Green Potato Soup

I discovered, when the boys were younger, yet another way to get a large amount of raw greens into them, without a single complaint-- in fact, with shouts of joy!

I don't remember if it's something I stumbled upon myself or whether I saw a recipe for Green Potato soup, but it quickly became a favorite dinner.  A quick, inexpensive, delicious, healthy meal solution- and one that is VERY filling.

Recipe:

• Cut 8 to 10 new red potatoes into chunks and cook until soft.
• Pour out cook water.
• Fill blender up halfway with raw spinach.
• Add cooked potatoes to blender (save out a few if you want the soup to contain chunks of potato).
• Fill blender about 3/4 with water (can also use soy milk for creamier soup).
• Add garlic and sea salt or Bragg to taste.
• Blend and serve.
• Garnish with a few sprouts (optional).

School Lunches

I've learned something very interesting about kids-- I don't know if it's just my kids or if all kids are like this.  The boys don't require a lot of variety-- especially where their school lunches are concerned.  I send them basically the same lunch almost every day.

Matthew gets a salad that I make the night before when I'm making dinner.  His lunch also includes an apple and a container of "snackies" (mix of almonds, raisins, carob coated almonds- and any other little snacks we have in the house).

Taylor and Noah prefer fruit lunches- so they each get a fruit salad, dip (either tahini and agave or almond butter and agave), and a container of "snackies".

Occasionally I'll send them a sandwich- maybe 4 or 5 times a year.  Otherwise, it's some variation of the list above.

Matthew's Lunch:  the night before we had garbonzo beans.  I send a container of home-made dressing too.

Taylor and Noah's lunch:  I always add celery to their fruit salad so they are getting a green veggie for lunch.  Taylor likes coconut sprinkled on his fruit salad and I frequently toss a few raw pistachios.  Because fruit doesn't keep as well once it's cut up, I make their fruit salads in the morning before school.

I send a "dip" made from either tahini and agave (below) or raw almond butter and agave.

They all get a container of "snackies":

An apple or clementine (cutie) rounds out the lunch.

Home-made BBQ beans

Summer is getting close and along with that comes picnics and grill-outs.  A favorite dinner for the boys is salad and BBQ beans.  This healthier version of baked beans is easy to make.

Recipe:

• Soak white beans (navy or great nothern) overnight or for a few hours before cooking.  This improves digestion.
• Pour out soaking water and add fresh water for cooking.
• Cook beans until soft (2 + hrs).
• Rinse cooked beans and pour into large container.
• Use 1 bottle of Organic BBQ sauce (Amy's original flavor is our favorite) and mix thoroughly.