E2 - 28 Day Challenge - Day 9

My coffee woes have been appeased. It was as simple as checking the dairy case at my local Sprouts. But more about that later...

On The Menu:
Breakfast: Banana & Toasted Bagel
Lunch: Supreme Pizza
Dinner: Roasted Red Peppers, Sweet Potatoes, & galloping greens with cashew sauce

What We Actually Ate:
Breakfast: Not Vegan: Quiche with cheese & lots of veggies, strawberry scones, fruit bowl, pumpkin muffins
Lunch: Nothing - The kids munched on some snacky stuff in the afternoon but we didn't have an official meal
Dinner: Make your own pizza

My Thoughts:

Today (Day 10) is my mom's birthday & several weeks ago her very dear friend asked if I would help her execute a surprise breakfast/brunch to celebrate my mom's special day. My job was to get her over there. I had to come up with an excuse as to why my mom would need to come with me so I told her that all of the kids had a Dr's appointment and I needed her to go with me to help and she willingly did, despite the fact that her own to-do list was full. That's just the type of person she is. I picked her up and she was indeed surprised when we arrived at the surprise destination. Her friend Pam & Pam's daughter Emily (my dear friend) had prepared quite the spread of goodies. First stop was the coffee bar..... AHHHHHH.... (Imagine a scene from a movie when the heavens open up, the sun streams down like a glorious spotlight, and the Hallelujah chorus plays). There, sitting on the tray, was the answer to my problem. So Delicious Coconut Milk Creamer. I poured some into my coffee and watched it's creamy goodness fill my cup and turn my coffee from it's harsh black to a sweet, inviting latte. It was perfect. Now I don't feel like I'm depriving myself of anything. Emily said she just picked it up at Sprouts. Duh, Lori. Why don't you try looking at the non-traditional food store??? Anywoo, I grabbed my coffee and sat down at a table covered with plates and plates of beautiful food. We prayed with my mom, thanked God for his wonderful gift & enjoyed a morning of sweet fellowship with friends. On my way home I stopped by the store and this morning I got to have my 'experience' . :)

Because we'd had such a big breakfast & at a later time than usual, I just wasn't hungry for lunch. I got busy cleaning house and before I knew it the day had slipped away and it was time to start dinner. Dinner was SO easy and SO tasty. I bought some pre-made vegetarian pizza crusts at the store (a package of 5 personal sized pies for $2 - sorry I can't remember the brand). We topped them with some Bertolli organic Garlic & Olive Oil pasta sauce and then each added our own toppings. I used them all: fresh spinach, black olives, yellow bell pepper, & some veggie patty crumbled up. The kids were allowed to top theirs with some cheese but Silas still didn't eat his. He would, however, eat Izzie's (exactly the same as his). He was gobbling up the olives while I was slicing them but wouldn't touch them when they were warm on his pizza. Oh well. These were a big hit that we'll definitely have again.

Several people have asked if this diet change has affected my supply/ability to nurse Rhys. In all honesty, I haven't noticed any change at all. He's always been a great sleeper and the past two nights he's slept straight through, instead of waking up to eat at 4:30 like he had been. I came across an article yesterday about a french couple who were being charged with neglect & face life in prison because they fed their daughter solely breastmilk which because of the mother's vegan diet, was deficient in the essential vitamins A & B-12. The girl became very sick and they chose not to follow the Dr.'s advice for treatment, seeking alternative means instead. This hit a little close to home. In a separate case in Georgia early this year a court upheld the conviction and life sentence against an Atlanta vegan couple over the death of their malnourished 6-week-old boy, who was fed a diet largely consisting of soy milk and apple juice. To me these two cases are vastly different. The first couple sound similar to Graham & me in that we don't always agree with or follow our Dr.'s advise or what the the US says typical treatment of certain ailments may be. BUT, if I saw my child wasting away I think I might reconsider my Dr's words. We've had weight issues with Silas but there are NO other indicators that there is a problem. He's happy, active,sleeps well, and blood work tests have revealed nothing to suggest he could be malnourished or have any other issues. The second couple, however, concerns me. Why in the world would you be giving your newborn apple juice? I just attended a breast-feeding class recently and they shared a study where the World Health Organization suggests you breastfeed for the first 2 years of the child's life to get the full benefits. Even the run-of-the-mill pediatrician would tell you not to give your child anything else until they are at least 4 months old. Just wondering why the couple thought that was a wise idea. So, I'm trying to be more diligent in taking my pre-natal vitamins just to cover all my bases.

