Recipe: Healthy Brown Rice Bites

As I’ve changed my eating habits over the last decade or so and learned more about nutrition, overall, I’ve felt better and don’t really miss much about the fatigue, bloat and general “yuck” that went along with all of my poor food choices.

But, if I’m being honest, there are “junk” foods that I miss — certain flavors that evoke memories and emotions — but I avoid because I know that the impact on my health isn’t worth a moment of taste satisfaction. And, I’m constantly on the hunt and in the kitchen, trying to create recipes that are healthy versions of these treats. They may not be the exact item or flavor, but in the end, I often wind up liking my creations more because they are packed with good nutrition and little guilt.

Today’s recipe is something I cooked up last weekend, as I was craving a rice cereal treat (while the standard version of this is low-calorie, it’s high in sugar and devoid of any kind of healthy ingredients) and a peanut butter cup (probably my all-time favorite candy, as the combination of chocolate and nut butter is unbeatable).

Here’s my Healthy Brown Rice Bite! It’s not the prettiest dessert, but it’s definitely a healthy treat packed with delicious flavor.

I recently had the opportunity to try a new cereal from One Degree Organic Foods — Veganic Sprouted Brown Rice Cacao Crisps — and instantly thought they’d be as delightful in a baked treat as they are in a bowl.

I’m a big fan in general of One Degree and their emphasis on providing affordable products to the public that emphasize sustainability and simplicity. Each of their packages includes a QR code that you can scan to learn how the ingredients inside were grown, and you can trust in their products that you’re getting something truly organic, non-GMO and veganic.

The Veganic Sprouted Brown Rice Cacao Crisps have a short ingredient list (just 7 items), and the fact that their brown rice is sprouted really appeals to me. You can read all about the benefits of sprouted grains in this previous post, where I reviewed One Degree’s sprouted spelt flour (which I purchased myself from Amazon!).

For this recipe, I wanted to keep the other ingredients clean and basic. In addition to the cereal, I used a 100% Cacao bar from Ghiradelli (cacao has more antioxidants than cacao and is less processed) and sea salt. If you’re making this, you have a choice in what kind of nut butter you want to use. I went with creamy SunButter because it already contains sugar (and I didn’t have any raw almond butter on hand), but if you’re using an unsweetened nut butter, you’ll probably want to include some kind of sweetener, like honey, agave, coconut sugar, xylitol, whathaveyou. A liquid sweetener will likely incorporate better into the mixture, but I don’t think a ground sweetener would be too problematic.

Now, for the steps in the recipe! (It’s really more of a method that you can tweak according to your preferences and what’s in your pantry.)

1. Line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

2. Mix 2-3 cups of One Degree Veganic Sprouted Brown Rice Cacao Crisps and 1/4 tsp of salt in a bowl. When it’s fully incorporated, pour the cereal-salt mixture into the baking dish and fully cover the bottom.

3. If you’re using an unsweetened nut butter, now is the time to mix it with your sweetener. You may need to slightly warm the two together. Once you have a creamy consistency, spread 1/2 cup-1 cup of nut butter on top of the cereal. As you’re doing this, you should somewhat mix the nut butter with the cereal, as you would with marshmallow and rice cereal when making rice cereal treats.

4. Break your cacao bar into 6-8 smaller pieces and layer on top of the cereal-salt-nut butter mixture.

5. Now you’re ready to pop this into the oven. You don’t want to cook anything completely. You’re just looking to melt the cacao and nut butter so that it’s easier to spread and blends together with the cereal. In my oven, that took about 3 minutes.

6. Once you’ve removed the dish from the oven, you can use the back of a spoon to spread the melted cacao across the top of the cereal. Your nut butter should be really smooth and spreadable at this point, too. Here’s a picture of what my dish looked like after taking out of the oven and spreading everything:

Look at all that crunchy, melty, gooey goodness!

7. Let the dish set for 5 minutes or so before popping it into the fridge. You want everything to firm up a bit so that you can cut into bite-sized pieces without everything falling apart. I had this in the fridge for about 2 hours before giving it a taste, but if you’re inpatient (I don’t blame you!), I think you could get a nice good bite in about 1/2 an hour.

