The only downside to these is that they are best eaten the day they are  made.  For some reason they loose their crisp the next day, and I am trying to figure out a way to keep the “crispyness.”  But! if you love kale chips as much as I do you will not have that problem..lol.

Do you love kale chips?  Have you ever made them in the oven? and any tips on how to keep them crispy crunchy  for more than a day when baked?

Home-made Cheesy Sun-dried Tomato Kale-chips:

• 1 large bunch of kale, stems discarded & leaves ripped off
• 1/2 cup organic sun-dried tomatoes ( soaked in water for at least 1 hour)
• 1 cup raw cashews (soaked in water for at least 2 hours)
• 2 large garlic cloves
• 4 tbsp. fresh basil
• 3/4 cup of olive oil
• 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 2 tbsp. nutritional yeast
• 3/4 tsp salt

After soaking both tomatoes and cashews drain and rinse. In a food processor, add in all ingredients and process until smooth.  Wash the kale leaves and tear the kale into pieces, discarding leaves.  Dry leaves in a salad spinner (make sure to do this step so sauce can stick to the kale).  Place greens in a large bowl then pour cheese sauce on top and stir until all is coated.  Season with salt to taste.  Spread onto baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes on 250 degrees or until super crispy.

*TIP: Make sure that your kale leaves are really dry before coating with sauce!

What else happened in April?

• Celebrated Luna’s 4th birthday (such a big girl now)
• Took head-shots and family portraits of a local friend photographer
• Tried Octopus and fried shark! (not bad at all)
• Officially started making my own baby-food – Baby Breeza is such a time-saver
• More of behind-the-scenes work
• Blogged at least 2-3 times a week

A little bonding before bedtime :: Origami is harder than I thought :: Isabella and I loving the Baby Breeza! :: Customers in training :: 1st swing ride! :: Smells like spring-time :: Can’t get enough of my chunky-butt :: Photos look so good in print. Why have them stored away in a desk? :: Must be nice to sleep in :: Birthday girl! :: Busted out the capri’s and sandals :: Mommy & me play-date :: 6am early good run :: Its not a home without these 3 :: Connection :: No more hibernating ::  Little lady-bug :: In action :: Cheers to a new friendship :: Fascinated :: Origami skills :: Inspiration :: Veggie Lasagna :: Happy birthday dad :: Hi! :: She melts me even with yogurt on her face :: Much needed :: Shrimp w/bow-tie pasta & oven-dried tomatoes :: I heart him :: Starting the day off right w/cold remedies

What does May have in store for me?

Shooting more portrait sessions :: Continue re-branding project :: Major spring-cleaning :: Pool-time!

Prepare: I typically meal plan on Friday nights or Saturday mornings.  I plan out what we are having for breakfast, dinner & desserts each week.I don’t include lunch because, sometimes Sergio will go out to lunch with co-workers or I will even go on lunch/playdates with friends. Because we all know what we are eating each morning and night, it means less stress, less money eating out and the ability to pull anything frozen out of the freezer the night prior.  I don’t also get to hear from the kids or even Sergio say “Whats for dinner?” when they get home from school/work.  Hey! they should know.

Scheduling:  I always keep our weekly schedules and appointments in mind as well when I meal plan.  Weekend nights we have an event/party to attend to.  Nights we have soccer practice  means quick an easy dinners and family nights means spending a little more time preparing a nice yummy meal.

Saving:  Yes! I am a coupon saver and NO I am not on of those crazy EXTREME couponers like you see on TV. When it comes to coupons, I just look for items in the Sunday newspaper and online that we often all enjoy AND use it when preparing those meals.  Couponing is a whole different topic though and I will save that talk for later

Happy Organizing!

Yea! Instant connection!

A few weeks back she mentioned that she needed some new head-shots for her website, so I took up on that offer and we planned to shoot that same weekend in Georgetown.  She also brought her family along with her and I just had to sneak them into a few shots as well.  I mean why not?  Vania and her little family are beautiful inside and out and so laid back and fun to spend time with that I would have been perfectly content to photograph them all day…

Enjoy some of my favorites!

On another note, its a happy day because, it is one of my favorite days of the year –  Earth Day!  Every year around this time I try to evaluate our lifestyle and habits, recognizing what good things we are already doing and what areas could use some improvement.  Our family is pretty good when it comes to helping the enviornment such as; recycling everything we can, drinking from reusable bottles, and reusing grocery/produce bags.  We have also been focusing a lot is making as much food as we can from scratch, to cut down on waste and processing.  This summer I plan to start canning so we can really stock up and rely more on home preserved food.  Another goal is to cut down on the amount of energy we use around the house, like turning off the lights when its not necessary and unplugging all appliances when not in use.

Without a doubt, one of my biggest pet peeves is seeing people stocking up on huge cases of bottled water at the store.  Why people? Buy a good usable bottle to fill it up again and again.  We have a couple Camelbak water bottles at home and having them around encourages us to drink more water.  That being said I will be giving one away and choosing a winner by random!!

To enter, leave a comment on THIS POST and tell me your best eco-friendly tip or goal!  I will announce the winner on Wednesdays blog post!

Happy 8 months Isabella!! I can’t wait to see what you accomplish this month.

MILESTONES:

CRAWLING!!

Can finally sit well w/out support

Blows raspberries

Laughing so loud

STATS:

Weight: 16lbs 4oz.

