Meatless Monday & Care Bears

So I may or may not have mentioned that we have been drastically changing our eating habits. Thanks to this, this, and this, we are a changed family. Well, mama is changed, which basically means everyone else has to join along. :P Thankfully, I married a super health conscious hippy (well, in a totally suburban sense of the word), and he is happy to oblige. I'll have to take a picture of our pantry, freezer and fridge in the next month or so. You probably won't believe your eyes. Anyway, we are slowly eating what we have and buying almost exclusively real food (AKA unprocessed). Can't do without my ketchup and mayo though. It really has been great and surprisingly a cost saver. They say that processed food is cheaper and that's why American is obese, but when you buy a bunch of junk, you eat all day and we actually spent more on groceries before. I mean who can't sit and demolish a bag of chips or a package of Oreos in the blink of an eye, but I bet you won't each a bowl full of fruit for a snack...well, unless it is in a juice, but that's beside the point. ;)

So as apart of our diet change, we've been eating far less meat and more veggies. This is HUGE for my meat and potatoes man, but he hasn't complained...too much anyway. My goal is 1 or 2 nights of meat, 2 nights of fish and the rest veggie dinners. So for Meatless Monday, I made a favorite, eggplant parm. To incorporate my new homemade, unprocessed approach to cooking, I even made my own spaghetti sauce from fresh tomatoes. It was DELISH! Don't fret. I haven't lost my mind by making my own noodles...yet. ;) It was a hit. I must say it was delicious, and the somewhat picky toddlers and my carnivorous husband gobbled it up.  

I dropped the fresh, delicious tomatoes (some from Whole Foods and some were home grown by one of Brett's friend/co-worker) in boiling water for about 60 seconds and stuck them in cold water, so I could peel off the skin. I even had help.

 She LOVES to be in the kitchen. She's still not sure why she can't use the knives. ;) I love her help...most of the time. Especially when it doesn't involve flour and a mixer. ;)

 We added a few seasonings. She has quite a heavy hand, so it was VERY seasoned! :)

Added a little egg and flour to the eggplant. Dropped it in a little oil and topped with parmesan, tomato sauce and mozzarella. And if you ever make this, make sure you slice and salt the eggplant and let it sit for a bit before you cook it. It pulls out the bitterness. I learned this the hard way. My cookbook failed to mention this, so I'll save you the hard lesson.

And on an entirely different note, I have two little Care Bear obsessed toddlers, thanks to replacing Nick Jr with Netflix. Did I mention we cancelled Dish too? Woah, we are headed back a century. Watch out! Wait, they didn't have Netflix back then. Oh. Anyway, I was playing with Kayleigh and pretended to fall asleep. I was curious what she was going to do if she couldn't wake me. Doesn't every SAHM with little kids wonder what would happen if the worst happens (pass out, have  a seizure, or whatever other crazy scenario we dream up while we sit at home eating bon-bons)? ;) Brett was in the basement, so I thought maybe she'd freak out and go find him. Ummm...no. She leaned over me and chanted "We care. We care. We CARE!!!" It was so hilarious that I couldn't maintain composure and stay in character. I'm the worst actress ever. Ask my husband. She was thrilled when Mommy woke up. I'm not sure whether she was more happy that I was ok or that the Care Bear chant actually worked. Oh the good times of a SAHM.