Summer 2013 Family Travels: WV

So I'm taking a break from my Fresh 20 blogging to record some of our family adventures this summer. Regular food oriented blogs will resume next week. I <3 food!  :-)

Our first summer trip was to West Virginia. James is saving vacation days for our fall break trip and thanksgiving, so he stayed home and worked. My sister and mom decided to travel up with us instead.   We left EARLY. It was around 3:30 am when we got on the road (middle of the night is best with little ones). Despite our intentions of making great time while they slept, our 7 hour trip took 11 hours. The rain slowed us and we faced obstacles that included properly securing the car seats and a flat tire. 

Though the day was trying and LONG, God blessed us with generous and compassion people. 

We loved seeing our WV family. We ate amazing meals, swam in the pool, and enjoyed fireworks. I love taking advantage of every opportunity to allow Charlotte and Samuel to form relationships with their cousins. Some of my fondest memories as a child are of playing with my cousins. Here are some pictures that captured the fun. 

Mamaw, Charlotte, and Samuel

Charlotte enjoying Oreos by the pool.

Rod, Cindy, Charlotte, Thomas, NaNa, and Mamaw enjoying the sun and pool.

Charlotte loves taking pictures on the iPad. 

Thomas came to see what the fuss was all about.

Then he tried it out for himself.

The rest of the photos were taken by Mom, Cindy, Aunt Jo, or Aunt Rita.

Me and my sweet daughter, Charlotte enjoying time together in the pool.

The girls at the block party.

NaNa, Samuel, Thomas, and Charlotte at Mamaw's kitchen bar.

Love these collages that Aunt Rita made of the girls talking.

Sophia is showing Charlotte something interesting!

First shot of all four cousins! It makes me think of our old family photos of Michael, Mark, Cindy and myself!  I hope these kiddos will keep in touch and make many memories just like we did when we were kids.

Delightful Delicious Dairy-free Discoveries

So on this allergen free journey that my family is walking, we are finding surprisingly tasteful food. So hopefully this is the first of many  blogs that I will name "delightfully delicious dairy-free discoveries."

I am a sweets-a-holic! I miss ice cream. I have tried several ice cream alternative including frozen desserts made from almond milk and coconut milk. Nothing excatly hit the spot for me. I was looking for that creamy texture that ice cream produces as it melts in your mouth. Then, I stumbled upon this....

OH.MY.WORD! A little pint of dairy-free heaven! Rich, creamy, cold, and delightfully delicious! Charlotte agreed!

Before our journey, I was also a cheese-a-holic. I have been craving pizza for 3+ month. We tried a vegan cheese pizza but the cheese was too gummy for my liking. So tonight we ordered a cheese-less pizza. I was excited to discover that Papa John's crust and GARLIC sauce are dairy-free ( like no joke I was jumping up and down and going nuts on the thoughts of dipping my pizza crust in that greasy garlic sauce! Pure fattening guilty pleasure!!! ).

Charlotte even enjoyed it! I ordered our pizza with mushrooms, green peppers, green olives, bacon, and ground beef.

What's your favorite dairy-free product?

Week 4: Menu June 14

This week we opted to only prepare four out of the five meals because we had plans for dinner one night. We skipped the meal that was fruit and yogurt. Though I can find coconut milk based yogurt that it delicious, it is also incredibly expensive ($2.59 a serving). We also were prepping the house before the kids and I went on vacation, and once the kitchen is clean we stay out and eat out so we don't mess it up. ;) 

So this week our menu included Cuban steak with black beans and rice, grilled scallops with asparagus and cannelloni bean salad, steak nachos, and B.L.A.T. Wraps with fruit.

Highlights: making our own tortilla chips, learning how to properly cut an avocado, and enjoyed all the fresh flavors this week.

I enjoyed all the meals this week. I pushed my family a little to far with avocado as they were not fans, but the more exposure to fresh food the more likely we are to acquire taste buds for new exciting flavors. 

Cuban steak with black beans and rice

The steak had the most delicious flavor! James appreciated the simplicity and lack of new random ingredients ;) . I enjoyed it, but the beans and rice made the meal a little too heavy for me.

Check out Charlotte devouring hers!

Grilled Scallops with asparagus and cannelloni bean salad

I did a poor job of excuting this meal. I chalk it up to my fear of undercooking seafood and lack of experience. Even though I cooked the scallops to death, they were still delicious. The asparagus was a little undercooked, but the flavor was great. Finally, the bean salad was clean and crisp. 

Steak nachos with dairy free cheesy Mexican dip

This meal was a lot more labor intensive than I anticipated. We made our nacho chips from corn tortillas and olive oil. The rest of the meal was relatively quick and easy because the steak was cooked Monday, so it just needed to be warmed with the beans. The "cheese" dip was made from nutritional yeast flakes ( not part of the original fresh 20 meal plan). Delicious!

B.L.A.T. Wraps with a side of cucumber and cantaloupe 

We baked the bacon in the oven until was crispy. While it cooked, I chopped the tomato and avocado. I mixed the crumbled bacon  and freshly cubed vegetables together with a marinade and then filled the lettuce leafs with the mixture. This was my favorite meal this week because it was so unique. The flavors were fresh and each stood alone while melding together to create a new delightful taste. 

James and Charlotte however were less than impressed. Here they are uniting together with a high five to  take a stand against B.L.A.T.'s being served in the future.

Weight loss to date:

James: 5 lbs

Felicia: 6 lbs

Week 3: Menu May 17

Our dinners this week were delicious! My favorite week so far! Charlotte ate a burger! We all enjoyed couscous! It was a great culinary week full of fresh food and exciting flavors.

