Toddler is almost not the right word anymore once 2.5 approaches. They are pretty quick on their feet – not at all the wobbly image you think of. New skills like jumping and stomping and skipping..and Mox can’t hear any kind of music without dancing. She’s picked up a lot from her brothers, too; the most noticeable is her vocabulary. Still, even though they aren’t quite toddlers anymore, they still aren’t preschoolers. When there is a food intolerance in the mix, it’s not very easy for this pseudo-baby to understand what they can’t have and why. If the brothers get a cracker or some other gluten-filled snack, she has no idea why she can’t have it. It’s probably because we favor them and will be shipping her off to live at the zoo at anytime. The world collapses.

We are fortunate that she loves beans and rice and veggies and things – the other night, she informed us that dahl was her “most favoritest beans ever!” – but those aren’t really convenient for the busy lifestyle of a pre-toddle-schooler. She tries. But the lentils drop onto the rug, the yogurt gets wiped onto the recliner, and the frozen blueberries get…everywhere.

Udi’s contacted me not long ago with a new product that we were super excited about to make grab-and-go foods feasible for my gluten free girl. Tortillas. In a household where I frequently can think of nothing past burritos, enchiladas, tacos, tostadas, and quesadillas…this is a lifesaver. We started with quesadillas, and she was in love.

The tortillas come in two sizes – small, taco sized, and mediumish-largeish for burritos and what not.

The texture was surprisingly good. Most gluten free tortillas thus far have basically been like a big thin slab of rubber. Not appetizing, and she couldn’t be fooled. These actually tasted and felt like tortillas (score!). The only trouble I had with them was crumbling as burritos, and drying a bit without enough sauce as enchiladas. I think if I heated the tortillas up better before rolling the burritos they would have been better.

The small ones were perfect for us, though, and now I’m brainstorming all of the tortilla related snacks we can manage:

-Quesadilla triangles

-Peanut butter/honey roll-ups

-Cream cheese and (well, anything!) roll-ups

-Tostadas/chips (especially to dip into her precious guacamole!)

I hope our local store starts carrying these tortillas soon! The added snacking options will make my days much easier, especially as she approaches the growth spurts that take her out of this middle phase and straight into undeniable preschooler.

Disclaimer: Udi’s provided us with products for review, but Moxi’s raving approval was all her own. 

What snacks fuel your busy kiddos?

Remember that Oregano Oil is NOT safe for pregnancy; always check your essential oil and remedies for pregnancy safety!

It’s no secret that garlic is amazing for your immune system. Crushed is best, with all of that stinky garlic juice carrying antibiotic and antiviral goodness. Not only that, but garlic is fabulous for yeast infections and candida overgrowth. It’s also no secret, however, that pregnant women aren’t exactly known for their tolerance for strong flavors. And really, you don’t have to be pregnant to be choosy about how much raw garlic you can handle at once.  ”Eat plenty of garlic” is all well and good until you just cannot bring yourself to crush another clove over your soup.

You can buy garlic pills with dehydrated garlic, or just swallow the cloves whole (I mean, come on, they aren’t any bigger than some of those prenatals I’ve seen!). I love the idea of getting it crushed and raw, though, so when Hubs got sick this past week and wasn’t eating and we had no time to order garlic pills, I dug up the empty capsules I had sitting in my cabinet and gave it a whirl.

Three pills held roughly 1.5 cloves, and I had him taking it every 2 hours. I started taking it once or twice a day, too, to stave it all off. Can you imagine *eating* that much garlic? Yeesh.

**Side note: G  Marlin is safe for pregnancy, but watch how much you are ingesting, just to be safe. 

If you are NOT pregnant, a good addition to the pills for us was Oregano Oil. Again, this is only for if you are not pregnant, as Oregano Oil is an emmenagogue and not safe for pregnancy. Outside of that, it is another strong antiviral and excellent to kick a cold. I put one or two drops in each pill since he was taking more than one at a time.

