The Brownie That Changed My Life

This is the brownie that changed my life.
Literally.
Somedays are THOSE kind of days.
The days where I collapse in the comfy chair at the babies' nap time.
And yearn for a Dr. Pepper.
Or an entire bag of miniature peanut butter cups.
Or something crunchy and cheesy and neon orange.
This brownie is the buffer zone between me and a food choice I don't really want anyway.
It's delicious and fast and perfect for the 10 minute window I have before laundry folding must begin.
One minute.
5 ingredients.
Heaven in a bowl.
(And because I use organic, real food ingredients I don't feel the teensiest bit guilty.)

1 Minute Whole Wheat Brownie:

2 TBSP melted butter or coconut oil*
4 TBSP whole wheat pastry flour*
4 TBSP sucunat*
2 TBSP cocoa powder
2 TBSP water
Dash of salt (optional)
Teensy splash of vanilla (optional)
Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips (optional)
Microwave safe mug or small bowl (I use a very small Pyrex one)

1. Melt butter or coconut oil in the microwave safe mug or bowl.
2. Add remaining ingredients minus the chocolate chips and stir until blended.
3. Top with a sprinkling of chocolate chips.
4. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Your brownie may still look wet in some places. That's okay. It sets up as it cools. Add 15 seconds of you think it's too wet.
5. Allow the brownie to cool. Eat with a spoon.
6. Happily fold laundry.

*You can always sub vegetable oil for the butter or coconut oil, white flour for wheat, sugar for sucunat...it will be just as tasty but not as wholesome.

Its Raining, Its Pouring

This is the second week of our rain unit and we actually had a few days of rain!
We got a few rain books at the library but one really stands out: "Rain Train" by Elena de Roo.
Carson has requested this book over and over again!

From a toddler point of view this is why he loves it:
A) Its about a train!! So it combines something he loves with something we are learning about which is rain.
B) It's got a great rhythmic poetic style or in toddler world: there's rhyming lines he can quote easily like, "All aboard the rain train!"
C) There are sound effect parts on every page like "pitter patter pit."

I love it for all the same reasons if course but it is also beautifully illustrated. And it has a great way of winding down quietly at the end which makes it a great just before nap story!

Adios to Boxed Baby Cereal

Blah.
That's what I think of boxed baby cereals.
Even when I was feeding rice cereal to my son when he was a baby I thought the same thing. But had NO IDEA that I could actually make it.
And that it would be super easy.
And actually taste good!
Now that I know better, no more boxed cereals! Olivia is getting the good stuff.

So here it is:

1) Make up a batch of rice powder by grinding brown rice in a food processor, blender or I used a cheap coffee grinder that I use just for this purpose. Store rice powder in an air-tight container.

2) Bring 1 cup water to a boil in a pot. Add 1/4 cup rice powder to the water. Stir vigorously to break up lumps and turn down to low. Simmer for 10+ minutes or until rice is super soft.

3)For babies starting out:
Add breast milk or formula
For older babies:
Add fruit or veggie purée or a pinch of spice like cinnamon or nutmeg
For toddlers:
Add milk, honey or sucunat or sugar and some spice

It is SUPER yummy. Just like cream of rice/wheat.

Trouble-shooting:
Since all machines are different and may grind to different finenesses (if that's even a word!) you may need to cook a little longer or add a bit more water. I did.

Storage:
Cooked rice cereal can last a few days in the fridge and can even be frozen using the ice cube tray method. Just remember freezing can change the texture.

The Birthday Pook

Today my Little Pookie is 2.
And what a wonderful Pook he is.
When he got up this morning, I gave him his first birthday present:
"Happy Birthday, Little Pookie" by Sandra Boynton which he has been asking for, for a VERY long time!
And then I made him whole wheat Pookie pancakes like Pookie gets for his birthday breakfast.
With chocolate dipping sauce.
Which probably cancelled out the whole wheat factor.
But you only turn 2 once!
"So here's to a child who is joyful and clever. Happy day. Happy year. Happy always and ever."
--from "Happy Birthday, Little Pookie"

A Visit to the Duck Pond

"Niddy noddy goes her tail and quack goes her head."
--from "Dimmity Duck" by Jan Yolen
Carson has been quoting this part of the book to me since we visited the duck pond. A few weeks ago we finished our Duck unit but it was much too cold to try to go look at actual ducks.
So when my husband got horribly sick and had to be taken to the urgent care, we took advantage of the sunshine and duck pond around the corner instead of sitting in a hot bath of germs.
And it was delightful.
There's nothing like an authentic experience to boost a child's learning.
We all came away with something that day:
The baby had a lovely nap in the sunshine.
Carson learned some new duck vocabulary.
And my poor sick husband who had been dropped off at the urgent care came home with the flu.
Don't worry, he's better now.
And the kids and I didn't get it because we had our flu shots!
So you can enjoy these beautiful pictures worry-free:

March 1st Resolution

This year in addition to having a few New Year's resolutions I read somewhere you can have monthly resolutions through the year that are easier to keep. What a great idea!
In January, we committed to eating in more and adding fruits and veggies to every meal.
In February, we made all of our breads and pastas from scratch out of whole grains. I even experimented with grinding my own flour toward the end of the month.
And now that we've established some solid healthy eating habits, this month I resolve to...drumroll...
Eat healthy on a budget.
$500 to be exact.
That's a little over $100 per week and I'm hoping it will include toiletries and our Sunday out-to-eat meal.
We shall see.
Here we go!