Dead Simple Suppers: Indian Spiced Beans and Spinach

I love the combination of beans and tomatoes. I especially love recipes like this one, where I can have all the ingredients I need just waiting in the cupboard (and freezer) for a day when I’ve forgotten to plan dinner. You can use this as the main dish by adding a bun or some rice to the side – it would also be nice on top of some pasta or couscous. Or you can make it a nutritious side dish instead and serve it with sausage or chicken.

Indian Spiced Beans and Spinach

(adapted from Rachel Ray Magazine)

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 large can of diced tomatoes (28 oz)
• 3 tsp ground coriander
• 1.5 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp garam masala
• 1/4 tsp tumeric
• 1 can of beans rinsed and drained (the original recipe called for chickpeas, I used navy beans)
• salt
• 1 package of chopped frozen spinach

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
2. Add chopped onion and cook for a few until slightly browned on the edges.
3. Add the spices, and tomatoes and frozen spinach. Cook until spinach is almost completely thawed. (If using chickpeas you can add them now too as they are more robust than navy beans).
4. Add beans and cook until heated through.

We’re Doing Really Well and Other Lies

(I wrote this just after I had Nicole, but only managed to actually publish it today – 3 months later)

Okay, so it’s not a lie exactly. Our baby Nicole was born last week (8 lbs 10 oz) and we’re now settling in at home. We are both healthy and happy and doing really well. But it sure leaves out a lot of details and makes things sound a lot better than they really are. I think sometimes lies like these can really hurt other women. When you are in the same situation, you compare yourself to your friends and don’t seem to measure up. But you’re not comparing yourself to their reality, just what you see, just what they show you. Even when things are going really well with your new baby, things are still hard.

Lie #1. We’re happy to be home and are doing really well.

What this really means: I’m really hormonal and burst into tears at the drop of a hat.Seriously, someone tells me that my son is doing well at Grandma’s and doesn’t seem to miss me – tears. Someone tells me that he misses me and wants his mommy –tears. I can’t even remember all the things that have made me cry this past week. It is getting better. Yesterday it was only a few times, but writing this paragraph has made me cry too.

My body is sore and fatigued. I feel worn out just from making dinner. Not even cooking anything spectacular – I carved a rotisserie chicken, spooned out a couple salads and warmed up some beans and tomatoes and was exhausted. Nicole was born via c-section – my stomach hurts. It’s generally controlled with advil and tylenol but it’s still tender and uncomfortable.

I’m tired.

Lie # 2. She’s nursing really well.

This is also true. She’s been latching like a pro from the start. Honestly, I don’t know if it was possible for it to go better. But it still sometimes hurts just from the power of her suck. A couple times one of my nipples bled a bit from where she shifted and chomped down too close. Sometimes I have to re-latch her a couple times to get in a good position. Sometimes it hurts just because my breasts are really full. Even when it’s going really, really well, doesn’t mean it’s easy.

There are more lies like this that I could talk about. But honestly, I’m just too tired to write any more. But things are going really well, really.

Did you de-emphasize your difficulties after having a baby? Did it seem harder for you than it did for everyone else?

Dead Simple Supper: Salsa Pasta Salad

Now that I have two kids, I’m finding it even more difficult to get a healthy dinner on the table. When I’m sleep deprived, I lack both imagination and enthusiasm in the kitchen. On top of this both my kids are having problems with milk and many of my go to easy meals rely on cheese.To assist me in avoiding takeout and providing my family with nutritious meals without a lot of effort, I’ve decided to blog about some dead simple suppers to help give me inspiration while meal planning or (more likely) while trying to figure out what on earth we’re going to have for supper tonight.

Salsa Pasta Salad Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 package of macaroni or other whole wheat noodles
• 1/4 of a small precooked ham cubed
• 2 bell peppers (any color) chopped
• 1 cucumber chopped
• handful of frozen peas
• Salsa

“Directions”

1. Cook pasta until al dente and cool under cold water.
2. Put in a large bowl along with vegetables and ham (the peas can go in frozen).
3. Add salsa just to coat and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Serve cold or room temperature.

If you're feeling more ambitious, try this pasta salad recipe from my friend Heather's blog. It's perfect for the summer when you're looking for something light that doesn't require a lot of cooking.

Things That Drive Me Bonkers: Is She a Good Baby?

When people ask “Is she a good baby”, I think most of the time they are just being conversational and not really thinking about what they are saying. But really, it’s just not a very good question to ask parents.

Sure some babies are easier than others: some sleep better, cry less, are content more. That seems to be what people are getting at when they are asking the question. But it seems to implies that babies that have more difficulty, are bad babies. And there are no bad babies. Some babies do struggle more in the early stages of life, they cry a lot, they sleep like garbage, they find life pretty darn distressing. They don’t have an easy time, and neither do their parents. So why do people want to push this in their face?

My son was a terrible sleeper and I hated it when people asked me that question. Seriously what was I supposed to say? “No. he’s not. He’s kind of crap. I’m thinking of sending him back”? Instead, I’d usually say something like “yes, he’s a good baby. Not a great sleeper, but he’s a good baby.”

I had kind of forgotten about this until I had my daughter. People still ask this question all the time. For a small baby, she is a pretty good sleeper, she is pretty content and she doesn’t cry much. Overall, she’s been a pretty easy baby. But I refuse to support people in suggesting that defines whether she is a good baby. Because all babies are good, they are doing the best they can to deal with the world. What else can you expect of them? They are babies! So I tell people that “She’s a pretty easy baby.” And she is. But both my kids were really good babies.

