Slow cooker madness

Finally a food post!

I decided that I needed a new slow cooker to better prepare healthy meals for my family, how American right. We always need new stuff for some reason or another. I do like my new slow cooker. I wish that I had ordered my new slow cooker and this cookbook on Amazon and saved some $. If any of my friends out there have good slow cooker cookbook recommendations please pass them along.

I have enjoyed my new slow cooker. It is a better size and shape for my family. My old one was an oval and too big to prepare smaller meals so I didn't use it much. I have been looking for ways to avoid overheating the house during this horrible heat wave we have been suffering from. I have cooked beets and butternut squash in my slow cooker and was very happy with the results. I cooked some Swedish meatballs that Daniel really loved. I cooked oatmeal that was easy and a good, quick breakfast, we'll have to repeat that this winter. I will say some things I cooked seem a bit overcooked, I think my slow cooker might run a bit hot. I haven't got all scientific and checked the temp. during cooking. I'm looking forward to using my slow cooker more.

Levels of weirdoness

So calling myself a weirdo started back when Daniel and I first started dating and I would sometimes shop in the "weirdo" areas of the grocery store, where the organic and whole grain stuff was. Well now I'm a true weirdo doing most of our shopping at our health food coop. Really I've had to give up some of my weirdo practices since Simeon came along and that has been OK.

Last week I had a wonderful discovery that has brought happiness to our daily routine. I blogged about my adventures in baby wearing a while back and my problems with it.I like my Beco as much as I thought I could, but it still wasn't just super comfortable to wear Simeon for longer than 1 hour and that's a stretch. He is big for his age and loves to be held like all day! I mentioned last time I've been back carrying here lately and I love it. It is much more comfortable for me and he loves it. The instructions say you can start at 4 months, I hate I waited so long. Seriously so many scream outs could be avoided. I have been wearing him around the house most days at least an hour so I can do food prep and other things around the house.

Yesterday I hung out our laundry to dry, of course it rained but most of it was already dry when I got it in. It's probably strange that I love hanging out the clothes so much, I really love to hang clothes to dry! It's like a little thing I can do to feel like I'm being eco-friendly, and connected with the past.

I've had to start buying bread, horrors. I do buy from a locally operated bakery, Great Harvest. If I'm going to buy bread, I'm not buying stale bread. I will bake again one day, but now my hands are full. I don't know why but every time I bake it seems like I have to pull something out of the oven when Simeon is hungry and having a meltdown.

I'm interested in the Montessori philosophy more these days. I didn't realize we were embracing many of these ideas already. I don't think there is a Montessori program in Jackson suitable for Simeon now. There is a full time infant daycare and a part time pre-school, but no mother's morning out. So I guess we'll try to do some weirdo activities at home. I'd love to have a true Montessori home, but that's not really in the budget for now. I definitely need to research this some more, b/c I was a science major I didn't take a single class in child development.

-Daniel and I are trying to remove our shoes every time we enter the house. There are several obstacles to this, but I love the idea of a cleaner house.

Quality and beauty of the environment and the books and materials is very important in attracting, satisfying, and keeping the attention of the child. If the child is exposed to beautiful rattles and toys, she will help create a world with the same high standards as an adult. Toys, rattles, puzzles, tables, and chairs made of wood instead of plastic develop an appreciation for nature and quality and show a respect for the child.

-Simeon has not received many toys from his parents anyway, and the ones we've bought have been good quality and pretty (and pricey thus he hasn't received many:)

The same hold true for the sounds in the environment. With time the adult brain learns to block out the sound of a TV or radio, but a child is always aware of it. Sometimes a child can become upset by visual and auditory stimulus of which the adult is completely unaware!

-We don't have many electronic (noisy toys) and we don't watch much TV, b/c we don't have one! May I add I'm not totally anti-TV, we just haven't allotted the funds to create our ideal TV setup. We would like a roll away TV cart, maybe for Christmas...

I'd love to keep blogging about what we've been up to and how I'm trying other ways to become even weirder but I must clean my house as to create a happy environment for my family...

We must not only think of the quality, but the quantity. Visible posters, pictures, toys, etc. always affect the mind. It has been shown over and over in children’s environments that cluttered shelves, which are visually blocked out by the adult, are a constant visual barrage for the young child, causing stress. Too many pictures and posters on the wall do the same. The Chinese art of placement, Feng Shui, teaches that clutter, even hidden under a bed or piled on top of bookcases can cause stress.

Mommy Meal Tips

None of these are earth shattering and most people reading this will probably have some better tips of their own. Feel free to share!

-Cook early in the day when the baby is happy, rather than waiting till "the witching hour", 4-6 is not a happy time around here. This is so obvious, but I guess it has taken this stubborn housewife a while to have her little routine shaken up. Gosh I wonder where Simeon gets his determination?

