Project Feed Me – The Clean Eating Mama

breakfast, dinner, jordan, lunch, oatmeal, Project Feed Me

LAZY

December 12, 2009 CleanEatingMama

LOL – there is no any way else to put it. I don;t want to type, my eyes hurt just looking at the screen and I want to go lay on the couch.

BUT I did get tofu last night =)

Veggies and tofu – YUM! I CHOWED down!

Breakfast was oats – comfort food to the max!

Lunch was grilled cheese with tomato soup. I even put 2 HUGE basil leaves in my sammy! =)

Melty, and warm, and ooey, and gooey…

ANd then I took pictures of my food stash for NoNo2YoYo and her Project Feed Me.

This was only half of my stash as I donated the other half to a food drive in November.

Sorry folks – that’s all I have. Hopefully I can get out of this funk!

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So I want to start writing more article based posts – like FYI’s, my opinions and general facts. What would you like to read about or what topics interest you? Do you have any unanswered questions that you would like more knowledge on? I LOVE doing research – weird I know – and I thought I would see what my readers are thinking about! =)

chocolate, groceries, magazine, Project Feed Me

PEACE – A new day!

December 4, 2009 CleanEatingMama

Hi!

I promise that I will be in a better mind set than I was yesterday. I had a good night sleep and woke up feeling more positive! =) And thanks everyone for the kind comments – it really does help! LOVE YOU!!!

So I am drinking my coffee out of my “peace” coffee cup with some mint chocolate cocoa powder. Mmmm… I thought it was appropriate.

But I found this disappointing – I opened the package with it being only half full. Boo. I hate when packaging companies do this; make the package look big but the contents small.

Yesterday J and I did a little shopping! :Ahem: For groceries 😉

Just some staples: almond milk, J’s milk, honey, tofu, some fruit, kobacha!, yougurt, granola, soup… I also picked up some miso since I have a lot of recipes that call for it that I want to try.

I also picked up some food specifically for PFM as I have been slacking the past few weeks.

We also went to World Market. Marc had mentioned that he wanted to do Chanukah this year and I saw that they had menorah’s the last time I went shopping. I was so excited that he had said this! We have never done Chanukah before – I am in the process of gathering some authentic Jewish recipes to make. I already make a good matzo ball soup but there are so many other dishes to make!

I also picked up these yummy items:

The Hello Kitty snacks are for Marc’s stocking (shhhh), I have always wanted to try Tabouli, we were out of Cholula, I needed some tumeric, chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate (the Lindt sea salt dark chocolate is DEVINE! LOVE the combo!) and some veggie tortilla chips.

I love World Market!

I munched on some Pumpkin Pie yogurt and granola while J ate his dinner:

The taste was AWESOME but I am so used to greek yogurt that I didn’t enjoy the thinness of it. BUT it was still goodness in a bowl!

And then when I was feeling down I sucked it up, grabbed a few clementines and snuggled on the couch with my new reading material.

Oh, and I found Mr. Penguin hiding under the blankets – peek-a-boo!

I hope everyone has a great Friday! And thanks again for all the kind words of support! =)

Project Feed Me

Stuff the Truck – feed the hungry!

November 19, 2009 CleanEatingMama

I decided today was a great day to donate my canned food items for Project Feed Me.

Last year, Brenden Foster’s story came on the local news and captivated me from the start. He was an average 11 year old boy, living anything shy an average life. He was suffering leukemia. And all he wanted was for hungry people to have a nice, warm meal. He lost his battle with leukemia in December of 2008 but his presence and message are still alive and growing!

"It happens. It’s natural," he said. "I had a great time. And until my time comes, I’m going to keep having a great time." Brenden just had one dying wish: feed the homeless. "They’re probably starving, so give’em a chance," he said, "food and water." – KOMO 4 News

Isn’t that amazing! So brave, so kind, so unselfish – it makes me tear up!

Last year and this year some of the local Fred Meyer’s hosted the Stuff the Truck drive. It has been all over the news, so J and I bundled up, grabbed my bag of collected food items and helped Brenden’s last wish come true – to feed the homeless.

This year the drive was able to over 46$ thousand dollars and 55,000 pounds of food! It’s amazing the kind of power we all can bring if we just work together and help out.

We love you, Brenden and hope your wish will continue to help those in need for years to come!

Project Feed Me

Everything must come to an end

November 16, 2009 CleanEatingMama

Hey everyone!

Wow – I have been away for almost a week! We FINALLY got our lap top back from the shop; virus free! Some of you may have noticed I was making a few comments and a few short post’s. We have a very old spare that we keep for those “just in case” moments. It doesn’t have wireless and it needs to stay plugged in all of the time – lol. Needless to say I wasn’t about to upload pictures or make any new files; so I just relaxed!

