Cauliflower Sauce

February 21, 2018

One of the best mom hacks out there is sneaking veggies into our little ones diets, am I right?! Smoothies, muffins, and my favourite puffs recipe are all great options…..but what about dinner ? I don’t know about your little ones, but Liberty is a pro at flinging her veggies across the room. My baby that once loved all food now snubs her nose at broccoli and won’t even look at a pepper, so what’s a mom to do but sneak the veggies in without being detected……self proclaimed mom ninja over here.

This has been my favourite recipe for the past few months, so simple to make, with only a few ingredients and under 20 mins! Oh and did I mention Liberty LOVES it!! I started off using it as baby food and then realized how delicious it was as a pasta sauce

Cauliflower is one of those veggies you wouldn’t think is full of nutrients, I only recently discovered how amazing this vegetable really is. Being plant based a good creamy sauce was one thing I was having a hard time finding, but using cauliflower has been a life changer. Combined with the nutritional yeast and hemp hearts this is the perfect dinner for a vegan or non vegan baby, FULL of protein, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals. Did you know a single serving of cauliflower has all your recommended daily intake of Vitamin C?? Also nutritional yeast is an excellent source of B vitamins, which is one of the harder vitamins to get as a vegan, plus a whopping 8 grams of protein for only 2 tbsp! Wowza.

Cauliflower Sauce

This is one of my favourite recipes for Liberty! It's quick and easy to make while also being packed full of fibre, vegetables, and vitamins. One of those meals you feel good about giving your little one

Course Main Course, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine VEGAN

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

3 cups cauliflower chopped into 1" pieces
1/2 cup almond milk
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
3 tbsp hemp hearts

Instructions

In a pot, with a steam basket in the bottom, steam cauliflower until it falls apart easily when pierced with a fork.
Drain cauliflower and add to blender (or Babycook if using).
Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth
I don't season the sauce if I'm feeding it to Liberty. For the rest of the family I will use a little salt and pepper and serve over pasta, spelt or buckwheat are some of our favourites with this sauce.

Recipe Notes

* I have only used almond milk for this recipe but I'm sure any plant based milk would work

** I love our Babycook and use it for this recipe 90% of the time. It's all cooked and pureed in one so saves on dishes and time, that's a definite mom win! Only time I will use a blender is when I'm making larger batches or feeding more than two of us.

*** I will often make a double recipe and freeze in ice cube trays, then transfer them to freezer bags. Easy to grab out of the freezer, defrost and serve baby alone or over pasta!

One of the things that makes this recipe so easy is my Babycook, it steams the cauliflower and purees it all in one. I hate doing dishes and this makes my life much easier, when I’m in the kitchen too much already. I reached out to Beaba to see about getting a coupon code for those of you that don’t have a Babycook, and they were more than happy to give me one! I will have the code at the bottom of the page for anyone interested 🙂

I can whip this recipe up so quickly it’s become a lunch staple around our house. I make large batches of the sauce and freeze it in ice cube trays then transfer them to freezer bags. Perfect for when you need something fast, just pull out a couple cubes, defrost them and mix with pasta! It’s like Kraft Dinner for vegans lol.

Beaba code, good for 10% off anything on their site! MAEGAN10

( please note, this post is not endorsed by or affiliated with Beaba USA, these are my true and honest opinions of their product )

Liberty’s Favourite Small Shop

January 29, 2018

Small shops have a special place in my heart. Knowing I’m helping a mom or dad working from home to support their families, and quite often so they can stay home with their kiddos, makes it extra special. I’ve always shopped local markets for produce, baby items and even skin care, but living in a small community doesn’t give a lot of options. Once I became pregnant with Liberty I started using Instagram on a regular basis, mostly for design inspiration for her nursery, along with baby items and clothing. That is where I found an amazing community of small shops, mostly operated by stay at home mamas! I was hooked and slowly started buying handmade items for little Liberty, mobiles for her crib, cloth diapers, clothing, blankets, and of course bonnets!!! The attention to detail that goes into a handmade product is beyond what you will find in any big box store, even the packaging of the items and sometimes little hand written notes…..which I LOVE!

