Awesome Avocado Chocolate Mousse

Yes you heard correctly, "AVOCADO" chocolate mousse. Sounds disgusting? Well it is awesome. And if you are not fond of avocados maybe now you will be. This is a dairy free, gluten free, and completely raw vegan dessert that you can feel great about eating.

Ingredients:
1 Ripe Avocado (I would not use overly ripe...but if you need to get rid of them go ahead)
1 tbsp of coconut oil
1-2 tbsp Agave Syrup
2-3 tbsp Cocoa Powder
1 tsp Vanilla extract (or another extract of your choice, you could even add a liquor).

Add all ingredients into a food processor and mix away... that is it! It is best chilled but you can eat it at room temp no problem.

I added a scoop of hemp seed and chia seeds to make it more nutrient dense. You could add anything you like! You could even freeze as an ice cream!

Veggie Loaded Meatloaf Muffins

This is a great way to get a bunch of nutrient dense veggies into your child's diet. Use this recipe as a guide and be creative. As long as you have 1:1 ratio of veggies to meat (can be off a little), you should be fine! You will need a muffin/cupcake pan large or minis. Minis are great for toddlers.

Ingredients (What I used):

1 lb Ground Turkey Breast (hormone/antibiotic free)
1 small(er) onion
2-3 stalks of celery
1 small sweet potato
1 small yellow beet
4-5 cloves of garlic
3-4 carrots
1 pepper
1/2 cup of fresh herbs ( I used parsley and cilantro)
1/4 to 1/2 inch turmeric root
1/4 to 1/2 ginger root
1 tspn/tbsp salt/pepper
1 tspn cumin and paprika


Directions are in picture captions.

I have a mandolin with a very fine (makes mush) attachment.
 A typical 4 sided grater will work too.
Use the side that gives you the finest product even if it is pure mush.

Here are most of the ingredients I used.

Grating away...

More grating...

I use the microplane for the garlic, turmeric and ginger.

Herbs chopped finely.

I don't have any more pictures because my camera died. However the last steps are the following.
Add the meat with spices and mix well until it is incorporated. It should be wet but holds together. Then scoop into greased up muffin tin. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until firm. You can ice them with mashed potatoes if you want them to look like cupcakes.

Get Greens into your Toddler

I find it difficult to get greens into Oliver's diet... not because he is picky but because I typically eat my greens plain and that just doesn't appeal to Oliver. So I have become pretty creative with getting greens into his diet. He loves eggs... Egg yolks were his first solid food and to this day he loves his eggs in the morning. So here is how I make Green Eggs and Ham...lol (No ham in this recipe...)

Ingredients:

• 3 organic eggs
• handful of organic cilantro and parsley
• fistful of organic super greens
• organic butter
• 1 organic garlic clove
• Pinch of salt

Melt some butter in your pan. I can not make eggs without butter it is sacrilegious in my family to use anything else.

Chop up your herbs very finely you could even use a food processor or blender.

Grab a fistful of greens...

And chop up those bad boys too...pretty finely.

Toss all greens and herbs into the hot butter.

Press or finely grate the garlic in with a pinch of salt.

Add in your eggs. I buy super eggs at the farmers market and they are always twins.

Scramble them up...

Keep scrambling...

And there you have it green eggs.

No complaints here...

When will I stop Breastfeeding Oliver?

It is funny how the first question out of most people's mouth when they know you are breastfeeding is " How long do you plan on doing that?"... My sarcastic side wants to shout out "FOREVER" or " Until he goes to College", none the less it is an annoying and ignorant question to ask a breastfeeding mom...

     I want to begin by giving a little background on my decision of breastfeeding and the bumpy road we had in the beginning...

      Well first off I understand my role as a woman as in that I have parts that make me able to carry and feed a baby, so therefore naturally and logically breastfeeding was what made sense to me. God created me to, so therefore I will. My mother breastfed me. I gave birth naturally with a mid-wife and it was clearly told to me that breast is best for my baby. Breast milk can not be manufactured and sold because it is a complex substance with living organisms. It contains everything your baby needs and changes with the needs of your baby. Reading study after study there was absolutely no doubt that I would exclusively breastfeed my baby. The ingredients in formulas, even organic ones disgusted me. So my choice was clear! The next question was how long would I breastfeed?

Ok so my mom breastfed me for 4-6 months...details and facts on this matter are a bit vague. So I figured before Oliver came that I too would breastfeed for around 6 months... and then I took pre-natal courses at the birth center with a lactation consultant and I realized it was better to breastfeed for longer so I bumped up my goal to one year being sufficient enough...

