Hola! from the frozen tundra

I realize that writing about the weather is blawg suicide.  Got it.  But please indulge me for one tiny moment.  It is -15 degrees outside right now.  Weather.com tells me is -39 with the wind chill.  Schools are closed due to cold, again.  We're all supposed to stay inside.  OK, no big thang; I am totally fine with a day of hibernation.  Pj's, french toast, playing with the Beansie, laundry, Netflix.  Thankful for gas fireplaces.  Done.  

Here is the thing though - this is like the 5th hibernation day of the year for us.  And I ain't no bear.  We need to GIT OUT DA HOUSE.  And go somewhere other than Costco.  We did make it to the *winter* farmer's market this weekend and the frosty wind just about blew the baby out of her car seat.  So there's that.

And to be honest, being holed up in the house due to this weather does not exactly bring out the best in me.  I should be Pinteresting or crafting or brushing my teeth or something, but if given the excuse to be lazy I take it pretty seriously.  I did Google "montessori activities for 1 year olds" to shake things up a bit.  Their first recommendation?  An outdoor environment.  Awesome.  I think she's still thawing out from the farmer's market so imma say no.

But I did stumble upon something awesome during my extensive indoor internet research time, and maybe you/whole world already knows about this so forgive me if I am way behind the curve.  Very possible.  But I just downloaded Duolingo, AND -->  mind blown.  The premise is that you can learn a new language as easily as you can play a game on your phone (this article on Slate goes into some really interesting details about how they keep it free).  And so far I am HOOKED.  I can't wait to impress my Spanish-speaking esposo when I tell him that I'm going to como this manzana.  He'll be so proud.  

Apparently another cardinal sin of bloggery is to not post any pictures.  I was thisclose, but I'll humor you with some of our spoon-wielding, iPhone-eating, glass-banging indoor adventures.  Crisis averted. 

Baby Led Weaning: Our Experience

I can't remember where I first learned about "baby led weaning" but as soon as I did I wanted to try it.  Behind on your hippie crunchy mom blogs?  I'll fill you in.

From their website:  
Baby Led Weaning, quite simply, means letting your child feed themselves from the very start...  You just hand them the food in a suitably-sized piece and if they like it they eat it and if they don't they won't.  That's the essence of Baby Led Weaning.  No purees, no ice cube trays, no food processor, no potato masher, no baby rice, no weird fruit and veg combos... just you and your child, eating food that you enjoy with you and your family.

Sounded pretty good.  Here's how we started:

We held off on feeding our little one any solids until about 7 months.  A lot of parents start rice cereal at around 6 months, but we chose to skip it (got the pediatrician's OK) since she was getting all the nutrition she needed from breastmilk and was growing just fine.  We also wanted to wait until she had the pincer grasp down, which comes at closer to 8 months.  

In the beginning, we did spoon-feed a couple of soft foods (avocado, sweet potato, applesauce), but we never bought or made any "baby food."  Part of me didn't want to feed her anything processed and part of me was just lazy and didn't want to spend time pureeing stuff.  So this seemed like a happy medium - we just smushed stuff up and made sure that if it had chunks in it, that they were small and she would be able to gum them up.  Of note:  Many parents (including myself at first) mistakenly think that their baby needs teeth to eat solid food - but if you think about it, babies don't get a full mouth of teeth until almost 3.  They use their back gums to chew until those molars come in, and they get pretty good at it.  

Once she had the pincer grasp down, things got much easier.  We tried a few basic things like peas, Cheerios, and, her favorites, these banana pancakes.  Very quickly she moved on to eating what we were eating (spinach lasagna, turkey chili, curried chickpeas), cut down into very very very tiny pieces so she wouldn't choke.  Once she could feed herself, she learned to entertain herself for a solid 30 minutes at the table, which was heeeeeavenly.  We would toss a couple pieces of one kind of food on her tray, she would eat/pick at it for a couple minutes, then when she finished we would toss her the next food.  Kind of like feeding bread to a duck.  

Happy duck

And that's basically it.  Now she eats pretty much anything we put in front of her and hasn't had any problems with textures or spices (she loves her curries).  Granted, this is our first rodeo with baby-feeding, so we are far from experts.  And we don't have any family history of allergies or anything like that, so we could be a little more laid-back in our approach.  It also requires you to do a leeetle more cooking to make sure you are serving everyone healthy, balanced meals, which I realize is not everyone's absolute favorite activity.  But for us, being able to spend the dinner hour actually eating dinner is worth. it.

(Also:  My mom told me this most wonderful trick for getting them to eat yogurt, applesauce, etc. since they don't know how to use a spoon yet -> put it in an ice cream cone.  The thin crispy cake cup ones.  They will nom on that thing for a solid 20 minutes while you do You for a little bit, you know what I'm saying?)