Encapsulating was pretty simple, though a bit time consuming since it was raw. I could do a day or two of pills (and that was a lot, given what he was taking and that there were two of us) in about an hour. And you don’t really want to do too many at once, because you still want them kind of fresh..otherwise, you could just take it aged/dehydrated. Fresh = good! They’ll get a bit soggy, and that’s okay.

It did take some work, but if you are needing a big intake of garlic and garlic buttered toast won’t cut it (broil toast, mix raw garlic into a bit of butter while it’s broiling, pull the bread out and shmear it. Mmmm), it might help to ensure you get what you need if you make up some of these. The capsules came in bags of 250 for just a few bucks at my local health food store, and I’m resolving to always keep some on hand for those times when I just don’t want to taste what I’m taking.

What are your cold/flu season tips?

I have never claimed to love meal planning. Cooking through The Vegetarian Mother’s Cookbook forced me to meal plan and stick with it, and I think that really burned me out for awhile — which is a shame, because it is still one of my favorite cookbooks. I just balk at obligations. It’s a crummy flaw, I know.

This week, I did manage to set up a meal plan over at Plan to Eat. I LOVE the site. Click and drag is my speed if I have to make a plan. I’ve had to do some rearranging (we needed Feel Better soup earlier..I hadn’t planned on anyone actually needing to feel better. Sheesh.), but having options narrowed down to what I grocery shopped for rather than the whole wide internet to choose from…well, it helps knock down my innate ability to justify eating out. (Seriously. I am GOOD at that).

If I'm planning my own meals, this is the tool I use.

But really, snacking options are where it’s at. Pregnancy brings constant hunger and grazing. Postpartum means you have no time or energy to make meals whenever you are hungry (and you need as much or more calories than in pregnancy). And toddlerhood means chasing kids constantly…I can’t even imagine when the kids get older and Taxi Mom opens for business.

Translation: we need to have good food options to grab on the go. I’ve got some ideas in mind, and I’ve been implementing some here and there with varying success.

Snacks and Whole Foods to Have on Hand

Guacamole. This is my fav so far. Goes on sammies, in wraps, with crackers or veggies or chips..and very nutrient dense and filling.

Bean dips. Hummus, etc. Same basic benefits of guacamole, but different flavors. I do keep trying to make a batch of hummus, and things have gotten in the way (read: I have burned two pots of chickpeas. Grrr. Really need to get my pressure cooker fixed).

Cream cheese dips. I’m playing with this. We made one that was just blended cream cheese with pineapple and coconut. It was SO good, but then got bitter after a day. I need stuff to stay in the fridge. It seems like there are others out there, maybe herbed cream cheese? But I’m not sure.

Eggs. From my head down to my leeeggs…This doesn’t help Preggie Vegans much, but if eggs are an option at all for you, make them an all the time option. Hardboiled, they can stay in the fridge for awhile. Deviled eggs are amazing, and I want to mix them up into a dip (that we’ll probably eat with a spoon..or bell pepper slices! Sounds yummy).

Nut butters. For fruit, spoons, veggies…

Granola bars. Homemade, they are pretty healthy and hit that candy bar spot for me. I like to melt 1/4 c coconut oil or butter with 1/3 c sweetener (honey) and 1/2 c nut butter. Then mix with 2 c oats, 1/2 c nuts or dried fruit, and a smattering of cinnamon, vanilla, coconut, choc chips, etc. as desired. Mash into a pan and freeze, then cut into squares and keep in the freezer til you need them. SO good.

Plus fruit, veggies, and the fixings for smoothies.

I’m starting with these guys..my goal is to work at least 2 of these in as available all the time and rotate them around.

Talk to me, preggies and veggies (and everyone in between)!

What do you keep on hand to keep you eating and eating well? What is your vice snack? What is your go-to healthy snack?

Look closely...that's me holding a conked out toddler as I ride the exercise bike. Who's "mom enough" now?!

