It’s not quite summer. But when you have an impromptu dinner feeding this many kids and friends while they play in the backyard on a giant blow up waterside – it’s officially summertime. My girls get out of school tomorrow. The round the clock feeding will begin first thing Wednesday morning. I’m talking about when you can’t get the kitchen clean before someone else is hungry again. I can not even imagine having boys.
Below are just a few of the things that have been real food features in our kitchen lately. The adults in our house have been eating more mindfully; borrowing inspiration from low carb, gluten free, Paleo style and Whole30 diets. The girls are following suit mostly, because they don’t get a lot of choice expect when there are seven kids to feed (hence the paper plates). We’ve all been eating less bread, all our CSA veggies and more meat. Yes meat. I still can not believe it after being a vegetarian for 20 years. But it’s true. However I don’t think meat is very pretty to photograph so I don’t do that yet.
Along with homemade awesomeness by the girls, I got spoiled on Mother’s Day with these goodies which makes food prep even more fun.
This was my leftover kale salad with beats I took for to-go food in a hurry from my fridge. It was SO much better than coffee drive through food or just snacking on nuts and being hungry.
Photographing fresh strawberries never gets old. It’s the first year in about 7 years (I can’t remember because it’s been that long) that I have not canned strawberry jam. We are eating much less sugar, few homemade biscuits and the peanut butter sandwich consumption has gone down here. We will all survive. Which is kind of the point actually. Pun intended. 
Baby girl eats everything I eat these days. This was our brunch plate for two today. With homemade salsa and eggs from the flock at the girls’ school. Because our chicken’s can’t lay enough to keep up with our egg consumption. And I realized keeping more chickens in our backyard is not the answer. 
Baby girl was a little surprised to wake up to a fresh bite of arugula pesto after a babywearing nap before dinner last week. I’m sparing you the photo that I think is adorable because her nose was snotty and you might not feel the same way about it. But she warms up to food quickly. And she eats a lot! Much more than I remember my other girls eating at this age. It must be the weaning table my dad built her. It is the cutest thing ever. She crawls up to her chair when she wants to eat and tells me when she is done. More about that will be featured on the next Montessori baby post. For now, I LOVE this face.
This was her humus face at a pizza restaurant during our mega crazy dance rehearsal month. Between the three girls they were in five dances, with five costumes to keep up. We saw this pizza place a few times in April and early May. I think it had something to do with the health food kick that came next.
I still can not believe we have FOUR little eaters. I could eat her! Every day. All day.
