I’ve found that feeding a baby solids can be pretty overwhelming since you want to make sure that they get a variety of foods and their nutrition is solid. I thought that I’d share some of Waves’ current favorites so that maybe if you’re in the same boat you will get some new ideas and please feel free to share some of your baby’s favorites in the comments. Also, here’s a list of sites I’ve found some good recipes from:

· Wholesome Baby Food
· NutureBaby
· Weelicious
· BonzaiAphrodite’s What I Ate Wednesday Posts
· A Healthy Slice of Life’s “Munchkin Meals”

And now here are a few of Waves’ current favorites:

» quinoa and banana | I make a pot of quinoa, add some water, use the immersion blender to purée it, and then put it into these trays. That way I can just get a couple of frozen cubes, heat them up, add whatever extras (blueberries, strawberries, banana, etc) and breakfast is ready in no time. She really loves it with mashed up banana and sometimes I add ground flax seed or molasses as well.

» avocado, banana, molasses, whole milk yogurt | This is one that I even like to eat sometimes. It’s delicious, full of good fats, and she absolutely loves it.

» curried lentils | I made a batch of red lentils, mashed them with a fork, and added a little curry powder. I had some leftover roasted carrots so I diced them up really tiny and rolled them and the lentils into little balls. Waves prefers to feed herself so she really loved these.

» some other favorites
· baked apples and butternut squash with cinnamon and quinoa
· smoothies (frozen bananas, blueberries, whole milk yogurt, avocado, kale, thinned with water and served in this straw cup)
· egg yolk scrambled in olive oil

I hope this is useful and I’ll share some more soon!

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Over the weekend we scored an incredible deal on a used treadmill. It is so awesome being able to workout at home instead of traveling to the gym which takes up quite a bit of time. It’s also nice being able to watch whatever I want on the laptop since that makes workouts go by much, much faster.

Greg has told me over and over again how awesome Jack Daniels’ Running Formula is so I said that I’d train using that plan and see how I do at my next 5k in July. Greg used it when he got his 19 minute 5k PR so I know it worked well for him and I’m excited to see how I do at the next race.

Last night I did a thirty minute run at my easy pace (12:30/mi) along with a five minute warm up and five minute cool down. Afterwards I wanted to do a quick ab workout and I knew Blogilates would have just what I needed.

I did this workout and yeah, it’s tough. Every time I do one of her videos I don’t understand how she is just talking away like nothing is going on and I can barely breathe. I had to take a couple of tiny breaks here and there because my core just isn’t what it used to be. I’m hoping that it will get better as I continue with the ab workouts.

Today is one of my off days from running so I am going to try out my new Tracey Mallett dvd I got yesterday. Online workouts and dvds have been wonderful since mine and Greg’s schedules just don’t sync up which leaves me unable to make it to gym classes. Waves has been pretty consistent at going to bed around 8pm every night so I have started working out then and it is going well.

I hope you all are doing well and things are good!

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I made these flourless peanut butter cookies yesterday and they were really good, but it would be amazing with chocolate chips which I was out of, unfortunately.

One of my friends makes her own jewelry and it is so gorgeous. I love really simple necklaces and she gave me this one, plus a beautiful ring, and I am so in love with both of the pieces. Check out her store, especially if you like sugar skulls and similar imagery.

This sweet potato hash with fried eggs recipe is so, so good. I usually just make it on the weekends, but had a serious craving for it this week so I made it for dinner one night.

• Gordon Ramsay’s broccoli soup recipe is so simple and easy that I really can’t even believe it. It has awesome reviews so I want to try it out soon.

• I found this morbid fashion tumblr and am in love. All the images and clothing are just beautiful!

• I’ve been really into couponing and the sites Totally Target and I Heart Kroger are great for finding the best deals and coupon match-ups. I managed to get bags of dog treats for 24¢ each and Benadryl for 39¢ this week with coupons!

• TheKitchn posted 7 vegetarian cooking blogs that post beautiful photos and delicious looking recipes.

• I posted about this last week, but I am still loving Tracey Mallett’s booty barre workouts. The sculpted arms one is my favorite, but the abs & flexibility and core workout are really good ones too.

Recipes that look amazing & I’m wanting to try! » sweet potatoes stuffed with chipotle black bean & corn salad /// quinoa breakfast bowl /// sweet potato nachos

Have a wonderful weekend!

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This week I got to hang out with two different friends who both moved to LA and happened to be in town around the same time. I ended up in Market Square to eat at Tomato Head on two different days since that’s where everyone wants to go or where I recommend when people come into town. I loved getting to catch up with them both even if it was too short of a visit!

