what to feed a new mama

me and mary james (or molly, i’m not sure!) as a newborn

In those first few weeks of becoming a mom (no matter how many times you do it) most day to day life is a total blur.  You are operating on fewer hours of sleep than you imagined possible but you manage to focus in on a few things that stick with you.  With MJ (my first) it was mostly words of wisdom (invited or uninvited) but the sharpest memory of all was when a very good friend of mine came over (1 week after the baby) to deliver a meal (that I also remember every detail of) and I burst into tears over how I couldn’t do it and I am her mom and how come i can’t handle this?  She told me that all moms cry the first week – it’s overwhelming and hard.  I found comfort in her words although they were simple..it’s what I needed to hear.

When Molly was born I remember nothing so there’s a good chance that picture above is of her.  (I had an 18 month at home also)

When Mills was born all I remember was my best friend brought over some banana pudding that her mother made and she (my friend) said you have to return the dish (it came in) because you know how moms are.  I do know how moms are and they make GOOD banana pudding.  Then she told me to quit breastfeeding because my milk supply was pitiful (priceless suggestion).

My point – delivered food is more than just comfort for a new mom.  It allows her to focus on what really matters – that sweet new baby and herself. And in honor of Arre’s new (ridiculously late & ridiculously exciting!) announcement and the fact that she calls me every time she wants to take dinner to a new mom to see what she’s supposed to make…here are some ideas (and it doesn’t always have to be a meal – just something that makes her life a little easier).  I am always wanting more so please share your favorites as well!

baked spaghetti (yes they will receive a million baked ziti, spaghetti dishes..this one is GOOD and from my mother-in-law and can be made in advance..just put it in the oven 20 minutes before serving) add bread and a simple salad and done!

• 8 oz Spaghetti Noodles
• jar Spaghetti Sauce
• 3 oz Cream Cheese
• 3 Green Onions (Chopped)
• 8 oz Sour Cream
• 1 lb Ground Beef
• 2 c Cheddar Cheese-shredded

Cook ground beef, drain. Let the ground beef simmer with spaghetti sauce. Cook noodles as directed, drain. Mix sour cream, cream cheese, green onions.  Layer in a 9x13 casserole dish starting with noodles on the bottom, then sourr cream mix, then meat mix. Top with cheese. Cook 350 for 20 minutes.

pulled pork sandwiches with slaw – From the Pioneer Woman – this is really yummy and is almost even better if it’s eaten a day or two later!

pork tenderloin in slow cooker with green bean bundles, biscuits

fried chicken basket – pick up the chicken from somewhere (because you probably have kids or a life too and don’t have time for the mess of frying chicken), add a couple of in season sides (caprese salad, a potato or squash cassesrole)

pimento cheese (they gotta eat lunch too!) Add fresh fruit & crackers.  My favorite recipe:

~1 8oz. block cream cheese
~4 cups shredded sharp cheese
~1 teaspoon garlic salt
~1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
~3/4 cup duke's mayo
~7 oz. jar (drained) diced pimentos

homemade granola bars

And if all else fails, have food delivered from a great local restaurant because it’s not about being home cooked, it’s about not having to think about dinner.

a few thoughtful additions to that delicious meal you are delivering

• grab a pack of diapers to add to the meal
• include the recipe with the meal (teach a man to fish…)
• add a bottle of wine because good lord she needs a drink
• add a book or small gift for sibling

What do you take a new mom?

Happy New Year!

Now let’s all get our shit together.  And let’s do that by starting with some charts. 

While Christmas is such a wonderful time of year for family and friends and celebrating the birth of Christ, it can also do a number on your kids (or wife or husband).  I started to notice some certain children drifting towards extreme bratiness and away from humble angelic beings (don’t get me wrong we have never been on either end of the continuum, more like somewhere in the middle but we like to stay in the middle, not drift ) 

After a vent session with my sweet neighbor – she gave me a couple of ideas of how to get things back on track, and to enforce those ideas I made a chart.   If you have boys I am not sure how they will respond to charts, stars, peace signs, and hearts but my girls love when i snap into drill sergeant mode and demand we get things back on track – maybe extreme chaos demands order sometimes?  Either way a chart and letting them pick out avatars (that’s what i called it because embarrassingly, they know what that means)  really got their attention. MJ: peace signs, Molly: starts, Mills: hearts

For every ten peace sign, star, or heart they get a surprise.  Not something we buy, but time doing something fun, mostly (and hopefully I can keep this up) go somewhere with one parent alone or have a friend over.