Enough sharing for today. I'm off to get my second cup!

E2 - 28 Day Challenge - Day 8

On The Menu:
Breakfast: Big Bowl
Lunch: Stuffed Pita with Cannellini Dip
Dinner: Baby Greens w/ Supreme Pizza

What We Actually Ate:
Breakfast: I skipped it - Sunday mornings are just too chaotic for breakfast. I think the kids had cereal
Lunch: Spiral Diner
Dinner: Brussel sprouts, roasted new potatoes, leftovers

My Thoughts:
Sundays are always a little rough food wise just because its a busy day. We almost always eat lunch out and then are so beat when dinner rolls around it's usually something low key like leftovers or take out.

We ate lunch at Spiral Diner. It's an organic vegan restaurant on Magnolia. I've had food from there before but only as take out. This was my first time actually dining in. It was BUSY! We waited about 30 minutes for our table and were all STARVING by the time we were seated. Graham & I had the all-you-can-eat pancakes. These were SO good! Chelsea had a yummy chef salad with grilled tofu, (which she says actually tasted like chicken- I wasn't fooled but it wasn't bad) lots of veggies and a tasty homemade 'ranch' dressing. Kenzie had scrambled tofu with a side of toast and jelly. The tofu was seasoned really well. I was on tofu burn-out since our 'eatloaf the other night or I might have liked it more. Silas shared some of our pancakes and part of Izzie's grilled 'cheese'. Everyone else had a bite of her sandwich when it was nice and hot and loved it. I got my bite after it had cooled to room temp and it was a little gross. I didn't like the cheese on Chelsea's salad either. I guess I just love the real stuff too much. The girls at the table next to us had some nachos that looked really good. May have to try those next time.

Sitting there made me remember how much I love the idea of living in a neighborhood where you can just walk down the street to a neighborhood eatery which made me miss Chicago. I loved the "Granola". I'm typically a t-shirt and jeans girl myself and I love the laid-back attitude of the folks in the place... A nice slow down to the stressful pace of life... Then our waiter came over and seemed uber spaced out and several people wreaked of Patchouli, which I'm not a fan of, and I remember why I'm not that way - I like regular showers and I get extremely annoyed by those who indulge in pot smoking. You know what I'm talking about. I wanted to smack the waiter and say "Helloooooo, let's focus here." When he was taking our order it seemed like he was writing a million things down. No. Just writing REALLY SLOW.

Avoca was right across the street. A fantastic coffee shop with the roasters in house. I know, I know, but it's not cheating. Four Star serves Avoca coffee and Garold, one of the Avoca owners, is a former co-worker. Plus they are opened on nights and weekends so I don't feel ashamed for the plug. This coffee thing is really starting to get me down. I think my mom pegged it when she said it's about the experience. Sitting down with a hot cup and taking a moment to enjoy yourself. Graham was sweet and bought me some coconut milk to try. It was tasty but it just isn't as creamy. I NEED CREAM! This morning I tried a dollop of some chocolate syrup I made for our strawberries for dessert in an attempt to make it a mocha but it just didn't cut it.

Dinner was lame and unexciting. Just cleaning out the fridge, but the potatoes were pretty good.

I decided that this week I will shop for three days at a time. Last week I did a big shopping trip at the beginning of the week with a smaller trip mid-week and ended up with some things in excess and some things that just went bad before we used them because of the changes to the menu. I bought some organic grapes and had them in the fruit drawer with a million other things and kind of forgot about them. Only two days after I bought them I had to throw out the whole bunch :( I also have an extra package of hamburger buns and wraps that I have no idea what I was supposed to use them for. Hopefully this approach will prevent any waste, especially since we're going through our grocery budget pretty quickly.

