stories and recipes from a young mom who is still just trying to figure it all out!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Part 1: recipes for a GF friend



To a dear family friend, here are some gluten free recipes!

The most obvious recipes are ones that don't contain any bread or wheat at all like meat dishes or veggies. Sometimes people get so caught up in being worried about not eating gluten that they forget that a lot of our basic meals are okay to eat when you are on this special, and difficult, diet. But if you are at all like me, bread is a staple and sometimes I must admit, I just don't feel satisfied without it! So here are a couple recipes that use special flours to create that bready texture that you crave.

Banana-Nut Blueberry Muffins

this recipe is straight out of my cookbook from my training as a natural chef and the credit should go to Jennifer Miller who created it. It is not only gluten free, but dairy and sugar free as well! But I will write in less expensive, animal product options for those of us who cannot afford/find some of these ingredients :)

2 cups dried coconut (NOT the sweetened kind for baking. Can also use 1 cup coconut flour)
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp flax seeds (this is to create a "flax egg" for vegan muffins. You can also use 1 egg, beaten)
1/3 cup water (this is for the flax egg as well. Omit if you are using regular eggs)
2 very ripe bananas (I like more but that is optional)
3/4 cup water (or milk)
1 Tbsp coconut oil, melted (or butter, melted)
1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup frozen blueberries

1. preheat the oven to 350. grease the muffin pan
2. add the dried coconut to a food processor and pulse until ground finely. It should be the consistency of flour. Mix the coconut with the rest of the dry ingredients and combine well.
3. grind the flax seeds (or use already ground) and whisk together with 1/3 cup of water until it becomes gummy and the consistency of an egg. Blend with the rest of the wet ingredients.
4. Blend wet ingredients with the dry until combined. Be careful to not over-mix. fold in walnuts and blueberries
Fill the muffin tins and bake for about 35-40 minutes

I know the amount of ingredients, especially in the dry section, looks a little daunting! But alas, so it can be with gluten free baking sometimes. But the good news is, once you buy these flours, you always have them on hand so you can whip up a batch of muffins or biscuits whenever you have the need!

Gluten Free Crackers

This is also a recipe I adapted from the Bauman College staff. I remember them being delicious and satisfying! But I decided they needed some herbs for a little more flavor and they are fantastic sprinkled with sea salt when they are hot out of the oven. Great dipped in hummus or eaten on their own

2 Tbsp coconut oil (or butter)
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 Tbsp water
3/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 cups grated hard goat cheddar (optional. another cheese can be used or none at all)
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/8 cup potato starch
1/8 cup tapioca flour
1/8 tsp xanthum gum

preheat oven to 350

melt coconut oil (or butter) and then let it cool
mix oil with egg and water in a bowl until well combined. in a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients. add the wet to the dry and mix until it forms a solid dough. cut the dough in half, wrap with plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for 40 minutes.
roll out the dough very thinly (the thinner, the crunchier and more delicious!) on a piece of parchment paper. Move to a baking sheet, parchment and all. score with a knife or fork and bake for 25 minutes. sprinkle with sea salt right away and let cool


Gluten Free Buttermilk Biscuits

yet again a Bauman recipe that I added to. What can I say, the most of my gluten free cooking experience was in Berkeley! :)


1/3 cup sorghum flour
6 Tbsp tapioca flour
3/4 tsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp xanthum gum
1 pinch salt
3 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup cooked ham, diced
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp fresh oregano, chopped

preheat oven to 450. lightly butter a baking sheet and set aside

sift dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. "cut" butter into flour until it resembles small peas. (this is just what it sounds like. use two knives to literally cut the butter into the flour.) Stir in enough buttermilk to form a soft dough that holds its shape when pressed together. (you may not need it all) fold in ham, cheese and herbs.
you can roll out the dough and cut out circles using a glass, or make drop biscuits by dropping bits of dough onto the baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned.


