cuteness + a recipe

Goooodmorning!  The doggies love Jake, especially when he’s eating.

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Waiting for food droppings, while I cooked us both oatmeal! 

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Cheerios + Banana

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I made PB sauce for my oats.  No PB for the baby!  I just tried this Sunday night and smeared it over carrot sticks.  It was divine.

1T PB + 1T coconut milk –> microwave 15-20sec –> stir

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Jake’s oats!  I made Scottish Oats and used 1/3 rounded cup.  I scooped some out for Jake and topped with jelly + more banana.

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I made my typical oats with cinnamon + 1/2 banana mixed in.  I cooled his down with a little extra coconut milk [SO Delicious brand] on top.

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Adult version!

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Toppings:  hemp seeds, banana, PB sauce, coconut milk

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Loving the PB sauce + hemp seeds are really tasty!  I also loved the extra banana on top.

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He was LOVING the oats.  Seriously!  He got excited for each spoonful and would say “MMMMMM” really loud.

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He made all gone!

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After his morning nap we went for a 3 mile walk.  I realize I put his cheerios in a sippy cup.  They actually entertained him.  He liked shaking the container.

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See, told you!

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Jake’s “cracking up” face.

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The wind was insane.  There were waves in the pond and tree branches everywhere.  At times it was hard to push the stroller.  The forecast on weather.com just said WINDY, instead of showing a sun or clouds.  Crazy!

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Lunch started off with a bang.

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Thank you Gena for this amazing recipe!

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I made chocolate avocado pudding as part of lunch.  I considered it a vegetable side dish because there was barely any sugar added and cocoa powder is extremely low calorie and has a little fiber + protein.  The texture of this pudding was out of control.  It’s pretty much exactly like you remember from those little boxes [texture-wise].  However, the taste far exceeded the boxed variety.

Yes, I also realize I fed Jake chocolate + avocado last time I saw him too :) hehe

Chocolate Avocado Banana Pudding [adapted from Gena]

  • 1 avocado
  • 4T rounded cocoa powder
  • 1/4c coconut milk [or any milk sub - I used SO Delicious coconut milk, not the canned kind]
  • 1/2 banana
  • 1-2T brown rice syrup [or more depending on how sweet you like things]
  1. Combine all in a food processor. *I’m sure a blender would work too!
  2. Process and scrape bowl a few times until thoroughly combined and fluffy.

You’ll know when it’s the right consistency.  Just keep tasting!  I love that I barely had to add any sweetness to this.  The banana definitely helped and didn’t leave the pudding with an overwhelming banana flavor at all.  You could actually barely taste it.  I used brown rice syrup because I thought it would combine well, instead of using a granular sugar.  Also, I used it because it causes little effect on your glycemic index level, helping avoid the sugar high + crash.  I hate that feeling and figured it’s not the best for babies either!

I can’t even describe how delicious this was.  I say this a lot and when I say it, I mean it.  Make this, now.  I already have some other variations in my head. 

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I gave Jake about 1/3 of it and ate the rest myself as a lunch appetizer.  Very rich and dessert-like.  No way you would ever think “healthy” when you taste it.  Yes, I really do consider this healthy, in a “get your good fats in” way. 

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Jake also had strawberries, butternut squash, and 1 small leftover slice of pizza from dinner.  He gobbled up every bite and LOVED each thing on it’s own.  It’s so cute to see him get excited about food!

This is a salad plate, not a dinner plate…don’t be scared the servings are not too big :)

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baby “foodie” in the making :)

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I knew all of my mini-spoons would come in handy!

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Ahhhh…I savored each bite of this!

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Texture + flavor heaven.

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Mess.

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I made the rest of my lunch awhile later while Jake was sleeping.  Tomato paste topping in the background..yum yum yum.  While the kiddo was snoozing I got as much done as possible.  I was actually quite productive today.  I got caught up on comments, google reader, emails, 1/2 of our laundry, and did 30min of yoga all during his 2 naps.  Shweeeet.

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I snacked on this this Chai Spice the other day but just finished the last bite today.  It had a great flavor.  It was not overpowering and had no weird aftertaste [unlike the Chai Bumblebar I had recently].  Again, the only thing I don’t like is the ingredient list…which is pretty crucial in my mind.  It had the same smooth texture, almost like a very soft caramel, but with awesome crunchy pieces throughout.

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Jake’s dinner. 

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It took him a bite or 2 to get used to the veggie burger + the quinoa, but he loved both and finished it all.  His face was really excited about the watermelon.  I think it’s the nice soft texture + juiciness.

My dinner looked just like Jakes, except I had an egg on top of my veggie burger! Twice in one day…I love eggs!

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Playtime.

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Disgruntled.

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Jake’s gums seemed to be bothering him today.  Must have some new teeth coming in!

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Attack!!

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Love this little expression.

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Jake loves sucking his thumb.  It got quite messy while eating as every time he took a spoonful of food, in went the thumb :)  Gotta love kids!

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Jake’s sound a sleep and I’m headed there too!

~Ashley

p.s. make that pudding pronto!!!