Love. Lean. Life.

Hello, Simple Living

Strawberry Shortcake Protein Smoothie

Breakfast, Dessert, Lunch, Recipes, Smoothies, Snack, Uncategorized · 

Ingredients:

1 scoop Detox Organics Vanilla Protein
1 cup almond milk
1/2 cup ice
1/2 cup large strawberries
1 small banana

Topping:

1 tsp of raw honey
Coconut whip cream
Raw sugar for dusting
Extra slices of strawberry

Instructions:

  1. In a blender, add vanilla protein, almond milk, ice, strawberries, and banana and blend on high
  2. Using a clear glass, wipe a thin layer of honey around the rim.
  3. Dip the top of the glass into a small dusting of raw cane sugar.
  4. Fill the glass with the smoothie mix.

Top with whip cream and a slice of strawberry and enjoy!

White Chicken Chili Recipe

Dinner, Recipes, Uncategorized · 

I am an east coast girl at heart and nothing makes me feel cozier on a cold day than white chicken chili! This dish has always been one of my favorites although until moving to the west coast, I never made it on my own. Maybe it’s because every single restaurant back home had it on the menu and now where I live not one place I have been to has offered it on the menu. 

My cousin sent me this recipe after making it and making a few adjustments of her own. Since then I have made this dish at least once a month and have made a few changes as well. 

Funny story though – the first time I made this – it turned out vegetarian. So I know that with a little tweaking you can make this a delicious vegetarian white chili as well. I thought I pulled out chicken thighs from the freezer for this and it ended up being chicken wings which do not shred well if at all so I made the soup anyway because all the veggies were done cooking down in the pot. 

But it was still delicious. 

The main ingredient that we left out of the first couple of recipes was coriander because neither I nor my cousin owned that spice. Now that I have it I find that the taste is good with or without it. If you forgo the coriander spice, I would not leave out the cilantro at the end to finish the soup with. If you use the coriander spice you can get away without the cilantro on top at the end if it’s not available to you at the time. But both are delicious if you have both to add to the recipe. 

I made this recipe in the Instant Pot but will leave directions for a slow cooker version as well if you don’t have an Instant Pot. The bonus of the Instant Pot is the one-pot curation and the quickness of the meal.

Ingredients: 

2 tbsp olive oil

4 cloves of garlic minced (or 2 tbsp minced jarred garlic)

1 large green pepper diced

2 jalapenos (leave the seeds if you want it spicy – take the seeds off for a mild to medium heat)

3 stalks of celery

1 large sweet yellow onion diced

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

¼ tsp cayenne pepper (option for spicier chili)

2 tsp Himalayan salt

2 (15oz) cans of cannellini beans or white northern beans (rinse and drain the liquid)

1 ½ lb of boneless chicken or thighs

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup sour cream

½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Tools:

6 qt or larger pressure cooker (I used the Instant Pot)

Instructions: 

  1. Select the sauté setting on your Instant Pot and add in the olive oil. Add in the garlic, onions, celery, bell pepper, and jalapeno and sauté until the onions are clear and the veggies are softened. 
  2. Add in all of the spices and salt and sauté for 1 more minute. 
  3. Pour in the beans and place the chicken on top of everything. Do not stir. Then pour over the broth. 
  4. Cancel the sauté function and place the lid on the pressure cooker. Then select the manual setting for 15 minutes on high pressure. The pressure cooker will take some time to get up to pressure and then it will cook for 15 minutes. 
  5. Once the timer beeps after cooking let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Then carefully quick-release the remaining pressure. 
  6. Using tongs, remove the chicken and shred with two forks. 
  7. If you want a thicker soup you can whisk 1 tsp of cornstarch into a quarter cup of the soup broth in a separate bowl and then add it back into the main soup. 
  8. Add in the sour cream to the soup.
  9. Add the shredded chicken back into the soup. Serve and top with fresh cilantro or hot sauce of your choosing.

For the Crock-Pot you’ll want to sauté all the vegetables in a saucepan. Then add all of the ingredients into the Crock-Pot and cook on high for 4-5 hours or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature 165F. Once chicken is fully cooked, shred chicken and add in sour cream. 

Enjoy!