These are some of the yummier gluten free recipes I have for baked goods (and some pictures from my time at Bauman College where I got them). Stay tuned for a few gluten free fish and grain dishes that are easy to make on any weeknight!

Monday, October 25, 2010

surprisingly delicious spaghetti

One of Beau's favorite dinners is spaghetti. To be honest I never take the time to make meatballs, I just brown up some hot Italian sausage and add it to a jar of red sauce. It is quick, Beau likes it, and I happen to really like the sausage over meatballs anyway. But all that heavy sauce and noodles always leaves me sluggish and bloated and I feel heavy even the next morning. So as much as Beau loves it, I tend to be more hesitant to make it.

And then I discovered a whole new way to make spaghetti! Okay, well it isn't actually new at all but it is something I never tried because the ingredients always scared me off a little bit. I have heard it called several different things so I just call it spaghetti a la delicious. You create a little sauce with fresh or canned tomatoes and a things like anchovies and capers and I find that if I use whole wheat noodles then I don't feel so bad about scarfing down a second helping. And as it turns out, the anchovies scared me but the whole meal comes together really well and tastes fantastic! Plus it is so fast to make. If you just take the time to measure everything out and chop it up then you can just toss it all together in only a few minutes.

Spaghetti A La Delicious

handful of whole wheat spaghetti
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp hot chili flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
about 6 anchovy filets, mashed with a fork (optional for a vegetarian version)
1 can of diced tomatoes (fire roasted or with herbs)
a small handful of kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1 Tbsp capers, chopped
1 tsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp fresh oregano and thyme, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

cook the spaghetti in salted water

heat the olive oil in a pan then add the hot chili flakes and garlic. saute for a couple minutes until garlic is brown. Add the anchovies and saute for a few seconds, then add tomatoes and simmer (while stirring) for about 5 minutes. Stir in olives, capers, brown sugar, herbs, salt and pepper. Add the spaghetti to the sauce and toss together until it is coated.

Remember that capers and anchovies are salty on their own, so taste before adding any more salt!

Man Stew!

I thought for sure I would have posted this stew at least once, but after searching through blogs of rainy days' past, I didn't find it! So I feel it is absolutely necessary to share this easy and hearty stew. I make it a lot because Beau likes it and it is super easy. I make it in the crockpot, but you can make it in a regular soup pot too. (slightly different directions for a soup pot will be at the bottom of the recipe)

We call it...

Man Stew! And you will need...

3 small carrots, diced
1 onion, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
2 small potatoes, peeled and diced
3 strips of bacon (this is for the grease. if you would rather, a little olive oil will work just fine too)
2 lbs of stew beef
3 Tbsp flour
1 can diced tomatoes
2 bottles Guiness beer
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp fresh oregano, chopped

In a large skillet, cook the bacon to render the fat. Remove bacon and set aside. Saute carrot, onion, potatoes, and celery in the bacon grease until soft (potatoes won't be soft, but that is ok). Add the stew meat and brown. Once brown, sprinkle with flour and coat everything. Saute for 1 minute to cook out the flour flavor. Transfer to a crockpot and add tomatoes and beer. My crockpot takes hours on high to cook, but if you have a good crockpot you can cook it on low. Let it cook until meat is done and tender and the stew is thickened. Stir in fresh oregano and salt and pepper to taste.

If you do not want to use a crockpot, do all of the steps in the soup pot and simmer for 2 hours on the stove.

This is a chunky and hearty stew and is really yummy with just a hunk of bread as a side. Don't worry, the beer taste cooks out and makes a yummy broth. :) I did learn however, that the extra stout Guiness does not taste as good, you have to buy just the regular beer in the black bottles.

Enjoy!

