Moroccan Chicken and Lentils

Lentils.  Hmmm.  Never had them before.  I think I may have them in my food storage, but I've never actually eaten them before.  I certainly don't know how to prepare them.  I've had my eye on this Moroccan Chicken and Lentil dish for a while.  Maybe I'll make that for Christmas Eve dinner.
Okay, just need to find lentils at the store.  Hopefully they're in the bulk.  Yep, they took a while to find but they have some.
Home now, let's get this dinner started.  Uh oh, the recipe is calling for one pound of lentils and I'm not sure how many I bought.  I just put a few scoops in a bag.  Somehow I have to find out how much is one pound.  ::putting some in a bag, running upstairs, and placing them on the bathroom scale::  Darn, they're not even registering.  Next idea.  Stand on the scale, weigh myself with and without the lentils.  Um, I'm not sure how accurate this is.  It says there is a 2 pound difference.  Calling up neighbor-friend who once loaned me a candy thermometer.  Nope, calling a different neighbor-friend.  Score.  A little nervous since it's Christmas Eve, I hope she doesn't mind me barging in like this.  She's doesn't seem to be, oh good.

I'm so relieved the food scale allows me to figure out how much is one pound.  I probably should have soaked these lentils over night.  Oh well,  too late now.  I rinse them really well.  Then I add them to some boiling water and let them simmer for 25 minutes until soft.  I rinse in cold water and drain.

Then I get busy on the dressing.  I mix together olive oil, red wine vinegar, ground cumin, chili powder, and minced garlic.  I pour half of this over the lentils and let them cool.  It's so strange that the lentils are served cool instead of warm.  Huh.

Next I saute the onion until it's dark brown and soft.  I add some thinly sliced organic chicken breast (I will never go back to inorganic chicken breast after seeing Food Inc) and add cumin, chili powder, and cinnamon.  I know the husband isn't a fan of cinnamon in his dinner.  Hope he doesn't notice.

I find a Christmas platter and place the lentils on it.  The chicken and onions and the rest of the sauce go on top.  Oh, I almost forgot.  I need to chop up some parsley.  I quickly pick off some parsley, wash it, and throw it in my I-don't-know-what-I'd-do-without-you chopper.  The parsley gets sprinkled on top and voila dinner is served.  Although now I'm thinking cilantro would have tasted much better on top.  Oh well, next time.

Boost your immunity by eating clean

Last year the kids were sick the entire winter.  I even charted it on my calendar.  One week one kid was sick.  The next week the next kid was sick.  The next week the other kid got sick.  Then it repeated.  The first kid got sick again.  Then the next kid.  And I'm not kidding it went on and on like this all year.   When I asked the pediatrician about it she told me it was normal for kids to have 8 to 12 colds per year.

I don't know about you, but when my kids get sick, it stresses me out.  I always worry way too much and I'm so empathic that it's difficult for me to feel okay inside when they do not.  In the past I would blame myself and feel helpless because I didn't know what to do differently.  I kept them away from sick people, tried to disinfect the house and keep it clean, fed them the usual Standard American Diet, washed the bedding in hot, changed their toothbrushes often, had them vaccinated against the flu, ran the humidifier at night, gave them Motrin for their fevers, and had them stay home and rest when they were sick.  Other than that I didn't know what more to do.

But I've learned a few things.  Here's the difference between last year and this year.  First of all, no flu vaccine.  It's far more important to boost immunity than vaccinate.  Since we started eating clean in June I've already built up their immunity in preparation for the winter.   Each day they take liquid multivitamins, flax oil, and probiotics.  They eat clean for the most part.  (I say more part because they are allowed to eat whatever they want outside of our house be it at school or grandma's or a friend's house). When they do get sick I give them large doses of vitamin C throughout the day and make sure they get a lot of water and rest. 


This year we have been sick once.  I have a cold right now, my youngest daughter has a cold, and my oldest daughter is getting a cold.  But none of us have had to miss any school and we've had no fevers.  Thankfully it's been a completely different experience than what we went through last winter. 

Ten unexpected benefits of eating clean

1.  No more McDonald's smell emanating from our mini van.

2.  No more feeling like an addict walkin' around with a diet coke in my hand or sneaking out to the fridge in the garage to get my fix.

3.  No more smashed-up fish crackers in the carpet.

4.  No more mess.  No diet coke cans, fruit snack wrappers, Hershey kiss wrappers, candy bar wrappers, small potato chip bags, fruit by the foot wrappers, juice boxes, and Capri suns.  Besides the occasional banana or orange peel, we are mess free.

5.  Fewer colds and flus.  Quicker recovery times.  Less stress over worrying about sick kids and less trips to the doctor.

6.  No more mommy guilt.

7.  No more thinking we are going to die if we don't stop for fast food.

8.  Treats are now just that---treats.

9.  No more napping.  We are doing more and napping less.

10.  No more B.I.F.   (aka butt in front)

Just say yes

Whenever I take my three year old daughter to the store, she always points to things and says, "Can I have that on my birthday?"
"Yes! You can have that on your birthday," I reply.

She knows that we don't have food like that at our house unless it's someone's birthday.  This simple lifestyle change has really improved my grocery shopping experience with my kids.  No more being pestered for junk food.  No more giving in.  And no more junk food in the cart!

The best part is I get to answer "yes" to what she's asking me and that makes us both happy.

Squash and Flax Soup

I made Squash and Flax soup the other night.  After we were done eating I noticed that I left the flax in the strainer on the counter.  Oops.  I forgot to add one of the main ingredients.