Did you get this question with your babies? How did you handle it?.

Calgary Zoo–Canadian Wilds Bingo Free Printable

My friend and I were thinking for an activity for our kids to do while they were at the Calgary Zoo. I couldn’t find what I was looking for, so I decided to make something myself.

I made up 5 different zoo bingo cards using Animals found in the Canadian Wilds area. We were also having an orange day (wear orange clothes, eat orange things etc) so that’s why the middle square is orange. We had the kids each find something orange for that ‘free play’ square. We gave each of the kids one of the cards and when they found one of the animals on their card they got a sticker to put on it.

The kids aged 2-5 had a really good time so I thought I’d share the cards I made so other people could use them too.

You can find a free 5 card zoo bingo card printable here.

Construction Site Birthday Cake

 

My little boy is now three. Where did the time go? I wanted to make him a special cake, but I have no real cake decorating ability (or any patience to try acquire it). I a cake similar to this one in a picture on pinterest but unfortunately the photo didn’t link anywhere :( Gordie told me that the best part of his birthday was the machines from the cake. It was definitely a hit!

I used a basic butter cream icing with peanut butter but any kind would do. I put it on the cake before it had finished cooling so that’s why it’s a little bit melty.

I found the machines at Walmart, they’re Matchbox brand and were only a little over a dollar each.

I used skor bits, chocolate chips and peanut butter chips.For the piles of dirt and rocks. I was thinking some kind of crushed up cookies or oreo crumbs would be great too.

Our Favorite Ipad/Iphone Apps for Older Toddlers/Young Preschoolers

These were some of Gordie’s favorite apps as a 2 year old. Many of these would be enjoyed by kids older or younger than this as well.  All the ones on this list do cost a small amount, but I find particularly with apps for kids the extra cost often makes a real difference in terms of play value. That’s not to say that no free apps are worthwhile, just that I’m often quite happy to spend the money on a well developed kids app.

1. Toddler Counting $0.99 by iTot Apps

This app is super simple, but Gordie goes back to it again and again. Attractive pictures of real objects pop up on the screen and all you do is count the objects by touching each one. 

2. Wood Puzzle/Wood Maze by http://www.tropisounds.com/ $1.99 Ipad (HD), $1.99 Iphone/Ipad
   
These are actually two separate apps both of which are really good. I’d suggest getting the puzzle one first as the maze is a bit more challenging. In both instances the app acts like a real wooden toy. The pieces for the puzzle app are cut out in shapes rather than just squares like many puzzle apps. In the maze, you have to move the pieces to the correct spot by moving it along the track – this can require moving other pieces out of the way. The puzzles themselves are cute and there’s a pretty large number of them.

3. Monkey Preschool Lunchbox by THUP games $0.99

This has probably been Gordie’s favorite app this past year. There’s a number of different little games in it, all featuring fruit. There is a memory game, puzzle game, color and letter matching games and more.

4. Build a Word – by WordWorld $.099

This app doesn’t have a lot of words (and all the words are animal names) but Gordie was really taken with ‘grabbing’ the letters and spelling them out. I found this worked better for him on the iphone/itouch because you’re supposed to ‘shake it up’ to get to the next word. The iPad was just a bit too big for him to do this. If you don’t like your kid ‘shaking’ your iphone (and who could blame you?) you may want to give this one a pass that being said it was a big hit at our house, I just wish they used a different method to get to the next word.

5. Jellytoons Toddler Skills – Bobo’s Birthday Challenge by MindShapes $1.99

The app has a number of different mini-games geared towards toddlers – after each you get to pick a ‘present’ to put on your sticker board. Gordie loved this app when we got it. but he mastered it fairly quickly and then lost interest. I’d recommend it for younger toddlers or wait to get it until you know you’re going to need a distraction because you’re sick or travelling (or whatever).

6. Olivia Paints – by Soma Creates $1.99

There are a lot of different painting apps out there, but this one is Gordie’s favorite. He recognizes Olivia from the books which I think it part of the reason, but he also finds it fairly intuitive to use. I think it’s neat that the color mixing is done just like a real artist on a color palette.

7. Cars Lightning Was Here: My Puzzle Book by Disney Publishing World Wide $0.99

This app can actually be really frustrating. It’s way to easy for your kid to end up in set-up or menu screens without intending to. But, it’s Cars! So if your kid is a fan, but they probably love it anyway. The app is like a book where you complete puzzles along the way and can look for little hidden objects as well.

8. Fish School, Word Wagon, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Park Math – by Duck Duck Moose, $0.99-$1.99

Duck, Duck Moose is probably my favorite kids app producer. I’ve listed 4 of their apps that Gordie particularly loved this past year. They are all really good though. I highly recommend checking a few out. They are cute, attractive with great playability.

9. The Monster At the End of this Book by Sesame Street $3.99

This is my favorite book from my childhood. The cute twist ending still makes me smile. This interactive book is well done and is fun for older toddlers and preschoolers who like to be a little bit bad (by turning the pages when Grover asks you not to).

10. Elmo Loves ABCs – by Sesame Street, $4.99 (Ipad only)

This is not a small app – it is huge! It has tons of video clips from sesame street that correspond to the different letters of the alphabet. There is a lot of content in this app as well including letter tracing, coloring, songs and letter/word correspondence.

I’m always on the lookout for new apps, what are you kid’s favorites? Also, be sure to look at my post on Why I’m okay with my toddler using an Ipad and the list of our favorite kids apps that I made when Gordie turned 2.