Hot Cocoa Superfood Bombs

Dessert, Recipes, Uncategorized · 

Ingredients:

8 oz Dark Chocolate Chips
10 oz Milk Chocolate Chips
Detox Organics Daily Superfoods
Organic Sprinkles
Dehydrated mini marshmallows

Tools:

Round Silicone Mold
Silicone Brush

Instructions:

  1. Melt 1 cup of milk chocolate chips over a double boiler or in the microwave for 15 seconds at a time until the chocolate melts and is creamy. Do not overheat or chocolate will get too thick.
  2. Using a silicone brush, thickly spread the melted chocolate into the half-round molds making sure there are no gaps where you can see the mold.
  3. Immediately place the molds into the freezer.
  4. After 2 minutes take out the molds and brush on the second thick layer of chocolate quickly and focus on making sure the top (around the rim) of the half-circle has at least a quarter of an inch ledge of chocolate. Place back into the freezer.
  5. Once the second layer has set for at least 30 minutes, gently take out the mold and set it in a tray of ice.
  6. Fill 1 half of the chocolate half round with a scoop of Detox Organics superfoods powder and a few dehydrated mini marshmallows.
  7. Using a half cup of milk chocolate melts, melt a new bowl.
  8. Using the silicone brush, brush a layer of chocolate around the rim of the filled molds and place an empty half circle mold on top using the chocolate as glue. Do this for all of the chocolate bombs until complete.
  9. Place back into the freezer.
  10. To decorate, melt 1 cup of dark chocolate and using the silicone brush, brush dark chocolate over one-half of the filled cocoa bombs. Sprinkles are best gently tapped onto warm chocolate.

To enjoy:

Warm 1-2 cups of almond milk to boiling and immediately remove from heat. Carefully place hot cocoa bomb into the milk. Stir as the cocoa bomb melts to create a delicious and silky cup of hot cocoa!

Healthy Ways to Give in to Your Sweet Tooth

Breakfast, Dessert, Dinner, Drinks, Lunch, Recipes, Snack, Uncategorized · 

We all have that sweet tooth craving that hits us at some time throughout the day, if not multiple times a day. It seems like there are plenty of ways to curb your sweet tooth but the reality is that you don’t have to if you are trying to be healthy. Here are a few recipes you can whip up to enjoy some sweets without feeling bogged down by excess sugar. 

Breakfast: 

This is the time of day that sweet tooths (sweet teeth?) hit millions in America. Look at the most popular breakfast foods, and you’ll see what I mean. Breakfast cereals, Poptarts, Toaster Strudel, chocolate chip pancakes, whipped cream covered waffles, Gogurts and Oreo flavored parfaits are marketed to us as the perfect breakfast foods. 

Instead of eating more processed foods, there are great sweet alternatives that incorporate healthy foods to brighten and sweeten your morning.

Overnight Oats

These simple oats are a great way to eat a hearty breakfast with very little prep. In fact, you don’t even have to cook these! Make this breakfast the night before, pop it in the fridge and you can warm it up quickly in the microwave or enjoy chilled right away. Plus these are highly customizable and you can switch the flavors of these up easily.  

Easy Overnight Oats Recipe: 

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup old-fashioned or quick cook oats
  • 1/2 cup almond, cashew or coconut milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup or honey
  • 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • For serving, optional: Fruit either fresh or dried, chia seeds, nuts, almond butter, chocolate chips, hemp seeds or anything else you like!

Instructions

  1. Mix together your oats, milk, maple syrup or honey and the vanilla in a jar or bowl that has a lid. Seal the container and shake till everything is mixed together. If it seems like it’s not all mixed just give a good stir with a spoon.
  2. Refrigerate your oats overnight for at least 8 hours. 
  3. When you’re ready to enjoy, add your favorite toppings!

Latte or Frappuccino

Lattes are delicious but can cost at times over $5 a cup. Save yourself the money and the $5+ dollars each day and make your own! Warm a small cup of almond milk and use a hand frother to give it a foamy texture. Layer on top of your morning coffee and if you traditionally have a flavor shot then look for a version of it made it with stevia. 