Practical Exercise Equipment

Over the past months, I have scoured Craigslist for affordable workout equipment that I can actually use.  I started with an exercise bike that I found for under $100.  It lives in the living room, and I have probably used it with her on my lap (or nursing) as often as I have with her asleep or running amuck with the boys.

My next target is a treadmill, and not because it’s easy to squeeze a run into my day.  It’s not.  But with my first 5K impending and the weather completely prohibitive to putting the littlers into a stroller and having the oldest bike next to me at the park, running was simply not going to happen without an indoor option.  I found one for a decent price, under $100 as well, but when I got it home it didn’t work past 5 minutes of running. Sigh. So, I’m still on the hunt. For now, I am fortunate enough to go to my mom’s to use her treadmill, or I bundle up and run outside whenever I can get 30 minutes of kidcare.

Reasonable Workout Schedule

This has always been my Achille’s Heel. (Or Homer Simpson’s Potbelly, as it were.) I get all kinds of pumped about getting in shape, tell myself I will get up at 6 AM every morning and do the same, crazy workout…and then completely pout and quit when it doesn’t work out.

Duh! An impractical schedule is NOT going to be followed through.

I’m proud, and ridiculously surprised, to report that I am approaching a full month of working out 6 days/week. My schedule:

M, W, F – exercise bike or yoga. If I can’t get a full 30 min in, I break it up into 10 minute segments whenever I can sneak them in. I’m on my second round of yoga this morning, and it feels wonderful.

T, Th, S – Couch 2 5K.  This is 30 minutes long and easing me into the running world. With the treadmill here, I would run in the morning. As it is, I fluctuate between afternoons and evenings, whenever I get the chance.  I set it like this on purpose, because I know I have kid care on Saturdays when Jacob is home, and if it is going to be a weekly struggle, at least it is only 2 days of the week.

It's in a good spot, right in the living room where I can police the world..now, to get a working one there!

Attainable Goals

I will be honest.  I have had to let go of the weight loss aspirations I had.  I am not comfortable dropping (good) fats or (good) carbs, and meanwhile I am building muscles I’ve never built before. So, the scale isn’t changing as quickly as I’d like. But, I am limiting sugar and working to drop it, limiting processed foods, drinking lots of water and watching portions (serious grazer here, and not in a good way).

My goal? To not collapse at the Color Me Rad 5K, when I get to meet some of my friends who live in the computer and get pounded with neon colored cornstarch for 3 miles. It’s not my goal to hit a certain time at the race, even. We will all go the same pace, so we’ll stop and go for each other. I want to be able to run for 30 minutes before the 5K (just a couple short months away!) and be rewarded with a fun day with good friends. After that, I’ll find a new set of goals.

It’s not easy taking care of yourself as mommy, but man is it worth it. How are you doing with self-care this year?

Well, I’m not having any of that. We are pulling out all the stops. I’m determined to kick this with every natural congestion remedy I’ve got. Our points of attack?

Food – Bolstering the Immune System with Nutrition

This is the boys’ least favorite point of attack. We’ve got brothy soup. We’ve got tea. We’ve got lots and lots of water. We’ve got smoothies. We’ve got juice and Emergen-C. Even their dinnertime bean burrito was loaded with Nutritional Yeast to jack up their B-Vitamin intake. We’re taking Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food  to heart, and everything we ate today had purpose. Even the soup had a full head of garlic and loads of thyme in it for antiseptic properties. It did veer off the veggie path using some leftover test-turkey (Hubs is smoking one for the visiting fam and wanted to try it out first) and homemade broth, but a nice veggie broth and loads of vegetables and white beans would work, too. I have no reason behind the beans. They just feel better to me in that kind of soup.

