Monday, November 18, 2013

LifeFactory

Once in a while I just have to share a great find. We've been looking and looking and looking for a "best" option for water bottles.  Not only do the kids use them daily but Mike and I try to carry water with us all the time as well.  I have always had an acute (understatement) sense of smell and taste when it comes to water so I'm usually put off by most options. At home I actually drink from a pitcher of water with lemon all the the time - the lemon at least masks the taste of anything that might be in there.
We have selected BPA free options for the kids, and yet when I have had to drink from their bottles it tastes so much like plastic I have to spit it out. Don't tell me nothing weird is getting into the water if it tastes that bad.  And the aluminum options just don't keep the water cool for long enough.
Enter the solution:


So I went to one of our funky earth friendly stores in town and found the answer. LifeFactory glass bottles.  I was excited but skeptical. I like glass (even used glass baby bottles) but of course it is heavy and scary to have the kids take it to school.  So I bought ONE and had Kaelyn try it (went with the 16 oz with the straw).

She LOVES it.

She has always been a great water drinker but she has at least doubled her intake.  It is definitely heavy. And she knows it. But I ask if she's okay carrying it around and she proudly says yes.  She loves it.

So we bought a smaller one for Andrew (12 oz with straw).  And he loves it equally well.

They actually don't drop them much (although I'll admit my kids aren't very clutsy so this may be a factor)...but the occasional drop has ended well - no breakage at all.

Of course, they are pricey -but we have limited our bottle collection to 1 per person. So not only do our cabinets have more space (actually, they're always in use so really, they are never even in the cabinet) but the price evens out - not to mention I imagine we won't have to replace them as often as you do with the plastic and even the aluminum).

No- I'm not getting paid for this advertisement. Just looking to make life a little easier for you, if you happen to be in the market for the "best water bottle option"....this one gets my vote...and Kaelyn, and Andrew, and Mike's!

Keeping it real! Kathy

Friday, November 15, 2013

Pancakes with a twist

I am really having a hard time getting food into Andrew lately - especially protein.  His favorite food, that he would eat every day all day, is pancakes.  In my opinion, one of the less nutrient dense options.  So I'm playing with getting more of the good stuff inside and thought I'd share today's winner...


Can you guess what is inside?  Kinda purple....kinda green??
Here is the recipe for a double batch of my
Blueberry Spinach Pancakes

3 cups organic whole wheat flour
7 teaspoons aluminum free baking powder (this is what makes them fluffy)
1 teaspoon kelp (yep - you read that right - I sub kelp for salt if I can hide it! It is a great source of Iodine)
1 banana
1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries
1 cup spinach
1/2 cup milk (I use coconut milk)
2 pastured eggs (please find and use pastured eggs - you get natural omegas from these good guys)
6 Tablespoons coconut oil, melted


In a blender, mix banana, milk, spinach, blueberries, and eggs till liquidy.
In a bowl mix flour, baking powder, and kelp.  Then quickly and gently mix in the blended ingredients.  The baking soda really gets going and it thickens and expands quickly.  Before it's all mixed together mix in the coconut oil. The only reason I add this last is b/c coconut oil can harden when it gets warm and you want it to stay melted.  Then if the batter is too thick, I add more milk to get it to a wetter consistency that will spoon out well onto my griddle.

Then scoop the batter and place onto griddle, cooking each side for about 2 minutes. I find these are so fluffy I have to smash them down a little to keep them flatter and cooking quicker/all the way through.

Add your choice of toppings - we use real maple syrup and a little bit of pastured butter.

Andrew also loves making the batter - here he is excited to mix in the blended wet ingredients which promised to make a fun purple pancake!

Obviously if your kids wanted a pink or red pancake you could use strawberries or raspberries.  Just know that green items (aka spinach) turn it brown.




Keeping it real! Kathy