Recipe Friday: Coconut Rice

In honor of Family Fun Night last night, which was at the kids' school and had a Hawaiian theme, today's recipe is Coconut Rice, from The Bride And Groom: First and Forever Cookbook.  I love it and so did Olivia.  Ellie gave it a thumbs up, but didn't eat a ton.  Evan's not a huge fan, but he doesn't really like sweets too much either, so I don't really hold his opinion too highly.  Anyone that says, "No thanks."  when offered dessert can't be trusted.

Warm Paws

I was at the library today, being green and borrowing books an DVDs instead of buying them.  While I was there a poster caught my eye and I thought it would be something good to share.  I'm a dog person.  This is a well established fact.  So when I see that my neighbors have a dog tied outside ALL THE TIME.  It concerns me.  And the kids.  Every time we walk by that house on our nightly walk they ask about the dog.  They can't seem to wrap their minds around keeping the dog outside.  I noticed yesterday that our neighbors have made a shoddy lean-to for the dog--not going to do much good as the  weather gets colder.  So when I saw this flyer, it made me think about my poor neighbor dog.  It's a program called Warm Paws Dog House Building.

Kale Chips: A Big Win!

Monday was Vegetable Day for Vince's preschool, where every child brings in a veggie to share.  I knew that there would be carrots, celery, bell peppers, all the "normal" veggies. I thought I'd send in some Kale chips for the kids to try.  So out to the garden I went, cut a few leaves of kale, rinsed them, tore them into bite sized pieces, put them on a baking sheet, sprayed with olive oil and sprinkled on some Seasoned Salt.  I baked them fro about 7 minutes at 350 and poof!  Veggie Day taken care of for Vince, and bonus lunch veggie to pack for Ellie.  I told you I've been giving my friend Stacy tastes of the healthy, vegetarian foods I cook as a "Fear Factor" kind of taste test.  Since I was sending some for Ellie, I sent her a quick text to let her know to try them.  And what do you know?!?!  Not only did they go over pretty well in preschool (so I heard) but I got a text back from Stacy that they were yummy.  YUMMY!  Not "ok", "or "edible" or "not entirely disgusting".  YUMMY.  So, since they were such a hit yesterday, I thought I'd blog, yet again, about how great kale is for you.  I have it growing outside and I go on kicks where I eat a ton of it.  I always feel great, but then I slowly stop and go awhile without my daily kale.  So this is a way to remind myself how important eating this leafy green is.  It's truly a "super food."

The Scary Seven

You've heard of the Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen.  Now there's the Scary Seven.  And just in time for Halloween!  I got an email from Healthy Child Healthy World about seven ingredients to watch out for as you're shopping.  It was in relation to school lunches, but these guys are in EVERYTHING.  You can go to the website for an elaborated description of each, but here's the basic list.

Recipe Friday: Baked Vegetable Rice

I blogged this recipe in July 2011, but after I made if for dinner last night and watched Vince eat all of his, then scavenge what was left off of everyone else's plate I thought it was worth a repost.  I've taken it quite a few times to pot lucks and it generally goes over really well.  It's a great way to get rice and lentils as well as veggies and even greens--a great all in one meal.  Vince agrees.

Suddenly My Mums Don't Seem So Cool

My mom sent me this link yesterday.  I'm always blogging about my gardening, but this is AMAZING!    The link I'm posting is to her blog, but if you scroll down you can check out the pictures.  They're from The Montreal Mosiaculture Exhibition.  They're sculptures made out of plants.  Some of them are 20 feet tall!  All of them are amazing!

Green Halloween

I've blogged about this before, but since it's seasonal, I thought I'd mention it again.  It's the Green Halloween movement.  As you might think from the name, it's a movement to green the Halloween holiday.  From their website, here are some of their ideas to green your Halloween:

25 Green Halloween tips

Halloween is meant to be enjoyed, but somewhere in between ―planning‖ and ―cleanup,‖ many parents find themselves feeling overwhelmed. It might seem that attempting to consider the Earth while planning a great ghoulish party is just too much work and way too expensive. Some fear it might even zap the fun right out of the day. But creating an eco-savvy Halloween doesn‘t have to be scary, nor does it have to cost an arm and a leg when you follow these pointers: