Affordable, Light Eats for the New Year x2!

It's the new year soon! So that means resolutions and all that, correct? How about naaaaah?? Let's stop making resolutions and start living our lives how we know we SHOULD? Ok, that's not going to happen either (heh...heh), but at least we can take control over one thing--our bodies.

Recipe #1 Deets

Zucchini Noodle Stir Fry (low fat, low salt, gluten free, vegan, soy free, free of free, not raw)

4 cups zucchini/squash julienned
1 cup cherry tomatoes (halved)
1 white onion diced
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
fresh thyme to taste
fresh parsley to taste (I used dried because I didn't have fresh...wah)

- Cover a large frying pan with spray oil and add onion until translucent (medium heat - 3-5 min)
- Throw in carrots and celery--fry for another 5 minutes
- Throw in tomatoes and zucchini--mix, cover, and reduce heat to low--simmer for about 10 minutes until zucchini has softened
- Add thyme/parsley and up heat to medium--fry for another 5 min
- Serve hot
- Smash in face

Recipe #2 Deets

Zucchini Quinoa Soup (free of anything that makes you worry about weight and tum tums)

6 cups low sodium, organic vegetable broth
1/2 cup quinoa
1/2 cup white onion (chopped)
1/2 cup carrots (chopped)
1/2 cup celery (chopped)
2 cups zucchini/squash julienned
1 bay leaf

- Placed everything in a large pot on medium/high heat
- Once it boils, reduce to medium/low and cook for 30-40 minutes
- Serve hot
- SMASH IN FACE

GUH! Almost as good as kisses from my baby daughter...if she gave kisses to people and not just inanimate objects...I can dream, right?

Enjoy!

Vegan, Gluten Free Banana Protein Bars!

My step-daughter recently exclaimed, "I want to start eating more healthy! No more rice krispie treats or fruit snacks!" Ok...

The thing is, I have been trying for YEARS to get this child to want to eat more healthy, and all it took was watching Super Size Me in health class. I need to learn to be more tactful and creative when attempting to instill healthy habits on to a teenaged girl. Either way, I'm super glad she has decided, for the most part, to join me with a healthier eating style!

First up: homemade protein bars! Asa, the daughter from another motha', claims she's always tired. I'm thinky thinking it may have a lot to do with lack of a solid, protein-filled breakfast (waffles ain't cuttin' it lady), so why not create something easy peasy, healthy, yummeroo for your mouth buds??

Recipe Deets (makes 6-8 bars)

1 cup gluten free rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
dash of salt
1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond mik (or milk of choice)
1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
3 tbsp agave
1/2 cup mashed banana (about one reg banana)

Choco Drizzle

Handful of non-dairy chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life because they're free of gluten, dairy, and soy)
dab of coconut oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

- Spay a small baking pan (like a bread/loaf pan)
- Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly
- Add to pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean
- Set aside to cool
- Once cool, make chocolate drizzle
- Heat choco chips and coconut oil in a small pan, once melted drizzle on top of them thar bars!
- Cut once cool and store in an air tight container either in the fridge or in a cool spot in your winter wonderland home

Now go use that mouth of yours and eat those ba-nay-nay bars!

Weightloss Extravaganza ~ 1 Month Update

Welly-well, it's been a bit more than a month since I decided to jumpstart my weightloss again. To recap, my initial goal is to lose 5 lbs. This wont make any huge, drastic difference, I will still be a size 2 pants and a size 4 petite dress,  but I will have slimmed and "things" will just fit better inside of my clothes ha...ha.

I've lost 3 lbs (daaaang, right??) and I've started feeling a lot better about my external self. It should be noted: at a little over 5'2, losing 3 lbs is tough especially because I'm already at what's considered a healthy weight with a BMI of 20.7. So I'm not looking to lose weight for any sort of health reason, because, well, I'm already there! This is for pure, slightly vain, bodily comfort and that's it!

My eating habits have become more controlled in regards to snacking in the evening, and I've opted for foods that don't hurt my stomach and bloat me like a little ol hot air balloon. My workout regime is fairly moderate as it's winter and tough to get outside and run, and I don't own a gym membership. I do manage 2-3 days of outside acitivity each week.

*yawn-fest*

With the holidays around the corner, most people start to worry that their waistline will expand with their level of merriment, but I've never had that problem mainly due to my disinterest in baked goods and heavy cream filled concoctions. Once I reach my 5 lb goal, which I hope to accomplish mid-december, I will look ahead to my next goal of 10 lbs. That's a ways away because I'm certainly not going to sacrifice my best bud Goldfish or my other buddy-roo vodka anytime soon! So cheers to little salty face and their grain alcohol counterpart!

sweet work bathrom picy, duuuude

Vegan, Gluten Free Peanut Butter Energy Bites!

These little dudes are super easy to make and contain only 5 ingredients! They're based on an adaptation of another energy bite recipe I made during the summer but cannot recall. Hrm. Anyway, the whole recipe said and done takes about 20-25 minutes, which is perfect because I have a little infant crawling around and she allows approximately 5-10 minute spans of time where she doesn't necessarily need my undivided attention. It's tiring to tell you the truth ha...ha

Recipe Deets

1 cup gluten free rolled oats
1/4 almond flour
1/4 cup vegan choco chips (I use Enjoy Life)
1/4 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
2/3-1 cup peanut butter or nut butter of choice (I used reconstituted peanut butter due to less fat/cals)

Preheat oven to 350 F
- In a big ol bowl toss all ingredients except peanut butter
- Now add the peanut butter and mix thoroughly
- Roll ingredients with your own two hands into the size of golf bowls
- Place on parchment paper covered baking sheet
- bake 5 minutes
- Seal in an air tight container

I suggest heating them up in a toaster oven whenever you feel the need to munch. Though! Cold is fine and dandy too!

