Mango-Coconut Frozen Deliciousness

Upon googling "sorbet" and "sherbert" to figure out how to categorize tonight's concoction, I've learned that I actually made neither. But really, who cares what it's called when it tastes this awesome?! I think "frozen deliciousness" describes it to a T.

To say I love ice cream is an understatement. Being off dairy for Baby E requires enormous willpower, especially a few weeks ago when I made my husband a triple decker ice cream cake for his birthday and couldn't even lick my fingers! So I've decided to venture into the realm of dairy-free and see what I can come up with. This first attempt turned out so good I almost don't miss ice cream!

Ingredients:
2 mangos, cubed
2/3 cup white sugar
1 tsp lime juice
2 cups unsweetened coconut milk beverage (I used So Delicious)

Purée in blender and freeze in ice cream maker. It's as easy as that!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

In an old pair of boots!
Coco has taken an interest to gardening so we thought we'd plant some flowers just for her. I had this old pair of rubber boots in the basement that were torn but that I hated to throw out (they should be recyclable!) and we thought it would be a fun way to decorate the sandbox area. I planted marigolds and bee balm (also known as monarda, bergamot...) because they both have the reputation of deterring mosquitos (I believe the marigolds are also an ant deterrent). I'd probably need a huge patch of these plants to really be effective but maybe every bit helps? Anyway, I thought the result was cute and playful and Coco is tickled pink to have her own plants to water. Now if I could only teach her to weed the flower beds...

The Pacifier Plight (or Mommy-Guilt)

Who knew that becoming a parent involved so much self-induced guilt? Yesterday, I gave Baby E a soother.  My "fall asleep anywhere loves her nap more than anything" baby has become impossible to put down to sleep. She's as happy as a clam in my arms, plugged on the boob, but as soon as I try to take her off to put her down she wakes up and gets mad... really mad. Now maybe there's a solution I haven't thought of, but when you have an almost 2 year old who is also clamouring for attention (and who, by the way, has never watched tv so putting her in front of a movie isn't an option), you can't just drop everything and spend your days nursing.

Sometimes I think I may actually lose my mind; I'm sure all parents with young kids can relate. The thing I found the hardest when Baby E arrived was juggling 2 crying babies (I know Coco was officially a toddler but, really, toddlers are just bigger babies who can occasionally be reasoned with if you're lucky). I seemed to always be running between them trying to soothe both at once. Who do you go to first? The oldest because she'll feel pushed aside if you don't? The youngest because she's so new? The loudest to preserve your sanity?

Things had gotten easier. We're lucky to have a very reasonable little girl (as toddlers go) and an easy-going baby. But lately, Baby E doesn't want to suck her fingers or her fist like she used to... all she wants is me (and she's always been big on sucking for comfort). And Coco, my independent "Daddy's girl", is suddenly all about Mommy. She wants to be "babied", comforted and held in a way she never has before and she is competing for my attention like you wouldn't believe.

So yesterday, in a fit of desperation (after several such desperate days), I dug out a soother I had received as a shower gift for Coco that we hadn't used (we'd tried half-heartedly once or twice but she wouldn't take it). I don't know much about them, but I suspect this one is too small (labelled 0-3 months and tiny... Baby E is almost 6 months *Gasp!*) but I figured it was worth a try. Lo and behold, she took it and went promptly to sleep... in her play-pen! I think I heard harps and bells.

Then the guilt set in.

I'm not exactly sure why... Logically, I think it's a wonderful solution. Baby E found something other than me to suck and comfort her to sleep and I was able to give Coco an hour of my undivided attention. So why do I feel bad about it? Is it because I'm faced with the "ugly truth" that I can't be everything for everyone all the time.? "Super Mom" is human too... Or that my sister (mother of 4), someone I admire greatly, never used one? Maybe the fear, after the uphill battle to breastfeed Coco, that it will somehow affect my milk supply? I'm not sure,  but I think I'm going to "admit defeat" on this one and go with what works.

Crustless Tomato Zucchini Quiche

Ever since missing out on my in-law's quiche at Easter brunch, I've been hankering for some. I've discovered that it's easier to search Paleo recipes rather than googling "dairy, soy & gluten free" and we may yet manage to create a new recipe roster. I came a across a recipe that seemed promising on Grok Grub for Sun-Dried Tomato Quiche. Here's my version of the recipe (mine doesn't meet the Paleo criteria):

Ingredients

1. 5 eggs
2. 1 medium zucchini, shredded
3. 1 onion, chopped
4. 1 tomato, quartered & sliced thin
5. 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes (mine were in oil so I drained first)
6. 5 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled (I used turkey bacon because that's what we had)
7. 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
8. oil or margarine (to sauté and grease dish)
9. salt & pepper

Instructions

1. Sauté zucchini and onion on medium in a skillet until translucent (I used coconut oil). 
2. Beat eggs. Mix in sun dried tomatoes, zucchini & onions.
3. Fold in bacon and nutritional yeast. Salt & pepper to taste.
4. Pour into greased pie plate. Top with tomato slices.
5. Cook at 350F for 50 minutes or until firm.
6. Serve warm.

It was delicious! The nutritional yeast gives it a cheesy hint. We had it for supper with salad and I thought there'd be enough leftovers for a second night but there was only one small piece left. Next time, I'm definitively doubling the recipe and making 2!

*You can cook the zucchini and onions ahead of time and then it's ready to whip together in a jiffy an hour before supper.

Breakfast, Snack & Dessert: Baked Oatmeal Goodness!

