Trying the vegan lifestyle

Well, the title says it all. I am attempting to try a vegan lifestyle for a period of time.  So, what sparked this?

Well, we've been battling a severe diaper rash on Avonlea for about 4-6 weeks now. It gets so bad sometimes, that her skin is raw and bleeds. It would get slightly better and then she would have a bowel movement and it would be raw again. Over time I started to realize that the redness was only where the poop touched her skin. Which then led me to believe that it was either 1.) her poop was acidic from teething or 2.) something she was eating was causing it.

I finally put the connection together and realized that this all started when we started to introduce cow's milk into her diet. And then the light bulb went off! I immediately called the doctor and told her my thoughts and that I wanted to try and take her off of cow's milk and see if it improves. She agreed with me. I told her I was thinking about doing regular soy milk and adding some soy formula to it to increase the fat content. (soy milk only has 4 grams of fat compared to 8 grams from whole milk) Doc agreed and said that was fine.

The results: after 24 hours of being completely dairy free, her butt was 90% better!!! She has now been dairy free for 4 days and her butt looks amazing. She has had bowel movements, but it hasn't irritated her skin at all.  She drinks the soy mik and soy formula just fine. I'm not even kidding when I say that I haven't found a food yet that this child will not scarf down! (well, except the cow's milk. She wasn't a huge fan of that)

I am trying to take out as much dairy from our house as we can so she doesn't accidentally get some. Which is going to be a challenge because the boys love cheese! I have an order of Daiya cheese from co-op, so I am hoping to replace regular cheese with that. I also bought her some Yo Baby Soy yogurt from the store. I'm also buying stock in soy milk because this little girl has drank a 1/2 gallon by herself in 3 days.

I did manage to make an all vegan dinner last night and so far today I have eaten all vegan. Maybe this will shed those unwanted pounds of mine in no time?! Ha!

So far this seems to be working for Avonlea. I'm not sure if she is absolutely allergic to dairy or if her body just isn't ready for it yet. It's something we'll need to discuss with the doctor. But for now, this is a major improvement!

Preserving the goodness

Today's post is all about preserving the goodness that nature provides us. This weekend I spent cooking, preserving, and freezing some fruit, herbs, etc.

I started off with the fresh apricots. I had about 2lbs left over from the 4lb bag that we got from co-op. These are fresh, organic apricots sliced in half with the pit removed.


I cooked them with a 1/2 cup of water until they were soft and tender. Then I added about 2 cups of sugar and let it reduce until thick. Take off the heat and add in some fresh lemon juice, I used about 1/2 of a lemon. I let it cool slightly on the stove top and then jarred in. I put most in a quart size canning jar and the remainder in freezer containers. The jar will keep in your refrigerator for months and I placed the rest in the freezer for later use.


I did the same with my peaches after that. Although, I skinned the peaches first. I also skinned and slice some peaches, placed them on a cookie sheet in 1 layer and froze them. Then I placed the frozen pieces into a ziploc freezer bag.

While I was spending my day cooking, I also roasted two whole chickens for dinner. My inlaws joined us for dinner and I also made these rolls from Pinterest:

Source: plainchicken.com via Courtney on Pinterest

They were super yummy and fast to put together. I used sparkling water and a little sugar instead of the 7-up the recipe calls for. After we finished eating, I shredded the remainder of the chicken and froze it for later use.

I also want to make Sunflower Seed Basil Pesto:

Source: feralkitchen.com via Courtney on Pinterest

My basil plants are out of control and I need to trim them back and freeze some basil for the winter. I love this idea of using the sunflower seeds instead of pin nuts. Pine nuts can be rather expensive and I already have sunflower seeds at home, ready to use.  I hope its yummy!

Tiny's

So, in preparation for Avonlea to start walking and this Fall/Winter, I thought it was about time that I got her some real shoes. I've had my eye on these pink herringbone Toms for a while for her.

Source: toms.com via Courtney on Pinterest

Well, what do you know, they no longer have them on the Toms website. Just my luck!!! I've even searched Ebay and Amazon but I can only find limited bigger sizes. Boo! I went back to the Toms website and started searching for a different pair for her. These were the options that I narrowed it down to:

I really like the patterned ones, but then I starting thinking about how much of her wardrobe they would really go with. I feel like when they are so small and outgrow sizes super fast, then they should have shoes that go with just about everything.

So, I picked the last pair, which I think are the most neutral and are most like the pink herringbone pair that I originally wanted.  I got a size 4 which I am hoping will last through the winter. I think they may be a tiny bit big right now, but with socks and as her feet grow, they should be fine. I have another pair of purple mary jane shoes in a size 3 that I found at Once Upon a Child for her. Those should work for the time being. I am super excited for her to wear the Toms though. I love how they look!

