The Easy Way to Cook Dried Beans

One of the best budget-friendly protein sources that I can think of is dried beans. You can buy dried beans in the packages or bulk bins at the grocery store for next to about $1.99 per lb. You can of course buy cans of beans since they are convenient for quick meals on the fly, but dried stretches your dollars further because dried beans expand to about double in size when cooked and it's much more green friendly because of less packaging and processing.

I have many childhood memories sorting pinto beans and smelling them cooking on the stovetop. My mom added bacon slices, onion and garlic as she cooked them on the stove and it smelled amazing. I've found an easy way for cooking dried beans to fit into my hectic lifestyle without slaving away in the kitchen.

I soaked these pinto beans on Friday overnight, then cooked them in the slower cooker on Saturday during the day. I used the cooked beans on Saturday night for vegetarian chili and Sunday night for homemade refried beans (frijoles). More on the refried beans later...

Why eat beans and legumes? Beans are packed with protein, fiber, and iron. As recent vegetarians, Aaron and I have been eating more beans than ever and they are very filling and tasty. Beans are so versatile and can be made into patties (Falafel), stews, chili, filling for burritos or tacos, or plain on a salad for protein. Beans are great combined with whole grains like brown rice, barley or quinoa. Our favorites are chickpeas (for curries, soups, hummus) and pinto (in the picture) for burritos, chili, and tacos. We also like kidney for soups (minestrone) and black beans for enchiladas, chili and burrito filling. We love Lentil Stew served over brown rice. The possibilities are endless!

Cooking dried beans is super easy. If you plan ahead you can save money and time for future meals. Store your dried beans in a sealed container in the pantry, marking the type of bean and the date that you bought them. The easiest way to cook dried beans is to do it in batches, then use the beans for multiple meals. The slow cooker is energy efficient and easy.

Step 1: Soak Overnight
With dried beans, you need to soak them in water to help the cooking process. You need to soak all beans except for lentils, split peas, and black eyed peas.

• First, sort the beans and make sure you don't have any debris.
• Rinse the dried beans in water and drain.
  
• Use a mixing bowl to soak beans overnight in water. Fill the bowl a couple inches above the water.

Step 2: Slow Cook
In the morning, the soaked beans will double in size and most of the water will be absorbed.

• Drain the beans and rinse.
  
• Add the beans to slow cooker with fresh water covering the soaked beans a couple inches above.
  
• No need in adding any seasoning since you can season later. It's better to cook them plain so they will be more versatile for different dishes.
• Cook on Low setting for 8-hours, stirring infrequently and making sure to replenish water, if needed.
  

Step 3: Store
After the beans are cooked, I like to store beans that won't be used that evening for future meals that week.

• Use cooked beans in any dish, any way you like. Use a slotted spoon to use the beans you need for that night.
  
• Keep cooking liquid for some recipes such as refried beans or hummus, according to your recipes.
• Let beans cool, then store in resealable containers for the refrigerator. I've never tried freezing them.
  

That's it! It's really easy!

Vegetarian Baked Gnocchi

I made a Baked Gnocchi for dinner tonight. It was hearty and filling even though it was vegetarian. It's a quick dinner that I was able to whip up while Aaron was giving Ava a bath. I got the broccoli cut and Aaron helped me by cooking it while I was nursing Ava and the gnocchi was baking in the oven. It flowed easily and with the tag team action, dinner was done. It turned out great!

Gnocchi, Italian potato dumplings, are a treat. They are tender and when cooked right, are fluffy pillows of goodness! For tonight's baked version, I used Italian soy sausage and vegetables (fennel, fresh tomato, fresh spinach, and garlic) with a bit of chopped kalamata olives. I topped it with ricotta cheese, fresh chopped parsley, breadcrumbs, and shredded Parmesan cheese. Paired with broccoli, it was delicious and very easy to make.