Try this delicious Frappuccino Recipe:

Ingredients

  • 2 cups full strength coffee
  • 2 cups ice
  • 2 tbsp natural peanut butter
  • 1 scoop Detox Organics Chocolate Superfoods
  • 1 scoop Detox Organics Vegan Vanilla Protein

Instructions

  1. In a blender cup combine ice, coffee, chocolate superfoods, and vanilla protein and blend for 30 seconds.
  2. Add in 1 additional handful of ice and peanut butter and blend another 30 seconds until a the consistency is an icy thick shake.
  3. Top with anything you like. Suggestions: Vegan whipped topping or cacao nibs.

Lunch: 

Most of our lunch sweets come from drinks. Sodas and iced coffees are a common pick me up for the midday sweet cravings and often help us through a midday slump if we experience one. Here are two healthier ways to enjoy these beverages and still get the pick me ups you need.

Stevia sodas

There are stevia flavor options that you drop into the water to give it a sweetness without the calories. Be sure to go with stevia or xylitol to avoid the questionable artificial sweeteners. If you are using it to replace soda just grab a can of seltzer water and drop in some flavor shots. These create a bubbly sweet drink that is way healthier than a can of traditional soda. 

And if you need your bubbly beverage to have caffeine in it, then look for brands like Zevia that are 100% sweetened with stevia and taste like colas, Dr. Pepper, and even cherry cola as well as have caffeine in them just like the original drinks! 

Flavored Iced Coffee or Cold Brew

Take ahold of you afternoon coffee sugar crash. You can brew your own cold brew for just a few dollars a week and add your favorite almond or cashew milk to it. I got the cold brew maker that is linked above on Amazon and it arrived that day! Use a stevia shot of flavor to spice things up. You can get a sweet kick of caffeine without the normal sugar rush with a few easy changes. 

Dinner: 

Grilled Fruit over Protein

What if your sweet tooth hits at dinner? Instead of waiting for dessert try adding a fun sweet twist to your actual dinner. If you can grill or roast a side of veggies, you can add in fruit like pineapple that gets sweeter with heat and pairs wonderfully with salty and savory food. 

Fruit in Salad

Another great way to add a little sweetness to your dinner is to throw some chopped apple or pears onto a salad. These fruits pair nicely with soft cheeses and can add a touch of sweet to bitter greens. 

Snacks: 

Milk Shake

You can whip up a really healthy milkshake with simple ingredients. The key is to use frozen banana and almond milk to replace the thick ice cream base and you can add your own yummy toppings like strawberries and shreds of dark chocolate. 

Try this amazing Apple Pie Shake: 

Ingredients

  • 2 Scoops Detox Organics Vanilla Protein
  • 1 banana (ripe)
  • 1 cup of ice
  • 1/2 cup applesauce unsweetened
  • 1 tsp Ceylon cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 1/2 cup of water

Instructions

  1. Blend all of these ingredients together.
  2. Top with a dusting of cinnamon once poured into your cup!

Dark Chocolate

Chocolate is the mother of all sweet tooth satisfiers. For the maximum health benefits go with a 70% cocoa or higher to make sure you’re getting the true benefits of dark chocolate. If you can work your way to more bitter chocolate but still get the savory benefits your brain will still appreciate the chocolate and your body will benefit from it. 

This list is just a starting point for ideas on how to eat healthier sweets throughout the day. As always, fruits are a go-to and great to keep around the house. But everyday it’s nice to have options and sometimes certain foods just don’t cut it. And if all else fails, reach for the chocolate!

Vanilla No-Bake Protein Truffles

Dessert, Recipes · 

Welcome to the fastest most delicious holiday recipe I have ever experimented with! I know that sometimes dinners sneak up on us, family dinner sneaks up on us, or we just don’t have time and still want to make something sweet for our families.

I found this recipe in a magazine and it’s based on a Venezuelan dessert called Venezuelan Papitas de Leche. They simplified it and I wanted to use protein powder instead of powdered milk because too much milk can upset my stomach. Plus having protein powder in there will help keep me full after enjoying a few.

One word of advice, the batter gets VERY thick at the end. So if you feel that it’s almost getting dry, stop adding dry ingredients. You might end up with 1/8 cup or 1/16 cup extra powder but just check the batter to keep a little bit tacky before you start rolling it into truffle balls.

