Beans, beans, the wondrous fruit...the more you eat the more you {GASP!}!!!

Anyone that knows me knows that I have a slight obsessions with black beans.  "Slight obsession" meaning that eat them nearly every single day (Greyson also has this addiction as you can see from the picture above).  

Not only do they taste great, but I recently read an article by a doctor that called them a "nearly perfect form of food."  Yay beans!!!  On top of that, the older I get the more I verge on becoming vegetarian (not for health reasons, but just because I am disgusted by most forms of meat)....and black beans provide me with the protein I need instead of meat!!  Yay beans!

A while back I was talking to a friend of mine about my affection for black beans and mentioned that I eat them so often I really should start making them from dried beans (just look up the dangers of eating food out of aluminum cans yourself sometime.  Scary stuff).  Well, this particular friend just HAPPENS to be from Mexico and quickly rattled off her recipe for black beans.  

I got the ingredients and tried it immediately.

OH.  MY.  WORD.  In my opinion, the best black beans EVER.  Needless to say, my addiction grew by leaps and bounds.

Just in case anyone out there has an addiction to black beans like this girl, here is the recipe...

Start with a bag of dried black beans.

Dump them into a colander and rinse them off.

Once they are rinsed, pour them into a large pot (not a sauce pan, but more of a stock pot).

Add water.  I fill it so it's just a couple inches from the top, but it would depend on the size of your pot.

Add salt.  I use sea salt, but you could use table salt too.  Like all good recipes that have been passed down through generations, my friend didn't have exact amounts for the ingredients.  I tend to add about 2 T. 

Add a few cloves of peeled garlic.  No need to chop it, just dump it in!  The beans simmer for quite awhile so the garlic actually dissolves into the beans.  I like garlic so I add quite a few.

That's it!!  You just let it simmer on the stove for a few hours.  I have found that the longer it cooks the more mushy the beans get.  My family tends to like them a little more firm so about 2 hours simmering is good.  The beans taste sooo good that you'll never want to buy canned beans again!!  The recipe makes quite a bit, so I just cover them and keep them in the fridge.  Our family usually goes through them in a few days.  I am FOREVER grateful to my sweet friend for sharing this recipe with me!

I also needed to include this picture because the day I was making the beans, I was also making cupcakes for the older two kiddos school carnival and I had QUITE the helper...

"No one is born a great cook...one learns by doing"

--Julia Childs

Toothless.

Our dentist once told us that the later a child gets their teeth...the later they will lose them.  At the time I remember thinking that we'll see how that applies to Jaden.  He was later in getting his first tooth, and I vividly remember being hesitant to give him cake at his first birthday because he barely had any teeth to chew it!

Fast forward to age 5 and his friends are starting to lose their teeth....but not our little guy!  He was always a good sport about it, but often wondered when HE would start losing teeth.  

Finally, 2 month before his 7th birthday Jaden finally lost his FIRST tooth.  He was chewing something and felt something hard.  He spit it out and - lo and behold - a tooth was in his hand!!!!  The thing is...he didn't stop there!!  Before I could even get him photographed (within the SAME WEEK) he lost ANOTHER tooth!!

We love our toothless tiger!!!

I also need to share a conversation that made me giggle with this little cutie.  The week he lost his teeth I reminded him one morning to make sure he brushed.  He responded, "Well, if I'm not planning on really talking to anyone today, do I NEED to brush today??"

Ummm....yes. 

"You don't have to brush your teeth....just the ones you want to keep"

--Unknown

Benched.

Benched.

Not by her coach....by her mom and dad.

Some lessons have to be learned the hard way.

No one ever said this parenting gig was going to be easy.  Some days it literally breaks my heart.

"Train up a child the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it"

Proverbs 22:6

My Every Day Lunch....at least for now.

I am a creature of habit....especially when it comes to food.  I vary things up for dinner with the family, but for breakfast and lunch I keep it pretty simple and often I'll eat the exact same thing for literally months.  Lately I've been making veggie tacos and I am completely in love with them.  I have had a few friends ask how I do it so I thought I'd share.

First I clean and cut my veggies.  These tacos are a GREAT way to get A LOT of veggies into your diet.  Here is what I typically include...

I chop up a bunch of fresh mushrooms.

I chop about half of a zucchini.

I cut up an entire pepper.  Color doesn't matter...I switch it up.

I chop an entire onion.

If I have black beans on hand I will occasionally add those too.  I love that in this ONE dish I am getting an ENTIRE pepper, an ENTIRE onion, as well as lots of other vegetables!  I add all of my veggies to a pan with a little of this...

