Weekend Reading! 2/22/13

Hey there!  Genevieve here.  You know, the person that used to do Weekend Reading regularly but has been slacking?  Yep, that's me! :)  I've been reading some good stuff lately and would LOVE to share with you.  But I decided to give you a little more than just what I'm reading...let me know what you think!


What I'm reading:

Excellent article on Newborn Procedures to Reconsider.  If you or someone you know is having a baby soon, read this!
 
Sarah shares her failures and triumphs as a parent, ultimately deciding that gentleness makes her children great.

ImprovingBirth shares statistics of "routine" maternity care and evidence-base care.

A true frustration on mine, "Why is Everyone Always Giving My Kids Junk Food?"

What I'm listening to and watching:

The Glorious Unseen- Close to Your Heart

Breaking Bad...not entirely sure I like this show.  It's a little too intense for me.

What I'm eating:

Melt-In-Your Mouth Chuck Roast 

                                       Happy Weekend!

Postpartum Rest

My son is now one week old and I'm SO in love with him!  While I have relived the moments of his birth so many times in my mind, part of me still feels like I'm pregnant!  Yeesh!  I don't loooooove being pregnant. 

This pregnancy was way easier on me than my first in that I didn't have PUPPP or many of the other ailments that were breaking me down!  Thank God.  After my first pregnancy, I came out of it feeling like I needed a vacation.  India was a great sleeper (so is Mylo!) so I got good sleep at night, but what really wore me out was the postpartum period. 

Yes, those postpartum days were rough.

Between a tiring pregnancy, adapting to life with a newborn, Caaa-RAAAY-Zay hormones, a body that hadn't had a chance to rest after labor and birth, learning how to breastfeed, healing physically and a steady stream of visitors and well-wishers, by about 5 days postpartum, I was done with it all! 

We started dreaming of 'the next time' and the things we could do differently.

Many of the above are things I can't control - adapting to life with two little ones, healing, adapting to newbornland again (as I affectionately like to call it), and weird hormones - all out of my control.

But there were several steps we took to try to make this postpartum period as stress-free as possible.

~We made freezer meals.  I made 25 of them about a month before my due date.  This has freed up a lot of time and thought - we just grab whatever sounds good out of the freezer and toss it in the convection oven.  Minimal mess and dishes as well! 

~My husband took time off of work (for the most part) and committed to being home to help.  On days when he's been home and I'm not on my feet, it is unbelievable how much better I feel physically.  He has done the majority of the housework...me likey!

~I committed to napping and resting as wanted/needed.  If that means I play a movie for India and I lay down on the couch, so be it.  Or it might mean taking both kids to bed and taking a nap together.  Or maybe my husband watches India while Mylo and I sleep.  I don't think I got a nap in until about 10 days postpartum with India.  It wasn't good.

~We've said 'no' to visitors outside of the hospital.  This was one we wanted to implement after India was born, so I could rest, take baths and recuperate, but we didn't.  We both agreed that there would be no visitors this time, as hard as that could be to explain.  The stress of coordinating visitors around sitz baths, naps and breastfeeding, sitting up for hours (ouch on the downstairs!), keeping the house clean and keeping conversation alive when I just really wanted to curl up with my new baby was overwhelming.   Don't get me wrong, it was great to see people and hear their excitement and joy over a new little life, but hours of it for days on end was just too much. 

All of the above have made for a fairly smooth postpartum period - night and day difference from last time.  I have rested, slept and cuddled with my babies, played with my toddler, had time to think and relax and just enjoy this postpartum period by resting.  I've been so thankful for this last week and that it's filled with memories of rest and peace!

After all, before I know it, I'll be chasing these two little ones around, so I better soak up this time while I can! 

My beautiful children!

 
Did you have time to rest postpartum?  Is there anything you would do differently to make your postpartum period more enjoyable?