Now go fill your mouth with some protein packed energy.

Super Simple, Super Cheap Christmas Garland!

I decided to get a head start on the Christmas season (shhhh, don't tell the Husband lest I want to have the entire house decorated, both Christmas trees up, and presents wrapped and ready all before Thanksgiving...no thanks). Essentially I wished to add a little pizzazz (channeling my inner 80s child here) to our mantel prior to the addition of stockings and our little village homes, which will adorn the shelf portion.

I thunky-thunk and sent little singles between synapses trying to figure out what to do. Should I sew something? Nah, I no good at that. Should I make a tissue garland? No, the fireplace may prove to be a dangerous place for that. Hrrrrrmmm. Ah ha! Tiny felt hats and mittens with ribbons and dangly thinga-muh-gigs!! Doh!

Material Deets
Hot glue gun
Felt (1 green, 1 red, and 1 white)
Cardboard
2 different ribbons of choice
3 dangly things (go in your wreath section of any craft store and you'll find items you can attach and twist on to wreaths...these work perfectly)
5 feet of twine

1. Trace 2 mittens onto the cardboard (I used my daughter's tiny mitten where her tiny hand is kept to keep it warm), but if you don't have a tiny mitten that houses tiny hands, you can just draw one. Cut out said tiny mittens and use that as a guideline to trace/cut out 1 red and 1 green felt mitten. Attach the felt to the cardboard mitten with hot glue.

2. Draw a tiny hat with a pom pom on top. I used the Husband for this part...just because. Do the same as you did with the tiny mittens, 1 green and 1 red.

3. With the white felt decorate your green hat and mitten (see photos above)

4. With extra green felt decorate your red hat and mitten.

5. On the back of each mitten and hat glue a tiny loop made out of felt to the upper portion of the object. This is so you can run your twine through the backs without it being seen.

6. Run the twine through and hang on mantel in loops. On each loop add a bow (every other color of choice of ribbon). On every other loop add a dangly thing - this is so you can place your stockings within the loop openings without dangly things getting all messy with the cool stuff your parents (or Husband) will be stuffing into them!

I'm sure my directions are super unclear, so take your little eyeballs and look at the photos above!

This project cost me less than $6 (unless you don't own a glue gun, so it may cost ya another $7-8). It's fun to do with school age kiddies and 30-something year old Husbands alike...so have at it and make some tiny Christmas decor!

Vegan Pecan Pie

Let's start this off with a bit of fact: I don't enjoy pie. How can I say that, right? There are a million pies out there, and for me to make some blanket statement like that not only exposes my ignorance of the wonderful world of pies, but also makes my pie recipe post a bit confusing! Well then, let me be a bit more clear, when I say I don't ENJOY pie, it doesn't mean I DISLIKE pie. Get it? No? Here's the deal, I cannot eat pie (or any pastry for that matter) without an explosion of immediate guilt afterward. It's a sad little existence, but one which I have accepted! What's one piece of pie? Or one cupcake? Or a cookie here or there? And you're correct, it really wouldn't hurt to dabble a bit in sugary, mouth-watering euphoria...well...until the mental guilt hits. Besides, I'd rather faceplant into a bed of Goldfish, or any salty snack, anyway.

So why this recipe? It's for the most amazing man in existence (or at least my existence) - the Husband! He loves sugar, he loves sugar placed into warm, baked concoctions, and he absolutely adores pecan pie!

Here is my first attempt at veganizing a pecan pie recipe from House of Bakes - I also looked up a crust recipe and veganized that ol thang.

Recipe Deets

Crust (adapted from just about any simple crust recipe)
1/2 Pastry flour
1/2 Reg flour
1/4 cup Earth Balance butter
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1/4 cup Cold water

Filling
10 Saltine crackers (saw this little tip on a few of the recipes!)
1/2 cup Water
2 1/2 tbsp Earth Balance butter
1 1/4 cup Light brown sugar
1/4 cup Agave
2 tsp Vanilla extract
2 1/2 tbsp unsweetened applesauce (substituted for oil, so feel free to use oil instead)
3 1/2 tbsp Arrowroot (or cornstarch)

Pecan Top
1 cup pecan halves
1/2 tbsp Earth balance butter (just enough to cover the pecans)
1 tbsp Light brown sugar
a bit of salt

Preheat oven to 325

Crust—place pastry and all-purpose flour, butter, salt, and baking powder into a large bowl and blend (I used a hand blender, but a food processor would work too). Add water then blend into a dough ball thingy.

Sprinkle some flour on top of your counter and take dough ball and roll it out into a 1/4 inch thick sheet, then transfer to pie plate and trim the edges that are hanging off.  Prick across the bottom of the crust 5 or 6 times to aerate. Place in oven and bake for 5 minutes.

Pecan Topping—place pecan halves, butter, brown sugar and salt into a frying pan on medium heat. As soon as it starts to sizzle turn the heat down to medium-low and stir occasionally while working on the filling.

Filling—crumble crackers into a small mixing bowl and pour in water. Let cracker crumbs soak all the water up.

With a hand blender or food processor, place butter, brown sugar, agave, vanilla, applesauce , arrowroot, and crack mixture in bowl and mix until liquid. Pour into saucepan on medium heat and bring to a low boil, stirring constantly. When it comes to a boil, let cook for a couple-o-minutes. Pour into crust shell while still hot. Then put pecan halves on top (you can be all fancy-schmancy about it if you want. Place into oven and cook 55 minutes.

