Monday, April 26, 2010

Weekend in Pictures

Saturday morning started with an AMAZING breakfast of Dutch Baby Pancakes with powdered sugar [I know, I know, I cheated]

Then I drove to the Browning's house to meet up with Katie and Henry to go to Prairie Fest in Ft Worth

Lily's started carrying things in her mouth like Rusty...It's pretty weird


When we got to Prairie Fest, there were bagpipes,


Tennis ball puppet shows,



A May Pole,


Lots of gardeners showing off their stuff,


A wonder woman spinning wool,


Lot's of YUMMY, local food, including these awesome folks from Potager.


We sat in the grass, listening to old hippies playin their Beatles covers


Henry hates me most days, I'm sure of it.

We got lots of sun :]



And then these creepers came out of the woods with their puppets...


All in all, Saturday was lots of fun.


Eamon was sick on Sunday [...] but was still able to make it to work. Lily and I had some fun with my camera.

This is Betty the Giraffe. She hasn't left her side all weekend, it's SO cute.



And here she is practicing her walking :]

Hope your weekend was equally as fun
Mae

Meal Plan Monday

Here's what we got cooking in our kitchen this week :]

Breakfasts:

Lily:
  • Steamed egg yolks [go here to see more on how to prepare]
  • Fruit or veggies steamed
E&M:
  • Steamed eggs with fruit
  • Omlet with homemade soaked wheat rolls
  • Soaked Oatmeal
  • Soaked Muesli
  • Soaked Panckakes [SO good, we served them last week with Amish butter and raw, local honey and steamed fruits. It was very filling! We used the recipe right out of NT because I didn't really like most of the ones I found online]
  • Soaked Dutch Baby Pancakes [So far, this is Eamon's favorite "soaked" recipe]
  • Fried Eggs with Homemade yogurt

Lunches:
  • Salad w/pan fried fish [talapia, flounder, or salmon]
  • Fish [the same mentioned above] with brown rice and steamed veggies
  • Hummus plate [chic peas soaked for 24 hours and cooked in the crockpot over night. VERY tedious, but noticably tastier.

Snacks
  • Laver [nori]
  • Fruit/veggies
  • kale chips
  • turnip chips
  • sweet potato fries
  • Yogurt
  • brown rice crackers [Lily is LOVING these]
Dinners:
Monday: Fettuccine with Lentil Bolegnese

Tuesday: To the Brownings for supper and Lost [IT'S ALMOST OVER!].

Wednesday: Tempe Chili with Cornbread

Thursday: Fried brown rice with Crab sticks

Friday: Black bean soup

Saturday: Pizza [the regular crust is back after being berated by E about tampering with our perfect pizza dough...]

Sunday: Curried Chicpeas and veggies with brown rice.


Keep an eye out for "Our weekend in pictures" we had lots of fun, hope you did too!

Friday, April 23, 2010

A morning in our garden

For some picture practice, I got up this morning to take some pictures of our garden. We have a 7[ish]'X2' spot in the back underneath Lily's window for salad items; lots of swiss chard, butter lettuce, romaine, and tomatoes :]

Everything is starting to sprout and bloom! Check it out!

As soon as I opened her window...dirt.

aaaand into the mouth.


I'm one lucky mama


lettuce sprouts

swish chard

Tomato plant one


Complete with our first tomato!
Dear cute tomato, Please get big and juicy and inspire all of the other slackers on our plant to get to growing :]



Dear Stupid bug, get the heck away from my tomato. I will squash you like the demon nutrition sucker you are....


And here's tomato plant number 2


I crawled out of the window to get more pictures. This is one of those "Do what I say, not what I do" moments... Silly baby


We're also growing lavender and Lilies here:


And we have a lemon tree, complete with some seriously cute lemon buds.


And this is where the flippin birds at the bloom


I've got some sunflowers growing in the pot that I made Eamon [complete with squash babies] for one of his wedding presents.


