Going green!

I have been on a mission to become a healthier, more natural, eco-friendly family! I have been switching out all-purpose flour fr whole wheat, and loving the results! I made a super yummy banana bread, and nobody even knew it had Organic raw cane sugar, agave nectar, and whole wheat flour. I also used applesauce in place of the butter. All of my nay-sayers (aka family!) have quited down after trying the bread! It was so mois and yummy and decadent tasting. Add to that my homemade butter, and we have a hit! So yummy for breakfast!

I've also made my own all-purpose cleaner. It is super easy and I really love the way it cleans. Here is the ridiculously simple recipe:

1 cup water
1/4 cup white vinegar
3-6 drops grapefruit extract

Mix in a squirt bottle and spray onto surfaces!

Another random thought: our Earth Day FuzziBunz diaper came in today. It is so cute! Action shots to come :) 

6 months!

...and 1 day.

I am a day late in writing this post, but Braden turned 6 months old yesterday! Where did the last half a year go?? I am in denial. He is still my squishy, soft, cuddly newborn. No, he doesn't sit up unassisted, eat solids, laugh, say "mama", or try to crawl. I refuse to believe it!

Speaking of, HE SAID MAMA!! He says it so often now. I know he doesn't really completely understand that he is addressing me, but man does it make my heart melt. It's funny, because he tends to say it when he is hungry. Coincidence? Maybe. But then again, maybe not. :D

We got some 6 month/Easter pictures done today. I will share when they come in!

Happy half birthday baby boy, mama loves you more than anything in this entire galaxy!

Vanilla Bean Pear Sauce

Ok, I suck at blogging. I haven't written a post in over a week! I am going to add a few posts now, to make up for it. First up is this recipe for Vanilla Bean Pear Sauce.

I came across this recipe while checking out the Smitten Kitchen blog. She has such seemingly fancy recipes, so I was super excited to try out the pears. This recipe has a swirl of balsamic vinegar in it, which I thought was so strange. When I tasted the end result, though, I was super surprised. The vinegar adds a depth and a richness to the pears. It is so much more than vanilla flavored pears. It's a flavor experience! Ok, so here is the recipe. It is super duper easy! Braden loved it, so I highly recommend trying it out!

Vanilla Bean Pear Sauce

A few pears (I used bosch)
Swirl of balsamic vinegar
Splash of vanilla, or a vanilla bean
Water

Peel, core and slice pears. Place pears in a medium sauce pan with about an inch or so of water. Add the vanilla bean or vanilla extract and the vinegar. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then turn the heat down to allow to simmer, covered. Once the pears are soft (about 30 minutes), remove the vanilla bean if you used it and transfer to food processor. Give it a whirl and you're done!

I froze mine into cubes!

Homemade gummy candy!

I am a gummy bear fanatic! And not just bears. I love worms, bears, rings...anything gummy! So when I found a recipe for homemade gummies, I ran to the store to get the ingredients and try it out. I must say, they came out wonderfully. You can find the recipe I used here. I am thoroughly impressed. I used raspberry jell-o for this time, but I bought about every flavor jell-o on the shelf to make next time.

Lots of pictures and some CD reviews!

I found a great deal on fleece soakers on Etsy, buy 3 get 1 free. I picked some cute prints and bought them. I love them! They are so adorable he can wear them like shorts, and they contain leaks like nobody's business. I bought from this shop. I am really impressed both with prices and quality. There is an extra layer sewn into the wet area of the soaker, for maximum protection. The fabric is stretchy so it has no problem going over even an extra fluffy diaper. I could go on and on about these. Buy them! Here is a picture of Braden in one of his (with his grandma Cassy):

I bought some Kawaii's off of Diaper Swappers. I like them enough, but I have some serious issues with the laundry tabs. They do not stick well. They always form diaper chains in the washer, and it drives me nuts. I'm not sure if the inserts I have are Kawaii or not, because they have no tags. They were sent to me with the Kawaiis, but who knows. I've never had a new Kawaii.

I bought a Goodmama, also used, off of DS. I thought "Ok, let's see what all the hype is about." I really wondered why people sat in front of their computers refreshing the page to buy a $30-$45 diaper. I have to admit I do really love the diaper. It's really absorbent, still very soft and of course adorable. I have a space ship print. I just bought 2 more Goodmama's. 1 Good.night, and one regular Goodmama. I am pretty excited to get them.