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Feels Like the Very First Time

A few years ago, before Beau, Berkeley and all of the wonderful food experiences I had in the Bay Area, I had my first romantic evening with food as my +1. I remember it well as one of those life altering moments where I realized I truly had a passion for food. I was 18 and a vegan. I would buy my make-up from an Aveda salon in Redlands and I just happened to notice at one of my routine visits that they were putting on a vegan benefit dinner at a place called The Farm. The money would go to the California beaches which I justified as the reason I would just have to pay the $65 for a ticket. How could I not help the beaches? I'm not a monster!

The dinner night finally arrived a few weeks later and I got dressed up like I was going on a date. Little black dress, heels, my hair was up in the messy boho fashion I was wearing in my vegan days and I hit the town. I had butterflies as I anticipated the delicious food waiting for me.

Once I arrived, I realized I was the only one there by myself! But I didn't let that stop me. I held my head up high and owned it; I pretended to be one of those fashionable old ladies who always goes out alone and looks fabulous doing so. It didn't occur to me until later that I was also the youngest in attendance... But anyway, I walked through the giant oak doors and was seated at the end of one of the long tables amidst a group of hairdressers who all came together. Their hair talk faded into the background while I looked around and took in the room... deep colors, low lighting, wine glasses and bottles lining the wall behind the bar. Oh yes, this would be a romantic night!

And oh what a night it was. I was served a 6 course vegan meal including polenta, soups, delicious roasted vegetables and an amazing dessert. I closed my eyes and tasted, really tasted, every bite. The food was comforting as well as fantastic and beautiful to look at. It broke my heart that i didn't know anyone who would be as excited about this food as I was! And then I knew... Maybe I am a little different from the rest of the population when it comes to food.

Lucky for me I would move to a place where a "foodie" is as common as the hobos that lined the street corners and I would get to have many more romantic food evenings. But none quite as exciting and sexy as that night I went out alone to explore the world of high end vegan cuisine. I guess nothing compares to the "first time".

I would love to share an incredible vegan recipe with you to go along with this post, but I have not been a vegan for a long time and I may have lost my touch! :) But if you are ever in the mood, make a reservation at this beautiful restaurant in downtown Redlands. That was a vegan event but the restaurant serves meat, and deliciously I might add! They also have an amazing wine selection and all of their food comes from local farms. Does it get much better than that?

Friday, October 22, 2010

No such thing as too much pumpkin!


"umm... not that I don't love your pumpkin waffles, but do you think maybe sometimes we can have regular waffles?" -Beau

Okay, I guess I go a little overboard on the pumpkin this time of year. But I can't help it! Pumpkin spiced anything is delicious and for some reason it is only delicious around this time of year. This is hands down my favorite time of the year. I love how (in Southern Cali anyway) it is always blistering hot and then all of a sudden it happens almost overnight; the wind blows in a chill, the trees are suddenly an array of beautiful golds, reds and yellows and the sky turns a silvery gray. It is beautiful! The air smells like damp earth, and there is no better smell than the smell of a wet desert. I get a thrill from pulling out the old cozy sweaters and fuzzy socks. A rush of childhood memories of Falls and Winters past hit me full force as I slip into an over-sized hoodie and cuddle up with a book while listening to some of my mom's favorite old CDs. And then the best part: I'm already bundled up all the time anyway, so I have no qualms about baking (and eating) all my favorite goodies!

I am not huge about decorating my treats into little spookie critters or covering everything in candy corn. What I like the most is what the season has to offer this time of year, and it finds its way into everything I make: apples and pumpkins! Sure apples are in the store all year around, but this is apple season and there is nothing better than an apple just picked off the tree in its season. There is something intoxicating about the smell of a perfectly ripe apple. It smells so sticky sweet and almost flowery. Yum!

And then there are pumpkins... where do I even begin with pumpkins? As a kid I thought pumpkins were just for decoration and then I got a little older and discovered the joy of pumpkin pies, pumpkin spiced cookies and cakes, lattes and anything else you can throw some pumpkin in. I have so many pumpkin recipes I had a hard time narrowing down which one to share, but in the end it was obvious what my favorite has been lately: pumpkin waffles! I make a bunch of batter and store it in a mason jar in the fridge so I can get to it whenever I have the urge, which is more often than I should. I could literally eat these waffles morning noon and night which is probably why Beau is so sick of them.

