Picky Kid

To say I have a picky eater is an understatement!! So I've had to try and think of any way I can to sneak and hide veggies and fruits in his food!! He is a carb-o-holic. It's all he wants to eat. Protein...not so much!! SO...here are two of my latest sneaky recipes that he loved!! Yes they are both breakfast food but don't judge...I'm working on it here!

Sweet Potato "Cancakes"

- Maple Grove Farms GF pancake mix

- 1 egg

- dash of honey

- 1 mashed sweet potato

- Coconut milk

- 1/4 shredded zucchini 

Mix according to box (I omit the oil). If batter seems runny add a little more pancake mix to make sure they are fluffy!! If you have a really picky eater toss in some chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life: diary, nut and soy free)! 

The next recipe came straight from this website!! I just added 1/4 shredded zucchini to it and Isaiah loved it!! 

Two Minute Wheat Free muffin

Happy Baking!

Ooey Gooey Goodness

As I stood in my kitchen for over two hours this morning making one thing after another to fill up my growing two year olds belly I decided to try out a little recipe! I used to make these yummy granola bites I found on Pinterest and my kid was obsessed with them to say the least!! However, after finding out he was intolerant to oats via a hair strand test we had to make some changes. My hubs asked if there was anyway I could tweak that recipe to fit my son's needs! So I got stayed in the kitchen and whipped up a little something.

Ooey Gooey Goodness Bars:
- 2 1/2c Crispy Cocoa Rice GF cereal (I used Mom's Best brand found a Kroger)
- 1/4c organic flaxseed
- 1/2c planters honey roasted peanuts (my son loves them)
- 1c peanut butter (or any nut butter)
- 1/2c honey
- 1/2c dairy free chocolate chips (Enjoy Life is a good brand found at Kroger or Target)

Mix it all together in a bowl. Line a square pan with wax paper and spread mixture. Set in freezer for about 15 minutes (long enough for them to hold together) then cut into squares and serve! Or wrap them individually for a lunch treat! I plan to use them as an Easter treat in lieu of chemical laden candy :)!!

Heather

new blog

I'm working on revamping my blog to be focused more on fitness, healthy eating and being a mom! I don't know about you but I had to revamp my lifestyle when my wild child came along :)

Here I am with said wild child! He is so vibrant, fun and energetic! Everything you can imagine a little boy being! 

That being said...when he came along and the older he get's I found it harder to work in my workouts and keep up with healthy eating habits! So I had to revamp...retrain myself to a new way of doing life but I didn't give up!! I workout with a group of mom's three mornings a week and have the privilege of leading them and the other days I run with my hubby, workout during naptime or whatever happens to fit that days schedule! 

As I work on reshaping my blog I plan to add recipes that fit our gluten free, dairy free lifestyle as well as routines that I use and sneaky ways I get my picky eater to eat!! Ah ha!

I would love for you to follow along and share with your mommy friends! 

I will leave you with this recipe :) and I will try to remember to take photos to add to the post!!

Mango Pineapple Smoothie

- Advocare mango pineapple rehydrate 

- 1/2c pineapple

- 1/2 banana

- handful of raw kale 

- Blend until smooth :) 

It turns out a lovely sage green color and taste delicious!! It's so yummy! It's a great way to get your kiddos to have some healthy greens...you can even add it to a fun Dr. Suess themed breakfast morning!! Enjoy :) 

Circuit Workout

Babies and kiddos have a way of keeping us busy and missing our workouts!! Being a fit healthy mom is important! During nap time or before they wake up/go to sleep set aside a little time to get in your workout!! It will make for a happier, more energetic mama and our families will be much appreciative of this!!

So here is today's workout!!

4 Rounds - 30 second each station 
Station 1
- Front Squats: See demo (can be done without weight)

Station 2
- High Knees


Station 3
- Push-ups

Station 4
- Wall Balls: See demo (use a weighted medicine ball that fits your fitness level: start small)

Station 5
- Burpees

**One minute rest between rounds and repeat**

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

On mornings we don't go to our stroller bootcamp class I try to make Isaiah something yummy and fun for breakfast! He is a picky eater so any way I can expand his range of foods I can! Usually breakfast is an easy way...he loves just about all things breakfast! So this morning we made a sweet treat for breakfast! Another pinterest recipe found here.

For pancakes I use a box :)...baking has never been my thing!
- Maple Grove Farms GF mix from Target
- Egg from the chickens
- I forgo the oil
- Silk Coconut Milk (in place of dairy milk) from Target
- I also add Kirklands Clover Honey from Costco
- Cook them on a skillet with Trader Joe's Organic Coconut Oil

**These alone taste like cake batter**

Cinnamon Filling:
- Private Selection organic light brown sugar from Kroger
- Archer Farms cinnamon from Target
- Coconut Oil (in place of butter) from Trader Joe's

Follow recipe to make this

My filling turned about a smidge runny but still worked great and turned out crunchy. Next time I won't use as much oil.