E2 - 28 Day Challenge - Day 3

On The Menu:
Breakfast: Simple Cereal
Lunch: Open Face sandwich w/ Hummus
Dinner: Stir Fry w/ Brown Rice

What We Actually Ate:
Breakfast: Simple Cereal
Lunch: Veggie Sandwiches - we were out of hummus so we just piled veggies on WW sandwich bread. Kenzie & I sprinkled some raspberry vinegar on ours. Very tasty.
Dinner: Stir Fry veggies and Brown Rice

My Thoughts: Today we actually stuck to the menu better than we had. I don't really have a lot to share except I'm beginning a love/hate relationship with my coffee. I LOVE my morning cup(s) o' joe and since little Rhys arrived I've also been indulging in another cup in the evening. I like something sweet (honey, agave, sugar, doesn't matter) and something 'creamy' in my coffee. A lot of times I'll heat up the milk and froth it to make a latte. I attempted this with the almond milk and it just seemed to intensify the almond taste with I didn't really enjoy in my coffee. I checked out -in passing- the 'non-dairy' creamers at Target. Every single one, liquid & powder, contained sodium caseinate, which is a milk derivative, one of the main things I'm trying to avoid. How in the world can it be called non-dairy when it contains something that comes from milk ?!?!? So I'm now on a hunt for something for my coffee. I skipped my evening cup last night and woke up in the middle of the night with a headache. I may try coconut milk. I might like the taste of that better.

Several people have been asking a myriad of questions. I'm putting together a post answering all of them. If you have a question please feel free to ask. I'd love to include them.

Four Star

Have you ever had a favorite place? One that felt like a home away from home? You knew when you walked in the door that it would never let you down? For me this place was Four Star Coffee Bar. I remember the first time I heard about it. I was fifteen and this was back in the day when there wasn't a Starbucks on every corner. I come from a long line of coffee drinkers so I was intrigued at the idea of a coffee shop but what sold me on a maiden trip was a rumor that a guy who played on the latest album of my favorite band (not local, mind you) was working behind the bar.

It was large but felt homey. Every table in the joint was hand painted by a different local artist bearing 'Dear John' letters and card games in progress. It had a reading room full of plush worn seats and an eclectic collection of books that always called my name. A large coffee roaster that sat in the back corner. If you came in on the right day (or wrong day) you would be met at the door by a plume of smoke as someone sat by that roaster creating an oh-so-tasty bean. A shelf of board games and a wall of glass jars filled with tea leaves and coffee beans. One of my favorite pieces was mounted on the wall behind the bar. A dark cherry case of shelves that housed the coffee mugs of the regulars and now hangs mounted in my kitchen holding my collection.

The food was delicious and the coffee even better. I loved when my friend Michelle and I became regulars on Wednesday nights and the barista Brett (or would it be baristo since he was male?) would have our drinks ready before we even made it up to the counter. So many nights were spent there doing homework, playing cards, or just enjoying a chat over an italian soda. I applied for a job there when I was 16 or 17 but didn't get an interview. Guess I wasn't the right kind of tree*. When I was 21 and in need of a second job Four Star seemed like a perfect fit. I could work on weekends and it was close to my current abode. I called and got an interview with a guy named Graham who was the current manager (& who sounded very cute on the phone). When I arrived later that afternoon I was surprised to see a girl that I'd hung out with in middle school come out of the kitchen and introduce herself as the owner. I knew Bonnie, the original owner, had sold it but didn't know to whom. They were getting some last minute things together for Graham's brother's wedding so my interview was rushed but I got the job.

I spent many Friday and Saturday nights behind the bar that summer, meeting all kinds of interesting people. The 'westsiders', the recovering alcoholics who'd traded one bar stool for another, the smarmy old men who'd make inappropriate jokes when I was in earshot, and the regular groups from nearby churches. I remember thinking I could work here forever - though the pay wouldn't buy my dream house, I really enjoyed the work, and the regulars (most of them anyway). There's so much more I could tell you about that summer but that's for another day.

A week ago my dad and my husband (that hottie Graham I mentioned before :) ) became the owners of Four Star. It has since moved downtown and the concept has become a little more food focused. The regulars are now XTO employees and other downtown workers. They close at 3 and there's no live music on the weekends, in fact they aren't even open on weekends typically. It's a different place with a different feel but it's ours. It's something Graham and I have talked about for ages but the timing was never right. And for whatever reason, this time, God saw fit to let us have this blessing. It's had it's hiccups for sure but the road that lies ahead is nothing short of exciting. The first week was SUPER crazy with a huge convention in town. Dad took off work and helped out everyday, worked like a dog. I came in to help a few days and ended the week with swollen ankles, but happy.

It makes me a little sad to know the original place I fell in love with will probably never exist again, (and increased by the fact that I couldn't find a picture of the old location's interior online - Isn't this the digital age?) but who knew way back when what this little coffee shop would become for me, for us. I'm a very blessed girl.



*This was one of the first job applications I ever filled out and for sure the first one that asked me what kind of tree I would consider myself.