Newborn Fog

Yes, it is a thing. I am living in it. At least this time I saw it coming.

2 weeks of no driving after a c section and then 4 weeks of very limited activity. Add that to less sleep than would be desired, a new human to get to know, being in constant demand for nursing, a body that feels unlike the one you are used to, bleeding, soreness in all the wrong places, incisions, milk production, clothes that don't fit...

The days  and nights begin to all run together. Dirty diapers, feedings, burping... it doesn't matter if it is 2 pm or 2 am, the activities are the same.

And in the outside world, things continue on as they always have. Presidential debates continue, celebrities make the news for outlandish decisions, coworkers go to work, friends go to the bars or adult restaurants, life happens. Friends and family stop by to see the baby and then they leave to return to their day to day routines that include regular meals, sleeping for more than a few hours at a time, and reading books that don't rhyme and have animal characters that talk. 

And eventually, as a new mom, you step out of your house, blinking in the sun, feeling a little shocked at the first breath of fresh air. It all feels new, and different, even if it is exactly the same. It is so hard to believe that the last 2-3 months have left you behind, that the world kept turning even when it felt like yours was standing still. And slowly, you find your way again in this new normal. One day at a time.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Popcorn

This recipe is vegan and MSPI safe. Sometimes, you just need a treat.  In this case, we had a friend who generously spent a lot of time making us vegan, MSPI safe, freezer friendly meals to eat after our new baby was born. Well, he's here and her meals have been a life saver! Thanks Sam! We have a fun little policy at our house that we never return a container empty. In this case, what came to us as vegetable soup (soooo delicious) is returning in the form of peanut butter chocolate drizzle popcorn. Can I just say, "oh my!?" I made one batch and couldn't stay out of it so I had to make a second batch. Ha!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Popcorn

Makes 12 cups

1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 T Earth Balance
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
8 cups plain organic popped corn
3/4 cup chopped vegan dark chocolate or chocolate chips

In a saucepan, combine the honey, sugars, Earth Balance, and sea salt, and heat over medium until the mixture comes to a boil.  Add the peanut butter, and stir until combined.  Remove from heat, and add the vanilla, stirring.  Pour over the popcorn and gently mix.  Spread out onto a lined sheet pan, and allow to cool.

Melt the chocolate and drizzle the chocolate over the popcorn, and allow to cool and harden.

Break into small chunks and store in an airtight container.

Mulligatawny soup

We have been on an Indian food kick at our house, Vegetable Korma, Curry, Spiced Lentils, Hummus, Naan, and now Mulligatawny Soup.  

Typically Mulligatawny Soup is pretty spicy when you order it from a restaurant. This version was a little sweeter, although, you could certainly spice it up if you don't have little ones with sensitive palates. 

Mulligatawny soup

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp Earth Balance Soy Free
• 1 tbsp olive oil or coconut oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 tsp minced garlic
  
• 1 1/2 c baby carrots, chopped
• 2 celery sticks, thinly sliced or chopped
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled, chopped into small pieces
• 1 apple, peeled, chopped into small pieces
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 1 1/2 tbsp vegan bouillon (Better than Bouillon or Rapunzel Vegan Vegetable Bouillon )
• 4 cups water
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tbsp apricot jam or mango puree
• 1 cup basmati or jasmine rice
• original hummus, for serving
• Cilantro to garnish (optional)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Prepare vegetables. I used my small Ninja food processor to chop the onion, celery, carrots and sweet potato. The size of the vegetables isn't important as they will be pureed later, but they do cook faster if chopped smaller.
2. Melt Earth Balance and oil in a large saucepan and stir in the chopped veggies. Cook over  medium-high heat for 10-12 minutes, stirring regularly until the vegetables soften and begin to brown. 
3. Stir in the diced apple and add curry powder. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes more. Stir and watch closely so as not to burn.
4. Stir in the bouillon, water, tomato purée and apricot jam or mango puree. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat slightly and leave to simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally . Cook until the vegetables are soft.
   
5. While the soup is simmering, cook the rice per instructions. Drain the rice and rinse under running water until cold.
   
6. When the soup is ready, carefully blend with an immersion blender until smooth before stirring in the cooled rice. Be very careful as the soup is hot and can splatter. If you don't have an immersion blender and are using a food processor or a regular blender the soup MUST cool first or you will have an explosion.
   
7. Add water to achieve desired consistency. Heat the soup until hot and check the seasoning, add salt and black pepper to taste.
   
8. Serve the soup with a spoonful of hummus or vegan sour cream and sprinkled with cilantro.
   

Vegan and MSPI-safe Puppy Chow

Disclaimer: this is not healthy but it is darn good.