Weekend Reading: 1/13/12

Hi everyone!  It's been quite a while since I've done a post of weekend reading, but with old man winter finally showing up for many of us, I figure this is the perfect time to grab some tea, read some thought-provoking posts, challenge ourselves and pray for others!

Happy weekend and happy reading!

Sarah's post, called Emotional Nudists, challenges me as I struggle with vulnerability sometimes. From the post:

But, I say, I will not, I cannot feel that kind of hurt again. I pad my heart so carefully against injury. So I put up walls ... I build up bricks of protection ... Never again, I say. Never. But with all love comes some hurt. With all real emotion comes transparency and with living in an emotionally naked way comes vulnerability.

Please be in prayer for Courtney, as her son, Tripp, is nearing the end of his little life on this earth.

Vanessa asks if $1 really makes a difference in the fight for racial equality.

Read about (and even sign) the petition to bring breastfeeding back to Sesame Street.  I remember when it was on there and didn't think a thing of it!

Emily at Frugal Granola shares a free tutorial on making Homemade Bulk Shopping Bags.

Annalise shares how to make lovely, homemade pure vanilla extract!  Yum!

Weekend Reading: Stuff you don't want to miss!

I'm going to try something new occasionally: linking up with other blog posts of interest.  Maybe I agree, maybe I don't, but they are worth the read and the thought.


Of interest:

Annalise shares a delicious recipe called Not-So Green Smoothie - a yummy way to use up and eat greens AND berries!

Mother-Ease giveaway on whyclothdiaper.com

Adventures in Solid Food shares 10 Reasons to Delay Solids until at least 6 Months

Stephanie shares a great resource for bloggers, her e-book Bloggertunity, available for free download!  Thank you Stephanie!

Nicholas Kristof shares on Family Planning Overseas and the dilemma that exists.  He continues with more thoughts on Family Planning and Midwifery: how education affects a girl and his thoughts on the necessity of allowing midwives to perform c-sections overseas.

Have a great weekend, and happy reading!

India's Birthday Cake, Revised

I did a run through of India's 1st birthday cake a couple of days ago, but I didn't particularly like what I made. 

Here's the first design I made...

I guess it's not that I didn't like it, I just didn't think that it fit our theme very well.

So after a taste test of the cake, I re-did the fondant design.  I think I'll make her smash cake similar to this instead.

I think it suits her a little more.  :-)

Quick, healthy & cheap recipe: Make your own cereal!

I love hot cereal.  Amen.  I could live on all varieties of it.  Really, I could! 

Before you go and call the boringmobile on me, let me share with you - beyond oatmeal.


But it sometimes costs over $4 for a pound of good, organic 7-grain or 10-grain cereal at our local grocery store. 

Being the healthy frugalista I am, I want to share with you how I remedied my expensive addiction.

Ready?
OK, I bought my own organic grains from a store and mixed them how I wanted and made my own hot cereal.  I know.  Tough stuff.  This is the only recipe you may ever see me 'create'.

I spend about $.85 a pound, saving lots of money also eliminate excess product packaging and have less waste.

I mix up 5-grain, 6-grain, 7-grain, 8-grain, and heck, I even get wild and make 12-grain cereals regularly.  I usually grind (although the hot cereal in these photos is not ground) all the ingredients in a food processor, or coffee bean grinder, so they cook faster (hello, fast meal before school!) and are easily digested.

 

Yum.

I should mention that it's also recommended that any time you are cooking with whole grains, you should soak the grains in an acidic medium, in order to fully enhance their nutritional value and to reduce cooking time.  Here is a link explaining a bit of how and why you should soak grains.

In case you haven't thought of this, and you are looking for a nutrionally dense, cheap, healthy breakfast, I wanted to share the endless possibilites of grains to make your own whole grain hot cereal.

