Pink Grapefruit Salad with Brown Sugar Vinaigrette

This is not an advertorial. But, it's going to sound like one. So hang in there with me.
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Ever since I posted a picture of myself on this here blogsite of mine, I've had people email and ask, "how do you bake so much and stay so thin?" Well, for a long time it's been a real up and down bungle of bad eating, feeling guilty, starving myself, setting ridiculous 'stay-away-from-all-carbs' goals, and on and on. I may be the pin-up girl for Cheeky Kitchen, but I haven't been the poster girl for exemplar eating.
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Food has always been my 'thing.' While my sister's can remember hilarious experiences we had while living in Grandma's farm, or with neighborhood pals, or when our family tripped to Tijuana, I remember what we ate. Food has been a way for me to reward myself, punish myself, treat myself to happiness, shame myself for the blues. Eating is often a way for me to express my feelings. And, while I've always had a very light and lovely way of looking at eating, there's no doubt that--if you bake enough cookies--you're going to scoot yourself right out of your skinny jeans.
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It's all been back and forth, back and forth. I've tried this diet and that. This excersize class and that workout regime. Sometimes things work and sometimes they don't. Sometimes I like my booty. Sometimes I go wake up and feel the saddlebags nestled under the covers and wonder why my fairy godmother hasn't granted me a tiny heiny.
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Then, one day about two months ago, I'm walking through the grocery store early, early, early in the morning. I'd just dropped my son off for Scout Camp and there was an hour to kill before the gym opened. So, I was going slow. Just a takin' my time walking up and down the aisles. La-dee-dah. La-dee-dah. It was at the end of the ice cream aisle, just before I hit the chocolate fudge topping that I noticed a stack of books. One, in particular, seemed to call out to me: "When Food Is Love, Exploring the Relationship Between Eating and Intimacy."
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Hmmmm. I thought.
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I picked up the book and started thumbing through it. Words and letters and stories began to strike a chord deep in my soul. There was the part where Geneen Roth, the author, talks about how kids from crazy families (such as my own) grow up and use food to create drama in their lives. There was the part where she recommended that the best way to eat is never to diet, but rather, to eat when you are hungry'. Then, there was the part where Geneen said something like this, "if at the end of the day you eat a bowl of ice cream. You haven't proven your unworthy or unloveable. You haven't ruined your perfect body. You've just eaten a bowl of ice cream."
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It was about this point in the book when I realized I'd been reading Ms. Roth's book for 2 hours straight. Devouring it, actually. Right there on the grocery store floor. Which is exactly where I stayed until I'd turned the final page, wiped tears from my cheeks, and stood up. Somehow, I felt like I was standing taller that I had been just a few hours before.
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Two months later, I've dropped somewhere around seven pounds and I haven't dieted a once. I haven't even thought about dieting. In fact, I don't even know how much I weigh right now. But, I do know I feel more comfortable in my own skin than I ever have before. I don't tell you this to neiner-neiner a single soul. Rather, to say Thank You to Geneen Roth for the clarity with which she shared her remarkable truths. Truly. Thank you. Your book has changed everything.
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And, thanks to the grocery store clerks who let a certain bed-headed girl sit and read on the floor one morning. It totally made my day.

Pink Grapefruit Salad with Brown Sugar Vinaigrette
Light and lovely.
½ c. whole cashews
2 T. honey
t. chili powder
Pinch garlic salt
2 grapefruit, peeled, sectioned, diced
Grilled Chicken
½ c. Vidalia onion, sliced thin
½ c. cucumber, sliced
5-6 c. romaine lettuce, chopped
In a small saucepan, combine cashews, honey, chili powder, and garlic salt. Stir over medium heat until honey begins to boil and evaporate. Turn cashews onto a piece of parchment and allow to cool. Combine all other salad ingredients in a large bowl. Add cooled cashews. Serve with brown sugar vinaigrette.

Brown Sugar Vinaigrette
Juice of 2 freshly squeezed lemons
Juice of 2 freshly squeezed limes
1 T. orange juice concentrate
¼ c. brown sugar
¼ c. olive oil
Dash of cinnamon
Generous sprinkling of salt and fresh-ground pepper

Whisk together all ingredients. Pour over salad. Stores in the fridge up to one week.

Which books have been most life-changing for you?

Cherry Limeade Bars

It was three o'clock two Thursdays ago. The sun was high and hot, leaving us only one thing to do with ourselves...Cherry Limeade's at Sonic. Pulling into the parking lot, I shifted the car into neutral, rolled the windows down, and turned the radio up. A waitress on rollerskates brought us cups heaped high with pink soda. My seven-year-old sat in the front seat, nodding his head to the beat and sipping deeply from his straw. His legs dangled over the edge of the seat, and I had no choice but to fall madly in love with the afternoon.

Someone ought to bottle the magic of Cherry Limeade moments, I thought.

