On My Soapbox

  I was on the internet today and came across a book for little girls. Not high school, not middle school, but geared toward 6 year year olds. The title "Maggie Goes On A Diet".  Now it starts about an overweight girl who gets teased almost everyday at school. It also shows, because it is a picture book aimed at younger children, this girl hunched over in the fridge shoving food in her mouth. It even names bread and cheeses as late night culprits. Specifically cheddar. 

   The highlight of the book is Maggie starts eating healthier, adding fruit to her diet and exercising. Which is all good, if the author had stopped there. Instead he takes is farther and before you know it Maggie has become thin and popular, and a star on her school's soccer team. 

   Now this is not necessarily a mom blog, or a dieting blog for people who have just found this one posting. However, in this instance I will get on my soapbox. In my refrigerator you are going to find butter, not margarine, not oleo, but the real deal. You are also going to find whole milk. Nothing less. I ran into a gentleman at the dairy section who was amazed that fat free milk had more sugar the two percent. And he gave me the funniest look when I said "Well, they have to put something in it to make it taste good after taking out all the fat."  I also usually have cream, because I make my own whip cream to go on the various baked goods that I make using real butter and whole milk.  What we don't have are a lot of fruit drinks, and I try to keep down on the high fructose corn syrup, and we do eat whole grains more often then not. Quinoa and Farro are awesome, in fact I have been able to keep them in the house more so then plain rice. 

   Now I have a four year old daughter. So I have a vested interest in upcoming entertainment releases.  She is in the target range for this book, and I will never show it to her. And I will be one pissed of mother if someone else forces it on her. I understand, Grace is not as heavy as Maggie is. Even with her eating real butter and cream.  And eating real baked goods made with real sugar, brown  and white. However she also doesn't just sit in front of the t.v. all day, and she doesn't have a handheld gaming device either. But she plays, and she plays hard, she loves to go to the park. And she loves to play catch.  Besides young children should not be encouraged to be thin like a supermodel, or even thin like teenagers. In fact healthy children should not be overly thin. They shouldn't be overly heavy either but they shouldn't be trying to have washboard abs. They need the extra to grow properly. It's a fact that women who don't have enough body fat stop menstruating, so what do we think happens to children who are still growing who don't have enough. 

   My biggest problem with the story is that Maggie got thin and became popular. It didn't stop with she was able to play an entire soccer game, which takes a lot of physical endurance, and cardio, and a lot of strength to be able to do, without needing to sit out the last half or be taken out of the game. She didn't overcome a medical problem, like getting her diabetes under control where she didn't have to take medication for it or help her blood pressure. The story is that if you are thin you will be popular. Why because children that age are literal. They can't read between the lines and be able to pull a higher lesson out of this book, I mean the book has pictures to convey they meaning and the pages rhyme. So yes please tell me how this book is supposed to help my daughter come to the realization that she will have more self confidence if she makes healthy lifestyle choices. I can tell you what she will get out of it is that she will be teased if she is heavy, that the teasing will make her become an emotional eater, but if she starts eating healthy AND loses weight then she will be popular and the other kids will want to know her name. 

Also just because you eat more fruits and vegetables and get more active, doesn't mean that you will become thin. This idea that people keep pushing about dieting equals thinness ignores things like genetics and bone structure. Some people have bigger muscles then others, guess what that means. They are going to be bigger then the thin kids. All are issues that are ignored. 

   Are kids going to call each other names and bully each other, yes they will. As humans we've been doing for centuries. But we need to make sure that our children know that different is o.k., and that doing something for popularity is  not a good enough reason to do anything. I know I was in school once and I hope that I can teach Grace to be strong enough that there are other things more important than being popular. Like graduating.

Recipe for Mom

     So here is a crash course into the cooking style of Erin. I have a recipe and believe it or not I do try to follow it, and then along the way I think "huh well this sounds good. I'll do that." or I have forgotten an ingredient or five. And then there are some things that I know Gracie will eat better then others. For example, she likes spinach and chard but doesn't really care for lettuce unless they are really crunchy pieces.  Therefore we eat a lot of dark greens around here.
    Another fact about Grace is she was born in the Lowcountry. We are a military family and Jeff was stationed in South Carolina near the coast. Which is good because she loves shrimp. And I mean she loves shrimp, she will eat it any way you want to serve it. I have never seen her pass that little crustacean up. But I was introduced to a dish called Shrimp and Grits. I love  it because you can do them any style you want to, with whatever you have on hand. Whether it's  jalepenos or sun dried tomatoes, the dish just lends itself to whatever craving you are having that day. And even people in my family who don't like grits eat them this way.

  So the day started with a recipe for Scallops with a Creamy Bacon Corn Sauce. All of which are in Grace's favorite food list, and the rest of us as well. The end result was Shrimp and Grits with a creamy Bacon Corn Sauce.  Now in fairness the recipe did say that you could substitute shrimp or really any kind of seafood for the scallops. So without further ado Mom here is a shrimp and grits recipe you've been asking for.

Shrimp and Grits with a Creamy Bacon and Corn Sauce


1 Tbsp. oil
3 cups corn(frozen works fine)
1 lb. Shrimp shelled and deviened
4 slices bacon, coarsely chopped
1/2 dices tomato
1/2 cup bell pepper
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup half and half
salt
pepper
spice blend of choice( I used Paprika, Cayenne and Garlic)  Feel free to use what you like, the recipe called for a Tbsp. of blackening seasoning. We don't eat a lot of very spicy

Grits of choice just follow directions on the package.