8. You can enjoy these cold or warmed up a bit in the microwave.

I’m not saying I ate this treat by the forkful, but…

My husband and I enjoyed these over several days. It’s a good treat to keep in the fridge for those moments when a sweet craving hits, and you don’t want to overindulge.

Note: One Degree did provide a coupon that allowed me to try out the cereal. All opinions presented are true — this is a delicious product, and I completely recommend it as a cereal or ingredient in a recipe.

Sprouted Brown Rice Cacao Crisps + blueberries + almond milk = mmmm

Product Review & Giveaway: NeatCheeks (Alternate Title – No Tears When Wiping Baby’s Face!)

If you’re a parent to a toddler, you’d probably agree that in addition to “lovable,” “curious,” and “sweet,” some words to describe your little one might be “wiggly,” “fiesty,” and “independent.” My son is 22 months old (I’m counting by months for as long as I can…having to count years makes him seem so old!), and if there’s one thing he doesn’t like, it’s getting cleaned up.

He’s a messy guy. I don’t think he’s ever eaten something and not walked away with crumbs (or more) lining his face. I was using baby wipes or paper towels to clean him up, but it was always a battle. He’s got somewhat sensitive skin, too, so the wipes left his cheeks and mouth red, and he hated the way it tasted. Paper towels were also unpopular — dry, they were rough on his skin, and wet, they disintegrated to almost nothing.

I saw other mommas on Instagram using a product called NeatCheeks, a face wipe flavored with stevia (so it’s sweet if your little one happens to get a taste) and made with ingredients like aloe and purified water (so it’s moist and soft without irritating your child’s skin). They also are sold in a range of different sizes (from 25 in a pack to small travel-size packs and bundles).

In April, the women behind the company pitched to Shark Tank and walked away with a deal with Barbara Corcoran! Curiosity (and the pain of making my son cry every time I tried to wipe his face) led me to give NeatCheeks a try. Full disclosure: I am working with NeatCheeks as a brand enthusiast, and they were generous enough to provide me with products to test and share on the blog.

I instantly noticed a difference when I used these to wipe my son’s face after a messy meal. He initially started to fuss, thinking this was the same old baby wipe or paper towel, but one swipe of NeatCheeks, and he became still and willing to let me do my thing. I’ve been using these for several weeks now and have not seen any irritation or redness whatsoever. This is a definite momma must-have, in my purse, diaper bag, car, nightstand…I’ve got them everywhere!

And, thanks to the NeatCheeks Brand Enthusiast program, I can share the #LoveNeatCheeks with you! I’m running a contest where the winner will receive 10 single use packs!

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite messy food to feed your child, or the food that leaves your child the messiest! You must live within the continental U.S. and be at least 18 to enter. You can leave as many comments as you’d like between now and when the giveaway closes on Tuesday, July 14, at 5 p.m. CST. I will contact the winner directly (be sure that you fill out your email address when commenting!).

And, if you don’t win the giveaway but still want to try NeatCheeks, you can save a little using the discount code ILOVENEATCHEEKS — get 50 percent off a 6-pack bundle and free shipping!

Healthy Product Rave: One Degree Organic Sprouted Spelt Flour

I’m back with a food-focused post! In the last couple of months, I’ve been concentrating on cleaning up my diet and losing the last few pounds I put on when I was pregnant in 2012-2013.

I eat a pretty “clean” diet, but after having a newborn (who is now a toddler), I had less time to really think about what I was eating, and I got into the habit of eating more packaged foods and cooking less. (Now, there are some great packaged products out there, but if you’re relying on that as the main source of nutrition, your health will likely suffer, especially if the products you’re eating have lots of additives and artificial ingredients.)

In March, I challenged myself to take a 28-day diet challenge, following The Fast Metabolism Diet by Haylie Pomroy. I will likely do an entire post on FMD, but it really helped to get me back into preparing my own meals, eating consistently throughout the day and being mindful of what I chose to eat. I saw great results in both my weight and how I felt, so I did a second 28-day round, and now I’m in what Haylie calls “maintenance” mode.

So, I’ve been in the kitchen a lot this year. I got a bread maker for Christmas and have been putting it to use. Before FMD, I was using whole wheat flour to make pretty healthy bread, but Haylie advises that you cut out wheat altogether, unless you’re eating sprouted grains, which are lower in starch and retain more nutrients than grains that have been processed. You get more of the protein, minerals and vitamins in the sprouted form of the grain, and it’s also easier to digest.