Diaper: Size 3

Clothes: 9-12 months

Hair: Dark brown

Eye color: Blue

Favorties: Drinking out of her sippy cup, mommy’s cell-phone, sweet potato & apples, bubbles, blowing raspberries, standing with help.

I know its very hard for most of you to get out of our comfy bed at 5:30am, believe me I know! but, it can be done!!!

Here’s a couple of my tips to help you jump out of your dark bed:

1.  Make sure you get at least 7-8 hours of sleep.  The worst thing for an early morning workout is a night without sleep.

2.  Place your alarm clock across the room, you’ll have no other choice but to get out of your bed.

3.  Sleep in your workout clothes, except your shoes.  Trust me this works!

4.  Plan to meet a friend.  Having a workout buddy is a great motivator! You’re less likely to back out if you know someone is waiting for you.

5.  Make a music playlist!  Music is a good motivator of mine.  If you have a great playlist it can be enough to get you out of bed.  Here are some I shared before

6.  Set weekly goals and reward yourself!  Do you want to exercise 4 mornings a week?  Make a plan.  When you accomplish your goals, reward yourself with new exercise gear, a day off on the weekend, a cocktail with friends, a cookie for lunch, whatever works for you!

7.  Surround yourself with like-minded exercisers in your social media.  Tell everyone about tomorrows workout plans. Tweet it, share it on Facebook, Instagram it.  Knowing how many people are aware of your plans with the intention to ask you about it later makes it harder to hit the snooze button.

8.  Just do it!  Commit to it!  Practice makes perfect.  A workout doesn’t benefit anyone else but you!

*What are your thoughts on working out in the morning?  Are you a fan? or would you rather take your chances and schedule your workout for the afternoon?

Now, for those of you who were asking about my dinner  on Instagram I posted last night.  Here it is

Homemade Veggie Lasagna:

(serves 10-12)

-12 lasagna noodles

- 1 (28oz.) crushed tomatoes

-1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

- 6 tbsp olive oil

- 4 garlic cloves

- 1 1/2 tsp. salt

-1/2 tsp. pepper

- 4 oz. parmesan cheese

- 1 cup fat free cottage cheese

- 1 cup heavy cream

- 1 tsp cornstarch

- 1 eggplant (cute into 1/2- inch cubes)

- 3 zucchini’s (cut into 1/2- inch cubes)

- 3 yellow summer squash (cut into 1/2 – inch cubes)

- 1 tbsp fresh thyme

- 12oz. baby spinach leaves

Bring large pot of water and boil the lasagna noodles till al-dente.  Drain and set aside. To make tomato sauce, combine crushed tomatoes, basil, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 garlic, salt in bowl. Set Aside.  Now for cream sauce combine parmesan, cottage cheese, remaining garlic, cornstarch, salt and pepper. Stir and then place aside.

Preheat oven to 375.  Heat 2 tbsp of oil in large skillet over medium high-heat, then add eggplant, zucchini and squash, and thyme.  Cook and stir till lightly browned (7-8 minutes).  Transfer veggies to a bowl and season with salt and pepper.  Heat up 1more tbsp of oil and add spinach.  Cook until wilted (3 minutes).  Add the spinach to rest of veggies.

To assemble lasagna, lightly grease a 9×13- inch baking dish.

• Spread 1 cup of tomato sauce
• Layer 4 lasagna noodles
• Spread half of veggie mixture over noodles
• Top with half of cream sauce
• Sprinkle 1 cup of mozzarella
• Repeat
• Layer remaining noodles
• Spread remaining tomato sauce over top
• Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella

Place in oven and bake for 35-40 minutes.

Enjoy!

On Sunday, I drove down to Georgetown with my new friend Vania, her husband Telmo and her adorable little girl Francesca.  To take some new head-shots for her and we also managed to stick in a few family shots.  I mean why not?  These three were a lot of fun to hang out with and the weather again was in my favor, nothing but clear skies and sunny sunshine.  I was also introduced to Octopus Tapas and Fried Shark nuggets, which to be honest was not bad at all!  The Toasted Bread with Goat Cheese and Honey was oh so delicious.  So, if you are ever in Georgetown and want to try something a little different make sure to check out La Bodega.

Here are few photos of gorgeous Vania.

When I look into her eyes, I see possibilities. She truly believe’s ANYTHING can happen.

Her spirit is amazing. It’s something I love because even when she is angry, she is still one of the sweetest little girls in the world. She does not hit. She may scream or shout, but if asked, she will take a deep breath and a break.

During this last year I have seen the most significant changes in her – more than walking, more than talking.  I have seen the growth of her mind and of her heart. She is learning compassion and empathy. She is learning to give, to hurt, to be herself.

My sweet girl, I want her to always stay strong and know that she can be anything she wants to be. I love that she loves watching sports with her daddy, playing princesses with mommy, and reading books.  I love that she loves learning and I so enjoy watching her while  she plays and learns and grows!  I want her to remember that she can do anything she sets her mind too!  She is strong like her daddy but is creative like me.  That might be my favorite thing about her. We color, we sing, we dance…those moments are precious to me.

No matter how many birthdays she may have, she will always be my baby girl forever.

XOXO

I love you Luna!!

LIKES:  Lalaloopsy, chocolate ice-cream with sprinkles, playing dress-up, ponies & kittens, pink, spaghetti, dancing in the middle of the room like no one is watching, chocolate milk,  books, dresses, being my little assistant when it comes to cooking & baking, playing with her older brother, picking out her own clothes, cherry tomatoes, music.