Food is Love

Sep 15th

There was a day last month where I was really on top of the kitchen. And my ego. Really, the whole week felt pretty great and I got to thinking about how I show love through food. When I feed my kids wholesome, homemade meals I feel like a better mom and I know all the work I put into it is really love pouring out of my heart.

I woke up around 5 one morning to make those fresh fruit crepes. I found a beautiful box of peaches at Costco and our local grocery store had kiwi on sale. So I had to buy strawberries to tie everything together. I chopped up a couple of peaches, four or five kiwis and about a dozen strawberries. Next, I drizzled a tablespoon or two of honey over all the fruit bits. We layered a tablespoon of plain, lowfat yogurt on the bottom of the crepes, to try and keep the fruit from falling out, and then we gobbled everything up. Reid ate four and still requested another. I had to cut the poor boy off. Even I really enjoyed them (I have a hard time loving fresh fruit crepes as much as my childhood jelly and powdered sugar crepes).

For Reid's lunch I packed enough cheese, crackers and sausages to make five or six little sandwiches. Then he had a small handful of fresh green beans and grapes to go along with it. I feel like I was really creative and balanced with his school lunches during the first three weeks. This last week was mostly whatever junk I could grab before he ran to the bus. Veggie straws, chocolate rocks, pizza rolls -- very little fresh fruit and veggies. I gotta get back on top of things.

That afternoon Nell and I made Peanut Butter Bars -- which I haven't had in years -- and she giggled with joy the whole time. That's when it struck me once again, making food for, and with, my family really is an act of love.

For dinner I made one of Ben's favorite dishes. We had speedy chicken curry with a side of both rice and (Costco) naan. The kids are now in love with naan. And why wouldn't they be?

Anyway, I went to all the trouble of taking a photo of each thing I made that day and put them all together in that beautiful collage. I thought and thought about how I was going to blog about food being love and little bodies needing balance (the PB bars). I was going to write up a grand old post that transported you right into my messy, happy kitchen.

And then I never did. So you get this random post more than two weeks later. Because how could I pass up sharing that beautiful photo?