This Week's Menu and freezer inventory sheet

I have a new system for meal planning and freezer inventory that is working very well.  I have a white board calendar that I fill in with the dates and any activities that are going on for the month and add the meals on each day. It's easy to erase and change up meals as I buy more meat throughout the month as well.

When I buy meat I package it into dinner size portions plus leftovers for lunch. This is often 1.5 -2 pounds of meat each night. I generally only buy meat that is $2/pound or less but David has been begging me for steaks. Since I started from a bare cupboard and freezer this month our grocery money went very fast but hopefully I will be able to buy steak next month. Despite rising food prices I am able to get great prices on meat at the commissary. It's the only place I can find ground beef for $2 a pound anymore. The average price at the grocery store is around $3 for 80% lean or higher and it rarely goes on sale for less than $2.50.

We are following the Primal Blueprint and eating mostly meat, and veggies for dinner. David still eats some grains in the form of sandwiches, hummus, crackers and granola bars but for the most part we no long consume grains or legumes. Here's a few more links on why grains are unhealthy. The Definitive Guide to Grains & Is Going Grain Free Healthy. I have lost 12-15 pounds (depending on the day) and am back to my weight when we got married. I even had to go buy new pants this weekend because I could literally pull down my old jeans without unbuttoning them and they were falling off of me! That being said, we do eat at least 8 ounces of meat per person each night plus I try my best to cook enough for leftovers the next day.

Back to my freezer inventory- Once I have packaged the meat into servings I write down the name of the meat on my inventory sheet, find a day to cook it on the calendar and then write the day I will be cooking it on the calendar AND the inventory sheet along with I how I plan on preparing the meat. Eg, next to 1 pound of ground beef I write "Taco Salad" & "8/25" and write it on the dry erase calendar as well. I do this in pencil so as I buy more meat throughout the month I can alter the menu for more variety. I have been able to plan out the whole month of meals which I was never good at before. This also gives me a good visual reminder on what meat to pull out several days in advance in the morning or while I'm cooking dinner.

All that being said here's what we are eating the rest of this month. I just write out the main dish and cook up whatever fresh or frozen veggies we have, slather them in butter or fat and often a salad.

Monday August 20 - Grilled chicken quarters
Tuesday August 21 - taco salad
Wednesday August 22- bratwurst
Thursday August 23- Chicken breast - still need to find a recipe for these.
Friday August 24 - camping with church so not sure what we'll be taking to cook out there. Any suggestions for easy camping food?
Saturday August 25 - grilled chicken breasts
Sunday August 26- taco salad
Monday August 27 - grilled chicken wings drenched in this amazing hot sauce I bought at Costco
Tuesday August 28 - bratwurst
Wednesday August 29- hamburgers without buns
Thursday August 30- pork sirloin roasted in the oven. Oh my this is my new favorite meal.

At last!

We finally have a brand new laptop that doesn't require being cooled by a small desktop fan while perched precariously atop a desk organizer to ensure airflow so I will slowly start writing up our summer adventures, the move and our upcoming time in Colorado.

We left Austin for Colorado on July 25 with a very tightly packed Mazda 3, a dog, two adults and our darling daughter. Day one of the drive couldn't have gone better, Laura was practically on her normal routine of awake for two hours with one to two hours of naps in between feeds. We stopped in White City, New Mexico that evening right outside the entrance to Carlsbad National Park.

I had trouble finding a hotel near a hot tourist spot in the middle of the summer that took dogs but we were able to find a place in White City which is closer to the park than the city of Carlsbad. I was so stressed about the trip I even called the night before to double check our reservation. For reasons beyond my comprehension, the desk clerk thought I was CANCELING our reservation because when we arrived the next night he couldn't find our reservation and later found my cancelation number.

Thankfully they had room for us, I didn't even want to ask if they took pets since they had told me yes on the phone originally but this place clearly didn't have everything squared away. We had a huge room that Laura and Lilly were happy to run (crawl) around in and a fun pool with two water slides, a pirate ship splash area and kids' pools. We were in the middle of the desert with nothing but blue sky and a few small buildings. The town felt like it was straight out of a western.

Feeding Baby

Stumped what to feed your baby? Here are some ideas for simple, homemade baby food that don't require pureeing veggies in a food processor. I did not give Laura purees and instead went straight to simple finger foods that were soft enough for her to gum. Canned pureed foods became popular when it was recommended to feed baby solids as early as 3 months and are not necessary when starting solids after 6 months.

