Eat Your Books

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My Home | Eat Your Books.

Do you ever spend hours searching through all your cookbooks for a good recipe to use the turnip greens that came from the coop this week?  Well, I just discovered this website which is a step in the right direction.  Basically, you can make a list of the cookbooks you have and type an ingredient, and it will look through the indexes of them and pull up all the recipes with said ingredient.

As I said it is a step in the right direction as it has some limitations.  First of all, it doesn’t actually have the recipe (probably can’t get the rights to it, and you are supposed to own the recipe).  Also, it doesn’t tell you the page number. I find that a bit annoying as I have to then look them up in the cookbook instead of flipping right to the page.  Finally, I found that it wasn’t a complete index.  I looked up something, Mizuna perhaps, and Eat your Books came up with one or two recipes whereas the index of  my copy of ‘Wild About Greens’ lists more than 10.

 

On the positive side, it seems to have a good collection of books – it had all my random whole foods plant based books.  Also, you can add up to 5 books with a free account.

 

In spite of the drawbacks, I do recommend it as it is still quicker than looking up ingredients in each of your books.  However, I do hope they will at least add page numbers to their listings in the future.

Long Hiatus and balance in life

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Yikes!  It has been forever since I have posted anything (I am scared to even look at the date!).  We bought and built a house in the last year, and it has been the most consuming thing I have ever done in my life (even more so than having 4 children!)  I feel like I basically put my life on hold for about 6 months as I never knew when I would be summoned to discuss something with a workman or then spending hours and hours researching taps or tiles.  When I was in the midst of it all, I thought I would never do it again, but now that we have been in the house for 3 months and most everything is complete and we now feel settled, I can already imagine how I would approach the process differently.

The biggest issue is the balance with your current life.  I felt like I had to drop all regular commitments, and I hardly saw friends (except those who were helping me with some aspect of the house).  It is so hard to spend time with and enjoy the people you love.  My dedication to healthy eating also suffered as I had no energy to plan, shop for and prepare healthy meals.  My running schedule became less than what I do even when I am pregnant.  I stopped all practice of yoga and pilates (which I have always done several times a week).  I did nothing at my children’s school.  I took no vacations.  I exhausted all my savings and have piled up debt.  When seen from this perspective, one would wonder why ever do something which seems so traumatic?

Overall, this was a very short term and over-all happy event in our life.  It is a better living situation for us.  My schedule and routines are now starting to return to normal.  I believe that financially we will be better off in the end.  However, not all life events are so.  Sometimes things happen beyond are control which are not joyous and are even more disruptive.  So what lessons have I learned – what do I wish I would have done?

1.  Make time for quiet in your life.

More and more I am convinced that we need some time every day to settle our souls.  As a christian, I see this as a time of quieting my soul and trying to hear God’s voice.  Research seems to support that all humans handle stresses in their lives better when they take some time to process and reflect.  My personal tendency is to do the opposite.  The more I have on my to do list, the more I try to do.  However, I think I could be more effective by taking at least 10-15 minutes per day to quiet my mind.  By taking the time to be quiet, I can then focus and think better in stead of unproductively spinning wheels.

2.  Make time for loved ones

In happiness surveys, it seems the number one factor affecting people’s happiness is spending time with loved ones and doing things for other people.  I would feel much more satisfied taking the time to call someone on their birthday and simply catching up than spending 3 hours picking out tiles.  In any case, I hope my friends will be with me longer than my floor selections or house!

3.  Make time to eat right and exercise

Like the need for quiet, our body also needs the correct fuel and exercise to handle whatever comes our way.  I think enough has been said on this topic that it is enough for me to simply remind you.

Now, I make these suggestions, but I did none of it!  Will I be smarter the next time I have some traumatic event in my life?  Perhaps by incorporating these practices into my daily life now they will become so ingrained that I won’t let them slide when I most need them?

 

Vegan Goldfish Crackers – Chef Chloe – Vegan Cooking and Recipes

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Vegan Goldfish Crackers – Chef Chloe – Vegan Cooking and Recipes.

 

Just came across this, and it seemed too cute NOT to share.  I haven’t even tried it yet, but if the kids like it, I may be splurging for a goldfish cookie cutter as well (but not sure I have the patience to cut them all out!

