Mommy Tips: Dealing with Picky Eaters

You might be one of those lucky moms like I was (in the beginning) who has an infant who seems to love trying and eating anything. I would brag all the time about how much she loved her fruits and veggies above all else, how she preferred seafood to boring "kid friendly meats" like hamburger, and that her favorite food was shrimp in coconut curry sauce. I felt like a rock star of motherhood getting my kid to eat such a wide variety of healthy foods. 

Then, in a matter of days, she changed. Some days she refused EVERYTHING and I was convinced she was going to starve. One day she would love bananas and eat three, the next she would wail at the sight of one. And the requests for junk food instead of real food started coming more and more frequently. It is from this daily (and ongoing) struggle that I present these tips to help you maintain your sanity and get that monster sweetie of yours to eat!

1. Serve your kid's food on a plate with well defined sections. For some mysterious reason one food touching another food (even if they like each food separately) can set a toddler off on a rage like you would not believe. Having sections will also prompt you to make sure you are offering a variety of foods (including a fruit and veggie) at each meal.
2. Pastas are great for making a meal "fun" because they come in so many different shapes (stars, wagon wheels, twists, shells, bow ties, etc). Your kid might refuse spaghetti and meatballs, but he/she will probably love bows from Minnie's Bowtique or Lightening McQueen's wheels from Cars - you need to be creative if you want to win this battle!
3. Become a food sculptor. This might sound crazy, but if I give my kid half a banana she will almost always refuse to eat it. If I stick a few mini chocolate chips in it for eyes and a mouth and call it a ghost or attach mini pretzel twists to either side for wings and call it a butterfly she actually eats it. Give your mind a workout and see what kind of masterpieces you can come up with.
4. Never let your kid see you cut food. For completely reasonable reasons kids want their food to be entirely intact and will FREAK OUT if you break a cereal bar in half or chop up a cheese stick in front of them. Decide before serving your kid if things need to be cut and do it out of their line of vision. If they ask, adamantly insist that it came that way.
5. When all else fails, serve it on a stick. Yup, that's right. Kids love to eat things on a stick. Either buy some lollipop sticks from a craft store or use pretzel sticks to spear items your kid might normally refuse and you will be amazed how much more they eat.
6. For the older kids, let them help you cook. My kid loves the ownership of saying she made something and will eat more of it that way. This is easy to do with crockpot meals or baked goods because you can let your kid help with the pouring and mixing.
7. As infuriating as my kid can be when it comes to meal time, she has never not yet refused vegetables. For the kids that do, get creative with hiding those veggies in unexpected ways. Interestingly, I've found a lot of great ways to do this by following Weight Watcher's recipes for myself because the veggies bulk up meals in a points free way. Two of my kid's favorite WW meals that are packed with veggies are this Turkey Veggie Meatloaf and these Sloppy Joe's.
8. Don't fall into the trap of letting your kid eat snacks whenever he/she wants because you are afraid they aren't eating enough overall. This will just backfire on you because they won't be as hungry for meals and be more apt to refuse the healthier, more substantial meals you want them to eat. Offering organic yogurt (drinkable or "tube" varieties go over especially well), low fat cheese sticks, or pre-portioned baggies of pretzels/graham crackers/cheese crackers are good for snacks. If you are super ambitious, try the homemade recipes linked above to cut out the amount of processed food your kid eats.
9. No matter how insane your kid goes on you for offering something different, try your hardest to make them stick to the one bite rule. No matter how weird something looks, they have to try just one little, teeny, tiny bite. You would not believe how often this leads to a completely shocked declaration of, "Hey! I like it!"

I probably have more tips and this might require a follow-up post some day, but I think this is a start. Good luck and happy meal planning for your own picky critics.

Addendum: Minutes after finishing this post my bug asked me to make her, "breakfast that is all different shapes." My husband started to tell her no, but I decided to follow my own advice and accepted the challenge...

Star cantaloupe and strawberries, whole wheat heart toast bites with a dab of strawberry jelly, ham and cheese omelet squares with bacon sprinkles, and turkey bacon hearts

Her response, pure glee!
And, yes she is wearing skeleton jammies in February. She's also eating off of a Thanksgiving plate. Is that a problem?

