Yesterday got away from me

But I'm here now. Not much happening--work is going to get busy soon, but until then..........
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So I'm taking a few minutes to blog.
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Tonight is the kids' piano recital--it's a jazzy, swinging kind of theme. Daughter is playing "Heart and Soul" (I fell in love with you; heart and soul; just like a fool would do; madly; that little kiss you stole--it got me heart and soul.) Son is playing a piece called "Surfboard Boogie" (sorry, no words for me to sing). Daughter's still a little rough on her piece but son has his down pat. Her piece is actually harder than his. I think he chickened out a little--after we had to quit formal lessons, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to do a harder song on his own so he switched to an easier song. Daughter actually switched up to a harder song just because she liked the song. (Son is doing daughter's original song.)
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Let's see, what else is going on.......well, for one thing, hubby really, really, really needs to get a job. He's starting to drive me nuts.
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Also, daughter was invited to do the "magnet classroom" for the next two years. They choose certain kids based upon teacher recommendations and tested them for the Gifted & Talented program and out of those that are tested, a certain number of them are also invited to be in the magnet classroom. It is basically just a non-traditional classroom where the kids are catered to more--the math is on the computer at their own pace; science is all lab; reading/language is done using novels instead of the textbooks, art is done every day, etc.
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It worked out that only 26 kids (out of 7 public schools with 3 to 4 third grade classes each and a number of private schools) were selected. So it really is an honor. I think it will be really good for her, but I was kind of concerned about her being separated from other kids. When I was a kid, I was in GT and was pulled out 2 days a week. I felt like I was ostracized--"the smart kid"--and never really felt like I fit in. I voiced my concern and a dad, whose older child had been in the first magnet classroom, spoke up and talked about how his daughter had just blossomed in the program. That made me feel better.
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Daughter decided she did want to do it (I think I would have pushed if she hadn't). She is shy and didn't want to leave her friends because she has a hard time making new friends. But I assured her that she can still get together with her two main friends so she decided she was OK. She will have to change schools, but the school where the magnet class is held is actually closer to our house than her current school is. And when she found out that the school mascot over there is the mustang, that sealed the deal (she loves horses.)
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They just started this two years ago so son missed it. His experience with the GT program was less than stellar. In fact, he says that he's glad he's done with GT now--they had an online computer group that met sporadically and had assignments that weren't much different than what he was doing in class. He was doing the same math program that daughter will be doing (he tested 'end of 7th grade' even though he's actually just finishing 6th grade). But he was put up a grade in math in 4th grade just to keep him from getting bored--not as part of GT.
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Last night for dinner, I spiral cut some butternut squash and put tomatoes and zucchini hummus on it--so good.
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Well, that's all I can think of.....
Ciao for now

Yesterday's food and weekend wrap-up

Yesterday's food:
I started with Strawberry Ice-cream (frozen strawberries, soy protein powder, and 2 dates. I added just enough water for the Vita-mix to be able to blend it into ice-cream.) I made 4 servings so we all had it. Lunch was a salad of spinach, carrot, and fresh picked parsley. The dressing was zucchini hummus that was diluted with some apple cider vinegar to which I added some salt, pepper, and paprika.

Dinner was brown rice and a sauteed veggie mix that tasted like a cooked Cole slaw. (Cabbage, carrot, celery sauteed in a bit of coconut oil. I then added salt, pepper, ginger, paprika. It still didn't taste like I wanted it to so I added some agave and some apple cider vinegar and cooked it down. It was really good.)

I don't have a picture of dessert, but son made another recipe from Ani's Raw Desserts--Blueberry cobbler. Except that we didn't have blueberries, we only had blackberries and only canned and not nearly as many as the recipe called for. So he quartered the recipe and made 4 mini cobblers in dessert cups. It was really good.

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Now the weekend wrap-up. We went to Salt Lake for the weekend Saturday we did Lagoon (Corn on the cob was the only thing there I cared to eat) from 10-3 and then went the hotel and then to Sages for dinner.

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At Sages, they had a special going on--one of two appetizers (carrot pate or corn chowder), one of two pasta dishes (mushroom stroganoff or pesto pasta), and one of two desserts (Brownie sundae or tiramisu). Hubby had one combo and I had the other. The special was the same price as just the pasta. I noticed they had scaled down the portion size from the last time hubby had pasta, but that was a good thing--it meant we were able to eat everything and be full but not stuffed.