I like Food For Life‘s Ezekiel bread/tortillas/English muffins, which you can buy in the freezer section of most grocery stores, because their products contain sprouted grains and a short ingredient list, but they can be pricy and difficult to work with from the freezer.

I decided to give my own sprouted bread a try and purchased an 80 oz. bag of sprouted spelt flour from One Degree Organic Foods.

I chose spelt because it has a similar flavor to whole wheat in baked goods, and in most recipes, it can be treated the same. Spelt is also somewhat of a nutritional powerhouse, or more so than wheat — it’s a good source of calcium, magnesium, selenium, zinc, iron and manganese. (But, it does contain gluten, so be careful if you have a gluten allergy. Read more about sprouted grains and spelt here.)

I’ve gotten creative in the kitchen recently with spelt flour!

This weekend alone, I’ve been making a dent in that giant bag of sprouted spelt flour, baking a traditional loaf of bread to use for sandwiches and alongside dinners, along with this incredibly tasty Blueberry Banana Bread (a Pinterest win thanks to this recipe, altered slightly to suit my tastes and pantry). I even turned the Blueberry Banana Bread into French toast, and that was quite a good idea!

If you’re interested in improving your health and diet, be mindful of the ingredients and process involved in foods you buy at the grocery store (there are some good ones out there — I can do a whole post, but a few recent packaged loves with minimal ingredients and no fillers or junk include Wildway Grain-Free Granola and Kite Hill almond cheese), and don’t be afraid to step into your kitchen and take control. With the range of ingredient options available in most grocery stores or online, along with tools like a bread machine, you’re only out a little bit of time, and you don’t have to be a trained chef to pull it off. And, if you bake/cook it, you get to decide how much sugar to include, if your grains are sprouted or not, etc. And, if you’ve never tried sprouted grains or anything other than white or wheat flour, consider spelt. I’ve had great success so far baking with it, and I don’t think I’m compromising at all with taste or flavor, with the bonus of feeling better about what I’m eating!

StitchFix Review and Try-On (with Pictures!) – April 2015

To say that I was eagerly anticipating my first shipment from StitchFix is putting it mildly.

StitchFix is a subscription-based service that allows a stylist to curate a box of clothing and accessories for you for a $20 styling fee. The items are shipped for free to your doorstep, so you can try them on with items you already own, in the comfort of your own home. You ship back what you don’t want using a pre-paid envelope from StitchFix and keep the items you want by paying for them through StitchFix’s website checkout (and your $20 styling fee is applied to the total, meaning the styling part is free if you buy something). Love all 5 items? Get 25% off your box!

I signed up for the styling fashion delivery service in late March and selected the first available date for my Fix to arrive – April 20. I scoured YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest for reviews and unboxings from other subscribers. I curated my own Pinterest board dedicated to things I’d like to receive from StitchFix. I completed and tweaked my style profile and stylist note on StitchFix. I even blogged about my expectations for my first Fix.

I got an email last week notifying me that my stylist would be working on my selections soon, followed by another email a few days later that my Fix had been shipped via FedEx. A few days later (and many moments spent tracking the precious package’s every move, if I’m being honest), and it was on my doorstep.

Some people prefer to be surprised when their box arrives, and although I’d like to say I’m one of those people, I can’t. I snuck a peek at the checkout page of the website, which becomes available as soon as your box ships so that you can purchase the items you want to keep. The checkout page only lists the style name, not color, and there are no photos, so I did have a tiny element of surprise upon opening!

Inside my box!

The clothes were packaged beautifully, and the extra touches in addition to the items made it feel like a really special experience. I had a personal note from my stylist, Paula, who described each of the items she’d picked for me and why. She also gave me ideas on how to pair some of them together and what other items from my closet might work with what she sent. Her note also had a visual example of dressed-up and dressed-down “looks” for each piece, which is helpful for me — I never can seem to come up with unique combinations for what I wear and always end up with the same sort of outfit.

OK, on to the good part — what did I get in my first-ever StitchFix, and what am I keeping?