Healthy Kids Lunch

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Packing lunch for the kids is always a bit stressful.  I even bought 2 of the Vegan Lunch Box books for ideas.  However, I have found that I don’t have the energy to prepare yet another meal for lunch.  What works for me now is kind of a leftover/snacky approach.  Part of the issue is that one of my kids doesn’t like sandwiches  otherwise they would get peanut butter and jelly every day.   What you see in this photo is fairly typical and quite popular with the kids.  I wrap the tofu dogs in some pre-bought dough and stick them in the toaster (idea from Vegan Lunch box) and I microwaved an ear of corn and sliced into wheels (also inspired by Vegan Lunch Box).  I included some of the Energy Bars from Dr. Furhman (one of our family’s favorite treats with dates, nuts and cocoa powder).  Then I top it off with raw fruits and veggies.  I also have food jars which I fill with dinner leftovers several times a week (soup, rice or pasta dishes, etc).  While I still feel a bit rushed and stress in the morning, these lunches don’t require much planning as I can just keep certain supplies in stock and fill their boxes with whatever is available on a given day, and, best of  all, the kids like it!

typical school lunch

Bread frustrations

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There are two areas in my life where I frequently feel like a complete failure. Number one is getting my kids to bed and number two is baking bread.

Me and the bread have a long history of ups and downs. In my younger days, it seemed like such fun thing, but I never could get a decent loaf on my own until I got a bread maker. I loved the simplicity and waking up to the smell of fresh bread. However, I detested the crusts and then resorted to doing all the prep in the machine but baking in the oven with good results. Then I moved to Kosovo and I couldn’t take the bread maker with me.

When I lived in Kosovo, I felt it was a necessity because there was only one kind of white bread available. Once again, I was unable to have success with yeast breads, so I turned to all manners of quick breads and decided I didn’t need to deal with yeast. Next I moved to Germany, and there was such a variety of whole grain breads available that I decided there was no point to go through the effort.

At my Thermomix demonstration, the rep made rolls by grinding while wheat and spelt grains, using fresh yeast, and the whole thing was done in just 30 minutes. I thought, now I have my answer, and I entered a big bread kick using Thermomix recipes. Fortunately most have turned out quite well, but now I have added the challenge of trying to use all whole grains, and I am meeting very mixed success.

It seems sometimes I get a perfect loaf, but half the time it is a failure and I can’t figure out how to guarantee success – especially if I use all whole grains. For example, yesterday I used a recipe which has made perfect sandwich bad in the past, but yesterday it didn’t rise at all (now I have learned I can just make crackers with that). Today I tried a recipe with a soaker and a sponge (I read somewhere that soaker whole grain wheat overnight before baking is supposed to help, and I even added several tablespoons of vital wheat gluten hoping to help), but no matter how much flour I added, the dough was so sticky that I couldn’t shape a loaf. I know I can keep adding flour, and that is what I usually do, but I have also read that the most common novice bread maker mistake is to add too much. It seems I need to usually add about double the called for flour get the right consistency, and I know I shouldn’t add that much.

I’ve decided I need to go to a bread making course to be able to witness and feel the proper dough consistencies, but living in Germany, I have no idea how to go about it. Plus, I am getting tired of trying with bread. I keep reading that it shouldn’t be hard, and I should be able to make much healthier and cheaper bread. So what is my problem? Does anyone have any secrets to baking whole grain bread? I am tired of experimenting and just want to have some success!!!

Homemade Almond Milk

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Well, I may be the last one to try it, but I finally made my own almond milk.  Everyone keeps telling me how easy it is, and I hate paying the 3.99 euro per liter, but I didn’t feel like soaking almonds overnight or blanching almonds.  Then I found blanched almonds for the same price as regular almonds at Goll Reformhaus.  (Which reminds me of a questions for those in the know – are all items at the ‘Reformhaus’ bio?  It doesn’t say on the package.)
I mixed 200 g almonds, 600 g of water, 4 dates and a splash of vanilla on high in my Thermomix for 2 minutes, and then I poured it into a nut milk bag (or cheese bag) that I found on Amazon.de.  It seems that sweeteners, flavours, blanching and straining are just a matter of preference.  People make the milk many different ways, and you could just mix raw almonds and milk and drink, but all the variations are for personal preference for flavour and consistency.  However, most recipes using whole almonds do suggest soaking them first. From the pictures, you can see how I set the bag up over a bowl.  After I poured the mixture in, some drained through the bag and then I squeezed the bag to get the remaining liquid out.  Then I was left with some pulp.  There are a few recipes out there for using the pulp as well.  I plan to try the cookies from Choosing Raw.  (You can see pictures on the side, but I can’t see to format this post correctly so you can look at the captions to figure it out).

I will admit this was pretty easy, but I was disappointed to see how little almond milk it made.  It looks like about 2 cups.  The recipe says it makes 3, and I was able to squeeze a little more milk out, but now I am not sure that I am really saving any money this way since 200 g of bio almonds costs 3.50 euros at Der Leyenhof.  I will have to look at my package of store-bought milk to see if it has anything else added because now the only advantage I see to making it is to stick to more whole food ingredients, but I have to admit I am not sure it is worth making it myself. I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences!