Voila! You just made your first pie, like me! Or unlike me, this may be your 5th pie (or some other number higher than 1).

Halloween is for Professionals

In a world of Frozen, superheros, and baby animals (babies as superheros and animals = adorable/amazing/squeezable!) my husband and I decided to go a different route. We didn't have much time to get a costume together, as we had waited last minute and Halloween fell on the same day when we were scheduled to take his daughter up to Pratt in Brooklyn for a college tour (which was a lot of fun!), so we scrambled for an idea! I didn't want to spend money on a costume for her this particular year, because as an 8 month old she isn't Trick or Treating, nor does she care about candy/costumes/festivities, so I mentioned using the surgeon's outfit I had from my own childhood! She would be the smallest, cutest tiny surgeon currently on Earth and that would be easy peasy!

I have to thank my mother-in-law for really pulling it together. She made the head smock out of decorative napkins I already had in the house, and she also went to the local Five & Dime and found a toy medical kit. Everything looked great and Mirabelle got a new toy out of the deal! Win win!

Now that we have all of this Halloween mish mash behind us, now onto my favorite holidays: Thanksgiving and Christmas!!

See ya next year for more Last Minute Littlefield decisions...

Zucchini "Pizza"

 

I don't eat pizza. <---- Is that not the saddest thing you've read all week, no wait, in your LIFETIME? It's true! I just don't. The last time a slice of pizza met my mouth in a glorious reunion was approximately 11-12 years ago...I was 18. Little ol 18 year old me, just minding her own business, eating this, consuming that, and not paying attention to her health. Silly teenaged me. Well, as what usually occurs when something high fat/high carb/high in amazingness touches my belly, I gained weight. Oh it wasn't just the pizza, but that had to hit the road just for good measure.

 

So here we are today, over a decade later, and gosh darnit I'm gonna have myself a GD pizza in the form of a well-seasoned, low-fat, low-carb, no-hurt-my-belly la piiiizza squash!

 

:s

 

Recipe Deets

 

2 yellow squash cut in half length-wise

1 pint of cherry tomatoes halved

1/2 white onion chopped

2 gloves of garlic minced

salt to taste

basil/thyme/parsley (dried, unless you have the real thang)

Grated Parm cheese

 

Pre-heat oven to 375°

 

- Line a baking pan with foil and place cut squash in a row (like boats in a marina)

- In a medium frying pan, spray some oil and heat the pan at medium/high, then add the onions

- Let the onions simmer a bit (2-3 minutes) then add tomatoes

- Season with salt and Italian mix (basil, thyme, parsley)

- Add garlic and cook for about 10 minutes on medium

- As stuffs are a-cookin', season the squash by drizzling some olive oil and shaking some of that Italian mixture over top of each

- Once you're done cooking your tomatoes, pile on top of each squash 

- Sprinkle as much parm cheese as you would like!

- Stick in oven for 25-30 minutes until squash is super soft and lightly brown on the edges

 

Now go enjoy your pizza boat!



Sriracha Baked Cauliflower With a Balsamic Reduction

This super cheap, super simple dinner (or side dish) is low in carbohydrates, fat, and sugar; plus it's vegan and gluten free! Daaaaang, right? RIGHT?

So here you have it, a mid-weeknight-I-don't-feel-like-cooking-meal.

Recipe Deets

1 head of cauliflower (diced into small florets)
sriracha sauce
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup chopped scallions (green onion)

Pre-heat oven to 450°

- Pour vinegar into a small sauce pan on medium/high heat and let sit (for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occassionally)
- Line a baking pan with tin foil and spray with oil
- Toss cauliflower florets in as much sriracha as you like! Don't drown it, but cover the stuff
- Put the covered florets on the baking sheet and place in the oven for 10 minutes
- As they're cooking, check vinegar and stir
- After 10 minutes, move the cauliflower around and bake for another 10 minutes
- Remove your vinegar from heat and it should start to thicken, stir
- Remove cauliflower from oven, place in an open dish, and drizzle with vinegar
- Add scallions and serve immediately

Voila! Yummo!

It's That Time Again ~ Weightloss Extravaganza!

About two years ago, a friend and myself started a little ol thang we lovingly called "Weightloss Extravaganza." Why? Well we needed to find some way to spice up the idea that we would be reducing our fun-food intake while upping our workout regime.

What makes this time different?

The difference is, I have a lot less to lose. Two years ago I went from 125-128 lbs down to 113-115 lbs, this time around I need to lose about 5 lbs...easy right? NO. Seriously, losing baby weight was easy, just workout and cut out the crap, but once that weight was off, all further weightloss went into remission. My body just wont budge, and it's driving me nuts.

This post is more to give motivation to myself (and others) in hopes of showing my current workout plan along with some diet changes, which I feel will help jump start this thing!