Yesterday when I woke up it was gray and drizzly outside and absolutely freezing in my house. I stuffed my feet into really tacky fuzzy socks decorated with green and white stripes and put on two sweaters and did the only thing I could think of to do when you wake up and everything is drizzly. I turned on my computer and played some rainy day music and then pulled out the waffle iron. The smell of these pumpkin waffles set the mood for the rest of my day and I could not have been more happy to sit at my table and eat while watching the rain glisten off the field behind my house and the crows bounce around eating walnuts that had fallen from my tree.

Pumpkin Spice Waffles with Walnuts

1 1/2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree (fresh or from a can)
1 2/3 cup milk
4 bsp melted butter, cooled
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. In a smaller bowl beat the eggs, sugar. Then add the pumpkin, milk and butter. Fold the wet into the dry. Pour some batter into your waffle maker and sprinkle with walnuts. Cook according to your iron's directions. Serve right away with some fresh whipped cream or maple syrup. Mmmm...


.....

This another recipe to celebrate the season that I got from a tart recipe from Julie Child's The Art of french Cooking. The tart is delicious too, but if you ever have a few extra apples and you don't want to eat them inside a pastry shell, this is just as good on its own!

Applesauce

3 lbs apples, peeled and cored and diced
1/3 cup apricot preserves, forced through a sieve (this is to get all of the large bits of apricot out. If you don't mind large bits then you can leave it as is)
1/4 cup apple brandy or rum
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
zest of 1/2 lemon Place the apples in a saucepan, cover and cook on a low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once tender, beat in the rest of the ingredients. Raise the heat to a boil, stirring until applesauce is thick

(p.s. these are not my pictures! I stole them from Google because my camera was lost :) but it is found now, so pictures of my food will be coming soon! ... Nice picture of waffles though right?)

Thursday, October 21, 2010

what is green, warm, and delicious all over?

Warm spinach salad... I have come to the conclusion that this is the most delicious way to eat spinach! I will be honest, I am not the best when it comes to eating my veggies; I am more in the fan club of sweets, fruit and lots of bread and grains. But like a good girl I make sure to include some green stuff as often as I can. This recipe is incredibly simple and super delicious.

Warm Spinach with Roasted Garlic

1 bag baby spinach
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 head garlic
1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

preheat oven to 400 degrees. cut off the tip of your head of garlic with a sharp knife and wrap it in foil. roast in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour. it is done when it is fragrant and the clove is golden brown once peeled. once it is done, let it cool and then peel off the skin

in a saute pan, heat the olive oil. add the spinach and immediately drizzle lemon juice over the top. saute the spinach until halfway wilted, about 2 minutes. turn off the heat and toss with the garlic cloves and salt. serve immediately

Delicious!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Less Fat... More Scraping?

Okay, so I am going to admit something a little embarrassing today. I have a serious woman crush on Jennifer Aniston (I mean, it. I'm kind of obsessed). I know she is not the hottest person in Hollywood, but for some reason I just love her. She seems incredibly approachable to me and she seems to have a little bit of a hippie side, which appeals to my hippie side. Plus, I am a yoga freak and they say that is the secret to her fantastic arms and legs. So there it is! I am crushing on a 40 year old actress who does yoga.

But that is not exactly why I am writing this blog; it is only partly relevant to Jennifer. It just so happened that some time ago Oprah did an article on Jennifer Aniston having a dinner party in her home and she ran it in her O Magazine. The article described Jen's home and the little dinner party she was having and it also interviewed her personal chef's and listed the menu they prepared for the party. In the menu, under the appetizers, her chefs prepared (among other things) mushroom quesadillas. Not that I had never heard of a mushroom quesadilla before, but they did something different I had never heard of. In order to cut out any unnecessary fat, the chefs cooked the little Mexican treats on top of course sea salt! Apparently the salt acts as a barrier to keep it off the pan and from burning instead of the usual pat of butter or margarine that creates a nonstick surface. I read this little tip while I was reading the article (and relishing the pictures of Jennifer's beautiful kitchen and patio) and I was instantly intrigued.

