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The power of suggestion and hummus

For some reason, after lunch, my energy came back. I’ve been in a slump for two days with stomach virus and a merry Monday migraine. Literally sneezing my brains out probably didn’t help. Ever have one of those weeks that just start off bad? I’m determined to make the rest of this one a good one.

Today, someone-as a joke-sent out an email asking everyone to participate in the state writing test even if they are not being tested. This is a common request and we do this so the kids realize the importance of good writing skills and get used to a testing format. In this email, this person, who is my friend and meant it as a joke, said something to the effect of “we all know K’s kids just color and watch Disney movies all day”. It was a complete joke, but it certainly made me push a little harder that day. I really took notice of how much downtime the kids had and what they chose to do with that downtime. I was proud to see that most of them chose to read from the class library. Some indeed chose drawing/coloring. They were actually writing and coloring lists for their birthday parties this summer. “Miss K, how do you spell ‘please come to my party and bring a nice gift but if you just want cake, that’s ok too’?”  And yes, when it was time for dismissal, which takes about 30 minutes, I put in the Letter Factory. Those last few kids are going to get more from it, but when I’m trying to make sure all the kids get in the right line, chase down kids with lost jackets, etc, I had the rest of the class on the carpet watching a movie.

My point in all this, the power of suggestion. The teacher emphasized that the joke was so ridiculous that it HAD to be taken as funny and sarcastic. I took it to heart and really paid attention to my minutes spent teaching and the kids spent learning.

The power of suggestion is alive and well with regards to nutrition. I have kids who have nutritious snack EVERY DAY. One girl has a bottle of water or juice and a little plastic bowl or bag with something nutritious. The same goes for her lunch. Now if this mother of two can make a healthy lunch and snack for her daughter each day, I certainly can do the same for myself. There is no excuse for craptastic cafeteria food when I can make my own good food at home.

So, tonight, I made hummus and roasted vegetable orzo.

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This little food processor is over 20 years old. This was my grandmothers mini food processor. My mother got one and loved it so much, she gave one to my grandmother to use. It’s one of the few cooking things from her and I use it often, as you can tell. It will be my hummus machine from now on. It was PERFECT!

Lemon Garlic Hummus

  1. I can of chickpeas, drained, reserve liquid
  2. juice of 2 lemons
  3. 4 garlic cloves
  4. 1/4 cup fresh basil
  5. 1T olive oil
  6. reserve chickpea liquid until desired consistency

 

Roasted Vegetable Risotto

I cut up eggplant, asparagus, red onion, and garlic. Roast with olive oil at 400 for about 30 min.

Make risotto according to directions

mix up and enjoy! This is a great pasta base for any protein.

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So, here’s the question: When have you used the power of suggestion in a healthy way?