The Chickens are Alright

In these frigid temps a couple people have been inquiring as to how the chickens are doing.  And by a couple people I mean my husband and I.  Seriously, how are they doing and are they alive.  

So I ventured out into the polar vortex to say hi to the ladies.  My husband has taken on the brunt of the chicken duties, bless his heart, which are relatively few but doing anything in -15 degree weather is a Chore and don't I know it.

^The extension cord attaches to the water heater that my husband MacGyver-ed out of a lightbulb and a tin can.  That way their water doesn't freeze into a block of ice, which is apparently unfavorable because they have not yet learned to make ice sculptures with their beaks.  

Snack time.  That's Hermione's game face.

On the menu:  ends of the bread loaf, carrot peels, apple cores, seeds from the inside of a red pepper, the leftover bits at the bottom of the cereal bag

Tough little birds.  One of them (I'm assuming Ginny) even squeaked out a frosty egg a few weeks ago, something they haven't done since they started molting in the fall (which was quite confusing to us as new chicken parents who had not even gotten past chapter 1 in the chicken handbook, what with feathers strewn all over the yard and what not.  I vaaaaguely recall what molting is because I believe it was referenced by Iago the parrot in Aladdin. )

I was going to type up my recipe for the Easiest Crock Pot Meal of All Time, aka pulled chicken tacos, but they call for frozen chicken breasts...  and well, you know.  Too close for comfort.  

Speaking of too close for comfort, as a former ER nurse, I'll let this article from Slate speak for itself - "OK America, You Can Stop Throwing Pots of Boiling Water Into the Air Now."  

Stay warm, chickadees.

Green Smoothies (aka Ode to the Blendtec)

Green smoothies.  That's what we're drinkin these days.

As a pediatric nurse I often have discussions with families about how to make healthy lifestyle choices, such as getting 5 or more fruits or vegetables in their diet per day.  And let's be honest.  It is not so easy to do.  Looking back on what I ate yesterday, I think I can count a clementine, the tomato sauce in my lunch, aaaaaand...?  maybe a couple of pieces of avocado in my sushi roll?  Could be worse, but since both tomatoes and avocados are technically fruits, that means nary a vegetable snuck its way onto the menu.  Wah wahh.  What would the kids say.

Enter the green smoothie.

We make these bad boys on our Blendtec, which is my absolute #1 favorite kitchen appliance of all time.  I had a coworker once who was obseeeessed with her Blendtec and would talk nonstop about all the things she and her five children would make with it -  homemade peanut butter!  Soups ("it actually heats up!")  Ice cream!  Nut flours!  Almond milk!  Literally, she would go on and on and it was fascinating to listen to, like a real live infomercial, filling my head with visions of perfectly blended smoothies that I would make for my perfectly nourished future children.

And now I am that coworker, and I am sorry, but I will not apologize for loving on this blender.  Its ability to pulverize things like an entire apple (or, say, an iPhone) down to teeny tiny imperceptible specks makes it worth every penny.  Don't nobody want to see spinach sprinkles in their beverage, amirite?

This morning the little lady was subjected treated to:

Tropical Green Smoothie

1/2 c orange juice

1/2 c vanilla almond milk (unsweetened)

1 apple

1 banana

1 handful kale 

1/2 c frozen pineapple chunks

heaping spoonful vanilla yogurt

You don't need to add a lot of liquid with this blender since it literally turns things into juice.  And instead of ice cubes I use frozen fruit.  I buy the big bags of frozen strawberries and frozen pineapple at Costco so even if I don't have any fresh fruit on hand, I can whip something up with that.

You can just press the "Smoothie" button, walk away, and the Blendtec will do the rest.

So... green.

What will the tiny judge think.

(It's -2 degrees outside and you're feeding me a smoothie?)

Hooray!  A crowd pleaser.  When I'm not working I try to make one of these for the little lady and myself every morning, so that no matter what else we eat during the day (Cheerios for her, de-frosted Costco cake for me), at least we've already checked 4 fruits/veggies off our list.

Other variations:

PB&J Smoothie

1 1/2 cups vanilla almond/soy milk

1 banana

1 c frozen strawberries

1/4 c oatmeal

heaping spoonful peanut butter

heaping spoonful vanilla yogurt

Not green, but still tasty.  A breakfast in a glass.  Adding oatmeal and peanut butter to the smoothie makes it that much more filling.  