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Excellent. I would recommend that restaurant to anyone. It is located in Salt Lake two blocks back toward the capitol from Trolley Square and one block back toward the freeway. I don't know the exact address, but that's how I find it.

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Then we wandered the Gateway and then went back to our hotel. Sunday morning was a bit rainy. We went and rode the trolley from the Energy Solutions arena up to the University and back. It was still raining so we decided to wait a while before heading back to Lagoon. We saw a Whole Foods Market (it was right between Trolley Square and Sages) and I had never been in one before (we don't have one here) so hubby took us there.

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I like Whole Foods! I wouldn't be able to shop there much, though. It was quite expensive. I'm too frugal (I have to be in order to make ends meet).

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Then we had lunch at Noodle and Co.--it was right by Whole Foods. It was good. I had a dish that had rice noodles with veggies and a spicy peanut sauce. I would eat there again for a fast-food type meal.

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The rain was slowing down by then so we headed back to Lagoon. We still got some light showers, but we had a ball. I had some french fries when the others had snacks.

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Then we headed back home. By the time we ate I was hungry and crabby as heck. Daughter burst into tears when they didn't have the drink she wanted and son complained the whole time how slow they were. We had waited way too long to eat and my kids and I are all quite adversely affected by hunger. The reason we were so long in eating is that we decided to head up the road to a Mexican place--when we got to it, it was closed and then we couldn't really find anything.

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We ended up doing Denny's. I had a dinner salad w/ vinaigrette on the side and grits (no butter or milk) and some of the grapes that came with daughter's meal. I complained about it to the family (just because I was hungry and tired and grumpy), but it was OK. Daughter and son both perked right up after they ate. I was beginning to think we were going to have to get son a second meal, but he finally slowed down after eating all of his dinner and half of hubby's. (How would it be to have the metabolism of a 12 year old boy?)

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Then we came the rest of the way home and got here about 10:15. We emptied the car and went to bed.

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Yesterday, we slept in and then had breakfast and goofed off. Then mowed the grass and had lunch. Then went to visit the cemeteries. Then came home for a while, had dinner, and went to the grocery store. Then came home for dessert, and got ready for bed.

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Yesterday at the cemetery daughter really was into talking about the baby I lost prior to son being conceived. Both kids are sure that child was a girl. Daughter was concerned that we hadn't buried that child so there was no grave we could visit. And in fact, until son was about 5, he used to talk about having met his big sister up in heaven prior to coming down to be with us. Maybe that child was a girl and maybe my kids did know her before coming to be with us. It gives me the chills to think about, but it's also nice.

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Well, this has gone on quite a ways. I need to get to work.

Hope everyone had a great weekend,

Ciao for now

Dinner last night

Just a quick post here. First of all, everyone have a good weekend.
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We're going to Salt Lake. We'll do Lagoon and have dinner with my sister and her partner. And I don't know what else. We usually have fun. I can't wait to show my sister my new tattoo. It is so pretty.
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Last night, we had corn on the cob and steamed broccoli. I knew that wouldn't satisfy hubby so I told him to figure out what he wanted to go with it. He chose pork chops. The kids didn't want any pork--they just wanted the broccoli and corn. He was quite put out! But what could he say? They had the same dinner I did and I was fine (in fact, I was a heck of a lot better than him).
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So I'll probably talk to you all on Tuesday (or post to you all, anyway).
Ciao for now.

Ani's Raspberry Ganache Fudge Cake Review

EXCELLENT!!
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OK, review done.
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No really, it was really, really good. My only concern is that the cookbook says that it makes 4-6 servings--I think that was unrealistic. I cut it so it made 8 servings. And even with the smaller servings, I was the only one that ate my entire piece. It is really rich and you eat it really slowly. But, oh so good. I think a tiny piece was plenty.
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So if you make this, don't worry about making a double batch if you need dessert for more than 6; just make smaller slices.
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Ciao for now.

Kids cooking

So I told you we got Ani Phyo's dessert book via UPS today. The recipe son wanted to make was the Raspberry Ganache Fudge Cake minus the raspberries.
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Here's the recipe
Here's the cakes. Here's son pitting dates for the frosting. (One for the frosting; one for me.)

Son hard at work at the food processor.

Ta-Da!!While son was slaving away over a hot food processor, daughter and I were having a tea party. (Sorry for the poor lighting.)

