Last week was going to be my week. I was going to own it. There was going to be some some serious damage done to my forever growing to-do list, finally go live with my blog, make a stockpile of peach inspired food recipes, be free, work for myself, go for a run, hey maybe even get a pedicure at 1 in the afternoon while drinking a white wine spritzer. That was my plan. 

The week before I had told my mom of my adventurous plan and she said [in her mom voice] ‘hon, maybe you should just take your first week off of work and relax, regroup. Then the following week you can get back to it.’
And like any child, I didn’t listen.  
So 3 days into my not-as-awesome-as-I-expected week I got hit by not one bug but by two. A stomach bug and the cold. I was out of commission/dead to the world/taking an entire aisle of medication from walgreens for the next 3 days. 
3 days of nothing but sleeping. I should have looked amazing. Well rested. Bright eyed. HA. I looked like I was dragged around by a tractor to the other end of the planet.  
Haven’t we all had these days/weeks?

 

Somewhere in my delusional sleep, I realized 2 things.
1. Kids get you sick a lot. Which in turn make you the parents sick A LOT. 
2. I don’t take any precautions to getting sick. Vitamin C? Nope. Daily Vitamin? Nope. Orange Juice? Not Usually. I slack in this area. 

So in order to build my body into a bug fighting master this fall, I am starting by eating this recipe. Carrots and Apricots are naturally chockfull of both Vitamin A & C and Calcium. Partnered with the power house of ancient grains quinoa and a pinch of curry, this dish will help build up a healthy immune system. For yourself and the older kiddos, try adding a piece of sauté chicken or fish. 

 

Carrot + Apricot + Quinoa + Curry

6 organic carrots
4-5 organic apricots
1/2 teaspoon curry
1 cup dried quinoa

Wash and peel carrots. Cut apricots off their pits. Toss both into a steam pot or basket and steam for 15-20 minutes or until a fork can cut through the carrots. After you have stood over the steaming pot for a couple of minutes getting a much needed facial, start your quinoa. Take 1 cup of dried quinoa and wash in a metal strainer. Pick out any bad quinoa and shake to get the excess water out. Put into small pot over medium-high heat and toast for 1-2 minutes. Make sure to stir the quinoa during this point. After the next step it will be totally hands free, promise. Pour in 2 cups of water. Wait until it is really boiling and then turn down the heat to low, cover and cook for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, take the pot off of the heat and move to another burner for 5 minutes while it cools. Fluff with fork. 

Once steamed carrots and apricots are done, let cool for 5 minutes. Put them into food processor or blender and add curry. Blend until desired texture. Add to the top of quinoa and add a dash more of curry on top, just for fun. Enjoy.