Well, sort of.

It actually was very nice not to have a computer for once. We really are WAY to dependent on our technology. Marc and I both realized that while computers make life easier, they do create distractions. I read a lot, taught J to say DOG, and did some reflecting of my own. I didn’t take any pictures of my eats as I am sure you don’t want to see the bazillion things I consumed. I did make a new recipe for cookies that I am excited to show you, though.

How have you all been? Anything fun or exciting happen?

Since today is Monday, it is week 6 of NoNo2YoYo’s Project Feed Me. This week: beans!

Have you signed up for this Project, yet? Your community needs you more than ever right now. The weather shows no mercy on homeless and unfortunate families right now. Do some heart felt good and donate today!

I think I will be calling it good for now. I have some great post ideas that I will be writing over the next few weeks. Since I am back online, I have A LOT of catching up to do!

The Clean Eating Mama will be back up and running tomorrow! 🙂

Project Feed Me, volunteer

Food for thought

November 9, 2009 CleanEatingMama

It’s Monday! How has your morning been?

I love Monday’s because I always wake up to a new update from Natalie at nono2yoyo and her Project Feed Me. Have you checked it out yet? We are already on week 5! I can’t believe how fast it has gone by!

Here is a picture of my stash!

I have been following her suggestions for the most part but I am always grabbing things out of my own pantry if they haven’t been used in a while – still good, of course. This weeks suggestion was peanut butter… I have a jar of almond butter back there! And I will probably grab another one while I am running errands today.

Natalie also has a great give away on her blog today! Check it out!

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Will you be doing anything soon to help out families in need? Now that the Holiday’s are upon us this might be a good time for you to volunteer or donate. While money may be tight, sparing a few hours of your day is a wonderful way to show that you care! Your time and energy will not be forgotten or un recognized!

I feel it is very important to give back. When J get’s a little older, we want to teach him the importance of helping and caring; and to show him just how lucky and fortunate he really is. Kids these days get way to wrapped up in monetary items, whining and throwing fits if they don’t get their way. It’s the parents job to instill the moral values that have gotten lost over the years of cell phones, computers, iPods and game systems.

Need some help finding help near you? Here are some links that will put you in the right direction:

http://feedingamerica.org/foodbank-results.aspx

http://www.redcross.org/en/volunteertime

http://www1.networkforgood.org/for-donors/volunteer

Or just Google “volunteer” in your area. It’s amazing how far your time and effort will go!

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I am off to go meet some girls from a local pregnancy and parent board at a fun kids play place. Should be fun!

breakfast, jordan, lunch, mommy series, Project Feed Me

:Ring: :Ring: – Could someone answer?

November 3, 2009 CleanEatingMama

Happy Monday, everyone! How was it? I am still feeling under the weather. I woke up with a terrible headache and agitated from the start – not a good way to wake up and start the day. I wanted to curl back up in bed, covered with blankets, and sleep the entire day away.

This is one of the pleasures I miss: calling in sick. As a stay at home mom, THERE ARE NO SICK DAYS. 😦 No calling in late, no leaving early, no half days or taking an extended lunch. At times I miss the freedom… YES I am referring to work as FREEDOM. Crazy! BUT being a stay at home mom was a dream of mine from the day I gave birth. I hated the thought of having someone else raise my son. I wanted to be there to witness his firsts and to be a part of his life 100% in the early years. I know that I am VERY FORTUNATE to have this opportunity. There are hundreds, thousands, MILLIONS of families out there that are struggling to make ends meet with both partners working, only finding out that they are next to be laid off. But being a stay at home mom has bee the hardest job I have ever worked.

It has made me incredibly strong, both mentally and physically but I do have my breaking points… quite a few of them, actually. I am still trying to find a healthy balance between being a mom, a wife and myself. And this is the order that I live my life in: mother, wife and myself. I often find that I hold back on aspects of my life that make “me”, me. I try to focus of those qualities but to be honest, I don’t get to – not even on a daily basis. That’s why I try to get in as much “me” time as I can. Going to the gym helps me quite a bit. Not only does it add exercise to my life, but I can get lost in the music of my Ipod and veg out. I also take time to read a good book – this helps my mind take a break from thinking about life in general and paint pictures of the words I am reading.

And this blog, too. I have always been a writer and have had quite a few blogs in my past, ranging from crafts, personal, my baby blog and now this. It is a wonderful outlet for me to reflect and get lost for a few minutes, or hours, at a time. This blog has also helped me not worry and over-think in my daily life. When I am at home I think, over analyze and become obsessed about the inevitable. It was driving me insane so I knew I had to either find a second job or a hobby that I could do around Jordan – tada! The Clean Eating Mama was created!