Vegetarian Baked Gnocchi
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 package of gnocchi (find it at Trader Joe's or World Market)
  
• 1-14oz can tomato sauce
• 1 tbs olive oil
  
• 1/2 cup soy Italian sausage
  
• 1/2 bulb fennel (chopped small) or substitute onion instead
  
• 1 Roma tomato, chopped
• 3 cups fresh spinach (or 1/2 cup defrosted frozen)
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2 cloves minced garlic
  
• 5 Kalamata olives, chopped
  
• 4oz part-skim ricotta cheese
• 2 tbs breadcrumbs
• 2 tbs chopped fresh parsley or basil
• 3 tbs grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

• Start water for gnocchi pasta.
• Chop vegetables and preheat medium skillet.
  
• Coat pre-heated skillet with olive oil (liberally since soy sausage doesn't have fat like pork). Add fennel and garlic. Saute 2 minutes, then add soy sausage. Cook until sausage in browned and the fennel (or onion is cooked through). Add fresh tomato, spinach, and oregano. Saute until spinach is cooked. Keep warm until gnocchi is cooked.
• When the water is boiling, add gnocchi carefully. The dumplings are heavier than pasta and will splash. I drop in a few at a time slowly. Cook according to the package directions, until the gnocchi floats to the top (about 5 minutes).
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  
• Drain gnocchi and return to pot. Add can of tomato sauce, and sausage-vegetable mixture. Toss with chopped olives.
• Coat an 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray. Add gnocchi to the dish, then carefully scoop out small spoonfuls of ricotta cheese on the top of the gnocchi. Sprinkle evenly with parsley, breadcrumbs, and Parmesan cheese.
• Bake for 25 minutes until bubbly.
• Cook vegetables while gnocchi is baking.
  
• Let gnocchi cool for 5 minutes before serving.
  

If you try this recipe, feel free to experiment with the vegetables. Other ideas would be zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, or mushrooms.

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Ava Marie at 11-months

Now that we're at 11-months, we're starting to plan Ava's first birthday on March 12. We're planning a birthday party at our house with friends and family. I'm not sure on a theme quite yet, but I have some ideas. Before we start celebrating, we're enjoying this stage of Ava right now! Here's the latest update on what's going on with Ava at 11-months old.

Clothing size: 12 months and 18 months on the top. We have three boxes of hand-me-down clothes from Ava's friend, Violet, in 12-24 month sizes and we're thankful to have them because she's been growing so quickly!

Two more teeth! Ava has two more teeth on the bottom that started popping through about a week ago. Her current count is 6 teeth! When they first come out, those new teeth are sharp and she likes to rub her tongue on the new teeth. Nursing is challenging sometimes because it's uncomfortable for both of us. I use homeopathic teething gel, which really helps.

Loves to stand up...Ava loves standing, though she doesn't pull herself up, she's good at balancing herself by holding on to the furniture or us. She can stand a long time and doesn't seem interested in walking yet, but we're guessing that will come soon enough.

Mobility, we're getting there. No crawling forward, but Ava likes to push backwards either on her tummy or on her bottom. Her arms are strong and she moves in a circle, backgrounds, and rolls all over the place. We give her some help by propping her up on her knees to help her crawl and she puts her head on her arms and snuggles. It's really funny! Ava watches everything that we're doing and how we're moving. Her hands and arms are always moving. Aaron called her "Miss America" because she loves to clap and wave. She likes to play catch! No joke! She throws balls and small objects and when you throw it back, she will return it by throwing. When I unload our weekly produce bin, she goes crazy for a chance to play with the oranges!

Her first words: Ava is talking ALL THE TIME! Daycare says she's talking/babbling constantly and she's saying words now. She says "Dog" when she sees Bena and the deer in our yard. She says "Ball" when she sees an orange, which she thinks is a ball. Her most favorite word is "Dada" and she finally has started to say the "Ma" syllables, which is music to my ears. :)

Very playful! Ava plays hard all day and especially likes to play with her friends at daycare. We were all home together during the ice storm just a week and a half ago. The city was basically shut down, including her daycare. On Friday, when Ava returned to daycare, she was so happy to see her friends after three days at home. She enjoyed being at home with us, though. I worked from home, while we juggled taking care of Ava while working. Aaron and Ava got to bond a lot, which was fantastic! When Ava wakes up for the day, she smiles and starts talking. She really is a playful little baby, who likes to dance, laugh, and sing to music. Her favorite caregiver, Miss Sharon, told me that when she sings "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," Ava makes the hand movements!