First, preheat a large saute pan on medium-high for 2  minutes. Season your shrimp with some salt and pepper. Place the oil in the pan, then add the shrimp. Cook until pink and opaque. About 5-6 minutes. Remove from pan and keep warm.
Next, add bacon to same pan and cook until crisp. Drain bacon fat, keeping one Tbsp in the pan. stir in tomato, bell pepper, and onion and cook until soft. While the vegetables are cooking stir together seasoning, half-and-half and the corn. Add this to the vegetables.
Then , reduce heat to medium-low, cook 5 more minutes stirring frequently so things don't stick.

Serve over grits and top with shrimp.

Now we topped it with some Parmesan cheese, Grace's favorite.  As for the spices I did  not measure, I really believe that if you don't like something don't use it, so throw a little bit in and taste it. You can always add more. 

Hope you enjoy!!!

Bowling Shoes

So Grace has fallen in love with bowling.

And honestly I don't know what it is but she puts those shoes on and you would think that bowling was a spectator sport.

  She basically single handedly convinced her cousins to finish their bowling game. In fact she injected so much enthusiasm that her two year old cousin was so busy cheering for herself that she forgot her second ball. Professional ball teams only wish they had this much pep. I mean she puts those shoes on and for some reason it's like she just let's it all go. Don't get me wrong she loves the camera but with those shoes on she LOVES the camera. I don't know what bowling's going to do if she decides to do it professionally.

Grace.edu

So you all have met Grace. She's four, her favorite color is pink, and she looks at the world literally.  So dinner's with Grace are very educating, I learn something new every night.

A little back story, I am a stay at home mom, and have been since Grace was born. Most of Grace's friends have stay at home moms. So in her world that's what moms do, they don't work, we stay at home and play puzzles, and read stories, bake things, and answer the call of "MOM I Need..." and we are there to listen to"uh Mom i was thinking..." So she knows that women work, her aunt works, her grandma B. works, however that's outside of her world and when people enter into the world of Grace well there is no telling what will happen, for instance..

The Wild a.k.a The Backyard

   Grace tries to convince Tuffy(her aunt) to stay home more often then not. So this time it led to a discussion about how she needs a job to pay her bills, or else they will take her car away. So Jeff takes it from there about how you have to work to make money to pay for things. To which Grace replies "well they have buildings where they just give it to you" see she knows what a bank is for. So Jeff elaborates, poor man you think he would learn but no he just keeps going. So he explains that if he didn't go to work we wouldn't be able to live in our house we would have to live in "the wild" yes he said "the wild". Can you see where this might go..Which leads to we would have to hunt for our food. and she says without pausing "but not bear, I'm not going to eat bear." And then after thinking on it she comes to the conclusion that we would have to knock down the grocery stores because we aren't getting our food from there. Who knew my family and I kept the grocery stores going.
Needless to say, by the time grace and her father are done having this conversation, not only are we living in the wild and hunting for food except for bear, but we are making our own bows and using the horses to help with everything from taking down prey to moving us from camp to camp.

So what did I learn, that somewhere in the far future I am going to have to rethink the decorating scheme in our log cabin. And that Grace still thinks her Dad and I are Superparents, I mean after all we can live "in the wild".

Nothing in Particular

So today was kind of fritzy. I had actually planned on making some strudel but then realized when we got home from the store that I forgot the flour. Kind of important when baking. This should also tell you how my day has gone. Well really the past two days. See Aiden is teething, and when I say teething I mean like about the full front 8 teeth, top and bottom. In fact he has one particular tooth that has been coming up for weeks now. And today another tooth is now vying for the coveted first tooth title.  He really is a good baby, but I mean there is only so much good a baby can be when trying to get all their teeth in at once. Plus he is learning to pull himself up, however he has yet to figure out how to sit down without landing on his head. Poor guy just can't win here. 
So, needless to say I did not make strudel today, and tomorrow isn't looking so good either. However I will make some soon, even if I have to wait till Jeff is home for the weekend and let him watch the kids. Not that he minds I mean would you if your spouse was paying you in homemade strudel?  ;-)

The Drool Monster

Jesus and His Puzzles

So I figured I may as well start with something and I figured I couldn't go wrong with a Gracie-ism.
Grace is four, and she loves listening to her Scripture Scouts. We are also beginning to distinguish that animals versus wild animals versus mean animals, and just because something is wild doesn't make it mean, it's a lot to wrap my brain around so I'll stop there.
 So we, me, my sister, and her two girls, are sitting around the table at McDonald's eating lunch before we go shopping, Yea!!!! Always a good time, and in discussing the different albums that we each listen to in our respective vehicles Grace brings up how Jesus killed the 10 Leopards, because they were biting Jesus' puzzles (his apostles).
  I know, Megan and I both kind of looked at each other and went huh? And she says "yeah mommy and only one came to thank him".  By this time the light finally went on. And then I realize she is talking about how Jesus Healed the 10 Lepers.  So then we had to talk about how lepers are people who are sick, and not leopards in the wild and it is ok for them to bite things because they are wild and that's how God made them.

What can I say..she makes me smile.