Kind of a weird day

I just can't get used to hubby being home so much! When he's been home, he's done some work outside, but more sitting on the couch watching TV. And in the mornings, he has the TV on really loudly as I'm trying to get kids ready for school. It drives me bats! When I have a frustrating morning, it sets a tone for the whole rest of the day.
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I did get quite a bit done, work-wise, today. But nothing else. Usually, I get something done around here. I haven't even exercised the last 3 days because of him being around--I don't like exercising in front of him. He has been in and out as he's looked for work and been outside doing stuff, but I never know when he's going to walk in so I don't start anything.
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Son is playing the piano and daughter is doing homework. Hubby just left for a computer class through the Job Service. Maybe he'll get good enough that I won't have to fill out the online applications anymore.........
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Something good--UPS showed up today and brought me a present! Actually, the present was from Ingrid at Raw Epicurean. Here a while back I won Ani Phyo's Raw Desserts from a give-away on her website and I got it today. It is a really great book. The desserts may be healthy, but they are definitely not for everyday. I can't see eating that many nuts--almost every recipe has lots of nuts.
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When son is done practicing, he wants to make something. I can't wait!
Well, I'm off.
Ciao for now. (I really need to take pic and post it, don't I? I'll see what I can do about that.)

Poor grades update

I heard back from daughter's teacher. Daughter has made up the missing assignments, they just haven't been posted yet. Whew!
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She also told me that if it looks like there are any issues after she gets them entered, she'll let me know.
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Again--Whew!

Scoliosis and poor grades.......

Last night was son's physical for scouts and school athletics. Ever since I was a kid, a bunch of health care professionals have gotten together in the spring to run mass doctor's appointments. The kids check in and then go through a series of stations (height/weight, pulse/blood pressure, vision, physician exam, and physical therapist exam). They do it assembly line-ish so the kids go through one station and get their results recorded and then get in line for the next station.
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Mind you, these physicals are only for the basically healthy youth. They are low-cost ($15 dollars and nothing is submitted to insurance--in fact, the only records are the school/scout physical forms that the clinic takes a copy of). But, all that being said, it seemed to be rather thorough. I think the doctor took more time with son that his regular doc took at his last regular visit. And the physical therapist took a good piece of time with us, too. (You never get your joints and backs checked like that at a regular visit.)
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So the physical therapist noticed something with Wyatt's back so he closed the door, had son take off his shirt and re-examined him. It turns out that son has a slight scoliosis--side-to-side curvature of the spine. Apparently, it's not uncommon in boys that are just getting ready to hit growth spurts. So he showed me the curve (it was obvious once I knew what to look for), and how I could recognize the symptoms that went along with it and what to watch for to see if it was progressing.
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If he grows out of it after a growth spurt--no problem. If it stays the same--no problem (apparently, it's mild enough that it wouldn't need treated even if it remained at that level forever). If it progresses, they would want to do something (back brace or surgery maybe). And if it starts progressing, they would want to know as soon as possible because it's much easier to treat when mild than when it is more progressed.
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So, I'll be watching son's back like a hawk. (The funny thing is that he had a regular well-child visit just a few months back and the doc didn't notice his back--I'm not sure the doc even looked at his back.)
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Other kid now, I went online and checked daughter's grades. I usually don't do that, but I was checking on something for son and figured I might as well look. The work she has brought home has all been very good and I haven't heard anything from her teacher, so I had no reason to even suspect there were any problems. She has an F in Reading and a low C in Language! Both grades are due to missing assignments. All of the rest of her assignments are in and have excellent scores--she averages a high A in both areas based upon the grades that are there.
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Now if a third grader had all As in the work turned in, but had an F for the subject, wouldn't you question it? Well I did. I e-mailed her teacher and if I don't hear back today, I'm calling in. I know a third grader is getting to where she can be more responsible, but still--she's only in third grade. And as a parent, I am a little upset that I wasn't notified. I'm hoping that it's an error--maybe the teacher isn't keeping up at putting the grades in the system so it shows zeros for the assignments not entered or something like that.
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I feel bad because I freaked out a bit and had daughter crying this morning before she went to school. I tried to calm her down by letting her know that we would get it figured out.
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So that's where my mind is. I need to get it back to something else.
Ciao for now.

Whoa--Monday again already

I turned my back for just one second and it was already Monday again! Sometimes the time just flies by toooooooo fast.

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So, let's see, what's been going on......

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Wednesday was daughter's Girl Scouts "Bridging Ceremony". She is no longer a Brownie. She is now a Junior. There's her pic.

Thursday was a Girl Scouts pot luck. (I brought a New York Burrito since the food at the potluck consisted of chicken, scalloped potatoes, etc.)

