My Life as a Mom

It's Fruit Season! One of the things I love most about summer is that fresh fruit is blooming and ready to harvest, whether you grow it yourself or pick it up at the local farmer's market, there is something fantastic about fresh fruit that has ripened on the vine and has that sweet and delicious taste! I don't have space in my current house to grow a garden and I only have a few tomato plants in pots, but I'm not letting that stop me from eating and canning some beautiful food this summer! Moving to Calgary has it's pros and cons, but one thing I've been really enjoying are the farmer's markets here in the city. Last week, I went on my own, but this week I took my boy with me and he LOVED it! He had so much fun looking at all the fruits and vegetables as well the amazing work from local artisans. It was a great day. In the end, we came home with blackberries and blueberries to can. Add that to the strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and cherries I bou

It's about time I finally got you another meal-in-a-jar. This is a recipe I got from my cousin while we were visiting her for a family reunion. Between the two of us, we have six kids and all six of them ate this and asked for more! That's a huge hit in my book, so I definitely needed the recipe. I made 6 jars so that I have lots for my pantry because I know my kids are going to want to eat this over and over. The one adjustment I made was not adding green chilies, and that's only because I didn't have any, not because I don't want them. Once I have some in stock, I will definitely add them to the jars.  As always, this recipe uses ingredients that are on sale from Thrive Life Foods this month. The instant rice is one of the items on sale, but I didn't have any on hand, so I just grabbed some from my local grocery store, use whichever is convenient for you.  I also don't have packages of taco seasoning, which is what the recipe calls for, I use it oft

This month I decided to try something a bit different from what I've been making. With the cold snap we've had (can you call three months a SNAP??) I've been craving soup. But I like a hearty soup that fills me up while it warms me up.  This soup is a collection of everything my boys love, so it was no surprise that they loved it and asked for more! One thing that I love about this meal is it combines ingredients that I use all the time, like peas, onions and corn, with a few ingredients I haven't used much (diced tomatoes, shredded beef)  When making this meal, I recommend that you either make it in a ziploc bag (or mylar bag for added shelf life) or don't add the noodles to the jar, instead add them when you go to cook it. The reason is purely space. The noodles will take up half your jar and you wont have space for all the veggies. When I made this recipe I actually doubled it. Another change I made is that my kids and I don't like green peppers,

Oatmeal is absolutely a staple in my house. My kids will gladly eat it every morning. (I know, they are totally weird!) In fact, if my kids have cereal more than two days in a row, they start to complain. So oatmeal is definitely something that we have to have on hand all the time. The problem is that making oatmeal can be messy and I haven't taught my kids how to make it themselves; therefore, oatmeal jars have become my saving grace! I love that my boys can make the jars (and then I only have to clean up once for 20 plus meals) Because the oatmeal jars are such a big deal in our house, we make them regularly, and I talk about them so much that I figured I should share a post on how we make them and what's in them. So here it is! First of all, you need to know that my boys pretty much make these on their own. I typically put the oatmeal in and they do the rest. Here are the steps and ingredients that I follow and the ways that I use oatmeal jars! Step 1: Fill the jar

My meal in a jar recipe for February is a traditional beef stew, like my mom always made when we were growing up. There are a few adjustments that you can make depending on how you are going to eat prepare and eat this meal, but however you do it, it's going to be classic and delicious!   We are currently in a nasty cold streak with daily highs around -20 Celsius and wind chills that often take our lows to -40 Celsius. In the midst of this cold snap, we had a hockey tournament. Just when you want to curl up with a good book all weekend, we are going back and for from home to rink, without much break between. Between games, I decided to make this recipe and throw it in the crock pot so that it would be ready when we came home and were in need of something to warm our bones. When I put it in the crock pot, I made a few adjustments that I'll explain. For a quick boil and serve meal, follow the instructions in the graphic. If you want adjustments for the crockpot, keep readin

 It's a new month, with new specials at Thrive, that means it's time for a new meal-in-a-jar recipe. This recipe is great because it's really versatile. You can add whatever veggies you like to the mix. I used the veggies I had on hand, there is a great selection of veggies on sale this month, and chopped chicken is on sale as well! I used Zucchini, peas, beans, peppers, onions and mushrooms, but you could use corn, carrots, asparagus, broccoli or cauliflower instead (or in addition). Just note, that what I used barely fit into the jar, so if you're adding more or using veggies that are bigger - like broccoli - you'll likely need to put it in a ziploc bag for storage rather than a jar. You'll also need to add a bit more water if you're adding more veggies. I made this recipe for my kids and they devoured it and asked for it again the next day! Great way to get veggies into my picky eater! Here's the recipe as I made it. Note that the sour cream c