Sleeping well at night. Ava has always been a good sleeper, waking to nurse and then right back to sleep. She sleeps well in her crib, but there's some nights that she doesn't want to be by herself and she sleeps in our bed. Ava sleeps until 3-4am before she wants to nurse. Sometimes, she will stretch until 5:30am when I wake up for work. I usually nurse her in bed after the alarm goes off and she is sleep nursing in bed. I ease out of bed and get ready for work. The nice thing is that because we're nursing, it's not a big deal when she wakes up because we can both nurse in our sleep. She loves to wake up in the morning and touch her Daddy's face. It's so sweet! Daytime naps are less predictable and short at daycare, especially. Ava is too busy playing to nap. Many times, she falls asleep nursing when we get home and has a cat nap in the evening. It doesn't seem to disrupt her night sleep.

Very affectionate. Ava kisses me when I arrive at daycare to pick her up. It's an open-mouth kiss, which is so funny! Ava will her hand out to touch her baby friends and caregivers when we're leaving. Last week, I let her give her friend, William, a hug. It was so cute! She's as much as a sweet snuggle-loving baby now, just as much as she was a newborn. I guess that's why Ava likes the sling so much because she likes to be close to me, but sit up high to observe the world around her.

Parenthood: We're adjusting to our new role as parents every day. Aaron is very supportive and is fiercely in tuned with Ava. He picked her up from daycare a few nights in the past few weeks and she's been caught off guard since I pick her up and we nurse as soon as I arrive. She has cried for as long as 20 minutes, but Aaron understands that it's a phase she's going through and he tries to distract her with playing with toys at home. We're learning together, which is all I can hope for. Right now, I feel our life stage is so intense because Ava is so young. I intensely love and miss her when we're apart!

Breastfeeding Mom's Guide to Returning from Maternity Leave

Tonight, I got an email from a friend that's preparing to return to work with her first baby in the next few weeks and she's going to continue breastfeeding. She asked me how to you supply milk and prepare for Day 1 of returning to work from maternity leave. It reminded me that there's lots of logistical details that are often left out of most breastfeeding information about returning to work. Here's a compilation of things I've learned along the way from being a breastfeeding and working mom to my almost 11-month babe. I've admired my mom friends who have managed to breastfeed despite work travel and long hours and have asked them for advice before I started. That's what I love about motherhood is having friends help each other.

While you're still home on maternity leave. Your maternity leave should be the time that you're relaxing and enjoying your baby, while taking care of yourself. Here are some ideas....

• Make sure your baby will accept a bottle. I would let Aaron give Ava a bottle of expressed milk while I was running an errand. She got used to it, but has always preferred nursing.
  
• Great time to practice pumping and squirrel away the extra milk that you might have, but don't go overboard. Store milk in small increments such as 2-3oz so it's easily used by your caregiver.
  
• Get familiar with the storage guidelines for fresh and frozen milk (see link in the bottom of this post)
• Set expectations with your caregiver that you'll be nursing your baby when you arrive. By doing that you can take advantage of reconnection with your baby right away and it's practical because it's less pumping/bottle exposure your baby will have. High bottle exposure can encourage early, unintended weaning.
  
• Create a short list of care guidelines for your daycare. I included to feed my baby on-demand (like we nurse) and to feed her until she's done. I've been very sensitive to overfeeding, because we prioritize our nursing time rather than bottle feeds to ensure our relationship.
• According to La Leche League, a breastfed baby in general takes 1oz of human milk for each hour of separation from the mother and generally takes it in 2-4oz increments. My baby drinks 3oz at a time and in general takes 9oz in 10 hours (even at 11-months). NOTE: Some caregivers may be concerned because formula babies take more in in their bottles at a time. You can remind them that formula is very different from human milk and that your baby is content and growing. Some babies hold out at daycare and wait to get the majority of their milk while at home (evenings/mornings) with mom.
  
