Green Pasta and a Halloween Sneak Peak

Don't adjust your screen, the pasta really is green and being eaten by a spider light.  Yesterday morning I made steel cut oats with cinnamon and sliced apples for breakfast rounded out with a green smoothie (this time it was kale, almond milk, flax seeds, frozen banana, frozen blackberries, and frozen blueberries with a Vega Smoothie Infusion).  Since kale was the only veggie in the smoothie, I tried to pack two bunches in, but with all the berries, I was left with a handful of lone leaves.  Around noon, when I was throwing everything in the Vitamix for Vegan Dad's Creamy Mac and Cheeze sauce, I thought of those few remaining leaves of kale.  Surely, they felt odd being the only ones not bunched together.  I decided to add them to the Vitamix.  I am so glad I did!  The green color was great and the kids could not get enough (all three of them ate three large bowls, good thing I doubled the recipe).  I subbed Brazil nuts for the pine nuts and used four cloves of garlic instead of onion powder.  I steamed carrots and peas over the water for the whole wheat pasta and sprinkled raw pumpkin seeds as garnish.  Simple and satisfying for my little crime fighters.

I am the biggest scrooge when it comes to Halloween, but this year I've tried to get into the spirit and bought all three kids a costume (usually we make costumes or use hand me down ones or loaners).  Parker wanted to be Spiderman (not that he's ever watched Spiderman, mind you, he just likes that his name is Peter Parker).  His costume is really too tight, but a size bigger would be baggy and Spiderman's suit is pretty tight in "real life".  Parker likes to get into character.

Here is my super hero hanging out in his web/hammock chair.

Dema finally chose a policeman outfit after a very stressful time at Dallas and Co. (a locally owned costume shop).  The kids would not let go of my hands and were terrified at every turn.  My poor sweet kids and their over-active imaginations.  We'll be paying for that trip for months with Dema, but he is super happy with his costume.  

No gun, yay!  He does love the handcuffs and badge and I think the color looks great with his eyes.

Josie has said for months that she was going to be Spider Girl for Halloween.  I didn't even know there was such a person, but I found the costume online and ordered it.  This is huge for me.  They promise to wear their costumes for imaginative play around the house so we'll get our money out of them and so far they want to wear them all the time.  Josie would live in her costume if she could.  She thinks the costume makes her super fast so she rarely stands still enough for a picture.  I might actually be looking forward to Halloween this year!