Saint Zita, The Little Cook

Today was an insanely crazy day! I started the day at my Nanny job and then it was a whirlwind of dropping our cat at the vet for shots, taking Goalie to therapy and then to school and then jumping to preparing for our apartment inspection and the kids sporting events today. Did I mention the boys had soccer and football at the same time today! All in all, today might have been crazy but it wasn't all that bad. I am disappointed I was unable to hit the gym today but that means I'll just have to run even father tomorrow to make up for it!

It is funny how today is the feast of Saint Zita because she was a servant and I am sure her days were much more busier than mine could ever possibly be. Her motto was "A servant is not holy if she is not busy; lazy people of our position is fake holiness". She is the patron saint of maids and domestic servants/workers. I was shocked to learn that she is also called upon to find lost keys! There is a beautiful story of a day she stayed at church longer than intended on her baking day but when she returned home she found that angels had prepped all the dough in neat rows and all she needed to do was place it in the oven. This is how she got the nickname "The Little Cook"

In honor of Saint Zita, I thought it would be fun for the boys to be their own "little cooks". Goalie and I attended a "Kids in the Kitchen" class about a month ago and we received the cutest little recipe book for attending the class. 

I thought making little pizzas would be the most time efficient and since Saint Zita was Italian, it seemed appropriate! Baking bread is a traditional way to honor Saint Zita but the boys only had an hour before it was bed since we had so many extracurriculars today so bread would have taken a little to much time for us to enjoy tonight. 

The boys had a blast making their mini pizzas! I also really enjoyed it because we had leftover veggies that needed to be eaten and there was little prep and mess! I highly recommend having a mini pizza party with your family.

Lately I have been allowing my daily duties to become "burdens". Reading about this patient, kind and hard working Saint has reminded me that I should complete my duties in a prayerful manner and be gracious for the abundant blessings that have been given to myself and my family. 

Dear follower of the Son of God,

You desired to become a servant

And died the death of a slave.

You were not only a faithful maid-servant

But a practical lover of the poor.

Like Mary You could have said:

"Behold the handmaid of the Lord."

Prompt domestics to be just and charitable,

Seeing in their employers children of God

And setting an example for them

as servants of God.

Amen

Saint Zita, pray for us!

Feast of Saint Mark

I feel like it has been forever since I've finished a post! I have a ton that will be completed before the end of the month ranging from The Kentucky Derby, our Liturgical Feasts and some new activities that my family will be getting involved in. We have had some craziness with Goalie having IEP revaluations, kindergarten transition meetings and starting therapy again this past week. Transitions and changes are really hard on Goalie so it has been my focus to help him during this period of change. We recently purchased a weighted vest from a friend who was able to make him one with Spider-Man material and it has really helped him so much during this busy week! Thank you so much Amy!! If you are interested in a great quality product check out Crunchybums, Bands and Blankets on Facebook! I will be ordering some weghted blankets soon!

Well back to the topic of this post. It is the feast of Saint Mark! I honestly have been overwhelmed with our schedules lately so I was only able to plan a vegetarian dinner because during the feast of Saint Mark it is tradition to say prayers for the crops. I made a Vegetable Quinoa Casserole. It actually wasn't all that bad except I thought it was a little dry so I will be adding something to the ingredients I threw together tonight to help with that next time. 

It is also traditional to enjoy some cherries on this feast day. I found a recipe that allowed you to make a cherry cobbler in a mug but I was unable to make it tonight for several reasons including that I need to go to the grocery store and it was late because Goalie had a late soccer game. I still intend to make this dessert sometime this week because it sounds too delicious not to try and the boys overheard me talk about it and were rather disappointed they would have no treat after dinner tonight. 

Here is a list of some posts I have been working on and hope to have finished soon:

Skype Book Club: We are reading Rising Strong! 

Summertime Bucket list: Fun activities for families and couples. 

Saint Zita the Little Cook

Saint Catherine of Siena

Saint Gianna

Walburgia Night

{pretty, happy, funny, real} 

Summer Garden

Mindfulness 

As you can see, I have been working on quite the assortment of topics. If you have any ideas or suggestions please don't hesitate to share!

Saint Mark, pray for us!

Spring has finally Arrived!

Spring has finally sprung! The trees are blooming and the fragrant blossoms on the tree have filled the air with the most amazing smell. We have been getting lots of rain showers but it hasn't changed the beauty that is growing in every corner of Colorado.

This is my families first time celebrating this beautiful season in this beautiful state and we have started a list of fun things we want to accomplish in the beautiful weather.

1. Run more! I need to lose these pounds I've packed on since moving here.
2. Go to the Zoo! Its on our Celebrate the 50 Days of Easter Calendar.
3. Go Hiking more
4. Go Camping... my boys have never been camping and I think this would be a fun and memory trip for everyone!
5. Take Family Pictures. I can never have enough!

I am looking for some fun new challenges so if you have any suggestions, I am all ears!

Saint Stanislaus of Kracow

Monday was the Feast of Saint Stanislaus of Kracow and I wish I could have gotten this post done sooner. Before I started researching this intriguing saint, I did not know anything about him. He is the patron saint of Poland. He became a martyr by standing up to a corrupt king who became filled with hatred for Saint Stanislaus. This king's hatred became so strong that he killed him at the altar and had his body dismembered and scattered. Interestingly Kracow is where the next World Youth Day will be held this year in July!

