Valentines Day!

So many days I am so ashamed of my frustration, anxiety and bad behavior and wonder if I will ever get better. And then I see how far we have come... My son wrote a lovely note to his teacher, sewed a valentine; I make lunches, and even a fruit tray for my daughter and class because she is allergic to everything. While it may seem standard mom stuff, I use to barely even be able to get out of bed. We are healing, we are moving forward, and I am so very grateful to those who love us unconditionally and have helped us gain strength.

I love Valentine's Day. It is just such a happily pink day that we get to make cute crafts and have fun parties in the classes. I dressed up today and was told by another mom I looked like a Valentine Fairy... where are my wings! 

For my son's class I made these raw brownie bites, but I made them really thin and cut them with heart cutters, they were a hit in third grade! 

Gluten free cupcakes with coconut milk and berry whipped topping "frosting" inside secret hearts! 

Oh and of course the lunch! An inside out sandwich with heart shaped turkey, beef, and rice cheese. Side of cupcake, yellow peppers, cinnamon sugar apples, and tomatoes. 

And for dinner, we have pasta, with a big turkey meatball heart. I made little gelatin hearts with pomegranate juice and knox gelatin. 

Smitten Salad

Heart Salad:

Heart shaped eggs, here's how.

Heart Tomatoes

Heart Carrots

Heart Cucumbers

Heart Strawberries on the side  

Strawberry Jelly

Teff Bread from New Cascadia Bakery , with a heart cut, showing the strawberry jelly. Heart pick, heart cut apples. Such a treat for the kids to get bread!

Some roses for you, my dear

I love roses and pink. I'm such a girly girl and those things make me happy. After my grandmother passed away, I went to go live with my grandfather and there was so much pink and rose accents everywhere, I finally figured out where my love for pink and roses came from!

Bacon roses, linguini with beet juice, rice cheese hugs and kisses cut with the alphabet cutters. Heart carrots, tomatoes, cut apples, and a tangerine. 

Gung Hay Fat Choy.

Happy Chinese New Year! It's the Year of the Snake!

To start us off for the day, a kiwi snake:

Midday olive snake snack: 

Snake pancakes for dinner: 

I Heart You

Hearts made with rice and beet juice, faces with nori and the face punches.

You are beautiful

Hot Dog Hearts 

Love Birds

These were so much fun! Hard boiled egg love birds on a bed of mixed rice with broccoli... Nori eyes with the face punch, carrot beaks and wings. Heart carrots, cut apples, cashews, green peppers as sides. 

Hearts

When I was a kid, my mom always had me make the green salads for dinner. I could never make them plain and boring, just chopping up the carrots like a normal person. I made them into shapes, my favorite was always hearts.

February, a new beginning

It's been awhile since I've done any playful food.  There are times in my life I think the next stop will be the psych ward. I cease creative activities and cite my ever growing stress and frustration as the reason to stop doing what I love. Then, I realize... I'm stressed,  I *have* to go back to doing what I love~ pouring creativity into our world. Happy February. 

Rice with turkey bacon heart, with sides of cherry tomatoes, sugar snap peas, raisins, hearts and apples.