Since I don't have a soda bottler at home, I figured baking it into cherry red and lime green custard bars might be equally delightsome.

Turns out, it is. Just look at those pretty little dessert squares. They'll make your shoulders shimmy to Katy Perry. They'll make your head nod to Ella Fitzgerald. They'll take any hot summer day and make it simmer with edible enchantment.

No sipping required.

Cherry Limeade Bars
Tangy and sweet, a twist on the classic lemon bar, these easy dessert squares simply scream summer. A light, buttery crust is cooked with a thin layer of maraschino cherry puree, then topped with a lime custard. These little treats are just as refreshing as a tall glass of limeade. You’re going to love them.
1 c. flour
½ c. butter, softened
¼ c. powdered sugar
Dash of salt

6 oz. can maraschino cherries , undrained
½ Tbsp. cornstarch

3 eggs
1 ¼ c. sugar
3 Tbsp. flour
¼ c. key lime juice *
Green Gel Food Coloring
In a large bowl, combine flour, butter , powdered sugar, salt and flour until well mixed. Press into the bottom of a 9x9 inch baking pan. Pour the entire, undrained can of maraschino cherries into a blender, add cornstarch and blend until well chopped (but not pureed). Using a spatula, carefully spread the cherry mixture over the crust mixture. Bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
In a large bowl, beat together remaining ingredients. Pour over cooked crust & cherry mixture. Return to oven and bake an additional 20-25 minutes, or until the mixture has set. Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars, garnishing with powdered sugar, and serving to your favorite people.

Been to Babble lately? Don't miss my recipes for
Snickers Salad, Healthy Mac & Cheese, & Blueberry Cutie Pies

Spontaneous Summer Picnic

I recieved a basket full of picnic essentials from European Market, a website dedicated to finding the best gifts, toys, teas, and confections from the finest artistans in Europe and making them available to us Yankee's. It was divine. Full of rich hazelnut chocolates from Italy, British Sable Crackers, and German chamomile tea.
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The basket reminded me of a hundred years ago, when the Cheeky Hubby and I were newly married, and took two cheap tickets to Europe, where we walked the streets of Barcelona, roamed the Portuguese countryside, and lazed an afternoon away in the Jardin des Tuileries while snacking on thick pieces of crusty baguettes.
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Inspired by our European Market picnic basket and a Saturday evening full of sunset, the children and I gathered together a few no-fuss picnic items: french bread, Rondele cheese, salami, strawberries, a stack of good books, and headed off to our favorite park.

It was a lovely time. We spread a blanket under the dangling leaves of a friendly tree. We sipped sun tea and watched a curious duck oogle our offerings from the nearby pond.
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Lest you think this whole European idea has gone to my head and made me all elegant and classy, I'll divulge the rest of our evening events.

A tiny blanket, with a doll-sized picnic was set up at the edge of our chosen picnic spot. Worry not. Both dolls were appropriately equipped with bibs and wicked-awesome sweatpants.

(How can I ever thank Xavier Roberts for the 30 years of yarn-and-plush joy he's brought into the world? Just look at that pretty daughter I own. I remember loving my Cabbage Patch doll with equal adoration. Though, I love that little girl of mine a whole lot more.)

There was the moment when the kids tired of the picnic and ventured over to the playground to play merry-go-round roulette. 'Is that dad related to Goliath?' my daughter ponders in awe as he prepares to push the fated group of waiting children.

Then, there was that beautiful picnic moment when the children started singing "throw salami at your mommy" and--after being expertly stared down by said mommy--decided it was a much better idea to throw salami at themselves.

Which was the exact moment I declared the party over. This whole romantic-European-notion was a nice idea, but seriously. We're from Colorado. We clothe Cabbage Patch dolls in terrycloth bibs. We stick salami on our head. That's just how we roll.

So we tucked plates and dishes and dreams away and headed off to run through the playground sand and muss our hair in the merry-go-round wind.
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And I must say, it was an absolutely delicious way to spend a summer night.

If you--like me--have accepted life in the States, you're in luck! European Market brings the very finest European gifts, toys, and foods right to your door. If a trip to Europe is in your forseeable future, be sure to check out the incredible Travel Tips available on their site, as well.
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What do you pack in your picnic basket?

You Simply Must Check Out Mindbloom

I hope you'll allow me a moment to squeal {absolutely SQUEAL!} in delight over a gorgeous new website I've discovered.
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Summer has been a hectic mish-mash of trying to balance time with my sweet children, keeping the house clean, shopping for healthy food, cooking healthy food, blogging about not-always-healthy food, and trying to soak in the precious moments of this blessed season. I feel, very often, that I'm failing miserably at this game of a balanced life.
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So, imagine my delight to discover an online game designed to help you achieve your greatest goals by helping players organize their priorities, time, and simple daily successes. The website is called Mindbloom, and it's absolutely incredible.
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The internet is a wonderful place, but there are so many sites that waste time and distract us from our ultimate goals. I absolutely adore the team behind Mindbloom for creating a site that enhances our real world life, rather than sucking us into yet another virtual one. Here's how it works...