Bananas are a great first food that babies can hold in their hands and gnaw away at. It may take a month or so for babies to learn to feed themselves and the first months more food ends up on the floor for the dog to clean up or on baby's face but it's an excellent way for babies to develop hand eye coordination. Breastfed babies have been essentially feeding themselves at the breast for months, you are only offering food when the baby is hunger. They determine how much they eat and learn to stop when full.

This is the same idea behind what's termed "Baby Led Weaning" (weaning meaning eating something besides breastmilk) Offer baby food and let them determine how much they will eat instead of coaxing one more bite of peas because it you want to empty the jar.

I also have a baby food mill that I put harder to chew foods like green beans, meats and leftovers into, grind up and hand to Laura to eat. Healthy, easy to eat leftover or food off your plate are great foods for baby as well. Total confession: I give Laura waffle fries when we go to Chick Fila.

I also make cubes of veggies and fruit and freeze them either on a tray, egg carton or ice cube tray. Baked, steamed or microwaved sweet potatoes, soft veggies such as squash, broccoli can be gnawed on even by a baby without teeth. Laura loves apples that have been steamed and peeled. Shredded and steamed carrots are easy to make and feed. She's also obsessed with peaches this summer. She can easily eat half a peach or more at one sitting.

Laura loves to fed herself messy foods such as greek yogurt and hummus. They are thick enough I can place a blob on her tray or hand her spoonfuls at a time. She grabs the spoons and feds herself. She doesn't let me put the spoon in her mouth!

I highly recommend a highchair that is easy to clean without nooks and crannies and washable bibs. I was not pleased with the Circo brand ones from Target, they aren't meant to be machine washed and they fell apart when I washed them.

What have you cooked for baby? 

California Grapefruit and Avocado Salad

California Grapefruit and Avocado Salad
This recipe is passed down from my dad's mother, Margaret who passed away last month. 

My Grandmother Margaret holding me as a newborn

Ingredients 
Lettuce of your choice - I prefer spring mix or baby spinach
Large avocado
Large grapefruit  
Oil and vinegar salad dressing

Directions
Cut avocado in half with a sharp knife. Whack the avocado pit with your sharp knife and twist to easily remove the pit.

Slice the avocado into cubes and scoop out with a spoon.

Cut the ends off the grapefruit and stand it on the cut off end so it is stable on the cutting board. Sorry I don't have pictures of this, I didn't actually have a grapefruit on hand.

With a long thin knife such as a boning knife, slice of the skin as close to the flesh as possible.

Then take the knife along the sections of membrane and cut out the flesh leaving the membrane behind. Here's a helpful tutorial with directions and a somewhat long winded video if my directions are terrible and just confusing you even more. Whatever you do, remove the grapefruit membrane before serving the grapefruit. Unless you are a goat, they are terribly chewy and hard to eat.

You can use any type of vinegar to make a vinaigrette but I would steer clear of white for this recipe and choose white wine vinegar. Balsamic or specialty flavored vinegar make for nice dressings as well.  All you ever need to about about vinaigrette is the magic ratio of oil to vinegar is 3 to 1. 


Layer grapefruit and avocado on your bed of greens and top with oil and vinegar dressing.


Happy Eating  


Check out Life as Mom for more tasty summer salad. Do you have a favorite hot weather recipe? 

My Favorite Baby Items 

A friend recently asked me for recommendations for baby items. What is a must have (at least for us) and what to borrow. Less the obvious items like a carseat and crib here my recommendations for items I have enjoyed using.


Ergo Baby carrier, I just bought this and love the ease and simplicity of using it. I have a Moby wrap as well but I don't like it for running errands or travel. I find it comes loose when I take her in and out and I have to take it off compleltely to nurse. The Ergo has two buckles and takes just seconds to put on.

It's very comfortable for you and baby and allows the baby to sit in a natural sitting position as opposed to the dangling position forward facing carriers like Baby Bjorrn have, which also puts pressure on their hips. Can be worn front, hip or back.

Pack in play- I just bought a simple one without all the bells and whistles. Perfect for trips to grandparents or a second sleeping place when the baby still sleeps in your bedroom.

Swaddle I almost always swaddled Laura in the swaddle these instead of a blanket. Get two for when one is in the wash.

My Brest Friend Nursing Pillow. I preferred this over the Boppy pillow, it allows you to adjust the height at which the pillow sits around your waist and bring baby higher to you  and the Boppy was too low for me. 