Vanilla No-Bake Protein Truffles

Ingredients: 

2 cups Detox Organics Vanilla Protein Powder

1 ½ cups of confectioners sugar, plus a small dish for dusting your hands

1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk

Small sprinkles

 

Instructions:

  1. In a large bowl whisk together the protein powder and the confectioner’s sugar until they are thoroughly combined.
  2. In a stand mixer pour in the condensed milk. Using a paddle attachment turn the mixer to low speed and start to add the dry ingredient mix about ½ cup at a time.
  3. Keep mixing and adding the dry ingredients until the mixture is sticky and thick. This should just 2-3 minutes. 
  4. On a baking sheet place a large sheet of parchment paper
  5. Lightly powder your hands with confectioners sugar. Take a heaping-sized tablespoon size of dough and roll between your hands until it’s a firm ball and then quickly roll through the sprinkles. Gently press the sprinkles into the call and set them on the tray. 
  6. Place in the refrigerator and enjoy. These store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. This recipe makes about 20 truffles.

 

Pumpkin Protein Cream Cheese Muffins

Breakfast, Recipes, Uncategorized · 

It’s still pumpkin season and I’m all on board. Also, just for the sake of honesty, here is why each recipe gets a story that you probably don’t care about. First off each recipe is a labor of love. Sometimes it’s 2 or 3 tries before I nail and am able to share it with you. 

I’m super proud of the healthy ingredient swaps I can work in and even when it’s difficult, it’s always worth it. Once I made the same batch of cookies four times in one day to get them right. Labor – of – Love! 

I like to share what inspired me and that’s where most of the stories come from. It feels like I’m baking with a friend having kitchen conversation with you even if it’s on this blog and we haven’t baked together yet!

The second reason is that if you found that bad boy via Google, you can thank these long rambling blog posts about pumpkins and why I’m obsessed with pumpkin spice everything. The more context that Google has about a recipe the better matched they can make our connection.

So thanks to my wordy love of food and the need to please Google so they can help me make my baking love match with you, you get this awesome blog post. 

Moving on. This recipe was all over Facebook and sent to me several times by people who know how much I love pumpkins and cream cheese (or any cheese really) and I decided to make it as healthy as I could. So here is my recipe!

Ingredients

Muffins: 

1 ¼ cup gluten free baking flour

½ cup Daily Superfoods Protein

1 15oz can pumpkin puree

1 cup coconut sugar

½ cup coconut light brown sugar

2 large eggs

½ cup coconut oil

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking soda

1 tbsp pumpkin spice (I used trader joes!)

Cream Cheese Swirl: 

8oz organic cream cheese (softened to room temp)

¼ cup coconut sugar

1 large egg yolk

2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degree F.
  2. In a large mixing bowl combine the dry ingredients, flour, protein powder, pumpkin spice, baking soda, and salt and combine thoroughly. 
  3. In a second large bowl combine the wet ingredients, pumpkin puree, coconut brown sugar, coconut sugar, eggs, coconut oil, and vanilla extract. 
  4. Slowly mix in the flour mixture and beat on low with a blender for 1-2 minutes until all the lumps are gone.
  5. In a side bowl make the cream cheese swirl by beating soft cream cheese until there are no lumps. Then beat in sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla extract until combined. 
  6. Line a muffin tin with paper muffin liners. Fill muffin tins with pumpkin batter ¾ the way up and then top each muffin with 1 tbsp of cream cheese mix. Use a toothpick to swirl the cream cheese topping into the muffin for a swirly look. 
  7. Bake your muffins for 18-23 minutes. Check at 18 mins with a toothpick, if it comes out clean the muffin is ready. 
  8. Let your muffins cool. Refrigerate and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Enjoy your muffins chilled or at room temp. 