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Friday was grocery shopping (fun, fun, fun).

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Saturday, son got to fly! In scouts, his troupe is doing the aviation merit badge so a pilot took them up, 3 at a time, in a 4-seat Cessna so they could actually fly. He was so excited!

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Then, there was the Boy Scouts spaghetti feed. They sold tickets to raise money for scout camp this summer. I talked them into doing a plain tomato sauce in addition to the meat sauce; I brought a vegan creamy avocado dressing to have alongside the ranch and thousand island; and I made vegan chocolate cupcakes for the dessert table. It may not have been much, but at least people (like me) could have the choice to eat compassionately if they so wished.

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I also did more dishes that night than I think I've ever done in my life!

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Then yesterday, we finished planting the garden and did some work outside.

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It is finally warm here! I am so glad that I don't have to freeze anymore! It was in the high 70's yesterday and is supposed to be in the 80's today, then back down to the 70's. Perfect weather.

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I am getting back to eating better again today. I seem to eat more and worse on the weekends and then eat less and better during the week. I'm maintaining my weight and I feel good, though, so I think it's OK. Maybe that's just going to be my normal. I'm not yo-yo-ing or anything, I just eat different when my schedule is different. I have more cooked food and am more likely to do desserts on the weekend. I guess that's fine as long as I'm cognizant of it and don't let it get out of control.

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Well, I'll get back to work. Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Ciao for now.

Wednesday

Well, I didn't get back to post again yesterday. But oh, well. Life comes before blogging.
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Yesterday, I ended up having the rest of the sweet potato mash and an apple for a snack. And then had the sauteed veggie dinner at Sakura (salad w/o dressing, sauteed zuke/onion/mushroom, some steamed white rice, a few sips of mushroom broth soup.) I tried the soup, but didn't have much--even though it was supposed to be an onion and mushroom based soup, it tasted a bit like a beef broth so I didn't finish it.
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Today, I started with a banana/kale/almond smooth, then had a sandwich for lunch (avocado, spouts, bocca burger on dehydrator bread), then for a snack a few minutes ago, I had some asparagus spears.
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When I go to get the kids I'll probably have an apple. Then, for dinner, I'm making a veggie lo mien.
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Daughter saw a play with her class on Friday. It scared her so bad that she hardly ate all weekend. Now I know that she can stand to decrease her intake, but she was not eating enough to sustain a mouse! She is starting to eat a little better now, but still not eating much. It blows me away how freaked out she got! The premise of the story was that an old lady found a hairy toe and took it home and made a soup out of it; the owner of the toe came to get it back. Daughter has been freaked out about things in her food.
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White rice has pretty much been her mainstay these last few days because she can spread out the grains and see that there is nothing in there but rice. I know that's not a healthy diet, but it beats eating nothing.
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I e-mailed daughter's teacher and if she doesn't get back to feeling better, we're going to have her talk to the school counselor to see if there is anything else bugging her.
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Hubby has been home most of the day today. He actually dusted and vacuumed--I really didn't feel like cleaning plus, I was (supposed to be) working (it was pretty quiet today). When he's home I don't get much done. When he's not here and I'm not busy, I exercise, or play my violin, or read, or whatever. I don't do anything when he's here. He did go to the job service this morning and he had a doctor's appointment this after noon (he's there now) so it's not like he didn't have a reason for being here.
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Well, that's pretty much all that's going on.
Ciao for now.

Quick Food post

First of all, I'M FREEZING!!!! We had a nice weekend and now it's cold and windy again. I really, really, really want warm weather.
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Yesterday's eats:
Breakfast: Banana, kale, almond smoothie
Lunch: Salad - mystery greens, red bell pepper, carrot, zucchini, dressed in a balsamic vinaigrette and sprouts with Veganaise on dehydrator bread
Snack: apple
Dinner: oatmeal (served savory--not sweet), sweet potato mash, steamed asparagus
Snack: a dark chocolate and a small shaved ice w/ sugar free syrup

Here is a pic of the salad I mentioned above. It was really good.
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Today's Eats (so far):
Breakfast: Left over sweet potato mash, banana, almonds
Lunch: Monster Sprout Sandwich (dehydrator bread, 1/2 an avocado,
sprouts)

Yup, the sandwich looks like a monster!
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Tonight, we go to Sakura (a Japanese tepanyaki restaurant) with my folks and my brother and his family. I'll have the veggies. Apparently they use an all oil margarine in their cooking because my dad is extremely lactose intolerant and their "butter" doesn't bother him. Last time I had their soup, as well, but I kind of have a feeling it is a beef broth base--I'll ask tonight and if it's mushroom or miso, I'll have it too.
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I'll try to get on later and post again. We're have some issues with daughter. But I've got to get back to work.
Ciao for now.

