the January donut (and thoughts on rhythms, heaven, health, and balance)

I call these the January donut , not because it's a month for resolutions and dieting and self-loathing, heck no. I've just always been someone who is happy with change and goes in opposing directions often as a result. Hence, quite healthy food this month.

In December I go hard into celebrating, because Christmas is truly the most celebratory holidays and for good reason! We ought to eat, drink, and be merry then of all times, because our weary souls rejoice in the little Lord Jesus coming to make his blessings flow, far as the curse is found (yes, that run on sentence was a mash up if several Christmastide carols, I hope you noticed). So yes, celebrating and feasting is not just OK it's utterly appropriate. 

And now we're here at the closing of Christmastide and my body is craving a change. Sweets and booze and roasts and carbs and rich fare are meant to be treats, appreciated by the partakers. If you don't think that's Biblical, I invite you to read Revelation and see what Christians believe heaven will be like! 

This side of heaven though, there is such a thing as "too much of a good thing" and I'm feeling the effects of a month of plenty. Craving fresh vegetables and whole foods, eschewing desserts and alcohol for a few weeks. Anyone else feel this way in January? As I said, this is not a resolution or a diet, it's balance.

January donuts are a must! 

Mix together: 

2 eggs 🥚🥚

1/4 cup maple syrup 

1/4 cup coconut oil 🥥

1/2 cup Greek yogurt 🥛

1 cup grated carrot 🥕

1 banana 

1/4 cup oats 

1 cup flour + 1 tablespoon baking powder ⚪

1 tablespoon vanilla extract 🟤

Pipe into a donut pan or muffin tins, bake at 350 for 15 minutes or so (this will depend on your oven so keep an eye out), top with vanilla Greek yogurt, and enjoy. 

Sourdough-ish Bread Recipe (aka THE BEST BREAD EVER)

Stop everything and make this bread! Does that sound too demanding? Too urgent? I must be understating things. YOU NEED THIS BREAD. 

I've promised my recipe for months now but I hesitated to post anything until I felt I had a really solid grasp on it and could answer any of your questions about the process from experience. Well, after about three months and over 30 kilograms of flour, I'm happy to report that I've found it... one bread recipe to rule them all. You can tell this is epic if I'm dusting off LOTR jokes ;) 

Here's the origin story of this perfect bread: I was determined to make sourdough bread from scratch. The sort where you make your own yeast, essentially. You mix flour and water, let it ferment (sour as a verb) over weeks, and then use it in a high hydration (read: very wet) dough that makes angels sing. Except after weeks and a massive Costco-size bag of flour there was no singing. Just a lot of muttered choice words as I put boule after boule in the compost bin because it never rose (did I mention the rising time for most of these recipes was 24 hours? Who has time for that?!). I had made some classic country boules before using Pinch of Yum's no-knead recipe and found it easy and good, but I'd never go on record saying it was incredible. The reason everyone loves sourdough is the complexity and depth of flavour. My country boule recipe was more Wonderbread than Sourdough, but it was still a treat to pull out of the oven. 

This recipe combines the ease of my old basic bread recipe (with it's use of commercial yeast and guarenteed rise) and the flavour of sourdough (deep, rich, sour, yeasty - all good things I promise, even if they sound like questionable adjectives). It's the best of both worlds and has become our hands down favourite thing to build a meal off of. With jam and tea. Topped with curry chicken salad for lunch. Warmed in the oven with almond butter, sliced bananas, and chocolate chips for dessert. Or just plain, this bread is perfection. Want the recipe? OF COURSE YOU DO. 

Ingredients

6.5 cups (2lbs) all purpose flour

1 tb yeast

1 tb salt

3 cups (1.5lbs) luke warm water

First tip: get a kitchen scale! They cost $10 at Canadian Tire, Walmart, etc. and are so useful for baking! Measuring by weight is especially helpful if you're playing around with different flours which will have different densities, plus most measuring cups are slightly off. 

STEP 1

In a giant bowl, add all of your ingredients at once. So easy, you can't mess this step up. 

STEP 2

Stir together all of the ingredients until a shaggy ball forms. It won't look pretty, don't worry. 

STEP 3

Cover your shaggy form of dough and let sit to initially rise for 2 hours. Completely hands off, no stress. If you leave it a bit longer or shorter, again, no stress. This recipe is insanely forgiving!

STEP 4

Using your scale ideally, but you could eyeball it, cut the dough into three equal portions. You'll need a good amount of extra flour for this part. Form three unique balls of dough coated in flour.

Now for the choose your own adventure bit. You can bake right away after this step or store the dough balls in the fridge for a week or so. 

Bake Today

If you're baking today, take your ball of dough and shape it into a neat ball with a good amount of flour. Once you have the shape you want, let it rest for 30-60 minutes in the vessel you're cooking it in (see notes), then slash the top (see notes), then place on parchement paper in the vessel and bake at 450 for 30 minutes with the lid on. After 30 minutes, remove the lid to brown the top for 5-10 minutes more. Let cool fully before cutting. I know it's hard to wait, but trust me, the bread is at it's best when cooled, I promise!

