Breakfast // Plain organic yogurt with Anita’s Organic ancient grains breakfast boost.
Breakfast // Ezekiel cinnamon raisin toast with all-natural peanut butter. Berries. Chinese pear slices. Satsuma slices.
Breakfast // Crispy brown rice cereal with chia seeds, sunflower seeds, cinnamon, and almond milk.
Breakfast // Plain organic yogurt with strawberry slices, almond slices, and chia seeds.
Lunch // Wholewheat couscous with steamed asparagus, edamame, baby green peas, feta, and herbs.
Lunch // Grilled chicken, spinach, and brie on wholewheat flax seed bread. Green grapes. Red pepper slices.
Lunch {for 2 on the go} // Homemade carrot zucchini muffins. Almond butter, oat, hemp heart, and chia multi-grain roll-up. Baby cucumbers. Avocado. Orange pepper slices. Seedy crackers. Apple slices. Grapes. Mango. Mixed raw nuts.
Lunch // Quick Gracen-made pizza (all-natural apple chardonnay chicken sausage, orange pepper pieces, asparagus chunks, and grilled onions).
Lunch // Mixed brown rice bowl with grilled corn, onions, peppers, black beans, fresh avocado, fresh mozzarella, and sour cream.
Lunch // Baby potatoes, asparagus, snap peas, cucumbers, green onions, and chickpeas in plain yogurt and dill.
Dinner // Mexican black bean salad. Asian noodle salad. Edamame salad.
Dinner // Sweet potato hash, asparagus chunks, grilled onions, spinach, and all-natural herb and garlic chicken sausage with a dollop of sour cream.
Dinner // Grilled coconut chicken. Avocado chunks. Rocket and harvest grains salad. Strawberries.
Dinner // Wholewheat roasted veggie calzone.
Dinner // Wholewheat spaghetti with ground turkey and tomato basil spinach sauce. Roasted beets.
Dinner // Grilled chicken. Warm beet salad. Warm baby potato salad.
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With 1/2 a crate of mango in the fridge and our supply of 
Here’s our lineup of ingredients… Pineapple chunks (we used frozen because it’s what we had on hand, but fresh would be even better), mango chunks, a lime, one ripe banana, coconut milk, and Grae’s addition – unsweetened shredded coconut.
We began by juicing our lime and threw both the juice and the pulp into our food processor…
Along with everything else, except the shredded coconut.
Then we blended everything up until completely smooth while this little monkey gave our food processor some love.
Next, we added the shredded coconut and gave the mixture just a couple of pulses to mix it in. At this point, we had a little taste test and decided to add in a teaspoon of good honey because our mango was very tart (totally optional, of course).
Now while it does mean dirtying another dish, I always like to pour our popsicle mixture into a large measuring cup before filling the moulds. It’s so much easier and quicker than clumsy me attempting to pour straight from the food processor. Of course, if you use a blender, this won’t be an issue.
After I fill the moulds, Miss G’s job is to place a ‘stick’ in each one. When she was done, she desperately wanted a popsicle to eat (particularly, “the green and blue one on the riiiiiight”) .
Luckily, the disappointment that came with me telling her they’d need to sit in the freezer for several hours first was kicked to the curb with the offer of drinking up the leftover mixture, smoothie style.
Healthy Tropical Fruit Popsicles
Breakfast // Plain organic yogurt with 
Breakfast // Scrambled eggs. Fruit salad. 
Breakfast // Hot oatmeal with almond milk, fresh blueberries, and chia seeds.
Breakfast // Wholewheat sourdough french toast with all-natural peanut butter. Plain organic yogurt for dipping.
Breakfast // Plain organic yogurt with 
Breakfast // Scrambled basil parmesan eggs. Sweet potato hash. Pink lady slices.
Breakfast // Plain organic yogurt with fresh mango, unsweetened coconut, and chia seeds.
Snack // 
Snack // 
Lunch {on the go} // Steamed beets. Cottage cheese. Blackberries. Satsuma slices. Pistachios and cashews. Yellow pepper slices. Baby carrots. Unsweetened banana slices. Organic yogurt-covered raisins (the queen of all treats in our house!)
Lunch // 
Lunch {on the go} // Avocado. Banana coins. Seedy crackers with sharp cheddar. Cashews. Apple sandwiches filled with almond butter, oats, and chia. Baby carrots. Broccoli florets.
Lunch // Wholewheat pita pockets filled with almond butter, banana slices, and chia seeds.