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

I woke up on Saturday morning craving something sweet and delicious. I've been following Weight Watchers (and doing a pretty good job!), but it was one of those times when I knew I would keep picking and snacking all morning if I didn't just have something I really wanted. I knew I'd end up eating just as many points in the end. So, this million point breakfast was born...

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

  

These pancakes are best when they are piping hot, so you need to do all of the prep work for the toppings ahead of time.

Sweet Pecans

1.5 oz raw pecans

1 tsp white sugar

1. Put the pecans into a small frying pan and sprinkle the sugar over them.
2. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar melts and coats the nuts.
3. Set aside to cool.
4. Roughly chop just before you start making the pancakes

Cream Cheese Icing

2 oz low-fat cream cheese

1 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 oz confectioner's sugar (approximately 1 cup)

1-2 tbsp fat free half and half or milk

1. Beat together the cream cheese and butter in a small mixing bowl.
2. Add confectioner's sugar, vanilla, and 1 tbsp of milk mixing until well combined.
3. Add milk in 1 tsp increments and beat until the icing has a thin (but NOT runny) consistency.

Cinnamon Swirl Filling

1/4 cup unpacked brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp white sugar

pinch of nutmeg

pinch of salt

1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.

Now you are ready to make the pancakes!

Buttermilk Pancakes

1 1/2 cups of unbleached all purpose flour

3 1/2 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

1 tbsp white sugar

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1 egg

2 tbsp melted butter

1-2 tsp milk

1. In a glass measuring cup whisk the buttermilk, egg, and melted butter.
2. Combine all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl creating a well in the center.
3. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until smooth. If your batter is too thick at this point, add the extra 1-2 tsp of milk to thin it out a bit.
4. Spoon the batter onto a greased griddle or frying pan (make any size you chose!)
5. Sprinkle 1-2 tsp of the cinnamon filling all over the top of the pancake
6. Use a spoonful of the batter and create the "swirl" appearance of a cinnamon roll
7. Flip the pancakes over when the first side is browned.
8. Plate each pancake with a drizzle of the cream cheese icing and as many of the sweet pecans as you'd like

Friday Five: Valentine's Day Stuff

I was trying out the idea of posting five of something every Friday, but didn't commit to it before. Here's my second attempt. If I fall flat this time, I'll graciously accept defeat and stop trying to force myself into a mold I'm unable to fit. 

Here are my five fun "projects" I completed this year for Valentine's Day

Red Velvet Cupcakes

These are my nurse's absolute favorite cupcakes in the whole wide world. Last year after I made them for Valentine's Day she paid me to make them for her daughter's birthday and hasn't stopped talking about them. I adapted the recipe for the cupcakes from Brown Eyed Baker's blog (follow her recipe, except decrease the red food coloring to 1 tbsp and replace the other 2 tbsp with water). I think cream cheese frosting is too overpowering for these yummy cakes, so I top it with my favorite marshmallow buttercream from Baked Bree's blog.

Hello Kitty Pops

These aren't Valentine's Day specific, but I made them as treats for my older daughter's preschool class to match the Hello Kitty valentines she picked out. They came out really well in the end, but I STRUGGLED with these. As a rule, I do not use cake mixes or canned frosting because they are so highly processed and icky, but I was just too swamped to make the cake and frosting from scratch and then put the pops together. As payment for cheating I had to deal with the pops falling apart on me from being too soft. I usually make a ganache as the frosting to bind the cake better - without it they were so much less stable! I started out with 20 balls of cake, 6 balls completey fell off the sticks during the dipping process, and another 4 were a bit crooked (but held together well enough that I deemed them passable for 4 year-old kiddos). Here's Bakerella's tutorial.

Homemade Crayon Valentines

I saw the idea for these all over Pinterest in the past month, but somehow failed to ever re-pin one of them. When I came around and decided I wanted to make them, I came up with my own directions. I used ice cube trays I purchased in the Target dollar bins, a few dozen chopped up crayons (including some metallic and glitter ones to give our crayons sparkle!), the Cricut to cut out the hearts, and penned the saying "Color me excited to have a friend like you!" on each one. 