Booster/highchair  I'm all for inexpensive and simple so I have a simple hand me down booster instead of a full sized highchair. Get one that is easy to wipe down or wash. The full sized ones take up a lot of space.  

Ultimate Crib Sheet Goes on top of your crib sheet to protect from stains. Love this especially since Laura spits up all day long. Also get a waterproof mattress protector for under the sheet.

Sound machine and night light for the nursery. 


Wipeable bibs for eating solids 


Baby food mill- grinds up the food your are eating for dinner for baby to eat.

Stroller- I originally had a travel system and a jogging stroller that were  given to us. If I could do it again I'd buy a carseat and base that would snap into my jogger. Many jogging strollers sell an attachment that allows for a infant car seat to snap in. That way you only need one stroller for everyday and running. Plus the travel system strollers don't feel very sturdy on anything but indoors or smooth concrete. I didn't even like walking in the neighborhood with ours. I finally got rid of both strollers and bought a Baby Trend jogging stroller that my carseat snaps onto. Also I wish we had bought two car seat bases, one for each car. 

Cute diaper bag that doubles as a purse. I splurged and bought a very nice bag from JJ Cole that looks like a purse. You won't want to carry a diaper bag and a purse, it's just too much to carry plus trying to wrangle a baby. 


Things to borrow-
Bumbo seat - she loved this for about two months, luckily it was a hand me down.

Swing- can be a life saver if your having trouble getting baby to sleep but they are pricey and bulky to store. I'm sure you have a friend in town who is itching to get hers out of her house.

Bouncy seat- super useful for the first few months but again, someone probably has one you can borrow. 


Three book recommendations for sleep- 
Healthy sleep habits happy child
The secrets of the baby whisperer 
The baby whisperer solves all your problems.

Laura 8 Months

Laura turned 8 months yesterday and she is on the move! She has been crawling army style with her arms for about six weeks and gets around quite fast. About a week ago she started crawling on her hands and knees a few steps at a time. She loves pulling up on furniture and cruising around the living room.

Couldn't get a smile out her 

She still nurses four times a day plus a bottle before bed at 7 pm and eats "meals" with us as well. I usually just give her soft food or grind up meat and veggies in my food mill.  She loves Greek yogurt but I am wondering if she is sensitive to dairy because she ate half a cup at breakfast and was spitting up more than usual all morning so I guess I'll have to cut out the dairy for now. Poor me poor girl still spits up all day long.

"Helping" Mommy with the dishes

Much of her food ends up on her face or eaten by Lilly but she loves feeding herself, even if it is messy. I caught her trying to give Lilly and my parents dog Lucy food off her tray the other day. She was grinning and throwing food on the ground to the dogs. 

Playing with Pop Pop's hat

Playing with her new walker/noisy toy from Grandma

Our Summer and the Move

Many people have been asking if we are in Colorado yet and as much as I'm ready for a respite from the Southern heat we are currently in Texas. David has been at Basic Officer Leadership Course (BOLC) since June 11 in San Antonio. I stayed in Augusta until the movers came June 29 and supervised the move of our household goods. Our items will go into temporary storage until we arrive in Colorado July 27. David's brother in law will drive my car to Colorado at the beginning of August.

Moving day June 29

I drove to David's parents last Saturday only to have my radiator burst an hour from their house. The Lord's hand was over Laura and me that day, it was 109 degrees and I was just leaving  Zaxby's in Greensboro when I noticed the car thermostat rising and suddenly steam pouring from the engine. After calling my brother for advice and waiting for the car to cool off, several employees from the restaurant looked at my car and it was evident that the radiator was cracked and wouldn't hold any water.

I was able to stay in the cool, air conditioned restaurant while I waited for my father in law to come and pick Laura and myself up. I am so thankful my car didn't break down on the side of Interstate 20 with a baby and 100 plus degree temperature. 

After spending a few days with David's family I flew to Austin where I am currently staying with my parents while David is at BOLC. David is able to take the weekends off and had two days off for Independence Day. We also enjoyed a long, hot but fun day at Sea World today. Laura was a champ and even took a few naps in the Ergo carrier. If you are considering a baby carrier check out the Ergo. I just bought it last week and I loved the simplicity and ease of use plus it is much cooler than the Moby wrap. 

That's all for now! If you are in Austin I'd love to catch up.