Leftovers win

What a day! Bean was up bright and early this morning so we decided to make naked beet chips to take as our shared snack at Free Forest School. I don't know how I got so lucky, but this kiddo loves beets. When I told him we were making beet chips he got super excited and ran to the fridge. He watched as I used my mandolin slicer to making thin slices of beets and then helped me arrange the beets on a cookie sheet. We baked them for about 20 minutes and then let them crisp up as they cooled. Of course, Bean had to be my special taste tester.

We let them cool completely and then packed them up. I was disappointed that they were limp instead of crunchy when we got to Free Forest School but luckily the kiddos were forgiving and ate them anyway.




We didn't do anything special for breakfast today since we were on a time schedule. Mornings can be interesting in our house so there are days when oatmeal and coconut yogurt hit the table for breakfast.

I knew I needed to make a filling lunch because Bean and I were headed out to hike with Free Forest School. Since there was some leftover Chickpea Avocado Smash Salad, I decided we would do sandwiches again. Bean could hardly wait to dive into his lunch and was thrilled to see that I included blueberries and his own beet chips that he did not have to share.





I loved sitting out near the creek enjoying our healthy and delicious lunch. It was energizing and the perfect fuel to help us hike back to the car after lunch. My favorite moment, by far, was when a 4 year old wandered over to see what we were eating. I told him and he asked if we liked eating our sandwiches. I responded "yes" and he went back and told his Mom "if [Bean] is going to eat smash sanmiches, then I need to make them for me!" His Mom turned to me and laughed saying she could not believe he wanted to eat something other then Sunbutter and jelly sandwiches. I hope we were able to be a positive influence for this little guy!


As we went through the rest of our day and my sweet Bean decided to skip napping, I quickly realized that leftovers were going to win for dinner tonight. We usually reserve leftovers for the weekend, but this Mama was tiring out and we still had a 6pm swim class to get to. I am so proud of my family for just rolling with it. Bean was happy to finish the beet chips and had a little pesto pasta, I had pesto pasta and hubby finished off the Chickpea Avocado Smash Salad. There a days when leftover just have to win and I'm good with that. Everyone still ate healthy meals and that is more important to me than making sure there is something new each day.

Sorry there are no new recipes today. Until next time, I wish you good eats and good health.