Teacher Valentines

Awhile ago I pinned an "end of the year" teacher gift that was a small fabric basket with an apple print that was filled with Hershey's Hugs with the saying, "Teachers can't get by on APPLES alone, they need HUGS too!" I thought this would make a cute Valentine, so I saved a half dozen of the red velvet cupcakes to make my "apples." Instead of piping a swirl of frosting on top, I used a spatula to spread it flat and then dipped the tops into red sanding sugar. I used half of a pretzel stick to make the "stem" and a green jelly bean to make a "leaf." I added a layer of Hugs to the clear plastic cup, placed the cupcake on top, then wrapped it up in a clear bag and attached the tag (made with the Cricut) with ribbon.

Curly Ribbon Bows

I found a tutorial (I can't remember the tutorial I used, but I'll put my own up soon) on curling grosgrain ribbon in the oven and have been obsessed ever since. Using a package of hair clips and heart shaped buttons from Hobby Lobby, a roll of Valentine ribbon from the Target dollar bin, and my hot glue gun I made a pair of these for my bug to wear for Valentine's Day. 

That's it! I hope someone is inspired to do some baking/crafting/creating of their own!

Recipe Makeover - Panera Mediterranean Veggie

My favorite lunch from Panera Bread is easily the Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich. You can read all about it by following the link, but in short it's a tomato basil bread topped with hummus, feta, red peppers and other assorted fresh veggies. At 15 WW points, I won't be indulging anytime soon. Instead, I created this low point mock-up at home. Although a bit messy to eat, it was super tasty and totally satisfied my craving.

Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich Makeover (6 points plus)

To make it you need:

• 1 Thomas bagel thin (Sundried Tomato and Basil flavor)
• 2 tbsp hummus (I used Trader Joe's Three Layer Hummus)
• 1 oz roasted red peppers packed in water
• lettuce, any variety
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 zucchini sliced into strips
• 3 oz mushrooms sliced
• 1/2 onion sliced thick
• 1 oz fat free feta cheese

Directions:

1. Warm oil in a frying pan over medium heat. 
2. Add all fresh veggies and cook for 5 minutes until slightly softened.
3. Add balsamic vinegar, reduce heat to low, and cook until veggies are done (how "done" is a personal preference) and then cool.
4. Spread 1 tbsp of hummus on each half of the bagel thin.
5. Layer lettuce, cooled vegetables, red peppers, and feta.
6. Enjoy!

Brown Butter Banana Bread Cookies

I almost always have bananas in various stages of ripening on my counter because I only like to eat them once they are yellow and just starting to turn a few brown spots - but if they get too many spots the deal is off and the idea of eating one literally makes me gag. Once they reach the perfect ripeness, I need to eat them within 48 hours or they become baking material. This insanity is why I am always on the lookout for good recipes to use up bananas. I pinned this recipe from Tracey's Culinary Adventures and tried it out as soon as I had a few overripe bananas.

The cookies themselves are completely yummy and stand alone nicely without the frosting...BUT, I couldn't help trying it out. Although I followed Tracey's cookie recipe quite closely, I changed the frosting significantly to cut down the WW points (with frosting 4 points plus, without frosting 3 points plus).

For the cookie recipe, see Tracey's site. I only altered the spices - 1 full tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp allspice, and 1/4 tsp ginger to make them stronger. I made 36 cookies by measuring level tablespoons.

For the frosting:
2 cups confectioner's sugar
1/4 cup butter
2-4 tbsp fat free half and half
1 tsp vanilla extract

Melt the butter in a small pan over medium heat. Swirl the pan frequently allowing the butter to cook until you start to see small brown flecks in it - be careful not to let the butter burn! Add the melted butter (make sure to scrape the yummy browned bits out too!) to a heat-proof bowl with you confectioner's sugar. Add vanilla and 2 tbsp of the half and half. Beat until well blended. If the frosting is too thick, add more half and half by the tsp until it is the consistency you want.

Mommy of 2!

Today I'm previewing a new "segment"  called "Mommy Tips" to try and stop myself from only posting recipes...we'll see how it goes!

