A Tutorial on Tofu

I just asked Raigan if she wants me to do a tutorial on tofu and she went crazy in baby babble. So I guess I will, because she's the boss.

I made a resolution at the beginning of the year to live more simply. I'm struggling with it, and working on it daily every once in awhile. I try to double up on things., do them when I think about them so I don't forget or have to spend time even remembering that I had to do them.

I use the same logic with feeding my children. I'm very much interested in nutrition and establishing good eating habits in my children. On the otherhand I still need it to be simple and easy, because there is too much in my life is not simple and easy.

Tofu is a great choice in the meat and bean group. What the heck is tofu? I used to wonder the same thing. Tofu is soybean curd, there are many types, consistences, and it's been around awhile. I'm trying to keep this simple.See? I'm working on it.

Tofu is a great alternative to meat because it contains little fat, and little to NO cholesterol, which is huge when trying to find protein. Tofu is super rich in protein, iron, and calcium. It contains Omega 3s, which lower the bad cholesterol and raise the good. It's got a pretty big bang for it's buck.

Tofu doesn't taste gross either like kale some other healthy foods that are high in vitamins and minerals. In fact tofu doesn't really taste like anything. At least when it's by itself. Tofu is like a sponge, it soaks up whatever flavors you want it to, so you can marinate it to whatever you like. I'm talking baby food talk though here, so there is no need to season it, because babies don't yet know too much about seasoning yet.

My point from all this:

Tofu as a baby food is a great idea. It's very simple, easy to make, soft already for baby, and packed with nutrition. Babies can start eating proteins at around 8 months.

What you need:

Hungry baby? 

 Check.

Package of extra firm tofu?

 Check.

There are all different kinds of tofu for different things, but in my opinion extra firm is best for baby food.

Drain the fluid off of the block of tofu.

Place the block of tofu on a towel or paper towel...

and wrap it up.

The goal is to press out as much of the moisture as you can.

Use pressure from your hand or put a book on top and push down on the book.

Once you've squeezed the heck out of it cut it into tiny little cubes for the babe.

And serve. Easy as tofu pie!

Since tofu is bland I fed this to my little Raiggie with applesauce.

I couldn't shovel it in fast enough so she was grabbing some herself in between bites.

Disclosure: I am not a Registered Dietitian. This is not professional advice. I'm just a mama wanting to feed her kids well while living simply.

Mamarazzi Monday

It's time for Mamarazzi Monday with Ann Maire at Household 6 Diva.
Well it's not really with her since she is moving but it's still with her, you get what I'm saying. The location today is with Sarah at Main Line Moms. Link up all your family stalking photos over there. 

I have about 5 minutes to blog today since school and life and cheerleading are in full swing. I have classes from 8 am to 9pm at night on Mondays. Crazy, I know. Speaking of crazy, here are my kids:

This picture is a little different, but I  love it!

My Girls!

Riley's face cracks me up!

and the last one... Raggie yelling at me for taking so many pictures! haha

Saturday Afternoon

I don't have much to blog about today, except that our yard has gone from unkept to embarrassing so hopefully I'll be able to go out today and get some mums today to plant them and pull weeds and get mulch, and maybe even buy a weed wacker that we needed when we moved into our home 3 years ago.

We will be going to Hilton Head Island later in September and I wish it was tomorrow. Well maybe not tomorrow, because I coulldn't get everything washed and packed that quickly. I'm really excited about it and hope the warm weather will hold out.

My girls let me sleep in today till 9 o'clock, they woke up around 9:30. I could have slept longer, but woke up to make sure they were okay because this NEVER happens. Maybe they could sense their mama needed some extra zzzzs. I thanked them for it.

I'm going to try to make Raigan some tofu for dinner tonight. We'll see how it goes and I'm hoping she likes it.

I have to have my little cheerleading squad's competition paper work turned it Monday, which makes it seem so close! We won't be competing but just doing a little something that 3 year olds do. It should be really fun, I'm excited. I used to live for that day every year when I was little and I hope Riley enjoys it like I used to.

Wish me luck with this hot mess.

Back To School

Back to school. Back to school, to prove to Dad that I'm not a fool. I got my lunch packed up, my boots tied tight, I hope I don't get in a fight. Ohhhh, back to school. Back to school. Back to school. Well, here goes nothing.

Billy Madison had a better first day than me, haha but things are looking up! The first day we were all desperately sick, yesterday we had to take the truck to the shop, I was only 40 minutes late for my first class, and got a $35 parking ticket.

Today though, everyone made it to where they needed to be, no one vomited, and I was 4....read that again, 4 minutes late EARLY for my class.

Hope your back to school days are smooth and uneventful!

Wordless Wednesday!

Plan B... Er, Maybe Even Plan C

Today did NOT go as planned. All 4 of us stayed home most of the day sick, and I only made it to segments of class. I feel as though I got hit by a bus, and then it backed up over me, and then drove over me again. I can't imagine how bad this virus or whatever we have has hit my girlies.

My poor sweet little Riley didn't even make it to her first day of this year's preschool, but hopefully tomorrow she will. Hopefully we all will have recovered by tomorrow.

Regardless of the vomiting situation at our house...

Today is Raigan's 8 month birthday! I had hardly believe it, that I had a baby 8 months ago. In one way it feels like I had her just yesterday, but in another way, it feels like she has always been around.