Chocolate Superfoods Dessert Cups

Dessert, Recipes, Uncategorized · 

Shell Ingredients:

10oz Dark melting chocolate

1 scoop Detox Organics Chocolate Superfoods

Filling Ingredients:

Organic Greek coconut yogurt

Organic berries (raspberries and blueberries are delicious in this recipe)

Almond slivers

Tools: 

Silicone cupcake molds

Muffin baking tin

Silicone spatula (optional)

Instructions: 

  1. Place your silicone molds into the cupcake pan and place in the fridge or freezer for at least 10 minutes before you start the recipe. 
  2. Place 10 oz of dark melting chocolate into a microwave-safe bowl and warm in 15-second intervals at a time. Stir between every 15-second interval until chocolate is mixed and creamy.
  3. Immediately stir in Detox Organics Chocolate Superfoods and stir quickly until there is no longer any powder visible and the mixture is smooth again.
  4. Using a very small spoon or spatula, apply a thin layer of the chocolate to the cooled molds. Be sure to cover the entire bottom and about 3/4s of the way up to the top of the mold.
  5. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes or until chocolate is solid all the way through. 
  6. Working gently and quickly peel back the silicone mold from the chocolate cup and place it back into the muffin tin and place it in the refrigerator until ready to consume. 
  7. When you are ready to enjoy these, place a 2-3 tbsp of Greek yogurt in each cup and top with 4-5 berries and a sprinkle of almond slivers.
  8. Enjoy!

Twin High Chair Review: IKEA Antilop

Parenting, Raising Twins, Twins, Uncategorized · 

Deciding on the Right High Chair For Our Twins

The boys are now 7 months and they are officially eating baby food purée. That meant we needed to find a high chair. It took us a long time to find one. The reason it took us so long is that we turned our living room/dining room space into one huge living room. 

We did not have a set table. We will be eventually getting a dining room set but until then we had to figure out the space to get two high chairs in it. We ended up looking through several options and narrowing it down from there. 

I was struggling with how big high chairs are. Traditionally, the wide bases make them take up a massive amount of floor space. Then I was thinking about that multiplied by two. This is not something that the babies can share. We have to feed them at the same time. 

When we went out looking for high chairs, I was surprised by just how large the bases were. They were also so heavy. The trays are big, too, so I was just struggling with where we were going to find room for two giant high chairs. 

On top of that, where would we store them that was out of the way when they were not in use? We have a patio and we live in a very warm area but it wouldn’t be a good idea to keep them outside all the time. 

One of the options was to possibly get foldable high chairs. We looked at some of the big high chairs that convert from a high chair to booster seat to kid’s chair, which I thought was neat, but they tended to be the biggest and bulkiest options. We also looked at some of the foldable chairs, but these tended to be on the expensive side or the reviews of the functionality were not great. I found one that collapsed on itself, but every review said that once babies start kicking, the tray release is in the front of the tray so this normal baby activity would pop the tray off. Our babies are very bouncy and always kicking and moving so I knew that one wouldn’t work for us. 

So how did I find the chairs we ended up going with?

When I was pregnant, we were walking through IKEA and I saw a $19 chair with a $10 tray and a $5 seat cushion. I thought it looked so small and easy to take apart. I was just worried because I had never seen anyone with this high chair. Everyone else had the bigger high chairs. I did also realize that I had never seen anyone with two high chairs in their house either.

What’s really funny is that a YouTuber I follow, who had her first baby right before we had the twins, had this high chair. They did a whole video on the high chair and getting accessories for it. They shared how they decked out the legs to match their design in their home and shared a company that makes accessories specifically for the IKEA high chair. 

The company is called Yeah Baby Goods and they also have several Etsy shops that sell the accessories to the high chair so you can make it unique and personalized. 

It was so cute sitting in their kitchen and fit their little baby just fine. There is still plenty of room for the baby to grow into it as well. 

After checking out the yeahbabygoods page on Instagram, I saw they featured a lot of other moms of multiples that used their products and were using the IKEA high chair as well. There were twin moms showing how they decorated the high chairs and they ended up so cute with the cushion covers and footrests. There was even a quadruplet mom who was using these cute little accessories with this high chair. 

The one thing they all said was that they come apart nicely and stack. I was sold! 

Honestly, that was the biggest thing we needed. We needed something stackable, lightweight, and easy to clean. I noticed that these chairs didn’t have all these crevices and seams. It was easy to wipe off and unzip to throw into the washer. 

I was sold after those reviews. We went to IKEA and got the Antilop set. 

Assembling the High Chairs

You’ll need to get the chair base and legs, the tray and the seat cushion and cover. It’s easy to break down once it’s put together as well which meant we could take it apart and bring it to a friend’s house or our family’s houses when we visit. We can easily pop the legs and trays off quickly to put them into the car. 

