#supperwin

3 weeks ago: I decide I am going to run the Las Vegas marathon. Spent a few days researching, cleaning up my eating habits and did 21 Day Fix. Going on week four and eating healthy is coming easier, starting to hit my macros and starting strength training tomorrow as I lead up to spring and start marathon training. I'm going to be a lean mean mommy machine. Hells yeah.
My family is being very supportive. The kids work out with me, they talk about eating more veggies and fruit and constantly asking "is this healthy". Of course I don't want to cause any food issues down the road, so it's very 80/20 and we talk about moderation. They eat a balanced meal with lots of veggies, they can have that crap kid food. Still, supper seems to be a battle. Tonight was a big win!!

First, if you don't have an Instant Pot yet, you need to get one. Stat. I use mine pretty much daily. Sometimes twice a day. I currently have the second batch of yogurt I've made this week in mine.
Anyway, supper. Tonight I made Kalua Pork and it was amazing. Even my slightly picky kids loved it. One said, I shit you not "this is why your the best mom in the world". The pickiest of the bunch had 4 FOUR helpings and 10 minutes after came out and asked for another. I served the pork in a lettuce wrap with sprouted brown rice quinoa mixture, hoisin sauce and mango avocado salsa.
Best part, we went fishing in the afternoon, so I prepped the pork ahead of time, set the delay and left. Came home to the delicious aroma of the smokey pork, pulled it out, cleaned the pot, threw in the rice and made the salsa. We were eating within 20 minutes.

Hawaiian Kalua Pork
Ingredients:

1 tablespoon oil
2 lbs pork roast
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons Hickory Liquid Smoke
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon Sea salt or
Pink salt.

Using the sauté on the instant pot add the oil to the cooking pot. When it’s hot, brown the pork on both sides (I cut
Mine into two pieces)
Remove to a plate when browned.
Mix rest of the ingredients together, use a bit to deglaze the pan. Put the pork back in, pour the rest of the liquid over top. Close lid (and the valve) set on meat or manual for about 75 minutes. Let it natural release. Remove the meat, shred and add a bit of the liquid to the shredded pork. Eat as a lettuce wrap, burrito bowl or however your little heart desires.

Yum. Yum.

Sunny Days

January, the bleakest longest month of the year. Or is that just me? The mad rush of the holiday season is over, your fat, broke, hungover. There is really nothing to look forward to until the arrival of spring, unless you are one of those lucky bastards people that jets off to somewhere hot during February break. Add to that, where we reside, it is MISERABLE. Cold as Trump's heart. We had some beauty of days *insert sarcasm* that actually brought temperatures of -45* with the windchill. 

Confession: I wasted a little too much time googling jobs and houses available in Hawaii and wondered many times why we live here. 

We did survive the nasty cold snap and in good old Saskatchewan fashion, we have been rewarded with some sunny balmy days of 4*! Oh, how we basked in the sunshine. 

On Saturday, even with the nicer weather, I tried out 3 new "healthier" muffin recipes. Oddly enough, the least healthy of them was a total flop. The other two were amazeballs. Sunday we went out ice fishing and gorged on hot dogs and KFC. It's all about balance, am I right? We won't talk about the skor Mcflurry on Saturday night. I'll find my wasteline when the snow melts.

First up is a Greek Yogurt Chocolate Banana Muffins - I only slightly adapted from Chelsea's Messy Apron

Greek Yogurt Chocolate Banana Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 cup white whole wheat flour (minus 1tbsp) or plain white flour
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
• 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup vanilla or plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil ( I used butter, next time I might try more apple sauce)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup brown sugar lightly packed
• 1 cup extremely ripe bananas (2-3 bananas)

Here is a little tip I learned from her blog and it truly works! When using whole wheat flour, replace a tbsp of the flour with a tbsp of cornstarch! It makes a lighter flour!

• Preheat oven to 350*
• Grease your muffin pan (these will stick to liners, so not recommended)
• Mash the bananas and mix withall your wet ingredients
• Sift together dry ingredients 
• Blend wet and dry until just combined and fold in chocolate chips. 
• Divide into 12 muffin cups or 48 mini muffin**
• Bake for about 20 minutes (12 for the mini version) or until toothpick comes out clean.

