Just a spoonful of dip-dip...

"Just a spoonful of dip-dip makes the veggies go down,

Veggies go down,

Veggies go down.

Just a spoonful of dip-dip makes the veggies go down,

In the most delightful way!"

I'm really making it a priority right now to have a fresh vegetable at lunch and dinner for the girls everyday. It's easy to overlook veggies, especially at lunch. And it's just as easy to include them! We are eating a lot of raw pepper slices (red, yellow, green, orange), cucumber, green beans, sugar snap peas... and a little something to dip into can make a world of difference. Please excuse the dip pic - it's much prettier in person!

Avocado Yogurt Dip

• 1 whole organic avocado
• 1 C organic plain Greek yogurt
• Juice of 1 organic lemon
• Fresh herbs - homegrown cilantro and basil
• Pinch of salt
• Blenderize and enjoy!

Naan, anyone???

Tonight's dinner was good. No, it was great. It was fresh. It was healthy. It was tasty. It was colorful. In fact, I'd like to eat it again tomorrow... for lunch... and dinner. I came across this blog post, Whole Wheat Indian Naan and Tandoori Chicken Wraps, and it just jumped out at me. Now, awhile back, I took a stab at making my own whole wheat tortillas. Total fail. I was a little nervous attempting a similar task today but decided to give it a stab. And guess what? Yum, yum, yummy!

Whole Wheat Naan (similar to pita bread)

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 C warm water
• 2 T organic cane sugar
• 1/4 C organic plain yogurt
• 1 local organic egg
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 1/2 C organic whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 1/2 - 2 C organic whole wheat flour
• Combine yeast and water; let rest for 10 minutes
• Add sugar, salt, yogurt, egg; mix
• Add 2 C flour; mix
• Work in remaining flour until dough is knead-able by hands without sticking
• Knead for 5-10 minutes
• Let rest in oil-coated bowl covered with plastic wrap until doubles in side
• Once doubles, punch down and form golf-ball sized dough balls; place on greased cookie sheet; cover with plastic wrap and let rest until doubles in size
• Roll individual dough balls out on floured surface until 1/4 - 1/8 inch thickness; cook on lightly oiled pancake griddle, brush the side that is face down with a bit of melted butter; flip, cook, and enjoy!

The bread turned out great - lightly browned in spots, cooked through, and pliable enough to fold into a taco-pita shape to fill. Here are the fixins:

• Cilantro yogurt sauce from above website
• 1 C organic plain greek yogurt
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 C finely chopped fresh organic cilantro
• Salt, pepper
• Chicken
• Local, free range chicken breasts sliced thin and marinated in honey and soy sauce; cooked on stove top with marinade
• Organic local fresh spinach
• Organic avocado
• Organic cucumber
• Organic red and yellow pepper slices
• Organic red onion

Let me tell you - those two little fun-muffins ate every bit of everything listed above. And asked for more! Well, actually they like to ask very politely "Momma/Daddy, may I have somepeen else please?". Isn't the center pic just lovely? That is exactly how it tasted! After dinner was done and the little wild women crashed for the night, I finished up my daily load of laundry. Elise is into changing clothes... again... and again... and again. Here is the breakdown of my load of laundry, which consisted entirely of items from yesterday since I do a load everyday:

• 4 cloth napkins
• 2 pairs of my socks
• 1 of my shirts
• 1 pair of John's pajama pants
• 26 items of Abby and Elise's, 4 of which probably belonged to Abby. See what I'm talking about????

Recipe #2: Easy veggie dip

If at first they don't eat... try, try again!

Broccoli is a certified "Super Food". It contains valuable nutritional content and is certainly a great addition to a healthy diet. Out of our girls, Abby has loved broccoli from the beginning. Elise, on the other hand, has acted positively repulsed each time she sees it on her plate. But it has remained on Elise's plate every single time it has been part of a meal. We have never stopped offering it to her, we have never created the "Elise doesn't like broccoli" stigma. Our doctor said it can take up to 20 offerings of some foods before a child will either consume it or before we can declare it a taste that this individual simply does not care for. Today, after far greater than 20 offerings, Elise ate broccoli. She devoured what was on her plate. She asked for more.

Recipe #2: Steamed broccoli with yogurt "dip dip"

Broccoli - steamed briefly to tenderize without losing color

Dip-dip

Greek yogurt

Fresh lemon juice

Kosher salt

Fresh dill, finely chopped