We ended up getting one set of covers but now realize we will probably grab a second set so we can wash them more often. I also want to grab a footrest as well for the babies as they grow. You can move the footrest down as it is adjustable. I think it just adds a little level of comfort for the babies to set their feet on something. 

There are also silicone mats that fit perfectly in the tray. The boys are way too messy for those to make a difference for us but they do make the high chair cute by changing the color or the tray top. If your baby isn’t mashing avocado into the harnesses like our twins do then these probably will help make clean up easier. 

One Month Review

We have been using this high chair for over a month. The boys are eating purees and some super soft foods for baby-led weaning as well. These high chairs have been great. 

These are easy to clean. We snap off the tray and rinse it in the sink. Then we can just wipe down the rest of the chair and the harness. We have a split sink and these fit into one side perfectly. Other high chair trays would probably not fit in one side so that was a nice surprise. 

The seat covers are easy to wipe down and when they get really messy we just zip them off and put them into the washer. 

If you are looking for a mega affordable, easily stackable, easily washable high chair with a secure tray – this is it. Plus all the cute accessories make it so much fun to personalize for your home and your style. 

This is something I might have passed on if I had not seen so many parents of multiples with this high chair. They had nothing but good things to say and them loving the high chair made it a no brainer for me. I probably should have started by asking for recommendations from someone with twins, triplets, or quadruplets about what to do about more than one high chair. 

Now I keep seeing these pop up on other twin mom blogs and YouTube channels and it just reaffirms that I am not alone in wanting something easy to store and space-saving. 

All of the other high chairs were between $80 and $150 and these both came in together at less than the price of one of the other ones.

IKEA Antilop Pros: 

Stackable

Portable

Easy to clean

Affordable 

Cute to accessorize 

Lightweight 

Sturdy

IKEA Accessories: 

Cushion covers

Silicone tray covers

Adjustable footrests

Custom leg covering 

I hope you like this blog. Below you can watch the video of our review. Be sure to check this out and all of the great shops with the accessories. 

Website for cushion covers, silicone mats, and footrests: Yeah Baby Goods

Etsy shop cushion covers: Little Tall Poppy

Etsy shop silicone mats: LCCafforabuys

Happy feeding your babies! Let me know in the comments – what high chairs work the best for you and your little ones? What ones would you recommend to someone with a small space?

Best Beginner Feeding Tools for Infants

Parenting, Raising Twins · 

As you dive into the new and exciting world of giving your infant their first foods, it’s both fun and stressful. I remember waiting until the twins were at least 6 months old to introduce anything at all. We started with ripe avocado that they were immediately obsessed with. From day 1 they didn’t care if it was being fed to them on a spoon or on your finger. They would dig their tiny hands into the avocado and mash and pull your hand closer for more food before the spoon was even back to the bowl. 


I knew we had some good eaters on our hands. The boys’ curiosity with the spoon soon grew to an obsession and we would pry one set of slippery avocado hands off the spoon between bites to feed the other. They loved the spoon so much that I realized quickly we could give them their own feeding tools to work with. 

 

At 6 months the boys mostly grabbed onto the spoon we were using and just gnawed on it. They were in the very early stages of teething and it showed. They would grab the spoon and yell in protest when we would even take it away to refill it because they just wanted to chew on it. 

 

In order to help them with this need to chew like small beavers without hurting their gums on traditionally hard spoons, we transitioned them with a few cool tools that are designed for your chewy baby. 

Feeding Tools 

 

Chewtensils 

The first of the feeding tools we introduced were Chewtensils. These are made by Bumkins and they are very short and easy to hold silicone utensils with bulbous handles on them.

 

The round handle shape is easy for small hands to hold, especially when very slippery with mashed food. The set includes a spoon and fork with wide and shallow tops. They are firm but flexible and about the same texture as most of the boys’ silicone teethers. 

 

The boys loved these immediately. We would take a scoop of mashed baby food and place it on the spoon and let them bring it to their mouth. Once the food was gone we would glob another bite on there and let them work on their hand mouth coordination. At first, I let them try and dig out their own food from the bowl but that turned into not much food being eaten and the spoon being dropped in favor of a handful of mash instead. So by refilling the spoon for them they still practiced bringing the spoon to their mouth over and over again. 

