my nourished vibes

want your kids to eat raw vegetables??? MAKE AN AMAZING DIP!!! jeeze, I've said that so many times, even I'm annoyed of hearing it! but it's the truth. make a tasty dip, and your kids will zone out, dipping whatever you put in front of them....while saying "i love you mom." ;) i may have posted this recipe before, so sorry if this is deja vu. I've been making this dip for about a year and it never fails to be a hit.  it was even our hero yesterday. we ran errands in the evening and when we stumbled through the front door around 6 pm we were starving . and cranky. and starving.  riding solo while my husband is on mission, makes dinner time a little more hectic as i have no one to occupy dimitri while i put the finishing touches together. it was a beautiful light at the end of the tunnel of three-year-old-whines, to know that literally all i had to do for dinner was throw a dish in the oven! and bam! 15 minutes later our little fin

so we travel a lot.  and we always take a lot of food. a lot. food for the road, food for the rest stops, food for the hotel...sometimes even food for the continental breakfasts! my sister and i once brought in "outside" gluten free waffle batter to make on the hotel's griddle! apparently that goes against the rules of a continental breakfast, and we got set straight for that;) i even packed a gourmet raw meal for our  trip to virginia , complete with sauerkraut fermenting in the car on the way!! and it was awesome. but of all the crazy food shenanigans we've managed to pull off, this week in baltimore has to top them all.  HOMEMADE CHICKEN BROTH. see how he can't even pull himself away to smile for a photo? yes, as simple as that.  as weird as that. i made homemade broth on saturday to help us get over some stuffy noses. we ate the broth in a soup on saturday night and decided to bring all the leftovers with us on a whim whe

summer has come and gone so fast i can hardly believe it! i really had a great summer this year. i tried new things, i discovered new parts of my creativity, i went to a few conferences, laughed a lot, shopped a lot, and made incredible memories with friends and family.  so with out further blabber, here are the top ten highlights of summer 2012.   10. flying home in the spring i decided to fly back to the states with my two year old and two month old all by myself, while my husband was busy traveling for work. i was nervous about how this long trek would unfold, but through prayer, god provided everything we needed every step of the way. safety, calm children, someone to help carry bags, someone to carry dimitri…. 9. mod podge beginnings i used mod podge for the first time this summer to add a layer of hot pink glitter to my travel mug. my addiction has begun...and after adding glitter to all my makeup brushes, I'm on the hunt for more things to glitter. yes, i k

i've been trying to write this post for about a month now. but for some small little reason i've had a hard time getting around to it...... thankfully my friend recently messaged me a question about feeding her one year old daughter, and this gave me the starting point to "feeding a family."  i want to share this with you because having a "picky eater" is so common in our culture. so i hope you can gain inspiration from our conversation. please jump in and leave a comment about what has helped you to nourish your children (and other loved ones). after all, i think our best resource is each other and the trial and errors we've gone through on the journey. tune in next week for part two of this series, as i bring the "logistical" part of feeding everyone nourishing foods:) here is her message to me: Hi Eleni,   I am writing you because I am having a bit of a problem with "julie" being picky with food. I was wondering if you

upon moving to germany in september i sadly waved goodbye to my beloved raw lattes:( you can enjoy some of my favorite recipes  here ,  here  and  here . finding quality raw nuts at a decent price was harder than i thought. remembering to soak nuts overnight for milk making in the morning, was even harder as i became more and more pregnant;) ahhh but the time has come for a revival!  athena at eight hours old 12 days ago i gave birth to the sweetest little girl i have ever met. athena gloriella was born at 6:15 a.m. at our home, which was dimly lit with candles as the subtle sounds of worship music created an unforgettable atmosphere. when the time is right, the chronicles of her journey to earth will be posted....as well as dimitri's since that's something i never got around to. soon after her arrival....ok you got me, it was the very next morning.....my mind switched from pregnancy mode to full on mothering gear to take care of everyone and everything in my path...

let me just tell you how cool my husband and i are.  every year on valentines day, we get super excited for the food that we'll be celebrating with.   no romantically plotted dates. no forced cheesiness. no flowers. just food.  you better believe im all about chocolate!  i usually make one thing for valentines dessert, but perhaps being nine months pregnant has influenced me towards the decision to make multiple treats for us to enjoy this year;) among them will be my favorite cupcakes. this chocolate cupcake recipe has been under my belt for a few years now.  i love to feed it to non gluten free people and watch as it rocks their world.  this cupcake is so smooth, moist and chocolatey, that you would never guess its base is black beans, let alone gluten free!  its light and fluffy, leaving you feeling heavenly with each bite ling ering on your taste buds:) oh i can't wait for valentines day! GRAIN FREE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES 1 15 oz

"sorry this is so crappy guys. but at least try to get full." dinner should never start off with such harsh words, and yet it did last night.  to my horror, the homemade gluten free ravioli i had envisioned to serve my husband and son for dinner, played out far worse than my scariest nightmares.  spending hours in the kitchen, using up expensive gluten free flours, and six freaking organic eggs!!!....only to have it land on a  plate as a total disaster, literally left me feeling unsatisfied with my whole day as i laid my head on my pillow last night.  am i crazy or what? not only did it taste horrible, but it looked horrible as well so let's start from the beginning.  ever since we got to germany, i've had strange longings for foods that i haven't had in a while.  some may say pregnancy, but i know myself, and i say it's desiring to eat for comfort and to induce feelings of familiarity in a foreign place.  cheese filled ravioli has always had a speci

homemade chocolates are my favorite  and apparently, they're my husband's favorite too...a tray of twelve was gone in a week!  and i only had three! when i decided to come up with the recipe for these chocolates, i wanted them to be bigger than bite size, but small enough that they could be eaten in two or three bites. an ice cube tray was the perfect mold for the job.   smooth velvety homemade chocolate will make your conscience feel good about eating a sweet treat at any time:) since it's loaded with healthy fats from coconut oil, sunflower seed butter and almonds, you'll be nourishing your body as you tame your sweet tooth as well. with two layers of filling, your tongue will dance with delight, as the chewy nougat mixes with the cookie layer!  i was even surprised at how well this combination worked out to transport me to that magical chocolate candy bar land .... but on a more important note, the nougat i created for this chocolate bite c