On This Day

I haven't posted in quite a while.  Life has taken over, we have been busier than busy and I just haven't taken the time to stop and write anything. I will get back to regular blogging soon.  But I feel like I can't let today go by without some sort of acknowledgement of a day such as this.

As we all know, today is September 11. Every year on this date we all are taken back to where we were, what we were doing.   On Sept. 11, 2001 I had already graduated from college. I remember my drive to work that day - I remember thinking to myself  "what a perfect Fall day!"  The sky was a gorgeous shade of blue, the sun was brilliant. There wasn't a cloud to be seen.  The temperature was just starting to get Fall like- it wasn't cold but it was cool, and the air was crisp and clean.   I clearly remember that.  Because just a short while later the perfection of that day was about to be shattered.  At the time I worked at a small country preschool in a cute little country church complete with a steeple and white picket fence. That day was my day to take my little ones to the Art Room and I was excited about it- my little ones loved going to the Art Room.  Our project was making stars and moons out of construction paper, glitter, and Popsicle sticks. I had just gotten the kids set up with their materials when my boss came in and told me my fiance David was on the phone.  David never called me at work, so I immediately panicked.  He sounded shaken and asked if we had seen any news.  Of course we had not- we had no cable TV at the school.  He was watching the news and said that two planes had hit the World Trade Center in New York. While we were on the phone the Pentagon was hit.  It was at that moment we both realized what was going on. David does not scare easily so his fear shook me to the core. During the phone call my boss was sitting next to me and asked David to keep us informed throughout the day.  The rest of the day at work is a blur.  We had to pretend that all was well and make it a normal day for kids. We also had a radio going to so we could keep up with the news reports.

I didn't see any images or pictures from the day until I got home that evening. We had listened to the radio at work so I knew what happened but I had yet to see any of it. David was waiting for me at my house and already had the news on.  The images- I will never ever forget those.  Tears- I remember crying buckets of tears for the victims, for my country, out of fear. Along with the fear I felt immense pride for my country. I also felt anger- a sickening hatred towards those that had done this.

Now, 11 years later I have 3 children of my own.  The oldest has seen some news footage and some of the magazines and newspapers I saved from that day.  She has asked about those pictures and what happened.  It's so hard to explain it to a child.  How to do you explain that some people hate our country enough to want to attack it and  hurt innocent people?  How do you explain that the world can be a big scary place? The Historian in me will find a way to explain it, but for now I tell her it was a sad terrible day.

On this day I don't turn on the TV. I have watched all the news footage and documentaries. I don't need to see the images again- they are burned into my memory.  I don't want my girls to see it either. I am not ignoring it, I just feel they are too young to understand.  On this day I watch the clock all morning and note the times. I pray. I think about someone I know who lost a parent on that terrible day at the Pentagon and I say a prayer for her.  I pray my children will never have to go through something like that.  I pray for a time when there is no more hatred and fear.

 On this day I give my husband an extra kiss on his way out the door and tell him I love him a couple more times.  I hug my daughters tighter.  On this day I hope that what happened on that terrible day never happens again.

Do you remember where you were on that September day?

Granola

One of our favorite breakfast cereals is granola.  But finding inexpensive dairy free granola can be a challenge.  I have found that if I want granola with no dairy I have to buy the expensive organic brands in the tiny boxes.  It seems to be a bit of a waste of money to me when I can easily make my own.  I have made it several times, but I tried this recipe recently and wanted to share it with you all.


                                    Easy Granola*

• 2 teaspooons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 3 Tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups whole oats ( I like the Trader Joes Brand)
• 1/2 cup Rice Twice cereal ( or other crisped rice)
• 1/4 cup flax seeds or flax seed meal
• 1/2 cup chopped almonds
• 1 cup dried cranberries ( I used the orange flavored ones from Trader Joes)

If you look real close at the TV you will see the severe weather alert crawling across the screen.  We had some wild storms roll in while I was putting this together. 

First things first, preheat your oven to 300F.  While the oven is heating, mix together your spices.  In a medium bowl whisk together the cinnamon, ginger, salt, honey, oil, maple syrup, water, and vanilla.

Add in all your dry ingredients and coat evenly.  Spread on a baking sheet.  You can line the baking sheet with parchment paper, but I didn't have any on hand.  We are trying to lower our waste so I stopped buying things like that and am finding alternatives.  I used just a small amount of cooking spray on my pan and spread it evenly with my (clean) fingers to lightly grease the entire sheet. 

Bake until the granola is dry and crisp, but do not let it  brown.  It took about 35-40 minutes for mine to finish up.  You can stir it a couple times as well. 

Once cooled completely, store in an airtight container.  I use Ball Jars- they work perfectly!  This amount filled 1 large jar and 1 small jar.  You could easily double it.  

I adapted the recipe from the original to suit our tastes.  I omitted the pecans and added almonds, used flax seed meal instead of whole flax seed, and added in some dried cranberries. 

*Adapted from Melissa d'Arabian and Ten Dollar Dinners

Foodie Pen Pal Reveal

It's that time again- Time for my Foodie Pen Pal Reveal!  

