Without planning anything special, my Friday wound up being super yummy. Allow me to share.
It started in Fremont with this “granola” bar. I had never heard of Steve’s Paleo Goods before, but they reached out to me and asked if I wanted to be an affiliate. Since I didn’t know anything about them, I said “thanks but I don’t know anything about you”. So then they said we will send you some stuff to try and see how you like it. Umm, Ok! And you know what? They are the coolest company! You can read more about them here, but basically they have a wide range of offerings – from sustainably sourced meat to real food snacks to nut butters and dressings. And they have a national club that services underprivileged communities and 15% of every purchase goes straight to that program.
This dark chocolate espresso bar was the first thing I tried of theirs and it was AWESOME. I’m picky about bars, and this was packed with nuts, seeds, coconut and not much else. It was very subtly sweet, but just enough to make it delicious and not too boring. So now I really want to be an affiliate. No shame in my game – I will let you guys know if I end up joining. Maybe I can have a giveaway if that’s something you’d be interested in…?
Fremont is when he gets “treat” food – like these Halloween pretzels.
After we wrapped up his appointment we went to WF, per our routine, and got lunch. Well, I got lunch. He had been snacking for the past 4+ hours and wasn’t hungry. However, WF has a kids club thing where they give kids a snack while their accompanying adults shop, and P now knows about it and looks forward to it. The funniest thing is, he NEVER finishes the item he gets. Seriously. Sometimes he just wants to hold the package and “save it for later” but then forgets about it. This time he opened it, had a few nibbles and then said he was all done. What he does like, though, it hanging out with me while I eat.
As do I! He’s the best date ever.
You know what else gets mega heart eye emojis? This poke bowl!! I got it a few appointments ago and was super in love with it and decided to go for it again. And just like last time it was yuuuuuuummy. Is it weird to say I will miss these WF visits with P once he graduates from OIT? I mean, I definitely won’t miss all the driving, but maybe I should keep up bi-weekly dates with him. I’m getting ahead of myself. We still have a ways to go. But he is almost eating a whole peanut! It’s crazy!!
Kyle was still out of town, but I wanted to avoid traffic so as soon as I picked up V from my parents’ house, we set off back to Davis. Luckily, traffic wasn’t too bad and we got home in time to play for a couple of hours before dinner.
V is one devoted mama. Always nursing and rocking her baby. 🙂
We played hoot owl hoot, read a ton of books, and listened to The Sounds of Music on repeat (their latest obsession) until it was time to make dinner.
The wee ones helped me chop zucchini and toss it in olive oil and put it on the baking sheet. This was actually from the garden! I found it last month when I ripped out all the tomatoes. It was hidden despite it’s huge size, which should give you an indication of just how massive the tomato plant had gotten.
In the interest of food prep, I just made two trays worth, along with potatoes, which I served with this chicken.
This recipe was been on my radar for a year or so, but it’s a little bit labor intensive. I forgot about it until I got the nom nom paleo cookbook for my birthday, which the recipe is also in. And then I saw it already made at the WF hot bar!! And look at it!! Doesn’t it look dreamy? Well, you should have smelled my car! Have you ever tried driving for hours with the aroma of hot chicken wafting into your face? Yeah.
It was a wonderful meal that me and the kids devoured. And obviously their “helping” meant they inhaled it especially fast.
Once P and V were bathed and in bed I ended the night with a lemonade kombucha. Then Kyle got home later, so it was really a pretty awesome day.
Steve’s Paleogoods are sold all over the city and extremely popular!!!! Dates with YOUR little love is a MUST❤️ He will remember it throughout his entire life!!! I always did it with each of my children separately bec they were four years apart and had different schedules and they still talk about it with love how I did it weekly. Also, the cooking together is another major memory maker👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻 Love your heart and passion for your family. We sat last evening all together in Greenwich village all having dinner. My husband and I had a broadway show in the afternoon and my daughter and her boyfriend(they live tog for 5 years) came down to meet us and I sat there just soaking it all in and thinking how lucky to have the love and FRIENDSHIP of your children as they grow older. All we put in from our heart and soul so passionately is returned ten times in love. It might be to personal but my husband and I are coming out to California this winter and if you had anytime and interest we would love to take your whole family to dinner. It might be out of your comfort zone and that’s cool. I truly understand protecting your privacy. You have just bec a kinda long distant friend lol so thought I would put it out there. No need to even acknowledge it if doesn’t fit into your comfort zone. Have a great week🌈
That makes me sooo happy to hear…such a dream to have that relationships with your adult children. Fingers crossed we have that special kind of family. You have my email, so DEFINITELY email me and we will meet up when you are in the area. What part of CA will you be visiting?
Ummm- why do you even have to **think** about signing up as an affiliate for Steve’s paleo goods??? I mean that is code for awesome free stuff, right? Their granola and bars look really great!
I’m sure that P would love to keep regular lunch dates with you too, that sounds like a win/win situation regardless of OIT treatments.
Although i know it’s not always easy to have the kids “help” in the kitchen it is a surefire way to know they will want to eat what they make :)) i always ask my nephew to come and “help” cook when i’m there cooking and he loves it and we have a blast- and the next thing you know he was asking to help my sister make lentil soup like the one he made with me ! (Haha and then my sister texts me asking since when does he actually ask for lentil soup ??)