We decided together on 3 categories and brainstormed what each category  means:

• Manners: please, thank you, yes ma’am, telling moms we enjoyed it after a visit, etc. The kids get a star, heart, or peace sign if I witness the manners or someone else mentions they have good manners (keeps them on track even when I am not around)
• help others: this could mean a million things but first and foremost for our purpose it was to help the kids think of other people first.  This seems really hard for kids to grasp sometimes so we went over examples: helping sisters learn or do something they are having trouble with, give up a toy and be happy that the other person is now happy (i think i heard gagging sounds coming from MJs direction at this point), giving to Good Will and keeping in mind a child smiling that wouldn’t otherwise have the toy, etc.  Mills’ help others chart (2 years old) involves sharing mostly and she gets a heart if she takes a nap or sleeps through the night …that is greatly helping her mother :)
• say hello!:  This came from my neighbor, something she wanted to help her 8 year old daughter learn.  It’s not just saying hello but learning to carry on a conversation with an adult.  If they ask you something about yourself, ask them something back.  Except maybe the “how old are you” question. :)  My children lean towards the shy side and will many times, not even respond when someone tells them hello – like another friend of mine said – i don’t care how shy you are, you can utter the word Hello.  And it’s true…this, they can get.  But the conversation thing seems to be stretching it so we will keep it on the board for a while until we get it! 

So far so good – After 2 (or is it 3?) weeks now, Mills finally got 10 hearts (the older 2 were a little quicker).  So on to 20 now.  Once I feel like we have mastered these categories, we will move on to 3 more.

And since success seems to be ringing true with the behavior board, I decided to move on to food.  Like many parents I struggle with kids and food.  They want the bad stuff, always….and in my feeling of getting this shit done I took a big step for us and removed a good bit of the processed food from our home. It was just yesterday so no one has noticed and I am not so sure it’s going to go over well, but I feel like if it’s not an option, they will choose a whole food over starvation.  It’s not too extreme but it is a step in the right direction.  Our dinners are usually pretty healthy – but it’s the kids lunches I wanted to focus on. 

 

I send 3 items in their school lunch so we made 3 categories and each child had to put their avatar by 2 choices in each category (just so they won’t be eating the same thing every day).  I did not take a picture of the final chart but here are the categories in type: (we brainstormed together again…this seems to be helpful to involve them)

• protein
• fruits & vegetables
• nuts & grains

We listed out the possible food items for each category.  Of course, they have to be unprocessed (i used this definition of unprocessed: read the ingredient list if there is one and if it’s not something commonly found in a pantry or fridge, you can’t use it)  Missing from our list (on purpose): chicken nuggets, gold fish, and fruit gummies, which had unfortunately become a normal lunch for them.  I always have good intentions and start the school year out on a better note but time is always against me and convenience takes over.  To battle this I am trying to be prepared and have a plan to have snacks made a head of time and get them to eat a variety of whole foods.  So we did a taste test, Mills almost threw up (seriously ran to the bathroom saying “I am going to throw up”) when she tasted my homemade granola bar, MJ admitted they were OK, and Molly took the most minute bite you could possibly take and said she would rather pick a different item.  That is mostly how it went – someone almost throwing up, passing on the food, or admitting “maybe” with every food but the important part: no one got up from the table and most times, they actually tried.

I will do a follow up post on new food ideas but we are still in the process of “tasting” and figuring out what the girls will eat.  We have a long way to go, but I will tell you this site: 100 days of real food is helping me tremendously.

But I could use some help from YOU..I know you must have some fabulous lunch item ideas out there...please share :)  I will give you a peace sign. 

Here’s to a wonderful 2012!

homemade granola bars

A few months ago my sisters, mom and I went to Canyon Ranch (a health and wellness center) in Lenox Massachusetts for a little getaway.  It was AMAZING and deserves it’s own post (coming soon), but we learned so much from our trip that it’s been hard to narrow it down to one post.  One thing that stuck with us though were the yummy granola bars they had on hand for you all over the campus.  Luckily, they offer up the recipe on their website here: fruit & nut bars

And I am bringing it to you – along with pictures!  my notes in red

Ingredients
1/2 cup chopped pecans use whatever nuts you have on hand and the don’t have to be chopped to begin with
1/2 cup chopped almonds
3/4 cup honey honey quality is important!  I used a mixture of sourwood and wildflower honey because it’s what i had – tupelo is good too
2 3/4 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup dried chopped apples
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup sliced dates, about 10 medium
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325º. Lightly coat a 9 x 13 x 1/2-inch baking sheet with canola oil. Spread nuts on baking sheet and toast lightly for 5 minutes.

 
Warm honey in microwave or over low heat on stovetop to the consistency of a thin
syrup. 30 seconds

Place nuts in the bowl of a food processor. Chop briefly.

Add oats, cranberries, apples,raisins, dates and cinnamon. Turn on machine and mix briefly until all ingredients are chopped.

 

While machine is running, drizzle in warm honey until mixture binds.

 
4.  Lightly spray baking sheet (same one used for nuts) with canola oil. Press mixture into baking sheet.

Lightly spray parchment paper with canola oil (or don’t it didn’t matter much for me). Using a rolling pin, roll (over parchment) until mixture is even.

next time i will add chocolate chips (MJ is a HUGE fan but thinks they need chocolate and i agree!)