Fridge Rise

This recipe makes three small sized boules or two medium sized boules, so either way you'll have an extra ball or two of dough that you're not baking straight away. Place dough balls in individual containers with lids in your fridge for up to one week. Though it's cold in there, they will continue to rise! They'll probably double in size or maybe even more, so make sure you choose a container that has room for your expanding dough. When you're ready to bake, take the dough out of the fridge, shape the dough with heavily floured hands, slash, and bake with the same instructions above. You don't need to let this dough rest for 30-60 minutes, only as long as it takes for your oven to preheat (for me this is around 15 minutes). 

right after making the dough, ready for the fridge

after 12 hours in the fridge

The Vessel

I use a dutch oven, and I'm convinced they're the best option. You can find these cast iron heavy duty casserole dishes with lids almost anywhere. I have one from Cuisinart that I found at Winners, another Le Creuset which was a thrift store find. I've used this recipe in IKEA dutch ovens too. All you need is an ovenproof vessel with a lid. 

Slashing

After forming your dough ball with heavily floured hands, slash the top with a sharp knife (serrated works best). Slashing adds air to the boule so more bubbles form in the dough (little holes in your bread). It's supposed to help with rising and texture but honestly, I just do it because it looks pretty. The cuts may seem deep but once the boule bakes they are usually filled completely, adding only very slight dimension. 

VEGAN Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Ok so let me start by saying I'm not a fan of *most* vegan recipes. There always seems to be something missing - a richness, a smoothness, a girth that animal fats so aptly bring to the table. The secret here is silken tofu (the extra soft kind). It covers for eggs and cream and has the perfect texture without even trying! Every other vegan dessert I've had uses coconut oil for this purpose, and I find coconut oil to be too dominate of a flavour - it just takes over in the vegan recipes I've tried, such that if there were coconut oil in this recipe you'd hardly taste the chocolate or peanut butter. Coconut is fine and all, but vegan recipes that use coconut oil just taste like pure coconut even when that's not the flavour profile of the recipe at all. All that to say, I've tried many vegan recipes over the years even though I'm not a vegan, and this one is the FIRST that I can hands down say tastes legitimately amazing - the same or maybe even better than a dairy infused counterpart. Are you ready to be convinced that not all vegan desserts taste like coconutty health foods? Good! Here we go.

Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

The recipe is so darn easy, you really just need a good blender (or food processor). Blend together the following ingredients:

• 1.5 cups silken tofu
• 1.5 cups melted chocolate (I used a mix of dark and milk chocolate and melted it using the double boiler method)
• 1/4 cup chocolate soy milk (but any milk would do - vanilla, dairy, almond, cashew, etc)
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (but any nut butter would do - almond, cashew, etc)

Blend up that goodness and pour it into a prepared pie dish and then let it sit for a good while - ideally make it a day in advance but if you can't wait that long, pop it in the freezer for an hour and then the fridge for another hour and you're probably set. 

As for pie crust, I chose the non-vegan option of blending a package of oatmeal cookies together with 1/3 cup melted butter (because remember I have a thing against coconut oil), which I baked at 375 with pie weights for 10 minutes, then chilled before adding my delicious chocolate peanut butter pie filling. By pie weights, I mean I poured some dry lentils onto a piece of parchment paper which was placed on top of the pie. This helps the sides of the pie crust cook in place instead of melting down towards the middle. You can actually buy pie weights, but any dry pasta or bean will work perfectly. To be truly vegan I think the store-bought graham cracker crusts are made with oil, so you could go that route. 

The texture of this no-bake pie is uh-mazing and it's so rich, you'd swear it was full of 35% cream. Let me know if you try it!

Slow Cooker Boeuf Bourguignon + Slow Cooker or Instapot?

I'll be honest, I struggle with the colder months. I have such a hard time staying warm, no matter how many layers I put on, so to compensate I drink hot tea all.day.long and only cook warm meals (read: I'm not a big salad eater in the winter!). With this comes slow cooker meals at least a couple of times each week, because stews and soups are the best part of winter cooking.

I've been thinking about asking for an Instant Pot for my birthday. It was on my list last Christmas but didn't work out as they were sold out everywhere after Black Friday sales. I do love my slow cooker so much and can't find much fault in it, though the thought of making pulled pork in an hour instead of eight is definitely appealing! I don't mind the slowness of the slow cooker most days because it's often a meal I put together before church on a Sunday morning that's ready when we get home at three o'clock. The hours are certainly longer than an Instant Pot, but it's all hands off time anyway, so who cares?