The Workout

Cardio - 3 times a week (running inclines, bleachers, and clocking at least 10-14 miles a week). During the summer I was working out 5-6 days a week, which helped, but not drastically, so I think 3 days is just fine

Resistence Bands/Weights/Planks/etc. - 3 days a week. The cool thing about this little workout is that I can do it when the baby goes to bed and in front of whatever movie/show my husband I may watch (we get 1-2 hours a week night to enjoy some quality butt-on-couch time)

The Food Goodbyes

Bye-bye reconstitued peanut butter. While you're only 45 calories, 1.5 grams of fat per 2 tbsp, I eat you like ice cream and you're holding me back

Seeya salty snacks. I know we don't hang out that much anyway, but when we do we go crrrrazy for each other! Don't worry, I'm allowing us some super secret get togethers once a week (shhhh)

Alcohol, we can be great buddies, you sure do cut the stress out of my post-work, post-baby in bed evenings. Don't worry, we ain't breaking up, I'm just limiting our time together! While I enjoy that dinnertime drinky-drink, my metabolism sure doesn't! So here's the deal, you and I will meet up a couple times a week for some pal around time, no feelings hurt ;>

So long Little Bites, we've come a long way together. You've allowed me to enjoy wonderful foods such as pizza, ice cream, fried macaroni and cheese, muffins, cupcakes, chocolate bars, Starburst...you name it, we've tried it! But you, Little Bites, add up! This is something you kept secret from me, and honestly, I'm kind of hurt. Where are you going Little Bites? Into my muffin top? The inside of my thighs? UNDER MY CHIN??? Little Bites, we need a cooling off period. Maybe we will talk again once I'm not so wounded...maybe.

Two Coffees with Cream. Yea. 'Nuff said. One of you per day will do. So shush.

What Will I Eat Allllllll Day??

I'm going to continue to eat what I normally do, minus those mentioned above (huff).

Breakfast
Baked Egg white "muffins" witha bit-o parm cheese
Coffee with cream

Snack
Apple

Lunch
Dinner leftovers

Snack (that's right, another snack...shush)
Spring salad mix with some steamed cauliflower/broccoli/carrots OR with pinapple

Dinner (will vary, but here are a few examples)
Baked spicy peppers and asparagus with smoked sweet potato

Cauliflower "rice" baked with squash

Twice baked spaghetti squash with a teeny-bit of cheese

Qunioa with whatever-the-hell-is-in-the-pantry

So there you have it, my little bits of motivation all neatly outlined for your consumption (heh...heh). As I said, I'm not looking to lose 20 lbs, I just want to feel comfortable again, and I believe 5 (or 10) bitty-bits of lost poundage will do just that!

Gluten Free, Vegan Sweet Potato Choco Chip Brownies

 

I'm not a huge fan of Halloween. Even as a child, it was mainly about the candy I would gather within 2 hours of going door to door than what costume I would wear. My mother made our costumes throughout childhood and up until high school. She also entered pumpkins into to various school contests, which "we" won a few years in a row until the school caught on and insisted that students decorate their OWN pumpkins (what? 10 year olds can't make a replica of the Tin Man AND Medusa??), let's just say the contests ended there. As I entered college (and after) I went to various parties, but made little attempt at creativity, i.e. zombie Dorothy, white cat, black cat...

 

So! Perhaps I'm embracing sweet potato more than pumpkin flavors this autumn as my personal endeavor to downplay the already extremely abundant pumpkin-ized food items out there. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for baking pumpkin as you would a squash and then consuming its insides, but grabbing a buncha cans of pre-made puree isn't my idea of creating an autumnal treat. Or maybe I'm just jealous I cannot consume said treats ;>  booo

 

 

Recipe Deets (adapted from a regular brownie recipe)

 

1/4 cup gluten free rolled oats (pulverize in a food processor)

1/4 cup reg gluten free flour (you can use all oats, but I didn't want to risk a weird texture)

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2/3-1 cup sweet potato (about one medium potato baked/skinned/mashed)

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 flax eggies (or two real eggs if not vegan)

3 tbsp coconut oil (or oil of choice, I just prefer coconut)

1/3 cup almond milk (or reg milk if not vegan)

1 tsp baking soda (is this needed? it was in the regular brownie recipe so I used it)

1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips (I used Good Life)

 

Preheat oven to 350°

 

- Combine everything except chocolate chips

- Create a smooth batter (I used a hand blender, but that's up to you)

- Fold in chocolate chips

- Place in a square 8x8 or 9x9 greased pan (or whatever according to how thick you want them)

- bake 25 minutes (if you can't pull out a toothpick without a chocolate, sticky mess, they aren't done)

 

You can add icing of choosing. I just made a simple brown sugar icing, but my step-daughter/husband said they would prefer them without icing...who knew.

 

Done and done! Now go get yourself a pumpkin latte with a pumpkin muffin along with some salted pumpkin seeds!



Chewy Gluten Free, Vegan Sweet Potato Choco Chip Cookies

With all the pumpkin this and pumpkin that talky-talk, I thought I'd bring you another fall favorite (well, year 'round fav, no lie) of mine ~ sweet potato! I know what you're thinkin' "day-um girl, how you do that?" Well, aren't you in luck, because I'm-a gonna tell ya! (Also, we all know my next recipe will probably have a lil pumpkin in it haha)

Recipe Deets

1 sweet potato (cooked and pureed - equals about a cup)
1/2 cup gluten free oats
1/4 cup of organic peanut butter
lil dab of agave (about, ummm, 1-2 tbsp)
1 flax egg (or real eggy if not vegan)
1/2 cup vegan (or reg) choco chips
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
cinnamon to taste
tiny bit of ground ginger
lil bit of ground sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder

Pre-heat oven to 350

- Combine your cooked and cooled sweet potato with the oats, peanut butter, agave, and flax egg - blend until smooth-ish
- Slap in everything else (other than the chocolate chips) and combine
- Gently fold in chocolate chips
- Measure about a tablespoon size of dough onto a greased baking sheet
- Bake about 15-20 minutes according to your oven

Done and done! Now go carve some pumpkins or something!