When we came back inside, I closed the window so Lily [AND Rusty] couldn't get out, but she still tried to scoot UNDER the two inch gap...


And ended up loosing a book.



Well! There's a look at our salad garden! Hope you have an awesome weekend!
Mae

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Earth Day in Pictures and THE Surprise!

Well, today ended up being really, really gray. BUT I did get to take some pictures!

Lily helped pick weeds in the salad garden


Then ate a LOT she shouldn't have...stupid flowers.



This is the cute shirt she wore today


When we got to the farm we saw goats,


and chickens



and rabbits [those were Katie's and Ava's fav's]



Overall, it was a good trip. We got rained...ahem, misted out, so we went home. On the way back, lily got super tired and hungry and was doing her usual pterodactyl scream. Super sweet Katie said "Lily...you can stop screaming. My head hurts." HA! Exactly, Katie, exactly.

I was actually reconsidering going because I was anxiously awaiting a package from the UPS man all day. I ended up missing him, but he entrusted said precious package with our [moron] apartment office. I'll let it slide this time...Can you guess what it was?



YUP! The lens to my camera! I am doing it y'all! I'll explain more later, but lets just say in a few months you may be seeing some pictures of some mamas working hard to get their babies in Rockport! WHEW! Feels good to announce it finally!

PLUUUUS!

You'll be seeing a lot more of this guy



And, of course, a lot more of this girl



Super excited to share this journey with you!
FINGERS CROSSED!

Mae

Earth Day!

Today I have lots of fun stuff for Lily to do for Earth Day!
We are headed to Homestead Farms in Keller for a whole lotta fun!
We're meeting the lovely Heather and Katie there for some goat milkin, chicken gazin, horse pettin, whoopin, hollerin time :] VERY Excited!

Speaking of Heather...
She's hosting a freakin awesome giveaway on her blog this morning!
Her and her husband are on their 21st week of pregnancy and trying to figure out baby names! It's a surprise [LOVE SURPRISES!] So, they're asking for your help! Head over to Mommypotamus's latest blog entry for a chance to win a $25 gift card to the Etsy site of your choice! HOW COOL is that?



I just had to post this picture, uh-dor-uh-ble

Pics to come later this evening!
...and hopefully a surprise....

Mae

Monday, April 19, 2010

Meal Plan Monday

Lily cut a vampire tooth last night. Yup, she has two front teeth on the bottom, one to the left about to cut, and a top vampire tooth on the right. We're about to have a funny looking kid. But hey, who could be mad at a chubby vampire baby for biting? Ok, maybe me...but you can't ;]

Last week was a success for Nourishing Traditions! And for me not eating refined sugar! Total, the only thing I ate that I shouldn't have last week was refrigerator biscuits with Spank-o-pita last night, and two pieces of white bread on Friday night. DANG WHITE BREAD! Other than that, everything was homemade and soaked.

Here's what we've got on the menu this week:

Breakfasts:
Lily:
  • Steamed egg yolks [I crack the egg, removing the white (maybe save them for something later on that day, but usually not) place the egg yolk carfully into a collinder (or steaming basket would work too) and place in a pot with an inch of simmering water covered for about 5 mins. Allow to cool and add a little salt]
  • Fruit or veggies steamed
E&M:
Steamed eggs
Scrambled eggs w/sautéed veggies
Soaked Oatmeal
Soaked Muesli
Soaked Panckakes [SO good, we served them last week with Amish butter and raw, local honey and steamed fruits. It was very filling! We used the recipe right out of NT because I didn't really like most of the ones I found online]

Lunches:
  • Salad w/pan fried fish [talapia, flounder, or salmon]
  • Fish [the same mentioned above] with brown rice and steamed veggies
  • Hummus plate [chic peas soaked for 24 hours and cooked in the crockpot over night. VERY tedious, but noticably tastier.

Snacks
  • Laver [nori]
  • Fruit/veggies
  • kale chips
  • turnip chips
  • sweet potato fries
  • Yogurt
Dinners:
Monday: Scallops with cherry tomatoes, pesto, and whole wheat rotini

Tuesday: To the Brownings for supper and Lost.