The first item I pulled out was the Loveappella Abella Maxi Dress, which Paula said would be great for the upcoming hot Texas summer. I was afraid that it might not be super flattering for my figure, and because I wore maxi dresses regularly throughout my pregnancy, I had maternity clothing flashbacks. The pattern was also a bit “much” to my eye, and it had slits up both sides, which I wasn’t opposed to, but I wasn’t sure I could make it work.

It wouldn’t be something I’d pick for myself at a store to even try on. And there’s the beauty of StitchFix, because when I tried it on, I was in love! It took a little doing to get the waist to fall exactly where I wanted it, but once I felt like I had the dress on properly, I knew it was a keeper.

It looks like I put a ton of effort into my outfit, but it feels like pajamas. If you ask me, that’s the recipe for a perfect piece of clothing.

Loveappella Abella Maxi Dress, $78

While I liked the dress on its own, with a pair of heels, I knew that I would be more likely to wear it with a jacket or cardigan, especially right now in the spring, when the air is still somewhat chilly. So, I found two options in my closet — a denim jacket for a casual outfit, and a lightweight navy cardigan for something a bit dressier.

I love pairing this Gap denim top with maxi dresses.

If my husband takes me on a date, or we have a nice event to attend this spring/summer, I think this is a perfect outfit.

If you can’t tell by now, the verdict on the dress? KEEP.

The next item I tried was the Market & Spruce Sam Hi-Lo Short-Sleeve tee. I’m not a huge fan of the hi-low cut, but it’s not something I won’t wear. Even before I put it on, I had a feeling I’d be conflicted about this shirt. It looked like something I could get just about anywhere for a few bucks, but the material (like the LoveAbella dress) was just so soft.

Market & Spruce Sam Hi-Lo Short-Sleeve Tee, $44

This shirt definitely fits in with my “mom uniform” of cute top, jean leggings and Converse. Loved the color and the way it felt on, but my husband made the good point that it didn’t look like something that should cost much. My immediate thought on what to do with this top? UNDECIDED.

I set that one aside and pulled out the Kut from the Kloth Sienna Capri Pants. I’d specifically asked my stylist to try to find a pair of pants that would fit me both in the waist and the length, which I can never seem to find in store myself. Paula (my stylist) went with an ankle-length option, which ended up being perfect for my short legs, and she got the size right on! You can see in the photos below how the pants look on, but I knew right away that I would KEEP this item, since I wear black pants to work on a pretty much daily basis.

I was excited to try the Fate Jocie Striped Chiffon Layer Cardigan. It looked like something I’d be drawn to in a store but wouldn’t try on or buy because the “waterfall” style of cardigan has never really worked for me. But, here I was in my own home with nothing to lose, so I gave it a shot (paired with a basic blank tank I was already wearing and the Kut from the Kloth pants).

Fate Jocie Striped Chiffon Layer Cardigan, $48

(You can tell I’m trying everything on in the comfort of my own home because I’m barefoot!) I really liked this piece. It won’t work as just a “throw on and go” cardigan, but if I’m wearing a top that is a slim cut, and I want a bit more coverage at work, this is a great option to have in my closet. KEEP.

The last item in my box was the one I was most happy to see in my box — Market & Spruce Lana Lace Detail V-Neck Blouse. This definitely looked like a piece that would fit right in with my work wardrobe, and having dressier tank tops is pretty vital if you work in a business casual environment in the Texas summer. But, when I tried this on, I wasn’t sold.

Market & Spruce Lana Lace Detail V-Neck Blouse, $58

The fit just didn’t seem right. It didn’t do anything for my figure, and I again had maternity clothing flashbacks. But, the shirt itself was just so cute that I wanted to try to pair it with my all-time favorite Express black semi-sheer cardigan to see if it had any promise at all.

Paired with this staple cardigan from my closet, I was sold on the tank!

If I’d been trying this blouse on at a store, I would have admitted defeat and walked away, wishing that it would have worked out. But, because I was able to pull from my closet, I had a better idea of how I’d truly put together an outfit with this adorable top, and guess what? KEEP.

So, four of the five items were definite KEEPs, with the Sam Hi-Lo top being a maybe. As I mentioned, StitchFix gives you a discount on your total cost if you keep all five items, so it made sense to pay just a couple of dollars more to get everything.