We aren’t just eating and drinking the food, either. We’ve also put garlic oil in ears and clove oil in inhalations. Elderberry syrup spoons now and then, and lemon honey spoons, too. Yep. Going all out. But there’s more…

Senses – Essential Oils for Wellness

All day long, we have had a pot simmering on the stove with a quartered orange, a quartered lemon, cloves, cinnamon, and lavender and eucalyptus essential oils. At the end of the day, we had a nice long bath with epsom salts, lavender, and eucalyptus. If I had some coconut oil, I would have massaged it onto their skin. Fuzzy asked me why we were doing it, ‘cuz he was pretty sure the eucalyptus smelled terrible. I told him that God made plants and food that could help us get better – that yucky smell was going right up into his nose and battling germs. That was enough. He loved the bath.

Rest – Quiet Activities to Calm Their Bodies

Granted, this doesn’t always work. They are 6 and 4 and almost 2 now, and it can be hard to keep them down. But we’ve allowed a bit more Netflix time, and encouraged a lot of coloring and reading time to keep them still. And I haven’t begrudged them short walks outside. Sometimes the fresh air is what it takes.

Time will tell if we can kick this in just the few days we have. But at least I can say I tried!

The third trimester of pregnancy is intense and magical all at once. Your baby has grown to fill you up, and just when you think they can’t grow any more, they do. A big stretch reaches from ribs to pelvis. Their hiccups shake you all over. Sometimes you focus outward, washing baby clothes, accomplishing tasks that, while seemingly insignificant at any other time, feel like top priority necessities. Baby will be here soon, and all must be ready.

Food is a big part of this phase. You can only eat certain portion sizes because of the weight of baby pressing on your tummy, but you are often hungry as the baby is growing so much and you work to keep up. On top of that, you know that cooking will be a challenge after the birth, so meals for the freezer are on your mind.

And then the birth. All of the crazy has led up to this moment – this one, intense, eternity in a breath moment. Everything changes.

Your body changes. Your schedule changes. Your sleep changes. Your priorities, your energy, your life changes.

The birthing year is not complete with birth, either. The “fourth trimester” is wrought with these changes, and even after the year ends, I find it takes through infancy to really find a rhythm again.

In all of this, good nutrition makes a profound difference on your body, yes, but also your overall wellbeing. Your emotions and energy and sanity hinge on getting the fuel to replenish after so much of a rollercoaster. If you are breastfeeding, your body is actually using up more nutrients now than it was during pregnancy. Knowing this, I still drop off the deep end nutritionally and skip meals, opt for easy, empty calories, or run out for fast food while the baby (hopefully) sleeps in the car.

Freezer meals and the goodness of friends’ hearts are a huge help in these phases. I can’t count how many pizzas we put in the freezer, or lasagna, or veggie pot pie, or soups. Simple nutrition is the name of the game…and also babywearing. There is nothing squishier or sweeter than a new baby snuggled up in a wrap or sling, and there is pretty much no other way to make a decent meal when kids are running around and baby has decided it’s time to nurse and it’s 5 and you are starving and….yeah, get a good sling.

My birthing year is long past, and Little Bean is now approaching two years old, singing Yo Gabba Gabba and Dr. Horrible mashups and bossing the boys around. Things have been crazy and hectic and meals are not always perfect, but walking through this cookbook will always stick with me. Someone asked me today how I “knew all this stuff” as I rattled on about the benefits of quinoa-millet-amaranth porridge. I almost said “Google,” cos that is always the answer. But not this time. I owe it to Cathe Olson and her lovely cookbook, which taught me to love this veggie life, even if I don’t always love making it happen. On to the next phase…always the next phase…

I only wanted one root beer, so I figured I would grab it at the front in those little coolers. Of course, none could be found, and there is only so much roaming up and down the front of the store that I can take when I’m there by myself. Had the kids been with me, though, I probably would have jumped on the chance to leave Hubby with the squirmy cart full of kids and enjoyed some “me” time. Hey, you take what you can get.

Sprite floats sound pretty disgusting, so orange soda it was.

And then I remembered them.

Those amazing orange and vanilla dreamsicles that the ice cream truck carries but that you never seem to find in the store. Those.