I WON!!!

I forgot to tell you! I won a copy of Ani Phyo's new dessert book. Ingrid at Raw Epicurian was having a givaway and I won!

I am so excited to get it.............

Mother's day weekend re-cap

Son was in a track meet on Saturday. It was his first time running against other people--one of those kind where we signed him up at the Parks & Rec department and then he showed up and ran when they called his events. He came in next to last on both races, but I thought he did great anyway. It's hard to know what to expect when you've never done it before.
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The farmer's market opened Saturday so we went there as well. We didn't get much--just some jam, but we go pretty much every Saturday when they're open.
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We also went out to dinner on Saturday night. I decided that I would rather have a nice Mother's Day dinner on Saturday night than go to the brunch buffet that we usually do on Sunday morning (not much there I care to eat since changing the way I eat). So we went to Prasai--excellent Thai food.
Sunday morning, I nipped the tops off my mint plants and had mint tea--that's it above. Very nice.
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Daughter made me a card, a magnet, and a key chain. Son made me the Lego creation, below. Look hard--it says "I [heart] MOM" vertically. I thought it was very creative!

Then, in the evening, we went over to my folks for strawberry shortcake. I brought Soyatoo whipped topping. I just had strawberries with the whipped topping on them. I couldn't find the packaging on the cakes (Mom got them at Costco) but I'm pretty sure they would have had eggs in them at least.

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Well, that was my Mother's Day. I hope every mother had a great day.

Ciao for now.

Not much happening, today

It seems like I've been quite busy today, but there really hasn't been much going on. It's been one of those days when you spend all day picking up all the little bits and pieces that got let go or ignored or piled up. So even though I've been going steady, it really doesn't seem like it.
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I guess that's better than going crazy and not getting anywhere.
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Tattoo feels better today. It's still a bit swollen, but not as sore as yesterday. (It is still quite sore, though. Don't get me wrong.) I hate pain, but I guess it's worth it.
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So today's food so far has been:
Banana, mystery green, and almond smoothie
spiralized zucchini, red bell pepper, tomato and nut cheese salad
1 piece dehydrator bread w/ peanut butter (not raw, I know, but I wanted it)
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I'll probably have an apple and carrot for a snack when I go get the kids and then a salad bar for dinner.
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Tonight is daughter's last soccer game. After the game, their coach is taking them out for pizza. Hubby, son and I are going too; we'll let daughter be with her friends and we'll sit at another table and eat. I'm guessing I'll just have the salad bar.
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And did you ask what a "mystery green" was? While son was at scouts last night, we went to the store. The spinach looked awful, the kale looked awful, I didn't want cabbage. But there, in a box were bundles of these really big nice leaves. I don't know what they were (collard greens or mustard greens, maybe) but they looked good so I got some. They were really good in the smoothie this morning. They added kind of a fresh, earthy flavor. Hopefully they'll have them again with a sign on them so I know what I'm getting next time.
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Well the pup is trying to entice me to play with her squeaky toy with her and I've got to get a couple more things done before I go get kiddos from school.
Ciao for now.

Totally out of Greens!

So I am totally out of greens for my green smoothie breakfast! In the fridge I have a few carrots, some broccoli, two zukes, and some celery. Oh and some wheat grass--I'll tell you about that in a few.

So I did a smoothie with the wheat grass, 2 little carrots, some almonds, and some frozen strawberries. It was good!
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I made some nut cheese on Monday and have some tomato sauce left over from dinner, so for lunch I'm going to spiralize a zuke and top it with tomato sauce and a dollop of nut cheese.
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Snacks will be fruits and veg, like usual. And dinner is going to be broccoli and I don't know what (hubby is doing deer steak, mashed, and gravy for him and the kids--yuck).
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So I took another pic of my new tattoo this morning--I did it in the light from the kitchen window so it's a better pic than yesterday's. I love it!