~ A Vegan Picnic ~

There are those moments at the end of summer where you try and get in as many warm weather activities as possible because perhaps, or likely, you and your spouse neglected to take advantage due to moving into a new home, work, the wife (me me me) starting a new job, making our home a home, and other life matters that push days into weeks, weeks into months. So! I thought, let's make a picnic and take the infant to the zoo! She may not care about the zoo and it's many occupants, but it will get her outside and into the fresh air, plus give me an excuse to come up with some awesome fun food items :>

Let's take a look at this menu!

~ sliced apples with a homemade raspberry fruit dip
~ gluten free, vegan (minus jimmies) banana spiced donuts
~ seared tempeh burg with homemade cashew "cheese"
~ gluten free, vegan Thin Mints (one of the spouse's favorite!)

Everything tasted perfectly! Due to my insanity - I ate a tempeh salad (no bread fo' meh) and tasted the desserts (boooo), but the husband inhaled the food! Don't worry, Mirabelle had her fill of Plum Organics puree ;>

Next, we traveled the paths throughout the zoo, pointing at the various creatures that reside there and feigning extreme excitement for the benefit of our little lady.

All in all, a perfect afternoon of fun, food, and affordability!

Vegan, Gluten Free Light Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Buddy!

I call this little bar a buddy because it's light, friendly, and totally looks out for you! Kinda like a good ol pal or a...buddy! I took a traditional peanut butter bar recipe, made it gluten free/vegan, and took out the heavy, unhealthy ingredients. Best part about this recipe, it's super easy!

Recipe Deets

1 1/4 cup gluten free flour (I use Bob's Mill)
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
2/3 cup peanut butter (I used crunchy because that's what my step-daughter digs)
1/2 light brown sugar (or sugar substitute of choice)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips (optional, for inside the bars - I use Enjoy Life)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

another 1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips (melted for the drizzle)

Preheat oven to 350 F

- put parchment paper in an 8x8 or 9x9 pan, set aside
- in a large bowl add apple sauce and peanut butter - blend with a mixer or hand mixer
- add flour, peanut butter, sugar, baking powder,  and vanilla - blend
- fold in chocolate chips (optional)
- place mixture in the pan and flatten evenly
- bake for 22-25 minutes until lightly brown along the edges
- let cool for about 15-20 minutes
- heat 1/4 cup chocolate chips in a non-stick pan, once melted take a fork and drizzle chocolate over the finished buddy
- let cool for another 15 minutes, then cut and serve!

Blamo!

First Foods: Banana Whip

This one is super easy!

I usually buy about 3 pounds of bananas at a local fruit and vegetable market for about $1.25. I store them by peeling the bananas and putting them in the freezer (in a freezer safe zip lock) for future use.

Recipe Deets

3 frozen bananas (some for yourself also haha)

- Use either a homogenizer, high powered blender, or food processor
- Process the bananas until they are a custard
- Serve cold!

such the lady

Easy peasy!

Conversation Most Moms Wish To Avoid ~ But Here It Is

My daughter 6 months today. I don't keep track of her age in weeks, so when I hear other mother's say "my so in so is 32 weeks!" well I couldn't tell ya immediately how old that is and I would probably just nod in feigned amazement. So, in celebration of Mirabelle's 6th month of existence I thought I would do a "new mommy" breakdown of choices I've made, and where I am physically and mentally after all the hubbub has settled now that I've gotten the half-year old notch on the belt!

Background

I'm vegetarian and during my pregnancy I continued to adhere to my normal diet (with an addition of prenatal vitamins). My doctors were super supportive and because I didn't gain much weight throughout (a total of 25.6 lbs) they never questioned my exercise routine, and actually encouraged it well into my 8th month. The birth of my daughter was without complication, and she emerged vaginally at a whopping 8 lbs 10 ounces, much to the midwife's surprise. For anyone who had seen me in person at 39 weeks, I have a naturally small frame and my belly didn't extend much farther - so yea, almost 9 pounds of baby created the question "how did she even fit in there??" well, at least for me and my limited knowledge of the human anatomy haha

Bebe Choices Along the Way

Birth
I knew I wasn't going to breast feed long before I decided to have a child with my husband. I know there is a lot of controversy surrounding that decision, and I'm well aware of the research performed and released on both sides (bottle and breast) because, well, I read tons of material on this subject. My mother didn't breast feed my twin sister and I, nor did she breast feed our younger brother. We turned out strong, healthy, and from what I can tell, no issues with our mental capacity (though there are times I question how my brother can like plain Cheerios, but I guess I can't blame that on the formula...). While my mom didn't do much research regarding varying brands and types of formula, I did. I chose Baby's Only because it is the only organic formula out there without corn syrup form of sweetener and no palm oil! There are other benefits to using this brand above, say, Earth's Best, but I'll leave that for you to research ;>

So! Mirabelle started on the bottle with little complications, and actually started sleeping through the night around one month (perhaps one middle of the night feeding here and there until 2 months). She has hit all of her developmental milestones thus far. She is not under or over weight, and her growth chart is right on track. Our pediatrician was known (by a friend of mine) to push breast feeding fairly hard, but for some reason they didn't blink an eye at the choice my husband and I made. Perhaps it was because her first visit showed a strong, healthy baby? Or perhaps my conviction was apparent. Who knows.