Lunch {on the go} // Strawberries. Blackberries. Starfruit. Mini wholewheat flatbread. Seedy crackers. Avocado. Miniature 
Dinner // 
Dinner // Coconut encrusted chicken. Roasted sweet potato. Roasted Brussels sprouts. Steamed beets.
Dinner // Ravioli soup with fresh parmesan. Roasted broccoli.
Dinner // Roasted sweet potato, cauliflower, beets, and carrots with pan-fried onions and all-natural apple chardonnay chicken sausage.
Dinner // Baked potato. Barbecued chicken and veggie skewers. Green salad.
Dinner // Baked spinach pasta and cheese with turkey and green peas.
Dinner // Chicken and bean ‘soft tacos’ with sautéed peppers, cheddar, avocado, and black beans on the side. Sour cream and green salsa for dipping.
Dinner // 
Yesterday, when I told Gracen that we’d be celebrating Papa’s birthday soon, the first thing she said was, “We need to make a cake!” Then she went on about painting him party hats and getting 3 pink gifts, but I digress. Originally, I was thinking about doing two cakes. Something delicious and wildly unhealthy from 
Here’s the lineup of ingredients my little sous chef and I used to make our mini mason jar cheesecakes… Sour cream, cream cheese, lemon zest, pure maple syrup, pure vanilla, almonds, an egg, and coconut. Plus the mini mason jars themselves, of course. 5 of these little jelly jars works perfectly with this recipe.
To make our crust, we added some coconut, some raw almonds, a little bit of pure maple syrup, and a little bit of pure vanilla into our food processor and blended until it was thick and sticky.
Then we scooped the crust mixture evenly into our 5 jars, and Miss G used a cork to flatten them out.
This was the end result.
With our crusts ready to go, we switched our focus over to the actual cheesecake part. First, we added our room temperature cream cheese and egg into our mixer and beat until smooth. 
Next we added our sour cream, pure maple syrup, pure vanilla, and lemon zest, and mixed again.
Baking is ridiculously fun, wouldn’t you agree?
With our cheesecake filling prepared, we poured the mixture evenly into our 5 mason jars.
Then we placed them into a high-walled baking dish, filled it halfway up the jars with hot water, and baked the entire thing.
When they’d finished baking, I topped the ones for Gracen and I with stewed blueberries…
And the birthday boy’s with deliciously naughty Nutella. Of course the options are endless really… Fresh berries, shredded coconut, sliced bananas, or mini dark chocolate chips would all make yummy toppings too. 
The other night, Brad went out for Saturday night movie treats after G was in bed. I requested a fudgesicle, and he came home with a box of 18. Oy. Several fudgesicles into the box, I decided we’d better come up with a healthier version, stat.
Here’s our line up of ingredients… Frozen banana chunks, cocoa powder, pure maple syrup, and pure vanilla. Plus a popsicle mould of course.
To get started, we basically turned out frozen bananas into 
Next, we added some cocoa, a little bit of pure maple syrup, and a little bit of pure vanilla, and blended everything up again to create thick, chocolatey soft serve.
And that’s it. We simply scooped the soft serve into our popsicle moulds and popped them in the freezer overnight. 
This was the end result. Thick chocolatey banana pops that are bound to satisfy a sweet tooth or chocolate craving.
What does Miss G think? Well, after finishing her first one, she turned to see mine still almost whole, and said, “Mine’s a little bit almost all gone, Mama, so I want to trade wif you.” as if she was doing me a favour – hah! Thanks for thinking of your mama, Miss G.
Another week, another 
Breakfast // Scrambled organic egg with fresh parmesan and basil rolled in a wholewheat flatbread. Strawberry slices and black grapes.
Breakfast // Yogurt parfait made with homemade granola, organic plain yogurt, fresh strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries, and a tiny drizzle of pure maple syrup.
Breakfast // 
Breakfast // Wholewheat bagel with all-natural cream cheese and hemp hearts. Strawberry quarters and blackberries.
Breakfast // Wholewheat rye toast with all-natural cream cheese and avocado slices. Fresh pear.
Breakfast // Organic oatmeal topped with strawberry slices, freshly whipped cream (unsweetened), and chia seeds.
Snack // 
Lunch {and snacks on the go} // Banana berry muffin. Dill havarti slices. Raw almonds and kamut puffs. Seedy cranberry breakfast bar. Cucumber slices. Carrot sticks. Edamame beans. Alphabet pretzels.