The menu:

 MONDAY 

MEDITERRANEAN MEATBALLS 

Apricot couscous

TUESDAY 

POACHED SALMON

Sautéed garlic spinach 

WEDNESDAY 

BRAISED APRICOT CHICKEN 

Couscous 

THURSDAY 

SPINACH & FETA TURKEY BURGERSt

Carrot sticks & cucumber circles 

FRIDAY 

PASTA PUTTANESCA 

Artichokes, olives, spinach, tomato, 

and capers

Changes:

We did not eat the meals in order this week because some took longer to prepare. We subbed chicken for salmon and omitted the feta cheese.

James's favorite was the turkey burger. "It was flavorful and fresh," he commented. I was personally shocked it tasted so yummy. Most turkey burgers I have eaten have been dry and crumbly, but the turkey burger was juicy and delish!

My favorite was the braised apricot chicken. The flavors were unique and plentiful. I liked how the dried apricots rehydrated and added to the diverse texture. The chicken was juicy and slightly sweet. Everyone gobbled this dish down.

My second favorite was Mediterranean Meatballs with apricot couscous. The meatballs were flavorful and the couscous was so delicious. It was my first experience with couscous and definitely will jot be my last.

The pasta puttanesca was also tasty with the olives and artichokes adding splashes of flavor throughout the dish.

This week James lost 2 pounds and I lost 2 ounces. A loss is a loss. :)

On another unexpected perk of The Fresh 20, we are on target to spend 40% less on food this month compared to what we normally spend. :) that means the subscription to The Fresh 20 has already paid for its self and allowed us to bank $80 in the first month!

Tune in next week when enjoy summer melons and avocado too! I am so looking forward to avocado!

Do you have any suggestions for future TheFresh20 blogs? Leave your comments and suggestions below.

Week 2: Menu May 31

So we just completed our second week and we made some major mistakes! We failed to prep for this week which resulted in the meals taking a long time to make each day. Also, knowing what was facing us when we got home, we ate out several times. :( so lesson learned! This coming week's prep is already completed. 

Our meals this week: HERBED PORK TENDERLOIN with Braised leeks& wheat berries, SPICY SAUSAGE FISHERMAN STEW, PORK TENDERLOIN with CREAMY THYME SAUCE with Mashed taters & peas, CHICKEN SAUSAGES &SPRING STRAWBERRY SALAD, And SWEET POTATO HASH 

BREAKFAST SKILLET.

So we made some slight changes due to allergies and the what not. First, all the chicken sausages had cheese, so we bought turkey. Next, due to my nervousness regarding cooking fish and the costly ness of it, we had Spicy Sausage CHICKEN stew. And finally, we ate left over for dinner because we were out of the house a lot around lunch...so we did not have the sausages and salad. (We were waiting to buy the strawberries and lettuce fresh, so we didn't waste any foods his week. Charlotte and I have been enjoying turkey sausage with our oatmeal for breakfast. )

So, no favorites this week. But here are some highlights.

We had the breakfast but I was not a fan of this dish. It also bothered Samuel's tummy, so we are going to avoid egg recipes in the future. It doesn't bother him if I eat something with eggs in, but I think  egg hash was too much for him.

The herbed pork tenderloin was tasty. I liked leeks, but James did not care for their texture. We used brown rice instead of wheat berries (bc our store did not have them).

The creamy thyme sauce was wonderful. With the lack of cow's dairy in our house, I have been missing gravy and mashed potatoes. We used almond milk (original) to make this and we all enjoyed it.

The stew had the Swiss chard in it. It was delicious, but we froze the majority of because it is too hot for stew right now.  

Next week we will be making our own meatballs and turkey burgers! I am looking forward to it.

I lost 3 pounds and my husband lost 1 pound. We are so excited that our eating is helping us get healthier.

Do you have any suggestions about what you would like to see in future fresh 20 posts? Leave a comment below with your questions and ideas. 

Happy Father's Day

This year we went super casual for Father's Day. We started with a delicious meal at O'Charley's with my dad and family. We got all the fathers chocolate truffles from Rembrandt's.  After lunch, James's parents joined us at Coolidge park, where we let Charlotte play in the water fountain. Samuel and I sweated it out under our new popup tent. :) 

Photo taken by Rachel Pennington

Then we headed to Good Dog for ice water, hot dogs, and fries. I had forgot how cool this place was. They have specialty flavored ketchup they make in house. :) also they have gluten free and vegetarian wieners if you don't want an all beef dog. 

http://www.eatatgooddog.com/

Next we swung by The Villiage Market for a sweet treat. We discovered Liz Lovely cookies! Vegan and gluten free options. We bought a pack of Snicker Dudes. They were amazing!!! 

http://lizlovely.com

Finally, for Father's Day, Charlotte and Samuel got their Daddy a new book. 

It is the autobiography of Vincent Van Gogh. We first heard about it earlier this year at a concert by Matthew Perryman Jones.

Allergies

Charlotte has food allergies. Today we had her retested to see if her body has changed it's mind about  hating certain foods. Sadly, it has not. Here is a picture of her being brave before the test. 

I was trying to get her to look at the camera. 

She did and then... threw her doll at me. -_-!

So she was definitely in good spirits. She didn't even cry during the test.

But she did not enjoy me holding her hands, because she wanted to scratch her back.

:( Starting from the top and moving right and down we have positive, itchy reactions to dairy, egg white, whole egg, and peanuts. 

We are currently very blessed to live near a Southern Adventist College which has its own little community market. We love to eat Clark's Bakery whole wheat vegan bread and vegan oat bread. They also have a nice selection of yogurts made from coconut milk and puddings from wheat ( don't ask me how that works). Charlotte drinks almond milk and loves dairy free treats such as Oreos ( you read that right Oreos are dairy free -crazy as that sounds-  ). So we will continue to carry an epi pen jr. and avoid these foods until next year when we can retest.