So today while I was at the store I bought some whole wheat tortillas and a few quesadilla goodies and decided to try it for dinner. I prepped my mushrooms (always wipe with a damp cloth, never ever run under water! They absorb the water and shrink a lot when you cook them) and got everything ready and sprinkled the salt in the pan anticipating a magical little barrier and a perfect quesadilla. Well unfortunately that is not what I got... the salt sort of adhered to the tortilla and made a little bit of a salty mess. I kept scraping it off so it wouldn't be too icky tasting to eat. They were right though, they don't burn! But who would want to eat so much salt?

Fortunately I am a good scraper and I was able to save our dinner. And with the difficult cooking process aside, they were delicious! I was very impressed with the combination and I must admit I actually liked the way it tasted with no fat on the tortilla. Sometimes a little butter can make it taste more fried and kind of heavy. These were light and healthy but still really filling! So if you want to try these cooked with a little Pam, a little spot of butter, or if you don't mind scraping off salt, it doesn't matter, but I do suggest you try them!

Mushroom And Spinach Quesadillas

4 whole wheat tortillas
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded jack cheese
1/2 cup baby spinach
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp chopped fresh oregano
2 tbsp course sea salt (if you plan on cooking it this way)

In a small saute pan, heat your olive oil. Add the garlic and mushrooms and oregano and saute until lightly golden and delicious. set aside. In your other pan add the salt (or butter or whatever) and heat the pan. Lay down a tortilla and on one side layer mushrooms, spinach and cheese. Fold over and cook until golden and crispy and them flip it and cook until golden and crispy. Do this for every tortilla. Makes 4.


Sunday, October 17, 2010

My Love Affair with Muffins

Do you know the muffin man, the muffin man, the muffin man? Oh, I know the muffin man!

Here, let me introduce myself-

My name is Jasmine, and I LOVE muffins! I have often said that my favorite food invention is the combination of bread and sugar (cupcakes, quick breads, cakes...) but more than any other sweet, fluffy bread, I love the taste and texture of good muffins. There is truly something about a muffin that I almost can't put my finger on... it is the way the top will give way under your fingers and tear off to reveal the perfectly soft center, and the way it smells as you bring it to your lips. Or maybe it is the way it feels against your lips, soft and plush and a little buttery. I love how it melts on your tongue, back into the dough that it was before you baked it. The word muffin actually comes from the French word "moufflet" which means soft. It cannot be described any better way!

I have to admit that the fluffy bready texture is my favorite thing about a muffin, but of course the reason muffins are so popular is all of the fantastic flavors and that wonderful sweet taste! Blueberry (my personal favorite), banana nut, cinnamon apple and anything else you can dream up. The possibilities are endless when it comes to these palm-sized treats. But muffins did not start out that way. Muffins started out at a yeast-leavened bread that was not particularly sweet. In fact, the word muffin originally referred to what we know now to be an english muffin. Those disk-like little breads with holes that are delicious with butter and a cup of tea; that is what they were baked for- tea! There really was a man called a muffin man back in the 19th century in England who would carry muffins on the street while ringing a bell and selling his treats at tea time. I love this image of a little man carrying muffins and ringing a bell. I can't help but picture cobbled streets and quaint little cafes with trendy, thin women sipping tea wearing gawdy pearl jewelry.