Raiggie is the most laid back person I have ever met in my entire life. Seriously she is so go so with the flow,  soaks everything in, and rarely ever fusses. She is so close to crawling it's crazy, it'll be any day now.

She loves to snuggle, especially her big sister, but lets her know how she feels. I love watching them interact. She still continues to say, "Hi, da da!" all day long, and only says mum when she's upset. haha

They get so big so fast. I hope a day doesn't go by that I don't soak all of her babyness in while I can.

Happy 8 Month Birthday Sweet Babe!

Mamarazzi Monday

It's time for Mamarazzi Monday with Ann Maire at Household 6 Diva.
I cannot believe that it's already Monday again!  That means back to school for me and Riley today. I'm done dragging my feet and excited for the school year to start. That means one day closer to graduation right? I'm really excited too because I'm taking a photography class this semester, which I'm pretty excited about to be improving my Mamarazzi skills.Here are some pictures from the last squeeze of summer.

Saturday Afternoon

I almost titled this A Fall Saturday Afternoon, but that would have been too much for me! Too real real that summer is over come Monday morning. We are in full swing now of football season and Riley will be cheering at her first game today! I'm so excited for her and her squad! I'll post some pictures this evening. Go Lions!

Cupcake Toppers

So I've started planning Raigan's 1st Birthday. I want it to be really personalized, so I searched Etsy and searched Etsy and then I searched Etsy some more, because I didn't have a million other things to do. ha! Ahem, anyway. So I cam across this etsy shop: That's A Wrap!

I told Beth, the cupcake wrapper guru, what I was looking for and this is what she created. I'm so in love.

I ordered cupcake wrappers and toppers.

The colors of the party are pink and brown.

I love cupcakes. These just may grow my love for them, if that's even possible. 

I've got awhile to wait, but I'm really excited!

Avocado & Banana

Avocados are nutritionally dense and have 20! essential nutrients and they taste like a thick creamy butter. I mean could there be any better food? They are full of healthy fats that keep our bad cholesterol down and our good up! When I was younger I had no idea what an avocado even was, and just found out 6 months ago that it was a fruit, who knew? I've been missing out though, I know that.

I got the following nutritional information from http://www.avocado.org

Do avocados offer nutrients beneficial to babies?

Avocados can be an important part of your baby's growth and development. Fresh avocados are sodium and cholesterol-free. They contribute valuable nutrients including 8% of the recommended Daily Value (DV) for folate; 4% DV for fiber and potassium, 4% DV for vitamin E; and 2% DV for iron. A serving of avocado also contains 81 micrograms of the carotenoid lutein and 19 micrograms of beta-carotene. One serving also contains 3.5 grams of unsaturated fats, which are known to be important for normal growth and development of the central nervous system and brain.

Not only are avocados nutritionally great for babies, they are a great first food for babies and mom's too! They are soft and creamy with no cooking involved- all you have to do is peel them and mush/cut them up. When Raigan was just starting solids I would smash the chunks up very well, but now that she sports two teeth and gums food like a champ, I just slice them and she uses her pincer grasp to feed herself. Makes breakfast time super easy.

Bananas are another great first food for baby and so easy too. I love buying baby food, but jared bananas are just gross, they don't even taste, look, or smell like the real deal. Again, like an avocado, you just peel, mash, and serve. Raigan LOVES bananas, but who doesn't?

Bananas are a great source of fiber, vitamin C, potassium, and B6. They are low in sodium, saturated fats, and have no cholesterol. Oh, and they taste great!

Raigan seems to think so anyway. Oh, and these foods are great for toddlers too! The Go Gurt isn't the  super healthiest choice, but life's a compromise right?

Wordless Wednesday!

I have a hard time being wordless... I'll be relaxing poolside today while the community center we belong to offers 3 hours of free child care for Ladies Day. It will be bliss.

Things I Refuse to Sacrifice as a Mommy

We all do it, have that motherly instinct to give things up for ourselves so our family can have everything they need. Like sleep! Sharing everything we have including our beds with a certain toddler, going a few days without a shower-but I wouldn't know about that... haha, I could go on an on. 


But! 


There are some things I refuse to sacrifice just because I have children. What are the things sacred to you that you just WILL NOT give up? 

I'll start:

• I refuse to buy underwear that comes in a package. My husband knows this and does not complain about my Victoria's Secret purchases.

• Time with the Hubs (Even though I need to work on this one sometimes). Someone once told me the best gift you can give you kids is a good marriage. There couldn't be a truer statement.

What about you?

Mamarazzi Monday

It's time for Mamarazzi Monday with Ann Maire at Household 6 Diva.The weather around here has been nasty. It goes from about 100+ degrees to crazy tornado like storms with high winds. Ugh. So we haven't been doing too much around here. My favorite pictures are of the girls interacting, the ones that show their affection for one another and their love. I'm so glad I was able to give Riley a sibling.

and my fav:

God blessed me with some amazing babies!

Raigan Has a New Trick!

Raigan is trying her darndest to crawl! God love her, her little belly is so fat she has trouble lifting it off the floor. haha She is just now getting up on her knees, but can only move backwards. It's so cute to watch how determined she is. I personally can wait for her to crawl, and wait for her to get into things. I enjoy sitting her in a spot and know that when I look away for 5 seconds she will still be there when I look back. And of course I just want her to be my little stationary baby-baby for forever.

Push Ups Baby!