On Wednesday, Market Square was packed since it was the first day of the Farmer’s Market. I stopped by one booth to buy cilantro and ended up with chocolate mint and an early girl tomato plant instead. They were all out of cilantro, but I am super excited about the plants I did get and I can’t wait to get an herb garden started. I’m not sure what I want to plant them in just yet even though I saw a couple of neat ideas on Pinterest.

It’s gotten a lot warmer out recently which always makes me want to drink iced tea. I went to the co-op to get some lapsang souchong out of the bulk bins and man that tea smells incredible. Just the smell of it reminds me of summer and makes me instantly happy. I just heat up water, put some of the loose tea in a fine mesh strainer, then leave it for awhile, pour it into one of these when it cools off, and keep it in the fridge. I don’t add any sweeteners, but honey would work well and is really great in iced jasmine green tea.

Last night I did these two workouts by Tracey Mallet and they are super tough. For the arm workout I use five pound weights and it feels like my shoulders are on fire the entire time. I really like her videos so I am going to buy one of her DVDs soon for when I need a break from Jillian.

This was my first time working out since my 5k on Sunday and I feel pretty good. My shin was hurting a bit so I’m definitely taking a running break and will focus on strength and core work instead. I really want to incorporate more yoga and stretching into my routine to help prevent injury. Someone on the Facebook page recommended The Ultimate Yogi, which I’d never heard of, and it sounds really great. Have any of you tried it before?

I’m off here to go catch up on cleaning and laundry while watching a few episodes of Kitchen Nightmares. I got so excited when I saw that they had added the US episodes to Netflix!

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I saw a recipe for a natural air freshener on Pinterest and I’m glad I saw it because it made the house smell so incredibly good. All you do is put water, vanilla extract (I used two tablespoons), sliced lemons, and rosemary and then simmer for awhile.

Waves had a playdate at the park with Priyanka’s son and she had such a great time! They babbled with each other, ate bananas, and kept trying to steal our food when we weren’t looking. She ended up taking a three hour nap afterwards which is the sign of an excellent time!

I had a 5k pr today! I ran the Dogwood 5k and my goal was to make it in 29 minutes. The last time I ran this same course I came in at 34 minutes so it was quite a jump, but I’d been training for awhile. The incline got me a few times so I had to really slow it down, so when I saw that the finish line clock was still in the twenties I gave it all I had and sprinted in at 29:57! It gives me a great base to go off of as I continue to train for the Fireball 5k in July.

• Here are some great tips for cutting garlic and onions, plus I found out the correct way to hold a knife thanks to these gif tutorials from a mission Chinese cook.

• I already use the crystal deodorants so the next step to me has always been making my own natural deodorant and this seems like an easy and effective recipe.

• Greg and his family speak German and I’ve tried different books, audio lessons, and websites to try and learn it, but always had a hard time. Since Waves is now learning it, I’ve stepped it up and am doing really well thanks to Mind Snacks German app. I’ve already learned 1-20, colors, and days of the week and am having a really good time since the games are so fun and well designed. They offer a few other languages and I’d definitely recommend their apps.

• I picked up Trader Joe’s super spinach salad yesterday and it was so good! The carrot miso dressing was awesome and I loved the combination of ingredients. I found a copycat recipe here and will definitely be making it this weekend.

• If you’ve ever wondered about Dita Von Teese’s beauty routine, this article breaks it down for you from the woman herself. This is an old article, but I came across it again this week and love it so much. She seems so down to earth and I love that she uses a lot of drugstore products in addition to the higher end stuff.

Recipes that look amazing & I’m wanting to try! » bbq tempeh sandwiches /// southwestern quinoa pasta salad /// garden of eden spring rolls with peanut ginger sauce (I probably won’t make these, but how pretty are the flowers in the rolls?!)

Have a great weekend!

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This is really what I ate yesterday even though today’s food will probably be pretty similar. For breakfast, I had two slices of Ezekiel bread (one with half an avocado) and two eggs and one egg white along with lemon water and coffee. I’ve been drinking a big glass of lemon water every morning first thing before I have coffee.

Lunch was green bell peppers, tofu, and onions with cumin and chili powder, topped with Greek yogurt and Cholulua. I had iced jasmine green tea to drink since I made a huge pot of it on Monday night—it’s so delicious! I used to make iced tea out of Numi’s smoky tarry which was incredible and was my drink of choice during summer, but they must have stopped making it. Apparently it was just lapsang souchong tea so I’m going to see if the co-op carries it because I’m missing it big time.

I was looking around on Pinterest after lunch and saw these sweet potato brownies and knew I had to try them. Waves was busy eating bananas and watching Pepper wait for her to drop the tiniest bit of food, so I had time to bake something. They tasted more like cake and weren’t overly sweet which I liked. I ended up baking them for 45 minutes and they were still a bit gooey, but good.