English muffins traveled to America along with other food recipes, but they were not oh so very popular until the 1970's and 80's. It took that long! Americans took the recipe for muffins and tweaked it in the way that we Americans do... add chemicals and lots of sugar! It was in the 1970's that less and less women were baking at home and more were taking up post in the work force. This started a trend in mixes and foods you can grab on the go. There was also a rise in gourmet coffee shops and healthier food. The recipes of muffins changed to a bread that was leavened with baking powder rather than yeast and they were baked in muffin pans (or cupcake pan, they are not sure which sweet treat came first). Ironically, the healthy food movement caused muffins to grow 3 times their size in these pans! And to keep the muffins fresh longer so that they could be sold in the new trendy coffee shops, there was a lot more sugar and fat added. People still imagined that muffins were better for them than the donuts or bagels that were the other breakfast or treat options, so they would opt for the muffin, even choosing a carrot or blueberry in hopes of getting some healthy nutrients. However, if you are a calorie counter then you know that a muffin should be an occasional sugary treat and not an everyday breakfast as the people of the 70's and 80's were led to believe. There isn't much about the muffin that is actually healthy, but who cares when they are so delicious?

After my hubby bought me a giant muffin pan (if the regular muffin is 3 times the normal size of a muffin then the giant ones must be 10 times the size! No wonder I can't lose these last 5 pounds!) I made it my business to find the very best muffin recipe out there. After sampling and and scouring the internet I had narrowed it down to 2 recipes. Both of them claimed to be the very best muffins you have ever eaten, and they each had a completely different batter. We did a taste test and I ended up coming up with my own recipe that combines the two! Careful, these muffins are not for the faint of heart or the diabetic among us. I have a very large sweet tooth and the batter is almost cake-like... yummm.

Jasmine's Blueberry Muffins

1/2 cup butter
2 cups flour
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup blueberries (I use frozen)

topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Sift dry ingredients into a small bowl. In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs. Add the milk and flour. Fold in the blueberries. Fill the muffin cups all the way and top with the crumb topping. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes

to make crumb topping: combine all ingredients together with a fork. you don't need to mush up the butter, just leave it cubed and evenly distribute it on the muffins.


Enjoy by ripping off the crunchy, sweet top and tearing apart the fluffy bottom; eating it in soft little pieces with or without butter. Then eat the top in little orgasmic bites and curse the muffin gods for making this muffin go straight to your jeans and adding to the muffin top on your hips.


Saturday, October 16, 2010

The things this mommy can't live without

Before mommy-hood there were a few things I could not live without- dark, strong coffee, red wine, vigorous yoga... to name a few. Obviously these are all things that I could not carry with me into my pregnant life and now that I am a full-time mommy and house wife, I have a new list of must-haves. For those of you who have recently brought home a little screaming, puking and pooping bundle of joy and sleepless nights, I thought I would share a few of the time-saving and sanity-saving items that are always in my house these days.

First of all, I am a breastfeeding mommy and what I have discovered about this that I was not aware of, is that breastfeeding means you can pretty much forget about your own needs, including eating. I mean this in the most loving way possible, but my day is pretty much spent making sure my little giggly love bug has everything she could possibly need, especially that she eats every 3 or 4 hours. When you are trying to clean your house for your man and run errands and do all the other things I do in a day, 3 or 4 hours flies by pretty quickly and it is hard to fit in time to prepare a healthy breakfast or lunch. Especially if your baby, like my baby, never ever wants to be put down. But this doesn't mean you can skip meals! Breastfeeding is the most important time in your life for you to be eating healthy meals, so what to do? In comes my first can't-live-without-item: Lean Cuisine frozen dinners and Fiber One granola bars.

I don't know what I would do without them! In between feedings and cleaning and playing with baby, it is so easy to pop a Lean Cuisine into the microwave and dig in without taking off your super mommy cape and not have to worry about getting in your daily doses of veggies and other nutrients. Not only is it easy, it is delicious and most of the dinners have whole grains, fiber, veggies and a low amount of calories to help you with that extra baby weight. I usually eat a handful of nuts or a piece of fruit with the dinner for the extra calories I need while I am breastfeeding.