 

Plus as a bonus, once they were done eating, these Chewtensils made great teethers for them to sit and enjoy after a meal. They simply loved just biting the big handles and we loved they were easy to hold and served double duty.

 

Silicone suction bowl and spoon 

A silicon bowl and spoon was the next step for helping the boys with their interest in feeding themselves. The bowls we choose were a silicone bowl and spoon set that has a suction cup on the bottom that allows the bowl to grip on to whatever surface that you want to place it on. 

 

The silicone suction cup was essential to allow the boys to learn to feed themselves. Rewind to when we gave them little bowls of food but the bowls were easily movable: two bites in the bowls were tipped over the side of the high chair and there was not much savable food left to feed them.

 

Once the suction cups are secured the boys might tug at them a little but they quickly lose interest once they realize they don’t move and instead they bring their focus back to getting food on the spoon. 

 

These little bowl sets are great and they save us a lot of mess. Plus the boys love the longer soft spoons and of course, still use them as teethers once the food is gone.

 

Our set is from Bumkins as well and they come in a wide variety of colors on Amazon. The 2 colors we have are blue and marble! Plus the bonus is that these are dishwasher safe and can go into the sterilizer as well.

 

Mess Management 

When you are helping infants learn to feed themselves it’s going to be messy. I find it cute, my husband sometimes finds it stressful/funny as we have a lot of carpet to be mindful of. But these next few items really help make clean-up super easy and fast. 

 

Full coverage smocks 

 

This style of bib is basically a shirt that ties in the back. These cover your baby from neck to lap and can even have little pockets at the bottom to catch big chunks of food. Ours are long-sleeved so there isn’t a full bath protocol after letting the boys feed themselves. 

 

These are also easy to throw into the washing machine whenever you’re done and they are lightweight and dry on low heat or just air dry quickly. 

 

Bibs with pockets 

These are just bibs with a small pocket sewn into the bottom. The pockets on these don’t always stay open on their own so they can miss some falling food, but there is another version of this bib that I’ll cover below that works a little better. This is usually something that can be thrown in the washer as well and we just air dry these quickly after. 

 

Silicone bibs with pockets 

 

This style of silicone bib has a pocket that stays open at the bottom because it’s not cloth and won’t fold in on itself. I love these little bibs because they catch a ton of food when the babies are feeding themselves. This leads to less waste and the boys have even discovered that there is food in there and will pick up little pieces of food that fall into the pocket on their own now.

 

Wipeable floor mat 

Of all the mess clean up things I have gotten to help with the twins learning to eat on their own the wipeable floor mat has been my favorite. 

 

This is just a mat that lays down under their highchairs and is easily wipeable. We have an extra-large mat to accommodate the two highchairs but I would recommend getting the biggest one that fits your space because it’s amazing how far baby food flies. 

 

These mats are sold on Amazon and they have a lot of prints. Another good option is an extra-large waterproof table cloth. Because of the size we needed, we went with that option. This is a typical picnic table vinyl tablecloth with a soft back and it works perfectly for catching all of the food the boys drop or fling.


We only have to wash this in the washer every few weeks. Most days we just wipe the food off when we are done and fold it back up. If we do wash it, it goes in on the cold cycle and we air dry it after. 

 

While teaching your kids to feed themselves is exciting it can be messy and difficult at times. To make the process more enjoyable you can explore some of the fun feeding tools that are available. There are so many varieties that you are bound to find one or two that work for you. 

 

I’d love to hear what kind of feeding tools you use with your kids and which ones are their favorite? 

Charred Cheese Sandwich (a twist on a classic)

Lunch, Recipes · 

Today I want to share with you one of my favorite recipes. This recipe was not passed down from anyone. In fact, I made it completely myself and I’m very proud of that. So there’s always that classic recipe that you just put your own personal spin on. 

 

Let’s look at this recipe as just that: I took the boring old grilled cheese, and I leveled it up like you had never seen. I like to call it the “Charred Cheese Sandwich.” So, how do you achieve this next level recipe? 

 

Follow along and I’ll show you exactly how I do it. 