I didn't grow up eating rice cereal coated in peanut butter, chocolate and powdered sugar but this is something that my husband remembers having at the holidays.

In the past, I have made it traditionally with the real butter and milk or dark chocolate chips. This year with baby number three on the way and the MSPI diet underway, I modified it a bit. I made notes about the brands that I used but make sure to read labels!

Vegan/MSPI Puppy Chow

Ingredients
1/2 cup Soy Free Earth Balance
1/2 cup peanut butter creamy - I made my own peanut butter but you could use a "safe" store bought variety
1 cup MSPI chocolate - I used organic dark chocolate chunks that I bought in bulk at HyVee but Enjoy Life also makes chocolate that would work
6 cups Rice Chex - I used the HyVee brand
2-3 cups powdered sugar

Directions
In a small sauce pan on medium heat, combine the Earth Balance, peanut butter, and chocolate. Stir until melted and combined.

Add 6 cups Rice Chex cereal and gently stir until coated.

Pour 1 cup powdered sugar in the bottom of a large Tupperware container, add the cereal mixture, pour the second cup of powdered sugar on top and replace lid. Gently shake to distribute the powdered sugar.  Open the container and break apart any large clumps. Add more powdered sugar if necessary and shake one last time. Spread on wax paper to cool. Store in airtight container. 

Holiday Meal - MSPI and Plant Based

We ended up with a change of plans for Thanksgiving this year due to weather. Our little family stayed in town and went to a movie. It was the boys first movie experience and they didn't move a muscle during the movie but weren't all that eager to go again. (Bonus, since it is so much more expensive than I remembered.)

Anywho, I had planned on taking several side dishes to our family gathering before plans changed so I had some items in the fridge that I don't always keep on hand. This week, we had a belated plant based, holiday meal. It also had to be devoid of soy as I am now in the final stretch before this little baby arrives at our house. The 5 year old had requested Brussels sprouts and mashed potatoes and I had fresh cranberries that needed to be used as well.

What we ended up with was a roasted vegetable medley with mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce. I also made a vegan gravy as well but the flavors were quite good without it.

Holiday Plate

Ingredients

 

Roasted Carrots

• 1 cup baby carrots
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• pinch of salt
• black pepper, to taste

Roasted Broccoli

• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• ½ tbsp olive oil
• pinch salt
• black pepper, to taste

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

• 1½ cups Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
• ½ tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• pinch salt
• black pepper, to taste

Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes

• 3 pounds Yukon Gold or Red potatoes, roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces and peeled if desired
• 1 cup vegetable stock (check ingredient list for soy)
• 1/4 cup Earth Balance - soy free, cut into small cubes
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup plain hummus
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/3 - 1/2 cup unsweetened almond or oat milk, warmed

Vegan Gravy

• 1 tbsp Earth Balance (or olive oil)
• 2 tbsp flour
• ¼ tsp each of onion powder, thyme, and oregano
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• Powdered vegan no-beef bouillon to taste

Cranberry Sauce

• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup water
• the juice of 2-3 oranges
• 12-ounces fresh cranberrie
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

 

Instructions

 

Slow cooker mashed potatoes

1. Early in the day, add potatoes and stock to the bowl of a slow cooker, and place butter cubes and minced garlic on top. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours, or on low for 7-8 hours, or until the potatoes are cooked and soft.
2. Just prior to the meal, while the veggies are roasting, use a potato masher or an electric mixer to mash the potatoes to your desired consistency.  Stir in the hummus, salt, and black pepper.  And add your desired amount of warm milk, until the potatoes reach your desired level of creaminess.  Stir in any other add-ins if desired.

Roasted Veggies

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Prepare a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. In a bowl, mix carrots with olive oil, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Spread the carrots on your baking sheet.
2. Mix halved Brussels sprouts in the same mixing bowl with brown sugar, olive oil, salt and pepper, and spread them out on the same baking sheet. 
3. Mix the broccoli with olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Spread the broccoli on the baking sheet as well. Bake for 15-20 minutes. About halfway through the cooking time give everything a good stir to evenly roast. 

Cranberry Sauce

1. Bring sugar, water and orange juice to a boil in a medium saucepan.
2. Add cranberries and cinnamon. Bring to a simmer and cook stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes, until sauce thickens.
3. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Vegan Gravy

1. In a small saucepan heat Earth Balance or olive oil over medium to low heat. 
2. Begin to whisk in the flour, salt, thyme, and oregano, and mix well. 
3. Cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute before slowly whisking in the broth. 
4. Add bouillon and stir. 
5. Simmer for 8-10 minutes until thick, adjusting the consistency with extra broth as needed.

