Here at Intentionally Ordinary, I like to share about finding joy in our ordinary days. I’ve realized recently, that I find SO MUCH joy in cooking and baking and being in the kitchen. I’m not really a recipe developer, but I love trying new flavors and recipes all the time. I honestly hardly make any recipe twice. Each week is a new culinary adventure.
Until recently, I honestly didn’t know that so many people make the same things each week. Which one are you?
Recently, I’ve tried to be more consistent with my meals and I’ve been enjoying the rhythm! We make my easy taco salad almost every week now and for awhile I was making veggie burgers weekly. Sometimes choosing once and repeating meals is the easiest way to go! And in my busy season of transition and new schedules, making the same thing every week brings so much simplicity and joy to my life.
Since my kids have been in school for a few weeks now, I’ve been spending my Sunday afternoons making homemade nut-free snacks for them to take to school. Yesterday the baking energy struck, and I spent a few hours in the kitchen whipping together three options for the week. I usually only make one, so I was truly on fire yesterday! Here’s a quick list of everything I’ve made recently and which ones my kids actually like:
sourdough discard banana muffins - both kids loved these! we’ve been adding blueberries, but I would love to try them with chocolate chips
sourdough discard cheese crackers - at first one kid liked them and the other one didn’t, but eventually my oldest was won over. I loved these (and now that I’m thinking about it, maybe I’ll make them again!)
energy bites - immediate rejection from the kids (but maybe you/your kids will like them!)
granola bars - swapped tahini for pb, one liked it, one didn’t like it
fruit gummies - both kids loved! it’s a bit of work, but these molds helped!
pumpkin muffins - everyone’s obsessed! I may need to add pumpkin to my next grocery run and make them again this week.
BONUS: pb protein bars - adding these here even though they’re not for my kids. My husband’s been loving them! I make a batch every other week for him to grab post workout or anytime he needs a quick snack.
Once I nail down a few of the kids’ favorites, I’ll make them a part of my regular rotation! But for now, I’m still exploring. If you have any tried and true homemade nut-free snacks for kids, send them my way!
Life Last Week:
what I read last week: I finished Fourth Wing and loved it! Now I’m in the Heaven and Earth Grocery Store — it’s interesting so far but I’m curious where it’s headed. I thought it was more of a mystery, but it’s feeling more literary which I didn’t expect. I need to get started on the Midnight Feast for book club, and First Lie Wins just came on hold for me at the library. Plus I’m listening to Intuitive Eating while driving or baking and picking up Liturgy of the Ordinary whenever I can.
what I ate last week: (I hope this inspires your own meal planning and culinary adventures!)
my mom requested this vegan chocolate pie and it DID NOT disappoint (I highly recommend you give it a try)
I swapped butter with olive oil and heavy cream with cashew cream to make this mushroom wild rice soup dairy free and it was delicious.
this tofu dumpling recipe blew my mind (and I actually just eyeballed most of the ingredients/measurements)
my taco salad again, of course (lettuce, frozen brown rice, black beans, tomato, onion, ranch, salsa, avo, and chips)
I whipped up an easy and yummy tea latte — loose recipe here
most Fridays I make homemade sourdough discard pizza dough. Lately we’ve been keeping it simple with a classic margherita pizza and caesar salad!
what I’m (intentionally) shopping for: (reminder to take your time when shopping and look for second hand as much as possible!)
for me: I’ve been loving my Branwyn bra and I’m hoping to add some more to my closet (I honestly hate not wearing it when it’s in the wash)! They’re comfy and made with sustainable materials (win win). Use this link for $10 off your purchase! I’m also searching for some skin care, and looking at getting this kit from Primally Pure. I love their deodorant and their ingredients are clean, so I feel good about trying another product out! Get $10 off your order by clicking here!
for the kids: given the increase of muffin making in this house, I’m looking at getting these silicone baking cups for the kids' snacks. We were gifted these sticker paint books awhile back and the kids still pull them out to work on months later! It’s like paint-by-number, but with stickers! It would be great for travel or eating out, but the kids love doing it at home too. They’ve also been using these every day for their colored pencils. I’m thinking about doing a little embroidery project on them soon.
for the home: I need to restock my loose leaf tea stash soon and will be grabbing decaf lavender black and maybe chai from Tea People! We recently had to throw away one of our favorite mini pans after many year of use, and I’m hoping to replace it with this!
other notable events last week:
we went apple picking and had a blast! if you’re in Northern California, I highly recommend Lucky You Orchards - it was low key, but they had a few varieties to pick from and lots of trees to wander through. We had a lovely afternoon following apple picking, visiting Zinc House Farm (a few minutes down the road), grabbing lunch at Ripon Tap House (they had games, coloring, and books for the kids!), and ending with the cutest coffee shop, Austin’s Coffee Crafters. It was so much fun!
ICYMI on Intentionally Ordinary last week: I’ve got a few things in the works behind the scenes right now, so the blog was a little quiet this week, but if you’re on instagram, check out a new series on intentionality tips that I’m starting!
Further Resources
If you desire extended time with God, grab the Half-Day Spiritual Retreat Guide for meditation, silence and solitude, and breath prayer prompts.
If you desire to build habits for a healthy body, grab the Habit Formation Guide to build five habits—it includes habit trackers, reflection pages, and tips for getting started.
Thank you for being here, friends! If you have any questions, thoughts, or suggestions, please reply to this email or message me!
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