• Check out my post on caregiver tips for a breastfed baby.

Your Work Day Pumping Schedule: It takes me between 15-20 minutes from set-up to tear-down. I have a 30 minutes time block in the mothers room and we book it in our Outlook Calendar like a conference room. It's advisable to pump every 2-3 hours to maintain your milk supply and avoid plugged ducts.

What to Pack in your Bag:

• Your Pump with all the parts (flanges/tubes/battery pack if needed)
  
• Cooler bag and cool pack
  
• 4 Bottles with caps (Pump in bottles 1 and 2, pour in bottle 1 and store, session 2: pump in bottles 2 and 3, pour off and repeat for session 3 with bottles 3 and 4). For high supply moms, you can use larger 8oz bottles or a mix of Pump and Save Bags.
  
• Medela Pump and Save Bags - in case you ever forget bottles (they're sterile and you can pump directly in them and store them)
• Extra flanges - good to have, a friend of mine forgot hers and had to hand express
• Medela steam bag - in case you had to sterilize. 2 oz of clean water in the bag and about 3 minutes in the microwave.
  
• Pumping bra to give you hands-free pumping (see my review post) so you can work while pumping! Brilliant!
• Permanent marker to write the date on your storage bags.
  
• Antibacterial wipes in case you need to sanitize the table you're using, etc.
  
• Clean plastic bag to store your used flanges for the next pumping sessions. The flanges arrive clean, but for the next 2 pumping sessions you don't have to wash them. You can store your used flanges up to 6-8 hours in room temperature because human milk is antibacterial or you can store them with your milk in the refrigerator or cooler bag. This saves you a ton of time.
• Picture of your baby: Aaron had an idea to take a picture of me nursing Ava the night before I went back to work so I could see it when I was apart from her. Many moms find looking at pictures of their baby helps with let down.
  

Supplying milk for Day 1 and beyond: Since you're going to work, you're going to nurse your baby overnight and before you leave for daycare. It's likely that you'll have extra milk since mornings are typically the time that moms have abundant milk. Breastmilk changes throughout the day so you have more milk in the morning and it's thinner and thirst quenching for the baby who's waking up for the day. As the day progresses, you have thicker milk with more cream and less volume. The evening milk is fatty which helps the baby sleep at night.

It's always a good idea to keep enough frozen milk for 1 day in case you forget your milk one day to work. It will save you time and then you'd never worry that your baby has enough breastmilk at daycare.

• Morning of Day 1: Nurse your baby before work to get a good feeding and stimulate production when you're apart. I find it works best to nurse her in bed when my alarm goes off at 5:30am and she's still sleeping. Then I nurse her again just before 7am before we're about to leave for daycare. It's an easier way for her to wake up gradually, too! I pump extra milk from both breasts (I have an oversupply), which supplies her first 3-oz bottle for daycare (and then I save the rest for freezing). Many moms find the morning before work nurse the baby off one side and pump the other.
  
• Daycare Dropoff: bring any milk you pumped fresh that morning and frozen milk (for Day 1 only).
  
• At work: Pump 3 sessions and store this milk for Day 2 and so on. I pump at 9am, 12pm, and 3pm. Remember that you'll likely pump more quantity in the morning session than the afternoon.
  
• Daycare Pickup: nurse your baby when you arrive.
  
• At home: Take the pumped milk from the day and make up your bottles for the following day and freeze any extra milk. Some moms freeze only on Friday's when they know there is milk that they won't need. When you get into a routine, you'll figure out the best way to do this.
  

TIP: Friday's milk is for Monday the following week. The fresh milk contains the best antibodies (some is lost during freezing/defrosting). Plus, when you baby comes into contact with a bug, you will make the antibody to fight that bug in real time! That's why I minimize leftover milk and give the baby fresh milk.

• Alternative or part-time: If you don't work Mon-Fri, you might have to figure out the best way to supply your milk. You might find that freezing will help.
  