Make your own hot cereal for breakfast:

First, mix your grains.  Whatever ones you want.  Go ahead.  Do it!!  And be brave! 

oats (great to help increase milk supply, breastfeeding moms!)
steel cut oats
oat bran
wheat bran
triticale
millet
buckwheat
bulgur
couscous
brown rice
amaranth
quinoa (rinse first, quinoa is bitter!)
wheat germ
barley
rye
corn meal
cracked wheat

Grind away, baby!  Once you have decided on your own combination, you can then grind them, if you choose.  Again, you don't have to.  I grind my grains about 25% of the time.  The other 75% of the time I am lazy.


Next, soak them overnight in warm water and an acidic medium (some people put them in the crockpot overnight, so it's ready to eat in the morning).  Of course this step isn't necessary, but it will reduce your cooking and therefore stirring and chaance-of-burning time drastically.

1/2 Cup dry grains mix, soaking in whey and water

In the morning, you can begin cooking in either water or milk right away.


Good morning, grains!

Once cooked, well, this is the fun part! Add all the yummy toppings!


Sweeteners:
honey
molasses
sugar
agave nectar
sucanat
maple syrup
fruit
stevia

Toppings:
ground flax seed
wheat germ
dried and fresh fruits
sunflower seeds
milk, cream, half &half
nuts
brewer's yeast (another one that helps milk supply)
cinnamon

Unconventional additions:
eggs (add a raw egg and cook it the last few minutes, and you will never eat plain cereal again!  I learned this trick in Asia!)
sea salt (get your minerals)
almond butter (a spoonful will add protein, healthy fat and a nice nutty flavor)
butter or coconut oil (more healthy fats that help your body process all the carbs)

One of my favorite whole grain hot cereal recipes:
oats, oat bran, steel cut oats, millet with ground flax seed, agave nectar and an egg.

A mix of 8 grains, with flax seed, craisins, almonds, and organic half and half!

There are other grains and additional elements you can use to make your own hot cereal.  This is just the beginning!  

 Have fun and happy eating!

I Sprout!

A little ways back my status update on Facebook said something like "eating sprouted hummus".  And the witty jokes began about how I shouldn't eat things that are sprouting. :-)

Well, my hummus itself wasn't actually sprouting, but the garbanzo beans I used to make the hummus had been sprouted. 

I've been growing my own sprouts for probably over 3 years.  It's very easy, cheaper than buying sprouts in the  grocery store, and it's way healthier as you can buy organic seeds or legumes and sprout them yourself, with no chemicals.  Sprouts are nutritionally excellent too!

I have used everything from various mixes of seeds to wheatgrass (a cheap way to make your own smoothies) to larger legumes, but my favorite thing to sprout is lentils!  I have made this recipe for Snack Sprouts, and every single person that has tried it has been in love with it and want to know what it is.  They are quite surprised when I tell them they are lentil sprouts!!

You can find a lot of recipes for sprouts, but I mostly just eat mine fresh on a sandwich or in a salad. 

Sprout People is one of the most knowledgeable sites on sprouting. 

I have been using the jar and cover method (this video explains the process), which is very easy, but I would LOVE to win this large sprouter from The Urban Homemaker!

I hope this encourages you to maybe venture out and begin growing your own sprouts! :-)

Do you like sprouts?  Have you ever grown your own sprouts? 

Split Peasers Soup

I love legumes.  Let me say that again.  I LOVE legumes.  Every single one of them.  They are economical, full of fiber, calcium, iron and protein.  If you haven't delved into the world of legumes because you are intimidated, there are so many recipes for you to try that incorporate just a small amount of legumes. 

The recipe I'm about to share, which is one of our favorite cold weather recipes, is full of legumes of the split pea variety.  Since we are feeling pretty strapped financially, this is a recipe that makes two meals for us, with little spending.

Eh, I might've lost you when I said split pea, if you don't enjoy split pea soup.  But for those of you that are wanting something healthy, filling, warm and cheap, this recipe may work for you!

Basic ingredients...

Can't forget the onions! And the best part is you can kind of 'cube' these up - no dicing!

