My dear friend Kyce wanted to know what I’m eating for breakfast and lunch, after I posted a GAPS-friendly dinner menu.  So here you go!  Honestly, it’s a little hard for me to remember which of these were breakfast, and which were lunch, lol.  That is one of the hard adjustments at first, but now it feels very freeing – breakfast in our house used to be mostly homemade grains and eggs.  Oatmeal, scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes, toast, etc . . .  It was hard to imagine what I would eat for breakfast when I first started taking out grains and eggs to help the baby’s tummy.

But guess what? It’s pretty simple to reheat leftover soup, or to quickly make some with veggies and broth.  I usually saute some veggies, and I often eat a bit of leftover fish or meat from a previous dinner, and I always have lacto-fermented veggies on the side.  As a breastfeeding mother, I eat a pretty generous portion of protein.

In the middle, you see a lunchbox I packed for my daughter to take to school (yes, she loves olives).  She also had leftover meatloaf, tomato sauce, and a lacto-fermented pickle.  Not too shabby.  I think I mentioned before that our whole family has really increased our vegetable eating these past few months, which is lovely to see.  We loved vegetables before, but now we really heap them on our plates!  I’ve drastically reduced our snack and fruit intake (even before reading French Kids Eat Everything – now I’m really inspired!), and it’s been interesting to see the effects on my daughter.  The other night for bedtime snack (soon to disappear in our house, shh), she wanted fruit, I said no.  She asked repeatedly for things I said no to, and then she finally said, “Fine.  I’ll make some kale,” and proceed to cook some kale in bacon fat, then eat the entire plate with relish.  Yeah baby.  That was probably the highlight of my week.

Joining Ginny for Yarn Along today.  I’m reading – and loving! – French Kids Eat Everything.  This book rocks, and I can’t summarize it because there’s so much good info.  The story of a family who moves from Vancouver to France for a year, and discovers that their daughters (who only eat pasta and crackers) suddenyl have to learn how to eat, well, everything, from beets to snails.  It’s an easy read, very funny, and has so much amazing wisdom about raising children who can eat a wide variety of foods with pleasure.  In France, the schools and government are hugely involved in shaping children’s palates, and they’ve got a lot to offer in teaching children how, when, and what to eat for health and vitality!  (France has some of the lowest rates of child obesity, diabetes, etc in the western world).  As the author says at one point, just as American parents wouldn’t shrug and say “Oh well” if their child didn’t want to learn to read, the French don’t give up just because a child thinks they don’t like vegetables at first.   I picked this one up when Cara mentioned that she had read it and managed to ban snacking in their house, which totally piqued my interest. A must read!

Progress on Ben’s raglan – I’ve reached the Fair Isle band I’m adding in around the chest!  Woo hoo.  Luckily I seem to remember how to work two-strand Fair Isle, so this has been a pleasure to start.  The white yarn is from our own ewes.

And speaking of our ewes, I’ve been dyeing some of our yarn these past few months, and despite my fears of ruining the wool, they’ve come out beautifully!  The green is dyed with sage, the blue is dyed with black bean soaking liquid, and the grey was dyed with elderberries in an iron pot (it was supposed to be purple, but I think the grey is very lovely).  Also, last month I finished Ella’s hat with our pokeberry yarn – Gabriel likes to wear, it, too.

What are you reading?

(the cousins)

This month at Nurture, our mother’s circle, I had planned the following, but everyone ended up being sick or celebrating brithdays, so just me and Sarah hung out and did the questions.  Here was my planning – you can join us!

I asked all the mothers to begin with a longer guided meditation, a settling of the mind.  You can do this, too.  Find a comfortable position to sit, set a clock for ten or fifteen minutes, and let yourself rest.  Follow your breath with your attention.  When your mind wanders, and you start to think about laundry, or bills, or one hundred other things, that doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong.  One of my favorite things I ever heard Pema Chodron say was, “The basic teaching is, No Big Deal.”  Thoughts arise, you can simply notice them, and let them go.  Come back to the breath, to the feeling of your body sitting here, in this place.

Now get a pen and paper.  Here are some questions – don’t think about them too hard, just write down the first answers that come to you.

What are you grateful for today?  Write at least four things.

What is a task you have been putting off or avoiding?  This could be an errand, or it could be a conversation or email.

What is your earliest memory?  Write as much as you can, using all of your senses.

Name at least two qualities you admire in your own mother.

Think of other mother friends you have, or a friend you would like to have.  What are the things that attract you to them – what do you admire?

At the beginning of the year, we talked about envisioning what qualities in ourselves we would like to increase.  Which qualities did you choose to work on?  How’s it going?

Name something that was very important to you ten years ago, but isn’t important to you now.  This could be an idea, a hobby, a person.

List ten things that make you happy.  Not ten indulgences or treats per se, but ten actions, that when you do them, you experience a feeling of happiness afterwards.