(sorry the picture is a bit blurry...I was hungry and shooting these pics pretty fast)

For those of you that don't know much about coconut oil....I kind of consider it a wonder food.  Not only does it have amazing health benefits (reduces cholesterol, helps keep your weight in check, helps thyroid function and digestion, etc) but you can actually also use it on your skin and hair!!  It's THAT good!  Greyson had a little rash on his face about a month ago...coconut oil to the rescue!  Eva had a HORRIBLE canker sore from her braces and once again coconut oil helped her find faster relief.  It's goooood stuff and really the only oil I cook with, aside from occasionally using olive oil (little snippet of advice....use coconut oil whenever you can to replace other oils.  Even olive oil has some harmful side effects when heated too high). 

Coconut oil is a solid, so it takes a little bit to get use to (but totally worth it)...

I sauté the vegetables for just a little bit.  It's important that they are still "crisp" because that way they are retaining many of their nutrients.  When they are pretty much finished cooking I add a little seasoning.  You could add cumin, or any spices you want.  An easy one that I often grab is either a taco seasoning or fajita seasoning.   It's important to note here that I literally only use about 1 TEASPOON of this stuff.  I like the flavor, but a very little bit goes a long way (and it's high in sodium).

The end result...

I often top them with a little lettuce mix (another little snippet of advice...try to stay away from iceburg lettuce.  It has no nutritional value.  Look for dark leafy greens).  Sometimes I'll add just a little cheese or sliced avacado....and this girl ALWAYS tops it with salsa or hot sauce!!

Some of you may be thinking this looks like a lot of work.  I promise you it isn't.  If it was I wouldn't make it for lunch because my hands are often tied with getting things around for the kiddies.  It also makes a GREAT dinner in a pinch too!

Enjoy!

XOXO...

Jamie

Be Mine.

Making Valentine's with my kiddos is one of my favorite activities of the year.  We started making homemade ones when they were very little, and quite honestly figured by this age we would be purchasing store bought ones.  I kind of assumed that they would see the store bought ones that friends brought in and want that too.....but they haven't!  Each year they both spend time looking at different ideas and deciding what they want to make.  We purchase the materials needed and pick a night to put the Valentine's together.  It amazes me how each year they are capable of doing more and more by themselves...this year Eva did pretty much the whole thing without any help!  They are growing so fast and getting so big.  This Mama is savoring all these little moments!!

Daddy joining in the fun long enough to steal a few gumballs...

Eva working hard to make her Valentine's..

I love how Jaden's tongue sticks out when he is concentrating!

Jaden's finished product was a small bag of candy with a shovel attached and a sticker that said, "I Dig You!"

Eva's finished product was a small bag of gum balls with a note attached that said, "I "Chews" You!"

"Without Valentine's Day February would be...well...January."

--Jim Gaffigan

100 Days!!

It has taken longer than expected with all the snow days this year....but Jaden FINALLY made it to 100 DAYS OF SCHOOL!!!  He had to decorate a T-shirt with 100 items to wear to school for his special celebration.  He decided on 100 bandaids!  We wrote "I Survived 100 Days of School" on it and even added a few bandaids to his jeans and his cheek!  He had an AWESOME day!!

Before School...(he looks a little sleepy doesn't he?!  Ha!)...

 After School...

As his Mama, I loooooove these days.  Such special times.

"You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will learn as long as he lives."

--Clay P. Bedford

Half Marathon Training

I am officially in the thick of my training!  At this point I am training for a 5k, and then after completing that training (which will end with me running 3 miles consistently) I will move on to my half training. This morning I ran a mile and a half straight.  No big deal for many, but I haven't ran that far since last summer...so it was a baby step closer!   I have one month down, and I am looking at 4 more months of training before I am ready.  Sometimes it can seem a little overwhelming, and at times it hasn't been easy. 

I have worried that I bit off more than I can chew.

I have doubted my endurance.

I have doubted my ability.

However, I am proud of myself for the pure fact that I have not budged on my commitment.  When I said I was going to do this I meant it.

I run 4 days a week.  Every week.

I strength train 3 days a week.  Every week.

I eat smarter.

I hydrate more.

And when the treadmill tells me I have half a mile more to run and every ounce of my body says to stop and walk....I RUN.

A good friend recently shared an article with me that said "Mental toughness is built by doing something that is hard over and over and over again, especially when you don't feel like it.  Our society has conditioned us to believe that there should be no discomfort, to stop when we are uncomfortable.  But the discomfort we feel when we are doing a challenging workout is an important part of the strengthening process.  Push through your down days when your not feeling your best.  Dogged determination requires keeping your feet moving forward through inconveniences, discomfort, and insecurities to reach your goal."

Pretty good metaphor for life, eh?

Month two of training starts.....now.

Xoxo.

Jamie