What do you do for you? Is it important for you to find time everyday to reflect and de-clutter yourself?

Geez, I had no idea I was going to go off on a tangent like that! I guess I was having one of those moments that I was needing to get lost in my own words and reflect. 🙂

So let’s get back on track: today I started with a nice cup of coffee and some dry Puffins!

And some trail mix… I wasn’t really in the mood to eat anything so I just snacked.

We were having the carpets cleaned at 10 so I was more worried about Jordan and his schedule than mine.

Luckily, he took a nap during the entire time they were here, waking up about 10 minutes after they left. I fixed us some lunch – he had a banana, apple pieces and a waffle, and I had a bowl of Tuscan bean soup, Kashi TLC crackers and a mini brie cheese.

Unfortunately I wasn’t;t feeling any better from the morning and I only ate a third of my soup, a few dabs of cheese and the remainder of my crackers.

The carpets were still pretty wet so Jordan and I loaded up in the car and headed to Trader Joes. I found a new location only about 15 minutes from my house! YAY! I just love Trader Joes! Look at all of this!

Pancake mix, mineral water, a new Larabar flavor, banana’s, cous cous, Dill, walnuts, Zbar’s…

Pomegranate white tea, almond butter, more banana’s, artichoke hearts, pasta sauce, alphabet pasta (for Jordan) 🙂

And these tortilla chips!

Which I snacked on 😉

I also picked up my items for No No 2 Yo Yo’s Project Feed me. This week was Meal in a Box. (Have you singed up for this yet? If not, please do!)

After Trader Joe’s we stopped by to say hi to Marc and my dad who was working on Marc’s grandparents condo. My dad had been staying with us the past few nights – it was great to see him! I don’t get to see him that often. He LOVES his Grandson to pieces!

After putting the groceries away I was really excited to try my tea so I made a nice, hot mug of it – unfortunately my throat was hurting and this was the main reason I was drinking it 😦

It was really tasty! LOADED with antioxidants, I hope it will kick the bug right out of me! Hopefully…

Dinner was left over stew that I had made Saturday night for everyone.I took a few pictures of it but it kind of looked like… a big pile of… yuckiness. It was TASTY but not really eye friendly.

I am off to bed – think good and HEALTHY thoughts for me, guys! I really can’t afford to be sick any longer 😦

Good night!

dinner, give away, green monster, lunch, Project Feed Me

Putting my feet up

October 21, 2009May 9, 2013 CleanEatingMama

Good evening everyone!

This is one of my favorite pictures of us from his Birthday party! I love you, Jordan!

This is how I relaxed last night:

Um – yea, it’s a little contradicting but it was the prefect combo! I have a huge weakness for jelly bellies and when I saw them on the honor bar I snagged them! Then Marcus caught wind of my noshing and ate all the good ones – brat. 😉

I love this book, by the way. I have Michael Pollan’s other book, too, Omnivore’s Dilemma. After I finish this one I plan on picking it up. In Defense of Food is why I eat the way I do. For those that care about the food they eat, this is a MUST READ! I am planning on doing a book review after I finish – pick it up today!

I woke up not feeling that great – that time of the month PLUS too rich of a dinner. I didn’t even eat lunch until after 3! My stomach was bloated all day today and no appetite. I did my body some good, though, and made a nice, cold Green Monster.

Almond Milk
Spinach
Chocolate Amazing Grass
Frozen Blueberries
Frozen Strawberries
One Orange

It was definitely what I needed! I felt refreshed and energized. It’s strange when I can’t drink these everyday – it’s like I go through withdrawals!

A few hours later I ended up what was considered my dinner – Oikos yogurt (honey flavored), almond butter, granola and an apple.

This ALWAYS fills me up and is so satisfying. I can honestly say that this bowl of goodness is MY comfort food!

As I sit here yawning, I must say good night – see you tomorrow!

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Project Feed Me

For those of you that are following No No 2 Yo Yo’s Project Feed Me, this week she recommends Tuna! I was at the store today and I totally forgot to look before I headed out, but don’t fret! I will be sure to grab my canned food items! 😉

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Free stuff!

Here is a great give away for 100 calorie HEALTHY chips! AND a cute lunch bag! 😉

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birthday, house, jordan, product review, Project Feed Me

Happy (almost) Birthday, my son!

October 15, 2009May 9, 2013 CleanEatingMama

This time last year (11:09pm Pacific time) I was moaning on the couch. WITH CONTRACTIONS! I had been having contractions off and on for a few hours but the later it got, the harder why came. Little did I know that a few house later I would whisked away to the hospital by my night in shining armor, Marc, admitted and about to be a mom for the first time! Amazing how life changes in an instant!

