Ginger & Soy Pepitas.

Today is the first day in over two weeks that my dearest "mermaid princess" (her words, not mine) decided to sleep in past 5:45 a.m. Thank you, Jesus.

Many Mama's know how important that 15 minutes of post-milking-pre-children-waking-up time is in the morning. It's time to read God's word, reflect on the day ahead, and mentally prepare one's self for the tasks at hand. I like to sit down with a notepad and briefly scribble the day out. It usually looks like something like this:

"Breakfast/clean up. Make bed. Get ready. Help Georgia with chores. Make cheese. Clean bathrooms. Complete x, y, and z without loosing your mind."

Only half of it (ah, who am I kidding), a third of it normally gets done. But that's okay. It's the thought that counts. And getting that 15 minutes of time with my coffee cup in hand before I begin the day is quite possibly one of my favorite 15 minute segments of the day.

The others being, of course, the 15 minutes spent with my hot chocolate cup mid morning, the first 15 minutes after Stu gets home from work, the first 15 minutes I get to lay my head down at night, and the 15 minutes I get to spend snuggling the wee ones during story time.

I suppose there are lots of good 15 minute segments in my day, aren't there?

And yet, once again, that is not the point of this post.

Part of what is so often listened on my daily to-do list is mixing and baking up snacks for the family. Because we rarely (if ever) purchase prepackaged snacks, I am obligated (or so says my daughter) to make "yummy treat" snacks from scratch. And I'm fine with that. I particularly enjoy making the snacks with Georgia's help because they're usually quick to whip together, require fairly minimal effort, and give her a chance to help and be excited about kitchen tasks. She excitingly drags her wooden and worn stool into the kitchen, finds the most enticing looking area of counterspace, and begins to "help".

Okay, fine. You caught me in the eternal parental lie of a child "helping" - it can be frustrating. But a part from the frustration, I am so anxious to plant these seeds in her little heart. I so desperately want her to grow up competent and confident in the kitchen. Maybe she'll decide to never use the skills I will teach her of cheese making, bread baking, or egg scrambling. But even if she doesn't, I want her to still have them.

And so, together, we mix up snacks for the week.

Some sweet. Some salty. Some protein-rich. Some full of carbohydrates. But all delicious.

These ginger and soy pepitas were a new addition to the snack routine this week. With my first crunchy bite they were quickly welcomed with open arms.

Hello, pepitas. Welcome to your new home.

Ginger & Soy Pepitas

You will need:
- 3 cups pumpkin seeds (ideally organic)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons naturally fermented soy sauce
- 3 teaspoons dehydrated whole sugar cane (or naturally sweetener of choice)
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground ginger

Step One: Lay the pumpkin seeds out on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

Step Two: Combine the olive oil, soy sauce, cane sugar, and ginger together in a bowl. Gently whisk to combine.

Step Three: Pour the sauce over the pumpkin seeds and gently stir to evenly coat the seeds with the sauce.

Step Four: Bake in a 300 degree oven for 20-30 minutes or until the seeds are roasted and golden, stirring once or twice to prevent burning.

Step Five: Let the seeds cool on the baking sheet before transferring to an air-tight container for storage.

There are an endless variety of pepitas available, but I really enjoy the flavor of these. Both of the kids love them as well. I'm not sayin' they'll replace a potato chip as a snack (we make those too, on occasion) but they do offer a nice, salty alternative to the sweet snack world.

On top of these pepitas, weekly snacks also include sourdough crackers, homemade larabars, easy homemade protein bars, soaked english muffins, soaked granola, and a variety of cut up vegetables and fruits.

It's not always easy to find the extra time it takes to make up snacks. Especially when you have the "help" of said mermaid princess.

But then you taste something like these delicious ginger and soy pepitas and remember how delicious homemade can be. And how it's so worth it!

And then you proceed to clean up the giant mess in the kitchen that mermaid's make.

Enjoy!

Ginger Soy Pepitas

A salty snack option!

• 3 cups pumpkin seeds
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons naturally-fermented soy sauce
• 3 teaspoons whole cane sugar
• 2 teaspoons ginger

1. Lay the pumpkin seeds out on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
2. Combine the olive oil, soy sauce, cane sugar, and ginger together in a bowl. Gently whisk to combine.
3. Pour the sauce over the pumpkin seeds and gently stir to evenly coat the seeds with the sauce.
4. Bake in a 300 degree oven for 20-30 minutes or until the seeds are roasted and golden, stirring once or twice to prevent burning.
5. Let the seeds cool on the baking sheet before transferring to an air-tight container for storage.