Category Archives: Motherhood

Banana-berry Muffins

Posted on by

What do you do with the entire pint of berries that your picky toddler won’t eat? Make muffins!

img_5971

The Simple Healthy Life : Banana-berry Muffins

I get really hopeful at the grocery store when I see that beautiful, shiny pint of blueberries on sale. I think, “she’ll try these because they’re blue…and round…and look like tiny balls.” Then, she crushes my dreams when we get home and she snarls her nose. Yep, it happens time after time. You feel me mama, I know you do. Instead of letting her completely win this battle, I decided to try to turn it into something that she would actually eat. So, I threw them in with some sure fire ingredients – sugar and flour, of course – and it was a win! No longer will she waste my precious $3 pint of blueberries…or blackberries. Yes, you can use this with any berry – so far, I’ve tried this same recipe with blueberries and blackberries, but I’m waiting for her to snarl her nose at raspberries so I can give them a try. *adding raspberries to grocery list…*

If you don’t have a mini muffin pan, I highly suggest you purchase one. The muffins are the perfect size for those little toddler hands. Plus, you won’t feel bad when you eat 3 of them.

Banana-berry Muffins

3 ripe bananas
3⁄4 cup sugar
1 egg
1⁄3 cup melted coconut oil or butter
1 cup berries (any kind)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1 1⁄2 cups flour (I use 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 white)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mash bananas in a large mixing bowl. Add sugar, egg, butter, and berries. Combine dry ingredients and gently stir into banana mixture. Pour into well-greased muffin tins or use muffin cups.
Bake for 20 minutes.

4 Ways to Survive Grocery Shopping with a Toddler

Posted on by

Grocery shopping is my favorite pastime. When I get to go on a solo grocery trip you’d think I was going on a wild girls weekend – I get excited. Those trips are few and far between. Typically, you’ll find me in the bakery begging the girl behind the counter for another free cookie for my whining, but adorable, toddler that keeps saying “mo mo” because she wants MORE and she wants in NOW. More about that later. On these trips, I’ve learned a few lessons in my 17 months as a grocery shopping mother and I think these lessons need to be shared.

grocery

1) Park Smart! It all starts in the parking lot. Forget the entrance, park close to the shopping carts. You can grab a cart and put your tiny human in the cart lessening your load immediately – everyone knows the diaper bag is already causing you early on-set osteoarthritis in your shoulders anyway. If you’re baby is still in a carrier, you can just sit the carrier in the cart. I remember the days of carrying that carrier until my arm was turning purple, so parking next to the carts was necessary. When you’re done, drive the cart right to your car and unload your groceries, load your child up and return the cart without having to abandon it.

2) Stop at the Bakery. Most grocery stores offer treats for kids and this always starts the trip on a good note. While I don’t advocate for massive amounts of sugar for kids, this one cookie will provide enough sanity for you to make this exception. If you don’t agree, you’re next best stop would be produce for a banana. Pack some extra snacks for when the cookie is gone though. I’ve recently been informed that Dum Dum suckers work great – leave the wrapper on and that will give you an extra 2 minutes of peace!

3) Don’t Shop on a Sunday. Monday and Tuesday’s are much less crowded than Saturday or Sunday meaning that you can zip through the store faster than having to dodge others to get to the best looking bunch of bananas. Oh, and less people to stop and talk to about “is this your only one” or “I can remember when mine was that little.”

4) Go prepared. This is my tip for all grocery shopping, with or without a child. Always have a list and try to stick to it. The average grocery store has over 42, 000 items, so having a list will help you get through quicker and more efficiently. If you need help preparing a list, shoot me an email and I’ll be glad to help you plan!

I hope this gives you some ideas on how to make your grocery shopping easier., mama. Now, shop on and don’t steel your kid’s bakery cookie!

Baby Eats: Avocado + Spinach + Oats

Posted on by

Just throwing it out there before we even get started that this is one of the stinkiest blends that I’ve made! Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, I can tell you that my little one loves this blend despite it’s rank smell. The good fat of the avocado combined with the fiber rich oats and nutrient dense spinach make this puree a near perfect meal for your little one. It is packed with fiber, good fat, calcium, iron, Vitamins A and B, and protein – quite the baby food win if you ask me.8f23ee1c-4b6d-4a87-91f1-7fa4b532b56a

Avocado + Spinach + Oats

1 medium to large avocado
1 cup chopped spinach
1 cup oats
2 cups water

Cook oats and water in saucepan over medium high heat for 10 minutes. Place oats, spinach, and avocado in blender and puree until desired consistency is reached.

This will store in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 days. I typically pour mine into ice cube trays, freeze, and store cubes in freezer bags.

 

Basic Baby Food Puree

Posted on by

Making homemade baby food may sound like a daunting task and just one more to add to your list as a mom. I’m certainly not here to do any mom-shaming if you just don’t have time to do it, but I do want to tell you how easy it is to make if you’ve been thinking about trying!

Babies triple their birth weight in the first year and it seems like they are constantly eating whether it be milk/formula or baby food or a combo of both. I remember when my little one was closing in on 4 months, I was so excited to start giving her cereal. I thought, “you’ve got to be tired of milk kiddo!” We started with a basic organic rice cereal and moved on to avocados, then sweet potatoes, beets and the rest is history – she now has the pallet of a 40-year-old hippy!

Creating homemade baby food is a faster, healthier, less expensive alternative to jarred or pouched baby food. While it may seem convenient to just buy the jars or pouches from the store, I can make weeks worth of wholesome baby food in less than an hour. With one sweet potato, I can typically make 24 ounces which equates to roughly 12 meals for my girl.

Sweet potatoes are one of the most popular first foods for babies and often are the first food they try after rice cereal. Today, I’m going to share with you a basic puree for sweet potatoes. As a side note, I accidentally picked up white sweet potatoes at Earth Fare, so that’s why they aren’t a beautiful orange.

Tools Needed:
-blender, immersion blender, or food processor
-steamer, steam basket, or medium sauce pot
-vegetable peeler
-vegetable wash and brush
-cutting board

Step 1: Prepare Sweet Potato
step1

Spray sweet potato with veggie wash or simply wash thoroughly. Peel potato.

Step 2: Slice Sweet Potato
Step2

Slice sweet potato into 1/2 – 1 inch slices.

Step 3: Steam Sweet Potato
Step3

Using a steamer* or steam basket, steam sweet potato until tender. If you do not have a steamer, simply use a sauce pot to boil the sweet potato until tender.

Step 4: Puree Sweet Potato
Using a blender or food processor, add sweet potato and 1/2 cup water and blend. Add water to find desired consistency.

Step 5: Freeze Puree
Step4

Pour the puree into ice cube trays and freeze for 1 hour or until hardened.

Step 6: Store Puree
Step5

Once frozen, pop the cubes out and store in a freezer bag. Take cubes out as needed, thaw, heat (if desired), and feed to your little one.

I hope you find this to be simple – if you have any questions please feel free to ask!

*I use the Baby Bullet Steamer.