The Fifth Food Group

I think most of us recall learning about "The Four Food Groups" in elementary school and then later amending that lesson with the much-improved Food Triangle. Old habits die hard sometimes, though, and I still think about having a protein/meat, a grain/carb, a dairy/additional protein and a vegetable/fruit on my plate at each meal. (Spoiler alert: Peanut butter is in the meat group! Remember how that blew your mind as a child??) And then, when I get on a kick for something, that becomes the "fifth food group." For me, it's currently raisins. Yeah, I know it's a bit weird, but I've always loved them and they've made a comeback in my daily diet. Breakfast for me these days is pretty much raisins with some cereal sprinkled on top. Same with oatmeal. Sebastian is the nosher in our family and he went through a similar phase with raisins, followed by Craisins, so I know I'm not completely batty. 😉 And, in case you're wondering, I love both red grape raisins and golden. They're ALL good...

Speaking of Sebastian, his current fifth food group is Trail Mix. It started a few months back during virtual school. He'd request a trail mix as a snack and now he asks for this often...after camp, after dinner, during a family movie. His current favorite contains Craisins, dark chocolate M&Ms, marshmallows and graham crackers. You can't go wrong with those, right?

Come to think of it, we've got several fifth food groups going these days...little pleasures that have crept back into our lives to supplement our daily routine. The summer of 2021 has looked a bit more like the summer of 2019 for us (thank goodness!) and these fifth food groups have been the icing on the cake. 

For example, good eats! We're loving this new taco lasagna recipe...I've already made it a few times for our family, as well as for families/friends in need of a meal. 

We also tried this amazing-LOOKING recipe on Pinterest for Twix cheesecake. It totally looked like a huge Twix, but it tasted terrible. 

The three elements: cheesecake, caramel and chocolate ganache just didn't jibe. It was NOT good eats. Better to just stay with regular Twix!

Alternately, we very much enjoyed the big box of Mandelbrot that Gammy sent, though. You just can't go wrong with those! We did our utmost to eat them all. 😉

Another added joy in life? Going out for coffee/a meal! I soooo missed doing this with friends (and Tony!) all year long. 

Sebastian reunited with old friends, too. Mackenzie was visiting from Florida, so they had a playdate! 

And then he had a mini birthday celebration with Max out on the deck. Great fun, especially when lunch and cupcakes are involved! 

We've even been able to host friends in our home. It's a like a whole new world!

Not everything is in-person again and that's totally OK, too! Brie had a really good time at a virtual water color painting birthday party recently! 

And then I did one in person!

The theme was spring. I'm no Van Gogh, but I loved the process.

More in-person fun? Rockdale held in-person services for the first time 16 months! We were outside under a tent and it was lovely! 

With snow cones!

And cocktails! 

And good buddies! 

The kids would tell you that their fifth food group lately is CAMP! It has rocked! 

Sebastian was THRILLED to win the BROOK (Being Respectful of Others through Kindness) Award at camp last week. A huge deal for him. 

And dining out, of course. We really missed it.

And our sweet new pup! Blossom is bringing us lots of joy and we love her so much...cheekiness and all! 

And guess what? Gammy came to visit for Brie's birthday weekend! Blossom was very excited to meet her. She brought THE BEST squeaky toy, too!

Brie showed her her new hand-knitting skills. They even modeled some of her homemade headbands!

We baked Brie's birthday cake!

And we had a beautiful evening at Reds Stadium. We didn't win, BUT we were winning while we were there.

Go, Reds!!

And then it was Brie's birthday...she's 11! Can you believe it? She and bestie Paige went to the new tie-dye studio not far from us.

Then they had brunch for lunch out on the deck...

While we put the finishing touches on her cake...peanut butter and chocolate flavored! Yum!

For her birthday dinner, we had sushi out on the deck...

Followed by cake! (This also might be our new fifth food group...)

A few especially cool gifts included Harry Potter flute music...

Haribo gummies from the boys...

And a crocheted hat from Nonna! So glad that Brie had a very special day with lots of celebrating! 

So now that you know it's a thing...what's your fifth food group lately?

P.S. Is it dinnertime yet? There's my food.

P.P.S. The tie-dyes turned out great!!