I can not believe this, but my little bear is already three months old!  As much as we wanted to have another one, I have to be honest and say that reverting back to the newborn days was a little intimidating. I wasn't looking forward to getting back into a nursing schedule and being up every 3 hours or to changing diapers 24/7, but what I was really worried about was how the bug was going to adjust to the new baby. My bug is beautiful, wonderfully pleasant, and so smart you forget she's only three 75% of the time - the other 25% she is a stubborn, spoiled rotten tantrum machine. I feared the new baby would tip the scales and reverse the equation.

Three months later I'm pleased to report that the transition from a three to a four person household was MUCH easier than I expected. Thanks to a wonderfully mellow infant and some careful planning on our part, we slipped easily into a new routine. I can not understate how much the bear being a good baby helped this process, but here are the details my husband and I tweaked to keep things on track...

1. Celebrate the big brother/big sister - right away! Pack a special gift for your older child right into your hospital bag so you have something to give him/her when he/she comes to the hospital to visit the baby. For our bug we told her the gift was from her baby sister, but for an older child the gift could be from mommy and daddy. Our gift was a small backpack from Hobby Lobby personalized with a "Big Sister" iron-on and filled with a Disney princess baby doll, some craft activities, and a few edible treats (yogurt raisins, cheese crackers, and something chocolate).
2. Set aside alone time early on. When I say alone time, I really mean it - physically have the baby in a different room and devote all of your attention to the big brother/big sister to remind them that you are still there for them 100% too. We put the baby down for a nap in her swing in the living room and then made a fun dessert treat in the kitchen together while we listened to bug's favorite music. A few other times we did the same thing and had a "dance party" where daddy played music while the bug and I dressed up in her princess dress-up clothes and made up silly dances. *For the dessert I used a muffin tin and filled each hole with a different dip-able item (strawberries, pineapples, pretzel sticks, marshmallows, etc) and melted some chocolate chips for dipping.*
3. Involve the big sister/big brother in caring for the baby. Help the older siblings create a bond early on by giving out small tasks they can do to help you care for the baby. Asking the older sibling to bring you a diaper/wipes, pick out pajamas or clothes for the baby, sing the baby to sleep, or wash the baby's toes/tummy in the bathtub (avoid the eyes!) can help ease the transition.
4. Avoid saying you can't do something because of the baby. Let's be honest, there are going to be many times when your older child wants you to do something that you can't do because of the new baby. Even when it's something obvious like the baby is nursing so you can't make pancakes that second, it is going to sound much different to your child if you say, "Mommy would love to make you pancakes, but I need to be sitting down right now. Can you bring me the "If You Give a Pig a Pancake..." book? We can read that first, talk about what kind of pancakes you want, and then I'll be ready to make them!" instead of, "Mommy is feeding the baby, I can't right now," It takes a bit more effort, but is very worth it!
5. Give THEM alone time. Before you think I've lost it telling you to leave your baby alone with another child, hear me out. My kids are 3 1/2 years apart. They clearly need supervision, but I like to think of it as "indirect supervision." Not when the baby was a newborn, but now that she's a few months old I will put them in the crib together or let them lay on the carpet in their room together and pretend not to be paying attention while they play together. Sometimes I stay in the room and read a book, other times (like right now) I sit right outside the room so they can't see me, but all I have to do is move my head and I can see them. I try not to interrupt their play unless the bear starts to cry or the bug is about to do something potentially dangerous.
6. Arrange activities for the big brother/big sister. With all the visitors coming to see the baby, your older child may start to think they aren't important to everyone else anymore. Although you never want them to feel like you are trying to "get rid of them", it can be a great idea to set up little trips for the older siblings to remind them how special they are to other family members. A sleepover at grandma and grandpa's house, a trip to the mall with an older cousin, or a movie date with an aunt/uncle are all potential ideas.

I really hope these tips help someone out there!

Oreo Cupcakes

I fear my blog is very bipolar these days. I'm flipping between healthy Weight Watchers recipes and super decadent desserts faster than yours truly a kid can devour a chocolate bar. It just so happens that January is a birthday heavy month for my family and friends while I am still (mostly) sticking to my new diet. And honestly, I just LOVE to bake - birthdays or no birthdays, diet or no diet.


