Flora & Fauna: April 2013

A little healthier

a typical breakfast: fruit & fresh juice

About a year ago papa bear started having some health issues. It's a long and incredibly boring story but in the end it has meant that we've become a much healthier family as a result. As we tried to find a way to make him feel better and discover what's wrong in the first place we began to makeover our pantry and fridge. We started by making small changes and improvements and then, this week, as I was reading Gwyneth Paltrow's new cookbook It's All Good I realized that all those little changes ended up revamping our whole idea and way of eating/cooking. We've been cutting down on gluten and we try to limit dairy.
I'm all about simplicity, especially when it comes to cooking and especially since I've become a mum. So I have somewhat of a cooking/grocery shopping routine that I've developed over the past year. In an effort to put it down in writing I figured I would share with you what we do and how we do it!

Healthy pantry staples:

Brown rice syrup (for baking)

Coconut oil (I use this daily instead of olive oil)

Brown rice (I buy tons of this stuff)
Gluten free all purpose baking flour (I used the Bob's Red Mill brand)
Gluten free steel cut oats
Quinoa (or blogger manna if you will :) )
Raw honey
Canned tomatoes (for homemade tomato sauce)
Buckwheat (great as a side or for breakfast)
Canned tuna (easy lunch protein)
Granola
Almond butter
Dried mushrooms (great for a quick & light soup)

Healthy fridge staples:
Sweet potatoes (so much better than potatoes)
Red onion (fantastic flavor for salads)
Kale (I use this for juicing or to kick up a bakes sweet potato)
Spinach, arugula and romain
Pickles (so easy)
Vegenaise (I can't believe it took me so long to discover it!)
Whole grain mustard (for making dressing)
Sausage (sometimes from the Russian store, otherwise local)
Sparkling water (for diluting/kicking up juice)
Carrots
Greek yogurt (we use it instead of sour cream)
Almond milk (I totally fell in love with this stuff)
Quality maple syrup (always worth the extra bucks)
Avocados (I eat it in some form almost every day, once again -easy)
Beets (for juicing & salads)
Coconut water

All of this is constantly on rotation at our house and is key for me in order to be able to throw together a quick and healthy meal. After reading Skinny Bitch years ago we have slowly eliminated almost all "crap" foods from our house. It's so true that when it's not there you won't eat it, especially since the nearest grocery store is half an hour from our house. By always having lots of good, healthy options on hand we are sort of "forced" to eat healthier. Of course after some time it becomes your preference and we always find that when we stray from this diet our skin goes nuts, we feel tired and generally "off" and we inevitably start to gain weight.

Other than what I listed we have also started juicing two or three days a week which helps immensely as well. In addition we have become crazy about drinking lots of water and squeezing in even the smallest amount of exercise into every day (occasionally it's just a short walk but it's better than nothing).

I hope you find this helpful and please feel free to share any healthy "shortcuts" you yourselves have developed on a quest to eat healthier!

Last but not least here's a recipe for a go-to quick lunch for me:

cook sweet potatoes in pan with lid on low heat, up heat, remove lid & add kale & salt & pepper

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, by Flora and Fauna

This goes out to all the ladies

blouse - Target, pants - J. Crew, shoes - ShoeMint, glasses - Warby Parker

One of the most interesting things about becoming a mother has been the way it has changed how I view women. It has changed the way I view our bodies. The way I look at the decisions we all make on a daily basis and the way we interact with each other. When your body has created, carried and birthed another human being you begin to respect it in ways you never had before. You feel stronger even in light of all the weakness - the thinning hair, the mushy tummy and all those other unmentionables... It really does inject you with a dose of "I can do anything" attitude.

It's also made me stop judging women once and for all. I used to think there were right and wrong ways to parent, to be, and now? Now I think as long as your child is happy and healthy I couldn't care less what you're doing to make them that way. Breastfeeding, crying it out (or the "Mommy Dearest Method"), formula, organic, co-sleeping (you sexual deviant you!), disposable diapers (or Satan's towels, as they are more commonly known), weaning, solids before one year (poison paste!), whatever!! Because this mama thing is hard y'all, like really hard, like legit fearing you are about to pass out due to the two hours of sleep you're running on (that would be for a 36 hour period, not a night, that would be luxurious) amidst a hundred Target bikinis and wondering who's going to take care of your baby while your face is planted into that delicious gray carpeting hard. And so whatever you're doing to make it work, to stay sane, stay happy and keep that babe out of harm - then rock on honey.

And I've also noticed how incredibly kind and good us fellow mamas are to each other. From my midwife who knows me so well at this point that she doesn't ask questions. Who knows more intimate details about my life then anyone other than my husband and who handles these delicate, sometimes painful, matters with so much empathy and motherly love that it just makes me want to hug her sometimes. I know I couldn't have ever made it through post-partum without her and she made me feel so taken care of. To my mother who understands me without the use of language, who reads me via the bags under my eyes and the way I shuffle (instead of walk) around the house. Who knows what I need and does things without being asked. Who has loved me and supported me through ever step of this journey. She's the only person I implicitly trust V with, above papa bear, and she's the only one I feel like I can go to when it gets too hard, when I need some advice or when I'm just bursting with excitement because "ohmygodmumvjustgrabbedthegiraffe!!!!!" I'm also grateful for my physical therapist who rocks and feeds V during our sessions so I can be as "relaxed" as possible, for the sweet ladies who hold doors open for our stroller, for the women who tell me I look great and who coo at my baby.

I feel that becoming a mama has unlocked the door to this most incredible, generous, kind and supportive community of women who share this miraculous gift. I feel so grateful and humbled to be a part of it and I'm trying my very best to pass it on.

I suppose what I'm saying it that it is truly a hard job but an honorable one and a wonderful one too!