Cookus Interruptus (www.cookusinterruptus.com) is hands down my favorite video blog, my favorite cooking show and source of foodie entertainment. I recommend you check them out. Their motto is “How to cook fresh, local, organic, whole foods despite life’s interruptions.” As a mompreneur, I love the “despite life’s interruptions part”.

The video’s are short (few minutes) cooking shows, with a cast of characters from an extended family. Different members cook, with the main character, cookbook author and mompreneur Cynthia Lair, (author of Feeding the Whole Family) doing most of the cooking.

Healthy cooking, entertaining and a great source of information for whole foods eating. Did I say I love this site?

View this video “What’s a Whole Food,” or check out the archives on their website. Let me know if you find it as entertaining and useful as I do.

If you want to learn more about leveraging food to fuel your success, sign up for my newsletter and/or teleclass in the boxes to the right.

Weekly Mompreneur Wellness Menu

I believe in creating a meal plan, doing so sets a time to focus on nourishing my family and myself in the week ahead. I keep my plan flexible, so I never feel locked in. It’s simple and realistic. I view it as an anchor to the family, part of a baseline system I need to not get overwhelmed. I know that if I get to busy or the schedule begins to crunch I still have meals covered. If I have more time, or a burst of creativity, I can always add to it.

Here’s a typical on-the-go meal plan for a busy week. I am officially launching my newly focused business Mompreneur Wellness, so there is a lot on my mind. My to-do list is intense and will require a couple of late nights to get done. I have a week that is a bit scrambled with “unexpected” events – a daughter on crutches with a fractured foot, who has to stay home Wednesday because of a class field trip; a plumber coming over today, and my other daughter with a cough and a cold that needs monitoring. At this point I know this is life with a family, and I have learned over the years to allow some space in my schedule, to have a baseline system that keeps things moving, and to not run myself ragged with expectations or guilt of not doing enough.

My dinner meal plan for the week:

Monday – Grilled Steak and potatoes, salad.

Tuesday – Homemade Fried Rice – made with leftover steak, and chopped broccoli, red pepper and brown rice from Sunday, a ½ bag of frozen peas and a few scrambled eggs. A quick video of one version of fried rice from Cookus Interruptus (love their site!) http://www.cookusinterruptus.com/index.php?video_id=59

Wednesday – Baked white fish with Lemon, quinoa with lemon and herbs, steamed broccoli with a little feta.

Thursday – Leftovers for kids and Indian Food for husband and I. My friend and mompreneur Meena, makes homemade Indian Food and delivers it to school for pick-up every Thursday. I add chopped veggies and a dollop of plain yogurt.

Friday – Homemade Soup made with veggies I will get from our winter CSA (community supported agriculture) farm share today. Probably some root veggies, and kale; I will add some lentils and grain. Since I am home this Friday I have the time to prepare it and have it available all weekend. Serve with salad, crackers and a few cheese slices.

These pumpkin cookies have been a hit with every group of kids I’ve served them to. My girls and I made 6 dozen of them yesterday afternoon for today’s Halloween party at school. I’m not a big fan of baking, so I like quick and easy projects and these cookies fit the bill. The girls, 7 and 9, did most of the work. My husband came home just in time to help with the cleaning (not a big fan of the cleaning either). I make them gluten free, because my youngest daughter and my husband are unable to eat gluten. So, in our household we go gluten free most of the time. The cookies can be made with any wheat flour as well.

Preheat oven 350 degrees.

1 stick softened butter
1/2 c. brown sugar or other sweetener
1 can organic pumpkin
2 eggs
2 1/2 c. flour (I use a Gluten free flour mix)
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 Tbs+ cinnamon (nutmeg, allspice or clove good too)
Pinch or 2 of salt
Optional toppings: sliced almonds or other nuts, raisins, cranberries….

1. Mix first 2 ingredients until creamy.
2. Add second two ingredients and blend well.
3. In a separate bowl mix the remaining 5 ingredients together.
4. Add slowly to the wet ingredients while mixing. I use a handheld electric mixer.
5. Place in approximately 2 tbs. size drops on a lightly oiled cookie sheet (or a non-stick one). Decorate with optional toppings if desired.
6. Bake 15-18 minutes. They are soft cookies, so 15 minutes is more of a bread/muffin texture; 18-20 is a little firmer.
Makes at least 24 cookies, more or less depending on the size.

Let cool a few minutes. They keep well covered, and stay very moist. Be sure they are cool before putting away, or they will get soggy.
Let me know how they come out! Happy Halloween little pretties

For future recipes and Mompreneur Wellness tips follow this blog by clicking on the RSS or Feedburner links to the right, or by signing up for my newsletter.

Thanks for checking out the Mompreneur Wellness Blog.

I’m committed to living an authentic life and to me that means nourishing myself with high quality foods and activities. I know that total wellness allows for an abundance of energy, clarity and inspiration that allows me to consciously create a life I love. I want this for you too!

I’ve created conscious rhythms in my life that allow me to raise my children and have a meaningful career. I won’t say it’s seamless, I’m not sure about the concept of balance, but I know I wanted to enjoy raising a family. For me creating businesses and having kids has gone hand-in-hand.

As an entrepreneur and a mother I have made a choice to live my best life. I do this with awareness and humor. I’ll be sharing with you my knowledge about nutrition and wellness, mostly through the lens of my own authentic life, not as model life (please!), but to invite you to witness my choices and inspire you to make your own. I know first hand that eating well and raising a family, a business (and having a life outside of both) can be another place mothers can grab a guilt trip ticket. Well, here’s your pass! Follow the Mompreneur Wellness Blog – it’s fun, it’s messy and it’s full of organic, whole grain foods. What you won’t find here are “shoulds” (Ok maybe a few, I am known to have an opinion), but I abhor rules – particularly ones related to how I nourish my life and myself.

I do benefit from structure though and this is what you can expect from my blog:

Menu Plan Monday - I will post a mompreneur friendly menu weekly with recipe links. Started by orgjunkie.com.

Tuesday Tips and Techniques – All things related to total wellness for the entrepreneur mom

Wordless Wednesday – Photos of Mompreneurs in action. Checkout this image of Tina Fey, the Mompreneur: <http://lifehacker.com/304441/tina-fey-organizes-with-post+its> Email your photo for Wordless Wed. to cydney@mompreneurwellness.com

Thursday Reviews/Interviews – I’ll review favorite and interesting products, foods, books and things related to total wellness for mompreneurs. Occasional interviews with a Mompreneur regarding her philosophy of total wellness and authentic living.

Primary Food Fridays – Topics related to the non-food ways we feed and nourish ourselves: relationships, career, exercise, hobbies, everyday moments…

Hope to “meet” you soon, and thanks for checking out the Mompreneur Wellness Blog,

Cydney Smith, The Mompreneur’s Wellness Coach

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