So, while I had intended to wait and make these with Hubby, you have to understand that the orange and cream was calling out to me. And to top it off, he wasn’t with us because he was playing a basketball game. A basketball game that I wanted to watch. A basketball game that I wanted to watch but the kids pushed my “If you run, we leave” rule and we left before the starting buzzer sounded.

And then the 3 y/o fell asleep on the five minute drive back, which meant late bedtimes for all. Yippee!

Yeah, we didn’t wait.

And then the baby stole this popsicle, just like all the others.

And I ate most of the rest of the pint of vanilla, and all was right with the world.

In the few bites I was able to snag, I was pretty super impressed. It doesn’t look like much ice cream at all, but the way it works around, it really is a soda shell with ice cream inside. The orange soda held its flavor really well. Later, we tried root beer like the recipe has it, but it wasn’t as strong. Bonus – since you don’t blend it, it’s not too creamy to come out of the Zoku!

Also…be patient and let the soda actually get flat. It expands quite a bit and makes a semi frozen mess all over the top of the Zoku, which said 3 y/o then wants to lick. I was pretty worried about his tongue sticking there for a sec.

Anyway, this is another winner popsicle from Perfect Pops. Want a copy? Leave a comment here, here, or here, and get an entry for each one. Tweet or facebooked it? Leave a link in another comment. It’s so QUIET on here, that your odds are looking pretty snazzy! I’m extending this to Friday, June 8th, so come talk to me

EDITED UPDATE: Congrats to Karen! She commented all around and won the Perfect Pops cookbook! I hope you and your daughter make lots of yummy treats with it. Let us know what your favorite winds up being!

What is your favorite way to eat ice cream?

Beautiful Cousin...Giving them a try

I tried. I really did. My cousin and her hubs are moving out here – the first time we’ve lived in the same state since we were itty bitty – and they stopped by on their way through. I knew I had another popsicle post to do, and I knew they had to be special. Ice cream it was.

To really go over the top, though, I took a peek into the “Grown Up Pops” section. Now, being pregnant for the majority of your time after turning 21 is a pretty good way to ensure that grown up drinks don’t ever slide your way. But the chocolate with guiness seemed appropriate, since dark hops are rumored to be good for milk supply.** And with 3/4 cup to 6 or 8 popsicles, I’m not exactly worried about the alcohol content.

I’ve smelled beer enough to be cautious, though, so we also picked up IBC and vanilla to give the rootbeer float pops a try.

**Rumors aren’t always awesome. Don’t take my word for it. Make your own educated decision with the input of your care provider. 

Well, of course that night had to be the night the 5 y/o didn’t go to sleep until a ridiculous hour. But we made it anyway. Set all the ingredients out for both of the pops, blended up the flat Guiness (GROSS. Do. Not. Sip. this.)…and realized hops = gluten, gluten = crabby, snotty baby = I still can’t have a flippin’ “grown up” treat!

I rationalized that it was just a tiny bit, and she had gummed some bread that a brother had dropped on the ground, so it couldn’t add much more for me to just taste the things. So, while the pops were freezing in the zoku, I gave the blend a try. But before I get to that, you should know…the pops didn’t freeze. Not enough to hang onto the stick, anyway.

Do not try this at home

Le sigh.

Reading the Zoku manual again, it looks like it isn’t compatible with something that is too creamy, and this was definitely creamy. It would be like a fudgesicle, judging by what we dug out.

The flavor verdict was split. Cuz and I went “meh,” probably because we were the ones fighting with the hops and the not-freezingness. The guys, however, thought it was a great malt, and I quote – “It tastes like chocolate ice cream, but then it goes away and tastes like Guiness.” Apparently that’s a compliment, so yay!

I wound up letting the thing defrost, malt and sticks and all, and grabbed the root beer and vanilla and pouted. No wait, we watched New Girl. Way cooler.

With all of that said…I can totally see these being a quirky, fun addition to a BBQ. Just…not in a Zoku. And I really want to try the root beer float pops, knowing that they won’t be as creamy. I think those could pair well as a kid-option.

