Every year I look forward to celebrating Advent with my boys. Since Matthew was born, we have had some sort of Advent calendar. The first year I picked up an organic, fair-trade chocolate advent calendar at the natural food co-op while shopping for our Thanksgiving meal. Allan and Matthew tore open the doors each day and Allan…
Last Weekend
Yes, I know it’s late in the day on Friday and a new weekend is upon us, but, I DO want to talk about LAST weekend. Please indulge me for a moment… we are still playing catch up from Allan’s trip to St. Louis last week, where he judged the AIGA St. Louis design show….
Thanksgiving Recap
Yep. I’m a week late and a dollar short; but if you’ll excuse me, I’d still like to share a little Thanksgiving Recap. We had the most delightful time with our family enjoying good food, adult beverages and, of course, each other’s company. We certainly do have a lot to be thankful for. Our beautiful…
Thanksgiving Favorites
If you have been following my blog for some time, you’ve heard me talk about hosting Thanksgiving for both of our immediate families every year. This year, I am aiming to do Thanksgiving on a Budget, as we definitely splurged last year. Even though, I am trying to keep our spending to a minimum, it…
Crockpot Meal: Pork Tenderloin with Cranberry Sauce
Since Luke’s birth, I have struggled to get nutritious meals on the table by 6:15 PM every day. Simply adding one other person’s (unpredictable) needs to the mix has thrown me for a loop. Some weeks I am very diligent about shopping and meal planning, while others are haphazard at best. I have found that…
Matthew’s 2nd Birthday Party
Sorry for the delay in posting photos from Matthew’s party. We’ve been a little out of sorts over here, so I had a delay in getting the photos pulled together. Last Sunday we celebrated Matthew’s 2nd birthday with family and friends. The following are some highlights from the party, including the party menu. We started…
Happy Birthday, Matthew!
Today Matthew turned two years old. On Sunday afternoon we hosted an intimate party to celebrate with family and friends. We had an amazing time and Matthew did not want the day to end! Stay tuned for a post with photos and the party menu tomorrow. On this special day, I look back on the…
Natural Easter Egg Dyeing
Can you believe Easter is only a little over two weeks away? I know that some of you are busily planning your Easter brunch menus, children’s activities and household tasks to be completed before the big day while others haven’t given Easter a second thought. I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to share…
Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies Two Ways
Every year my mom and I bake Christmas cookies together. We always make sugar cookies, which happen to be Allan’s favorite. My mom’s favorite cookie is the gingersnap, so we usually make gingerbread men as well; however, we are bursting at the seams with cookies this year and settled on simply making roll out cookies, as…
Gluten-Free Cookies: Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk
The magical whirlwind that is the Christmas season is almost over. The waiting of the Advent season will soon break through to the awe and wonder that is Christmas… snow or no snow – as it is here in Minneapolis. It seems that yesterday’s snow shower was more of a blip than the light white…
Gluten-Free Cookies: Winter Spiced Biscotti
Let’s talk cookies. Specifically, clean, low-sugar, low-fat, gluten-free cookies. It’s the week of Christmas and I can’t believe that I haven’t brought up cookies yet. I love sweets… but they do not love me back. So, I choose to enjoy them in moderation and to modify recipes to reduce sugar, cut fat and increase whole…
Merry Christmas, my friends!
We have been very busy with Christmas preparations (baking, gifting and celebrating) as we await the birth of our Lord and Savior. So busy that this morning I was finally able to stop at Kowalski’s to grab a few books of stamps to mail out our Christmas Card. Our family photo was taken by a…
Ten Things Thursday
1. My mother-in-law treated my mom and me to a girls night making evergreen centerpieces to adorn our homes for Christmas. We had a wonderful time and came home with beautiful centerpieces. 2. When I arrived home from indoor playgroup this morning I found one of my spruce top pots had fallen over either by…
Chai Spiced
Last week Ashley from the edible perspective posted a recipe for chai spice mix. I love chai spices and immediately ran to my spice rack and mixed up the spice blend. Upon first sniff, I immediately knew that it was a winning combination. I then got to work using it. We were running low on…
Gingerbread Two Ways
Matthew and I have been enjoying our Advent Calendar activities. Matthew looks forward to opening the Advent Calendar door and unfolding the little piece of paper every day. I found little clip art photos to represent each activity so that he can recognize what we are doing without the need for me to read the…
Thanksgiving Recap
Thanksgiving has come and gone. With its passing we are left with several new and wonderful memories of delicious food, amazing company and midnight Black Friday shopping. Allan’s family with Matthew and Piggie: Mark (FIL), Annie (SIL), Mollie (Niece), Jakob (Nephew), Matthew, Ryan (BIL), Piggie Rubbed and ready for the oven! Sprouted Whole Wheat and Gluten-Free…
Thanksgiving Leftovers
Good Afternoon. I am hoping to have a Thanksgiving recap post up with updated photos and recipes early this week – hopefully no later than Wednesday. My goal was to get it up for you today, but we have a showing tonight that I must get the house ready for and Matthew just went down…
Thanksgiving Survival Guide
Hello my friends. If you follow me on Twitter, are friends with me on Facebook or like MMM on Facebook, you know that I have been hard at work creating Thanksgiving printables to streamline your Thanksgiving shopping, prep and cooking. I have a lot to share, so let’s get right into it! For the last week,…
Thanksgiving: Green Bean, Beet and Goat Cheese Salad
Green Bean, Beet and Goat Cheese Salad Adapted from Clean Eating Magazine A delicious departure from traditional green bean salad. The citrusy tang of the dressing is the perfect compliment to cool chèvre and earthy beets. This salad will leave you energized, not dragging. Gluten-free, dairy-free. Print this recipe. Serves 12 2 bunches golden or…
