The Happy Day Project

I just found this and it looks like I missed it!  I would love to do something like this with my students next year.  I am always looking for ways to encourage the kids to be kinder individuals and they often love it!

Food Panic

As I get older, or maybe it's because I now have to little people to think of, I have become more and more nervous about the food we eat.  I can't say I'm not prone to hysteria or anxiety over things (like MRSA, or SIDS) so it's not surprising that the American diet would eventually become my newest fear.  I watched shows like Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution and read books like In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan.  I watched Food, Inc and remember the terror of the food poisoning unit from 7th grade science class.  I subscribe to the FDA emails about recalls and watch the news every day.  I can say without a doubt, that that stuff scares the daylights out of me.

And so I have become paranoid about what my family eats.  I remember when Her Majesty was first eating table food, that I *gasp* would feed her chicken nuggets and fishsticks because it was easier and I didn't know about Michael Pollan or Jamie Oliver then.  It wasn't until one of the major produce recalls (I can't remember which one.  There have been so many!) that I started to get a little nervous.  After that it seemed like every other month there was some food product on the shelves that was destined to kill us.  I stopped eating spinach for a time, and tomatoes, then peanut butter, and I still won't eat cantaloupe.

It seemed that soon my fears snowballed into what they are today.  I have to say it is not all that hard to cook from scratch and buy mostly organic.  But what for some people is a sensible thing that they want to do for their family, for me comes from a place of craziness.

I am totally not judging anyone whether they grow all their own food or eat from McDonalds everyday.  I have friends on both sides of the spectrum.  I'm just saying that for me, the fear is getting to be too much and the next big food recall could send me completely over the edge!

Grilled Pizza

I have been making this for a while and I know some people have asked for the recipe.  Here it is!
I didn't have any yeast so I had to find a dough recipe without it.

Dough
        1 cup all-purpose flour
        1 cup whole wheat flour
        2 tsp baking powder
        1 tsp salt
        2/3 c warm water

Mix all ingredients together to form a dough.  Really get in there with your hands.  You can add a little more water if needed.  Form the dough into a ball and drape with a damp cloth and let it sit for a few minutes.  Then roll the dough onto a floured surface and form into pizzas.  I like to make 4 small pizzas or 2 larger ones.  If you make one large pizza, you may find it is too big to work with on the grill.

Okay, now for the grilling.  It's really important that you gather everything ahead of time and have it ready near the grill.  Get your grill nice and hot.  I use a gas grill so I turn it up to the highest setting. Once it is hot, turn off one burner so there is an area of the grill that does not have direct heat.

Pizza Ingredients
      Uncooked pizza dough
      Olive oil
      Toppings:  I keep it simple by using a simple tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and fresh basil but you    
                        can use anything you want.  The pizza in the picture also has broccoli.

I place the oil and the toppings on a tray and put it by the grill.  I put the pizza dough on some wax paper and also place it by the grill.

Ready?

Spread some olive oil on one side of the dough and place oil side down on the hot side of the grill for 2 minutes.  Meanwhile, spread olive oil on the other side of the dough.

After 2 minutes, using tongs, flip the pizza over and to the other side of the grill where the burner is off.  Put on your sauce, cheese and toppings.  Close the grill and let it all cook for about 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.  Use a spatula to get it off the grill and enjoy!

I hate the jogging stroller!

Since Shawn is away I had to take Allie running with me today in the jogging stroller. Today I was supposed to do 6 miles. I don't know what it is about that thing but it is such a pain to run with it! I ran around my little circle once which is a 1/2 mile and was completely out of breath. I figure it must have something to do with my posture or the fact that I'm not moving my arms.

I managed to get a mile before it (luckily) started raining. At least then I had another excuse other than me just being a wimp! I feel a little better about not doing the 6 miles because I ran 4 yesterday. Tomorrow, I'll see if I can drop the stroller at daycare. After school, I'll run to daycare, get Allie in the stroller and then we'll walk back to my car at school. Tomorrow is only a 3 mile day and daycare is a perfect 3 miles from my school. It couldn't have worked out better!

I know I can't completely give up on the jogger because some days I won't have any other option. Hopefully the more I use it, the easier it will be!