Add a little extra virgin olive oil and let those things wilt a bit

Add the split peas, sea salt, pepper, a bay leaf, yummy stuff like that ..... and some hot sauce! LOTS of hot sauce!

 

Let it simmer, until it's to the split peas are cooked!

And serve! 

Add a nice salad of mixed greens and some crusty bread, mmmmm!

Hope you enjoy this simple recipe as much as we do!  :-)
 
Split Pea Soup
2 onions, cut into cubes
1-2 TB of olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 lb of split peas (I prefer yellow)
2 stalks of celery
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
6 cups chicken broth (or vegetable if you want this recipe to be vegan)
Hot sauce, to taste
1-2 cups water

Cook onions with the olive oil in a large saucepan until they begin to wilt.  Add garlic, split peas, celery and all seasonings.  Then add the broth and hot sauce.  Bring to a boil, then let simmer, covered on low heat for about an hour or until the lentils have softened(depends on which kind of lentils you use).  Stir occasionally.  Once ready to serve, I like to add and additional 1-2 cups of water, to make a soupy consistency, as it will thicken as it stands.  I will sometimes run my immersion blender through it, and sometimes will add some chopped carrots to the recipe also.

This ain't your average milk & cookies (lactation cookies)

I recently came across a cookie recipe that is used to help increase breast milk supply. Lactation cookies.

Yes, breastmilk.

I'm trying to build up a supply of breast milk to use when we go out and have a sitter for our daughter, India, or for when I have to work and my husband watches our daughter.  I also donate breast milk (if you're interested in donating, check out Eats on Feets for more information) and want to be able to continue to give.

Before I begin with the recipe, let this be said....

I HATE PUMPING.
LOATHE ENTIRELY.
DETEST.

Of course, I'm very thankful for my nice, electric breast pump, but it's so inconvenient to sit down, pump, wash everything up, store the expressed breast milk, and then wait for all the equipment to dry before putting it away.  And then do it all over again.  I'm lazy.  I'd rather attach her to me - no mess, she's full, less time, we're both comfortable.

Whenever I would pump, I never get a full feeding.  Approximately 3-4 pumping sessions would equal one feeding.  When India was younger I could pump and not notice a difference in my supply.  But now that my supply has settled, I can't just throw a pumping session in while she naps, because she notices and gets really mad that I'm not giving her all that she wants.

The best time to pump is of course, when I miss a feeding.  Well, the reason why I would miss a feeding is because I'm usually in a public place and therefore cannot pump while whoever is watching India gives her a bottle (I just get to deal with leaky, letdown boobs).  I often find myself using up more of my frozen supply than contributing to it.

This is the tea I normally use with great results when I want to produce more milk.

However, when I stumbled upon this recipe for Major Milk Makin' Lactation Cookies from one of my favorite blogs, I knew I had to try it.  I wanted cookies and I wanted more milk (punny, right?).  This was perfect!

Here is the process.

Tired baby? Check.

 Mixing dry ingredients

And sleeping baby :-)  That didn't take long.

 This is where I may of may not have eaten a few spoonfuls. And maybe said spoonfuls were really good.  I don't know though.  Because it's all a MAYBE.

 Pretty maids, all in a row

 Finished product!

The taste test? They did taste a little flaxy at first, but I enjoyed them overall!  When Dallas came home, he was very excited to smell chocolate chip cookies!  So I let him have one, and immediately his nipples started leaking milk.

No, not really.  He did like them though! 

This recipe yields about 3 dozen, and I can say we ate all of those within a week! 

The Milk Makin' Verdict?  I would say they helped.  It's not like I had an oversupply or anything, but it did help me slowly add an additional pumping session after India goes to bed and before we go to bed!  Now 2 pumping sessions produce enough milk for one bottle for India!

Was it worth it?  I will definitely make these again.  They are relatively healthy, taste good & did what they promised to do!

Here is the recipe again, and here is a post detailing galactagogues and how and why these cookies work.  Let me know if you try them!