Simpicity quest, recipe #1

In my quest for simplicity, I have been going through some of my SIMPLE inexpensive recipes. This one, I LOVE. It is SO easy. It is COMPLETELY healthy and you and your kids will love it. :) Plus! It doesn't have an ounce of meat in it which is heart healthy and wallet healthy! :) Wahoo!

Now, I know white potatoes have had a bad rap for it's high carbs and starches.. bla bla bla.. sometimes I feel like "they" say EVERY THING is bad for you... Check out this website and you will understand the TRUTH about potatoes:

http://len7288.hubpages.com/hub/Health-Benefits-of-White-Potato

Baked Potatoes with Warm Black Bean Salad
Cara

4 medium potatoes (sweet or regular)
1 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 T olive oil
1 t ground cumin
1 t ground coriander
¾ t salt
¼- ½ c corn
Splash of lime juice
Sour cream
Cilantro

Prick potatoes with a fork in several places, cover in tinfoil (shiny side in) and bake at 375 for at least an hour. Meanwhile, in a medium microwaveable bowl, combine all of the rest of the ingredients, except sour cream and cilantro. Microwave until heated through. Use this “salad” as your toppings for your baked potato :). It is delicious, EASY and so good for you! :)

"'Tis a gift to be simple"

"Tis a gift to be SIMPLE tis a GIFT to be FREE......." --- Anyone else hearing a man singing opera in the back of their minds? Okay, maybe I'm wierd... but...

"SIMPLICITY IS THE ULTIMATE SOPHISTACTION - Leonardo Da Vinci

Living REAL (as far as "acting our wages... especially when you are tight) can be REAL complicated. It isn't easy. And sometimes it can feel like we are going against our natural desire to have fun and relax...... Here's a secret. Having fun and relaxing are SO good and SOoooOOO needed. On this blog, I post things that are helpful. Then it's important to choose what you can do and how you can implement things in your life. It isn't REAL to be perfect. None of us are as much as us perfectionists feel like it just MUST be possible. IT isn't.

Balance is the key.
If you don't think a monthly meal plan and shopping trip is doable, do it every 2 weeks, or heck, even once. Before I started this, I would go MULTIPLE times a week and decide what to make for dinner at about 4:00 ...or 5 or 6. ANY improvement is improvement. Throw yourself a bone! You are doing amazing! --- If making homemade laundry detergent isn't your cup of tea - adjust your meals, entertainment, miscellaneous shopping.. whatever to make it balance out. Remember BALANCE is the key.

Last week I had a HUGE light bulb turn on for me. This is going to sound lame... but hey! I'm new to this game. - I was feeling overwhelmed and WAY out of balance. Making fancy full breakfast lunch and dinners, homemade... well.. everything takes ALL of my time. It has never occurred to me that you can make simple meals on a regular basis... not just when you know it's going to be a crazy day! - I know. lame. My ultimate goal in REAL living is spending quality time with my family. I think it is AWESOME for our kids to see us working and working hard .. I want them to know that WORK is LIFE. Not just something I'm imposing on them. That work is what God intended life to be .... but we don't need to be picking up bricks and adding them to our back packs. That takes the joy out of work. Because, really work and be enjoyable and satisfying... Seriously.

So! In my quest to gain the gift of simplicity, I'm going to balance my life by making more simple meals... freezing them more often and CHILLING OUT. The glory of all of this is that with less ingredients you have for a recipe, the less items on your shopping list... with that, it doesn't hurt to buy a few store bought snacks here and there.

I am totally excited about this.

The only problem is that I don't know how to make very many simple, HEALTHY meals. Does anyone have any ideas? This will surely be a quest and I am totally excited about less dishes and more time building airplanes out of blocks with Sam and more time to chase Claire around and reading more stories.

If you have any SIMPLE, HEALTHY meal ideas, let me know! Email me at CaraJohnson25@hotmail.com and I will spotlight you ---- I know, I know, I had a separate email account for this blog, but c'mon - Tis a gift to be simple right? - I only want to check ONE email account :) hehehe. and i forgot the password.... ANY WAY!

What are ways YOU are trying to find balance in your quest to be REAL?