The Fiber One bars are just as easy and good for you. No high fructose corn syrup (I am adamant about this- I hate the stuff.), and it has a good portion of fiber to keep you full until your next snack. They are also quite tasty! I always have one in my purse for a just in case snack, and it is my main go to when I am hungry or if I need a quick breakfast I eat one along with some yogurt or an apple. It is fantastic for a little energy boost which is so important these days.

Those two things are very helpful to keep me fed and give me energy throughout the day, but there is another area where baby makes things a little more difficult: the shower. I am the type of girl who absolutely loves her shower time. It is the first thing I do in the morning after drinking my glass of water, and I love to take my time; massaging my head as I shampoo, smelling my soap while I lather it and taking my time shaving my legs while I sing a little tune. Unfortunately in the last 4 months all of that has changed. Ally tends to wake me up very early and then she is wide awake and all smiles for quite a few hours before she is down for her first nap of the day. I still crave my morning showers so I will get her all cozy with some toys and a paci and jump into the shower to do a quickie wash and just hope she doesn't start screaming while I still have shampoo in my hair. I was lucky if I ever got to shave... that is until I discovered my Schick Intuition Plus razor for sensitive skin! It is one of those handy little razors with the built in moisturizing bar that acts as a shaving cream. When there is a waiting baby, every second counts and to save that time of lathering on shaving cream, shaving, rinsing the blade, rinsing off your legs... you can just quickly shave, shave shave, and do it under the water so you are rinsing at the same time. 30 seconds to 1 minute tops! Now my man never has to deal with prickly legs in bed again.

And speaking of showers, this brings me to another item I cannot live without. Some days a shower is just not in the cards for me. Sometimes my little lady is just too wound up and won't sit still or she is crying and it breaks my heart to leave her, so I have a handy little product that I will never be without: my dry shampoo. Some brands are better than others, but no matter which one you buy, it rocks. It smells really yummy so you don't feel so dirty and it soaks up any oil and dirt so your hair looks fresh and happy again. Then you can style it however you would normally style it and ta-da! That little can has saved my life on many occasions.

The next thing I cannot live without is one of the most fantastic finds and really really helpful: soap.com and diapers.com! Oh fellow mommy's, if you have not tapped into this resource yet I suggest you get on it right away. They are these linked websites that carry everything you can possibly need from laundry soap to sex products and everything you would need for baby. Your order ships in one big box and it is on your doorstep 2 days after you order. The diapers are cheaper and you can buy them in the really big boxes and you don't have to worry about the store being out of your brand or size. Then you can get hand soap for the bathroom, laundry soap, shampoo, shavers, baby butt wipes... all the things you would have to run to Target or Wal Mart for to get the good prices, but it is all right there on your computer! Plus it keeps me out of the store and away from tempting "sales" that will have me spending more money on things I don't need. I absolutely love it!

The last couple things I cannot live without in my new mommy life are: my mom's old crock pot with the delicately little painted flowers around the rim, a good man to take over baby time when he comes home from work, a few magazines and my green yoga mat. Without these things to help me get dinners ready after a hard day, give me a break, and help me relax, I truly would not make it through this challenging and blessed time.


black beans in a crock pot

1 package of dried black beans
enough water to cover the beans about 2 inches
2 ham hocks, smoked and then boiled to remove the skin

in the crockpot combine all of the ingredients when you are having "one of those days". turn it on low (or high depending on your pot) and let it cook slowly all day. When dinner time comes around, shred off the ham into the beans and season with salt and pepper. You can serve it as a side or a main for tacos or burritos. Or if you are like me you will love it under a fried egg with some spicy salsa! The leftovers can be added into anything, and what busy mom doesn't love leftovers?


p.s. Stater Bros. very often has Lean Cuisines on sale for $1.99 and the Fiber One bars on sale for 2 boxes for $5 :)