Wednesday: Greek Big Beans with Brown Rice

Thursday: Shitake Soup

Friday: Kidney Bean and Cauliflower Coconut Curry

Saturday: Pizza [made my first soaked what thin pizza last week! Very good, even though I sorta ruined it, lol ]

Sunday: Lentil Pockets with Yogurt Tahini.

I'm having trouble getting Eamon to like the tartness of the soaked grains, any suggestions?

Well, off to do the mommy thing!
Mae

Sunday, April 18, 2010

What are you feeding her?!?!?! April


Clean plate after a lunch of chopped greens, olives, tomatoes, Greek lentils, and yogurt tahini sauce. Clean hair, not so much :]


On behalf of Lily's growth spurt today...whew...I believe it is time for another installment of "What are you feeding her!?!?!?!"
[If you want to see last month's post, you can go here ;]

Now, THIS is unusual, but I noticed today, Lily was being a little adventurous in her eating habits. She is going through a growth spurt for sure.
Here is what she had today from 3-6:30
3:00 About a quarter cup each of brown rice and beans. The beans were butter beans and kidney beans [both have skins that are really easy to peal off] with diced tomatoes, onions, garlic, and a little green pepper.
4:00 I left a portion of my Greek Yogurt [goat milk hurts meh tummy less] without honey so Lily could try some. Before I knew it, both of her hands, her face, and my knee were covered in yogurt, and my yogurt serving was drastically reduced. [No babies were harmed by honey in the making of this update]
4:30 Nap time in the pompason. We napped/nursed till 5. Yup, she nursed the whole time.
5:30 Golden raisins with the skins removed. I hate feeding them to her bc they are SO tedious.
6:30 More beans from lunch. What can I say, she is my child.

And then we nursed before bedtime.
My. Goodness. We are raising a foodie for sure.

Here are some new things Lily is in love with:
Brown rice:
Soaked for 24 hours, cooked, and frozen. This makes things a lot easier when it comes down to meal time. I don't have to go and start cooking it AN HOUR before I want it. I just pop it in the sauce pan with some water, and voila! Brown rice for baby in about 5 minutes. I'm trying this brown rice cracker recipe tomorrow to see if she likes it :]
Guacamole: Sorta... Lily loves avocados, this, we all know. So I started spicing 'em up a little bit for her. Here's how she likes her guac:
1 avocado [yup, the whole thing] halved, pitted, skinned and diced
1/2 diced Roma tomato
1/2 a lime's worth of juice.
1 pinch of sea salt
dash of pepper
Mix well and serve immediately. [and be prepared to clean...]
Greek Yogurt:
Plain* yogurt from goat's milk is ideal. The proteins in goat's milk are much smaller than those in cow's milk making them MUCH easier to digest. This is good to remember for those of you who are lactose intolerant, too!
*A good rule of thumb for you and you're baby to follow: Don't buy flavored products. They often contain an excessive amount of sugar and preservatives. Instead, buy plain and add your own toppings. It tastes better, and sometimes even costs less!

On top of that we keep her supplements simple, and regular:
1 capsule of Tuna Oil
1 capsule of Innate Choice Probiotic
Soon we will add a calcium supplement for her growing teeth!

She eats 2-3 egg yolks a day [1-2 in the morning, and 1 before bed] and pretty much whatever we eat at lunch. She loves food. I love her.
And on the boob front, she is still nursing 4-5 times a day, BUT has been sleeping through the night! I don't even know what to do with myself yet! It may not last, and that's fine. I honestly wake up and HOPE she's waking up because I feel like my boobs are gonna explode. But she doesn't... I've been having to pump in the mornings bc it gets pretty uncomfortable, but I know she's getting sleep, and it's such a relief!

So, there you have it! Email me with any questions [or suggestions!] that you have :]

Mae


***Always ask your family doctor before introducing new foods to your baby's diet.