Of course I can’t always shop small, mainly because I can’t afford it and secondly sometimes you just need something right away and the convenience of stopping at the mall wins out. That being said I have quite a few hand made and small shop items in Liberty’s closet, I love the uniqueness of them, and most of the time you’ll never see another baby wearing them!

I’m taking this opportunity now that I have a blog to share some of my favourites with you. This is a list of some of my top shops!

Nest and Nurture

I first found Nest and Nurture through Instagram and instantly fell in love with the beautiful designs. Yolanda is a stay at home mom to her sweet little girl Heidi, she is not only a talented clothing designer, she’s also one of the sweetest people I know. Over the last 8 months I’ve purchased multiple items from her and love the quality of the clothes, the price point is affordable and its easy to wash and wear. Located in the Kelowna area is another bonus because she’s close to me!

Romper & Brimmed Bonnet

Suspendar Skirt

Jumper with tie back for adjustable length!

Some of my favourite pieces from Nest and Nurture are the suspender skirts, Nora Tunics and Pinafores. She blends classic design with trendy fashion for some amazing staple pieces. Also these pieces can be used as shirts once they become too small as dresses…..mom win!

Pinafores work with every season!

Nora Tunic

She also has adorable clothes for boys, bonnets and capes for mom and kids!

Cuz who doesn’t love matching with their mini?

Macey & Co.

Macey & Co. is another amazing small shop owned and operated by an amazing mama!! Brady has two little ones who she is able to stay home with while sewing her adorable bows and running her online shop. I’ve tried a few bow brands and the one thing that set Macey & Co. apart from the others for me was her variety of fabrics and sizes of bows. The hand dyed silks and velvets are timeless lovelies for those special occasions ( or whenever you can get your babe to wear them like me). She has a huge selection of everyday basics in a variety of colours, there’s something for everyone in her shop. Also if you order a headband she will throw in a clip so you can change it over once your little one is big enough!! Brady is a genuine sweetheart and is sure to help you with any decision making….the conversations she’s had to sit through while I hum and haw over which one (I’m a very indecisive person apparently), THANKS Brady!!

She also carries some beautiful knee high socks, I don’t know about you but I LOVE knee high socks on little girls, paired with a dress, bow and cute shoes….Her new crochet line is a must in every colour!!
*You can see her socks paired with Nest and Nurture outfits in pictures above

Briar Handmade

Another fellow mama, Rachel Goode, is the founder and designer of one of my favourite bonnet companies, Briar Handmade. She began creating her bonnets shortly after her daughter Gracelyn Briar was born, and how lucky are we that she did?! Her team is amazing and I’ve had the pleasure of working with Blair on a project Liberty was able to be a part of, she made me feel like I was one of the family!

I fell in love with Briar bonnets when Liberty was just a newborn babe, living in Canada we get some pretty chilly winters and I wanted something both fashionable and functional. With all the options for warm winter lining and so many gorgeous prints to choose from it’s hard to stop at one. Not to mention she has a fabulous selection of “Liberty” fabrics, so of course we’ve owned all of the those at some point!

If you’ve never tried a bonnet on your babe (boy or girl), once you do you’ll be hooked. They are a stunning accessory! The amount of people that stop us when we’re out, asking where we got such an adorable hat is something you’ll just have to get used to ;). I mean come on…..look at that pom wool bonnet!!

MINIMOC

Fashionable footwear for little ones seems to be an ongoing trend, which I hope is here to stay! I love baby sized anything, but shoes…….well you had me at shoes. Minimoc Mocs was the first pair of shoes we purchased for Liberty, not only because they’re precious but again they’re a small shop! Amanda and Jeff are a husband and wife TEAM, I love it, and after sewing the first pair of Mocs just a few years ago, they now have an array of colours and designs. I’m a sucker for the Mini Janes and the Warm Shoes, which are fabulous for the cooler months. The Mocs fit so well and stay on, which if you have babies you know how hard it is to find any footwear that stays put!