The recipe I am sharing today is one of those that didn't have an occasion. I stumbled across a few different recipes using Oreo cookies on one of my favorite cooking blogs (Annie's Eats) and couldn't get them out of my head until I gave it a try. I followed her recipe for the cupcakes exactly. I intended to top them with a marshmallow frosting I pinned awhile back.

Following the directions, the frosting came out beautifully - nice pillow-y, shiny peaks of lightly sweetened, fluffy goodness. Then, I had the brilliant idea to add crushed Oreos, destabilized it, and turned it into soup. The second time around I stuck with a classic buttercream and balance was restored to the universe as cake and frosting came together to create these delicious treats.

Buttercream Frosting
2 sticks of butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 tsp vanilla extra
1 tbsp heavy cream

1. Beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer for a full five minutes on medium speed until it is whipped
2. With mixer on low, add the confectioner's sugar gradually until all is incorporated
3. Scrape down the sides of the mixer with a rubber spatula
4. Add the vanilla and heavy cream
5. Beat for 2 minutes on medium/high speed
6. Use pastry bag to pipe frosting
7. Sprinkle with crushed Oreos (if desired)

The secret surprise in these cupcakes: half an Oreo in the bottom of the cupcake liner!

My little taste tester - note: she only eats her cupcakes with LOTS of added sprinkles

WW Silver Dollar Fruity Pancakes

This morning the bug asked for pancakes. This is a meal I have been avoiding since starting Weight Watchers, but I decided it was time to work out a recipe we could all live with rather than deny her a favorite weekend treat. Here's what I came up with...

Silver Dollar Fruity Pancakes - makes 5 servings

3 points+ per serving, each serving = 7 pancakes

Ingredients

3/4 cup of skim milk

2 tbsp white vinegar

1/2 cup unbleached white flour

1/2 whole wheat white flour

1 tbsp white sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 egg

1 tbsp light butter, melted (I used Balade from Trader Joe's)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Assorted thinly sliced fruits (bananas, peaches, apples, etc) or berries

Directions

1. Add vinegar to milk and allow to sit for at least 5 minutes so that the milk "sours" (gives the effect of buttermilk in the recipe)
2. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to combine
3. Combine all wet ingredients in the measuring cup with the milk and whisk to combine
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated
5. Drop level tablespoons of batter on a hot griddle or pan that has been coated with cooking spray
6. Add fruit to each pancake as it cooks
7. Flip each pancake after ~2 minutes and cook an additional 1-2 minutes on the other side
8. Enjoy with maple syrup (extra points) or more fresh fruit

Dry Ingredients

Wet Ingredients

Yummy Batter

Frozen Raspberries, Frozen blueberries, & Banana Slices

On the Griddle

Breakfast is Served!
(only 6 pancakes are shown, but a serving is 7 - I couldn't help eating one fresh off the pan)

Hazelnut Mocha Cupcakes with Espresso Buttercream

This past week the office manager for my practice celebrated her birthday. Since I began working with her last year she has been a HUGE help for me. She has been an advocate for getting me integrated into the practice and has talked me up to recruit new patients - in summary, I love her! I wanted to make her a special treat for her birthday so I took something I love doing (baking cupcakes) and combined it with something I know she loves (coffee) and something everyone loves (nutella!) and created these...

Hazelnut Mocha Cupcakes with Espresso Buttercream

I searched through lots of recipes and combined a few different ideas I saw along the way. The cupcake and frosting recipe can be found here. I upped the yum factor by adding nutella.

1. Cook cupcakes according to directions
2. When the cupcakes are cooled, use a melon baller to scoop out the middle
3. Soften about 1/2 cup of nutella in the microwave on half power for 30 seconds
4. Using a pastry bag, fill in the cupcake with about 2tsp softened nutella and replace the scooped out ball of cupcake on top (squish it down so the top is mostly level again)
5. Follow the frosting recipe and pipe frosting on top
6. Decorate with mini chocolate chips, chocolate shavings, chocolate sprinkles, or chocolate covered espresso beans

WW Buffalo Chicken Quesadilla

I joined Weight Watchers 8 weeks ago right before the holidays to keep myself from gorging and putting myself in a daily "I-just-had-a-baby-and-am-nursing-so-it's-still-OK-to-eat-whatever-I-want" food coma. Following the plan I've lost a little over 10 pounds and, as of today, have finally reached a weight that puts me back in my pre-med school and residency weight range! Here is one of the recipes I created during my journey so far...

