Really Very Awesome

I'm feeling happy today, not for any particular reason, nothing profound happened I just had a thought today while I was pushing my baby in the pushchair to get her to sleep (Yes I know, bad habit).

Anyway... I was thinking about how I'm going to be 30 in a few months and I realised something quite special.

I like myself!

I like what I'm doing!

I like where I'm going!

And I LOVE who I'm doing it with!!

But also grateful, that I have the wisdom to know how lucky I am to feel this way, and it's ok wonderful to sit with that contentment and not feel guilty or boring.

I was talking to my 7 year old about this feeling and she described it as 'really very awesome' hence the blog title!

I hope your blessed to feel the same way about your journey too.

( And if you don't, then I hope you love yourself enough to make a change soon x )

Happy Monday!

Mild kid friendly Chickpea and Lentil Curry

Gotta love another Curry Recipe!!

My kids actually love curry and its such a versatile staple to have in your weekly meal plan, my slowcooker has saved my life on many occasion! O.k slightly melodramatic but after a full on day with four kids, not having to cook makes me very, very happy.  I always cook it on a Monday because its the day before food shopping and I get to use up any wrinkly veg. So here is the basic recipe and you can switch it up to suit your family.

Feeds 4 littlies and 2 adults.

Mild Chickpea and Lentil Slowcooker Curry 

 

 

Ingredients

3 tsp Ghee
I large Onion
2 Cloves Garlic
1 tbsp Tomato Paste
1 flat tbsp Cumin
1 flat tbsp Garam Masala
1 tbsp Turmeric
2 tsp Mixed Herbs, Fresh or dried
splash of Balsamic Vinegar
Pink Himalayan Salt
Black pepper
1/2 Cup Red Lentils
1 Tin or 400g soaked Chickpeas (and precooked if cooking on stovetop)
400g Passata
470ml Chicken Stock
1 Courgette Diced
1 large Carrot Diced
Handful of Chopped Brocolli
1/2 Cup Frozen Peas
1 Cup Fresh or frozen Green Beans


This recipe can be cooked in a slowcooker or on the stovetop.

Place Ghee in pot or slowcooker, sauté onions until soft.

 I always have these pantry staples to hand, that way this kind of meal can be thrown together even when I'm out of homemade stock or uncooked chickpeas!

Add Garlic, chickpeas, lentils, spices, seasoning and herbs

Give it a good 'ole mix and add tomato puree (which I had run out of)

Add whatever vegetables you have, I usually like to add pumpkin too!

Next throw in your stock, this can easily be substituted for veg stock. Bring to the boil.

Add in your Passata, again this can be substituted for diced tomatoes but the end results will be less thick. Add your splash of balsamic vinegar and slowcook for 6 hours or simmer for 20 minutes.

 10 minutes before serving add in any frozen vegetables such as green beans and peas. These green beans are from my garden. Its a great way to keep them fresh and reduce waste!

 

And serve! We like it with white rice or roasted brocolli and couscous. A simple coleslaw and some brown rice is also delicious. Often we add a dash of raw cream or my homemade yoghurt on the top too.

Nurture You Project week 5

I really want to start making a little effort with my appearance. I'm nearing the big 3-0 and can go days without even looking in a mirror. Dont get me wrong, I dont want to become overly preoccupied with what I look like, but I'm fed up with avoiding the camera, or squirming at the photo's I do end up in. I also want my girls to understand thats its ok for mum to take a little time for herself in the mornings.

So, I've splashed out on some makeup!! I haven't bought any for ages because I want anything that I put on my skin to be natural but natural/organic cosmetics can be very expensive. Wel, I scored the Inika eyeshadow on clearance for $5!! Awesome!! And the mascara and eyeliner are from Honeybee Gardens, I included them in my latest iherb order and they are really affordable.

I haven't actually used any of it yet but I absolutely intend to.......tomorrow!

In other news, I was feeling the need for a new crystal, so I popped in my local shop and was drawn to the beautiful white stone in the picture. Its an Amphibole Quartz also know as Angel Phantom Quartz. I hadn't heard of it before, but I'm really loving its energy.

I hope you all have a wonderful week!!

Wet and Windy

It's been a bit of a struggle of late with all this sunshine. I know that sounds crazy but when you have four young children, burning sunshine isn't fun. So today when we got up and it was cloudy and raining we jumped at the chance to get out and explore. We decided to take a walk through the woodland at Rabbit Island. It smelled beautiful in there, of pine and Eucalyptus. We found an Emperor moth cocoon cocoon, looked at all the different fungi and plants and gathered ferns for a diorama in progress at home. In the end we all looked like drowned rats, but we had a lovely morning, thoroughly energized from the exercise and cleansed by the rain.