Foodie Friday: Vegan “Chicken” Burgers

Leave a comment October 31, 2014 discoveringnaturalmotherhood

In the past I have bought the frozen meat replacement patties for burgers. But with giving up soy, I realized all the burgers I usually buy have soy. This vegan “chicken” burger is very easy  and freezes wonderfully!

Ingredients

• 1 cup cooked brown rice that has been cooked in vegetable stock
• 3 1-2 cups diced yellow sweet potatoes
• 1 – 15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
• ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
• ¼ teaspoon celery salt
• ¼ teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon nutritional yeast (optional)
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• A few dashes of Tabasco sauce
• salt
• pepper
• olive oil
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 6 hamburger buns
• lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo, mustard, ketchup

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the diced sweet potatos onto a large sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Place sweet potatoes in the oven and roast for about 25 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Let cool for ten minutes.

In a food processor, add the brown rice, chickpeas, roasted yellow sweet potatoes, and all of the spices. Turn the food processor on and process until all ingredients are combined, but not for too long or else the mixture will get a little gummy due to the yellow sweet potatoes. You want the mixture to be a little chunky.

Place the bread crumbs on a large plate. Form the mixture into patties and then place patties in the bread crumb mixture and press down in order to make the bread drumbs stick to the patty. Make sure all sides of the patties are coated.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and coat the bottom with olive oil. Make sure the olive oil is hot before placing the patties in. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side until patties are browned.

Place patties in buns and top with desired toppings.

I had been putting Noah in his swing while I made dinner, but lately he hasn’t wanted to be in there. I decided to try a carrier I had bought (K’Tan) and it worked great! Now when I cook dinners Noah just hangs out with me and is content to be held next to me. He also loves to chew on the strap 🙂

I hope you enjoy this recipe! The original recipe is posted here

Going Dairy and Soy Free

Leave a comment October 27, 2014 discoveringnaturalmotherhood

Just before Noah turned two months old, I noticed a tiny speck of blood in his stool. It really scared me. There should be no reason that there would be blood in his stool. As far as we knew, he had no allergies, he had no complications after birth, and everything was going so well. Of course, being paranoid, I looked up a few things from my trusty friend, Mr. Google, and found so many different reasons why there could be blood in his stool. I decided I would call the doctor in the morning, and tried to get some sleep.

First thing the next morning, I called the doctor’s office and spoke with one of the nurses. She consulted with Noah’s doctor and she instructed us to monitor it and if we saw it again, to bring in the diaper. I felt a bit better since they didn’t want us to rush in. I thought maybe it was just a fluke and maybe that I ate something that may have upset his stomach. I figured it wouldn’t happen again. That day, I started a food journal just in case it did occur again; I could look back and see if there were any similarities between what I ate those days and his reaction. Shortly after Noah was born, the doctor had given us a book from the American Pediatrics. It covers just about anything that could go wrong with a baby. I looked in the book about blood in the stool, and the one thing that caught my attention was that many babies have a hard time handling the milk and dairy that comes through the mother’s milk. I thought about it for a while, considering how much dairy I take in throughout the day. I didn’t think it was that much, but I decided to take it easy on the dairy and see what happens.

A few days went by with no signs of blood in his stool and I noticed, each night, Noah was becoming less and less fussy. Before the appearance of blood and giving up milk, each night, around 6:30 or 7:00, Noah would start crying inconsolably and acted extremely hungry. When I laid him down to eat, it would make him cry more. Then, by 9:00 p.m. or so, he was fine. But, with each passing night of not eating dairy products, the crying became less, until he didn’t have those periods of crying at all. I couldn’t believe it, just from cutting out something as simple as dairy, my baby was feeling better and he had no blood in his stool.

Then, about a week later, one afternoon, I noticed blood in his stool again. My heart dropped. I thought I had surely fixed the problem. I quickly called the doctor, and they got us a same day appointment. We went in and they tested his stool. Sure enough, there was blood mixed in with his stool. They wanted to make sure it was mixed in rather then just sitting on top of the stool. If it was sitting on top of the stool it could have been a fissure, but it was mixed in. As a result, we spoke about my eliminating dairy from my diet and how it has helped with his fussiness at night. She was glad that it had helped. She then suggested I get rid of soy in my diet too. She mentioned that many of her patients who were sensitive to dairy were also sensitive to soy. I was a little weary because I know that soy is in everything, but I wanted to give it a try.