Right now I feel like it's basically the same as my slow cooker but faster. Tell me how much faster and better it is, ok? I believe it also uses less energy/power which is interesting. And what's your favourite thing to make in the Instant Pot or the slow cooker? For now I'm happy with my slow cooker and last night I made an amazing Boeuf Bourguignon in it. I was inspired by one of my favourite food blogs, Modest Marce, but hers was a stove top version and I wanted to cook mine in a more hands off way so I used my slow cooker. I also tend to find that stove top stewed meat never ends up soft enough for me (read: chewy and sometimes hard instead), but slow cooking never fails me.

credit: Modest Marce

Ingredients:

• 1 kj of cubed red meat (you can use steak or roast or anything your butcher says is good for stewing. I just use chuck meat or whatevers on sale), cut into 1 inch cubes
• 5 strips of bacon, diced (small)
• 5 carrots, chopped (medium)
• 500 grams of sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 a yellow onion, minced (very small)
• lots of garlic
• 2 cups beef stock
• 2 cups red wine
• 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
• fresh thyme, salt and pepper

Method:

1. Start by drying your cubes of meat in paper towel, then sear them on very high heat in a little bit of olive oil, on every side if possible. This should be done quickly, maybe 5 minutes max. Then set in your slow cooker.
2. Cook bacon on medium to high heat and season with generous pepper (more than you think!), and place in the slow cooker
3. In the remaining bacon grease, cook your onions, carrots, and garlic for a couple of minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and add to slow cooker.
4. To your slow cooker add the wine, broth, tomato paste, and thyme.
5. Cook on low for 5 hours.
6. Cook your mushrooms on high heat, browning the outside and seasoning with generous pepper. Add then to the slow cooker for the last hour of cooking.
7. At six hours, check thickness of your stew. If it's still too watery, add a few tablespoons of corn starch. Taste and season accordingly.
8. Serve over pappardelle, my favourite noodle! 

This recipe makes a lot - probably 8-10 portions. Brad and I both ate large portions and there are probably 6 or so left, but we could have added a salad and baguette and eaten smaller portions. This is a great meal for a crowd or to put in the slow cooker before leaving for church on a Sunday morning (or any other outing).

Alright Instantpot lovers, convince me!

School Lunch Ideas!

With three kids at school full time this year the boxed lunch struggle is real. I have never liked packing lunches (who does!?), which is one of the reasons I love having my kids eat lunch at home twice a week. It's not even that it's so complicated, but it's my least favourite chore! Virtually all schools are nut free now which nixes our favourite cashew-based energy balls and classic pb and j or my kid's prized creation, pb and cream cheese. Does anyone else get into a lunch packing rut and feel like there are no options your kids will actually like? I feel this way at least once a week, haha!

I teamed up with Love Child Organics to challenge myself to create four new lunches, all featuring protein, fresh fruit and veggies, filling snacks, and healthy mains. Want to see what I come up with? See below for my tips to make lunch packing easier and more eco-friendly, too! 

Lunch mains (that aren't sandwiches) you may not have thought of:

• Meat or cheese tortellini tossed in some olive oil or pesto to stay moist
• 1-2 hard boiled eggs
• Charcuterie - turkey breast or salami with your favourite cheese 
• Pita or tortilla and a filling dip like hummus
• Cold grain salad - pasta, rice, quinoa, barley with some fresh veg and dressing

Snacks we love:

• Bite-sized veggies (cherry tomatoes, cut up cucumbers, bell peppers, baby carrots)
• Sliced apples, peaches, pears, etc. (whole fruits are less interesting and hard for those with loose teeth, but if I slice anything, they'll gobble it up!)
• Simple baked goods like banana muffins or oatmeal cookies (I bake a big batch and freeze them, putting the frozen treat right in their lunches - by lunch hour it's perfectly thawed)
• Owlies - these are our all time favourite, and are made with spelt. Even I nibble on them lol!
• Love Ducks - these are a light puffy snack that have a fun crunch without being unhealthy
• Oaty Chomps - oat snack bars for when I don't have a simple baked good to offer!

Tips for Eco-friendly, Healthy, and Easier Bagged Lunches:

Our kids eat at home twice a week and I love the ease and pace of cooking a meal together midday. It also means we don't have to bring anything pre-packaged or in zip lock bags or stress about packing the lunches at all! To make your kid's lunches more eco-friendly, simple, and cost effective too, here are a few ideas we've started using since our kids have been in school. 

