…than a baby just out of the bath.

But first-eats!

For lunch, as planned, I went to the Whole Foods salad bar.  It has gotten better! YES!  For awhile there it was a little lackluster but they’ve upped their game.

Kale salad (with onion and dried cranberries) and quinoa salad with peppers, cucumber, and mint.

And the other side:

A bed of spinach with roasted root veggies, peas, beets, pepitas, and hummus.

I also had a small cup of veggie black bean soup:

It was AWESOME.  I added a little hot sauce and it was very good.

For “dessert” I had dried coconut HUNKS covered in dark chocolate.  I didn’t get a picture but don’t worry, you’ll see it soon enough-I’m obsessed.

My lunch held me over until I left work at 5.  On the way out the door, I had a few slices of dried persimmon that I also picked up at Whole Foods today.

I had to pick up Lu today AND prepare dinner with no help from Daddy.  He had to work late tonight :(  I sat her down with some snacks:

She ended up eating the WHOLE banana (the rest is off camera) and none of the oranges or the crayon 😉

Pretty soon I had a helper in the kitchen.

(that’s the one door that doesn’t have a lock on it-Shaun broke it).

I entertained her with beads.

I tested out 2 new products today.  I made meat marinara and tried new marinara sauce.

This stuff is definitely a winner!  It’s a little more expensive ($4.30 for a box) but well worth it.  I think I found my new marinara.  There’s no soybean oil which many of the cheaper sauces do have.  The ingredient list is: Crushed tomatoes, tomato puree, onions, olive oil, salt, garlic, sugar, parsley, oregano, and pepper.

I sautéed some onions, garlic, grass fed ground beef then I added the sauce.  To that I added some shitake mushrooms and about 1/4 cup of white wine. YOM.

I also tried new pasta:

I really do not like Whole Wheat pasta but don’t want to use bleached flour pasta.  This was really good.  It had great flavor and tasted just like regular spaghetti BUT it was $7 a box.  For $7 a box it had better be mind blowing.  Good? Yes. Mind blowing? Not so much.

My yummy bowl:

I went back for seconds of the sauce.  I wish I had bought some spinach at the store but alas I did not.

I added some butter and cheese to Lu’s to make it not as lean.  She’s at an age where fat is good for her.  Her little brain needs fat to develop, so I try to add it in where ever I can.

There were no complaints!

Look at that face!

She definitely needed a bath after this dinner! So into the bath she went.

She multi-tasked!

She thought brushing her teeth in the tub was the coolest thing ever 🙂

My overworked husband is now home, so I’ll see you tomorrow!