Well once Oliver was born things were tough...he didn't want to latch on, he was a lazy latcher and my nipples were a little short on top of that... so this was our first bump in the road! If it was not from the amazing support I received postpartum from the midwives I probably would have quit on the spot... My doula/lactation consultant from the birth center was at my house the following day and brought me a nipple shield. If you were like me and had no idea what a nipple shield was... it is a device that looks like a condom for your nipple. It extends further out than your natural nipple to give the baby more substance to latch on to. You use it until their suction is strong enough to nurse without it. With the shield we were good to go and I used that for about 2 months. Pain is also a deterrent. Yes there is pain! However it is usually from poor latching so if you fix the latch the pain goes away and stays away... Also in the beginning the baby is on your boobs pretty much 24/7 and this is what I believe the number one reason most women don't want to breastfeed... they want a break or some freedom. Well I have accepted and embraced my role as a mommy and I can honestly say that I don't want or need a break! I love my little Oliver. You have to learn to be very selfless in the beginning. I had issues with feeling non productive because I was sitting all day with a baby on me watching TV and browsing the WEB. I had to constantly remind myself that I am sustaining a live baby and that is VERY productive!

Well since I had lots of time in the beginning stages of breastfeeding I joined a couple groups on Facebook that offered me tremendous support. Two of the most helpful  groups were Respect the Breast and The Badass Breastfeeder.  I think I read every single post while breastfeeding and learned so much from other breastfeeding mothers. What I learned most was that breastfeeding was not only about nutrition but a bond between mother and baby...

This is when I decided that I will not stop breastfeeding at one...so when? That will be when Oliver and I are ready, could be one, two, three or more years... So this is where the ignorance of others shows up when I hear, "When they can ask for it, they are too old for it!".  Well Oliver has been asking for it since day one (vocally)! The WHO (World Health Organization) recommends that you breastfeed exclusively (NOTHING ELSE) for the first 6 months and then continue to breastfeed until at least 2 years. The AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) recommends that babies be exclusively breastfed for about the first 6 months of life. This means your baby needs no additional foods (except Vitamin D) or fluids unless medically indicated. Babies should continue to breastfeed for a year and for as long as is mutually desired by the mother and baby. Breastfeeding should be supported by your physician for as long as it is the right choice for you and your baby. (http://www2.aap.org/breastfeeding/faqsbreastfeeding.html)

The other thing people don't realize is the bond that a mother has with her breastfeeding baby. This bond is one that you can not understand unless you are in it... I didn't understand it until now. You can not just cut it off cold turkey at a magic number of months or years. It is like snuggling with your child... you don't give an age limit to that, they just grow out of it. Cutting breastfeeding cold turkey is just COLD and heartless, it does have an affect on them emotionally. It is call weaning a child for a reason... and weaning is what I plan on doing. Obviously as Oliver begins to eat more solid food he will need less breastmilk to the point where it will just be a comfort session. Even though the nutrition benefits will ALWAYS be beneficial for him and his immunity.

Another thing to consider is that the weaning age varies from country to country where you have some cultures that wean around 7 years. If that seems odd to you again check your ignorance level on the topic. Don't judge mothers negatively, when they are doing the BEST for their children. Instead encourage mothers that choose to breastfeed! They are sacrificing not only their bodies but their lifestyle too.

Here are a few links that will help you understand why I am choosing to breastfeed Oliver full term (2-4 years):

- Kelly Mom on Breastfeeding Toddlers

- La Leche League on Breastfeeding Toddlers

- Myths about Breastfeeding a Toddler

- 10 Reasons to Breastfeed a Toddler

- How to Handle the Criticism of Breastfeeding a Toddler

-  6 Month Commitment/ The Virgin Gut

Bring Sexy Back... with Cloth Diapers!

So even before I had Oliver I knew I wanted to cloth diaper.  Why??? Well these are my top 6 reasons...

(1) Disposable diapers are full of chemicals that are on your babies genitals 24/7. I don't want chemicals near my genitals and sure don't want them on my baby's.

(2) I hate making so much waste! I compost and recycle... Our weekly ratio is about 1 garbage bag: 3-4 recycle bags: 2 compost buckets per week... so seeing all the waste disposables make kills me inside.  (The Environmental Protection Agency reports that about 20 billion disposable diapers are dumped in landfills each year, accounting for more than 3.5 million tons of waste.)