• Use washable, reusable lunch containers and lunch bags instead of paper or plastic bags
• Buy a bunch of silverware at the thrift store for their meals that require a spoon or fork. Of course they'll probably lose several, which is why you don't want to send your family silverware off to school with your kids, but it's a better option than plastic forks that will end up in a landfill!
• If you send napkins in their lunches, send a cloth one instead to be washed and reused (we don't actually do this because we don't send napkins at all, but I know many parents do)
• Water bottles to be refilled. We never send juice boxes because our kids only drink juice on special occasions, but will occasionally send a Lil Shake Smoothie if supper will be later than usual or they haven't eaten well as of late. As I've said before, these are awesome for travel!
• Pack lunches the night before while you're prepping, cooking, or cleaning up from supper. This is the time when my kitchen is already messy, food is coming and going from the fridge, and the cutting board is likely on the counter. For us, it's the best time. Mornings, on the other hand are too rushed and stressful to think of adding that task!
• Chop a week's worth of veggies and set aside in a big zip lock bag for easy access when you're packing lunches. Fruit doesn't keep when cut so you can't do this as easily, but we tend to pack whole fruits anyway (clementines, bananas, etc).

I hope this was helpful! I can't quite figure out why I hate packing lunches so much (I know I'm not the only one!), but these steps have helped make the task less annoying over the years. I'd love to hear what your kids love in their lunches!

This post was in collaboration with Love Child Organics,

a Canadian company I've supported for years. As always,

all opinions expressed here are 100% my own.

To book a collaboration, please contact me!

croissant bread pudding

This time of year, it's all about comfort food. I've finally found a Shepherds Pie that I love and I have this casserole on repeat. There's plenty of time this summer for crisp salads, but right now I want everything warm and filling, desserts included.

I have a friend who loves ice cream any month of the year. I find her obsession endearing, but I straight up don't get it. Her idea of dessert, even in January, is the perfect cone, but for me, it's something hearty and hot that will warm me up from the inside out. Somehow we make our friendship work :)

I have a feeling more of you are in the comfy cozy desserts boat when it's -20, so here's a little recipe I created last week with La Petite Bretonne croissants and black berries. Like any bread pudding, you're mixing torn pieces of stale bread (eliminating food waste is one of my goals for this year, so this is especially ideal) with a simple custard and baking. Instead of day old bread though, I used day old micro croissants and tossed in black berries.  It's easy as heck, takes minutes to whip together, and is totally hands off after that. You can curl up with a book or give your kids a bath while it cooks, and then look, dessert's ready!

 
Ingredients:

• Day old croissants
• 3 eggs
• 1.5-2 cups milk
• 1/3 cup sugar 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Black berries (optional)

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Oil or butter a baking dish of your choice
• Filling your dish with torn up pieces of croissants (larger dishes will need more pieces, and slightly more milk).
  Let the kids rip up the croissants - they love to "help" in the kitchen, but rarely actually are helpful. This is something they can do just as well as you, so hand it off.  
• Mix the eggs, milk, vanilla, and sugar together and pour over the croissant pieces. 
• With two hands, gently press down on the croissants, helping them absorb the custard and so you can fit a few more pieces and berries in. 
• Bake for 45 minutes, or until the top is slightly brown. The pudding will puff up a bit, which will tell you that the eggs and milk have fully cooked. 

This dessert is great on it's own or you could serve it with a side of greek yogurt or even ice cream, in January, for the crazies, those inclined. Also, nothings stopping you from making this an indulgent breakfast. Just sayin'.
 

Thanks to La Petite Bretonne for sponsoring this post!

To book a collaboration, contact me!

vegan beet icing!

Ohhhh guys, you didn't think that you'd seen the last of donut posts just because I've been eating cleaner lately, did you? Pshhhhh I could never part ways with my donut pan! I've been opting for healthier versions of my favourite old treats lately, and these donuts were a fun result of using up fresh produce from the fridge and trying new things.

I used the same recipe that I use for my breakfast donuts, but instead of topping with Greek yogurt, I wanted something a little more exciting.

Mix 2 tablespoons of coconut oil with 1 table spoon of beet juice and 1/4 cup of icing sugar. Increase sugar or oil until you get the right consistency. Done! And very festive for V-Day!

The reason I love the coconut oil frosting? It's dairy free + vegan for friends with allergies, it's more affordable than cooking with butter, and healthier... but actually the biggest perk for me is working with the frosting - the texture is amazing! It reminds me of fondant kind of. It cools and hardens really quickly too, which is dreamy for food presentation ;)

lemon blueberry overnight oats

Breakfast has never been my strong suit. I never liked to eat first thing in the morning, but once I get going I often forget to. Once I had kids, it was worse. Instinctively, moms put their kids before themselves, and breakfast was no exception - the kids would be fully fed, cleaned up, and the kitchen tidied before I'd have my first bite around 10am, four hours after I'd woken up.

But we need breakfast! We need protein, and energy, and healthy fats, and fresh ingredients, and we need them before ten in the morning. A couple of months ago Vega sent us some of their vanilla protein powder to experiment with and we've loved adding it to smoothies, and that's what I use in this recipe, too.

I've recently written about how I'm doing my best to workout daily and how taking care of myself almost felt wrong, as if moms were supposed to be exhausted all the time. This fits in with that post too, in a way. Donuts can be breakfast sometimes (#yolo and yeehaw!), but starting most days with a great, healthy breakfast early in the morning, before you care for your kids? That shouldn't feel like you're abandoning your mom ship, it should feel like you're steering it well.