Almond Milk

Leftover Almond Pulp

Blanched Almonds

Nut Milk Bag

Tips for traveling with small kids

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I have travelled a bit in the almost 11 years since having my first child. Living abroad also means big trips home – a transatlantic flight plus trips all over the east coast and even beyond to see friends and family every year. Additionally, living in Europe is a travel paradise since there is so much to see in a relatively small space. I have taken trips to Asia and Africa with kids as well, so I have a bit of experience in this area. However, I am now returning from a 2 week car trip and realized that I could still learn something from my experiences. Here are my tips from what I have applied and learned from this most recent adventure.

1. Pack light

I realized that on this trip I have packed lighter with each child. With my first, I remember filling up the whole car and packing every space around her. This trip with all four, we managed to fit everything in the back without a car top carrier. This is a true miracle if you consider how small the packing space is in the back of our car. How did I do this? I basically packed only a ‘girl’ bag and a ‘boy’ bag since I knew boys and girls would be in separate hotel rooms at certain stages of the trip. Also, I didn’t take many ‘baby’ things with me – only a pop up tent for sleeping , a very compact stroller and my ergo. I considered leaving all electronics at home but caved at the last moment, and that could have simplified packing more. One thing I probably could have left was my Nikon camera and lenses. I hardly used them since the iPhone is so easy and takes pretty good pictures for most conditions. Finally, we travelled in summer and that is always easier to pack for.

Since we never spent more than 3 nights anywhere, it really helped having fewer bags to load and unload. It also meant fewer things to keep up with as we left each place.

2. Car over plane

In general, I prefer car travel with small kids. One of the most obvious reasons is that you have more freedom in taking things even though I just recommended that it is better to pack light. Most importantly though is that I find the freedom of movement much better with small children. I don’t have to spend time waiting for busses, trains or planes. I can stop when necessary and I can go when I want. All of these are key with little ones. One of the worst things with mass transit and little ones is the inevitable waiting in lines – waiting to check in, waiting for security, waiting to board. Wee ones don’t understand why they have to stay in one place and usually want to run someplace causing you to lose your place in line or cause a security threat. Granted sitting in a car for hours may not but fun either, but the kid is contained and can usually be distracted with some sort of food or fun. If not, then you can always stop and let them run somewhere.
I also find getting kids around at my destination easier with a car for many of the same reasons. I find it stressful to keep up with 3 little ones running every which way on a bus or train and am always afraid someone will get on or off without the rest of us. I prefer being able to control my schedule. Inevitably a child will start screaming and I would rather that happen in the privacy of my car rather than on a bus where 30 people give me the evil eye. So even if I fly, I usually rent a car on the other end and then I need car seats, and THOSE are a pain to fly with, so it is easier just to drive to my destination when possible.

(Obviously, sometimes planes are necessary as one is not able to drive across the Atlantic, so I still have a couple of LONG flights every year, and I ALWAYS buy the seat for the infants and strap them into a car seat so I can eat and sleep when they are asleep.  I also find they sleep better in their car seats than in my arms, and I have had little success with bassinets.  In 10 years, I think I have only gotten one, you can’t have it for take off or landing, and the child shouldn’t even be turning over yet to use them, so really only the first 3 months….)

3. Rent a house/apartment and stay put

In general I prefer to stay in one place and make day trips as I find the packing and unpacking difficult with little ones. I also prefer to rent an apartment or house so we can put the kids down in a separate room. To be honest, I have never been able to get my babies to sleep with me in a hotel room. During one hotel stay on this trip, our one year old was up past midnight because she was in the same room with us and I don’t think she ever went to sleep before 9 in a hotel room, but she still managed to be up by 6 every morning.

On this trip we changed our usual plans because we wanted to catch up with old friends so every 2 days we went to another friend’s house, but we realized that was not the wisest decision with little ones. In hindsight we should have rented a lake house somewhat convenient to our friends and invited them to each come to us for 2 days instead. Then we wouldn’t have needed to repack the kids so much and the kids would have had a comfortable place to run around rather than us being paranoid about what the kids were gettin into at our friends’ house. For example, the kids were jumping on the couches and throwing down cushions, running through hallways and messing up rugs, playing around breakable objects. If we had rented a place these activities wouldn’t have stressed me out nearly as much.

Also, when you stay at a house/flat you can prepare cheaper and healthier food than a hotel and you can eat whenever the kids are hungry rather than trying to find a restaurant and wait for service.
Finally, one of the most important reasons for us to try for a house is that we can rarely fit all 6 of us in a hotel room. Most hotels in Europe don’t even allow for more than 1 child per room as they usually only have one double bed and sometimes no room for an extra bed.