My forearm feels like it has a bruised road-rash and it's a little swollen. I'm not complaining, though. (I don't think you get to complain when the 'owie' is self imposed, do you?) I'm just anxious for it to heal.
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On to wheat grass--I have been sprouting wheat for my dehydrator breads and was talking to son about it and we ate some wheat sprouts, etc. he wanted to try wheat grass. So he took some of my sprouted grains and planted them in shallow dishes and grew his own wheat grass. It is a lot sweeter than I thought it would be. (Hubby shrugged and said "it tastes like grass". And I thought, "and how is it that you know what grass tastes like?".) So son ate some last night and again this morning and I put the rest in my smoothie. (He spaced the grains so far apart that 3 dishes only yielded a small handful of grass.)
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Soccer is almost over. Daughter has one more game on Thursday and son has one more game on Friday. Then it can get nice here. (I think somebody upstairs has the soccer schedule and makes sure it is always windy and/or rainy and cold for each game.)
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Well, I'm back to work now.
Ciao for now.

My new Tattoo

The first picture is of it after the outline and the initial shading was done. It's so pretty. This picture was taken in the mirror at the shop with my phone camera. This next pic is after the color is done. I took this pic in the mirror in my bathroom. The lighting isn't great and it's a bit blurry. The pic before the color actually looks better, but in reality, the color tat is much better.

I am so glad I got this! The kids like it; hubby says he'll have to get used to it.

Ciao for now.

An exciting Day!

The weekend was crazy. And on Sunday, I didn't eat all that well (it was all vegan, but still not great). Yesterday I was feeling lethargic and blah! So the fact that it was a busy day work-wise, made it, shall we say--not great.
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But, I started eating well again yesterday and I feel better today. It's amazing how much the way I eat affects the way I feel. As I've gotten into eating more raw foods I notice it more. I think that my "lethargic, blah" days are more like what I used to feel like all the time. It's just that now, I feel so much better that I really notice when I don't feel that good. (Does that make sense?)
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For 2 and a half weeks, I've been pretty much raw except for one meal a day (usually dinner). Raw breakfast, raw lunch, raw snacks. Sunday, was all cooked except for snacks (one green smoothie, some carrots, and some grapes) and it had me feeling bad.
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So today is an exciting day--and not because of my kale/strawberry breakfast smoothie. And not because of my broccoli/kale/nut cheese dressing salad I'm going to have for lunch. And not because of the sauteed veggies over whole wheat pasta I'm going to have for dinner. Today is exciting because I'm getting my TATTOO!!!!
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I have wanted a tattoo forever. I've had my tattoo planned for like 8 years now, but never gotten it because I didn't want to get it on my fat body. Now I'm not fat; I've had the weight off for 10 months now. I did have to decide on a new location because my legs look awful after carrying around 130 extra pound for so many years. So anyway, later on, I'll post a picture......
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I'm so excited.
Ciao for now.

Spirooli give away

Gena at Choosing Raw is having a great give-away! She's giving away a Spirooli Spiralizer! This handy tool is great for making veggie "pasta". I have a Joyce Chen spiralizer but would love the greater versatility of the Spirooli. Check out the link below to see the machine and some lovely salad made with it.

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http://www.choosingraw.com/spicy-thai-salad-and-my-first-raw-giveaway/

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On that link, also, Gena will give you details on how you can try to win one. (Sorry, you all don't stand a chance--I've already decided I'm winning this one.) (I hope; I hope; I hope)

(The top pic is a Zucchini salad made with my Joyce Chen spiral slicer and the bottom one is a sweet potato tofu scramble that I spiralized the sweet potato.)

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Ciao for now.

Young Thai Coconut

UPDATE-- Katie told me how to do Links correctly (Thank you, thank you, thank you) so I fixed it!
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Here is the link to CCV's blog. She had a challenge to try a new food. So I did.
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So anyway, at the store, I bought a young Thai coconut. I had read so much about them and thought they would be wonderful. First of all, I unwrapped the plastic and then drilled two holes in the top with a screwdriver (one for the water to drain and one for the vent) and drained the water into a glass. I was amazed that it had like 12 ounces of water!
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Then, hubby split it open with a cleaver--that is the picture below. (son had already downed about a third of the coconut water.

Then I scooped out the meat with a spoon.
I have to tell you, I'm not overly fond of either the coconut water of the soft meat. I much prefer the dried shredded coconut I'm used to and the canned coconut milk.

This morning, though, I put the left-over coconut meat in my green smoothie (banana, coconut, kale) and it was EXCELLENT that way. The coconut gave it just a subtle tropical flavor. Very good, but I won't go out of my way to buy a coconut just for a smoothie. Son didn't drink all of the coconut water so if he doesn't finish it this afternoon, I'll put that in my smoothie in the morning.

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So that's my new food try for this week.

Ciao for now.