The easiest way for me to care well for my body at breakfast time is to have something ready made waiting for me so I can eat before the kids wake up. Usually quick breakfasts are carb heavy and/or full of sugar, and I'm glad to say these overnight oats are neither. My friend Morgan shared her overnight oats recipe on Instagram last month and I decided to alter it a bit, adding some coconut cream, lemon zest, and fresh blueberries. It is so refreshing and delicious! And filling. I usually eat one when I first get up at 6-ish and then I can care for the kids on a full stomach.

LEMON BLUEBERRY OVERNIGHT OATS (makes enough for the week!)

Mix dry ingredients together:

• 2 cups oats
• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 1/4 cup hemp hearts
• 1/4 cup Vega vanilla protein powder 
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut 

Then add...

• zest of half a lemon 
• 4 cups of milk (almond milk, cow's milk, etc)
• 1/4 cup coconut cream
• fresh blueberries

Pour into individual ingredients for the week and refrigerate. They'll be done in 12 hours, but they get better every day!

DIY canned pumpkin

My kids and I LOVE pumpkin. B is less of a fan, but he's a good sport when I serve up a pumpkin pie ;) It was actually all of my babes' first solid food. I started with Lily and wanted to keep the tradition alive, and to date they all are crazy for pureed pumpkin straight from the can!

It can get pricey though! I've seen a large can of pumpkin sold for $5 at a few of my local grocery stores, and we go through two cans a week sometimes. A friend of mine encouraged me to make my own pureed pumpkin last year but I was skeptical. Isn't is so much work for so little flesh? NO! It's so easy and produces the same as a large can that you'd buy at the store. The best thing is, small sugar pumpkins are $1 at most stores and farmer's markets, and they make the same amount of puree that you'd get in a $5 can from the grocery store. Not many DIYs are actually cost effective these days. Making your own clothes is like a rich girl's hobby now, haha! But this is one that is still really easy and saves a ton.

1. Cut open the top of the pumpkin, take out the seeds and loose flesh (I like to wash my seeds to roast later on)
2. Rinse out the empty pumpkin with cold water and make sure it's rid of any seeds, then dry it off
3. Bake pumpkin on a cookie sheet @ 350 for one hour
4. When pumpkin can be easily pierced with a fork, it's ready! 
5. Peel off the skin and blend the soft flesh until it's smooth. 
6. Store in the fridge for 2 weeks in an air tight jar 

SEEDS:

1. Toss with olive oil and spices (I love curry, paprika, and salt)
2. Roast @ 350 for 10 minutes
3. Snack away! 

And if you're not up for making your own pumpkin puree, I suggest this brand which you can buy online :)

lavender gin fizz

My sister is an incredible hostess. Recently while we were visiting my family in Niagara, Lisa dashed into the house for a few minutes and came back out to the pool with a platter of the most delicious cocktails I've ever had. You know, like no big deal.

It was a fun take on a classic gin fizz. I coaxed her into sharing the recipe! You need lavender simply syrup (recipe below!) which is really easy to make once you get your hands on some lavender buds. La Maison Lavande sold them, as so a lot of Farmer's Markets and certain grocery stores. Worth hunting down!

LAVENDER SIMPLE SYRUP
Combine 1 C water + 1 C sugar + 2 TB lavender buds in a small pot.
Bring to a low boil then simmer for 10 minutes.
Cool and store in your fridge for 1 week.

LAVENDER GIN FIZZ
Start with ice and lemon juice. I used the juice of 1/2 a lemon for 1 drink.
Top with 1 shot of gin, lavender simple syrup to taste (I used 2 TB per drink, more if you want your drink really sweet, less if you want it to be more sour), and finish with club soda.
And if you're my rockstar sister, garnish with a sprig of lavender.

cheers!

blender peach pie

This pie is SO easy and SO delicious. I make at least three or four each peach season. It's hard to believe I used to live within walking distance to some of these peach orchards, growing up in Niagara. Now I pine for my local grocer to carry Ontario peaches (which almost always come from Niagara) for this tiny window once a year, and of course I pay twice as much because they've traveled a distance to get out to Montreal. You don't know what you've got til it's gone, as they say.

I make this pie, crust and all, with my blender. It's so easy! You've got to have a high quality blender, though. I know a lot of people are obsessed with the Vitamix, but I just can't swallow the price of them, no matter how fabulous they are. We use the Ninja, which is less than 1/3 the price and I'm sure almost as good. It's strong enough to make banana ice cream, pie dough, pesto, etc.

First I make my dough, using the recipe from Smitten Kitchen (on sale!), which is fool proof. Once I've blended up the dough in the blender, I don't bother rinsing it because it's always good for the filling to have flour in it anyhow. I've tried a lot of pie dough recipes over the years, and none compare. It's smooth, workable, and delicious. But you can, of course, use any pie dough you like.

