Trying New Treats

Today we attempted TWO treats in ONE day! Since we have food allergies in the house (eggs and soy), AND we eat a paleo/primal based diet, treats require some creativity.

Treat #1:

Paelo AND vegan pancakes! Sounds perfect, right? I decided I would start with the waffle iron, because obviously waffles FTW. Since most waffle recipes require more oil, I did add extra coconut oil. Other than that, I just doubled this recipe from The Veggie Nook.

All the ingredients minus the coconut milk

My 21 month old LOVES to sit on the counter and help. She's a great little mommy's helper: pouring, stirring, mashing bananas with a fork, sampling the food. Even though it's a bummer she's allergic to eggs, I  have no qualms about her sampling the mix.

"Helping Mommy"

Major Bummer: the mix stuck to the waffle iron! I DID coat it in butter ahead of time, but I've used spray in the past and I've heard that can mess with the non-stick quality of the waffle iron. I scraped off as much as I could and Adara and I ate our precious ingredients.

Bummer

So I did what any rational, pregnant woman who had been craving waffles for weeks would do: I threw away our waffle iron! I'm pretty sure it was not worth saving (having been scraped and with the non-stick not working), and I didn't want to deal with the heartache of another ruined waffle.

I then used the rest of the batter to make pancakes. They look very pretty in my pan:

Better with Blueberries

But this is what they look like when they are finished:

Not so pretty

I was disappointed that they didn't look like the pretty picture in the blog. I think people who make paleo pancakes for a blog must photoshop like crazy, because I've never made a pretty paleo pancake. I'm not sure it's even possible. 

However, it WAS very yummy! Adara and I ate as many as we could, and then saved a couple for Daddy. I thought the PERFECT topping would be whipped cream (we still eat dairy).

Adara didn't like it

As soon as I snapped this photo Adara said, "Take it off." So she didn't approve of the whipped cream, but I thought it was delicious.

Treat #2:

Home made fro-yo. Ours is better, of course, because it's full-fat instead of non-fat. Just a banana, Greek yogurt, and whole milk as the base. We did one batch with strawberries and froze it in ice cubes for "Popsicles." The next batch was with cocoa and we put in our ice cream maker. I ended up putting some of it in the freezer since I made too much for just  Adara and me.

Note: It's always a great idea to eat frozen treats outside. It's also a great idea to carry said treat outside for your toddler. Otherwise you might end up with this:

"I dropped it on the floor"

And all over the cabinet

My sweet daughter did try very hard to clean it up, and then was so happy when I gave her another bowl to replace the fallen one. We then enjoyed the rest of our fro-yo on our back deck where it doesn't matter if some falls on the floor.

It's the little things

Who needs New Year's to make some goals? Not me, apparently.

A LOT has happened over the past year, and I finally feel like I'm "coming together" with my family, my house, and myself. I'm sure all of that will be turned upside down in a few months when baby#2 comes along. For now, I'm making some goals to help me be a better person. Basically a list of things I never regret doing.

Personal/Spiritual/Physical/Mental Health:

Bible/devotion time daily. This time has recently been moved to the evening before bed. At that time I feel no pressure to get anything else done, and can enjoy reading/praying before sleep. It's also a great time to "cast all my cares upon Him."

Get ready every day. This means get dressed, fix my hair (even if it's just a ponytail), and put on some makeup. I feel a lot better about myself if I look somewhat put together.

Exercise daily. Not exactly sure how to do this one yet. I can do some exercising with Adara, but I'd like to carve out some time for just me to workout without distractions. I have a yoga dvd that's good but I'm not super-loving it. I have an elliptical and a great neighborhood for going on walks. So I'm still working the kinks out here. Definitely worth it, though, because I always feel better when I exercise.

Shower every night before bed. Better sleep and personal cleanliness.

House Health:

Clean both bathrooms at least once a week.

Sweep all floors (we have no carpet) at least 2 times per week, and swiffer nightly.

Pick up house (toys, books, kitchen, etc) at the end of every day.

Family Health:

Get some work done for money throughout the week (this opportunity pretty much fell into my lap, but now it's one more thing to check off my list and feel good about).

Make and finish a craft/fun food item with Adara at least a couple times a week. Great way to try to new things with her!

Make enough healthy, tasty Paleo/Primal food with no eggs/soy,

AND stay within the weekly budget. I did this for the first time in a long time last week, and I felt VERY accomplished.



So what are some of y'all's favorite exercises? Any other Paleo people out there with recipe suggestions?