-We eat more processed food, now I just don't have time to cut up sweet potato fries so I bought a big bag of already prepared ones. But I'm not giving up my quest to eat healthy, we'll just have to look for some healthy and cheap quick fix items.

-After talking to a friend, I prepared a "staple meal list". This is a list of meal I typed, printed out, and posted to our refrigerator. They are not dependent on fresh items, they consist of staples we have on hand all the time and they are quick to cook. This is working out pretty well. I'm not entirely giving up spontaneous and exotic meals but I just don't have the time to cook them or ability to acquire the ingredients every night. But I try to have variety, for example yesterday I cooked Mock Manti from my Greek cookbook and frozen spinach with toasted pine nuts and feta. This was quick and got the husband stamp of approval. I want to add more to our list, feel free to share yours.

What's Important

I guess I could have called this priorities 2 because it is a continuation of my previous post about my life after baby. Well much has changed for me since August 4th 2009. I am so very blessed to be a momma, what a joy that big grin is to me. I spend most of my days feeding and diapering my sweet Simeon. And when I'm not doing one of those things I am running about trying to clean our house, cook something to eat, and possibly groom my very neglected dog.

I felt bad for letting my blog posts drop to nothing, I even considered shutting it down. But my dear husband told me it was ok to let it sit for a bit. That made me feel better, that even though I don't have time or more importantly the mental energy to work on this blog I don't have to quit it forever! The picture by the way is not new, I'll try to get a newer one up soon. And I feel that way about many things I used to love to do. I knew that babies were lots of work, but I guess deep down I was hoping for an easy baby that slept a lot so I could still accomplish everything I wanted to for our house. Well there are many days my boy doesn't nap much and after taking care of him I have little time or energy to cook us a healthy meal. Not that I don't still try. I had an idea I could feed Simeon strap him in the baby carrier and go. Well I'm glad it works for some but errands are hit and miss for us. Some days like today grocery shopping is great, he just chills in the carrier and is fine. But last week we went to return a few items and I had about 15 minutes before he had a crank out. Every baby is different and I'm learning to take a day at a time and to enjoy my blessed time with him.

But I have come to the realization that my ideas of running a frugal healthy household might have to have some tweaking at least for the present. Now I'm not giving up but I'm done with browbeating myself for not fixing a fresh salad for every supper, hanging out the clothes on the line, and waking up before Daniel to cook his breakfast. I love doing these things, but my job now is to take care of my dear boy. One day he will sleep more, I hope anyway, and I can start doing more and he can help me.

Casserole Queen

Ever since Simeon was born I have become the casserole queen. Not quite as much in the last few weeks, but without casseroles we may have starved. Now I'm sure we all know newborns are demanding, but I didn't have any idea of how demanding until I got my very own! For the first few months Simeon wanted to eat pretty much all day and usually in the time I used to prepare Daniel and me supper. Suppers prepared well ahead of time was a must. I'm very very fortunate to have a wonderful husband to help me out. I would have eaten mac and cheese for 2 and a half months if it wasn't for him (and everyone that brought us food of course).

The beauty of casseroles is they are great for preparing ahead and having meals for several nights. This is why my family ate so many of them growing up and why I have avoided them until now. If you have time to fix steamed veggies or a salad and an entree of some type every night you don't need the convenience of casseroles. And one day maybe I will prepare more fresh meals but I see far more casseroles in my future. I will try to post more ideas for healthier casseroles as I run across them.

Here are a few little tips for making casseroles "healthier" and tastier:

1. Use whole grain noodles, bread or cracker crumbs, or brown rice depending on the recipe
2. Use cage free eggs and high quality cheese (you are going to be stretching them out with whatever starches or veggies are in the casserole)
3. Don't be afraid to improvise and add some color (veggies): sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, zucchini, etc.

Priorities

So I have been absent for awhile due to the birth of this little guy, Simeon Paul Root born August 4, 2009 at 1:32 AM. His stats: 8 lb 1oz, 20.5 in. Having a child was an experience like no other. If I was a great blogger I would have had pictures up already and blogged sooner. But as I'm not great at updating this blog on a good day, the business of the last month got the better of me.

I titled this blog priorities because I definitely have had a shift in mine. Having a child foremost has made me appreciate my own parents more, how I have taken them for granted. And I am quickly learning how to do things very quickly: shower, throw together a breakfast casserole, groom the dog... My free time is much more rare so I have to make the best of it.

The last month has been busy, tiring, emotionally overwhelming, but so wonderful! Some of my pet projects have taken the back burner: knitting, our garden, hanging out our clothes, and even baking. I'm really hoping to pick some of those activities on a more limited basis soon. So maybe on this blog I will be featuring more quick tips than I have before!

