Another Fasting Meal, Super-quick and REALLY good!

One of the meals I had planned for last week was postponed, because we attended a wonderful St. Barbara's Day Bonfire last Wednesday night. You can read about it here.

I was able to make that meal last night, and I have to say it is hands-down my new favorite fasting meal! It even has a vegetable in it that the kids didn't complain about. The best part is that you only need the time it takes to boil pasta! (Sorry to those with peanut allergies, but this is a dish with nuts.)

Spirals with Peanut Sauce

12 oz. uncooked spiral pasta (rotini)
water for boiling
2/3 c. natural creamy peanut butter (no sugar added)
3/4 c. water
3-4 T. soy sauce
2 T. white vinegar
1 green onion, coarsely chopped
1 T. honey or rice syrup
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 1/2 c. frozen green peas, thawed to room temperature

Prepare pasta in boiling water according to package directions. Meanwhile, combine all remaining ingredients, except peas, in food processor or blender. Process until smooth. When pasta is done, drain well and place in large serving bowl. Add peas and sauce. Stir to thoroughly combine. Serve hot.

Recipe Note: The sauce thickens as it stands. If it sits too long, mix in more water before serving, or before serving leftovers. Serve with hot pepper sauce, if desired.

This served all 5 of us, and there was enough left over for my lunch today!

The Intercessions of Saint Seraphim

I love animals...probably too much. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy eating them, but I still have a HUGE soft spot. This started at a very early age. I was traumatized by Lassie, I got nervous every time I watched Flipper, and don't even get me started on E.T. Needless to say, my pets have always been very special to me. My empathy for animals was only dulled by the birth of my own human children!

I have always had animals, and from the age of 5, I've always had a cat. Misty was a Christmas present. She lived until I was 20. I grieved for her like I would a family member. A month after she died, I got married. A month after that my husband and I adopted Toby. Toby lived until the age 0f 7, when he got very sick and we had to put him to sleep. After that loss, I decided I was done with cats! Of course, that feeling didn't stick, and two Christmases ago, my husband gave me Goliath. He was a tiny fur-ball. He's a Himalayan Persian with big blue eyes. I fell in love. At the time, I was pregnant with my 3rd child. I had almost 5 months left in my pregnancy, and so I had time to really bond with my new "baby" and he definitely loved sleeping on my pregnant belly!

After the birth of my baby girl, he reacted typically. But things really changed when the baby became a crawler. The cat decided that my new baby was an intrusion and that he was not going to take it anymore. That's when the real trouble started. He turned our house into his litter box! The couch, the playpen, the kitchen counters, the older kids backpacks, MY BED!! You name it, he peed on it. I was horrified. I took him to the vet, but there was nothing medically wrong. We tried everything, buying another litter box, using the cleaner that guarantees it will stop a pet from marking, nothing worked. Sadly, the cat was eventually banned to the laundry room. At first, he yowled day and night. It was awful, and my prayers to Saint Seraphim were numerous. My husband was not so sad, and was already plotting the cat's demise. So for the past 3 months, the cat has been under quarantine. Then about a month ago, he started using the laundry room as his litter box. This was the last straw for my husband. I was actually accepting the fact that my fur-ball was not going to be with us much longer. I asked Saint Seraphim to guide us in finding a family that would take care of him. Then the miraculous happened. A few days ago, my husband called in the middle of the day and asked me who the Patron Saint of animals was. I told him about St. Seraphim. He said he had been feeling like we should try to help the cat one more time, and he had gotten some advice from a local pet shop.

That night, we spent about 2 hours thoroughly cleaning the laundry room, and my husband brought home a few things to try to help. He even bought the cat a toy, which in my opinion was a huge gesture! We prayed that our efforts would help. I am so happy to report that overnight my cat has completely changed!! He is using the litter box, and ONLY the litter box, he's happy, and I'm ecstatic! I've let him out during the day for "supervised visits" and he's been great. I just had to share his story. Thank you, Saint Seraphim!

Tuesday's Menu

Kids' Breakfast: cold cereal, fruit, milk

Kids' Lunch: turkey/cheese sandwich, apples, cucumber slices, roasted edamame (my kids love edamame, and these sort of look like peanuts but with 40% more protein!) juice

Family Dinner: Veggie Sandwiches, baked chips, carrot sticks
(Tuesday night is our "easy dinner" night since the 5 year-old has gymnastics)

Veggie Sandwiches

Ingredients:
Sourdough bread slices
Avocado slices
Tomato slices
Lettuce (optional)
Cucumber slices (optional)
Mustard (optional)
Tofu mayonnaise (optional)

Toast sourdough bread. Mash avocado slices and spread on toast. Top with tomato slices and any other veggie slices and lettuce if you like.

Monday's Menus

My previous post admitted to the world that I am severely lacking in the menu planning department. Several of you have given me great ideas! I know there have to be others out there like me, so I've decided to share one week's worth of menus from my household, and if you can get anything from it, yay! I will preface Monday's menus by saying that my children are 8, 5, and 1. I don't require them to keep a strict fast all the time, especially the baby. My older two also pack school lunches, so we do the best we can. They do consume cheese and meat a few times a week, but we eat the same fasting dinners. I will share my children's breakfast and lunches from today, and our family dinner.