After you have answered your questions, think back over them for a few minutes.  Did any of your answers surprise you?  Are any of them asking to be noticed?

garden, 2005

our first tomato harvest, 2002

small farm, spring 2008

Friends, this year we are planning a garden.  Ever since we started growing organic vegetables eleven (!) years ago, each year we have grown more and more, larger and larger sized plots, until we had truly reached small farm scale.  We grew an acre of beans, we grew a half acre Three Sisters Field.  We learned to use a draft horse, we used tractors, we built a hoophouse.  We grew a lot of food, and learned a tremendous amount.

But in truth, when you already run an artisan bakery/cafe, and a grain CSA, and you have two small children, sometimes you just want a garden.  I want our garden back (we both do actually), so that is what we’re planning this year.  Our first mission, before we plant a single seed, is to clean up around the farm.  A lot of debris has accumulated  – from building fences, from cleaning out the trash-filled basement (our house’s previous owner left us a lot of trash in every part of this property), from projects like knocking down walls.  Both of us are sick of looking at the front yard’s junk pile, so we promised ourselves that we had to clean up before we planted.

Now that March is here, and the trash removal has begun, I’m starting to dream of the garden.  Just some favorite veggies, in short, tidy rows.    Surely by the end (or even middle) of the summer they will be filled with weeds, and I’ll certainly be ready for a break come October.  But in the meantime, little homestead garden, I can’t wait to see you again.

What are you dreaming of in the garden?

Gabriel, painting.  He gets very excited when Ella and I take out our watercolor painting, so I let him play first, with a jar of water and our paintbrushes.  He was working with such seriousness, it nearly broke my heart.  Oh, this baby.  He is getting to be such a very big baby.  He still holds my hand to walk, but any day now he will discover that much more mischievous fun can be had on his own, and then oh boy.  His favorite person is, of course, Ella, and his favorite object is whatever she happens to be holding.  When the two of them are playing so sweetly, it seems like such an incredible gift, to have these two lovely beings here in my life.  And when they’re both shrieking like banshees, tears streaming, well, I wonder why I ever thought this would be a good idea.

But I digress.  I wanted to tell you about this little man, to help myself remember.  He loves animals, especially dogs, cats, and birds, and doesn’t understand why chickens don’t want to be petted.  He is going to lose his mind when we get ducklings this spring.  He loves to dance, and has quite the moves.  His favorite is Bob Marley.  He likes to drum, and can really whack a drumstick, let me tell you.  Yesterday he figured out how to stand, hold up a small hand drum with one arm (nearly as big as him), and hit the drum with his other hand.  No easy feat.

Ella and I sewed her this simple long skirt last week.  Just some flannel, with an elastic waist.  I’ve been wondering why I always choose sewing projects for the kids that are so complicated, instead of focusing on making simple, quick clothes like skirts or pants.  I’ve been working on a dress for Ella (the same flannel) since the fall.  Not that I work on it every day, but still.  This skirt took five minutes.  Tis a gift to be simple.

Ella, in fact, has started going to our local Waldorf school for kindergarten.  She started in January, but I wasn’t sure what to say about it at first.  I’m still not sure.  On the one hand, it’s wonderful – I’m able to take time to write our book while the baby naps (like right now!), and she loves the teacher and the children.  On the other hand, I feel like all the best part of the day is spent at school, and all my time with her is getting dressed, eating meals, and bedtime.  In other words, the most difficult times of the day are left.  I am still passionate about homeschooling, and I imagine that Ella will return home, maybe in the fall, maybe the next year.  For now, we’re grateful to have such a good option, and I am deeply grateful for the chance to write, and to spend some alone time with the little babe.

Blessings on your weekend, friends.

Joining Ginny today for Yarn Along – knitting and reading!  I know I just talked about Nourishing Traditions last time, but guess what?  They just released a book on Baby & Child Care, which I love love love.  We’re carrying it at the bakery, and I find it so satisfying to send home with people!  Nothing beats nourishing a new family and new life.  Seriously, this book is amazing and so full of wonderful info that just isn’t talked about in any other book on pregnancy, baby, and children.  One really interesting point they make is that preparation should really begin before conception – traditional cultures have always given men and women in their childbearing years special foods to help them create healthy babies!

I’m working hard on Ben’s raglan.  I’ve promised not to knit anything else until it’s done, so hopefully that will motivate me.  I’m dividing for the sleeves now!

Speaking of my handsome husband, the baby has decided that Dad’s lap is the place to be at dinner.  Can’t say that I blame him.

As I started the GAPS diet with the little babe, I’ve been so grateful to all the wonderful folks who have shared their experiences and wisdom.  I wanted to give a little bit of that back by sharing a current example of meal planning in my home – a week of GAPS-friendly dinners.  You know I love meal planning, and when changing your eating habits, it’s more crucial than ever.  These dinners would also qualify for the SCD diet or the Paleo diet, and since my little one and I are currently dairy and egg free, they’re free of those allergens as well.  Whew!

February Menu

I don’t list it every night, but we always eat lacto-fermented vegetables on the side, such as sauerkraut or kim chi.  Also, my soups are made with bone broth as their base.  It’s hard to tell proportions in a meal plan like this, but I can tell you that the vegetable portions are large.  Personally, I am eating a hefty portion of protein these days, as a breastfeeding mama of a 14 month-old, but as one dear reader said of her own GAPS experience – I eat more vegetables now than I did when I was a vegetarian!