At 6 months this little bean still enjoys her bottle, but has taken strongly to eating all sorts of organic fruit and vegetable purees! While August is National Breast Feeding month, and I've had the pleasure of reading and hearing all sorts of benefits to breastfeeding (which is great!), I will never regret the choice my husband and I made because it gave us the opportunity to share in her feeding and growing from the very first night - he and I would both get up and sit together as one of us fed her. We agreed that if we had to lose sleep that both of us would lose sleep together! And honestly, every father should experience the joy of a 3am feeding ;>

Routine 

Establishing a routine has been very important for us and the baby. It allows us the freedom to plan activities around her eating, napping, bedtime, etc. Seems simple, right? Sure, it is, if you stick to it! We know that when 7pm comes along it's time to start wrapping up whatever we are doing and get the baby fed and ready for bed, so that by 7:30 she is in the crib and comfy with her human heart "music" playing. Her feeding schedule isn't exact, but I make sure to watch for cues so that I know she's starting to get hungry, and prior to full on mental breakdown mode! Knowing your baby is important because everyone does it differently, so Rick and I decided in the end to do it our way ;>

The Physical Me

I'm hard on myself, and that's putting it lightly. I've struggled with weight on and off since high school. Up and down, up and down. I'm a little over 5'2 and my metabolism isn't the most speedy of bodily functions, so food and I have a bit of a love/hate relationship. I haven't eaten pizza in at least 10 years, I don't touch fried food, I never eat a burger, and I tend to avoid all forms of high-fat dairy. Yet I struggle to keep it all under control. My goal weight is between 105-110 lbs, and I almost reached that the summer of 2013 before I decided to have my little bambino. It's hard to put into words the frustration of exercising 4-5 days a week climbing stadium bleachers, running miles, and sprinting across soccer fields and not seeing the results I want.
That's where I need to step back and realize that I have achieved those results, I fit into my pre-pregnancy clothing, I'm toning, I eat healthy, I'm physically strong, I have ZERO stretch marks (not saying that's good or bad, I just know I could not mentally handle them, and why? oh because I'm weak when it comes to trying to obtain self-perfection), and my husband tells me every day just how beautiful I am...and just how horrible I am on myself. That's the saddest part of all this: my husband watching me drive my physical self-worth into the ground. I keep looking forward toward the end of the tunnel, that little light that when I reach it I will see what everyone else sees, that I will feel comfortable within my skin. I tell myself that it's when I'm 105 I will feel great and wonderful and beautiful, but I'm beginning to realize that my perception is skewed and that I need to change that FIRST before I focus on the physical aspects. *sigh*

The Mental Me

Oh boy! Hormones a-crazy! haha. Seriously though, babies sure do know how to take a lady's hormones and kick them into next Tuesday. I'm a little dark cloud on most days. I just float from day to day looking for a peak at the sunshine, a glimmer of light that will bring me out of my most moody of times. It happens daily, whether it's something the husband does, or my step-daughter, or especially Mirabelle, but I experience these happy moments through them that just make everything better and hopeful again. It's been a daily struggle for most of my 20s and now into my 30s, but after having a child everything seems to go a bit haywire for a while. Life, right??

In the end, I always remind myself how fortunate I am (cliche, I know). And I continually strive to accomplish something every day no matter how small! The moment I give up will be when I settle for that simplified, static idea of the "American Dream", you know, owning that boring old home in some dreary town in the middle of nowhere. When you settle for picking out curtains instead of looking for the next adventure (and don't get me wrong, I love me some curtains!). It's just when you center your evening around a television show and your weekends consist of shopping for this or that. BLEH! So, depressing right? I just know my husband and I have so much we want to teach and show our daughter, that it would be downright silly to gravitate toward that white picket fence existence. There's more to life than that fellow humans, and yea, I totally need to remind myself of this daily <3

Sunday Funday!

Sunday is one of the only full days our family has the opportunity to spend together. The step-daughter travels to her mother's home on Friday night-Sunday morning, while my husband works Saturday afternoons, which conflicts with my Monday through Friday schedule. All this being said, the 4 of us (baby Mirabelle included) try to do at least one activity together on Sunday, whether it be a walk, getting some ice cream, watching a movie, going out to breakfast, playing basketball, et cetera!

This previous Sunday my husband and I planned something pretty darn special. Friends of ours who live in Philadelphia own a studio, True Hand Society, and they were hosting a photographer who exclusively photographs his subject utilizing the tintype technique. Rick, Asa, and I were all super excited to enjoy this rare moment together and dress as traditional as possible, so to give off the air that we were born a century earlier. Unfortunately, Asa had a last minute summer-job obligation and had to forgo the trip. It was a real bummer, but in the end the experience was just as amazing, and I feel like the photographer truly captured our three person family, minus one, perfectly.

Because Asa was going to be excluded from the photo, I decided to make her a special breakfast of gluten free banana chocolate chip pancakes (she claims to enjoy the texture of gluten free cakes, pancakes, cookies, etc more than their wheat counterpart...who knew). She and my husband gobbled them into oblivion while I settled for an egg white omelette *yawn*

Later in the day, following our trip to Philadelphia, my husband and I knew that the baby was on her way to being irritable, especially because it was about 2 hours prior to bedtime...and anyone with children knows how that goes. So, we decided to go to one of our favorite little restaurants in our town, Bashful Banana. This place is perfect to take vegetarians and babies alike! All of their food items are made with fresh, mostly local ingredients. They don't smother their dishes in oil or unneeded creams/butter. Rick tends to opt for an appetizer or entree, while I stick to their now famous Banana Whip. A Banana Whip is a frozen banana that has been homogenized and turned into a custard like substance. It's only banana. Nothing else. Though I add their homemade whipped cream to my order. Oddly enough, I have the exact machine, but because this restaurant is not open all year, we like to get out and walk the boardwalk while also having the option for healthy, baby-friendly treat. And oh does Mirabelle love Banana Whips...