Kid's breakfast: Brown Sugar Oatmeal
piece of fruit (8 and 1 year-old chose banana, 5 year-old chose clementine)
milk

Kid's lunch: PBJ sandwich (using a cookie cutter to cut sandwiches magically makes
them taste better)
Baked chips
baby carrots
apples (1 year-old had pears, softer on the gums)
juice

Family Dinner: Haystacks

Ingredients: 1 onion, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
Lettuce, chopped or torn
Jalapeno peppers, sliced (optional)
1 lg. can fat-free refried beans
1 lg. bag Frit*s corn chips
1/2 bag tvp crumbles (optional)
1 lg. can tomato sauce
1 packet taco seasoning
1 can sliced black olives (optional)
Salsa of choice

Directions: Chop vegetables. Warm beans on stove or microwave. Warm tomato sauce and stir in taco seasoning. Warm tvp crumbles. Place each ingredient in bowls on table. The "Haystacks" are assembled by first placing a stack of Frit*os on plate, topping with refried beans, tomato sauce, tvp, veggies and salsa as desired.

My Weak Link

Everyone has a weak link in their lives. I will admit to several! In my responsibilities as a wife and mother, I feel my greatest weakness in the service of my family is providing nutritious meals. It has become more apparent as the fast has started. (Isn't it funny how quickly fasting shows us our weaknesses?)

I woke up early this morning, and this subject was on my mind and in my heart. I feel the one thing needful in my duties is to start providing more nutritious meals for my family. This is where you come in! I need help! I am one of those perfectionists who likes to jump in with two feet, then quickly becomes overwhelmed and quits. Since I'm trying to be aware of this, I want to start small. My first goal is to make sure my family is served fruit at all three meals of the day, and vegetables twice. Second, I'd like my children's breakfasts and lunches to be healthier, without relying so much on "convenience foods". My third goal will be to tackle dinners.

So, please send me your ideas! Whether it's your own ideas or links to websites or other blogs, I could really use some advice!

I do ask that you be gentle with me! I am not a gourmet cook, and get easily scared in the kitchen! I am willing to work on this, but need to take baby steps.

I can't wait to see what ideas you have. I and my family thanks you!

Tomorrow's the Big Day!

I wish everyone a Blessed Advent Season! I have spent the last hour and a half wrapping books (see my previous post) and dragging out my indoor decorations from the attic. I was hopeful that tonight and tomorrow were going to be relaxed with tree and house decorating, but that's not the case! We usually put our tree up after the kids go to bed, and then spend the next day decorating the tree and house. Tonight, however, my husband and I have to attend a clergy/parish council dinner with our Diocesan Bishop. We have promised each other to leave early and get the tree up tonight! Tomorrow my two oldest have their final soccer games and parties. We also have Vespers and a parish-wide dinner with our Bishop. So I'm guessing that decorating will not get very far tomorrow. I'm hoping we can get in a couple hours tomorrow afternoon, and finish up Sunday afternoon. We don't decorate the outside of our house until after Thanksgiving (which we are hosting this year!!)

Though it sounds stressful, I am really VERY excited about tomorrow! I can't wait to light that first candle tomorrow night!

Advent Activities

My very favorite time of year is coming up. Advent!! Since childhood, I have loved this time of year! Now that I'm a Mom, I'm able to share my excitement with my own family. I've shared how I try to prepare for the Nativity fast, and I want to share some of the activities we do on a nightly basis with the kids.

Tree - the night before Advent ( a Friday this year!) my husband and I put our Christmas tree up after the kids go to bed. (Yes, we have an artificial tree.) We don't decorate it, just put it up with the lights. The next morning the kids wake up and see the big tree all lit up, and they know what day it is! That day, (or night if it's a week day) we decorate the tree and the rest of the house. At the suggestion of a friend we're going to wait to put up our stockings until the night before St. Nicholas Day.

Calendar - You can find a paper calendar with 40 doors at many websites, but I have made my own permanent calendar. It has been wonderful to use this every year! If you haven't seen one, here are the instructions If you need any more help I'd be happy to send you pictures of mine.

Every night we light our candles. We have 6 this year (since Advent starts on a Saturday). I personally use all purple candles, except for the one used during the week of the Presentation of the Theotokos. That week I use a blue candle. My parish provides readings for each night, so we also use those. Again, I'd be happy to share.

Nativity Scene - This is a tradition that my parents started, and it really helps my kids understand the journey to Christ's birth. We set up our Nativity scene and place the shepherd and animals in the cave. We place the Theotokos and St. Joseph far away from the cave ( we have ours on a long counter. I cut out 39 "stones" out of brown construction paper. These lead up to the cave. Each night one of the kids move Mary and Joseph up one step towards the Nativity scene. On Christmas Eve, before our service, we place Mary and Joseph in the cave. After the kids go to the car for church I sneak baby Jesus into the cave (He stays hidden during Advent) and when we get home, He is in the cave! We add the Wise Men at Theophany.

Christmas Books - I keep my Christmas books put away during the year, and during our evening Advent time I let one of the kids "unwrap" a book to read. I keep these books wrapped under the tree. Once they've opened a book, it's added to our book basket and they can continue to look at it throughout Advent.

Last year, at the suggestion of a friend, I purchased the Playm*bil Nativity Set. My older two loved playing with this set! This year, I'm going to have to be a little more careful with it since my 18 month old could easily pop any of the pieces into her mouth!

So, as you can see, Advent is a very special time for our family! Needless to say, I am so excited that we only have a week and a half before it all begins!