Buffalo Chicken Quesadilla with Blue Cheese Broccoli Slaw (8pts+)
Follow Gina's recipes over at Skinnytaste to make a crockpot full of the spicy, tender, buffalo chicken-y goodness and homemade blue cheese dressing you need for this recipe. You'll have enough shredded buffalo chicken and dressing for this and a few other meals.

Ingredients
1/2 cup shredded buffalo chicken (3pts+)
2 Trader Joe's (or other) low-carb whole wheat tortilla shells (3pts+)
1 oz shredded 2% sharp cheddar (1pt+)
2 TBSP homemade blue cheese (1pt+)
1 cup broccoli slaw (0pt+)

Directions

1. The Trader Joe's tortillas are a bit softer and more pliable than a regular flour tortilla, so I like to crisp them up a bit by just toasting each side on a hot pan or griddle for minute or so before proceeding.
2. Place a pre-toasted tortilla in a hot pan, top with 1/2 the cheddar, all of the chicken, the other 1/2 of the cheddar, and the second tortilla shell.
3. Cook each side for approximately 2 minutes or until cheese is melted
4. Cool the quesadilla while you make the broccoli slaw by mixing the raw slaw mix with the blue cheese dressing
5. Cut the quesadilla into 6 wedges
6. Serve - I like to use the slaw like a salsa on top of the quesadilla wedges.

21 Days - An Update

Sorry for the silence, but last week ended up getting BUSY. I had a very long Tuesday with a meeting I forgot about after work until 8:30 and missed my free Thursday morning when my colleague was sick and I was asked to come in early to see some of his patients. This week has continued to be busy as the baby bear didn't start daycare because her pediatrician rescheduled her appointment I wanted to give her time to build immunity after her shots.

 

Even with all that I've made it up to Day 12 and have only missed one day and rescheduled one day! I planned my kitchen pantry for last Thursday morning (no husband, no bug, perfect time to get some real cleaning done), but went to work instead. My pantry is a HUGE project (see below) so I doubled up on Sunday and cleaned the kitchen storage shelves to free up this Thursday.

Here's my progress...

Day 3 - Entry/Coats

BEFORE: Too many coats, a guitar, too many shoes, and general clutter!

AFTER: Coats not in use moved to basement, shoes moved to bedroom, craft supplies moved to where they belong, peds textbooks brought to my office, and I finally parted with my emergency code cards and ID holder from residency:-(

Day 4 - Bookcase

Before: Too many books and general disarray

AFTER: I cleaned up by separating books into catergories: 1. Books we read all the time, 2. Books we never read, 3. Books we read sometimes, and 4. Books we have doubles of. Catergory 1 stayed on the shelf and got organized. Caterory 2 got donated to my office waiting room. Catergory 3 got moved to the small toy organizer in the playroom. Catergory 4 got moved to a storage bookshelf downstairs in the basement

Day 5 - Pantry

Do you SEE this monstrosity?!...POSTPONED until 1/17

Day 6 - Toy Box

BEFORE: You can't even tell how much junk is in this toy box because it is just full to the top!

AFTER: Oh so organized! Junk paper discarded, playdoh returned to the playroom, markers/crayons/stickers all organized into plastic bags/bins to make for easy crafting, and books organized so we can see all the titles easily

Day 7 - Kitchen Cabinets
I have a lot of cabinets, so I tried to just snap photos of the biggest changes...

BEFORE: Literally eight dozen cookie cutters, hundreds of cupcake liners, over a dozen bottles of sprinkles, entertaining dishes, and other assorted baking and candy making supplies

AFTER: Cookie cutters moved to a bin in the basement. Cupcake liners and candy bags on the left, sprinkles (yes, those are ALL sprinkles) on the right

AFTER: Sprinkles moved and everything else straightened up

BEFORE:  Too many dishes and gadgets we don't use.