(3) I hate wasting money. Constantly buying diapers to fill with poop and pee made no sense... it was like flushing money down the toilet and since I am not working to be at home, I can not afford to do that.

(4) I had many poop blow outs and leaks with disposable regardless of size and brand. So really how much worst could cloth be?

(5) My baby kept having diaper rash...and I really believe that the disposables were the culprit.

(6) I really wanted to try to do Elimination Communication with my baby and cloth diapers are easier to put on and off. (We haven't given up completely but it has been challenging...)

Oliver in disposables!

    When I told people this, most gave me negativity about it saying things like "Oh just wait, you say that now...".  However I really wanted to at least try. Well since I got a ton of disposable diapers at my baby shower...and not being big on returning things I decided to start off with those. I did buy a starter kit of cloth diapers from Baby's R Us since I had many gift cards from there. [As a side note, can I say I don't really care for Baby Depot stores. After Oliver was born I realized most of the things I needed or wanted weren't offered at those type of stores. Lesson learned! ] So back to the diapering... I bought a starter kit of G-Diapers because once again these baby depot stores don't have much to offer in way of natural parenting.

Oliver in the G-Diaper (Small Size).

Oliver in the G-Diaper (Newborn Size).

 


    So I used disposable diapers until I ran out of new born size ones which was around a month... and started using the G-Diapers. I loved using the newborn size model they had. I had great success but the problem I was having is I didn't have enough. The kit only gives you 12 and when you don't have a washing machine at home you find yourself without diapers. So I did some disposable and some cloth. Since the G-Diapers are quite pricey and you constantly have to buy new sizes I didn't want to purchase any more since he was going to be needing the next size soon.  The kit also contained 6 small sized diapers which I switched to around month 2. Once again I didn't have enough and they constantly leaked all the time! NO matter what I did. So I actually gave up on the idea of cloth diapering...because I knew very little about it and didn't research into it at that point.

     Then a friend of mine recommended a cloth diaper company called Comfy Rumps. She told me they are one size adjustable (so no need to buy different sizes), they don't leak, and they are affordable. She had me at "Hello"... lol.   So I went home and went to their website (http://comfyrumps1.mybigcommerce.com/) and saw that they were affordable compared to the G-Diapers and other cloth diapers on the market... cloth diapers typically are  between $15-20 per diaper and that's a lot. I read tons of reviews and watched a bunch of 'Youtube product reviews on them. Reading mainly everything positive about the product, I bought a set. I was able to get a package of 25 diapers which included inserts (G-Diapers did not), extra inserts, and two wet bags (one for the hamper and one for traveling) for around $250. Sounds like a lot but it really isn't considering you never have to purchase another diaper again! So on Oliver's 3 month birthday they arrived at our door! I was ecstatic!

     Did I mention how frigging cute cloth diapers are.. we have a ton of colors and prints! So I have 25 diapers and we roughly go through 5-7 per day, so I find myself washing diapers every 3 days. I wash them by hand and to be honest I actually enjoy doing it... it is kind of therapeutic. Since Oliver is exclusively breastfed his poop doesn't smell bad at all, I prefer that smell over the urine smell to be quite honest. I have a method of pre-soaking in baking soda and/or soda ash. Then I wash them in an organic detergent, rinse, and hang to dry. If I can do this then someone with a washing machine should be able to without a problem. Another amazing factor is the line drying... many people do not know this but the Sun is a natural bleacher... all the yellow stains magically disappear before your eyes in the Sun. My husband even helps out washing the diapers by hand, because he is such a great daddy!

    So we are almost at 6 months old and we have not used a single disposable or even felt the need to have them as back-up. The diaper rash cleared up immediately (we don't even have diaper rash cream at home). One of the biggest benefits is that Oliver never looked cuter with all his adorable diapers! We do have a few small urine leaks when I push the envelope of a double stuffed all nighter diaper (12 hours) but nothing like the disposable diaper leaks. I also have yet to have a poop blow out or up the back blow out with the cloth diapers, even though there is much more poop these days. I had quite a few "Up the Onsie" and "Down the Leg" blowouts with the disposable. I will never go back to disposables!