But really, enlighten me – Are Grown-Up Popsicles appealing to you at all? And not just because you are preggo and miss a drink at the end of the night? The recipes include Bourbon Peach, Sangria, Prosecco Rose Petal, and Pina Colada.

Remember that comments here or on the original popsicle post enter you to win Perfect Pops, graciously given to me by UncommonGoods, just in time for summer or a belated gift for mom - check them out here.

Now, I will say that I played it especially lazy and didn’t monitor temperatures. I don’t typically use measurements, so why start with particulars now? Bacteria could be a good reason, so maybe be a little more particular than me. Yogurt-prep means scalding the milk to ward off bacteria, but it’s a balance because the very essence of yogurt is the fact that it provides good bacteria. So, the idea is to make a semi blank slate, then add in a starter – i.e. already-made yogurt.

I feel like a yogurt newbie, so I will just direct you now to others who know more about yogurt-making than I do.

But I will say that it is crazy easy. The abbreviated version looks like this:

Scald.

Mix in starter.

Leave it alone.

Granted, the “leaving alone” means not touching, but you do have to make sure it stays warm-ish (150F? Or so) so it can culture.

And then it’s done.

Well, if you like yogurt. And depending on what kind of milk you start with (adding powdered milk can help), it’s probably pretty thin. A lot like Kefir. Yogurt makers cheat and add pectin. Nice.

So, I’m not a huge yogurt fan. Straining it not only thickens it, but it takes away some of that sour punch, which is evidently thanks to whey, which is what strains off. Another bonus if you are lactose intolerant! Woohoo!

To strain my yogurt, I pour it into a thin handkerchief or kitchen towel and tie the towel around a spatula or something, then lay it on a tall stock pot. The towel satchel hangs in the pot but high enough to be above what drips out.

After a day or so of straining, it’s pretty thick. Put it in the fridge overnight, and ours is actually spreadable. It’s amaaazing sweetened with honey and spread on toast or with fruit. Oh man. So good. And easy! We have been getting about 2-3 cups out of 1/2 gallon of milk. So, depending on the milk, it isn’t a shocking savings..but it helps.

Like Cheesecake for Breakfast

The uber frugal method would be to just buy big things of plain, normal yogurt and strain them. Then, you get the more expensive “Greek” yogurt, but at the cheap plain stuff price. I imagine that the thickened store bought stuff won’t drain as well, but it’ll still be an improvement.

How do you like your yogurt?

Iron booster, baby! What's in YOUR burrito?

Historically, the second trimester for me means early summer. I’m feeling good, the weather isn’t too miserable yet, the belly is rounding out from early pregnancy bloat, and by the middle to end of it people are already asking if I’m due any day. The upside to that is a great big pregnant belly can totally rock a bikini, and if nothing else, no one will dare say anything to you if you try.

It also means food. Glorious food. I’ve been known to wrap just about anything in a tortilla in the bottomless-pit that is the second trimester. Regular burritos piled high with veggies and cheese and spicy salsa, possibly with some ice cream or a mild smoothie to chase the inevitable heartburn. Breakfast burritos at any time of day. Salad wraps when it’s too hot for cooked food.

And the main courses can vary with the cravings that come and go with the wind. One night it might be stir fry, the next could be waffles. Catch me on a particularly ambitious day, and it might be both.

Toward the end of the second trimester, iron becomes a focus as blood volume increases. Then we go into full on lentils and grape juice mode, with a side of chlorophyll for good measure. And don’t forget the snacks! Garbanzo crunchies are a good go-to, and anything slathered in a good nut butter will make a happy preggie.

There is nothing quite like the second trimester of pregnancy. It’s the most enjoyable part, with the flutters of baby, (hopefully) soothing stomach, and the ability to walk properly that you may or may not retain in the next trimester. Eat up, mamas. This is when you really do glow (and not because you are clammy from puking like last month or sweating from the extra body heat like you will be in a couple months).