It's Consignment Sale Time!

Get geared up to fill the holes in your child's fall/winter wardrobe this month with some AMAZING consignment sales! Most of them off 1/2 off Sunday, and the Just Between Friends Sale is so big you could just go that day and find tons (but if you want something specific, go EARLY!! Or even better, sign up to volunteer and get in to a pre-sale!) FYI - furniture, strollers, and larger accessories go very quick.

OMSI $2 Sunday

Admission to OMSI is $2 this Sunday - a great family afternoon.

eat your greens...

(and yellows, and reds, and...)

Some ways I've added more vegetables to our family meals:

• Corn, shredded carrots and shredded chicken mixed with BBQ sauce on top of whole wheat pita or english muffins. Add cheese on top and broil for SW style mini pizzas.
• Add chunks of zucchini and tomatoes to spaghetti sauce.
• Use macaroni style noodles for spaghetti and add sliced celery to the sauce. I've also done this with barely any noodles and tons of celery.
• Zucchini, green pepper & tomato in scrambled eggs with a little bit of cheese. You can up the veggies and decrease the number of eggs and it's still great!
• Slices of zucchini with cream cheese on bagel.
• Chopped carrots and celery in BBQ sauce over chicken.

Green Muffins

Green Muffins (the actual name, from Parenting Magazine August 2006)
prep time: 15 minutes
bake time: 20 to 25 minutes
yield: 16 muffins (but I can usually get 24 out of one batch)

paper cupcake liners
3 cups flour (I use whole wheat to make them 'healthier')
1 TBS baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs *see 'egg substitute' below
1/2 cup low-fat milk (I use rice milk)
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
2 cups shredded zucchini (about 2 medium zucchini, I've found a mini food processor makes the job much easier)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and place paper liners in muffin tins (I've also made them without the liners)
2. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
3. In a separate bowl (this will be the bowl you actually mix everything in), beat eggs with electric mixer 1 minute. Beat in milk, oil and sugar. Stir in zucchini until well blended. Add flour mixture to batter a little at a time and stir to mix - it should be a little lumpy. Spoon batter onto muffin tins. Sprinkle muffins with sugar (I usually skip that part.)
4. Bake 20 minutes, or until muffin tops are golden brown and spring back when you touch them. Cool muffins on rack (or paper towels) 

according to them, per muffin: 194 calories, 7 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 142 mg sodium, 24 mg cholesterol

*egg substitution: I found out my daughter might be allergic to eggs before I made these for her birthday, so I used an egg substitute I found of 2 TBS water, 1 TBS oil & 2 tsp baking powder to equal one egg. I also found you can substitute 1 banana for 1 egg or 1/4 cup applesauce for 1 egg in baking.

A FREE daylong festival celebrating Portland’s vibrant performing arts scene!

Looks like fun! fall.ART.live with the Oregon Ballet Theater. Saturday, August 29, 2009 / 11am - 6pm / OBT Studios: 818 SE Sixth Avenue (between Belmont and Morrison)

Hood River Fruit Loop

If you haven't taken advantage of picking your own fruit this summer - there is still time to do so! Pears, apples and peaches are all starting to make an appearance at u-pick farms, and Hood River is the best destination within Portland's reach to make all your picking-for-pie dreams come true. Check out the Hood River Fruit Loop site for all the information you need. September boasts the kick-off of back to school and fall with a multitude of family friendly events. Pick a place and spend a great afternoon out at the farm, or take a whole day driving from stand-to-farm-to-stand enjoying all the Hood River Valley has to offer.

Back to School help for those who need it

There are many children in the United States who go to school without the necessary supplies for them to be successful. They feel embarrassed and ashamed because they don’t have “the right stuff” and often dread going to school. Although they want to do well, these children come from disadvantaged homes and their families can’t afford to buy school supplies. CityTeam has started a project to help these children. They are collecting backpacks filled with certain supplies to hand out to children who need them. You can either donate money to provide a backpack, or you can buy your own and fill it with the supplies required.

I am extremely excited about this project and can't wait to take my daughter shopping to fill a backpack for a child who needs it. I see this becoming a yearly tradition for us. With so many stores offering amazing deals on school supplies right now, this is an affordable way I can help better my community. CityTeam has been helping the poor since 1957 and has a wide range of programs that can help people change their lives out of poverty, and I am excited to work alongside them in this project.

You can also find out more specifics about this Power of 1 project here. There you will also find the supply lists for each age group and a place make a financial donation toward this project (if you prefer).

Together we can really make a difference!