Then I blend the filling. 6-10 peaches, depending on their size should do it. 3 heaping table spoons of flour and 2 table spoons of sugar, or to taste. Some people like a lot of sugar in their pies, but peaches are already so sweet so I use less. Add a pinch of salt, and blend away!

Once the filling is in the pie, blend up the crumble topping. I mix butter, flour, brown sugar, and oats. Kind of equal parts for all of them. Crumble is supposed to be messy, which I love. I love baking, but as you can tell, I'm not precise with my recipes, and crumbles give plenty of room to fail and not be picture perfect (but still taste like heaven).

Bake at 375 for 15 minutes, then turn oven down to 350 for a remaining 25 minutes or so. I love this pie when it's cold - the blended peaches are so creamy, so I suggest letting it cool completely which does take hours. But if you can't help yourself (I get it), just let it cool for 30 minutes and enjoy it warm!

mélange

• Kale + Apples in a salad? I've heard of stranger pairings. Looks good! 
• I snagged this bestseller at a community library in Charlevoix. No clue when I'll get to reading it, but I'm glad I have it in my book stack! I've heard great things!
• This is a great guide for summer BBQing!

• Chinese-style bolognese? I'm listening.
• Us moms of littles need to be reading and learning from women with teens! One of my fav teen mama bloggers writes about teens and missions trips.
• Mya Rudolph is HILARIOUS in this video! And preach, sister. Though I have to say, I'm partial to the Diva Cup for chemical free femme care ;) 

• How much TV do we actually watch? 
• Really cute backpack for 60% off!
• This video is long but super informative and helpful if you're thinking about going a safer route with your toiletries. 

mélange

• 11 Places to take a chocolate-loving date in Montreal. Drool. 
• I've been making this with leftover chicken and home made bread for a quick dinner, but really it's becoming a family favourite. 
• I love painting things black or white, it's like my design solution to everything, ha!

credit: Apartment Therapy

• This is horrifying.  
• Every wonder how bakeries have the most delicious, hot, fresh baked goods ready by their 7am opening? Here's how. Fascinating article written by my friend Matt Civico.
• Questions you always wondered, answered by an OBGYN. 
• I sent a picture of this bouquet to Brad for a little inspiration and he responded with, "What is it called? How do I buy it?" God bless my man who thinks bouquets have bar codes!

credit: Our Food Stories

• I'm a Christian and I hate Christian movies. Oh how this resonated with me! 
• This book is so so excellent.
• I really want to bake this! Rosemary + any baked good = so good.

credit: Molly Yeh

oils. essentially.

Essential oils are all the rage these days, and I'm by no means breaking ground by sharing my experience. I know this. In fact, I've waited so long (I started using them five years ago) because I wanted to avoid the cliché, band wagon, topic that everyone and her cousin are blogging about. Oils. or oilz, for the real fan girls.

While I'm not looking to reinvent the wheel, and nor do I want to be a broken record, I felt like it was time to share my side of the essential oils world, because like everyone and her cousin, I've got thoughts. I've been using essential oils for five years, and I've tried about ten different brands. I use a few oils consistently (almost daily), but I have a much larger collection of 15 oils that I've added to slowly, over time. I think it's also important to note that I do not sell essential oils, and I'm not affiliated with any essential oil company. I've got nothing to gain by recommending certain oils over others. I'm also not looking to discount any of your, possibly contrary experiences with essential oils. If you swear by a certain brand, or oil, that I'm not a fan of, that's ok with me! I hope it's ok with you. I'm also not an expert or a health care professional. I'm just someone who has used essential oils for half a decade, and I'm happy to share my experiences and answer the most commonly asked questions I get. So here we go!

Do they work?
Honestly, most of the time. I find oils work really well for many of the things they are supposed to do, but they aren't as strong as conventional medicine. Lavender is supposed to suppress fevers. I've had that be the case with a very low grade fever, but never with a moderate to high fever. I reach for peppermint oil and drink extra water when I have a headache. 90% of the time, that's effective. The other 10% of the time, after 20 minutes of applying an oil, if I have no relief I pop an Advil. I prefer natural methods, but I'm also a fan of modern medicine, if it's needed. During pregnancy, I get the worst muscle spasms in my calves, and nothing brought relief. Putting cypress oil on my legs before bed cured them! I never had the cramps again, until I forgot to put the oil on my legs one night, and sure enough the spasms were back that night.

Where do you buy your oils?
I have oils from all over. I have received DoTerra and Young Living oils as gifts, I've bought oils from distilleries in France, I've tried local health store's in-house brands, I've bought NOW and Aura Cacia online. At this point in my life, I buy as much as I possibly can online because it's so much easier! I love well.ca for the free-shipping, and I know Doterra and Young Living charge for shipping. If you bought your oils on Amazon (I never have), you'd also enjoy free shipping.

