Contemporary Earth Mama

storing leafy greens

I have been meaning to tell you this new great trick.  I also have to admit that it wasn't my idea, but it sure lit my fire.

She posted a while back about storing greens and it was love at first sight.  Imagine, a way to store ones leafy greens for a week without wilt (take note:  they will wilt if forgotten about for weeks in the crisper and what you are left with is reminiscent of algae).

You may or may not understand my love affair with old jars, but this is just the cats meow.  I quickly followed suit and am now a Happy Greens Storer.  Once a week I buy 1 bunch of kale and 1 bunch of chard, using my biobag to tote them home from the co-op.  I cut the main rib off of each piece, chop them up into thumb sized strips ( keep in mind I have short, stubby fingers) and throw the lot of them into the salad spinner.  Once they've dried, I put them into a clear jar with a screw top on it, and place it upon the top shelf in my refrigerator where they smile at me everytime I open the door.

They are always at the ready, patiently waiting to be thrown into the skillet for sauteeing with lemon juice, sesame seeds, olive oil and garlic or to be put into the blender with kefir, maple syrup, an egg yolk, a banana and some frozen berries for a great smoothie.

It's just enough to last one week and we get more dark leafies in then we usually would.

Give it a try and tell me how much you love it!

bulk food bags

Because Typepad and Windows 2003 don't appear to be getting along, and because there aren't many extra resources these days, I am saddened that the photos I have been trying to upload for weeks won't upload.  To think all the unprofessionally shot pictures I have to share with you are now just hanging out in the ZoomBrowser folder is a crying shame.

I want to share with you the greatest find ever.  Once upon a time, she shared some amazing bulk food bags she had created.  I patiently waited and waited for them to show up in her shop, but I could never find them.  Then, by total and complete accident, or a little Etsy serendipity, however you choose to see it, I came upon these at Plum Creek Mercantile.   I am here to tell you they will change my life.  I just got them in the mail, haven't even used them, and yes, I know they will move mountains for me.

Being a serious bulk food shopper, I typically don't go every week to the co-op and buy what I need.  Yes I do shop  weekly for what we need, but I shop the bulk aisle once every 4-6 weeks, and I. Stock. Up.  Big time.  Four pounds or so at a time, I purchase oats, quinoa, brown rice, and gluten free flours all come in large quantities for me.  Lentils, beans, nuts, and seeds, I purchase in smaller quantities.  Instead of carrying these amazing old school jars of mine to/from the co-op, I utilize the small, medium, and large plastic bags right from the bulk section ( I still can't figure out why they don't offer paper).  Once I empty the goods into their respective jars at home, I turn the bags inside out and hang them from my produce rack for a day before tucking them into the drawer.  These bags all get used numerous times before I have to recycle them, BUT, I still don't like that they're plastic.

Now, one can understand my excitement about Plum Creek Mercantile ( and the several other amazing reuseable bulk food bags on Etsy).  I got one large and one small bag  (believe me, this isn't something I could make.)  There is a small window in each so I can see what I've packed in them ( and imagine how fun if your child could use it as a lunch bag?), they fold and velcro down and shut, AND they come with a marking grease pencil to tote along for writing the contents and its PLU number.  Holy goodness, I am in love.

This is my new favorite thing.  What's yours?

i still have two children and a husband...

I still have two children and a husband who are supportive and adjusting to a mama who's a bit busy these days, but for whose work fits in well with the rhythm of home.

Sunny's about to lose one of her top front teeth and is soon leaving us for ten days on a grand adventure to Arizona with her Oma.  She'll spend her time drinking in the sun, horse back riding, hiking, baiting javalenas with raw burger accidentally left on the counter too long ( whoops, that was me a few years ago), and taking in the vastness that is the Grand Canyon.  Little stinker, I'd give anything to be with her, but she'll have so. much. fun. 

***for those of you who have followed the movements of the mouse at our house, you'll be delighted to know the mouse has made its way into a package of goodies being mailed to Oma for the girls to notice in view of the webcam sometime in the next week.  I can only imagine the wonder and excitement of figuring out how she made it into the package.  Sunny will be delighted to share her Arizona adventure with the mouse and I can assure you will take many a photo of their time with her new (hand me down) camera.  The mouse will be a slow hiker though as one of its paws was clearly not felted on properly and it now has only three paws with which to hike in the Grand Canyon.***

Fannie woke up with a rash covering her entire torso, and rashes don't frazzle me, but my gut said to call the doctor on this one.  Turns out it's a little virus that many other young ones are working with right now.  Okay, that works with me...I must be a little behind in sleep to need the two thumbs up from the doc.  Which reminds me...I have found our new family practice doc.  Now, you have to know that we don't do well checks and we haven't even been to the doctor in six years for anything other than a random well check (only for my wish to have it documented in western medicine that I have healthy unvaccinated children, of course), so the fact that we were in this morning with a new doc is huge.  I looked up the Health Partners site ( our new insurance company, which I'm loving) and found a young D.O. who looked interesting.  I'm here to tell you she was awesome...not rushed, kind of hung out, asked about our family, what I do...you know, she just wanted to know how we roll and I made the decision right then and there that she's got my approval and I have now found a doc I feel comfortable referring to families.  Big news.