More about that later… this week is nuts. First my birthday – it was amazing! Of course Marc spoiled me rotten, like always. After a nice relaxing morning with some surprises, my mom and I went out to a nice lunch at a Mongolian Grill. My kind of place!

At a Mongolian grill you take a bowl and load it up with any kind of veggie, noodle, meat and sauce you love.

Once your bowl is loaded and practically over flowing, they cook it on a big flat top right in front of you. I think it looks like a Bunsen burner from science class! lol

I got the works: green onions, broccoli, baby corn, spinach leaves, pineapple, carrots, water chestnuts, ginger, sesame oil, sesame seeds, peanuts, bok choy, and I am sure there is more! No meat, tough – just didn’t feel like it. I did get a side of terriyaki for a little dipping.

I DEVOURED it!

One of my favorite stores is World Market. They have a lot of imported furniture, funky colored decor, rare food items and an AMAZING wine selection! My mom had never been so to kill some time we went to check it out. If I was single and had my own place I would buy most, if not all, of my decor from this store! Big throw pillows, simple couches and chairs and did I mention WINE?!
I ended up eying some hot chocolate, green tea soap and a can of pumpkin – very random but it worked!

We had a lovely dinner! Marc cooked up some lobster tails, garlic-parm mashed potatoes, bbq tenderloin (rare for me) and I whipped up a caesar salad. It was amazing! The funny thing is is that I totally spaced and didn’t take a picture! Ooops!

After dinner I went to put the baby down and while I was doing that my mom and Marc were in the kitchen prepping my cake AND taking pictures for me! 🙂

Marc bought a pumpkin ice cream cake – HOLY YUM!

It had little shortbread cookies on the top and in the middle and the pumpkin ice cream was sooo addicting! I had a large piece, immediately following a trip upstairs to put on my sweats and a comfy sweatshirt! I was incredibly stuffed!

We wished my mom good by, cleaned up and relaxed on the couch. Marc had also surprised me with the new Alice in Chains CD and my mom gave me some new workout clothes, a pepper plant and some seeds for my garden next year!

Here is one of the jackets that Marc bought me:

It is so comfy and warm! He also bought me a black one but that one is better worn with dresses.
I had a blast – surrounded with the ones that I love! Thank you for those that made my Birthday special – I love you.

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In house news: Our wine cellar is completed!

From the very first day we were in our new house we thought about turning out back closet into a cellar. We have cases of wine that has been moved, shaken, drastic temperature changes… anything that you are NOT supposed to do to wine it happened. We found the wine rack through Williams Sonoma and my uncle did the transformation. The door was costumed made by a local company, too. It’s beautiful and we are so happy that our wine finally has a permanent and SAFE home!

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Project Feed Me – the first week.
This weeks theme was two can of chili. I have yet to go and pick up my cans but I did add these articles to my bag to donate.

I FINALLY organized our pantry and found these lonely jars. They are still good and we enjoy them, but I felt these were items that we could give up. It’s one thing to go buy items but to part with them once they are in your home is a different feeling; it’s a deeper, more giving feeling. I love any aspect to giving to those in need and encourage all of you that have not signed up to please do so!

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Product review – R.W. Knudsen Pomegranate juice
I know most of you have tried POM and loved it; including myself. Marc was on the hunt for a larger pomegranate juice bottle and I happened to spot one down low on a shelf.

It’s wonderful! A little strong in taste but it’s pure pomegranate juice which we all love. AND it’s actually less money, much less, than those cute bottles of POM. I definitely suggest you try to find this and try it!

Wow, it’s already after midnight and my eyes are getting heavy. Hopefully the weather will hold as we are hoping to go to a pumpkin farm for Jordan’s Birthday and pick our pumpkins for Halloween.
Hope everyone had a great day and don’t forget to sign up for my give away!

Project Feed Me

October 8, 2009May 9, 2013 CleanEatingMama

NoNo2YoYo has started a wonderful 9 week project called, Project Feed Me.
The goal?
Project Feed is a nine week program designed to help feed thousands of hungry Families.
It’s simple as that. She has a powerful back story that sheds light as to why she is so passionate about this project.
I just registered and it’s my goal to have 5 other individual’s register – please join me! If you read my blog and registered through my links, please leave a comment!
In this tough time where the unemployment rate is soaring higher and higher, please take the opportunity to help starving families in your area. We, including myself, get so caught up in the moment and often forget that we are very fortunate to have a roof over our heads and healthy foods to eat.