Another advantage of a house is that you often have laundry facilities which are very useful with kids.

For those in Northern Europe, center parks have reasonably priced bungalows that sleep up to 12 in kid friendly parks. However, here are limitations on the days. Eurocamp offers vacation bungalows and tents with more flexibility in vacation spots in southern Europe. Elsewhere, Homeaway.com has info on renting houses all over the world.

4. If you must stay in a hotel, then:

  • Look for family hotels near parks and with play area
  • Make sure you can get breakfast
  • Look for triple, quadruple or family apartment rooms
  • If you must get multiple rooms, Rent rooms next to each other. My husband took the boys in one and I took the girls in another as our kids are too small to be on their own. With neighboring rooms we could easily put all the kids together so one of us could go running or to load/unload the car

My new favorite place to find hotels is Booking.com because they give lots of good information like: how many beds are in a room and may be added to the room, is there wifi, what is the parking situation, is breakfast included, etc.  I think it is the only website I could search for rooms for a family of 6 and actually get results!  I used it for all of my hotel bookings on this last trip with great success.

5. Car/plane bag

Every parent knows the necessity if these, but what I have found is that my younger children rarely play with the items in their bags and items often get list along the way. I suggest only bringing a couple of engaging activities like a coloring book or travel game and looking for new toys along the way. In general, I don’t like to add any more toys to our collection, but kids always prefer the new toys, even a happy meal toy. Alternatively, shop smart for good travel toys and pull them out along the way so that things are new and exciting rather than things they are used to. When traveling by car, we leave each child’s bag in the car as they usually find things to play with in homes and other places

6. Healthy snacks

One of my biggest annoyances while traveling is all the junk my kids are exposed to. It seems that vacations revolve around french fries and ice cream. So I try to load up on a bag a healthy snacks and let the kids eat as much as they want from that. The best would be fresh fruit, but I find that difficult to manage on the road since it doesn’t keep well and can be messy to eat. Instead I rely on rice crackers and dried fruit. I also splurge on fruit purée and fruit bars from DM since it adds variety and isn’t something I normally buy. Ideally you will actually pack lunches as well and eat those at road stops, but I am usually too lazy….

7. Stop to play

My kids seem to eat constantly in the car, so when we stop for ‘meals’ they aren’t really interested in eating what they really need is to run and play it seems that little ones cant last much more than 2 hours so I plan a stop with a playground for every 2 hours, I also limit driving to 6 hours/day and try not to travel 2 days in a row by alternating travel days with active days. For example , on our way back from Hungary, we split the drive with a day at playmobil fun park. These restrictions I find most useful with the under 3 crowd. By the time kids are 3 they can entertain themselves longer and handle longer drives (especially if you hand them an iTouch or iPad!). However, I haven’t traveled without younger kids in 5 years so I just add an hour for every 2 and limit driving to 6 so that the little guys don’t have to spend too much time locked into car seats and get a chance to use their muscles.

If you are in Austria, I recommend stopping at Landzeit or Marche as both have a large selection of fresh food and large play places. They also have neat carts to sit kids in that also hold 2 trays.

8. Take a laundry bag

I always take a nylon bag to collect dirty clothes in since kids attract dirt and I don’t want it contaminating all my clean stuff. It also makes it easy to when you have a chance to do laundry.

9. Always be prepared for rain and cold in Europe.

We looked at the weather forecast for this trip and saw 90s and sunny so we figured we didn’t need to worry about long pants or rain jackets, but we were wrong on both counts. As I write this in July 21 from Germany the low today is 47 and it is raining. We spent many days underdressed and damp and would have been more comfortable with even one pair of long pants and a rain jacket for each

10. Apple OS devices/electronics

I am torn on this one. My kids have sat on these for an entire transatlantic flight, so it certain keeps the kids sedate for much longer than normally. The only time they made a noise is when I tried to take it away. So why NOT rely on these devices?  Well, dang it, I never had one when I was a kid and I was just fine!  Honestly, there is something to letting the kids experience the ‘boredom’ of the trip so that they are forced to bond with the family.  After all, one of the points of a trip is family time.  To get a good illustration of how traveling together can bond a family, watch ‘Little Miss Sunshine’!  The other problem with smaller kids is that mine won’t catch up on sleep.  Normally driving/traveling is a great time for my kids to get naps, but if they have an apple device in their hands, they will NOT sleep or do anything for the entire time said device is in possession.

Hope my lessons learned help you. Happy travels this summer!