If you have had a chance to read my blogs about my new workouts, new diets and healthy challenges my family is trying out to make our lifestyles more healthier, We have decided that we would incorporate a Vegan recipe night once a week and Fridays would be a No Meat recipe night. Excluding meat from our family dinners a couple times of week will increase our vegetable intake and lower our weekly grocery bill. We also are extremely busy right now with sports 6/7 days in the week in addition to our regular appointments and to dos and planning simple but healthy meals are very important... so it's really a WIN WIN WIN no matter how you spin it. So in honor of Saint Stanislaus I have chosen a Polish Sausage and pepper recipe to try out tonight. 

Father, may the example of St. Stanislaus of Poland inspire the people of Poland and throughout the world to follow Jesus Christ even in the midst of oppression form ungodly governments. May his holiness of life and dedication to prayer be an example to each one of us in our own state in life and vocation. May his holy priesthood and Episcopal service inspire priests and bishops in our own time to care for the faithful and stand up to those who persecute the Church, without fear for their own safety, willing to even shed their blood if called to do so. Amen

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life 

Every Thursday Like Mother Like Daughter ~

{pretty}

This has been the week that my husband and I decided we would challenge ourselves to a Vegan diet for a week. You can read more here. I am missing my dairy so very much but I have to admit that the recipes that we have been preparing are so beautiful and very appealing to the eyes. Tomorrow I will be trying out some Red Lentil Curry in the crockpot! The boys have an extra day off from school so they will get to smell the amazing aroma with me all day.

{happy}

Goalie started Spring Soccer and has had two games already and he has been doing amazing! His team is undefeated so far and we have had so much fun watching him run around on the field. He has even worn his batman jacket to his second game. We are up to bring snacks this Monday!

{funny}

This is Lemon, our crazy cat. As you can see she has a beautiful lemon streak on her face and that is how she came to get her name. Well, she has recently decided that she really enjoys drinking from our toilet. She knocks all the hygiene products I leave on the counter and hops onto the toilet because she is too proper to just jump on the toilet. This picture has been cracking me up the past few days. 

{real}

This American flag was one donated to a restaurant from a fallen soldiers family. My husband overheard that they were going to throw it away and offered to take it. I am so glad that he did. This is a real symbol of our nation and a real person's sacrifice. We have hung it on our wall in honor of whomever this flag was meant to represent. 

"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends."

John 15:13

Challenge: Vegan for a Week

Some of my Facebook friends and I are doing a challenge to be vegan for a week. And let me tell you it is certainly a challenge! I love dairy and I am craving some greek yogurt and cheese!! Thank goodness I have some great people and my husband that are here to keep me accountable. There are so many vegan options and I am having fun experimenting with new recipes.

Breakfast:
My husband and I really enjoy overnight oats (also known as cold porridge or summer porridge). The normal recipe I use I can't use because it includes greek yogurt. I love having oats for breakfast so I decided to make mine the vegan way!

The Basic Oat Recipe:

1/2 Cup Old Fashioned Oats (Do not use steel cut or quick oats)

1/3 Cup Silk Dairy Free Yogurt 

1/3 Cup Almond milk

Combine all the ingredients in a mason jar and seal the lid and shake until well mixed

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Oats:

Add 2 Tbsp PB2 with chocolate and 1 whole banana split and cut to the basic oat recipe. Reseal the lid and shake again until mixed. Place in refrigerator until morning

Strawberry Banana Oats:

Add 1/3 cup frozen strawberries and 1/2 banana to the basic oat recipe. Reseal the lid and shake again until mixed. Place in the refrigerator until morning.

Lunch:
Lunchtime is always the hardest for me to find something healthy to eat because the boys are at school and my husband is at work so I am all alone. I don't want to create a huge mess preparing one meal for myself so this is when I snack and make my bad eating decisions. Having a meal plan works wonders and prepping foods that can be made in larger portions helps also. In anticipation of my lunch time, I decided to make a three bean salad.

Three Bean Salad:

1 Can Kidney beans

1 Can Garbanzo beans

1 Can Green beans

1/2 Cup Green pepper diced

1/2 Cup Red pepper diced

1 Apple (cored and diced) toss in lemon juice to keep from browning

3 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

1 Tsp Dijon Mustard

1 Tsp Ground Cloves

1 Tsp Pepper

Combine all the ingredients (including the apple cider vinegar, mustard, pepper and cloves) into a container with a lid and shake. The salad will taste even better after being placed in the refrigerator overnight.

There are many variations of this salad including substituting black beans as one of the "three" beans,  or adding onion, celery.

Dinner:
Dinner time is family time so we have to have some good food for that! We are not forcing the boys to adhere to our diet so anything we make to eat I prepare the meat or other non vegan items separately. We made some Taco Salads for dinner tonight excluding the cheese, sour cream and meat for myself and my husband.

Our salad started with a base of Spring mix. I topped it with a mixture of corn and black beans. I grilled some onion with red and green peppers and layered that on top of the corn and black beans. To finish the salad I added avocado and black olives and used salsa as our dressing.

We are attempting to make some changes in our diets and keep our bodies healthy. I would love to hear about new challenges or ideas to add some excitement on our journey to a healthier lifestyle.