Well it appears spring has finally sprung. It is amazing what a change in the weather can do for a person. I awake early, I have energy, and I just have constant thoughts going through my head that are not only about food, but everything I know I need or want to do now that the season is changing. Change my drawers and closets to put certain clothes in the more accessible places, get new clothes for Little Miss Mixture, get new shoes for Little Miss Mixture, check out new styles of shoes for myself, plant herbs in my barrels, get flowers planted… and the list just goes on. Why a week ago when it was still in the 50’s and raining was I not even thinking about this? I knew it was almost April. It does not matter because with the change outside I just feel as if I have more time and I am more motivated. Time to get some mixture and get busy.
Todays mixture consist of mostly nuts and dried fruit, but spring is here and things are looking more green and so is my mixture with the addition of pistachios.
1. March Madness which has now in the past few years become March – April Basketball snuck up on me this weekend. In full disclosure I like sports. I am not your crazy must see every game life in our house stops type of person, but I enjoy taking in different games on occasion. At least I can carry on a conversation about a game or explain to Little Miss Mixture how the games work. Basketball took on a new meaning in our house this year. Mr. Mixture and I became rival teams. My alma mater was one of those teams that flipped sides and joined another conference. Mr. Mixture is in fact ACC all the way more specifically “Tar Heel born and Tar Heel bred.” I on the other hand have always had a love for Orange, raised as a Tennessee fan and then attending Syracuse. Apparently I was impartial to location but true to color.
Unfortunately neither of our teams made it past the Sweet Sixteen and I frankly just forgot about the games this weekend. I did however keep an eye on the Food Brackets. Have you seen this? In the last few years they have popped up everywhere. One can search the internet now and find Sweet Sixteen of almost anything – Fast Food, Wine, Cake & Pies, Burgers, Pizza, etc. For a lover of all things food related it is fascinating. So for tonight Championship game be sure to have your Final Four Food.
2. In our house we celebrate lots of things and make it a point to celebrate the little things. Nothing makes Little Miss Mixture happier than a special treat. Okay yes it makes me happy as well to have an excuse to satisfy that sweet tooth. We had a little something to celebrate this past weekend and with the warmer weather, ice cream seemed a perfect fit. As a kid I loved cones, but they have to be one of the messiest snacks for a kid to enjoy. Mr. Mixture clearly still a kid at heart can make a mess of one as well. Little Miss Mixture does not get cones often and primarily because cones have evolved and grown. What happened to sugar cones, wafer cones? Nowadays it is just waffle cones. Is there anyone who needs a waffle cone with 2-3 large scoops of ice cream stuffed in it? This is not a portion for a child. Marble Slab has done it. They introduced a Kid Size Waffle Cone. Now it still is somewhat larger than necessary, but it is a smaller portion and takes a kid size scoop of ice cream and wraps it up in the novelty of the dipped waffle cone. Thank you Marble Slab for making her day!
3. As a follow up to last Monday’s Mixture I wanted to update you on the food waste project. We did it. Five brave moms took on the school cafeteria. We collected all leftover food from the kids lunches. We even took notice mid way through and started collecting unopened milks, uneaten apples, and other items for a separate pile. Talk about an eye opening experience. We did not collect the partially consumed liquids, so more was actually tossed. The school menu may have in fact increased the weight slightly as it was hot dogs, baked beans, cole slaw, and apples. One thing was apparent most kids cannot eat a whole apple during a twenty minute lunch. Apples seem like a great item but considering the time crunch and the fact half these kids do not have teeth or have loose teeth, it really is a challenging food to eat. That said approximately 684 students threw away 94.2 pounds of food.
This number causes pause in my day and makes me think about what we as a society could do to change this.
How can school lunch waste be decreased? More time for lunch? Change the school lunch menus?
On the flip side this school had an amazingly successful food drive and was able to send 2462 items to a local food pantry.
WAY TO GO!!!
4. There are a lot of blogs that talk about school lunches. I have often said that I am happy to pack lunches, grocery shop, etc. These things do not stress me out. With that said this blog is intended to help give food ideas so what is LIttle Miss Mixture getting today.
Organic Honey Whole Wheat Sandwich w/ Peanut Butter, Vanilla Infused Honey & Raisins
Carrot Slices
Apple Slices
Organic Chocolate Milk
A couple of non food thoughts in today’s mixture.
5. Are you struggling with what shoes to wear in the not quite summer, but warmer weather? I love the ballet flat. Though we all know what can happen when you wear shoes without socks. Beware family or anyone nearby… I recently found these little things, and I cannot decide if I feel cool in them or if I am old enough not to care, but I love them. They are comfortable, they are hidden, and they keep everything smelling fresh throughout the day. They are also an added bonus when you travel and don’t want to go barefoot through security.
6. I think I am getting the hang of this twitter thing, and I downloaded the blog pro app for the ipad, which allows me to fancy up my post with some different fonts and colors. So watch out world I may start to Mix things up!
Let's Have Mixture 