More recipes

I've been trying out a lot of new, healthier recipes lately and I am loving them! I'd thought I would share some of them with you.

First off is what's in the crockpot tonight for dinner: Turkey and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers from Ms Skinny

I followed the recipe exactly except that I used ground chicken instead of turkey and added some fresh basil chopped up instead of the parsley. I also used homemade spaghetti sauce instead of jarred or canned.

The next recipe I got from my friend Nikki's blog. Its Turkey Burgers stuffed with goat cheese. These were AMAZING! Seriously! Even my boys gobbled them up!

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1/2 onion, grated (it adds moisture to your burger so they're not all dried out and still have a nice flavor)
• 1 green onion, sliced (because I had it leftover)
• Pepper
• 4 dashes Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 log of goat cheese
• Montreal steak seasoning

Mix the first 5 ingredients together in a bowl. Divide mixture into 4 patties and divide the 1/2 log of goat cheese into 4 pieces. Place a piece of goat cheese in the center of the patty and then form the patty around the goat cheese so that it is completely covered by the turkey mixture.  I grilled my burgers on the grill for about 3-4 minutes per side. I used extra lean turkey so be careful not to overcook it if you use this.

I topped ours with avocado, ketchup, fresh spinach leaves, and I used whole wheat buns. I served them with zucchini fries. I also added some shredded zucchini to the turkey burger to help keep it moist and add in some extra veggies.



These burgers were super easy to make and fast to throw together. I'd also like to try this wheatberry salad from my friend Nikki as well. She makes some great stuff!!

A year old

My sweet and sassy little girl is a whole year old! I just can't believe how fast this year went by. I just can't even imagine our lives without her.

She had her 12 month check up last week. Here are her stats:

Height: 29.5 inches (50th%)
Weight: 20lbs 12.8 oz (50th%)


She is just perfect! Here is what she is up to these days:

--only waking once during the night, usually early morning, 4-5am
--on mostly whole milk. She's still finicky sometimes with it, so we are still using some of the toddler formula
--eats like a champ! This kid will eat anything!
--Wearing size 4 diapers and size medium cloth diapers
--Wearing size 18 month clothing
--Will take 1-2 steps on her own before sitting down
--loves to shriek and babble
--is cruising super fast around furniture
--loves to play with her brothers
--loves matchbox cars and even makes the "vroom" sound while playing with them
--her two top teeth just poked through, so she has 4 teeth now
--uses a cup during the day but still wants her bottle at nap and night time. We're working on it.




Avonlea is so fun to have around. Most of the time she is chill and go with the flow, but she also has a very sassy side to her. I can't wait to see her personality develop even more during her second year.

*Almost free* dinner

So, tonight I'm making homemade creamy tomato basil soup with homemade croutons. This meal is *almost free* because most of the ingredients came from our garden or were bought by others and left at our house.

First I sliced my tomatoes (from our garden=FREE!) in half and cut out the stem part. I then placed them on a foil lined baking sheet. I drizzled them lightly with grapeseed oil and sprinkled with Celtic sea salt. I also sliced and diced some left over bread rolls that people had brought over from Avonlea's bday party (FREE!). I drizzled them lightly with grapeseed oil, sprinkled with Celtic sea salt and herbs de provence. I roasted the tomatoes and croutons at 400 degrees.


The croutons took about 20 minutes to look golden and delicious!


In a pot on the stove, saute some onions and garlic together. Add tomatoes and what ever spices/seasoning you would like. I plan to use fresh basil from our garden and whatever else that tickles my fancy. Then puree in a blender or whatever you have.  Return to pot and add some cream (I used fat free half and half) or whole milk to the soup. Allow to warm but do not boil. Serve up warm in a bowl with some shaves of parmesan cheese and croutons. You can also serve grilled cheese sandwiches to complete the meal. Yum!!

Tinkle Traps, say what?

I am way super excited because my Tinkle Traps are supposed to get delivered today!! I know, you're thinking "what on this earth is a Tinkle Trap?" Well, its more of a brand than a type of diaper. Pretty much, I sent 12 of my prefold diapers to Tammy (the owner) and she trimmed them, put elastic in the legs, and made doublers out of the parts that she trimmed. Then she lined the doublers with colored bamboo velour to match the stitching. Essentially, she took my prefolds and turned them into fitted diapers. This makes it easier for daddy's, grandparents, or babysitters to get the diapers on right and secure.

See! How cool is that?! I can't wait to get them and use them for Avonlea! I love me some pretty squishy diapers. :)