Which brand do you prefer?
For me, it comes down to cost. I want to use a large variety of oils, and I want to use them frequently. For me, that means buying the more affordable brands NOW and Aura Cacia. That's not to say that I believe they're the best oils on the market, but it what works for our family and within our budget.

I look at essential oils the way I look at groceries. Ideally, I'd buy all local, all organic food, all the time. But when the budget doesn't allow, and I buy produce that's from another continent, grown with the help of pesticides, I'm still eating really profitable food. An organic apple from a local orchard is the best. A conventional apple from another country is still a great source of nutrients. Bottom line, I think apples are good for us and I think essential oils are good for us, but there are of course better options than others. For our family, it's not a high enough priority that we're willing to pay the 4-5 times greater price for the best of the best. But we still love oils, and so we buy the more affordable, non-organic, non-locally sources options.

Which oils do you use the most frequently?
Peppermint + Lavender. I love these oils!

Peppermint:

• Head ache relief (1 drop on your lower neck or temples)

• Topical pain relief (1-2 drops on site, helps with lower back pain, abdomen cramps, growing pains in legs)
• Sinus relief (1 drop with or without carrier oil, on your sinuses or in your nose. avoid your eyes!)
• Mood booster/energizer (put a drop in your palms, rub them together, and breath in!, diffuse, or add to water bottle and mist)
• Scent (this is also one of the freshest smells, so I like to add it to all my homemade cleaning supplies, or just sprinkle around the house) 
• Digestion (rub a drop on your tummy after over eating - I do this more often that I care to admit!)

Lavender:

• Chillllllll factor (every.single.night I put this on my pillow and the kid's pillows. the smell relaxes us all!, also add 1-2 drops into the kid's bath)

• Cuts, scrapes, burns (This oil can clean wounds, reduce swelling/itching of insect bites, kill bacteria, sooth irritated skin, stop bleeding, decrease pain, with just a drop on the affected area. Keep this oil handy in your backpack/diaper bag)
• Scent (my favourite scent of them all! I add it to my homemade deodorant - do I have official hippie status now!?)

Carrier oils?
Most of the oils I use, I use with a carrier oil. A carrier oil is another oil that dilutes an essential oil, to make it easier to spread on your body (and less potent). Olive oil or coconut oil are popular. I never use essential oils on my kids without carrier oils. If I'm putting peppermint on my temples for a headache or on my face for sinus relief, I don't use a carrier oil - but be careful to avoid your eyes, this is strong!!

Diffusers?
I would really like to use an oil diffuser but they are pricey, so I haven't taken the plunge yet. Also, most diffusers would only work for one large room, so I'd need one for the kid's room, one for the living/dining, one for the kitchen, and one for our room. And we live in a tiny condo! If and when I do go for it, I have my eye on this beautiful diffuser. I also love this one and this one!

Ingesting oils?
Some people use essential oils in cooking/baking. I do not. I understand wanting to add some orange or mint flavor to whatever you're cooking, but that's a very expensive way to do it! I use natural essential oils found in the rind of citrus (i.e. lemon zest) instead. It's important to note that not all essential oils are food grade, so if you want to ingest your oils, make sure they are.

How do you know so much about oils?
It's been five years, so I've learned a lot! Trial and error, talking with friends who use oils, and google, blessssssssssssssed google! There are also a ton of books out there on the topic! I've heard good things about this book, but there are so many that I'm sure are great! I like following the Oil Collective and Five Chicks Wellness on instagram for ideas, too.

Recipes! 
You can buy blends of oils from all the major companies, and usually they're more expensive that single oils. Most of these blends can be easily made at home, and in the portion you want. Here are my favorites:

"Thieves" / "On Guard" 
This blend is known to kill germs and bacteria and to support the immune system. People put this oil in cleaning supplies and a few drops on your feet (under socks!) if you're getting sick or are sick

8 drops Clove Bud essential oil
7 drops Lemon essential oil
4 drops Cinnamon Bark essential oil
3 drops Eucalyptus essential oil
2 drops  Rosemary essential oil

Vicks / "Breathe"
This blend is amazing when you're congested or have a painful cough. Rub on the back, chest, feet, neck, or sinuses. Remember to dilute with a carrier oil for kids!

4 drops Eucalyptus essential oil
4 drops Peppermint essential oil
2 drops  Rosemary essential oil
2 drops Lavender essential oil
 
If you use essential oils, what are your favorites, and why? I'd love to hear!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! + mélange

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!

I love the hope and promise of a new year. These links are all from last year (or last week, ha!), but I loved them enough to share. We celebrated with some neighbours and our kids at a family party until around 8pm using a sled as our transportation, and were in bed before midnight... #parentlife
 How was your NYE?