Thanksgiving: Pumpkin Brownie Pie
Pumpkin Brownie Pie Adapted from Oh She Glows This is one of the most decadent desserts I have ever made. The brownie is perfectly chocolatey and gooey while the pumpkin pie filling is better than traditional pumpkin pie. Gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan. Print this recipe. Serves 8 Pumpkin Pie Filling 1 cup canned pumpkin 2 tbsp…
Thanksgiving: Rosted Brussels Sprouts with Pecans
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pecans Inspired by Clean Eating Magazine and Ina Garten These are to your grandmother’s brussels sprouts! Even the pickiest of eaters will gobble these up. Gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan. Print this recipe. Serves 12 2 lbs Brussels sprouts, stems trimmed and loose leaves removed 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted 2 tbsp apple…
Thanksgiving: Spiced Cranberry and Apple Sauce
Spiced Cranberry and Apple Sauce Adapted from Clean Eating Magazine Perfect for dipping! Matthew dipped his entire dinner into this sauce. A healthy twist on cranberry sauce featuring apples and ginger. The perfect pairing to your Holiday meal. Gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan. Print this recipe. Serves 12 12 oz cranberries, fresh or frozen and defrosted 1…
Thanksgiving: Cherry, Apple and Mushroom Stuffing
Cherry, Apple and Mushroom Stuffing Adapted from Clean Eating Magazine A savory experience for your mouth. I amped up my traditional stuffing recipe by adding dried fruit and apples and the result is delightful! Can be gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan dependent upon your bread selection. Print this recipe. Serves 12 1 (24 oz or 680g)…
Thanksgiving: Roast Turkey with Herby Gravy
Roast Turkey with Herby Gravy Adapted from Clean Eating Magazine and Alton Brown Over the years I have perfected the roasted turkey. Below I share with you my secrets to the timeless Thanksgiving favorite. Gluten-free and dairy-free. Print this recipe. Serves 12 4 organic carrots, scrubbed, cut crosswise and then into thirds 4 ribs celery…
Thanksgiving: Spicy and Smoky Turkey Spice Rub
Spicy and Smoky Turkey Spice Rub Adapted from Clean Eating Magazine A nontraditional approach to a turkey spice rub that is mildly smoky and lightly spicy. Print this recipe. Serves 12 2 tbsp chile powder 2 tbsp ground cumin 1 ½ tbsp paprika 2 tsp dried minced garlic 2 tsp dried thyme 2 tsp sea…
Thanksgiving Menu Planning
Can you believe that Thanksgiving is only two weeks away! I am so excited! Allan compares my Thanksgiving meal to the Super Bowl. We look forward to it each year. This year is no exception because Allan’s sister and her family will be joining us from South Dakota. It is going to so much fun hosting…
Operation Christmas Child
Every year, my Mom organizes a shoe box packing party for the Sunday School children at our church. Yesterday we wrapped and packed 58 shoe boxes full of toys, books, office supplies and hygiene items to bless children around the world. Every year we have an amazing time gathering as a congregation in fellowship while…
Gingerbread Waffles
With the celebration of Canadian Thanksgiving last weekend, I have been getting into the holiday mood. Now I know that it isn’t even Halloween yet, but I absolutely love the Holiday Season! Is it sad that I even listened to a few Christmas Songs on my iPhone last week? Yep. It happened. With the new…
Party People
You may recall that a couple weeks ago we hosted an ecofriendly, clean living party with the goal of only producing one bag of landfill-bound trash. If you are catching up, you can read about the party here and here. We were extremely successful in our mission and I thought that today I would share…
Spicy Cumpleaños ::: Mexican Hot Chocolate Cake Recipe
We had an amazing four day weekend together! I can’t wait to tell you all about it. On Friday, Allan took a day of vacation and we went to the MN State Fair. Look for a recap on this escapade tomorrow. Today, I want to tell you about our One Bag Mexican Fiesta that I…
Frosting on the Cake
Prior to Matthew’s birthday party last weekend I had no clue how to correctly frost a cake. I wanted Matthew’s first birthday cake to not only be a nutritious whole food delight, I also wanted it to be as beautiful as a store bought cake. So, after scouring the internet, reading demos and watching how-to…
Matthew’s Birthday Party: Food Edition
As you know, Sunday was Matthew’s first birthday and we threw a small party for him. The following is the food that we served to our family that came from near and far to celebrate with us. Prepping the salad I used the following simple dressing on this salad. The recipe makes enough dressing for…
For Matthew…
To my dearest Matthew for your first birthday. He (Jesus) called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:2 Before you were born I thought that I…
Feta Hummus
I love easy, nutritious and delicious recipes that my entire family will enjoy. Hummus is a food that has a fabulous, complex flavor for Allan and I along with a smear-able fun factor for Matthew. While I was shopping at the co-op, I sampled a chunky feta hummus and was instantly intrigued. However, I did…
Happy Mother’s Day
Happy Mother’s day to all of the mothers, soon-to-be mothers, new mothers and grandmothers! I hope that you are enjoying your day. Even though this is my first Mother’s Day with Matthew, I am finding it difficult to think of Mother’s Day as a special day for me. I would much rather focus on the…
Out of this Stratasphere!
Yesterday I blogged about the glorious spread that we enjoyed on Easter. In that post, I mentioned that I would be highlighting different dishes that I made in their own dedicated posts. Today I will share the recipe for the delectable Strata that I made. This recipe is loosely based on a recipe in Tosca…
Brunch Easter Style
Happy belated Easter! We hosted Easter festivities for both of our families. My parents, Allan’s parents and my sister were in attendance. There was so much AMAZING (and clean) food that the fridge was so packed it was difficult to find anything! Lois, Allan’s mom, made this beautiful watermelon fruit bowl! This bad boy was…