Here’s a breakdown of each item, the cost, my discounts and what I spent:

Item		Price
Siena Capri Pant		$58.00
Sam Hi-Lo Short Sleeve Tee		$44.00
Abella Maxi Dress		$78.00
Jocie Striped Chiffon Layer Cardigan		$48.00
Lana Lace Detail V-Neck Blouse		$58.00
25% Discount:	–	$66.50
Styling Fee:	–	$20.00
Tax:		$12.97
Credit Applied:	–	$25.00
Credit Remaining:		$0.00
Your Total:		$187.47

You’ll see that I had a $25 credit, which you get any time someone signs up for StitchFix using your referral link — I’ve included my link within this post, so if you do decide to signup, I would love for you to do so with my link. Then, when you get your box, you can share your referral link and get credit, too! It’s an endless cycle of fashion love.

Overall, I was really pleased with my first Fix. Right now, I’m on a monthly subscription plan, and I have another box coming in mid-May. The great thing is that you can change up your subscription preferences at any time and even skip a Fix. The prices of each item aren’t necessarily great deals, but the convenience of getting the clothing at my doorstep and trying on at home, plus having someone else pick out things for me, sort of balances out the cost in my mind. Plus, I’ve totally spent $200 at the mall on fewer than five items, let’s be real.

What do you think of my first Fix? If you have a StitchFix review, share the link in the comments. I can’t get enough of seeing what everyone gets in their Fixes!

StitchFix: My expectations

This month, I signed up for StitchFix, which is a subscription-based service that allows a stylist to curate a box of clothing and accessories for you for a $20 styling fee.

When you sign up, you fill out a questionnaire to generate your style profile, which covers everything from the sizes you generally buy in all types of clothing to how you feel about different “looks”. You can also indicate if you want your stylist to avoid sending you things (like a heavy coat if you’re gearing up for summer, or accessories if you’re more into receiving clothing). When you schedule a Fix (which you can do monthly, every other month or whenever you want…scheduling seems pretty flexible with this service!), you include a note to your stylist to get even more specific about your needs for this particular Fix. And, they recommend that you create a special StitchFix board on Pinterest to give your stylist specific guidance on what you’d like.

You receive the box in the mail and can try on all the items in your home, pulling things you already own from your closet to determine if you want to keep any of the five pieces included in each Fix. The box includes a stamped return envelope, so if you don’t want something, you just drop it in the envelope and put it in the mail within 3 business days of receiving your Fix, and you’re not out any money. You can also go online and tell your stylist why you didn’t keep something — it didn’t fit, you didn’t like the pattern, you don’t like shirts with hoods…you get the idea. This will help in future Fixes for your stylist to learn your tastes.

If you do want to keep any of the items, you go online and select what you want, and it’s just like ordering anything online, where you fill in payment information and make the purchase. If you buy at least one thing, your $20 styling fee is credited toward your purchase, and if you keep all five items, you get a 25% discount on the total.

My Fix is scheduled to arrive around April 20, and I’m counting down the days. In the meantime, I’m pinning like mad to my Pinterest StitchFix inspiration board and watching StitchFix unboxing and review videos on YouTube.

I plan on doing a post when I receive my box, showing what I got, maybe sharing how everything looks on me, and telling what I decide to keep, but I wanted to write a bit now about what I expect:

• I’ve put a lot of effort into giving my stylist a good idea of what I want. I expect to get five pieces that are items I can mix and match for both work and weekend.
• I’m planning to buy all 5 items, as long as they all work for me. Heck, if only 3 or 4 work, I’ll probably still buy the whole box, just so I can get the 25% discount — it might work out to paying just a few dollars more for the extra pieces.
• I expect to use this service to build my wardrobe and weed out clothing I’ve kept for years just to say “I have a black pencil skirt,” even if that item doesn’t fit or isn’t something I would ever wear. I think I hold on to things just for the sake of having them, or even worse, “just in case.” I’d like my closet to be comprised of 75% of things I wear regularly (I realize I might be contradicting myself by saying I’d buy the whole box even if only 3 items work for me!)

I really can’t wait to get my Fix. Even if nothing fits or is right, it’ll still be fun to get the surprise in the mail and see what someone picked out for me.

If you’re interested in signing up for StitchFix, click here (note: this is a referral link, and if you sign up, I’ll receive credit when your first Fix ships. You can take advantage of the referral for yourself once you sign up and share your link with others. Spread the fashion love forward!)