These turned out awesome, even with cutting down the amount of chocolate chips she recommended. Perfect bite size yummyness and I like the extra protien the greek yogurt adds. 



Post Script: This morning while making the second double batch of the week had an epiphany! Or a craving, either way, it was brilliant. I blended together greek yogurt cream cheese, a little sugar, splash of vanilla and an egg white then placed a scoop ontop of each mini muffin before baking. Think healthier Black Bottom Cupcake. The results were O. M. F. Gosh. Da bomb, Mic drop. Make them now. Peace. 

Second muffin winner of the week from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Apple Sauce Carrot Muffins

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (use the same cornstarch trick from earlier!)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 3/4 cup finely shredded carrots (about 2-3 medium carrots)

I think the addition of raisins would be great in these, or sub half the carrot for zucchini, or add some grated apple and raisins! 

• Preheat oven to 350*
• Grease your muffin pan (these will stick to liners, so not recommended)
• mix all your wet ingredients
• Sift together dry ingredients 
• Blend wet and dry until just combined and fold in carrots. 
• Divide into 12 muffin cups or 48 mini muffin**
• Bake for about 20 minutes (12 for the mini version) or until toothpick comes out clean.

If you make them and you love them, comment and share :) 

Mornings and Muffins

Fact: I am NOT a morning person. I don't mean I grumble and groan and wish I could sleep in while I drag myself out of bed. I mean straight up, hate mornings. No matter what time it is, what time I went to bed or how much sleep I get, I struggle every morning to remove myself from the coziness of my bed. Even if I have been awake for an hour, I still don't like to get up and start my day. I have tried all the things. I even went through a brief (3 whole weeks) period where I got myself out of bed at 5:30 to exercise. If I'm honest, once I was up and started, it wasn't that terrible. I pep talk myself often on how wonderful it would be to get up early, enjoy a cup of coffee before the little people wake up. A beautiful morning run, or go swim some laps to get the blood flowin. I dream of getting up at the crack of dawn this summer to go paddle boarding on the beautiful calm waters and drink in the peacefulness of nature. But, instead I lay in bed for the very last possible second (and often a few too many) then finally peel myself from the safe confines of my bed only to start the immediate panic and rush of trying to get shit done. I think it is time to accept my reality.
Surprisingly this morning I did manage to get up a whole 10 minutes earlier than usual. It is AH-MAZING what an extra 10 minutes can do for you. *remind me of this later*. I actually sent the kids off to school, had everything ready and started a batch of muffins before the rest of the kidlets arrived. Muffins are perfect in our house for mornings (when momma gets up to late and your sick of pouring yourself cereal), packed in lunches and of course snacks. Kids love muffins and if you are msart about it, you can pack a lot of stuff that the picky beasts might not normally eat. Like, Avocado!! One of my kids loves avocado as much as I do. The other two are 50/50. Somedays they do somedays they don't. I had purchased a bag of 5 the other day (because it was cheaper than one, go figure) and of course forgot about them until they were too squishy for anything good (and I was out of tostitos to eat with guacamole). Enter, muffins. Turned to good old Pinterest and found a recipe that looked like a good base. I of course can't just follow a recipe, so I tweeked it a bit and changed this and that to come up with some pretty darn good muffins, filled with all the goodness of avocados.  7 out of 7 kids agreed they were a winner.

I based my recipe off of Mostly Homemade Mom's recipe. I added banana, used less oil and switched sugars.

Chocolate Chip Avocado Banana Muffins 

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 1 cup avocado, peeled and mashed
• 1 cup ripe banana mashed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• chocolate chips

Directions

1. Mix all wet ingredients together


2. Sift dry ingredients together
3. gently fold banana avocado mixture into flour mixture until just combined. Add chocolate chips.
4. Divide into 12 cupcake tins that have been lined or sprayed. *next time I am going to make them in a mini muffin pan, 'cause kids love mini things.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 - 23 minutes *15 for mini or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool before serving.

