Food for Little Tummies (Baby Led Weaning)

I've mentioned on the blog before that we've decided to do baby led weaning (BLW) to introduce Cai to solid foods. This meant that we skipped purees and rice cereal and went straight to solid foods. In the beginning it mostly looked like Cai shoving food into his mouth, tasting it, experiencing the texture, mashing it around a little bit, and spitting it back out, but as he has grown, it now looks like a small person eating food (and it's super fun to watch).

I just wanted to share a few of the recipes that have worked for us (nutritious and easy for little hands).

 Breakfast Hash
This was a go to meal for me in the end of IVF and the beginning of pregnancy when I was trying to eat lots of protein, but with just a little bit o tweaking, it's been great for Cai too. I made enough for us to share

INGREDIENTS:

• Potatoes, cut into grabbable sticks
• Fresh herbs (I used basil and rosemary and scallions)
• Shredded cheese (I used parm. and cheddar)
• Eggs
• Milk (we use raw milk)
• EVOO
• Sausage (optional depending on your baby. Cai doesn't do well with sausage skin, so I either take the skin off or leave it out)

DIRECTIONS:

• Brown potatoes in hot skillet with EVOO.
• If you're using sausage, add that next and cook until brown.
• In separate bowl, scramble eggs with herbs, cheese, and a splash of milk.
• Add eggs to skillet and use spatula to scramble all of the ingredients.

Farmer's Market Pizza

I won't bother posting a recipe for this, but I was super proud of this recipe. I used all ingredients from the farmer's market, my own potted herbs, and a local farm. Everything was pesticide free. 

INGREDIENTS:

• Brick oven chabatta bread
• Farm fresh mozarella
• Tomato sauce
• Fresh basil
• Fresh rosemary

Strawberry French Toast

Again, I won't post a recipe for this one, because I'm sure you know how to  make French toast, but basically I made French toast and then spread cream cheese on it and added strawberries.

INGREDIENTS:

• Bread (I think I used some of my dad's homemade sourdough bread)
• Egg
• Cinnamon
• Milk
• Cream cheese
• Strawberries, sliced

Sweet Potato Fries

Not only did Cai love them, but Steve did too. 

INGREDIENTS:

• Sweet potatoes, cut like fries
• Coconut oil
• Cinnamon
• Ginger
• Curry

DIRECTIONS:

• Toss cut sweet potatoes in coconut oil and spices to taste (we liked ours with a mix of sweet and savory spices)
• Spread onto parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
• Bake until soft enough to chew.

We have loved BLW (and so has Cai). It can be messy, but it's so much fun to watch your little one explore foods. And so far, Cai loves everything we've given him except artichokes. Yay for not being a picky eater!

Autumn Roasted Veggie Soup: PCOS Friendly

I'm this close [ ] to being ready for fall. I am, however, fully ready for all things pumpkin. So when I saw this recipe for a savory pumpkin and veggie bisque, I was ready to try it. I almost never follow a recipe exactly though, especially for soup, so mine looked quite a bit different (and still PCOS friendly), and I thought I'd share!

Autumn Roasted Veggie Soup



Ingredients:

• 4-5 organic carrots, peeled and chopped (mine were pretty skinny)
• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped (Okay, here's the truth: One of the "sweet potatoes" that I grabbed was not a sweet potato. It may have been a white sweet potato, but I'm not entirely sure. It had the same look and texture inside and out of a regular sweet potato, but it was white instead. I didn't realize this until I got it home and sliced into it, but it tasted yummy)
• 1/2 a Vidalia onion, peeled and chopped
• 3 small cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1 can of pureed pumpkin
• 2 cups of organic vegetable broth
• 2 cups of water
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• approx. 2 tsp. cinnamon
• approx. 1 tbsp curry powder
• approx. 1/4 tsp. grated ginger (I buy fresh and keep it in the freezer)
• approx. 1/8 tsp. grated nutmeg
• 1 tbsp. raw honey (Note: This is not recommended for pregnant women, but I 1.) wasn't worried because it was being cooked and 2.) like to break the rules.)
• 1/4 c. organic whole milk (if, like some women with PCOS, you choose not to eat dairy, you could use coconut milk instead)
• sour cream or Greek yogurt for garnish.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Drizzle olive oil on pan. Place carrots, sweet potatoes, onion, and garlic on pan. Top with another drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

Veggies before roasting

3. Roast vegetables for 20-25 minutes, checking and stirring midway.

4. Fill medium pot with vegetable broth, water, and pureed pumpkin and place on stove on low heat.

5. Remove roasted vegetables from oven and add to broth. Add spices (I put the approx. amounts I used, but season to taste), salt, and honey and cook on low-med. heat, uncovered for 15-20 min.

Veggies after roasting

6. Remove from heat. Using a stick blender (you could also use a regular blender), blend soup to desired consistency. Add milk, stirring to blend.

7. Serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt or sour cream as garnish.

Ch-ch-ch-changes...

I have a feeling that after reading the next few blog posts I plan to make, half of you (of the eight people who actually read this) will think I've gone crazy and the other half are either already doing these things or will want to start.

I've decided to make some major changes in my life, mainly regarding the way I treat my body. Part of it relates back to me resolutions, but it's more than that. After years of reading that the most successful way to combat poly-cystic ovary syndrome is to drastically change your diet, I've finally decided to actually do that. Of course, I had to try all the other alternatives first (going on birth control, herbal supplements, metformin, Clomid) before I was willing to make those changes. I'm not making them all at once, but I'm starting.

A great deal of my inspiration has come from the following places, in case anybody would like to check out my sources...
Modern Alternative Pregnancy

• Getting pregnant with PCOS
• Natural detox
• Reasons for detoxing before getting pregnant

Keeper of the Home

• Easy real food changes
• Eating for fertility
• 7 foods to avoid
• What is real food?
• Organic on a budget

So this has been my starting place, and I'm trying to slowly cut things out of my diet (our diets hopefully, though I've gotten some push back from my wonderful amazing husband).

So far, I have

•  Stopped buying white flour and have started using King Arthur white whole wheat and regular whole wheat.
• Started to make my own bread. I even tried making my own crackers which were yummy but time consuming.
• Started buying raw dairy from a local dairy farm, Klein Farms. I recently bought milk, yogurt, cheddar and mozarella cheese, as well as fresh eggs (which aren't dairy, but you get the point).
• Stopped buying white and brown (processed) sugar. Right now I'm trying out Sucanat (contraction for sugar cane natural) which is evaporated cane juice. I'd also like to try coconut sugar and raspadura. I was already using raw honey sometimes, but I'm out of it right now and forgot to buy it the last time I was out. 
• Made it a point to buy organic when it comes to "the dirty dozen."

I have not noticed any physical changes yet because this is just the beginning, but mentally I'm excited. The food I've been making tastes just as good or better than what I was making before, and that's exciting. 

I plan to update when I see changes and share some experiences as I try new things!