Great resources:

• Kellymom's page on pumping and returning to work (storage guidelines, how much a baby needs, etc).
• Great article on Working Mothers on the La Leche League website from Lactation Consultant, Kirsten Berggren, the author of Working Without Weaning.

Meat...What Meat?

Last October, Aaron and I decided to become vegetarian for health reasons. We started to slowly reduce our meat our of our diet, but we took the next couple months to eat the frozen stash and started to experiment with vegetarian meals. As of January 1, we're not completely vegetarian. We have eliminated all animal flesh from our diet. Instead we're getting our protein from a plant-based diet and dairy. In the past few weeks, we've pined for bacon at times, but haven't missed the meat! Our biggest fear of moving away from meat is, giving it up! We are surprised how satisfied we are without it.

Aaron and I both feel great. Aaron thinks his stomach and appetite have gotten smaller and I agree. We're completely satisfied after meals. I've stocked up on dried and canned beans, eggs, tofu, and whole grains from the bulk bins. We're feeling satisfied with all the fiber in our diet. At dinner, I always make sure to have fresh fruit to satisfy our need for sweets and it adds fiber.

Here's a sampling of what we have enjoyed so far....

• Bean and corn chili - even my inlaws liked it!
  
• Cauliflower and chickpea yellow curry with rice
• Split pea soup in the slow cooker
• Spinach and feta quiche with whole wheat crust
• Chipotle macaroni and cheese
• Black bean and sweet potato enchilada casserole
• Vegetarian "meat" loaf made with quinoa and barley (pictured in this post)
  
• Italian Spaghetti Squash Casserole
• Spinach, olive, and cheese homemade pizza for our weekly movie night
  

Last weekend, we went to our friend's house for a vegetarian pot luck dinner. It was fantastic to be able to eat all the options! I made an Israeli couscous salad with chickpeas to share. Our host, Jill made a vegetarian shepard's pie, which was so delicious!

A downside with being vegetarian is attending conferences and eating hotel meals. At home when I'm preparing our meals, I cook with vegetables, whole grains, beans, and all the good balanced fresh foods that keep our energy strong. But, this week, I had my company's annual sales meeting and in the face of the meat covered buffet, I ate macaroni and cheese with a lackluster green salad. Another day, I ate refried bean tacos, which weren't bad, but I wished I had some vegetables. By the evenings, I was craving fruits and vegetables!

I went to a team dinner on Wednesday and my director asked for recommendations. I suggested a local brew pub, which has their own beer and a lot of vegetarian items on the menu. I love the vibe there and especially appreciate that it's smoke free. That was a treat for all of us because most of the team is from the West Coast.

I'll keep sharing our vegetarian favorites as we go along...

Over 1,900oz of Mother's Milk Donated

This morning, Ava and I went to the Indiana Mother's Milk Bank to drop off our extra milk. I donate extra milk about every month when our freezer fills up, starting back in June. Today, I donated 283 ounces! In total, I've donated over 1,900 oz (almost 15 gallons)!

It's such a gift to share this milk with babies and their families. The Indiana Mother's Milk Bank takes donor milk from health screened moms who agree to store milk safely. They combine the donated milk and pasteurize it, then repackage in bottles to distribute to hospitals and families in the Midwest region. Ava and I spent a day volunteering at the Indiana State Fair last August, staffing the milk bank's "Lactation Station" that offered an air conditioned trailer so moms can nurse their babies out of the sticky heat, recharge with cold water, and then head back out to enjoy the fair.

Most of the milk has been donated to the milk bank and I've donated some to three mom friends and their babies. There are different reasons that moms ask for shared milk, but the best is for temporary reasons otherwise supplementing with milk or formula can reduce the mom's supply because the body is getting the message that the baby needs less milk. In our case, I've shared Ava's milk with a mom of an adopted baby and a friend who works two days a week and has trouble pumping enough for her baby while she's at work. The other mom that I just donated 80 oz to last week ran out of her freezer stash and lost her supply from a bad case of food poisoning. She was really committed to giving her son breastmilk to 1 year and as she's weaning him to cow's milk now that she's out and he's 11 months. But, she found that breastmilk in his last bottle before bed holds him over much longer. I'm not surprised since breastmilk is specifically designed for human babies so it's more absorbed and used in the baby's body.