After two weeks of eliminating dairy and soy from my diet, and there had been less and less blood in his stool. It has now been six weeks of no dairy, and three weeks without soy and I haven’t seen any blood in his stool for a week! I am hoping that this sensitivity will only last for a few and that he may grow out of it. His doctor said I could try to add some dairy into my diet after he turns four months. Some babies go through a very sensitive period from two to four months, but often grow out of it. The dairy hasn’t been too hard to cut out, but the soy has been much more challenging. I knew soy was in everything, but I didn’t think it was really in EVERYTHING. Even our organic canola spray contained soy. Why?! It’s canola oil. It shouldn’t need soy!

I would do anything for this little boy, and if giving up dairy and soy means he’ll be happier and more comfortable, then I would give it up forever, if I had to!

Although, I’d really like a slice of pizza right now!

I’d do just about anything for this little guy! 🙂

And on a side note, Malakhai got the last of the peanut butter today. I’ve got one happy pup right now!

Month 2

Leave a comment October 21, 2014 discoveringnaturalmotherhood

Noah’s second month has been even greater than the first! We settled into a bit of routine and it’s nice to somewhat know what to expect from day-to-day. Noah has been sleeping about three hours at a time, throughout the night. It doesn’t seem like a long period of time, but it is so much nicer than an hour or two at a time.

During this second month we started to see him smile! I cannot even express how much joy this brings me. My heart melts into a puddle every time I see that gummy smile. I can’t handle the cuteness!

Noah talks to us more and more every day; a lot of cooing and mmmming sounds. He is also started to track and follow people more; as we walked by him or entered the room, he would follow us with his eyes.

Towards the end of the month he started to enjoy his mobile too! The first few times we put it on he didn’t seem to notice it but now he coo’s when we turn it on.

5 Ways to Play with Your Baby in the First Month

Leave a comment October 16, 2014 discoveringnaturalmotherhood

I am always in search of ways to interact and play with Noah. During the first month I sometimes felt like I didn’t know how to interact with him. He slept and ate most of the time, but I wanted to interact with him a little more than that. I did some research online, but all I found was “how to interact with you baby months 1-3”. Most of the games or activities I saw was geared towards three month olds.

In search for more answers, I looked in my closet for some of my old college textbooks; I have a degree in Early Childhood Education, so I thought there may some helpful hints in those books. I found a few activities that, again, listed them in a cluster of 1 to 3 months. However, I did find a few activities that I thought I’d share with you. If you want to interact with your baby in other ways than feeding him, the following are some great ways to play with your baby the first month:

1. Sing to your baby– Now, let me tell you, I am not a singer. I have a singing voice that could break mirrors! When I was teaching preschool I would have my preschoolers sing louder so they couldn’t hear my awful singing voice! But- Noah loves to be sung to. Each night as I am nursing him and getting him ready for bed I sing the same set of songs. It has become our ritual and something that I hope to continue for a long time to come. I sing “Hush Little Baby”, “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”, and the ABC’s. If he is still up after I’ve sung those three songs I then will sing “Where is Thumbkin”. There are tons of other nursery rhymes out there. Look them up. Sing to your baby, even if you’ve got an awful singing voice, like myself, your baby won’t care. They will feel comforted by your voice. You could sing along to a channel on Pandora if you’re not comfortable singing with no music, but the baby would rather be comforted by their mom’s/dad’s voice because they are familiar.

2. Finger puppets– Finger puppets have a similar effect on your baby as singing. They will be comforted by your voice. Make up a silly story and share with your baby. It’s okay if they are not focused on the puppets themselves; that will come in time. They will benefit most from hearing the best sound they know your voice! Also, if you don’t have any puppets and don’t want to go buy any, you could use any type of stuffed animal. Or you could also buy a set of bath toys and use them to tell a story with and the baby can use them later in the bath when they are old enough.

3. Read books– I read to Noah everyday. At first I didn’t show him the pictures because he couldn’t focus in on the pictures. I just read. I have a ton of books from teaching, but there are lots of ways to get books to read to your baby. Go to the library and check out books (It’s free!), or go to the Arc of Goodwill and buy previously used books. Just make sure to clean them! On Saturdays, the Arc in our area, offers most books for half price. I can get board books for 25 or 50 cents! By reading to your baby from day one, you are promoting life long reading!

4. Talk to baby– Anything your doing, speak it to your baby. If you are changing the baby, tell them what you are doing as you do it. Or if you’re going down the stairs tell them. Babies who are exposed to more language from infancy, have a better vocabulary than those who were exposed to less language.

