100 blog postings. 100 postings of crazy kids and (mainly my) complaining. Here's to another 100... It was a beautiful day on Saturday so we took a walk around downtown and along the canal. The boys love to run in this open area and were thrilled to have it all to themselves this day. These are ninja turtles...well...they are the Sayler version of ninja turtles. I made the "headband" (thing that goes over the eyes) out of felt one day and it just so happens that I also had some ribbons that matched the headbands perfectly. Tie a pillow onto your back with a coordinating ribbon and bam! you have yourself a ninja turtle. This last week I have been working on slipping some "surprises" into our everyday food items. I have always been a fan of hiding healthy foods so they aren't scary or rejected just because of the way they look or the sound of their name. Rewind to a day when I was pureeing some squash for baby Maxwell (strange to think about now) and making mac and cheese for little Russell, I thought, "hmmm...the squash and the cheese are the same color. What if I mix them?" I did it and it was a hit. A dose of veggie when the kids least expect it. The first few times I didn't tell anyone that I did this, and no one was the wiser. Finally I let my secret out and Russell was OK with this, he said he really liked it with the squash! That's about where my secrets stop. I have always had a block when it comes to being more creative in my food hiding skills. Sure, I use applesauce in brownies and pancakes instead of oil, and wheat germ and flax seeds in just about EVERYTHING I make, but I have never felt like that was enough. Fast forward to the present. I received a cookbook from Lil that is all about hiding fruits and veggies in ordinary food! Fantastic! Make some purees from fresh fruits and veggies (baby food essentially), throw them in the freezer and pull them out when you need them. A few foods we have enjoyed are: brownies made with carrots and spinach, muffins made with cauliflower, casserole made with carrots, and others that I can't think of right now. It's great! I am straying from the cookbook now and just winging it. My mental cooking block is gone! So long as the veggie or fruit puree is the same color as the food I am preparing, I go ahead and throw it in. Now, this does not mean that I am no longer feeding the boys fruits and veggies in a "normal" way. This is just something that I like to do to give them a little something extra. I hope this does not scare people from eating at our home....

I leave you with a wonderful sunset that I was able to enjoy from my "kitchen" window.