Lunch // Wholewheat couscous with avocado, red and orange peppers, black beans, red onions, olive oil, and freshly squeezed lime.
Lunch {and snacks on the go} // Banana berry muffin. 
Lunch // Tuna and avocado in mini wholewheat pitas. Red pepper slices. Baby carrots. Cucumber slices.
Lunch {and snacks on the go} // Pear chunks. Strawberry halves. Kiwi slices. Mixed nuts. 
Lunch {and snacks on the go} // Apple slices. Strawberry halves. Red grapes. Red pear. ‘Gracen mix’. Orange pepper slices. Edamame beans. Chickpeas. Watermelon strawberry fruit chews. Avocado, hemp hearts, and all-natural cream cheese rolled in a wholewheat tortilla.
Dinner // Turkey zucchini spinach meatloaf. Pesto tortelini with fresh parmesan, spinach, garlic, and olive oil.
Dinner // Quinoa ‘mac n’ cheese’ with broccoli, red peppers, and leeks. 
Dinner // 
Dinner // Wholewheat fusili with zucchini turkey tomato sauce and fresh parmesan.
Dinner // Veggie soup with harvest grains and chickpeas. Avocado and all-natural cream cheese in an Ezekiel wrap.
Dinner // Squash and ricotta-filled pasta with 
Oh my goodness. After our morning cooking class at 
Here’s the line-up of ingredients… Pure maple syrup, coconut oil, dried apples (we dehydrated our own, but you can just as easily buy unsweetened, unsulphered ones at the store), popping corn, cinnamon, and sliced raw almonds (not pictured because ours were toasting in the oven).
To start off, we added our coconut oil, popping corn, and cinnamon into a pot (thanks to my lovely friend 
When the popping has finished, we had a delicious, slightly coconut-y popcorn, evenly coated in warm cinnamon.
Next, we chopped up our apples, put them in a bowl, and drizzled our maple syrup on top. 
Then my freshly bathed sous chef dumped the mixture on the popcorn and mixed it all up with her hands.
The last step was sprinkling the generously toasted almonds on top and giving the popcorn one final mix. 
Depending on how much will power you have, you can either eat it immediately, or lay it out on a baking sheet and let it lose some of its stickiness for a few minutes – both ways are delicious (though we definitely know how the ‘served immediately’ kind tastes like better than the ‘wait’ kind).
When I asked Grae what she thought of it, she replied with “Nummy!”, “Sweet!”, and “Delicious!” in between ‘mmmmmmmm’ sounds. My guess is that she liked it every bit as much as I did.
Whew! It’s been a while… A very long while since our last 
Breakfast // Cinnamon french toast made with wholewheat shepherd’s bread, stewed blueberries, and chia. Orange slices.
Breakfast // Coconut chia pudding with strawberry slices and raw sliced almonds.
Breakfast // Oatmeal with raw sliced almonds, chia, hemp hearts, and frozen blueberries. Orange pepper slices.
Breakfast // Organic brown rice cereal with sliced almonds, hemp hearts, loads of cinnamon (she’s obsessed!), and almond milk.
Breakfast // Toasted squarely bread, colby cheese, and a scrambled egg. 
Breakfast // Plain organic yogurt, 
Breakfast // Old-fashioned oats with granny smith apples, almond butter, and cinnamon.
Breakfast // Star-shpaed scrambled organic egg. All-natural peanut butter and old-fashioned oat banana bites.
Green smoothie // Banana, old-fashioned oats, all-natural peanut butter, coconut milk, vanilla, and spinach.
Green smoothie (though not actually green) // Banana, apple, avocado, kale, frozen blueberries, frozen raspberries, chia, and water.
Smoothie // Banana, pear, apple, frozen blueberries, steamed beets, chia seeds, and water.
Snack // 
Snack // 
Snacks & Lunch {on the go} // Baby carrots. Orange chunks. 
Lunch {on the go} // Mixed fruit. 
Lunch // Tuna and avocado on wholewheat rye. Baby carrots.
Lunch // Red lentil pasta and cheese. Baby peas and corn with dill.
Lunch // Grilled all-natural peanut butter and no-sugar-added jam sandwich (an oddly delicious favourite from my childhood).
Lunch // Curried tuna apple salad on a wholewheat croissant. Strawberry chunks. Grapes.
Lunch {on the go} // Red pepper slices. Cucumber slices. Grapes. Strawberries. Avocado. Edamame crackers with organic cheddar.
