Our Snow Day

Do I wish I lived in Hawaii?  Why, yes, yes I do, but I don't.  So, when the weather decides that everyone needs a timeout, and the town is pretty much shutdown, we make the best of it.  Since the girls are home-schooled, it's business as usual with the schooling side of things.  Then it's game on to make things feel warm and sunny.

*All recipes will follow the blog post, so be sure to continue reading for some deliciousness!

The day starts with taking the fur babies out to play, run around and tackle each other in the snow, they are extremely entertaining!  Then we all trample back inside and I begin preparing the *dogs breakfast (check out my post from May 26th and June 12th, 2014).  Knowing their bellies are full, I proceed to filling my belly with a warm cup of herbal coffee.  Taking a break from the caffeine for the last few weeks and I feel great, but still get the comfort of my morning cup with this awesome brand called Teeccino.  Along with the "coffee", I make some stovetop *oatmeal.  The girls were still sleeping, and I love being with them, but the morning's are my time to mindfully prepare myself and enjoy my breakfast in silence; no electronics, no talking, no TV, it truly is heaven, you should try it.  Then off to the home office to begin posting cancellation notices for class, sending emails, updating sites.

Once the girls wake up it's cereal made from beans, Power O's by Love Grown Foods, with our *homemade almond milk.  Okay, I know how that sounds completely unappetizing, but seeing as we limit the processed stuff, this product is a perfect compromise and only has a few whole ingredients.  The girls love it!  On to a few hours of school and then break time as the girls and dogs go out to play.  My youngest comes back in out of breath and red faced.  After changing into dry clothes and applying some unrefined coconut oil to her cheeks, we head to the kitchen for our lunch.

With all the extreme weather they were predicting a day earlier, I figured I might as well purchase some sunflowers to have our own sunshine inside.  Using the flowers as inspiration, the *juice for today was a bright and sunny creation.  That was good for me, but the girls also had *open face cracker sandwiches.

After lunch we decided to relax, but awhile later we needed to move our bodies with some yoga, which felt really good and was much needed.  Finally, it was about time to get dinner going.  So, what do you have for dinner on a snowed in day?  Breakfast of course!  *French toast with *maple cinnamon whipped cream.  I ended up making four batches because the girls couldn't get enough.  It seriously is so dang good!  Finished eating and on to preparing the *pups dinner, believe me, they have built in alarms in their stomachs when it's dinner time.  Now it's time for some chamomile tea and whoppin' the girls in Monopoly (my little one destroyed us the last time we played, so tonight's come back time :).

Sweet Potato Surprise (Dogs Breakfast)

Ingredients:
approx. 3 1/2 c. pureed sweet potatoes
9 c. old fashioned oatmeal (cooked)
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 c. natural peanut butter
Ground flax meal (my big girl gets 3 Tbsp., the other three each get 2 Tbsp.)
Probiotic (my big girl gets 3/4 tsp., the other three each get 1/4 tsp.)

Directions:
1.  Place probiotic and flax meal into each dogs individual bowl.
2.  Combine remaining ingredients into large bowl, mix well and divide accordingly (depends on weight.  Mya is 80 lbs. so she gets 4 rounded cups, Janie and Chevy are 36 lbs. so they get 2 3/4 c. each and Pugsley is 30 lbs. so he gets 2 1/4 c.)

Morning Oatmeal
Serves 1

Ingredients:
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. old fashioned oats
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. dried cherries
1 Tbsp. raw almond butter
1/2 Tbsp. agave or raw honey
2 Tbsp. raw pumpkin seeds
Homemade almond milk

Directions:
1.  Bring water to a boil, add oats, turn down to simmer cook according to package directions (time may vary depending on brand).
2.  Once cooked, add remaining ingredients, stir and enjoy.