Lessons at Bathtime

I am not a yeller. I don't yell at sporting events or concerts, on roller coasters, or in traffic at other drivers. I don't yell at friends across the room to get their attention. I don't even often holler for the dog to come. I didn't grow up with yelling or conflict. I don't remember my mom or dad ever once yelling at me and without exception, never at each other. Not one time.

So.... when this happened the other day, I was taken aback.

It went like this. I was trying to get the four year old and the just barely turned two year old through the bath and bedtime routine. The first step is getting to the bathroom. The second step is taking off clothes. I had the two year old in the tub and had asked the older one to get undressed approximately 1,682 times, calmly and nicely. Finely I yelled, "just do it!" at him. One look at his face and teary eyes and I knew I had made a mistake. Now don't get me wrong. Everyone loses their patience sometimes. I wasn't ridiculing him. We were all tired from a long day of work and play and no naps. Being pregnant makes me even more tired and I just wanted to lay down. I quickly apologized for raising my voice. I explained that was not the right thing for me to do and that I should have used my words in a nice way (this is something that we tell both boys to do regularly). His eyes welled up and his lip trembled and he said, "It cracks my heart open when you yell at me." And my mind flashed to an image that I had seen not long ago on social media.

I apologize for not knowing where this originally came from in order to give them credit for the photo.

This picture makes my stomach drop. That is exactly the look I got from my little boy and I hate that I made him feel that way. The only thing I can do now is try my best to maintain my patience and to remember this moment. To understand that he's four. He can follow instructions but he also gets distracted. He isn't doing it to be naughty, something else just catches his attention. This is a kid who likes to please, for better or for worse. He was in his own little Hot Wheel world and not in a hurry to get in the bathtub. He is also sensitive to emotions. He does not want people to be sad, or angry, or hurt and he takes every little thing personally, which we are working on slowly.

The next thing he said was, "momma, who did you yell at today?" My stomach dropped even further when I sat and thought to myself that the answer was "only you". I couldn't even answer him. That  question made me realize in a split second that I would never yell at a friend, coworker, patient, sibling, parent, my husband, or a stranger. I would never yell at them to "hurry up", "knock it off", or "pay attention".

So why would I do this to my child?

The answer is, I won't. I am certain that I won't resort to this again. It helps that it is not in my nature but it is not what I want them to learn. I don't want the boys yelling at each other or at their parents when they are upset. I don't want them to yell at their future wives or kids. I want them to begin to learn other techniques for dealing with stress, agitation, annoyance, frustration, and anger now.  That starts with me, with what they see and hear every day and their observations of how I dealt with issues. 

Parenting is certainly not easy and it doesn't come with a manual. Each day is a new lesson, both for the little boys and for their mom.

Showing Compassion on the First Day of School

Kids are headed back to school. First day of school pictures are plastered all over Facebook and everyone looks so cute. It's fun to see my friends children grow each year. My oldest is headed back to preschool this year for the four year old class and he is so excited. Three half days seems to be about perfect for him (and me) right now.

This week, I was talking to someone whose little one was off to 1st grade this year. She was mocking the Kindergarten parents for the tears and the emotion as they sent their babies into a big new school on a new adventure. She was talking about how "the first grade parents were laughing and rolling our eyes". She talked about a first grader who was crying about leaving her dad to go into the school building on the first day and that this child was "too old for this" behavior.

I don't know. I guess because I haven't sent my babies to Kindergarten I may not be qualified to say. I just think it is OK to be in the moment, both for kids and parents, at any grade. First graders are just 5 or 6 years old. If the child has been home with a parent on a babysitter they really love, it can be overwhelming to go back to school. There might be something at school that they remember from last year that scares them, or it might be hard, or they might just be nervous about something new.

Here is the thing, parents of Kindergartners have always had big emotions around the first day of school including trepidation, anxiety, excitement, love, hope, joy, sadness.

 It is always OK for you to feel your emotions. 

Experience them fully, this is what living is supposed to be. 

What I would then hope, is that each one of us shows some compassion for these parents and kids while they work through these feelings and big life events without mocking or bullying, or making them feel less than. Yes, when you can see it from the other side, it seems so much more manageable, maybe even less important. Maybe you weren't a parent who cried on the first day of school and sat in the parking lot for an hour. Maybe your child turned and waved goodbye and skipped through the front door with confidence. Maybe you had to pry your sweet baby off your leg and guiltily race to the car so they could get their day started. Each of these situations is personality, family, and situation dependent but the similarity is that everyone had a first day experience. No two were alike. No two family situations are the same and most importantly no two parents or children are the same.

So cherish your experience as your own with your child. Cry, hug, smile, act brave... whatever you feel like doing and do it with Love, deep love. And don't worry what the first grade parents think, they were just there a year ago.