AFTER: Items not in use put in storage, everything else re-organized

Day 8 - Dressers and Kitchen Storage

No photos of the dressers, but I went through the girls' drawers to weed out too small clothes. Here's the kitchen organizer...

BEFORE: TONS of craft supplies and papers littered all over the top of the shelves and in some of the lower cubbies

 

AFTER: Craft supplies condensed with ultimate goal to move them into the craft bins in the basement on "craft supply" organization day. Other shelves cleaned up with organized

 

Day 9 & 10  - Make-up Bag and Jewelry Box

Small, quick clean-up projects not worth photographing:-)

 

Day 11 - Bedroom Closets

This is the day I missed and will add it to my Sunday organization as my fridge and freezer are pretty easy as I obsessively organize them once a week already.

 

Day 12 - Kitchen Pantry

This is one area that I tend to "let go" on a week to week basis and end up needing to really clean up every few months. In addition to all the cluttered shelves you can see, on both sides of the closet are deep narrow wooden shelves that accumulate SO MUCH junk!

BEFORE: Too many boxes with just a little bit of food left in them, bags and a spilled bag of stellatine pasta all over the floor, and a disgusting amount of candy given to the bug hidden in one of the deep shelves on the upper right

 



AFTER: I went through all the boxes of crackers/cookies/etc and anything with less than 5 portions got divded into snack size ziploc baggies and the boxes recycled. I threw away an insane amount of candy we have built up since October (the last time I purged the sugar supply) - if we let bug eat all the candy she was given she would be a poster child for childhood obesity. I moved everything out and reorganized a bunch of the baking/candy supplies that were scattered about and swept up the spilled pasta and M&Ms.

 

And that's it! Tonight will be the linen closet which is teeny and not very exciting, so don't expect photos. I'll check back in with more photos, tips, and progress in a few days.

 



WW Roasted Cauliflower

During my weekly meal planning this past weekend I pinned a recipe for Roasted Cauliflower (3pts+) from Skinnytaste that I thought would pair well with the Vegetable Turkey Meatloaf (5pts+) from LaaLoosh that has become a favorite in our house. I'm not sure if the head of cauliflower I bought was just smaller than Gina from Skinnytaste used, but a whole 1/4 of olive oil seemed like too much when I was looked at the bowl of florets I had trimmed up, so I ended up modifying the ingredients. I decreased the olive oil and increased the lemon and then roasted it with the garlic, salt, and pepper. Being my usual starving self, I grabbed a piece to taste as I was about to top with the cheese and decided it was tasty enough without it! With these adjustments I was able to lower the points and increase the portion size (who wouldn't want that?!).

We had already devoured more than half of this yumminess before I remembered to snap a photo, oops!

Roasted Lemon Garlic Cauliflower (4 servings, 2pts+ per serving)

Ingredients

• 1 medium-large head of cauliflower
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• Fresh grated pepper and sea salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Chop head of cauliflower into small florets. Rinse and pat dry.
3. Toss florets in a large bowl with all other ingredients to coat.
4. Spread cauliflower out on a lined baking sheet or in a shallow dish.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes, turning florets every 5-10 minutes so they cook evenly.

21 Days of Organization

During a previous post I mentioned having found a "21 Day" plan to help organize and clear out clutter from our home. As I am a working mom with a funky schedule (Mondays off with both kids, two full days of work, one half day with both kids, and one half day with one kid), I needed to modify the plans I found on other sites to fit what is possible for me and what our house really needs. Above you'll find the schedule I devised with the days of the week included. Feel free to copy and modify to suit your needs!

Day 1 - 21 Day Challenge - Medicine Cabinet

We don't have a medicine cabinet as much as a shallow floor to ceiling set of shelving built into the wall of our teeny, tiny bathroom. The top half of the shelves are open to view and the bottom half is concealed behind doors. This was a huge task to clean up and made me feel very motivated to keep up the challenge once I was done.