While Asa was working this past Sunday, and we couldn't spend it together, I still felt like it was a great end to the weekend :>

Gluten Free, Vegan Zucchini Cupcakes

My mother purchases fresh zucchini, tomatoes, and onions from whom she calls "the little old man down the street." Essentially, he's a rather small Italian man that has an equally small garden, which he tends with his tiny hands, and then sells his product out of a mini-garden stand. It's all very adorable, you see?

Anyway, my mother is his biggest customer and tends to over-purchase said zucchini, thus it ending up in my  home. Here's the catch: Rick (husband) and Asa (step-daughter) truly dislike zucchini, and while I dig it, I'm not a huge fan where I could consume mass amounts of the soft, semi-tasteless vegetable. Here's where the cupcakes come in: Operation Trick Spouse & Step-Daughter With Disguised Desserts.

It was a Sunday when I sort of lazily thought, why not just add zucchini to my already kinda awesome cupcake recipe and throw some cream cheese frosting on top? So, that's just what I did, and, it worked! *Applause*

Recipe Deets

Cupcakes
1 1/2 Gluten free flour
1 cup Shredded/chopped zicchini
1/2 tbsp Baking powder
Dash of cinnamon to taste
Dash of salt
1 Flax egg
2/3 cup Agave
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

Set oven to 360°
- Combine all dry ingredients...stir
- Add all wet ingredients...stirrrrr
- Throw in a greased muffin pan and bake for approximately 15 minutes or until a toothpick pulls out clean, let cool on a wire rack before icing.

Icing
1/2 cup of Smart Balance butter or vegan butter of choice
6 ounces Tofutti cream cheese
2 cups confectioners sugar (eesh, right?)
2 tsp vanilla extract

- Blend until smooth and place in 'fridge until you're ready to apply to the cupcakes

Blam-o!

Smokey, Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Lately, my family has been on a sweet potato kick. Not only are they easy on the pocket, they're packed with Vitamin A and C, also some B's thrown in there for good measure, and a load of fiber - all around nutritious little sons of a...you get the idea.

This little recipe can be used as a snack, an appetizer, or as my family does it, with a fried egg making it a complete meal!

Recipe Deets

4 medium sweet potatoes (peeled and sliced into wedges)
dash of smoked paprika to taste
salt and pepper to taste
spray oil of choice

- Line a baking pan with tin foil and spray with cooking oil
- Heat oven to 425 degrees
- Spread your potato wedges on the pan, spray with oil, and sprinkle with seaosoning
- Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes until brown and crispy

Super good. Seriously.

First Foods: Apple Sauce

My 5 month old daughter is somewhat of a picky eater. Scratch that, she pretends she is a picky eater. Any new puree we introduce her to is met with a face of pure distaste and utter disgust, followed by an apparently uncontrollable tremor which erupts abruptly and travels throughout her body. It's suffice to say that she can be a tad bit dramatic.

In the beginning, oh about a month ago, I used to become quickly discouraged and sort of took her reaction as a fault of my own doing, as if I couldn't create for her the most amazing, tasty, stupendous baby puree on the planet! Two weeks pass, and I know the routine all too well. Drama-baby is always present on Day One of a new taste. Fine by me little Miss! I'm on to your tricks...

Now for the recipe! I ate hoards of apples during my pregnancy, one may say an entire apple grove was consumed over the course of 39 weeks, so what better homemade puree to create for my budding bambino than some applesauce??

Recipe Deets

5 apples of choice (peeled and cut, I used Golden Delicious)
1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice
a dash of cinnamon
1 cup water

- Throw your diced apple into a medium pot with about 1/2 cup of water and lemon juice.
- Cover and allow to come to a boil
- Reduce heat to medium high and continue to stir every so often until tender
- Add your cinnamon
- Use a food processor or hand blender to puree until smooth - continue to add water until mixture is safe for babies!

Easy Peasy!

The Benefits of Sisters

Growing up with a twin sister is normal. Having a sibling the same age was never anything out of the ordinary, and good or bad, it was something I didn't delve on unless the lack of age gap was brought to my attention. Questions like, "Wasn't it great having a built in best friend?" Well, yes, I guess so. But I don't know the difference so I can't compare. "Didn't you hate having to share everything and always being compared to the other?" No, the sharing was fine, and the comparisons, while they bothered my mother, allowed Kira and I to fine tune our competitive natures and always strive to be on par or better than the other. Was this the best mentality to have? Who knows, once again I have nothing else to compare it to. We have a younger brother (by 6 years), so there wasn't much of a sibling attachment, nor was the age gap large enough to elicit any "motherly instincts" toward him. Poor Shane.

Enter my current nuclear family. I have a step-daughter who is 16 and a biological daughter who is 4 months. Asa (step-daughter) and Mirabelle have an age gap larger than the one shared with Asa and myself. This is where it gets interesting. Due to my age, and being very open toward Asa, we have a relationship akin to sisters rather than mother/daughter. She comes to me for advice, but also engages me in conversations that perhaps she would prefer not to approach her biological parents with. At times, our relationship is difficult, because I do need to step in as "the mother" because Asa lives with her father and I full-time, and she's still a kid, and kids need to have structure (blah blah blah), but it's a tough juxtaposition between friend-mom and step-mom. Even though I feel like I really muddle through my relationship with her at times, her perspective is completely different. My husband sees a young lady who loves and strives to do well in the eyes of their step-mom, while I see a step-mom continually struggling to keep the relationship balanced.

