hands of love #2...

You know how you go through lulls & don't want to cook? (cough cough-- those uh, "lulls" last quite a bit longer for some of us than others...) :) Well, this week for me was all about (relatively) fast & convenient as I just wasn't wanting to cook. (yet, I still need/want to provide lots of good nutrition to continue the good things we're seeing in Caroline's health...)

So prepared for you this week, sweet Caroline, with hands of love...


Quinoa ("keen-wah"... it's like a delicious rice, but more nutritious! You should try it!) with sauteed bell peppers, onions, & some spinach topped with some canned salmon. (just a tip: if you have to use canned meats, look for those that only have the ingredients you're actually looking for-- (novel idea, eh??) SALMON, salt & water, for example. Most of the cheaper ones have soybean oil in them. I had no idea before all of this, but studies are showing that soy is not all that healthy for us as we thought (especially for our kids) because it increases estrogen levels & can trigger early puberty in children. So unless you're an older woman who needs estrogen, think about limiting your soy. Look for canned fish WITHOUT the soybean oil. And in cooking, try substituting olive oil for "vegetable" oil (which is really soybean oil- look at the label) when you can.


A turkey kielbasa, lentil, & vegetable soup that I made a few weeks ago & froze individual servings in ziplock freezer bags to pull out & heat up in times like these! (that's our idea of "fast food" for Caroline these days...)


An easy & GREAT nutritious snack is to dip carrot sticks into a mashed up avocado! (you could doctor it up & turn it into guacamole if you have the time, but we just eat it plain for now.)

Oh, and by the way, if any of you feel you're spending WAY too much for groceries (like we are) & wondering which foods are the most important to buy organically (due to farmers' pesticides leaving residue on your food) & which ones you could save a little money on by buying the regular stuff, here's a little chart that you can print out to take with you to the grocery store.


This was a perfect summertime lunch for our family. Chicken over cucumber salad. (cut up cucumbers, tomato, red onion, feta cheese--- which we left out for Caroline--- tossed with olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, & oregano) Yummm...


And our fastest meal of the week? A gluten free, casein free, soy free, nitrate free, MSG free turkey hot dog (from Trader Joe's!!) & veggie chips! Woohoo!