Instead of going through each and every one of my hurdles,

naming the ones that I cleared and the ones that I knocked over,

I am going to tell you one story about today.

I picked my daughter up from school and we drove to my mom’s house to pick up my son, as she had been watching him for the day.

On our drive home, my daughter asked if we could go to Wendy’s for ice cream.

It is so funny, but out of all of the blog posts I have written in the past 4.5 years I can still remember this one. And yes, my daughter, son and I get Frosty ice cream treats sometimes.

But today, she had a decision to make: Play with Bubbie or go to Wendy’s. She chose playtime at Bubbie’s which lasted a good hour and a half.

On our way out the door she asked me if we could go to Wendy’s on our way home. I said that no, we could not, as we did not have time because she chose to play at Bubbie’s. This was met with great upset.

“I have an idea!” I said. “I will make you a Wendy’s Frosty at home.”

“Well what if it doesn’t taste the same?”

“I will do my best,” I replied.

“But what if I don’t like it?” she asked, in a choked up voice.

“Then that will mean that my best just wasn’t good enough.”

At home, I mixed vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup and whole milk in my Nutribullet. Mind you, this was all going on as I was getting home for the first time since 7:45 this morning, meaning I had to bring in the mail, unpack her lunch bag, wrangle the baby, get water for the workers downstairs, let out the dog and, if I got a spare second, breathe.

So I made a homemade Frosty. It was less solid and more liquid-like than the real thing, but the taste was spot on. I gave my daughter her “Frosty” in a cup with a straw.

“No!” she refused. “I don’t want to drink it with a straw. I want to eat it like I do from Wendy’s with a spoon.”

So I dumped the contents of the cup into a bowl and added some more vanilla ice cream, mixed it up to thicken the consistency and handed it back to her. With a spoon.

She took one bite.

“Mommy? Will you be angry at me if I tell you something?”

I don’t even think I could muster up the ability to speak by that point.

“I don’t like the ice cream. I didn’t want chocolate.”

And so, my son got a special treat: a whole, delicious “Frosty” as his pre-dinner appetizer. I got frustrated.

My daughter whimpered. She complained about being hungry and she kept saying the word “disappointed”.

And so I got up from the floor that I had been cleaning (I forgot to mention that my son+milkshake=giant mess) and said, “This is not an actual problem. There are real problems in this world. There are sad things and there are scary things and this is not something to get upset about. I have plenty of food for you to eat and we are lucky that we have so many things to choose from.”

She sulked away, up to her bedroom (oh god, I can only imagine what she will be like in 10 years) and I joined the baby at the kitchen table as we happily shared my delicious creation.

And do you know what I say to my daughter? Besides, “I tried my best.” and “I am sorry I am not perfect.” and “You are lucky that I even went through all of this trouble.”?

“I drink your milkshake.”

The post When your best is not good enough. appeared first on Mommy Ever After.

In the classic love stories section of your local bookstore, you will undoubtedly find the tale of Becca and her beloved kale shakes.

We courted, we fought, we divorced, we reconciled, and now we are an old married couple. In fact, we spend every night together.

But, because I am not a chef, nor am I a health food specialist (I was recently told to lay off the gummies; and, well, this)

I have never written specifically about what goes into my shakes and how I make them.

Last night, as we were doing the dishes, my husband and I were talking about how out of any product we have ever bought for the kitchen, our Nutribullet has been the absolute best. I believe I used the word “amortized”, and he said something more business-y like, “we’ve gotten a return on our investment many, many, many times over.”

I first heard about the Nutribullet when I was teaching a Toddler Group and the moms were raving about it; how they were using it to make smoothies and cashew milk and so I bought one with the generous gift card that my class gave me at the end of the year.

We literally use this thing at least three times a day.

But this weekend, things were taken to a whole new level. I mentioned before that my husband has been sick (still haven’t gotten to that story, yet), and my best friend was also ailing with the flu.

The Jewish mama in me kicked into action and I made two different pureed veggie soups, feeding them to him and dropping them off to her. I called my sister, a vegetarian, this morning to tell her how easy these things are. And the thing is, I am not a spokesperson for Nutribullet. I just really, really, really love it.

If you were a reader of these site about 3 years ago, you may remember that I used to post “Family Dinners” every night, with a photo and recipe of what I had cooked for my family. I took off that feature because a) the direction of my blog has shifted and b) I am no longer in quite the same groove when it comes to making amazing, well-rounded meals for four. I will get there.

But, because I do love food, I can share with you a few things that I did this weekend that were very yummy, very healthy, and seem particularly appropriate as this is the first month of the new year when people resign to being healthy and “clean” and such.