Trader Joe’s finds for toddlers

Oh, hey there, blog. Let’s pretend like it hasn’t been awhile and just jump right in to the topic of today’s post, OK?

When I was pregnant, I had no idea what I’d be facing when it came time to feed a toddler. It can’t be that hard, right? Wrong.

Maybe you’ve had a different experience with a good little eater, but when it comes to my guy, we haven’t quite hit a groove in regards to what he’ll eat.

It’s like a game show with every meal: What Will Joey Eat? Sometimes, you can bet on yogurt. He’s eaten the yogurt every time for breakfast this week; certainly, he’ll eat it today! Oh, he’s going to put it in his hair instead? Well then.

Even though finding home-run food items hasn’t been easy, I think it’s important, especially for first-time parents, to remember a couple things:

• This won’t be forever. Like a lot of things with toddlers, this is a phase. Today, they will only eat crackers. Next week, they will eat everything you put on their plate and ask for seconds.
• Even though you can’t always predict what your toddler is going to eat, it’s important to be consistent in offering a variety of foods and keeping the routine of mealtime. It’s tempting to put out a box of crackers and let your little one grab a handful in the middle of playtime (can you tell that Joey has been into crackers lately?), but if you do this too often, your little one will get used to eating without structure. You don’t want to force food down your kid’s throat, but you also don’t want to throw your hands up and say “Whatevs, kid.”

That being said, when I’m not mentally feeling like a complete failure because Joey wants nothing to do with the healthy meal I’ve prepared for him (I joke…I only feel like somewhat of a failure when that happens), I try to enjoy this time of discovery by exploring grocery stores and items that haven’t been part of my husband’s or my diet.

I love Trader Joe’s, and even though I don’t have one close to home, I try to hit up the one near work once a month to stock up on toddler-friendly foods. I find that they have lots of specialty items that are good for snacks at a reasonable price. Joey’s recently been big on snacks, so I’m trying to find things that pack as much of a nutritional punch as possible in case he avoids his actual meals, which tend to be comprised of whole foods.

I shared a recent Trader Joe’s grocery haul on Feeding the Littles, a Facebook group that I love — it’s so nice to have a community of mommas who are all sharing similar experiences and tips. (The group is private, but I think the admins approve most requests to be added.) The group members seemed to enjoy seeing what I bought, so I thought it’d be good content here, too, for the rest of The Internet. Here you go, The Internet, is the post that I made to the Facebook group, copied and pasted…

—

A couple of things to put what I bought into context:
-I’m shopping for three – my husband, our 18-month-old son and myself.
-Trader Joe’s is a bit far from home but sort of nearby work, so I usually go about once a month to stock up on the things we can only buy there.
-I do my main grocery shopping weekly at a conventional grocery store, so for this trip, I didn’t need to buy produce, milk, yogurt, meat, etc.
-I like to buy more snacky items from Trader Joe’s, since they have more options of healthy-ish/organic things in that category. It also seems a bit cheaper than buying from my regular grocery store’s “natural” section.
-My son (like most toddlers, I suspect) loves snacks. I try to incorporate real food disguised as a snack into his meals. Right now, if I try to give him a plate of what his dad and I are eating, it pretty much goes on the floor. I offer “real food” but also have the perspective that sometimes, he will eat more processed things. It’s a balance, and while I’d love to say that he eats all fresh, all the time, right now, we are taking what we can get and still feel good about. 🙂
-My husband and I both work full-time, so I need things that are quick and don’t require a ton of effort because goodness knows at the end of the day, we are all tired. I rely lots on my freezer and crockpot.

OK, now, the goodies!

