New Hope

I've been missing my cereal MADLY!!  And since most cold cereal is iron-fortified I've also been missing a good opportunity to plus-up my in-take easily...  I've tried almond milk, I've tried rice milk, I refuse to consume soy milk (too much estrogen).  Everything has been a pathetic let down!  When I saw the nutritionist last week I told her all of this and she mentioned Almond/Coconut milk.  I didn't plan on trying it, but I saw it while I was grabbing milk for my toddler on Tuesday so I thought I'd just grab some...  We'll see.

Had some last night (with Quaker Oatmeal Squares) and it was sublime!!  Maybe it's just been a really long time since I've had milk, but this was totally satisfying!  There IS a coconut flavor, but it's not strong and is actually pleasant.  This is going to go a long way in making me a happier mommy!

So Fresh and So Green

Here is my green smoothie!  It is actually way more delicious than I was expecting!  This makes about three 16oz servings.


2 c Fresh Kale
2 c Fresh Spinach
2/3 c Frozen Peas
1 c Frozen Blueberries
3/4 c Frozen Pineapple
1 Nectarine
1 Apple
15 Dried Apricots
6 Prunes
2 c OJ (I used calcium and D fortified...  to make up for no milk!)

Blend.  Drink.

If my calculations are right this has about 45% of your daily value of iron as well as 60% dv of calcium, and is about 450 calories per serving.  Even if you're calorie counting PLEASE don't leave out the OJ...  Iron is better absorbed when vitamin C is present so your body won't be able to get all of the good stuff without the citrus.  My friend who helped me with this puts flax in her green smoothies but I eat about 1.5 tsp of flax seed meal in my breakfast every morning, so that wasn't necessary for me.  I've been having this with (or FOR) my 4pm snack every day and I think it's really contributed to my increased feelings of wellness.  I hope it pumps you up too!

Up and Up!

Now that I've been on the extra supplements for a few days and have added to my daily green in-take I'm starting to feel MUCH better!  In fact, yesterday I got *most* of my house work done, made split-pea soup for lunch, perfected my green smoothie, made dinner, AND made Chocolates!  It's amazing what your body can do when it's working well!  I thought I'd share my split-pea recipe since it's high in iron and it's SO good my two-year-old liked it!!

4 Bacon Slices, chopped
1 Onion, chopped
6 Baby Carrots, chopped
4 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 tsp Rosemary
1/4 tsp Paprika
2 Bay Leaves
2 1/2 c Dried Split Peas
8 c Water
1 14.5oz can Chicken Broth
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook the bacon in a large stock-pot over medium heat until crisp.  Add the onion, carrots, and garlic and saute until the onion is just becoming translucent.  Add the spices (not S&P), peas, water, and broth, bring to a boil over med-high heat.  Reduce to a simmer and cook, covered until the peas are tender.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  You can be done, or as I like to do simmer uncovered until it's nice and thick and the peas are mostly broken up.

Enjoy!!

Trouble in Paradise

After having a sore in my nose for over two months I started getting cracks at the corners of my mouth. They got really bad really fast, making it painful to eat and hard to brush my teeth (don't even mention kissing!).  I assumed it was a deficiency and made an appointment for as soon as we got home (did I mention that we were on vacation?!).  My doctor didn't even draw blood, she said I was anemic and probably B deficient.  She told me to start iron and a B complex and sent me to a nutritionist, giving me a list of iron-rich food (most of which I cannot eat, of course).

The nutritionist was mostly impressed by my diet and had less ideas than I was expecting although a huge breakthrough was that my chosen multi (from Costco) is known in the nutritionist world as the worst and least absorbed (One A Day)!!  So she's given me a new multi and a terrific B complex as well as a probiotic that will also be good for Sammy Poo!

On top of that, a dear friend helped me with a green smoothie...  Dark leafy greens aren't that big of a deal in Southern Nevada where I grew up and to be honest, I mostly see salads as a waste of time.  The one time I actually purchase kale it was used with eggs and LOTS of cheese, so I was at a total loss when looking at my non-dairy iron list.  The smoothie is good, much more palatable than I was expecting (said friend is from Colorado and generally WAY more nutrient rich that I care to be!).  I WILL be tweaking the recipe a bit to up the iron a little and use items I always buy instead of adding to my shopping list.  I should have something good to share tomorrow or Tuesday!

Brownie Reprise

So...  After I posted about the S'Mores Brownies I had one every night for a week!  They were delicious, BUT after having them consistently I started noticing a reaction from Sam.  So, here is my new recipe!

1 c Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
4 Tbs Coconut Oil
3/8 c Brown Sugar
3/8 c Sugar
2 Eggs
1/2 tsp Vanilla
1/2 c Flour
1/4 tsp Salt

Melt chocolate and oil over low heat, stirring ofter.  Off heat, whisk in sugars.  Whisk in eggs, one at a time.  Mix in vanilla.  Mix in flour and salt.  Spread in a greased 8x8" pan and bake at 320* for about 45 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.

These are just as good at the others...  I can't even taste a difference, but I don't want to say that there won't be any coconut flavor...  The oil I used had a very mild taste to begin with, not as good as the oil I generally use which I linked to.  I hope you enjoy!