it's my girls' world

I've been loving red lentils lately. So good for you- high in protein and fibre, chock-ful of B's and a great source of iron. They cook really fast as well and are so delicious. Just as we're entering fall, here's a delicious soup bursting with all sorts of different bright flavours.

1 tablespoon of 2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 small onion 

1 inch of ginger, minced

2 carrots, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 cup of red lentils 

1/2 tablespoon of tumeric

1/2 tablespoon of cumin

1/2 teaspoon of cayenne (optional)

2 -3 cups of chopped vegetables (I used zucchini, butternut squash and mushroom)

4 cups of water or vegetable stock

1 14 oz of coconut milk

Optional Toppings:

Toasted coconut flakes

Chopped cilantro

Chopped Jalapeno

Green Onions

Jasmine rice

1- In a large pot, add the oil and over medium heat, add onion, ginger and then garlic. Cook for a couple minutes

2- Add the other vegetables and spices. Stir well and cook for 3-4 minutes.

3- Add red lentils and stir well then slowly add water/broth

4- Cover the pot and cook for about 25 minutes.

5- Add the coconut milk. 

6- Depending on how creamy you want the soup, use your immersion blender/blender to puree the soup (I wanted some texture still)

7- When serving the soup, ladle a couple cups into a bowl and add the desired toppings. A couple spoonfuls of rice makes it just a little more filling.

This delicious concoction is also vegan and a great way to sneak all the different veggies into my kids' bodies. We have been trying more meatless meals recently and this one will definitely be on repeat in our house. 

Day trips galore

St Jacobs market was our go to this summer. 

Lots of pool time

I squeezed this one in a couple days ago and the girls loved it!

We didn't get to a couple of the things- mostly the food like picnics, s'mores, nice cream and herb cocktails. Oh and some of the outdoor things like outdoor scavenger hunting and back yard camping because of the Lyme disease epidemic in Ontario (ick). Oh well, there's always next year!

As a side note, the summer sunshine is still shining strong here in September! We'll take it :-)

Happy Monday, friends! Here's the final installment of our Disney Fantasy cruise. 

On Day 5, we docked at Cozumel. We had been to Cozumel before and we really had liked it... this time though... D and I decided to explore on our own as my kids wanted to stay on the ship and my parents also said they would come out on the dock but head back after exploring a bit. That was probably for the best as there were so many different guides offering deals. It got a little overwhelming and honestly, a little irritating. Finally, we bought one of the deals to a 'snorkeling' beach. Sidenote, snorkelling beach= coral ridden, not very swimmable beach. 

When we got to the beach club via the oldest vehicle I'd ever been in, it was an older one but we sat in the lounge chairs for a bit, it began to rain and there were vendors trying to peddle their goods every few minutes. There was wireless though :-) And margaritas. We'd had enough so we took some false pics, headed back to the ship and had some nachos there.

Back to the ship-- yay. Since the kids were with my parents, we headed to lunch, took a long nap in the adult section of the ship and played some mini-golf. 

Then it was pirate night but we headed for a belated anniversary meal at Palo, one of the adult restaurants.

Pirate night is awesome with so many people getting dressed up. There are dance parties, a show and fireworks at the very end.

The next day, we were on sea. There was lots of pool time, Aquaduct time (the huge water slide around the ship), eating, shows and hidden mystery time. It was also semi formal night but I can't seem to find many pictures.

We ate, drank, swam, walked around  and had a wonderful time!

And then back to our ship for our final night, dinner and a show!

Linking up with the lovely Biana for weekending

As school starts, all the mamas have all begun to think of school lunches. Nutritious, yummy, finicking kid pleasing lunches. Easy, right? Here's the deal with lunches- I kind of have a love/hate relationship with them. They're a pain to do everyday but at the same time, now I like to do them most days especially after I started to do these things:

We love little compartments around here. The Spencer Bento Boxes that PBK has with all the little compartments are our faves.  So are  Bentgo boxes if you want to invest a bit more. I invested in a couple containers for each kid so if one is in the dishwasher or at school I can pack the other one. #gamechanger.

Every Sunday (or sometimes Monday) I try to do some prep.  I wash, cut and sort our fruit and veggies so during the week getting healthy stuff for lunches (and dinner) is easier. These containers were from Walmart (Thanks Jenn) and were super cheap and I just love being organised for the week!

If there was anything that changed my life was starting to make the kids' lunches the day before. I am so much more creative as a parent and nicer as a person when I'm not bleary eyed and in need of caffeine. I mostly do them when I am getting dinner ready so it's just one bit of tidying up.  Then back into the fridge they go until we are ready for it the next day. My kids have not noticed one bit of difference in the freshness of the food they get for lunch (I think that's a concern for some)

Chicken or fish for dinner goes into sandwiches, cooked broccoli and green beans as their veggie and soups put into a thermos. 

My kids are noshers. What works for us is this combo:

1- sandwiches or wraps. I sometimes do hot lunches as well but my kids are fans of stuff they can eat with their hands. We do turkey and cheese, stripped chicken, wow butter and jam, chicken /tuna salad, cheese and avocado etc.

2- fruit (1-2 servings)

3- veggies

4- protein/dairy (cheese, turkey, boiled egg).

5- other: pretzels, cheddar crackers, olives, dried fruit(dates, apricots, prunes, cranberries or raisins), granola, yogurt and roasted chickpeas.

My kids love when I cut sandwiches into shapes or make fruit skewers  or salad(I maybe do one of either of these a week.) Once a week, I put in a tiny piece of candy as a little treat as well... usually on a Friday.

Do any of you do any of these things? Any other tips to share ?

Linking up with 

Andrea, Erika and Narci for Favourites on Friday

Happy weekending!!