Strawberry Spinach Smoothie

1 1/2 cups vanilla almond/soy milk

1 handful spinach

1 cup frozen strawberries

heaping spoonful vanilla yogurt

You can also add some chocolate sauce to this one and it will be extra delish.  You won't even be able to taste the spinach. The color will be pretty horrific, but you've got to be in it to win it.

Turning 1! A birthday in pictures

So our little lady turned one.  What a wonderful year it has been - the year we became a family!  And truthfully she could not have made the transition any easier for us.  We love seeing her sweet personality coming through more and more each month - calm, inquisitive, a little shy.  Loves to cuddle; loves her books.  Mommy's shadow.  

She has been theee most precious addition to our family and we thank God every single day that we were blessed with the wonderful job of being her parents.

Check out the Pinterest-worthy celebration.

(Forehead bruise compliments of Daddy day care)

We love you, Beansie.  Happy birthday. 

Homemade Sushi

For awhile, homemade sushi was one of those things that we always wanted to try but didn't think was very accessible.  We were a little squeamish about buying the fish and we didn't think we had the equipment (special bamboo mat?  Fancy flat wooden spoon?).  But we decided to just go for it, and our minds were blown at how easy it was to make tasty rolls at home, for a fraction of what you would pay at a sushi restaurant.  

I use this website as my resource for making the rice, and the rest you can just kind of improvise.  That's the great thing about making your own rolls.  You can put literally anything in there, smother it in spicy mayo, douse it in soy sauce, and it will be delish.  And since we use brown rice instead of white, I feel like these are a leetle bit healthier.  (So you can smother it in spicy mayo.)

Here we go.  Get those chopsticks out.  (Or in a pinch, run to your local Chinese restaurant and grab some off the hostess' desk.  Just kidding I would never do that again.)

If you're making this for the first time, you might have to make two trips:  one to a grocery store that carries sashimi-grade fish, and the other to an Asian market.  Or maybe the first grocery store will have everything.  Places like Whole Foods will usually carry everything you need, but you'll end up paying way more for things like ginger and nori sheets (the seaweed wrappers) that Asian markets tend price much more reasonably.  

You'll need short-grain rice and rice vinegar.  I also add a tablespoon of toasted sesame oil because it is delicious. 

This was the first time we had used short-grain brown rice instead of white, and it turned out really well.  You just have to cook it longer (about 30+ mins vs. 10 or so for white).

I started with one cup of rice, which makes about 3-4 rolls once it's cooked.  And there really isn't anything too tricky about cooking the rice.  You just have to keep an eye on in to make sure you don't burn it, like any rice, and then just mix in the vinegar (and sesame oil, in this case) when it's cooled a bit.

Then you bring in the fancy equipment, aka wax paper and a spoon, and spread a layer of rice over the seaweed.  Just make sure you put the shiny side of the wrapper down and leave about 1/2 inch riceless at the top so the roll will stick on itself.  Then spread and smush to cover the wrapper.  

Now for the filling.  You'll want to cut your pieces long and skinny.  This roll is filled with tuna, avocado, carrot, and spicy mayo.  I place my ingredients toward one end so they get wrapped tightly in the roll and use two hands to tuck everything in (except when I am taking a picture of it).

That's lookin real nice. 

To make the rolls easier to cut I throw them in the fridge for about 30 minutes to cool, and this would be a good time to whip up some spicy mayo if you didn't put any in the roll.  This stuff is legit.  It's basically 1/4 c of mayo, 1 tsp of Sriracha (you can adjust as needed based on how spicy you want it), and a clove of minced garlic.  

 Nom nom nom.  Time to cut the roll.

I learned the hard way that your knife needs to be very sharp when you cut the roll.  And if some pieces fall apart, it ain't no thang.

It is worth buying wasabi paste and pickled ginger to go along with your roll, if you like to eat it at sushi restaurants.  You will feel very fancy, and the roll will taste that much more delicious.  Plus it'll keep in your fridge for a long time until your next sushi night.

Cost breakdown

Here's the best part:  You only need a small amount of sushi to make your rolls.  I bought 1/3 lb of fresh, sushi-grade tuna for $6 and it made 4 rolls.  Add $1 more each for the (organic, brown) rice and avocado, and since I already had the condiments in my pantry, the cost for this dinner was less than $10.  Our favorites are variations on spicy tuna rolls and smoked salmon/cream cheese/green onion rolls.  You can also skip the fish altogether and just make veggie, chicken, or shrimp rolls.  I even saw a mom bust out some avocado rolls for her kids during a playdate.  Brilliant.  

Since we've learned to make our own rolls, we rarely go to overpriced sushi restaurants anymore.  (Or is that because we have a 1-year old?  Who are we kidding.)  Now if I could only learn how to make tempura crunchies...