local farms and picked fresh strawberries and rhubarb. 
I came home, and decided my fridge and cupboards were not worthy of all this delicious produce and food, so I cleaned them all out (scrubbed and trashed) through and through. 
I then put all my produce into ziplocs as opposed to the grocery bags I always leave them in. 

Now my fridge and cupboards are lovely and inviting and I am thoroughly enjoying picking out food to make for me and my family.  Yesterday Boston and I enjoyed asparagus together.  Tonight we all enjoyed a little top sirloin, a small serving of multigrain pasta with puttanessca sauce and a delicious salad.  Boston and I had fruit smoothies yesterday morning (frozen berries, banana and water).  We loved it.  I send Dane off to work with a yummy wrap, some fruit and veggies and he LOVES his lunches. 

This is not a post to brag about all of our healthiness, the mere fact that I am writing this post with such enthusiasm is because this is a BIG change for us.  A much welcome change.  As Boston is starting to eat what we eat I have really felt the urgency in building some healthy habits now, so that Boston will grow up with healthy habits. 

I'm the one that shops, cooks and feeds these boys so I largely influence the state of their health.  :) 

Strawberry pie I made from the fresh strawberries we picked.  Another thing I like about not being on a diet...no rules, just sensible eating. 

Here's to a healthy beginning!