I would say they were a hit though because Isaiah was shoving them in as fast as he could and I think he ate 2.5 pancakes!

Thai Peanut Chicken Wraps

So last night for dinner I made this recipe I found on pinterest! Who doesn't love a good pinterest recipe?! To accommodate our different food intolerances I tweaked the recipe just a little and they were way better than I thought they would be!! They were very similar to the wraps you get at PF Changs or the Cheescake Factory! Delish!

So here is what I did!

Chicken:
- I used Simple Truth organic chicken tenders from Kroger
- An egg from our chickens...yes we have chickens
- Ian's Panko Italian breadcrumbs Gluten Free from Nature's Corner Market
- Coconut Secret raw coconut flour from Whole Foods

Mix breadcrumbs and coconut flour in a bowl (as much as you need to cover all of your chicken). Dip each chicken tender in egg, then in breadcrumb mix. Place on baking sheet. Bake at 450 until no longer pink. Remove from oven and set aside.

Peanut Sauce:
- Kirklands Clover Honey from Costco
- Volcano Lime Burst (lime juice) from Whole Foods
- San-J Organic GF soy sauce from Target
- water from my sink
- JIF Natural chunky peanut butter (you can use almond  or sunflower butter instead)

Cook according to recipe

Wrap:
- Green Giant broccoli slaw (I couldn't find organic) from Target
- Trader Joe's Virgin Coconut Oil (instead of butter)
- Organic whole carrots (1) from Target (just shred and add to mix)

Cook this according to recipe

Once the wrap filling was done I set it aside and put the chicken into the skillet. I poured about half the peanut sauce over the chicken and let it cook on low for a minute or so.

My husband used whole wheat wraps from Trader Joe's. Make sure you read the ingredient list because they have several kinds. Always pick the foods with the least amount of ingredients and absolutely stay away from hydrogenated/partially hydrogenated oils, artificial flavors/ingredients.

I used organic romaine lettuce wraps from Target. Made it gluten free and cut back on the carbs, calories and fat!

These were quick, simple and tasted very good!!

Gluten Free Living

Isaiah and I were tested a few months back for food intolerance's. Both of us for various reasons. We had many similar intolerance's show up in our results. Some of them being almonds, cows milk, wheat gluten (me), oats, and the list went on!! So I made the decision for me to go completely gluten free and for us to start fading dairy out of our diet as well!

I've had tons of friends start asking about gluten free living so I thought it would be easiest to put it all in one place! So...as I try new recipes (my husband is the perfect guinea pig) I will post them here!! I will also share what we use as dairy alternatives. My son is a very picky eater as well so I've been searching recipes that allow me to hide food in his favorites!!

Tonight's Supper:

I found a recipe for Zucchini Lasagne here but I made some changes to it to accommodate our needs!

I took out all the cheese...I highly recommend cutting back on dairy to everyone!! I did replace the mozzarella with a dairy free mozzarella flavored cheese that I found at Nature's Corner Market in Kennesaw which was better than I thought it would be!! I just used it to layer the top.

I also pureed cauliflower and added that into the meat sauce to help us get the necessary amount of veggies in our diet! We definitely don't eat nearly enough!!

Tonight I used squash because that's all I had...I recommend zucchini because it's much easier to cut into straight pieces!!

So here is my modifications:
- Follow recipe (except cheese)
- Squash (use zucchini)
- 1/4 head of cauliflower steamed and pureed (add water to ensure it purees smoothly)
- Dairy free cheese alternative sprinkled on top

Hope you enjoy it as much as my family did!!

Two Years

Every parent advises you before you become a parent to enjoy each moment because it goes by fast. Over the past two years I have completely come to understand and appreciate that advice! While each moment may not be thoroughly enjoyed we do try our best! Each moment of life with Isaiah is a blessing...each giggle, each smile, each hug, each tantrum, each tear.

It's been two years since our little stinker was born and 726 days since the first moment we saw him!!

Since then he has grown into quite the wild little man! He is full of adventure, love, joy, independence. He is everything you would imagine a little boy to be!

Isaiah from birth, year 1 and year 2!!

I absolutely love this stage even though it is trying on my patience at times :). I love his joy for life! These are just a few things that describe Isaiah...the list wouldn't fit on the picture! 

We pray the Lord grants us many more years of life with our sweet boy!! We love you!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Isaiah!!