Happy Mother’s Day

Last year for Mother’s Day, my husband and kids asked me what I would like for lunch after church, and after a little direction, they made me this beautiful sirloin salad bar. It was lovely and delicious. My husband ran to the store and picked up all of the ingredients he could distinguish from a photo I had shown him of a salad that looked good to me. He doesn’t like going to the store, so that, in and of itself was an act of love. When he got home, the kids worked together to clean and slice the veggies and fruits that I enjoy. My husband grilled a sirloin to nearly exactly the right amount of rareness I like. They even laid it all out “artistically” for me. They wouldn’t let me come downstairs for lunch until everything was set up. After lunch, they sent me upstairs to read while they cleaned up the downstairs. It was so sweet and I appreciated it so much. I truly love and am grateful for this family that I have been gifted.

 

This year, things went a bit differently. My hubby has been traveling quite a bit for work and we are all tired. When they asked me what I would like to do for Mother’s Day, I couldn’t think of anything. On Saturday evening, I planned on making them some chicken parmigiana ravioli, but realize late in the afternoon that I was missing a couple of ingredients. My husband went to the store for me and came home with everything he needed to make fresh marinara sauce (it is the one cooking skill he brought into our marriage!), and whipped it up to go with the pasta. We enjoyed our time around the dinner table just spending it together and talking.

Today after church, when my husband asked me the inevitable question “where would you like to eat lunch for Mother’s Day?”, I just didn’t have any idea. I was a little bummed from some news I had received yesterday, and I just didn’t want to be out and about. We came home and ate leftovers from last evening.  I made the kids watch a documentary on Yellowstone with me, since we are heading out on another adventure before long, and we ended the day with some friends at our neighborhood pool.  Why am I telling you all of this? It is simple. I want to be real. I don’t want to pretend that everything is beautiful and perfect all the time. Life is messy from time to time. Today may not have been the picture of an ideal Mother’s Day, but it was not bad and it was mine.

Finally, here is my little tidbit of nutritional advice for the day, dark chocolate covered strawberries.  The health benefits of dark chocolate, in moderation, are a definite positive. A good quality, organic dark chocolate can help give a sense of calm and well being that build on top of its anti-oxidants, magnesium, flavanols, and other essential compounds and minerals. Strawberries are an excellent source of vitamins C and K, as well as potassium, manganese, folic acid, and fiber. Combine the two things together and you get a really tasty, and even nutritious, sweet treat. Just be sure to chase it down with a celery stick or two to minimize blood sugar impact. While we are talking about it, check out these beauties the kids and I dipped! I only had one, but it was really good.

For the strawberries:

2 cups organic dark chocolate chunks

1 tbsp cold pressed organic coconut oil

a pint of fresh organic strawberries, washed and dry

Directions: Melt the chocolate and coconut oil together until smooth, be careful not to scorch it or the chocolate will seize up and be unusable. Hold the strawberries by the leaves and stem and dip into the melted chocolate. Place the dipped strawberries on wax or parchment paper and allow the chocolate to harden. Store in airtight container in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!