• how to have a fantastic home without being rich.  
• speaking of homes + budgets...33 of the most expensive streets in Mtl (not the ones I would have guessed!)
• brilliant idea for dessert! have to start doing this for the kids.
• I made this cake for breakfast on Christmas morning. Cake for breakfast! Hark the herald angels sing! 

• best dumplings in Montreal. Har Bin is our favourite!
• Ted talks on minimalism.
• I love incorporating the kids into meal-prep but it's not always easy. This book looks amazing!
• On the same vein, this book, too! Especially because it's in French too!

• fancy lego!
• the best play kitchens
• I'm thinking of ditching parchment paper this year and getting these instead. I go through A LOT of parchment, so it might be worth it!
• when I was young, each year we'd go to Florida for two weeks and my sister and I would journal every day we were away. This post reminded me of how wonderful journalling is for kids!
• Also these journals would be perfect for littles!

mélange

So it seems I went well over a week before posting my recent mélange post and now I'm ready for another one already. The Interwebs are funny that way. Some weeks I can't stop from bookmarking posts, sometimes ten at a time, and others not much catches my eye. Isn't it great that all of this education/entertainment/resource is at our finger tips FOR FREE? I love the internet! I love blogs and sometimes can't believe I don't pay a cent for all that I take in. Sweet, sweet 21st century fun :)

• one mom's view on changing the birth order of her children through adoption. love her and her heart and her enormous family! 
• I've talked before about limiting screen time for babies and early toddlers, but some day screens will play a larger role in the lives of our kids. I enjoyed this post on negotiating screen time with kids. Clean before screen? Gold. 
• a collection of pictures of the best part of every wedding ceremony (which is of course watching the groom behold his bride for the first time). My groom shared this with me this week. Tear. City.

source

• there isn't any question in our home about what type of school our kids will attend - local public is our choice, 100%, but this post did get me thinking about the public school systems varying in each neighbourhood and how that may play out for us. (we're still "inner-city", but recently moved to a neighbourhood with higher income and presumably better public school)
• as a new pastor's wife, I'm still learning about my role and I know it varies depending on where you serve and what your church is like. I really enjoyed this post on What Your Pastor's Wife Wants You To Know. Can't relate to it fully yet, but what a great resource if your husband is in ministry!
• asian pear tarlets with port reduction sauce. enough said. 

source

mélange

Thank goodness for iphones. I seriously don't know how I did the whole up-all-night thing with Lily, before I had any smart devices. These days, come 3am, the only way I can stay awake enough to nourish Chloé is to be browsing blogs or instagram while I'm doing it. And it's through instagram that I've discovered so many new blogs lately that I'm totally loving and think you will too.

Here's a few new favourites, check them out!

Lovely Little Whimsy (fun fact, she had a baby girl the same day I had Chloé!)

It's The Little Things (she also just had a baby! A couple days after me!)

Our Little Band of Brothers

The Curated House

Little Lessy

And now, for my favourite posts recently:

• great read on raising children to love reading without all the electronic gadgets that seem "necessary" for learning these days...
• nine pumpkin recipes, because we all need more pumpkin in our lives!
• love these glittery leaves for an Autumn decoration

• a good source tells me that these t-shirts are the best around and are super high quality, ethical, and affordable. SAY WHAT? I'm so ordering some.
• adoption is wonderful (we hope to some day!) but there are a lot of ethical quandaries with it that often go unnoticed, unspoken of, and unconsidered. Choosing sex or race, rights of birth parents, money money money, etc. A great read on ethics + adoption.
• I looked forever for a corner bookshelf like this for our dining nook. FOREVER. I never found one, but if I ever do, I would DIY it exactly like this one.

rosemary cream sauce [for anything, but especially steak]

This sauce tastes like heaven and if you wanted, you could put it on anything. It's original purpose was to be slathered on a thick barbecued steak, and I'd say that's when it's really living up to it's potential, but seriously, you could drink it. My parents have been making it for as long as I can remember, and it's from some cookbook, but I sadly don't remember which one. Full credit goes to the cookbook for creating, and my parents for perfecting, I'm just a happy bystander + enjoyer of this lovely substance.

• Chop up whatever variety of mushrooms you like (portobellos, button mushrooms, whatever). You need a lot because they get very small when you cook them down. Maybe 2-3 cups?
• Place chopped mushrooms and a while bunch of chopped green onions in a zip lock bag with 1/2 C Vermouth. I made this with Brandy once because I didn't have Vermouth and it was still incredible. Let it sit and soak up the booze for a good half hour.
• Sauté the mushrooms + onions in a large frying pan with a few TB butter for 15 minutes
• Deglaze the pan with 1/2C-1C of chicken stock (it depends how many mushrooms you have, don't over think it), let it cook down to half
• Add 1/2C-1C of heavy cream (same reasoning as above) and let the sauce thicken on medium high for a good 15 min.
• Add several stocks of rosemary to the sauce, chopped small, at the very end.

smother it on EVERYTHING and enjoy :)