Homemade Almond Milk
Makes about 2 liters

Ingredients:

2 c. raw almonds
6 c. filtered water
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
10-12 pitted dates* or 1-2 Tbsp. agave (depends on how sweet you like)
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Directions:
1.  Soak almonds in water overnight (make sure water covers them well as they will absorb some and puff up).
2.  In the morning, drain water, rinse and fill high speed blender with fresh water (6 cups) and almonds.  Process until well blended, 30 seconds - 1 minutes depending on blender strength.
3.  Place milk nut bag in bowl, pour blender contents through bag.  Squeeze bag to get all the milk out.
4.  Rinse blender, pour milk back in, add remaining ingredients and blend again.  Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.  Store almond pulp in a freezer proof bag in the freezer until ready to use in a recipe.

*You are straining, so if the amount of dates bothers you, you are not truly consuming the full amount at once because it's mostly in the pulp, which you'll use in another recipe to make multiple servings of muffins, cookies, pancakes, etc.

Sunshine Juice
Serves 1

Ingredients:
1/2 c. coconut water
2 large oranges (peeled, use peels for cleaning and deodorizing sink and garbage disposal)
1/2 c. papaya
1 organic cucumber
1/2 c. pineapple (optional if you want it sweeter)
2 large carrots

Directions:
1.  Place coconut water in a large glass.
2.  Send ingredients through juicer in order listed.

Open Face Sandwiches
Serves 1

Ingredients:
6 round crackers (the less processed and artificial ingredients the better)
6 pieces nondairy cheese of choice
2 pieces Tofurkey, cut into 6 pieces (optional, contains gluten so avoid if gluten allergy)
2 cherry tomatoes (optional), sliced into 6 pieces

Directions:
1.  Place one of each item on top of a cracker, repeat until all sandwiches are created.

Best French Toast Ever
Serves 2-3 people

Ingredients:
6 slices bread of choice (thicker drier bread works best when making french toast, we like The Little Northern Bakehouse or sprouted by Silver Hills)
1 ripe banana
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. coconut sugar
2/3 c. homemade almond milk
Coconut spray for griddle

Directions:
1.  Heat griddle over medium high heat for several minutes.
2.  Mash banana in a shallow bowl.
3.  Add remaining ingredients, whisk well.
4.  Dip each piece of bread in mixture, coating both sides, allow excess to drip off.
5.  Spray griddle with coconut spray, reduce heat to medium and place coated bread on griddle.  Cook 3-4 minutes each side or until golden brown.
6.  Serve with any toppings you choose.

Maple Cinnamon Whipped Cream
Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients:
1 can coconut cream (not light)
1/4 c. pure maple syrup (please no Aunt Jemima or Mrs. Butterworth :))
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions:
1. Place can in fridge for several hours to firm contents (although the Trader Joe brand is pretty thick so you don't really need to with that one).
2.  Scoop out cream and place in a bowl, there will be about 1/4 cup worth of water, drain water off and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for another recipe (like a smoothie).
3.  Add remaining ingredients and mix with a hand mixer until fluffy and well combined.  Store in the fridge until ready to use and to keep it from softening too much.

Protein Packed Dinner (Pups Dinner)

5 c. rice, cooked
4 1/2 c. great northern beans (made from dried to reduce gas and make it easier for them to digest, see March 16th, 2012 post for cooking dried beans)
1 lb. drained organic tofu
Nutritional Yeast (Mya gets 1-2 Tbsp., the others get 1/2-1 Tbsp.)
Unrefined Coconut Oil (Mya gets 1 heaping Tbsp., the other 1 Tbsp.)
Diatomaceous Earth (Mya gets 1 Tbsp., the others 3/4 Tbsp.)
Green Mush (Mya gets 1 Tbsp., the others 2 tsp.)

Directions:
1.  Place single ingredients into individuals bowls (nutritional yeast, coconut oil, DE, Green Mush).
2.  Place all other ingredients into large bowl, mix well.  Divide accordingly (for us it goes like this… Mya gets 4 rounded cups, Janie and & Chevy get 2 rounded cups, Pugsley gets 1 rounded plus 1/2 c.)

I hope you all enjoy our recipes as much as we, and the pups, do and please post your version or any comments you may have, I love to get the feedback!