About a year ago my husband had a TIA. His cholesterol and blood pressure were through the roof. Doctor told him to make lifestyle changes and he did resulting in a 50lb weight loss(so far!) as we became vegetarians. He's had a follow up and the doctor liked how his bad cholesterol went down but his good cholesterol has actually stayed the same. The doctor recommended he adopt a more Mediterranean style diet. More fish, more nuts, more olive/avocado oil and less dairy and eggs . I know this change would be a lot simpler than going from omnivores to vegetarians practically overnight and we would mostly add a "fish night" to our dinner rotation but I am still feeling overwhelmed at the possibility of another dietary change.

With young kids it seems it doesn't matter. There mess expands with the amount of space. We felt cramped in 1700sqft with 7 people in our first home and we still feel cramped at 2400sqft with 7 people. More space means it's easier to fill your home with. Stay small. That being said, as my kids have grown it's easier to at least keep the living areas clean because of the extra hands. We are planning on building a 3500sq ft bungalow by 2024 and we will have 6 kids by then under the age of 14. The key for us is to stick to a cleaning schedule(all hands on deck!)

We started our little pepper & tomato seeds just this past week. We will have 4 raised beds, potted tomato plants and basil. The raised beds will have Peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, green & yellow beans. It's an ambitious endeavour since I am currently 16 weeks pregnant but I usually have at least 1 or 2 daily helpers.

Yes. It isnt my favourite spelling but it is a family name so I don't want to change it.

We have a Declan 🤣

Our top 3 names so far G - Alana, Alice, Ivy B - Fionn, Reed, Nolan

Hahaha my kids have the Canadian/American version of Irish names because of my name. My first name has an unusual letter in it which was supposed to help people with the pronunciation but makes it actually worse.

I love Graham too but my husband vetoed it!

I love Alasdair!

Naming the 6th is proving to be difficult. We don't want to repeat a letter. We have a M, C, D, B, L. Our kids have Irish or English sounding names. Hit me with the best names.

The last 2 weeks have had me throwing/donating everything out. I'm pretty sure my kids and husband are afraid to have messes in fear, I'm going to throw it out. Went through the winter stuff, spring/summer stuff, purged some broken toys and old books, purged my closet. Next up is the outside shed and garage.

Whenever I am feeding them a new to them food or even something I havent made in a long time, I always include something I know they will like: fruit salad, mac&cheese, mashed potatoes, cut up veg & ranch dressing.

All of my kids either liked Dr. Browns bottles or the medela bottles. They never had any issues taking bottles even though I usually exclusively breastfeed for 6-9 months.

For summer I make a Rainbow Quinoa Salad. The base is quinoa and I let the kids choose what they want to add. When are vegetarian now but would add chicken in other years. Usually I put out small bowls of chickpeas, corn, avocado, red pepper, peas, cucumbers, olives, cheddar, feta, cherry tomatoes, greek dressing, italian dressing . Yes the preschooler mostly adds cheese, cherry tomatoes and cucumber. Sometimes I can convince her to put a few chickpeas or green peas in her bowl. The other kids like all of the ingredients and make great bowls. I honestly eat a mediterranean quinoa bowl almost everyday in the summer.

1. Corn Chowder 2. Spaghetti Bake 3. Nachos 4. Egg Burritos 5. Fried Rice 6. Lentil Loaf, mashed potatoes, veg 7. Leftovers Breakfast: Toast/English Muffins, Peanut Butter Granola w Milk, Smoothies, Apple Muffins

I only use cornmeal for cornbread. I would love to hear what else I can do with it? We have some that is about to expire.

16oz tempeh 1/4 cup maple syrup 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 2 tsp avocado or olive oil 3 tbsp soy sauce 3 garlic cloves Add ingredients into a small bowl. Marinate tempeh for 1-24 hours. pan-glaze the tempeh by heating 1 Tablespoon avocado oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot, add the tempeh (without pouring the marinade in) and cook until golden brown on each side, allowing 4-5 minutes per side. Pour the maple balsamic marinade into the pan with the tempeh and simmer another 5-7 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced creating a glaze on the tempeh. Toss the tempeh a couple times during this process.

I know with the way grocery prices are going up we should be accumulating more food but my standing freezer is in desperate need of a defrost so this week we are eating out of our freezer and just buying the necessities to complete a meal or our usual Eggs and milk. The first freezer has frozen fruit & veg, homemade meals, various bread products. The second freezer is smaller and has our dairy, my gluten free foods and some of the excess from the first freezer. Sunday Breakfast: Banana Lentil Muffins, Frozen Fruit Sunday Dinner: Lentil Sloppy Joe's, roasted Brussels & broccoli Monday Breakfast: Oatmeal Pancakes topped with Fruit Monday Dinner: Egg McMuffins Tuesday Breakfast: Smoothies Tuesday Dinner: Maple Tempeh, Rice, Frozen Veg Wednesday Breakfast: Apple Carrot Muffins, Milk & Frozen Fruit Wednesday Dinner: Split Pea Soup w Bread Thursday Breakfast: English Muffins, Frozen Fruit, Milk Thursday Dinner: Cheesy Chickpea Broccoli Casserole Friday Breakfast: Egg Muffins, Friday Dinner: Naan Pizza/GF Pizza Saturday Breakfast: Smoothies Saturday Dinner: Nachos

Because of kids activities we eat at 5.

Here in Ontario, Canada we are at $1.84 a litre. I don't know how that compares to the US but it's about 50 centers a litre more than normal.

Our meal plan for the week 1. Broccoli Cheddar Soup w Homemade Bread 2. Taco Pasta 3. Crispy Tofu Ramen 4. Veggie Frittata w Fruit Salad 5. Pizza 6. Greek Yogurt Pancakes w Fruit 7. Leftovers

I definitely can things, mostly salsa, strawberry jam and chili sauce. I never thought to can veggies. In the summer we grow green beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and zucchini. It's definitely an experiment to try this year!

We have never been able to figure out how to have an emergency Pantry, even when there was food shortages. Talk of food shortages again has us thinking how can we realistically if we mostly eat fresh or frozen food(like frozen fruit, veggies). I know we would probably have various beans and lentils, salsa, crackers, peanut butter, jam, pasta sauces(alfredo/tomato), tortilla chips, veg broth, taco shells and canned pineapple and mandarin oranges but what else? My kids have never eaten canned vegetables, instant mashed potatoes or canned soups.

Just sat down this morning to make my meal plan for the week 1. Veg Pot Pie With Biscuits 2. Minestrone Soup w Homemade bread 3. Mac N Cheese with Peas & broccoli 4. Breakfast Wraps(eggs, salsa, cheese) 5. Leftovers 6. Teriyaki Tempeh Stir Fry 7. Nachos Breakfasts: 1. Baked Oatmeal - Apple & Blueberry 2. Strawberry Banana Smoothies 3. Egg Muffins 4. Apple Carrot Muffins(if I make them today) 5. Cinnamon Raisin Toast w PB and Cream Cheese

Today we are doing breakfast for dinner for the family who feels up to it. Pancakes, scrambled eggs and fruit. It's a very frugal meal even if I chose to have gluten free waffles.