Why donated milk? Mother's milk is easily digestible to a baby's immature digestive system and provides antibodies to stave off illnesses. Also, breastmilk adds sugars to attract good bacteria to protect the baby's digestive tract. Here's a great summary of the reasons to use donor milk from the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA).

To learn more about milk banks and their charge, check out this amazing effort for a documentary film "Perscription Milk" about families who need mothers milk for their premature and sick infants. There are only about 11 non-profit milk banks in the United States. They provide mother's milk to NICUs and directly to families in need. If you have any extra milk to spare, please join me in the awareness and pleasure of helping these families.

Happy 10-Months

Ava is now 10-months old and growing like crazy. She's now only wearing 12-month clothing. I have some clothes that luckily is 12-18months, but I need to stock up on the next size up because she's growing so fast!

With 4 teeth already, she has another 4 on the way! We can see the 2 teeth on the top and bottom on either side of her current teeth coming out soon. Her gums are swollen and she needs to bite down, but doesn't put things (including teethers) in her own mouth. I put my own pinky finger and she bit down really hard, leaving marks on my skin. Nursing is interesting with the new teeth! The teeth are sharp when they first come out and she's still getting used to having them. It's not bad at all though.

Here's a quick look at some of her favorite activities right now...

Singing and dancing to music. Dancing includes bobbing up and down and the little baby rhythm, too! If you sing to her, she will sing with you. Her favorite music is Veggie Tales and I downloaded it for her from iTunes and she lights up when we play it in the kitchen. We are always dancing in the kitchen together.

Talking in every tone of voice and pitch. Ava loves to match the tone of the sound of the blender, coffee grinder or even another baby's cry.

Ava loves to explore everything, including the cardboard boxes from shipping materials to spatulas, to fresh produce! Aaron will use a box to make a drumbeat and Ava will dance to it! She goes nuts with excitement when I pull oranges out of the refrigerator because she likes to play with them. Usually she rolls them like a bowling ball. And when you toss them in the air and catch them, it rocks her world.Grandma Anna and Bernard sent Ava this Amigo Carebear for Christmas and she loves it. It's a bilingual bear, helping her learn Spanish.

Getting mobile! Last weekend, Ava learned to scoot backwards on her bottom in a sitting position and on her tummy. Check out the short video. Her scooting is primarily on the hard wood floors, but the carpets are great for rolling around and pushing up on her arms and legs sometimes.

Transitioning (slowly) to her crib for more comfort. Last weekend, we bought Ava a crib mattress and put the finishing touches on her room. We've had her with us in the cosleeper bed, which has been so convenient and cozy, but the mattress on it is very thin and we think she'll be more comfortable with a bit more room and a cushy mattress in her crib. We put her in the crib on Sunday night for the first time. She slept very well in there and then when she woke up at 3am to nurse, I brought her to bed with us for the rest of the night since I had to wake up at 5:30am for work. It's going to be a slow transition because of night nursing. She sleeps in a crib at daycare, which helps with the transition. We put her in the crib while she was awake and playful to get her comfortable in it.


Ava is so snuggly! You can see my new ring sling in this picture. I love it because it's adjustable. Ava loves to snuggle and sleep in the sling. I just love it. The day I took this picture, I was making frosting for my red velvet cupcakes with the Kitchen Aid mixer and she woke up from her nap, but wanted to be held. I put her in the sling and made the frosting with her sleeping in the sling to the sound of the mixer. She even slept through Costco and Trader Joe's shopping trips in the sling! I bought the ring sling because it's easier to nurse the baby on the go. I haven't quite mastered that yet, but we've practiced around the house to try it out. Soon I'll be a pro.

We're loving this special time with Ava!