Because Baby E is having digestive problems (they think she is allergic to milk, soy & possibly wheat/gluten) and I'm breastfeeding, I've been off the above-mentioned ingredients for several months now. Let me tell you, from someone who once went on an ice cream diet (to gain weight), this sucks! I'm starving all the time. Sure, I'm happy I now fit in all my pre-pregnancy clothes and don't have to go shopping (I hate shopping, but had planned to hang onto 10 pounds so I figured I might need some new clothes). But, oh what I would do for a piece of cheese! Real cheese. Don't get me started on that stuff they call a "dairy-free, soy-free alternative". I'd rather eat caulking. They do have some breads, muffins and crackers that are edible (I've even found some muffins that I'd actually call "pretty good") but everything is so bad for you! The salt content it through the roof. You'd think this would be "healthy eating" but not unless you make everything yourself (as is so often the case).

So, I'm having to search for new recipes to try. It's a bit time-consuming and requires we change the way we eat (goodbye pizza) but so far I've made a few delicious discoveries! I promise to only share the ones I like enough to continue eating even after I'm allowed back on "regular" food!

This week, I came across Oh She Glows Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal. It's wonderful! I ate the whole pan myself (almost... I did let my mom and husband try it) in a few days. It's great for breakfast if you want to give some "oomph" to your porridge, has replaced my bedtime bowl of cereal... really, it makes a great snack at any time. It even served as dessert (I warmed it up in the microwave and used the left-over dairy-free icing I had made for Baby E's baptism cake to sweeten it up a notch).

I replaced the honey with maple syrup and upped the raisins to half a cup. I'm wondering if I could make it overnight in the slow-cooker. If I do, I'll be sure to let you know how it turns out.

Bubble Wrap Astronaut Suits? I'll Take 2 Please!

As I mentioned in a previous post, Coco gave herself a black eye before Easter when she hit her head on the corner of the coffee table. She isn't having a good month. Yesterday evening, I was upstairs (just about to start finishing my taxes so I wouldn't be submitting them at the last minute!) when I hear my husband yell "No, no, no" followed by a loud BOOM! followed by several exclamations of a synonym for "poop" that we try not to use around Coco so she doesn't integrate it into her vocabulary. I run down to the kitchen to find the high-chair tipped over backwards and blood everywhere. She'd been colouring at the table while my husband was making supper. I guess she got bored and decided to try a new game: "See if I can tip my chair". Well, lo and behold, she could.

Here I had thought that the chair (one of those portable high chairs you strap onto a chair) was a pretty safe place. I've been sitting her in there beside the table with a pile of books while I'd go shower for some time (I'm now giving up showering when I'm home alone with the girls... besides, showering and bathing are overrated... that's what I keep telling myself).

Back to Coco, she's okay. She had to have a 2 cm gash glued shut at the Children's Hospital (they are definitively getting a donation from us this year!) and she was so good. The doctors couldn't get over how quiet she was. She didn't cry once and was happy and smiling the whole time. She thought the visit to the hospital was a fun outing where she got to colour and they gave her stickers (she even climbed down off my husband's lap to go looking for the sticker lady for more). Thankfully, she doesn't have a concussion and everything should heal nicely.

How can we avoid these things happening? The solution is simple: go around and get rid of every single thing that anyone could possibly get hurt on, with or by. Minimalism is the new black, right? Who needs furniture? Those 'Monkeys jumping on the bed' are a serious warning (oddly enough, Coco was very marked by that song and goes around talking about the "Monkeys bobo tête"... my bilingual daughter)! And really, you can trip on a toy so we should get rid of those too. Bathtubs are death traps; I still  remember my little sister falling in the tub and bleeding all over me when we were kids (I told you bathing was overrated). Toilets... don't get me started on them (Coco's first visit to the hospital a year ago). Anyway, this is getting ridiculous so I found another solution: bubble wrap! Oddly enough, when I entered "Bubble Wrap Astronaut Suits" in the Pinterest search engine, nothing came up. I'm surprised. I, however, have a drawer full of the stuff so I'm sure I can come up with a suitable pattern. I'll let you know when they're ready for sale.

I think we're more shaken up than she is. I really think this is the hardest part of being a parent.
We try so hard to keep them safe but we can't seem to avoid the occasional accident or sickness. And we're so lucky... Fine she might have a small scar at the back of her head where the hair won't grow, but it could have been so much more serious... Just like the incident with the coffee table where, a cm over and she could have affected her vision (I'm still debating having a bonfire with that thing). We're so blessed to have healthy children and that we don't have to make regular trips to the hospital for serious illnesses or injuries. My heart goes out to the parents who do... I can only imagine the strength it takes and hope to never have to find out.

Connect 4

Last week was my nephew's fourth birthday and I had asked my sister for a list of present ideas (with 4 kids, it's hard to keep track of what toys they have). On the list was "Connect 4" which I thought was very apropos. On Sunday, I got to see how great this game was for all ages.

M and G (7 and 6 years old) already knew the game from school and played it "the real way" developing strategies to try to outsmart the other. B, the birthday boy, didn't quite get all the rules. For instance he'd exclaim that he had 4 if he made a 2 X 2 square or an "L" despite being shown the 3 ways to make "4" (horizontally, vertically and diagonally). Still a great way to get him counting and figuring different ways to make 4. He was also more cooperative than competitive: "Let's make 4 together!" Though, by the end, with some help, he was learning to block. M and B were also placing the tokens in the grid to create designs and creating colour sequences. Coco and K (both almost 2) had a blast practicing their fine motor skills filling all the slots. They quickly learned how to slide the bottom to send everything crashing down on the table which got a laugh every time.

There's so much more to "Connect 4" than I suspected! It will definitively make the list of "must have" games in our house.