Getting ready for Simeon

So another non-food blog post here. I finally finished my sweater I have been working on for about 3 weeks. And I also finished my first wrap style diaper cover. I've got to sew the buttons on the diaper cover, after I decide where they should be placed. The sweater seems big and the diaper cover small. I'll have to try the diaper cover with the newborn prefolds I ordered on a tiny baby before I make more. I'm 30 weeks now and I'm feeling more pressure to get things done. I have a feeling the next few months are going to fly.

Laundry updates

I know three posts in one day, so I should be good for a month right? I attempted to take a picture of our newly extended clothesline and my soap making supplies.

Truth be known I am not a cheap person. I never have racked up massive debt, but let's put it this way. I have a taste for quality. But since going more natural I wanted a simplified laundry detergent without all the chemical additives. This recipe is 3 ingredients: a bar of laundry soap (zote is my personal choice), borax, and washing soda (not baking). The Zote I buy at Brookshires, and the borax and washing soda come from Kroger. If you are interested in making your own laundry soap here's a great resource: http://www.soapsgonebuy.com/category_s/24.htm.

I do have people ask me about this since most people don't make their own cleaning supplies. I make the powdered version because of my tendency to make messes in general. The worst part is grating the soap. Thankfully the weather is nice here this week so I sat outside on the porch grated away while watching a really corny 80's movie on my laptop. Now I know that there are many busy people out there who don't have time for this. Please don't feel guilty for buying laundry detergent. This is just a way that I can save my family money and since I contribute no actual income to the family it is important that I find these money saving opportunities.

I absolutely love my clothesline, it makes me feel like I'm harnessing some of our natural resources (lots of heat in Mississippi) and saving $ at the same time. But the line was too short so after consulting with my handy husband he instructed me on how to double it's length. A drill and a screw in hook later we have enough clothesline to dry an entire load at once.

I'm a grandma

No I'm really not. But sometimes my love of vintage and retro makes me feel like one. Take my new hobby, knitting. I love it but I do feel kinda old lady surrounded by all my gear at times. I was showing Daniel's parents my cute diaper cover and partially completed sweater and his mom remarked, "that looks like something Richard's mom would have had made for Daniel." I really did think it was funny and I don't mind having old fashioned tastes.

This pic is of my mostly completed sweater, my goal is to have it done by Friday. Daniel and I are going to be driving a lot on Saturday and I want to start on my new diaper covers. I'm using thinner yarn and hopefully will get a less bulky diaper cover. I have enjoyed my bulky yarn, it knits up quick and hides my many boo boos.

My new non-food hobby

Yeah my new hobby isn't photography obviously. But you get the idea right. I have taken up knitting and I'm totally addicted. Just ask my poor husband, he just wants me to put my needles down and really watch a movie with him. But the baby clock is so ticking down. I'm already 28 weeks! This picture is of a pair of wool "soakers" or a diaper cover I made for Simeon. Daniel isn't so sure about the "sweater on his behind" look. But I of course love most anything that looks old timey. This was my third knit project, and my first soaker. Since we're going to be using cloth diapers, I need to make more soakers. But the next few will be knit with a thinner yarn producing a trimmer soaker.

Strawberry Pineapple Marmalade

So Daniel had a post about LA strawberries being in season now. And we have been enjoying them. I decided I wanted to make some jam and process it. There was a post last summer about us making salsa, and it was really a learning experience. We didn't have all the equipment we needed and we didn't know what we were doing. After a few mistakes, and after talking to some people with experience I feel like I might actually be able to preserve some things I could give to people. Daniel and I ate what I canned last year, but I didn't feel quite confident giving any salsa or jam away.


So I got this cookbook last summer, Putting It Up With Honey: A Natural Foods Canning and Preserving Cookbook by Susan Geiskopf. I used it to make some fig honey jam that we have enjoyed all winter. That was a money saving endeavor, because some friends gave us huge bags of figs (free food!) But I will say the strawberry marmalade did cost me. The recipe called for one pineapple, 4 oranges, and 6 cups (sliced) strawberries. At least I had enough jars and lids I didn't have to buy those. Oh yeah the great thing about this book is all the recipes have honey instead of processed sugar, but honey is more expensive. For canning purposes I try to find the cheapest honey I can b/c it is going to be cooked so long whether it is raw or not doesn't matter. I still would like to think that gourmet marmalade would have cost more and not had the unique and healthier qualities of my honey marmalade. It is always amazing to me that you start out with a large amount of fruit and end up with so few jars of jam. You might can tell from the fuzzy picture I ended up with 3.75 jars! I processed the full 3 and the partial Daniel and I are eating on now. I used bigger jars than the recipe called for.

I will say making my own marmalade, jam, etc. is such of a fulfilling activity. I guess similar to making our own bread. Yeah you can find it cheaper in the store, but it won't taste as good or be prepared with as much love.