My favourite colour, Arctic Wolf, goes with everything!!

As a mom I wanted to make sure I got the proper footwear for Liberty once she was learning to walk. Doing some research I discovered (after 3 kids I finally learned this lol), babies learn to walk by gripping their toes on the ground and there is no need for arch support! Miminocs are made of high quality leather, which is flexible so babes foot can move freely, supporting healthy foot function and is an excellent choice for babes feet. Once I got this tidbit of knowledge, it was like that IKEA commercial “start the car” haha….you think I’m joking….we have almost every colour!

These also make a perfect baby shower gift, there is a HUGE selection of boy and girl styles to choose from. Plus every baby needs shoes right? At the very least to complete their outfit.

I’ll be featuring new favourite shops for Liberty every few weeks, trying to stay with small business as much as I can. I hope you guys enjoyed getting to know these shops and maybe you’ll buy a little something! I’d love to hear some of your fave small shops too!! Remember supporting small means someone does a happy dance every time you buy from them 🙂

xo

Babywearing with Wildbird

January 2, 2018

Just like many of you, being a busy mom myself, babywearing is somewhat of a saving grace. With a husband who is out of town for months at a time, wearing Liberty has been a necessity! All you baby wearing mamas out there know how life-changing wearing your baby can be. …

Homemade Puffs Recipe

November 27, 2017

The granola mom in me loves a healthy and tasty snack and this is both! It is Liberty’s FAVORITE treat, well actually everyone in the house loves them including my husband. They’re so popular, I’m lucky if I can keep a batch for more than a couple of days……*looks for a new hiding spot.

As a mom, I find one of my biggest worries is if my kids are getting proper nutrition. They get to an age where they refuse to eat certain fruits and veggies, and tend to gravitate towards prepackaged food as snacks. My teenagers would live off of prepacked store-bought food if I let them……even they need guidance in the nutrition department….(they’ll thank me one day).

Snacks that baby can feed themselves, from about 7 months old on, is a great way to encourage fine motor skill development.

Preparing homemade food for meals is hard enough, but snacks too? Really?? With my older kids I remember Gerber puffs and cereals like cheerios being a big hit among babies and kids at snack time, so why not make it yourself? I’ve tried many variations of this recipe before finally finding one that worked. I love that you can customize them to your babies palate, whether sweet or savory or a mix of both! One brand we do trust and use when in a pinch is Love Child Organics I will often use their purees or cereals when I’m running low or don’t have time to make my own. They’re organic, all natural and delicious!

Some examples of fruits and veggies I use:

Peaches, Apples, Pear, Mango, Banana, Plums

Carrots, Peas, Beet Greens, Kale, Spinach, Sweet Potato

I usually do a mix of veggies and fruit, with a little extra banana for sweetness 🙂

Home-made Puffs Recipe

This is the perfect baby finger food. Delicious and nutritious!

Course Snack

Cuisine VEGAN

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 12

Ingredients

1 cup organic oat flour, or brown rice flour* (you can also use baby cereal)
1 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 cup pureed fruits or veggies
1 flax or chia egg (1 tbsp flax (ground raw flaxseed) or chia mixed with 2 1/2 tbsp water - let sit for 5 minutes)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup breastmilk, juice, or water
1 tbsp molasses, unsulphured (optional, great source of iron)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, prepare cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Mix all ingredients together, making sure there are no lumps (but don't overmix)
Pipe onto parchment paper and bake for 15 minutes. Turn oven down to 200 degrees and continue to bake for another 5-7 minutes, depending on how crunchie you want them.

Recipe Notes

Tip: If you don't have a piping bag, you can use a ziploc bag and cut a corner to squeeze through. *To make your own Oat Flour or Brown Rice Flour, simply pulse in food processor or high-speed blender until the consistency of flour!