5. Be present– This is the most important of all. It is so easy to be constantly on our phones, or on social media sites. I am guilty of it at times. But what your baby needs most from you is to be present and be with them. They need to know they are safe and secure with you. Now, I’m not saying never go online or talk on your phone, but rather, do those things when the baby is sleeping. Then when baby gets up you should be ready to play with baby or feed baby, and the bonding will only get stronger when you are present for your baby. Plus, you don’t want to miss any cuddling or bonding with your baby because they grow up fast!

I hope this list helps you to interact with your baby in other ways beside feedings. Some days, we did all of these things, and other days I could only be present for Noah. It will depend day-by-day of what activities you can do with your baby. The first month is the hardest. At least it was for me. By playing with Noah, it made me forget how tired I was or the long list of house chores that needed to be done!

Month 1

Leave a comment October 10, 2014 discoveringnaturalmotherhood

This post is coming a month late (Whoops)!

Noah made incredible changes within the first month. When he first came home with us he was very fragile and really only slept and ate. Then by the end of the month he was making some eye contact and starting to coo! Around the end of his first month Noah started to notice the ceiling fan in our room, he would stare at it and coo, so cute! It is so exciting to see his development. It has been a very, very challenging month, but also very rewarding. It was challenging because of the late nights and getting up every couple hours. When I did sleep it was not very sound because I was trying to make sure I didn’t sleep through Noah making sounds. Yet this month was so very rewarding in seeing my confidence build as a mom and the knowledge I gained about taking care of a newborn. I have loved every single second of being a mom and getting to know my baby boy!

Top 10 Essentials to Have When Bringing Baby Home

Leave a comment October 7, 2014 discoveringnaturalmotherhood

When I first found out I was pregnant with Noah, I was so excited to start buying baby stuff. But, when I shopped around online and went to the stores, I became overwhelmed with the amount of stuff they all had. I didn’t know what was most important for a newborn, and I am not one to over buy. I wanted to know what I needed most, and what I didn’t need. (A wipe warmer…ummm, they can handle getting wiped without the wipes being warmed?!) I asked friends and family what they thought was most important and compiled a list. Then I went and looked at each item, and decided what I thought I would actually use. And now that we have made it home with Noah, I’ve compiled a list of what I think is most important.

1. Crib and/or bassinet: We did not buy a bassinet, however, if the crib will not fit into your bedroom, I suggest you get a bassinet. Luckily, the crib we bought fit into our bedroom. I feel so much safer having Noah sleep in our room. Those first few nights were essential to have him there with us. It was so much easier to nurse him in our room, especially when you are sleep deprived!

2. Dresser: You will need somewhere to put all those clothes!

3. Diapers/wipes: We received a lot of diapers from our baby shower and let me tell you… you go through a ton of diapers in those first few weeks! Noah ended up being very sensitive towards a few brands of diapers and we were not able to use them. Also, don’t stock up on one particular brand of diaper because they might not fit your baby properly, or they may have a reaction to them. Buy a few different brands just in case. We went through four different brands before finding one that fit Noah and didn’t cause a reaction. I love diapers and wipes!

4. Car seat: This should be obvious, however, do your research on car seats. We looked to Consumer Reports and bought Chicco Keyfit 30 for Noah’s car seat. The car seat itself is very nice and very sturdy. I feel very safe putting out baby in it and ensure it is comfortable enough so that when we are driving he will be safe!

5. Swaddles: Noah loves, loves, loves, his swaddle! He would be agitated close to his bedtime and once he is in his swaddle he becomes sleepy and comfortable. We use Swaddleme swaddles. Also, at first, we swaddled his arms but now he does not need them swaddled anymore; he prefers it that way!

6. Blankets: You can’t have enough blankets. We use them for everything! Spit up, swaddling, to lay him on, to cover him up; the list could go on and on. I would suggest having at least 5 or 6.

7. Onesies: Onesies seem to be the most comfortable for newborns. I don’t know about you, but I do not like scrunchy pants and I don’t think newborns do either. Remember, they will have the stub from their umbilical cord still attached and I would be scared the waste line might tear the stub. It seems like that is all they offer for infants pant selection. I think infants are more comfortable just wearing a onesie and not having anything around their waste. This is just my preference, but I prefer onesies for Noah!

8. Boppy: This is my ALL time favorite item for newborns! I use this all day everyday. It is so useful; it keeps your arms from getting tired, and it helps when guests come over to hold the baby. It is also a lifesaver when breast feeding, you can look at your phone or drink water without disturbing baby! Seriously…buy this!