Upper shelving BEFORE photo
(Note bottles and bottles of baby lotion  which were given to me when my first daughter was born nearly 4 years ago that I never used because I don't believe in dyed/perfumed lotions for baby. Also, bin to the upper right full of gross bath toys that were finally ripe to be purged)

Upper Shelving AFTER
(Biggest improvement here was separating my husband's daily stuff from mine to avoid them all mashing together and us both fumbling through each other's stuff. Also, I moved all the medicines and our contact lenses up out of reach of our ever growing big girl to avoid ingestion or pouring of the contacts down the drain...again)

Lower Shelving BEFORE
(More than half of the medication on the top shelf turned out to be expired when I went through it)

Lower Shelving AFTER
(I threw away many unused bottles of lotion and rearranged to put kid friendly items low and dangerous ones high)

Day 2 - 21 Day Challenge - Purse

Take my word for it, I cleaned my purse. Photo proof doesn't seem necessary in this case:-)

WW "Wake-Up Wraps"

Before deciding to "go healthy" my quick go-to breakfast when I was running late or rounding at the hospital became the Dunkin Donuts Wake-up Wrap. Although not terrible in terms of points (5 for egg and cheese and 6 for bacon,egg, and cheese), it is full of processed ingredients. Right now I have an excess of daily WW points because I am exclusively breast-feeding baby bear, but the day will come when I need to trim my points. Once I decided to start making my own, I make extras and store them in the fridge to eat for the next 2 days. They heat up in the oven at 350 in about 5 minutes.

Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Breakfast Wraps

At the top right - 7 point plus wrap for the bug
On the bottom left - 3 point plus wrap for me

Highest 7 point wrap is made of the following:

• Mission flour tortilla soft taco size (3)
• One Whole Scrambled Egg (2)
• One slice Oscar Meyer Low Sodium Turkey Bacon (1)
• Half an ounce of 2% milk sharp shredded cheddar (1)

Lowest 3 point wrap is made of the following:

• Trader Joe's Low-Carb Whole Wheat tortilla shell (1)
• 3 tablespoons Trader Joe's Cage Free Liquid Egg Whites (0)
• One slice Oscar Meyer Low Sodium Turkey Bacon (1)
• Half an ounce of 2% milk sharp shredded cheddar (1)

Depending on which ingredients you have available there are a variety of options. Another great option would be to forgo the bacon and scramble the egg with some veggies (mushroom, spinach, onion, etc).

A Whole New Year

Happy New Year!

I will be adding a post to complete our Elf on the Shelf 12 days to Christmas countdown, but I wanted to give a few thoughts on entering the new year first. Overall, I have to say that 2012 really turned out to be a good year. The biggest downs we experienced were some scary brushes with cancer for family members. Although my mother-in-law's scary diagnosis came in the late winter, that was quickly turned around when she was able to have a curative surgery, avoid any further therapies, and has been followed up with a clean bill of health at each doctor visit. Less fortunate was my half brother's wife who was diagnosed with cancer over the summer and is still undergoing her treatments - I am hopeful that 2013 will bring her recovery. Despite those downs, 2012 brought a year of remission for my husband's cousin in her battle with cancer and marriage to her long term boyfriend, new family ties with my half brother and his family that we have been estranged from for years, success in our careers for both my husband and I, new babies to ourselves and many other family and friends, and a beautiful wedding (and pre-wedding celebrations) for my little sister.

I'm hoping to get 2013 going on the right foot by declaring January a month of organization and routine for our family! Using my obsession with Pinterest, I've dug up or created the following plans for us:

• I'm determined that "30 is my year" and am going to get myself healthy and in the best shape possible before my 31st birthday! I joined Weight Watchers after having my baby bear (and am already below pre-pregnancy weight!) and have a Pinterest board dedicated to saving my WW friendly recipes
• I'm keeping meals organized by using a Pinterest board titled "This Week" to reference all the recipes I plan to make and to make shopping lists and shopping trips much easier to organize 
• In addition to trying to make it to the gym 3 times a week, I am starting the 30 day Ab Challenge
• Finally, I am going to try and get our house ready to be put on the market by following the 21 Day Organization Challenge

I'll try to stay up to date with how things are going in case anyone else wants to play along:-)