 

Ingredients: 

 

  • Bread

  • Cheese 

  • Copious amounts of butter *preferably grass-fed for the health benefits*

 

You are going to start with the classic grilled cheese ingredients that will include bread, butter, the cheese of your choice. I like sourdough and other white bread because it doesn’t overpower the taste of the cheese that you put on. However, you can use artisan bread or even wheat bread and it will just add a hardier flavor to your overall sandwich. 

 

The next step is carefully choosing your cheese. This means that you want to pick a cheese that’s going to really pack a punch when you take a bite. Oftentimes I see people get really creative and use multiple types of cheese. 

 

Some of my favorite combinations are as follows: 

  • American cheese with provolone cheese 

  • Swiss cheese with Parmesan cheese 

  • Pepper jack cheese with Munster cheese 

 

Don’t be limited to the cheeses that I suggest – get creative and pick other cheeses that you like.  I would stay away from our cheeses that look like they don’t melt as well, for example, that would be like blue cheese or fetta. However, if you’re feeling super adventurous, you can give these a go. And if you want to be a plain Jane, stick with just one type of cheese until you really get the sandwich down to a science.

 

Now we’re going to prep for creating this charred cheese sandwich. The sandwich is going to start by placing your bread on a cutting board and buttering one side of each piece of bread with butter. And you’re going to butter them very heavily. Place the cheese between the unbuttered sides of the bread so that the buttered sides are placed facing out.

 

The real key to this leveled-up sandwich is in the cooking. What differentiates it from the basic grilled cheese that anyone can make is the special process of cooking it that I go through. So here’s what you do. 

 

Instructions: 

  1. Grab a nonstick frying pan, as if this is going to make a difference. 
  2. Turn up your burner to just a smidge over irresponsibly high. So for example, if other people cook their grilled cheese sandwiches to a four or five (which in on most stoves, translate to medium heat) I would go for the gold and get up to seven or eight (we’re talking about high to medium-high 
  3. This is very important…You’re going to let your pan get piping hot. And that should only take a few minutes since we have cranked the burner up. 
  4. Now lay your grilled cheese sandwich down. You should hear a fiery sizzle right away. 
  5. The next step is to stare at your grilled cheese, just stare at it,

…and stare at it,

…and stare at it.

  1. Get impatient, you’re going to get so impatient, you’re going to start pressing on your sandwich with your spatula. You’re gonna hear another sizzle and you’re gonna lift up the edge just a little bit and you’re gonna realize that the side that you’re cooking is perfectly Brown. This is great. 
  2. Get your spatula underneath it and flip it over. Alright, on to the second part, because we cook the first side so quickly. Now it’s time to panic and realize the cheese in the middle is not going to be that melty if you don’t let it go a little bit longer. 
  3. So, after flipping your cheese sandwich you’re going to stare at it. And you’re going to stare at it.

….And then you’re going to stare at it some more.

  1. Get bored. 
  2. Go tell your husband or your kids that the sandwiches are almost ready. Walk into the living room and tell them “just a few more minutes till sandwiches are done!” 
  3. Rationalize that sandwich probably needs a couple more minutes to melt the cheese, just a couple more minutes, because that cheese wasn’t very melted. 
  4. Let the sandwich tell you that it’s done that it is done. You’re going to start smelling a burnt smell. That’s perfect. That’s exactly when you run frantically back to the kitchen, only to see black smoke smoldering up from the sides of your sandwich
  5. With your spatula and desperately flip your sandwich onto a plate, praying that it is not overdone. And there it is, my friends, a charred cheese sandwich, 
  6. You should be so discouraged because one side is so perfect and the other is so charred that you’re afraid to serve it to your family. 

 

Perfect Plating

 

Do what we all should be doing. Show them your best side! Flip that golden brown side to the top and put that charred side down on the plate. Cut it beautifully in a diagonal fashion making sure not to jiggle it too much an spread the char dust and present that to them proudly. 

As a final measure, in a little bit of an embarrassing rush, you’re going to hurry away as they take their first very crunchy bite of a charred cheese sandwich and think to yourself, “at least I tried.”

 

I hope you enjoy this recipe, let me know in the comments below. Have you ever tried this recipe before?