–Inner Peas and Inner Beans: These are sticks of dehydrated peas and beans, with a few other ingredients (including some salt, which you can feed to your little one at your own discretion). My son inhales these.
–A Fig Walked Into A Bar: I haven’t giving my son this particular brand of bar, but he loves fig bars in general, and these were under $2, so I thought we’d try them out.
–Organic Mini Cheese Sandwich Crackers: Another new to us item, but it combines two of my son’s favorite things — cheese and crackers.
–Cinnamon Apple Snack Sticks: Another new treat! More ingredients than a regular ole apple, but only 4g of sugar, so it’s better than a PopTart.
–K cups: Obviously, these aren’t for my son! But, a TJ tip: if you have a Keurig, their pods are much cheaper and taste pretty good…at least to me, and I’m not a coffee aficionado (I’m just in it for the caffeine!).
–Olive Oil Popcorn: Haven’t tried this before, but I’ve heard great things. We haven’t given my son popcorn yet, and I’m not sure we will let him try this one, but if we do, it’s only got three ingredients!
–Classic Hummus: I’m a big fan of every hummus I’ve tried from Trader Joes. I got a tub of the classic this time, to add to sandwiches for a little nutrient boost (my son is a grilled cheese fiend, and I’ve discovered that I can put puréed things in his sandwiches without him noticing much difference.)
–Oven Roasted Turkey: This is for me. My son has not yet developed a taste for lunch meat. TJs also sells the Applegate Farms brand, which is tasty with minimal processing. I just happen to like the taste of this variety a bit more.
–Premade salads: I grabbed two of these for my husband and me to have for dinner tonight. These don’t have meat, so we will probably add a little of the turkey to them (and I for sure am going to have a dollop of the hummus, too!).
–Medjool Dates: These are pretty pricy at my regular grocery store. I’ve seen some recipes on Pinterest for homemade energy bars, using these as the base, so I’m going to give that a go.
–Sprouted Grain Tofu: I haven’t given my son tofu yet, but I have seen a bunch of posts where toddlers gobble it up, so I’m hoping for similar results. I was happy to see a sprouted grain variety (sprouted grains contain the whole grain, and protein and carbs are retained in the grain in the sprouting process, giving you a more nutrient dense end product).
–Cooked shrimp: A staple in my freezer for my husband and me.
–Turkey Meatballs: an easy dinner option
–Chicken Goyza Potstickers: I didn’t get these for my son, but they’re a good freezer item to have on hand for quick lunches and dinners for my husband and me.
–Organic Ketchup
–EVOO spray
–Organic no salt added marinara sauce
-Brussels Sprouts: Like I said, I didn’t really buy a ton of produce on this shopping trip, but I love Trader Joe’s for frozen organic fruits and vegetables, which I like to have on hand for last-minute sides for dinners.
–Vegetable rotini: I’ve seen veggie pasta at other stores, but I grabbed this one from Trader Joe’s since I got marinara and meatballs during this trip. Gotta sneak in the veggies where you can with little ones.
–21 Seasoning Salute: a no salt added seasoning blend
–Canned salmon: My son hadn’t yet had fish, but this is wild caught salmon in water, so I’d be ok letting him try this. If not, it’s good for lunch for me.
–Joe’s O’s: better than Cheerios
–Various Indian side items: Thought these would be good to throw in the crockpot with ground turkey or beef to add some flavor.
–Eggplant Cutlets: delicious on their own, or in a sandwich or on a salad
–Fish Nuggets: Again, thinking about offering fish soon, so I grabbed these.
–Organic Olive Oil wheat wraps: A better alternative to tortillas

And, a bonus toddler food recommendation, not from Trader Joe’s…

–Earths Best mini beef meatballs: These aren’t sold at TJs, but I picked them up today at a nearby regular grocery store. My son could eat these by the bag if I let him. Like the turkey meatballs, yes, I can (and do) definitely make something like this myself, but having a bag or two in the freezer is a lifesaver.

What are your “go to” items for feeding your toddler? Have you shopped at Trader Joe’s before? What are your favorite finds?

I’m a Big, Fat Liar

…or so it would seem. I think I promised that you could “spend the last year of my 20s with me,” and here I am, more than halfway through it, and only three posts in.

I have excuses a’plenty. I’m tired. I’m busy. I’m in my car for 4 hours every weekday (gotta love that Houston commute). I’m a new mom, for goodness sake.

Now that we have that out of the way, I want to commit to dipping a small portion of my big toe back into the blogging waters. As I’ve noted, I like to write. It’s sort of my thing. And, I do want to document in some way what is happening in my life at this very moment. Life moves fast, and if you don’t stop to … something, something, there’s an 80s movie quote in there somewhere.

But, since I’ve missed out on a lot of potential blog post topics themed around the idea of growing up (read all about the horror of discovering that you’re getting gray hair at 29 and how the kid bagging your groceries calls you “ma’am” in the same way he called that grandmotherly woman “ma’am”), I wonder what I should write about.