Yogurt Face

When Ava turned 6-months, we started slowly introducing her to solid foods. Aaron and I decided to make her own baby food instead of commercial baby food because we have a weekly organic produce bin and wanted to have her eat from the family table from the start. I've been making her purees and freezing them to have on-hand, but I haven't done too much. We have been following her lead on food. If she doesn't want to eat solids, not a big deal. Ava's daycare has had the most success with feeding Ava her solids. At around 8-months, she stopped gagging with solids so I started to pack her a small container for the caregivers to offer her at lunch when the other babies are eating. We've tried all sort of things from quinoa and banana to kiwi last week.

At Ava's 9-month well-baby doctor's visit, her pediatrician told me that many 9-month olds are eating table food so don't be shy about offering her what she's reaching for or what's on my plate. She gave me the confidence to offer Ava foods that I'm eating and not necessarily making sure it's pureed. I'm staying away from peanuts, honey, shellfish, and egg whites for now.

I've heard a lot about Baby Led Weaning from natural moms that I follow on Twitter and in the book that I read Real Food for Mother and Baby by Nina Planck. The concept of Baby Led Weaning is to follow your baby's cues and let them choose the foods that they will eat by parents offering them variety. Babies in this method are offered foods and encouraged to feed themselves. It has influenced the way that I think about Ava eating solids. If she doesn't want to eat, no big deal. I make very small quantities to offer her. Lots of days, I still thin out the food with expressed breastmilk. I know Ava is getting all she needs from mother's milk and food at this stage is for experimentation, rather than nutrition. There's no pressure even to give her iron-fortified foods because at her 9-month appointment, her iron levels were through the roof from nursing exclusively.

I've heard that babies are ready for solids at very different ages and that breastfed babies often delay solids. The latter is the case for us. At Thanksgiving, Aaron's mother gave Ava a tiny taste of mashed potatoes which made her gag and then throw up! For a few weeks in December, she refused solids every day. Ava is so satisfied by nursing and not a baby that puts things in her mouth. On Monday, Ava went back to daycare after we had 10 days at home together. She ate her homemade applesauce after going weeks without solids.

This week, Ava devoured mashed banana with plain organic yogurt, sweetened with a bit of maple syrup. The daycare caregiver told me that she was making sounds and opening her mouth really big, then when she ate it all, she was looking for more! Yogurt is so nutritious. I have been giving her sips of my morning smoothie, which she likes a lot. The smoothie that I made a lot is a mix of banana, pineapple, plain yogurt, and orange juice.

Ava is now much more interested in my plate. She was grabbing for my pizza on Friday night and loved the tomato sauce. Then we went to lunch with friends yesterday and I ordered an omelet with potatoes. I was holding Ava on my lap and she opened her mouth really wide for a bit of the soft egg. I gave her some potato and she bit off a tiny piece. The texture threw her off and she gagged herself and threw up a bit. It's all learning though.

This morning (check out the picture of my "Yogurt Face" babe) we experimented again. I made a berry smoothie with blueberries, strawberries, vanilla yogurt, and pomegranate juice. She didn't want to sip the smoothie alone. I scraped what was left of my favorite organic Brown Cow vanilla yogurt container and put a dab of my berry smoothie. She loved it! She opened her mouth really big and licked her lips! She made that puckered lips face that you do when you have something tart.

I just love my "Yogurt Face" girl!

If you want more information on Baby Led Weaning, I loved this post from a Twitter mom blogger, Kelly Naturally.

Italian Spaghetti Squash Casserole

Aaron and I have been transitioning to vegetarianism since October and now that it's the new year, we've gone completely meat-free. We're getting our protein from dairy, beans, and grains.

I got a spaghetti squash in my produce bin one week and since Aaron doesn't like squash, I thought I'd be creative to get him to eat it. I found this post from the Inspired Chef about Spaghetti Squash recipe from Moosewood, a vegetarian restaurant in New York. I modified the recipe because Aaron won't eat mushrooms and I thought I'd replace the fresh tomatoes with marinara sauce. I've made a Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Casserole and posted it to this blog, but this was a bit fluffier in texture. It turned out great! Sadly, though Aaron ate it that night for dinner, I'm on my own for the leftovers. I'm hoping I'll turn him into a squash lover eventually!

