Bean and Cheese Burritos with Cilantro Lime Rice and Avocado Cream

I don't think I'll ever get sick of a two year old's way of finding even the most mundane thing super exciting.  They are experiencing so many things for the first time and what is old-hat for us is like an amusement park for them.  Like driving under an overpass.  Super exciting for at least my little two year old.  And every bus, ambulance, fire truck, tractor, dump truck, etc. must be exclaimed over

I love having a two year old.  While I don't love the crying, tantrums, and growing need for discipline, I love two year olds. 

Maybe it's the fact that their excitement makes me see the world through younger, less jaded eyes.  I find myself getting excited when I hear the hiss of the bus's air brakes as it stops just outside my house every afternoon.  Both me and the kid run to the window yelling "bus, bus, bus!"

Veggie Patties with Kicked-Up Ketchup

 So, I've made the switch to dried beans.  

I know what you're thinking... 

Is she crazy?...

Had she lost all her money in the stock market?...

Does she just have way to much time on her hands?...

The answer to all these questions is no.  Although I am constantly reevaluating the first one.

The truth is that I've chosen to do it both to keep our grocery bill in check and to avoid as much BPA from canned foods as possible.  I'll admit though that it has been quite the learning curve.  

Black Beans and Rice with Cantalopy Guacamole

I'm not a vegetarian.  I did dabble in flexitarianism in college, before I got married.  Much to the husband's chagrin, however, we eat meatless 2-4 days a week in our home.  His most commonly used phrase when I ask him how he likes a certain dish is, "It would be better with meat."  Poor man.  But, it is how it is and he bears it well.

There are a number of reasons I tend to stay away from meat: personal taste, budgetary restraints, environmental concerns, health, and food safety to name a few.  But I'd be lying if I didn't admit that part of the reason I eat less meat than the average American is that I think it is cool.  There, I said it, I think vegetarians are cool.