I am a little dissappointed that they didn't come out more green.

Let me know if you try them and how you like them. Also, any morning advice will be taken, with a cup a coffee.

Hello, Again.

Ok, I am truly going to get better at this blogging thing.  Many nights a lay awake, basically writing blog posts in my head, then I never sit down to type it out. Let's be honest though, I am not sure many people would actually want to read the rambling from my brain, but I shall write it out anyway.
I am trying to find some structure, a focus for my little space on the interwebs. It's hard, I have many things I enjoy talking about, reading about, doing and pinning on Pinterest . Somedays I want to sit down and just type out that days anxiety or happy moment. Other days I want to share something I am working on, finished or want to do. I want to talk about my favourite gadgets, recipes and blogs. I want to brag about my kids, cry about motherhood, give ideas about little people or ask for advice. Some days I am all about crocheting, other days all about cooking, or dreaming about camping and paddleboarding (something I discovered near the end of summer and can't wait to get out there again). I might be going through my running phase (don't worry, this never lasts long) or I might just want to hide in a corner a drink a glass of wine, or Paint Nights! Another new favourite.
 .... so, as you can see, it really is hard to find a perfect niche for my Blog.
maybe that is my niche? As the name of my blog says, It's my Daily Dish. A little bit everything rolled into one. It actually defines motherhood perfectly. We have so many pieces of us, that combined, create who we are.
I guess you will have to check back often and see what is on my mind.

Guilt

As a mother it consumes my whole being at all times. It eats my core and slowly rots me into a puddle of uncertainty. It doesn't matter what I do, the grass always seems greener on the other side and I wonder if I should gather my herd and cross over. I constantly battle between being a mother a wife, housekeeper, daycare provider and still finding me. I feel guilty that I am not there enough, I feel guilty that I am there too much. I feel guilty when I try to catch up on the ever growing to do list. I feel guilty that my house is not as well decorated or organized as others. I feel guilty that I can't be there for all their school events and take them to dance or swimming. I feel guilty if I take that time as it puts out the other families in my care. I feel guilty that my heart sinks a little every time they insist on coming with me to get groceries because that means I don't get that 45 minutes to myself. Some time to lose myself in my own thoughts and get lost in the frozen food aisle. I feel guilty that my children share me, their house, their toys everyday with other children that almost become like step children in our home. I feel guilty at the thought of working outside of the home and sending them to daycare. Don't even get me started on the guilt as a daycare provider. I feel guilty that I don't give them enough then feel guilty when they act selfish. I feel guilty when I wish the years away and quickly mourn the years already lost. It never ends. An infinite circle of guilt. Social media, Pinterest and the likes have made this guilt thicker. A thick fog that makes it hard to breath.

I am not perfect. None of us are. We all do what is best for us. We all do what we need to so we can get through the day. My kids don't always eat enough vegetables. I send processed foods in their lunches. They don't always brush their teeth before bed and I let them watch too much tv/ipad. I yell more than I am proud of. I swear in front of them and they are familiar with wine. My house is messy and I am not nearly as organized as I was years ago. I forget birthdays and I never remember to send cards. But at the end of the day they are loved, cared for and happy. I open a bottle of wine, put my feet up and know that I did the best I could that day. 

Renewal

re·new·al

n.

1. The act of renewing or the state of having been renewed.

2. Something, such as a subscription, that is renewed.

Renewal of this blog. Renewal of myself. Renewing my goal of eating right and exercising. Renewing my motivation. Renewing my soul.

Falling Into Fall

And hoping to find a soft landing. Yikes. The past 2 weeks has been mentally and physically draining. Getting 2, TWO, girls ready for school, Oakley's 6 week growth spurt, a 3 year old with a stomach flu from hell, organizing extra curricular activities, prepping for daycare to start back up ..... Breathe .... on top of keeping up with (or not) daily life. My head is spinning and my wine cupboard is empty. I keep saying I need to stay up later and finish more after the kids are in bed, but 9:00 rolls around and the basket of unfolded laundry laughs at me as I pull out the wine cork and mutter fuck it under my breath. 