I cooked the spaghetti squash one day and stored it in the refrigerator, which made the casserole very easy to make quickly on a busy evening. I highly recommend to make that ahead since the squash takes an hour to cook in the oven.

Italian Spaghetti Squash Casserole: Serves 4

Ingredients:

• One - 1lb spaghetti squash
• 1/2 large onion chopped
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 cup cottage cheese
  
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1 tbs or more Italian seasoning
  
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 jar marinara sauce
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup sliced black olives

Preparation:

• Make the squash ahead if you can. Cut squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Place in about 1 inch of water in a large casserole dish in a 375 degree oven for about 1 hour. See my post about Spaghetti Squash Lasagna for a picture. When cooked let cool, then use a fork to pull out the noodle-like flesh. Set aside in a container and store in the refrigerator.
• Saute onions and garlic in a small skillet over medium heat with olive oil.
  
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine cooked spaghetti squash with sauteed onion mixture, Italian seasoning, salt/pepper, shredded mozzarella, and breadcrumbs.
  
• Spread squash mixture in a square 8"x8" baking dish. Spread evenly with marinara sauce. Layer sliced olives and shredded Parmesan cheese.
• Bake casserole for 40 minutes.
  

Serve the squash casserole with a side salad or vegetables and brown rice.

Happy New Year from the Berkey's

Here's a family picture from Christmas Eve. I love the picture, but next year, I want to take the picture standing next to Aaron because he seems so far away from us in this one. The Berkey's celebrate on Christmas Eve so we exchanged presents in the morning and went to church that evening. After church, we had a family gathering with the Berkey's family friends, the Bollinger's which was fun! It was a very long day, but Christmas Day was low-key because Aaron's sisters went off to their in-laws and we had the house to ourselves with his parents. Ava got to play with Grandma, Grandpa, Daddy, and I while exploring her new toys!

This has been a huge year for our family! A year ago, we moved into our new home that we bought to raise our family for years to come. We have settled in, but we have lots of plans and house projects. Here's a look back at my post New Year's 2009.

We moved into the house a couple months before Ava arrived on March 12. After 26-hours of labor, I might add! Childbirth and becoming a mother has been one of the most empowering aspects of my life. In fact, this past week, I've been very sick with the stomach flu and nursing my baby the entire time. I nursed her a lot in bed, but I noticed my milk supply had gone down as I was having trouble staying hydrated and nourished. Not only did I have to keep thinking of myself, but by doing that I was putting Ava first. I realized that is a new lesson for me in motherhood. Making sure that I'm healthy is essential for me to take care of my baby so I can't put myself on the back-burner. Aaron took care of me by bringing me home medicine at lunch one day and Gatorade so I could stay hydrated.

Last month, Aaron and I celebrated our 5-year wedding anniversary! We both feel lucky that we didn't "settle" and held out for each other. I'm so happy that we waited to have Ava because we had years of fun trips, late nights out, and lots of laughs with friends.

Today is the first offical day of our new vegetarian lifestyle and experiment! We started a "meat detox" diet a couple months ago when we cut back our meat consumption for health reasons. We didn't start right away to ease into it and also for practical reasons, we wanted to eat the rest of the meat the freezer. We have a couple steaks left in the freezer to serve guests in a pinch. I've stocked our pantry with grains, dried beans, and have been having fun experimenting with vegetarian food. See my recipe for Veggie "Meat" Loaf made of barley and quinoa. We waited until today because Christmas was a big "meat-fest." My in-laws serve almost every meal featuring beef or pork. But the cool part is that they're willing to let me cook in their kitchen and even try my food. I made vegetarian chili on Christmas night for dinner and they liked it! We're still eating dairy to help us with protein and we just can't live without cheese!

As we look at 2011 with hope and excitement, we are looking forward to watching Ava grow and become more independent and mobile.

We hope 2011 brings you good healthy and happiness!
Aaron, Amanda, and Ava