VDay aftermath

School vacation week is
upon us, and Valentine's
Day is past. Amazingly
almost all the candies Ryan
received in his school
valentines were vegan...
unfortunately! So he has
had his fill of lollipops and
tried new treats like Pixi
Stix...I hadn't seen those since I was a kid!

Time for a healthy picnic
dinner--fancied up a
notch for my valentine
boys: spinach; vegetable
dumplings; soy cheese
cubes; cucumber slices;
sliced strawberries;
blueberries; pickles;
sesame tofu; carrots.

Followed by lollipops,
of course!
After the boys were
asleep though, I made
us a dessert of Tofutti
Vanilla ice cream sand-
wiches topped with
strawberries & blueberries
& Soyatoo whipped cream.
Mmmmmm.....

Ryan started some plants
at the Garden in the Woods
a few weeks ago. His beans
are growing like crazy! I
hope they make it through
the season but I have my
doubts. He's got two lemon
trees started as well. Anyone
have experience growing
citrus indoors??


Maia is rolling and scooting
around, mostly backwards
or sideways. None of the
kids have ever been in
a hurry learning to crawl.
So the boys likely have a
little more time to learn
to keep their small toys out
of her reach.

Wednesday:

Ryan
went to
work
with
Dada
a few
times
during
vacation
week.
His
lunch:
meatless
meatballs;
rice ball
w/ goma
shio;
inari;
kanpyo maki; oshinko maki...2nd tier: vegetable dumplings w/soy sauce; blueberries; grapes; strawberries; shiitake mushrooms.

Dada's lunch was more
or less the same as
Ryan's.






I made myself a bento again for Lost night: "ants on a log" celery, peanut butter & raisins; a pickle; cucumber slices; sliced strawberry; blueberries; mango slices; shiitake mushrooms.

In my anticipation of
spring approaching, I
am trying to reduce our
portions sizes and pasta
intake which have once
again crept up over the
winter months. After
eating "whatever stays
down" during pregnancy,
it takes some discipline to get back to normal eating habits again. With Maia eating a bit of food now, it's time to get serious about losing those baby pounds!
My husband's dinner: salad of baby romaine, avocado & mango w/a citrus vinaigrette; fresh manadarin orange segments; garlic herb tofu slices; steamed beets w/Goddess dressing; cinnamon toast triangles; shiitake mushrooms.

Thursday:
Ryan's "work" lunch: smoked tempeh, lettuce & tomato sandwich; steamed asparagus; mini pumpkin miso muffin; grapes; strawberries; a pickle; cashews.

Again Dada's lunch
pretty much mirrored
Ryan's.

Both sandwiches were
stacked 2 high which
just allowed the bento
tops to close snugly.

Dinner appetizers:
cucumber sandwiches
on rye cocktail bread;
cinnamon sugar pita
chips; dried apricots;
crunchy peas; blue-
berries; flower cream
"cheese" & jelly sand-
wiches; cashews.
This was followed by bowls of root vegetable, bean & barley soup.

And we'll end vacation
week with some cute:
Maia & AJ






Maia