So first, my Kale shake. This is what is in it and I am listing the items in the order in which I put them into the Nutribullet (and wait until how scientific I get here):

A big handful of kale. More like a whole fistful.

Vega Protein Powder (my very health-conscious cousin introduced this to me and I am hooked. He says that he likes the chocolate the best but I stick with the berry and tropical flavors, as I am still not OK with the idea of drinking avocado or mixing spinach with chocolate.)

A banana. This is good because I don’t like bananas, but I hear that they are very healthy, so I hide it in my shake.

Frozen Fruit (usually mango, sometimes pineapple, and a berry or two if I’m in a pinch.)

Water.

Ice.

Voila. I blend it and it is all smooth and cold and yummy. Actually, I have gone from thinking of them as “drinking salad” to looking forward to these shakes.

Oh, and if you don’t follow @mommyeverafter on Instagram,

then you don’t know how truly genius I am, for the system I have worked out now is flawless.

So, while I pat myself on the back, in the scheme of health drinks, I am in, what you could call,

the Smoothie Toddler Class.

 I don’t know if this makes us really inventive or really nerdy, but my girlfriend and I spent a good period of time tonight texting rather excitedly about the Nutribullet. She is one of the original women who introdued me to it and it’s merits, and she is kind of a nutritional expert.

And that is really what I did. For one soup I roasted Sweet Potatoes, Butternut Squash, Parsnips, Carrots and Ginger and blended with Veggie Broth and for the other I slow cooked Cauliflower and Potatoes (this was for a particularly picky eater that we have on our hands…I am not naming names) and did the same. For the potato soup, I served it with shredded cheddar cheese and mmmmmmm. Both soups were so good and creamy and healthy. And EASY.

So my girlfriend and I continued to talk about shakes and she got very excited and it was very cute, because she is very cute.

She gave me some of her own most coveted recipes (with ingredients that are still WAY over my head) to share with you:

Her go-to dessert smoothie:

Almond Milk

Cashews

Chopped Dates

1/2 Banana

Pumpkin Seeds

Old Fashioned Oats

This actually sounds pretty amazing. And, she told me that not only is it delicious but all of the ingredients promote good sleep. And you should see her face. She obviously gets good sleep.

The other recipe she shared is more similar to mine, but of course more inventive:

1/2 Banana

Frozen mango and pineapple

Scoop of Greek Yogurt

Coconut Water or Water with Fresh Mint

That one, to me, sounds so refreshing.

Finally, her favorite winter smoothie that she found from Well and Good  (used to promote good skin health during this dry season) is:

1 Tbsp Coconut Oil

2 Cups Organic Spinach

1 Cup Organic Frozen Strawberries

1 Small Frozen Banana

1 TBSP Organic Peanut Butter

1 Cup Filtered Water.

(Note: I just had my husband read the ingredients to me and he followed the last one with a lovely and melodious, “and a partridge in a pear tree.”)

I have shared before my New Years Resolutions on here

which include being a better person and friend, but I also want to get a handle on my health,

and in case you are one of those people who are in the majority of and have similar health related goals for the new year, I hope that this gives you a little inspiration.

And on that note, it’s smoothie time.

The post Smoothie-Palooza with my Nutribullet appeared first on Mommy Ever After.

not being so good.

Today I made myself a kale smoothie.

This came about after a few recent conversations;

1. A friend and I were emailing back and forth and he was like,
“So, what are you up to?”

and I was like, “I am just eating a handful of E.L. Fudge cookies, what’s up?”

and he went on to tell me about the rigorous workout he had completed that morning, the healthy, balanced dinner he had made and the clementines he was eating for dessert.

2. My cousin, who is has really become an expert in food and nutrition, sent me home after thanksgiving with a baggie filled with things like bars made out of dates and a mango from somewhere like Peru (or Portugal?).

And some other things.

So today, after I ate my soft pretzel and brownie, I decided to go for it; I was going to nourish my body with healthy things like fruits and vegetables, after an embarrassingly long hiatus.

And I was proud. I texted several friends and even put the photo on Instagram.

And it didn’t matter that it tasted like I was drinking a salad, I was drinking it…

drinking it while playing with my sun in the sunroom filled with toys…

and when I was 3/4 of the way finished, I went and knocked the entire, green smoothie into his giant wicker basket of toys.

Plush. Costumes. Electronics. Tiny crevasses.

And Chloe. Oh no. Not Chloe.

Do you see all of those toys down there? Yeah, them. They all got covered in pulverized kale.

So, I guess I’ve learned my lesson: Stick with the sandwich cookies and brownies, at least for the time being.

Goodbye, Sofia the First Karaoke Machine. I think I’ll miss you most of all.

The post No good feed goes unpunished. appeared first on Mommy Ever After.