Jump to the relationship between Asa and Mirabelle. It is one that shows its benefits more and more each day! I have little patience for the antics of children, especially sibling arguing and any form of disrespectful behavior. Because of their vast age difference, Asa has taken on the role of "protective, supportive, and proud big sister." Mirabelle doesn't know it yet, but Asa is her biggest fan. Asa is an emotional little lady (something I can really learn a thing or two about), but the way she speaks about Mirabelle, she's admitted to not quite speaking the same way toward anyone else. Including her father! A few things Asa has exclaimed in the past few days: "I just can't take her face! Why is it so cute??" "She is a Gerber baby!" "I show all of my friends her picture!" "I'm going to teach her how to play the organ, bass, and how to sing" "I want to give her kisses everyday" "Mirabelle, I love you"

All of these things make me extremely happy. With siblings that are close in age, you have love, but it cannot be expressed the same way. Asa has had time to grow and understand what it is to truly care for and love another person unconditionally. She is able to verbalize her feelings and to understand what she is saying, and how much it means to those around her when she speaks the way she does. Mirabelle will grow to look up to her big sister in a way that most siblings who are close in age cannot fathom. While their relationship may wane a bit while Asa is in college, I am certain that Mirabelle has many years with her big sister to look forward to.

Finally, the look on Mirabelle's face when Asa enters her line of vision is one of complete wonder and the need to be close to this loving, redheaded girl.

Gluten Free Vegan Taco Bites

I adapted this recipe from Skinny Taste (which originally had little or nothing to do with taco flavoring or conception of any kind, but still super good!). A couple weekends ago my sister, husband, and I went to a friend's for a small get together. Kira and I enjoy bringing home made appetizers or baked goods because it gives us the opportunity to make something healthy and unique. I've always been a fan of sweet potatoes and their dominating flavor, which needs little added to it. I'm all for keeping things simple, because that will usually equal better for you! Everyone loved the finished product (even my mother), though the Husband made one suggestion: add sour cream and cheese...no Rick, this is a HEALTHY taco bite ;>

Yield Approximately 40 Bites

Ingredients:
3 medium sweet potatoes
1 pint of cherry tomatoes
1 package soy chorizo
2 avocados
cumin
smoked paprika
salt & pepper

- scrub and slice potato into little quarter shapes, about half a finger thick
- lay them on a non-stick baking sheet, and set oven to 350
- in a medium bowl mix together avocado and spices
- on the stove, cook one stick of chorizo until brown and crispy, then add to the avocado mix
- stick sweet potatoes in the oven and cook for approximately 20 minutes or until soft/browned
- once done, add about 1/2 a tbsp of avocado chorizo mix to the top of each sweet potato quarter
- top with sliced cherry tomato and serve immediately

yums!!

And We Are Back!

I took a long hiatus for numerous reasons. The main reason was...bleep...laziness! Eeeesh, welly whelp it happens, right? So, I've decided to return to the world of blogging because I wish to continue to document my little family's life and monumental moments, but without inundating other social media spheres with my photos, thoughts, and similar agendas. You know the deal. So here we are, spend some time, and perhaps we will all learn a few things along the way...well, at least I will!

My first post? Post-baby weight loss. Why? Do not tell me there exists a woman in the U.S. of A. that doesn't think in the back of her itty-bitty socially influenced lady-brain about getting her "pre-pregnancy" bod back. I don't care if you're the Dalai Lama of feminists, every woman that exists within this ridiculous conundrum we call society wants and yearns for familiarity after their long, arduous time being pregnant, going into labor, and finally delivering their little bambino; even if this consists of their former physical self. There, I said it, ladies want their forms back! Let us have that, we give EVERYTHING else to our small human productions, why not want for a some small semblance of normalcy? So, let us proceed.

The photo above is the last photo I took prior to going into labor. I'm 39 weeks and ready to explode. My SI joint, which was injured in a car accident the previous year, was in killer mode and had caused me to leave work a few weeks early. I limped around and prepared for the baby to arrive. Throughout the pregnancy I was very conscious what I ate and the amount in which it was consumed. I gained 25.6 pounds. Yes, very precise, but this mindset allowed me to gain within a healthy range, thus making it easier to lose after the infant was born. 

Let's skip ahead.

My little angel was born. After over 24 hours of labor Mirabelle Lake entered this world in 29 minutes. Super push! This bean weighed 8 lbs 10 ounces, which threw the midwife for a loop. They weighed her again to make sure the machine had given us the correct information. Yes, this large infant had come out of a 5'2 vegetarian lady! Much to the nurses and midwife's surprise. Women = strong, even if their favorite meal is baked tofu and peppers. 

While caring for this little honey bun I really needed to focus on what I was eating and drinking, and strengthening the muscles that went into hibernation the final few months of my pregnancy when I could barely use the elliptical without my heart racing well above a comfortable level. 

1. Introduce egg whites back into my daily diet. Meaning they would be breakfast and snacks in between meals. How snacks? I bake the whites in muffin tins. Yes bland. Yes filling. Yes satisfies my need to graze. Hrm...sometimes...damn you Goldfish.

2. Remove Goldfish from the home. I have COMPLETE control over eating all other forms of food, including ice cream, pizza, cookies, cakes, cupcakes, anything! But not Goldfish. I can consume bowls upon bowls until my stomach feels ill. So, goodbye Goldfish! 

3. No carbs for dinner unless in the form of squash. The end. 

4. Workout whenever I can. If Rick is off, I go to the gym or track. If he isn't off I do some minor tummy muscle strengthening exercises: planks, leg lifts, etc. I could truly do a lot more, and it would probably speed the process, but meh, I don't. 

These 4 little disciplines has allowed me to lose all of the pregnancy weight within 2 months. I'm not back to the form I wish to be. I have not hit my goal weight, nor has my body returned to its original shape. But I am confident that it will get there soon. Why? Because I'm a strong-willed individual that does not settle for anything less.