I might post an occasional snippet of my daily life on here. That sweet baby boy of mine sure does keep it interesting. And, speaking of babies, I have developed many an opinion of products and items for babies that could be valuable for others who are gearing up for first-time parenthood. Some things sold at Babies R Us are completely useless (well, many things). Other things are infinitely important, but they may not be shiny or sparkly or interesting to you when you’re using that scanner gun to create your registry.

So, I’ve got things to say. Let’s pretend I’ll be back to say them!

What I Read: My Favorite Blogs

I love to write. For most of my life, I’ve considered myself a writer. That should come as no surprise to you, blog reader. You’re seeing my love of writing in action right now.

I also love to read. I was motivated to start this type of blog by a few different lifestyle/mommy bloggers I’ve come to love in the past year or so. They blog about their everyday lives, which to me is more interesting than a lot of blogs that are mostly product reviews. The Internet is a crazy thing. You get to know people without ever really knowing them. Crazy and creepy.

Anyhow, a quick list of blogs I read almost every day:

The Fitnessista – She gives great workout and diet tips, but I also enjoy reading about her little family.

Healthy Diva Life – I just discovered this blog over the summer. She’s got a teenage son and just gave birth to her second boy…probably why I’m so interested in her recent posts! I’ve got baby boys on the brain.

Beauty Broadcast – I discovered Emily through her YouTube channel, which is one of my favorites. Although her blog content does consist of mostly product reviews, she manages to keep things from sounding too much like a commercial, and she peppers in tidbits from her daily life.

The Story of Telling – This one is slightly different from the rest in the list because it’s about public relations, but it’s still one I check daily because it inspires me in my work and makes me be more thoughtful about what I do. Her posts are short, concise and beautifully written.

 

The Frightening Prospect of 29

Welcome. I’m blogging. I can’t promise that phrase will always be in the present tense. I’ve started blogs before, only to get preoccupied with offline life and leave them sadly unattended. I’m sure that doesn’t give you much confidence as a reader, but let’s think hopeful thoughts of a year’s worth of blog posts together.

Previous blogs I’ve created were all about food, fashion, beauty…I don’t think I have a label or category for this one. It’s more or less a place to capture my thoughts in the last year of my life as a 20-something.

You see, on August 7, I’ll be 29. That’s nearly 30. That’s an adult. That’s a big deal. Or is it?

I am the youngest child of three. I have two older brothers and have always framed my self-image as “the young one.” There’s a John Mayer lyric that sums up my mindset after I turned 25 and faced the prospect of eventually no longer being young (please don’t think I’m a tool for quoting John Mayer):

So scared of getting older/I’m only good at being young./So I play the numbers game/To find a way to say that life has just begun

Who am I, if I’m not the person I have seen myself as all my life? That’s been my big question for the last few years. But, as I get closer to turning 29, I’m thinking that maybe I’ve been melodramatic. It wouldn’t be the first time, that’s for sure.

Maybe my perspective needs some shifting. Maybe this is something to celebrate. Who wants to be a teenager? Not me, that’s for sure. And I certainly am happier and healthier now than I was in my early 20’s. (That’s not to say that I was a wild child back then — far from it, actually.)

The latter half of my 20’s has brought some of the most exciting life events imaginable. I got married. We bought a home. I finished grad school and my thesis. I found a career and job that makes me very happy and satisfied. I got pregnant.

Wait, what? Sorry for burying the lede, but I’m almost 8 months pregnant with my first child. That’s another reason I wanted to start blogging. I’m going to keep track of all of the baby’s firsts in his baby book, along with paparazzi-level photo and video coverage, I’m sure, but I don’t want to lose the thoughts I have as I learn how to be a mom. I’ll probably dedicate a longer post to my pregnancy experience, thoughts about the big day of labor and delivery, and all that jazz, but I will say that a big motivator for getting this blog up and running has been wanting an outlet for all the thoughts I’m thinkin’.

This year’s going to be one for the record books…or at least for a blog. Transition, change, turning point…it’s all those buzz words and more. No one may read this blog (and that may very well be a good thing), and I may abandon it when I realize that a newborn requires more hours of attention than a day allows.

But for now, I’m here, and I’m writing.