Dinner // Personal turkey meatloaf. Mashed potatoes. Roasted carrots. Roasted Brussels sprouts.
Dinner // Homemade chicken tenders. Steamed carrots and snap peas with fresh herbs. Roasted baby potatoes. Homemade honey mustard sauce.
Dinner // Wholewheat fusilli with fresh spinach and all-natural chicken sausage in a clear sauce.
Dinner // Harvest grains, edamame, steamed carrots and snap peas with grilled prawns.
Dinner // 
Dinner // Wholewheat couscous. Mini 
Dinner // Spinach tortellini with carrots, broccoli, edamame, onions, and fresh parmesan.
Dinner // 
Dinner // White bean chicken chili with colby jack, avocado, and fresh cilantro.
Homemade granola is somewhat of a staple in our house… Gracen and I usually made a big batch once a month or so, jar it up, and eat it as a cereal, serve it with yogurt, sprinkle it on nut butter toast, or use it as a smoothie topper.
Though it can be full of sugar and not-good-for-you fats when purchased in stores, we jam pack ours full of nutrient-rich nuts and seeds, use a good pure maple syrup to sweeten it, and include a relatively small amount of oil, so I can feel good about giving it to Grae {and eating it myself}.
While I’ve posted about our 
Last month, I had the absolute pleasure of attending a green cleaners workshop at 
The first cleaner we made is the only one we haven’t yet fully put to the test… Not because we haven’t wanted to, but because it’s a dishwasher detergent and we don’t have a dishwasher (much to my dismay!) But because I’m not willing to let it sit unused, I’ve put it to the test as a kitchen sink scrub and a toilet scrub, and I’m happy to say that it’s worked great as both. 
Here’s what you’ll need to make your own lemon mint dishwashing detergent… Washing soda (different than baking soda and found in grocery store laundry aisles), Borax, peppermint and lemon essential oils (you can really use any kind you like – last time we used a combination or sweet orange and rosemary and it smelled wonderfully), and a large mason jar.
To make this one, Gracen simply added a 1/2 a cup of washing soda and a 1/2 cup of Borax to our jar, added a few drops of lemon essential oil, then another round of washing soda and Borax, and one drop of peppermint essential oil. We shook everything up, then repeated the entire process again.
Voila! Dishwasher detergent made of 3 natural ingredients. To put it to use, all you have to do is add a scoop to your detergent compartment along with a squeeze of castile soap (we like 
Next up, Gracen and I made one of my favourites… A citrusy bathroom scrub that makes getting rid of soap scum nearly effortless. It also makes tiles, toilets, and sinks sparkle and leaves them smelling fresh too.
In the line-up for our lemon grapefruit bathroom scrub… Baking soda, washing soda, Borax, salt, lemon and grapefruit essential oils (again, you could switch up the scents), and a medium-sized mason jar.
For this one, Grae added all of our dry ingredients to the jar, dropped the essential oils on top, and shook it all up. Easy as that. The only thing about this recipe is that it does fill a medium-sized mason jar right to the tippy top, so mixing it in a bowl or larger jar would make it easier.
To clean tiles and other flat surfaces with this scrub, I simply shake a little on a wet, textured sponge, give the surface a scrub, and rinse it with running water or a wet cloth. Toilets are even easier – all you have to do is sprinkle some straight into the toilet bowl, let it sit a moment, and scrub with a toilet brush as usual. And for soap scum (the nasty, stubborn stuff), I like to spray the surface with plain white vinegar first, let it sit 5 to 10 minutes, sprinkle the scrub on top, and scrub it off with a textured sponge (you’ll be amazed by how well this works!)
The last cleaner Gracen and I made may just be my very favourite of the 3… The recipe is ridiculously simple, and it works pretty much everywhere. I use it all over our kitchen as a basic surface cleaner, plus I use it while dusting our main living space, and while cleaning up sticky messes on the floor. The best part though, is that it works as a glass cleaner too and leaves mirrors and windows just as spotless and streak-free as specialized glass cleaners do. And window crayons? They literally melt off.
Here’s what you’ll need to whip up a batch of your own… Some hydrogen peroxide, some water, some freshly-squeezed lemon juice, and a spray bottle.
We juiced our lemon, added everything to the spray bottle, and shook it up {while singing with our eyes closed apparently}.
And that’s it. Paired with a damp cloth, it makes a great surface cleaner, and paired with a dry cloth, it makes a great glass cleaner.