Chad and I have begun taking classes from Maureen Campion at the Parenting Oasis, with the Positive Parenting class last weekend that was fantastic.  We learned a lot and came together to work on a few behavior pieces we'd like to see changed, both in the girls and in us.  The place was packed and we look forward to the Money Fight class in a couple weeks.  Her whole focus is on couples raising small children as there are so many variables to that one.

My friend formed this sweet little mama's group that meets once per month and because travel plans changed for this weekend, I get to attend and I am so very glad.  We discuss books and important messages with one another, find support in our natural parenting ways and get an opportunity to really check-in about who and how we are.  It's lovely and I have one smart friend in the thinker-upping of this group.

Campbell the Black Lab turns eight this month, so Sunny has crayoned her a beautiful birthday book just like they do in Lilac Kindergarten.  We are preparing a small celebration for her and are currently deciding between cupcakes or just plain cake and whether we make her a birthday hat or birthday 'kerchief.  Many details are yet to be determined.  If March is already getting a wee bit long for you, I suggest planning a birthday party for your dog as a nice distraction.

work is good

Work is good...great, in fact.  I do, at times, want to crawl in a hole for having not seen an issue of My Healthy Beginning for quite a few months, but rest assured all of you fans out there...we're in the game and will be back on track within a matter of weeks.

Our 2nd annual All About Baby issue will be circulated direct to the attendees of the upcoming MN Baby Expo which will be so great for our accounts and mama's.

The My Healthy Beginning team has grown from four to twelve in the past eight weeks, with changes being made in every department.

The 1st annual My Healthy Beginning Experience is scheduled for October 2-3 at the Convention Center in Minneapolis and for September 18-19 in Seattle and is receiving an overwhelmingly positive response...we are so excited to finally have the ability to bring live to you the content of our pages.  Holy Wow.  Here's a teaser of exhibitors and sponsors already on board:  Subaru (did I mention we're giving away one of these at each the Minneapolis and Seattle event?  Kind of pretty, huh?), Stride Rite, Eco Store, Sprout, Mill City Farmers Market, Norwex, The Natural Life Store, Do Good Diapers, Living Spirit Therapy, Health Foundations Birth & Family Health Center, Morning Star Birth & Women's Health Center, KRO Designs, Sniffle Sleeve, Sniffle Buddies, BabyGanic, Dynamic Healing Center, and more!  We're feeling pretty grateful around here!

Did I mention the My Healthy Beginning Experience events will be Zero Waste events? 

Did I mention there will be some exciting partnership news unveiled at the MN Baby Expo on April 10-11th? My Healthy Beginning is the proud sponsor of this event, so come on out and check it out!

If you haven't already, become a fan of My Healthy Beginning on Facebook, and log onto www.myhealthybeginning.com and click on Enews in left hand navigation to get your name on our list for ongoing updates and valuable information of upcoming events, classes and happenings.

If you know of someone in Seattle we need to connect with for our show there this fall, please send them our way!  ( info@myhealthybeginning.com) as these events will be stacked with unique, authentic and amazing products and services for families to enjoy.

beer and other important topics

I have missed my quiet moments alone here with Typepad, having made the mistake to let it slide over the past few weeks.  Why is it a mistake, you ask?  Simply because when I stop in here my brain gets to take a little break.

There is so much to share that the post will seem so random, much like those entries into my journals as a teenager when some boy touched my boob for the first time or slid his hand into my back pocket...they are so random and yet so monumental at the same time.  Probably that was more than you wanted to know, but now you know me a little better than you did twenty seconds ago and that's not always a bad thing.  (Still miss me Jessie?)

Because my 6 year old knows my favorite beer is Spotted Cow, she will be happy to share with the world that I have added to my repertoire of hops in the form of Furthermore...it is so smooth, went right to my cheeks, painting them with bright warm color.  While swapping stories of how lonely it is to be president of our individual companies ( I say with sarcasm) tonight at Local D'Lish, my friend Chad Gillard from Aunt Else Aebleskiver, handed me a Furthermore, and need I say more.  Loved it.