Now I will pat myself on the back for the things I did manage to check off my ever growing To Do list and take my slightly buzzed self to bed to read some trashy Sylvia Day. Because nothing makes you feel better than reading about someone else's (fiction or not) hot sex life while you leak breast milk onto your m&m nightgown. 

Surrendering to Suffocation

It's 10:32pm and I am currently being suffocated by my 2 year old. It has been a long and trying week with her and I am really hoping it passes soon. I'm not sure if she is fighting something, like a kidney infection, or if she is just out of sorts due to daddy being gone all week. The days have been filled with a constant grating whine that makes me want to punch myself in the face. I hear about a 100 times a day "mom, I neeeeeeed you" or "I want youuuuuuu". Even as she has her body wrapped around mine like a boa constrictor, breathing all my air, she wakes up whining "I want you". I want to curl up somewhere quiet and peaceful where I can completely escape within myself. 

But, another part of me wants to cherish these moments of being needed. Of knowing that someone loves me and needs me so much that she clings to me like a life boat. I know that soon babe#3 will be here and totally rock her world. I know that one day she will push me away. That one day it could be me whining for her attention. One day, the house will be too quiet. Yes, the days are long, but the years are short. So, I will take a deep breath of stale recycled air and surrender to the suffocation. 

                                 

Back Once Again

I had a thought in the middle of the night. A thought about blogging, how I really should get back to it. I find it somewhat therapeutic to sit down and reflect, share and sometimes vent my thoughts out. I use good ole Facebook a lot to do so, but like the more journal approach to blogging. So here I am. Back at my old blog. I was tempted to start a new one until I stopped in and remembered how much I loved this layout and the little things I have added to it. Plus reading back on the old (but few) posts was refreshing.
My last post was about finding out we were moving. Well, here we are. It's been almost 10 months and it has gone by so fast. I found that there really hasn't been much of an adjustment period. The girls settled in quickly and routine quickly took over. I have been blessed to have been able to continue my daycare business with some wonderful families and C has settled into his work. We have a great network of friends and finally feel like we have found a community. There is a lot of work left to be done on the house, but it is slowly coming a long. While we do not miss all the hustle and bustle of Regina, I am missing some of the conveniences. It seems most services here are open Monday - Friday 8-5, which makes it nearly impossible to get to appointments or do simple banking tasks. Doctors are impossible to get and the ER becomes our walk in clinic. Thankfully Regina is close.
As I was reading back on past musings I found this post about whether we should have a third child. Well, fate kind of took over the decision for us and we will be blessed with a bouncing baby boy sometime near the end of July. I am over the moon excited while at the same time a little scared. Anxiety has loomed over me this pregnancy. Anxiety about going through the baby stages again. Anxiety about finding the time and resources for three children. Anxiety about something going wrong, like we are pushing our luck. Anxiety about labor and getting to Regina. This pregnancy was harder than my last in the first trimester but I am feeling pretty good now. I am trying to enjoy every movement and all the moments because this will be our last.

Big Changes In The Horizan

My head is spinning with a lot of big changes we are in the midst of.
Between C being away for 2 months in Saskatoon (minus weekends, which are a blur anyway) and the craziness of minor home renos and the excitement of spring, we have decided to move. To another city. Back "home" you could say. On a whim C applied for a job in the 'Burn and within minutes of getting home from the interview he was offered the job. A week later the house was listed and sold. My families have sadly been informed of our relocation and now we have the daunting task of finding a new home in a very tight market in a different city. It's scary, stressful and exciting all at the same time. Regina has been my home for 12 years. It is where I met C, started our family, and developed many friendships. Weyburn has changed a lot over the years and I am afraid it is not the same town I grew up in. It's "booming". Full of new businesses and fresh faces. In this new Weyburn we hope to still find a better sense of community that we haven't felt here. We will be closer to family. We will feel a little calmer and less worried about our girls strolling down the block, riding their bikes along the street or playing in the backyard. I hope we feel more at home.