I was reminded why I shouldn’t bake when my willpower started to give out. I just can’t resist a pan of warm brownies or cookies sitting on top of the oven. I had a couple and then immediately froze the rest (except for the two I left out for Greg) because I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop eating them.

I wasn’t sure what to make for dinner so I went to my go-to recipe source, The Post Punk Kitchen. There were a few new recipes up and I decided to make the black bean and quinoa soup. It was easy to make and turned out really well. I topped it with Greek yogurt, Cholula, — I think I have a problem there — and avocado. I have quite a bit leftover so it will make a good lunch or dinner tomorrow.

I had a couple of snacks that weren’t pictured: two oranges and a slice of Ezekiel bread with peanut butter and coconut flakes. Greg and I have plowed through the huge bag of oranges we bought on Sunday and I think I am going to go have another right now.

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breakfast: lemon water | two slices of ezekiel bread, one with two eggs, one with peanut butter | black coffee

lunch: veggie chef salad from tomato head with tahini dressing | romaine, red cabbage, black olives, baked tofu, shredded carrots, broccoli, tomato, cucumber, green bell pepper, onions, and sprouts

dinner: tofu, green bell pepper, onions, tomato with cumin and chili powder with greek yogurt, cholulua, and avocado on top

snacks: (not pictured): orange, apple, almonds

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photo credit: http://vivaciousro.blogspot.com

I have had psoriasis on my upper arms for a couple of years now and have searched around for some natural remedies with no luck. I was pretty disappointed when none of them — I’m lookin’ at you, coconut oil — worked.

I’d heard that black soap was great for a ton of skin ailments, including psoriasis, so when I saw a bar at Walgreen’s on clearance for $4 I decided to try it. I wasn’t expecting anything, but seriously, after using for two days my arms were noticeably clearer. I’ve used it this entire week and there is barely anything on my arms compared to what used to be there.

The soap is by Shea Moisture and you can find it at Target and Walgreen’s. It has really been a miracle worker and is an amazing product! I wish that I had a before photo so you could see the huge difference it has made on my arms. If you have psoriasis you need to give this soap a try! It’s such an amazing feeling to have that insecurity gone all from a bar of soap.

I went to Target earlier this week with a stack of coupons in hand and was really stoked with how much I saved. I’ve found that the key is combining store coupons with manufacturer coupons. For example, I clipped a coupon for $7 off Zyrtec (Greg has serious allergies) out of the Sunday paper and was able to combine that with a $2 off coupon from Target’s website so I ended up saving $9 off one bottle which is really good!

Try going to Coupons.com, Coupon Network, or RedPlum and seeing if they have any coupons that you can stack with one from Target’s or another store’s website.

• This transcript from the Apollo 10 mission had me dying while reading about their reoccurring toilet mishaps.

• P. Mark shares a ton of great info in his post about how he went from running a 5:35 marathon to a 3:27 one in 18 months.

• Here are 37 ways to deep clean your kitchen for spring. Apparently baking soda and lemons can do it all.

• I really love Behind the Food Carts; a blog that showcases the people that work at some of the best food carts around.

• Mike Fremont, 91, Finishes Knoxville Half Marathon in 3:04. Just incredible.

• FitVillans answers a reader question about vanity pounds and gives some solid advice. That woman is wise and tells it like it is—love her!

Recipes that look amazing & I’m wanting to try! » quinoa masala burgers /// coconut klondike bars /// coconut milk strawberry ice cream /// quick raw brownies /// avocado and grilled corn salad with cilantro vinaigrette

Have a wonderful weekend!

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1. Waves not impressed with the beautiful weather. Her little headband is a piece of t-shirt I cut up which was inspired by life, love, and syntax. There was a photo of her daughter wearing something similar and I thought it was the cutest thing ever. Waves has a Misfits devilock thing going on, so it’s a cute solution to get hair out of her face. | 2. All I’ve been wanting for lunch lately are huge salads. | 3. Walking the twerp. | 4. Icing my knee. You’ll find out why in a minute. It’s really dumb.

This morning started off like it always does: Open all the blinds in the kitchen, put Waves in the jumper while I make coffee and eggs, then she eats her scrambled egg yolk and oatmeal while I have my breakfast. It’s a really nice thing we have going on and the morning sunshine always has me feeling super energized.

After breakfast we went on a walk, but only for a mile because Pepper couldn’t take anymore of the hills since it was already over 70°. When we got home I did squats, lunges, push ups, and jump rope and I’m glad I got all of that in because I ended up hurting my knee pretty badly later on.

What did I do, you ask? I was crawling around the room trying to show Waves how it’s done and she was laughing harder the faster I went, so of course I was going full speed, when my knee landed right on one of her toys and I instantly knew it wasn’t good. I can’t imagine how ridiculous you imagined that scene in your mind, but I’m sure it was pretty accurate.