   So is there any downfall to cloth diapers? Well one thing is that since this is a one size adjustable diaper, they tend to look very bulky on newborns to 3 months. So a lot of the cute outfits that you get will not fit. Unless you invest in smaller sized cloth diapers as well. Another issue some parents have is having to carry around soiled diapers when on the road. Well that is what wet bags are for and to this day I have yet to have to carry a really bad soiled diaper. My little one usually doesn't poop when we are out and about, but if he did I don't see the issue of putting it in the wet bag. Another one I hear is that cloth diapering is labor intensive... well anything you do for your child is labor intensive, however the labor you do for your child's well-being should be considered a labor of love and not an inconvenience. To me this has been one of the best choices we have made for our little guy. Who said washing diapers is hard? and I am doing them by hand...

In our orange CR.

In out yellow CR.

In our blue CR with another cloth diaper friend!

In our Grey CR.

In our Blue Leopard CR, Oh happy day!

Happy in our Green CR.

Snoozing in our white CR.

Close up of our Denim CR.

Oh yes we have a cow print CR too.

A few of our CR stash.

Cow Print... we also have Zebra! 

Some useful links....
http://www.nest-shop.co.uk/real-nappies-guide
http://dirtydiaperlaundry.com/pampers-new-dry-max-causing-severe-rashes/

A Necklace that Helps Babies with Teething....REALLY?

Since I gave birth to my little boy Oliver on April 7, 2012, I have been doing nothing but researching on the best things that I could do for my son. Not the most expensive or popular, but what is authentically good for him. I am on a mission to do everything for my child via homeopathics versus the typical allopathic route. So listening closely to some homeopaths...and reading articles, I kept hearing how Baltic Amber is used for teething. I thought the babies had to chew on the necklaces, but quickly I learned they just have to wear them. Really? Just wear them? How does that work? Curious to know more I did some more research and asked questions, which led us to our first purchase all the way from Lithuania .... and this is what we bought...

These were the necklaces we purchased from Aidas Vizgaudas on http://www.etsy.com/shop/BalticAmberGiftShop , two for Oliver one for daddy and one for mommy. I love how he put the little angles on the baby ones.

Here is some information on Baltic Amber ( via http://www.amberartisans.com ):

"Today, more than ever, parents are looking for natural ways to care for their infants children instead of reaching for over the counter or prescription drugs. Especially when it comes to teething, a perfectly natural event that marks various growth stages in infancy and childhood. As parents explore how to soothe and calm teething infants and children and give them comfort during these very uncomfortable times, they often turn to one of the oldest, most widely used, and complete natural solutions...amber teething necklaces.

For thousands of years, Baltic amber has been recognized for its incredible healing properties and analgesic pain relief. Completely non toxic, natural amber also supports the immune system which is especially important for infants and children when their young bodies are still in development. So how does Baltic amber provide such incredible relief? We’re glad you asked that question! Over 45 million years ago, an organic substance known as “fossil resin” was produced by unique pine trees in a very large forest in Northern Europe. When the temperatures in the forest went from cold to much warmer, the trees exuded a “sap” or “resin” which became part of the earth around them. As waterways in that area grew in size and strength, the “fossilized” resin reached the bed of the Baltic Sea and subsequently drifted in varying shapes and sizes to the shores. First recorded in 460 BC, amber became the most precious substance of its time as the “gold” of Lithuania, the messenger of ancient history to scientists (the resin having inclusions of tiny insects and plants of that period), and a most unusual healing solution. The healing properties of Baltic amber are attributed to its primary ingredient, Succinic acid, which is mostly located in the surface layer of the amber, and is an exceptionally powerful therapeutic healing agent. So how does amber achieve its role as the primary natural solution to relieving teething pain in infants and toddlers?

In order for Baltic amber to perform its analgesic function, amber artisans designed amber teething jewelry that could be worn comfortably and safely against the child’s skin. When the skin warms the amber, it begins to exude its healing properties providing not only pain relief but a calming effect. The relief will last for long periods of time so you can remove the necklace when your infant is sleeping or unattended. The necklaces fasten with a screw clasp and strung by hand with special knots in between each and every amber bead so if the necklace should break, the rest of the beads will not scatter.

So remember…your child doesn’t need to endure teething pain and the irritability that comes with it. At the first sign of teething, which is most often drooling, find a respected and reliable source for a Baltic amber teething necklace. And then relax and let nature take its course."  

You can also find information on Baltic Amber on http://www.itmonline.org/arts/amber.htm . 

First Day Oliver is wearing his Baltic Amber!

Daddy has a matching one too!

So stylish :)

We are happy with our necklace!

Baltic Amber Necklace, so far so good!

So far I think the Baltic Amber is helping...we don't actually have any teeth out yet. However I have noticed a little less drool and discomfort! We will see as we progress on our teething adventure.