Valentine's Book Review! The Five Love Languages--for kids!

Happy Valentine's Day! 

Fun Fact: Dr. Wes and I have celebrated 17 Valentine's Days together. That's a lot dark chocolate! 

I wanted to share a book with you that I really enjoyed reading, The Five Love Languages of Children. The basis of this book is that children (and adults) have 5 different love languages, some of which are more predominant than others. More importantly, it's our job as parents (or spouses) to know how each person needs to be loved and how to fill up their "love tank". 

I read the book very quickly and then checked out the website so I could give our oldest son a "love language" quiz. He liked the quiz a lot, and it confirmed what I already knew--he feels loved by Words of Affection and Quality Time. The book also states that young children need all 5 Love Languages regularly, so we try to get them all included as much as possible. I thought it was interesting that three of us took the Love Languages quiz and we all had completely different answers! 

I liked this book for quite a few reasons, but most importantly because of the following:

• Easy to read and understand. 
• Practical ideas I started using the same day I read the book.
• A deeper understanding for the individual we all are, and how I can best support each child (& hubby). 
• Ideas for supporting kids who are struggling in some aspect of their life. 
• Lots of support on the internet. 
• I read it once, applied it right away, and still actively use it months later. 

I highly recommend this book! I know it will give you some good insight into your kids--whatever their age! 

Veggie Variations

Here are a few different veggie variations you can try that we used over the weekend...

Borrowed photo, but this is
exactly what our looked like!

Brussel Sprouts

2T Olive Oil or Coconut Oil

3-4 Cloves Garlic, Minced

approx. 1 tsp salt

1/2lb brussel sprouts, cut in half

Heat olive oil or coconut oil in a skillet with some garlic and sea salt. 

Cut sprouts in half and remove any wilted leaves. 

Place them flat side down in the skillet and cook a few minutes until they start to turn golden brown. At this point I flip them over (using tongs), cover, and cook about 4 more minutes on low heat. 

Enjoy!

Look at the bright color!

Beets

I LOVE beets! I simply use a veggie peeler to remove the skin, slice into thick slices, and boil/steam until soft! Beets make a great topping for salads (Beets + Feta = WOW!) or as a side. I usually just eat them plain and cold! 

Zucchini Spaghetti

I think I've posted this before, but here's one way we love zucchini. 

2 zucchini

2T Olive Oil

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

salt, optional

1 1/2c marinara or pasta sauce--watch for the sugar/carb levels! Hint--look at the more pricey sauces that don't have name brands. 

1/2c Romano Cheese, optional

We use a veggie slicer that cuts veggies into skinny sticks. I saute the zucchini with olive oil, garlic, and sprinkle of salt. When it's cooked through, I add in some sauce and heat. This week we used Newman's Own Spicy Sausage Meat Sauce. The hubby was excited when he discovered his veggies had sausage in them! Finally, I melted some Romano cheese on top and served. It would be much healthier without the cheese and sausage, but it was a great substitute for wheat pasta! 

Random Stuff x 3

I thought I'd share some random things for this blog post that might help (& inspire!) some of our followers...

1) Never use the excuse "I just don't have time to exercise". Here are some VERY quick and effective workouts to throw in. I've personally done all these while making dinner. 

• 7 minutes of burpees
• 100 Air Squats for time + Push ups until I run out of steam
• Tabata Anything

2) Check out our Pinterest page for quick exercises or try googling "Crossfit at Home".  Crossfit workouts are fast but very intense, and VERY effective. 

3) If you are eating out at Jethros--pulled chicken with a side salad and/or sweet potato fries is yummy & relatively healthy meal. :) 

Like I said--Random. Have a great weekend!