Monday: leftovers night (we spend Monday in town, so I need dinner to be quick and easy!), and asian-style cabbage slaw (pictured above)

Tuesday: pan-seared scallops cooked in bacon fat (we get ours from the Cape Cod Fish Share), and Simple GAPS Soup

Wednesday: pork ribs slow-cooked in the crock pot, bell peppers filled with guacamole, sauteed green beans with lemon juice

Thursday:  Roast Chicken, bell pepper stir fry with fresh coconut milk, sauteed cabbage and kohlrabi

Friday: sauteed zucchini and chicken livers, beef brisket (slow cooked in the crock pot) with root vegetables (I blend up some of the veggies with the brisket juice to make gravy), and cauliflower mash

Saturday: Fish (from the fish share) and Leek-Carrot Soup

Sunday: Cassoulet with white beans, lamb, pork spareribs, and tons of veggies. (this is the only non-Paleo meal, btw, white beans are allowed on the GAPS diet and I’m trying them out to see how the babe does with them)

I must say, it’s been a delicious week.  Hope yours is, too.

Last weekend, we journeyed to DC to join the Forward on Climate Rally.  We were there – four among 50,000 – that’s no typo – Fifty Thousand.  What can I say about this?  We packed a suitcase of clothes and a suitcase full of organic food, and the kids were mostly great on the long train rides.  It was bitterly cold – colder than I was prepared for, and Ella was soon miserable and crying.  I took her into the middle of the crowd, hoping it would be warmer, but even amidst the drums and the hooting happy folks, it was super cold.  We heard Bill McKibben and Van Jones speak, and when the helicopters circled overhead we all held up our signs and shouted louder.  After about an hour, I had to take the little ones back to the hotel to thaw, and Ben stayed, along with so many others.  They marched around the White House and then came back for more speakers and music, but Ben said there were so many people that there was hardly room to walk.

It was amazing to hear people like Michael Brune from the Sierra Club, who reminded us that in the last 10 years, over 300 existing or proposed coal power plants have been shut down.  It was depressing to come home and find out that while my child was crying in the bitter cold to stand up for Clean Energy, Obama was golfing in Florida with Big Oil Executives.  Promises to break our fossil fuel addiction?  Honestly, I don’t care what Obama’s agenda is – as I’ve said before, it’s the Will of the People that counts.

We came home and continue to move forward.  This year, we are working to put up solar panels not only at our home but also at our business.  There are incredible rebates in MA (and many other states) right now – take advantage!  Have you heard that Spain now gets 100% of their electricity from wind?  Just imagine – if instead of trying to clear cut ancient forest and dig up tar sands, then building a giant pipe to mix those tar sands with clean water and pump them all the way to Texas – instead of that, if we built windmills and solar panels all along that route . . . It’s hard to believe the alternative isn’t even being considered.  And yes, we’ll go again, as many times as it takes.  Next time, I hope 1 million of us show up.

We’re hoping to join the week of action in solidarity with the Tar Sands Blockade -  the folks who are physically trying to stop the Pipeline – even thought it has not yet been approved, Transcanada is already seizing private homes and land (yes, you heard me right) and building in Texas.

And on the simpler, smaller homefront, I needed to do something with my hands when we got back, so I worked on my patchwork quilt.  Just cutting strips from scrap fabric, trying to make something beautiful and useful from what was otherwise discarded.  Maybe that seems totally unrelated, but to me, it made good sense.

Blessings on your week, friends, and thanks for all you do.

I’m not sure how many times I will have to relearn this lesson – that when everything feels overwhelming and impossible, I need only step outside and see the sky to know that everything is possible.
We’re packing today, to head to DC for the Forward on Climate Change gathering.

I have a dream, remember?

I do still believe that if we can, as a nation, declare women equal to men, abolish slavery, give people of all colors the same rights – then surely we can declare that our children and grandchildren have the RIGHT to drink clean water, to grow food that won’t wither or poison them, to be free from the fear of constant natural disasters, rising oceans, and depleted resources.

I’m going to tell Washington all about it. Hope to see you there, friends.

Joining Ginny today with knitting and reading for Yarn Along.

I’m working hard to finish some lingering knitting projects – no new ones until I’m finished! I finished Gabriel’s Plain Pickle, and now this World’s Warmest Hat for my mother in law is almost done (only two years on the needles, ahem, sorry Nana!). Love this hat – someday I’ll make myself one.  Next up, finishing the big husband sweater. Wish me luck.
I’m re-reading, and enjoying so much, Nourishing Traditions. Such a fabulous, easy to understand explanation of health and nutrition, and what healthy groups of humans have eaten since long, long ago.  Plus yummy recipes, like the crispy nuts I’m loving right now!

I really wish they would put out a version with lots of sexy food photos, so that I could more easily convince people to buy it and use it! I love this book, but it looks like it was written in 1962 instead of 2001.  Did you know they’re about to release a Nourishing Traditions Book of Baby & Child Care?  I’m so excited – we’ve already ordered them to sell at the bakery.  Woo hoo!