With these three cleaners, we’re able to keep our entire house sparkling clean. Plus they’re inexpensive, all-natural, homemade, and you can feel good about using them around munchkins. 
Seeing 
Here’s our line up of ingredients… Baking soda, cornstarch, coconut oil, citric acid, water in a spray bottle, epsom salts (we’d previously dyed ours pink just for fun), fresh rosemary from the garden, lavender essential oil, and purple food colouring. While we had most everything already on hand, we picked up the lavender essential oil at a local variety store that specializes in natural products and the citric acid from a very cool little Main Street shop called 
Making these was pretty simple, so as usual, my little helper did most of the work. First off, we measured out all of the dry ingredients, added them to a large mixing bowl, and dropped in a generous amount of essential oil before Gracen whisked everything together thoroughly.
Next, we focused on the wet ingredients. In a spray bottle that allows a very fine mist, we shook up some water, some liquid coconut oil (we just ran the jar under warm water for a minute to liquify it, but you could just as easily melt it in the microwave), and several drops of food colouring.
For the next step, you need to have some patience… Basically, the goal is to add the water and oil mixture into the dry mixture very slowly in order to avoid causing a fizzy reaction. If you get a little bit impatient (like we did the first time around), you’ll have all kinds of fizzy bubbles in your bowl, but your finished bath bombs won’t fizz all that much once in the tub (though they’ll still soften the water and smell fantastic). In order to do this, you want to mist some water/oil onto the dry ingredients, whisk it well, add a little more, whisk it well, and so on and so on. What’s fantastic about having a helper is that one of you can basically stir while the other sprays. 
As you go, you’ll notice that your mixture will eventually start to clump while mixing and look less like a floury powder. When you can grab a handful, squeeze it, and have it hold it’s shape, you’ll want to stop adding water.
We could have stopped where we were in order to make straight up lavender bath fizzies, but ripped up a bunch of fresh rosemary and added it into the mix instead.
Next we scooped the mixture into the 
This is the next test of patience when it comes to this project… At the two hour mark, I couldn’t help myself and attempted pushing out a couple of our little bath bombs. Though they sort of held their shape, it was a crumbly mess and I totalled a couple in the process.
At the 3 hour mark, they came out much more cleanly and easily, so I’d definitely recommend waiting. Once out of the moulds, we let them dry on the counter over night.
The next day, we carefully placed them in a vintage mason jar tied with some pretty bakers twine. 
And that was that. Simple and pretty. 
A couple of weekends ago, at our local farmer’s market, we came across a Abbotsford-based farmer selling my favourite fruit… kiwi. While I had no idea that kiwi fruit was grown locally, I did know that kiwi is delicious and lasts a long time when properly kept, so I stocked up. When we got home, the kiwi went into the back of the crisper and I forgot about them for a while. Oops.
Upon rediscovering a stash of over a dozen kiwis, I decided we had to put {at least some of} them to good use asap. I ran a few ideas past my sous chef and she very confidently decided on popsicles. As you do. We gathered up a few simple ingredients – the kiwi, some plain yogurt, a little bit of honey, and some pure apple juice, and got started. 
While I’m sure they would have been yummy given the original line up of ingredients, at the last minute I decided to add in an avocado… Extra creaminess and extra nutrients equals a win-win, right?
My little helper threw everything into the food processor…
Stopping to sample her first ever taste of apple juice. When the measuring cup was four fifths empty she asked, “Dump it in now, Mama?” Hmmm… you think she enjoyed it?
After replacing our missing apple juice, we processed everything until smooth.
This was the result. A super smooth, super creamy mixture that Miss G wanted to drink then and there.
We transferred the mixture into our makeshift popsicle moulds, which are still some of my very favourites despite the fact that we now have several proper sets.
Grae happily placed the lids on top and inserted the wooden popsicle sticks…
And it was time for the freezer.
Several hours later, we had delicious, healthy popsicles Miss G couldn’t wait to get her little hands on.
Okay, okay, okay…. So I know I first declared 
Erin hit the nail on the head when she explained that adding blueberries into the mix to prevents the green veggies from mixing with the brown cocoa and turning into a grey sludge. Brilliant, really.
Each morning I give this to Grae she has the exact same response. “It’s a CHOCOLATEY smoozie!! But not yucky sugary chocolate, right Mama? Just Gracen chocolate.” As soon as I give her the confirmation that it’s chocolately because we’ve added cocoa to it, but it’s still filled with all kinds of healthy ingredients, she chugs it back. Silly little munchkin.