I’ve iced my knee off and on all day since and trying not to get too upset. I really hope it’s not as bad as I think it is and that it will feel much better in the morning. I’ve been making some really great fitness and weight loss gains lately and I’d hate to be sidelined for awhile.

Speaking of weight loss, I started out at 153 pounds and as of today I am 139. I’ve been sticking to 2,000 calories a day (I’m still breastfeeding), only eating whole foods (similar to Whole30, but I eat beans, tofu, tempeh, etc. for protein), and working out four or five times a week. I’m really happy with the results and am working on getting stronger right now.

For lunch today I had a salad of field greens, tomatoes, cucumber, sunflower seeds, tempeh, a hard boiled egg, and this Italian dressing (seriously never buying dressing again). I also had an orange and plum about half an hour later.

Waves had a smoothie made of whole milk yogurt, kale, blueberries, banana, and thinned out with water. She was drinking out of a cup with my help, but I guess I wasn’t fast enough for her so I ended up putting it into her sippy cup.

Dinner was sautéed green bell peppers, onions, and tofu with cumin and chili powder, topped with Greek yogurt and a tiny bit of Cholulua. I made this coconut milk strawberry ice cream earlier today and was planning on having it tonight, but Waves fell asleep a little early and I don’t want to wake her up since I have to use the food processor to get it to an ice cream consistency. I might have to have a little for breakfast :]

This doesn’t have anything to do with anything else, but I thought it was pretty funny and wanted to share: The Secret Life of Cats: What You Can Learn By Putting a GPS on Your Kitty. I think it’s hilarious that the only photos the owners got back were of the cat staring at his reflection in windows. I think this is a good way to end this post!

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I took a hot flow yoga class last night and woke up super sore from all the downward dogs and chaturangas we did during the hour and a half long class. There was lots of deep stretching which I really needed and I felt a huge difference in my hips after it was over.

I woke up early this morning to take Pepper to the groomers and he looked adorable after, which you already saw if you follow me on Instagram. I got back home and made a quick breakfast of two whole eggs, one egg white (Waves got the yolk), avocado, and a toasted Ezekiel English muffin. I also had my usual morning coffee while Waves ate a scrambled egg yolk and some oatmeal.

Lunch was tofu, green bell peppers, tomatoes, and onions sautéed with some cumin and chili powder and avocado and Greek yogurt on top. This was a little different, however, since I decided to try out the cauliflower “rice” I’ve been seeing around. It definitely isn’t rice, but I was surprised that I didn’t hate it. I’m thinking of trying out the cauliflower crust pizza, but when I told Greg about it he said, “That’s just depressing.” haha!

I had a slice of toasted Ezekiel bread with peanut butter and coconut flakes a couple of hours after lunch. This is my favorite snack at the moment and I can’t get enough of it.

Here is the usual scene when I’m cooking dinner. Waves is in her jumper, I have a recipe (and/or Facebook) open on the laptop, and I try to hurry before she goes from this…

…to really unhappy which happens very quickly. I didn’t finish dinner before she started to get bored so I sat her in the kitchen floor with a few of the finest toys I could gather:

one of her shoes, a tupperware bowl, and a container of oatmeal. This kept her busy long enough to get dinner together for all of us.

She had green beans, sweet potato, avocado, and banana pieces. She has started to get really mad if I don’t let her try to feed herself so I am just letting her have at it. She does a pretty good job even if a lot of food ends up in the seat of her high chair. I just keep putting those pieces back on the tray until she’s finished. I really love having dinner together, especially since it’s still so bright out and warm later in the day now.

Greg and I had a salad with field greens, tomatoes, a hardboiled egg, cucumber, sunflower seeds, tempeh and this awesome Italian dressing. Seriously, it’s incredible. I paired my salad with that sad looking, but delicious, sweet potato and Greg had some of this turkey chili that I made him yesterday. I told him it must be true love because I just cannot deal with cooking with meat. This recipe wasn’t so bad though because all I had to do was slice up some bacon and then dump the ground turkey in the pot along with the other ingredients. I like to fix things he likes every once in awhile since he gets veggie dinners 99% of the time.

I had a few snacks that I didn’t take pictures of since I’m sure you know what they look like already: an orange, pear, and plum. I bought a lot of fruit over the weekend and like having it around so I can put some in my purse when I head out with Waves.

It was a beautiful day and I am loving this weather. It has me so pumped up that I have been so motivated to get things done and I just feel really awesome in general. I’m off to prep some food for tomorrow and fold a load of laundry before heading to bed. Don’t forget to check out more WIAW posts over at Peas & Crayons!

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