9. Socks: Noah’s feet always seemed too cold. The rest of his body is usually warm, but his feet and toes were cold, so we use a lot of socks. Also, buy small socks. We got many socks that were too big for him at first, and would just fall off when he wore them.

10. Hand pump: I exclusively breast feed Noah, but when your milk first comes in    you make wayyyyy too much for him to eat. You will want to express just a little bit of milk so it doesn’t hurt so much. I liked the hand pump because it was smaller and portable rather then using the breast pump that had to be plugged in.

There it is. The top ten items I think are necessary to have when you bring your baby home! I hope that this helps you when your looking to buy baby items before baby comes home. There are many, many other things product you could buy but you can also save a lot of money by not buying those products. Baby towels were one item I thought we really needed to buy, but we have tons of towels that already own! By not buying un-necessary products we were able to buy more organic items that I felt were important. The cribs mattress (linked above) was one item I made sure was made of organic materials. Babies spend so much time in their cribs and they breath in all those chemicals they put in typical mattresses. I feel better putting Noah in a crib that has a mattress with as little chemicals as possible!

Taking Baby Home

1 Comment October 5, 2014 discoveringnaturalmotherhood

When we received the go ahead, we thought we were prepared to take our baby home from the hospital, but you never realize how SCARY it is to do so. It is wonderful having the nurses check on your baby constantly making sure his vitals are normal and that he is breast feeding properly while your in the hospital. When that time comes, the time when they release you, the reality of it all is scary, hits you.

First, comes the drive home; the cars and other various traffic that could possibly collide with your car and your precious new baby. Not to mention the sleep deprivation. Anthony was very, very stressed when we first loaded Noah into the car. How could he not be? Our most prized possession was being exposed to the big wide world, and we had to keep him safe. All of the cars seemed to being driving faster and closer to us then any other time we had driven before. Both of us were on edge looking for the next car that could possibly hit us. We both sighed with relief when we pulled into the garage.

Once you get home, you might think you are safe, but, then you realize this tiny baby has to sleep in a gigantic crib. Noah looked so small the first night in his crib. But we prepared ourselves and put him in his swaddle and laid him down. Then we realized the nurses were not there to check his vitals anymore. We started to feel symptoms of panic, and the worries flooded in over us. What if stops breathing during the night? Will we know? How will we make sure he gets up enough times during the night? Should we set our alarms? The list continued on and on.

Eventually, you learn that exhaustion will allow you to fall asleep and you realize that the baby will wake you up when he is hungry, or when he needs his diaper changed. We did set our alarms for every three hours, but he got up about every two hours. Even though you fall asleep, your sleep is not restful. Every little sound he made, we jumped up to see if he was okay. That first night, it seemed like morning would never come. Although, morning did eventually appear and we felt like champions because we just made it through the first night, by ourselves, in our home, with our baby! There is no feeling like making it through that first night; it gives you confidence that you can take care of your baby without the nurses and their constant supervision. Although worries still did exist, we just cuddled with our precious baby, and the worries floated away.

Foodie Friday: Quinoa Strawberry Salad

Leave a comment October 3, 2014 discoveringnaturalmotherhood

I’m going to start a series called Foodie Friday, where I introduce recipes that I’ve been loving lately. These recipes will not only be about the food that I eat but also for Noah and I’d like to incorporate doggie treats too!

For my first Foodie Friday I found a fabulous recipe (found here) on Pinterest! I omitted a few ingredients from the original post and it was delicious!

Ingredients:

10 oz fresh spinach

4 cups sliced fresh strawberries

1 1/2 cups cooke quinoa

1 cup chopped fresh peaches

1 red bell pepper, chopped

Dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil

3 tbs balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp Honey

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

salt and pepper to taste

First cook the quinoa, while the quinoa is cooking start chopping the pepper, strawberries and peaches. Put them into a large bowl

When quinoa has finished cooking, let cool for a few minutes. Then add to bowl.

Then add the spinach. Next, in a small bowl whisk together the dressing ingredients. Then drizzle on top of the salad and mix or if you’re making the salad ahead of time you can leave the dressing in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve!

This salad is light but very filling and it can be served as the main course or as a side dish! Anthony added chicken to his and I had my vegan pattie with mine. I love this recipe because it’s adaptable to all family members for dinner, whether you’re vegan, vegetarian, meat-eater or anything in between you can add what you’d like!

Next time I think I will add some almonds to the salad. The original salad called for cashews but Anthony doesn’t like cashews so I decided not to add them. They would be great in the salad too!