This month I was paired up with two readers. My Pen Pal was Shannon and she sent me package filled with awesome dairy free goodies.

My first glimpse into my goodie box.

I am not quite sure how she fit all of this into that small box!

The first thing I did was read the very sweet card she included. My mom always taught me that whenever you get a gift, you always read the card first.:-)  Shannon herself is not dairy free, but she was so sweet and made sure to read all the labels and make sure that everything in the box was.  

These chips were my favorite items.  I am a huge chip fanatic- I'll take salty over sweet any day. The PopCorners Chips were so good!  I have been wanting to try them for some time, but just never picked up a bag.  They are easily my new favorite snack food!  The Pita Chips were also very good- they tasted like the fried won-tons you get in Asian restaurants.  I did share this bag with my husband since he loves pita chips.  (I did not share very many of the PopCorners though). 

       

Quinoa is easily one of my favorite grains so I was thrilled to get a brand new box of it!  It's still unopened but I have some plans for it once we get home from vacation.

I always love to try a new tea, and Shannon sent me 3 to try. I had the Tazo Rest tea one evening after dinner when I was not feeling so great (allergy season has been tough on me this year).  It tastes similar to Chamomile to me.  It is a very relaxing tea- perfect before bed or if you have the sniffles. The Cold Brew tea is being packed for the beach so I can make myself a couple glasses of iced tea while we are there.   The Yogi Perfect Energy tea I am saving for those afternoons when I need a pick me up.  (I'm a bit of a food hoarder, I like to save and savor things like this).

                                  

I had never had one of these bars before, and I tried it just the other day.  It's a very sweet, nutty bar with a coconut flavor.  I reminded me of eating a candy bar, but without the chocolate.  Very sweet, and a great snack to have in my purse. 

I have been saving this specifically for vacation.  I didn't want to open it before we left and have it go to waste, so I have wrapped it up and we are taking it with us.  I love key lime, and so does my husband.  I am thinking this will be perfect in the morning on a bagel or toast while we sit on the deck and sip our coffee.  And I wanted to be sure to share it with our friends.

So there you have it- this month's Foodie Pen Pal box.  Thank you so much Shannon for all the wonderful goodies you sent!  And for taking the time make sure each item was dairy free!  

Are you interested in participating in the Foodie Pen Pals Program?


-On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!
-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.
-Foodie Penplas is open to US & Canadian residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We've determined things might get too slow and backed up if we're trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa.


If you’re interested in participating for July, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.


You must submit your information by July 4th as pairings will be emailed on July 5th!

Product Review: Attune Foods Erewhon Cereal

Not too long ago I was offered the opportunity to try Attunes line of Erewhon cereal.  Their cereals are organic and made in nut free and dairy free facilities.  Both of the cereals we tried are also gluten free.   

I have never been a huge breakfast eater, especially as a kid.   My kids, on the other hand, LOVE breakfast and especially cereal.   The minute their feet hit the floor in the morning they are looking for breakfast.  One of the challenges is finding cereal they will like that is still healthy.  So far we have been pretty successful at keeping the junk cereals out of the house but they get tired of the same old thing. So we are always on the hunt for something new, tasty, and healthy.  They were just as excited as I was when our box of cereal arrived in the mail.  We got to try the Rice Twice and the Strawberry Crisp. 

Even though I have never been a huge fan of cereal, as I have gotten older I have found that there are a few types that I  really like. I have pretty high standards and won't eat just anything. Actually, I am super picky about cereal.  I don't like super sugary cereals, or ones that get soggy quickly. I want my cereal to be healthy, but to not taste like cardboard. See?  High standards.  

The first box opened the morning after it arrived was the Strawberry Crisp.

I was especially excited about this one because it is similar to an old favorite of mine that happens to contain dairy. (Why would corn flakes with strawberries contain dairy anyway??  That doesn't make sense to me.  But I digress...)
 My Middle One was the first to dig in to her bowl and she gave it Two Thumbs Up.  That's our rating system for food, by the way.  If something gets two thumbs, it's really good!

 We also tried the Rice Twice cereal.  We gave that one to the Littlest One.

This still sleepy little monkey also loved her bowl of cereal.

Of course I had to give it a try too, so I had a bowl of the Strawberry Crisp with  almond milk.  It was so much better than my old favorite!  The flakes stay crispier, and there are a ton of the strawberries. I seldom finish a bowl of cereal, but I certainly finished this one.  Sadly, I have already eaten the entire box.  I am still on the hunt for it at my local grocery store but have not had much luck.  As soon as I find it I will be stocking up!

 I have been wanting to make a batch of homemade granola and I had found a recipe that called for crisp rice cereal as part of the ingredients. I will be sharing that recipe soon, but I will tell you that this worked perfectly!

I will also be using the Rice Twice to make those marshmallow treats for the kids from now on. 

As a Mom, I am thrilled to find a wholesome, great tasting cereal that my kids love.  As a dairy free consumer, I am so glad there is a company out there that is catering to the needs of those with food intolerances.
For more information visit the Attunefoods website.