CLICK HERE to visit the site. When you arrive at the site, just click on "Play Now" to begin creating your Mindbloom account. The first thing you'll do is choose three areas of life that are most important to you from a list of eight general aspects. A friendly dragonfly is your narrator for the journey.

You then rate yourself in each of your selected life areas. Do you spend a lot of time in one area? Are you not focusing enough on another? When I created my account several weeks ago, I loved taking a moment to consider the things that are important to me, evaluating how I'm spending my time in each of the areas.

There's one more step before Mindbloom creates your account. You get to confirm that the three area's selected are those which you's most like to start focusing on through Mindbloom. Just look at those graphics! Aren't they breathtaking, and peaceful, and soothing? So beautiful.

Now comes the lovely part. Mindbloom takes grows a tiny tree--a Life Tree--which represents the life you will grow by creating and maintaining the areas of life that matter to you, with each of the leaves representing your specific goals, passions, or dreams. At this point, I worried that I would be overwhelmed by learning how to navigate the game, but the website is so comprehensively designed and organized (with Mr. Dragonfly returning to guide me whenever I needed) that it was surprisingly simple to get started.

With a Life Tree grown on your behalf, the website will prompt you to set small, realistic daily goals which will help you prioritize your life and nourish the most important parts of your life. Personalized email notifications arrive in your inbox daily, reminding you of the steps you've committed to take.

If you're looking to maintain better balance in your own life, check out Mindbloom. You may just find (as I have) that it's one website that enhances your everyday life, rather than distract from it.

Perfect Whole Wheat Pie Crust & Homemade Pop Tarts

Say what you want about the state of the American government. Over the years, I've heard a plenty of good and bad from both sides of the fence. Elephants wagging their trunks against Democrats. Donkey's kicking conservative Republican ideas with a hefty "hee-haw."
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It doesn't matter which breed of voter you declare yourself to be, you've gotta love Michelle Obama's declaration to fight against childhood obesity. It just so happens I adore her desire and drive to help our nation raise a healthier generation of kids. Food is so important. Good food and healthy bodies are even more so. Hurrah for a good woman using her voice to campaign for something so important. Hurrah for healthy children.
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So, with my passionate testimonial officially in print, I do so hope you'll be willing to forgive one small matter. It is the matter of what we had for breakfast this weekend. It had a rich, buttery pie crust, and sweet strawberry filling. It was glazed with shiny, pink frosting and topped with rainbow sprinkles. Of course, the crust was made with whole wheat flour. The filling made with fresh, organic berries. The frosting conjured with nary a drop of high fructose corn syrup. Homemade Strawberry Poptarts. Good heck. They were good. In fact, they were so good, they inspired my summer-riddled children to stop arguing for a moment, and gather together around the kitchen table in lip-licking peace and quiet.
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Come to think of it, I ought to start a campaign of my own. I'll call it the "Let's Eat Homemade Poptarts for Breakfast" Movement. Just imagine...Brothers and Sisters, Madonna and Gaga, Leftists and Conservatives dining peacefully together over pink-iced Poptarts and tall glasses of cold milk. I suppose an attempt at world peace is just part of the everyday life of a food blogger.
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Me and Michelle Obama, changing the world one bite at a time.

Perfect Whole Wheat Pie Crust
I've tried a lot of whole wheat pie crusts in my day. I've yet to find a whole wheat pie crust that bakes up soft and flaky, without adding a thick, grainy whole wheat flavor. Until now. I am finally and most officially ready to declare myself entirely free from plain old pie crust. Because this recipe is the ideal combination of butter and whole wheat, creating a pie crust that is perfectly flaky, mild-flavored, and easy to work with. Come, bake, be amazed. You truly won't believe how incredible whole grains can be until you've baked them up in a pie crust such as this one.
1 C whole wheat
1/2 C white flour
2 t sugar
1/2 t salt
½ c. cold butter, sliced
4-5 Tbsp. cold milk

In large bowl, stir together flours, sugar, and salt. Cut in slices of butter using a pastry cutter (or fork, if you have to) until the largest pieces resemble peas. It’s important that you don’t touch the crust with your bare hands, no matter how tempting that mixing option might be. You want the butter to stay as cold as possible and your hands will warm it up and make the crust less flaky. Pour the milk over the mixture, one tablespoon at a time, just until moistened enough to hold the dough together. Use a fork to stir the dough after you’ve added each Tablespoon of milk. Quickly form the crust into a ball. Refrigerate until ready to use.

CLICK HERE to find my Fresh Strawberry Pop-Tart Filling & Pink Icing

recipe only at The Family Kitchen on Babble.com