I've been using my CDs for almost a month now. I am really loving my BumGenius dipes. I have 3 pockets and 3 All-In-Ones. They fit B perfectly. I especially love how stretchy the tabs are. Really just a fantastic diaper.

Ok, that's all I have for tonight I think. Here are some random pics from the past few days!

Braden with his daddy before bed! 

 B eating his feet after a nap. 

 With Auntie Jess

 Modeling his Apple Tree Boutique bib! 

 Spending time outside with mommy and daddy

 Tissue paper?!?!!!!!

Been busy!

So I've been cooking up a storm. Today I tried out making my own cheese crackers. They came out alright, but I wouldn't say mind blowing. They are pretty addictive though.

Yesterday I experimented with tofu. I made tofu nuggets for dinner, and blended some into B's dinner as well. B liked his. It was tomato, carrot, tofu and basil. I thought it smelled pretty yummy, and I was so excited to be able to give him fresh basil from the garden! I liked the tofu nuggets alright. I served them with marinara sauce. Jon ate one, but wasn't too big on it. I guess I won't be making those again!

Here are my tofu nuggets:

 And here is Braden's dinner! 

I have a ton of pictures to share, and some cloth diaper reviews. I'm going to put them in a separate post :)

I've got myself a garden!

That's right, i've started a garden. I bought a few roma tomato plants, cilantro, basil, rosemary, and parsley. I also have a strawberry plant! I am so happy to have fresh herbs to cook with. I have been looking for homemade fertilizer recipes to use. I feel like such a housewife when i'm out there with my watering can!

Last night I was browsing Diaper Swappers and came across this thread, about making packaged foods homemade. I love it! I decided to try the Pop-Tarts. so, at 10pm, I was rolling out dough! They came out alright. The dough is a little bit flaky. It crumbles easily. I am not sure if it's because of something I did wrong or just the type of dough. I am going to search for a new recipe to try. The brown sugar and cinnamon filling, however, was delicious. It tastes just like the Pop-Tart kind! I plan on making the gummy candy and butter next!

Sweet Potato Fries

I want to start trying mixing pureed baby food with some baby-led weaning (BLW). Basically, this encourages the child to discover food at his own pace. Learn more about BLW.

So tonight I made B some sweet potato fries. I gave him a few, and we ate the rest with our dinner. Here is the recipe and tutorial. Enjoy!

Cinnamon-y sweet potato fries

1 medium sweet potato
Olive oil
Cinnamon

1. Start with your basic medium sweet potato 

2. Wash and peel the sweet potato. 

3. Slice the potato in half, and then in long sticks. 

4. Slice the longer sticks in half so you now have fries that are about 2 inches long. 

5. Drizzle some olive oil and sprinkle some cinnamon in a plastic bag. 

6. Add the potato sticks and shake it until all the sticks are well covered. 

7. Add more olive oil and cinnamon to the bag as needed. 

8. Lay the potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Mine is sprayed with some non-stick spray.

9. Cover the pan with foil. Bake at 400 for about 45 minutes - 1 hour. Check for softness every so often by poking with a fork. 

10. When they are done, they should be tender on the inside with a very thin skin of cinnamon on the outside. 

Enjoy!

Here are some pictures of brady's first BLW experience! 

Who cares what I feed my child?

Ok this is going to be a vent. Now that you've been warned, here we go...

I have begun to think about Braden's first birthday party. I believe I have come up with a theme of space ships and robot, since daddy is a space-aholic. I mentioned to my family that I was going to start looking for healthy recipes for his own little personal cake. I don't want him having all the crazy amounts of sugar in regular cakes. Well I got the eye roll and tons of comments about how he needs "the real thing". ?!?!?!?!?! First of all, natural whole foods can't get anymore "real". And also, who do you care? How does my son's birthday cake effect you in any way? It drives me nuts. I get the eye roll about not wanting him to have juice, not feeding him any sugar for a very long time, not allowing him to suck on popsicles and lick chips and cookies. I would be impressed with someone who was trying to feed their child as healthy as possible.

Why is the world so backwards sometimes?

Sigh.


In other news, I am looking into becoming a doula. I met someone who is going through the training, and it just clicked in my head like, this is what I want to do. I loved birth, and I would love to help women through it. I am planning to start the course in late May. Yay!

Here are some pics!

Out at grandma's birthday dinner!

 Trying some bread. 

 Fresh melon! He loved this one. 

 My delicious homemade peas. So sweet and fresh tasting!