Place in freezer for at least 30 minutes. Cut into 16 bars.

Serving Information
Makes 16 bars, each containing approximately:
190 calories
36 gm. carbohydrate
5 gm. fat
0 mg. cholesterol
3 gm. protein
7 mg. sodium
3 gm. fiber

For best results, store wrapped or in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

I like to put mine in individual baggies for serious on the go snacking and then store in the fridge in an air tight container

 

If you have time – make some to take along for the 4th of July festivities and have a safe and fun holiday!

Charleston {Show} Recap

Charleston was, in a word, splendid!

A dear friend of Kristen's hosted us (for. three. nights!) and two of her other besties accompanied us just for the fun of it - and it was so fun!

here they are now. too bad the camera (or maybe it was the photographer) was more focused on the cocktails than the people...

Before I get too involved in the love letter I'm about to write to Charleston, let me cover the most important base: our show!



To call it a success {in. every. way.} would be an understatement.

The man of the house - surveying set-up. We love Wiley!

still loving our signature napkins! and we took a cue from our near-home favorite on the cheese accompaniments - Marcona almonds and organic wildflower honey - yum! (and is this really the only post we've done about Liams?! i'm ashamed.)

Our kind host did a great job of inviting friends who showed up, shopped and (at least seemingly so ;) ) enjoyed themselves. It was the perfect s&j show.

thank you to everyone who attended and especially to Corbin ♥

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Now, onto the rest of the trip:

Since we were travelling so far, we left a day early (and stayed a day late, for that matter) - score!

After the first (of many - seriously, I'm too embarrassed to tell you how many times we went) stop at Whole Foods (we all agreed that if we were so fortunate to have one in town both our waistline and grocery bill would most likely double), we unloaded our inventory (it was a work day after all) and uncorked our first bottle of wine (I'm also too embarrassed to tell you how many it was the first of).

here's a hint, though...

While Charleston does charm visitors with architecture and history, shopping and coastlines, the endless eateries are what swept us away. If eating more was possible, we would have.
Per more than one recommendation, we at dinner the first night at Husk. It was incredible.



When reading the menu - which is very Southern - we were a bit wary but stuck with our initial desire to check it out and were beyond pleased that we did.



The view from their bar next door. Carolina blue porch ceiling, of course!


I had a lovely cocktail (or two) that I am going to recruit my mixologist friend to recreate for us (remember him? we were on a kick there for a while last summer! I'm trying to get back to it.) - I'll share, of course! Here's all you need to know for now: it was lauded as the drink of choice at the world's first cocktail party. London circa 1924 (!) (how could i not try love it?!)

It didn't come before a kick-off champagne drink, though (which i chose to photograph here because as delicious as it was, the favorite one is not much to look at. and champagne is always pretty.)



For dinner, I (officially) had the pork chop. And as far as pork chops go, it was perfection - succulent, tender, marble-y (not a word, i know) perfection. It was a piece of meat from Ossabaw Island, which is home to the descendants of Spanish pigs transplanted over 400 years ago. The pork and pigs get a lot of positive attention but I've also read that they are endangered, so I'm not sure what to think - besides the fact that my singular experience was delicious!

The salad I started with was fantastic, too as it featured beets (my current favorite salad food) on the most delicate, buttery bibb lettuce I've even put in my mouth. It was a perfect example of why people eat salad and like it.

Other offerings on the table included corn bread, grits and catfish (I told you it was southern!) - all of which were a whole different calibur than what comes to mind when hearing of any of those foods. It's above that. For instance, I could not have guessed that the delicious plate to my left was catfish - and I've eaten a lot of catfish.



Everything about Husk - inclduing the atmosphere - is more sophisticated and refined than what their name - and menu - suggest. That's by design, I believe. It is country cooking for snobs - food and otherwise. And I mean that in a very good way.

Their James Beard award-winning chef, Sean Brock, calls this a modern approach and doesn't work to redefine Southern cooking but to explore the reality of southern food. (follow his blog here). Call it whatever you want Sean, you're a genius.

(I was going to give a complete run down of the entire trip but if I wax that poetic on every move we made, we'll be here all week - on to the high points:)

Friday was our vacation day - officially.

We spent it downtown - all of it ( am pretty sure we walked a half marathon). Between the pocket map Bethany kept busting out (thank God!) and the camera that Kristen wore around her neck (good thing - this would otherwise be one ugly blog post), there was no denying our tourist status. Our shamelessness was worth it, though! We covered some serious ground.



City Lights Coffee (on Market Street - between King and Meeting. I don't want you to miss it and I can't find a website) is everything you want an early morning coffee shop to be. It is tiny with dark wood and exposed brick. Serving pieces are bright and mismatched; their menu is scrawled on a chalkboard and the barista even had an accent - nice touch. A chocolate croissant couldn't be denied - it looked just like the one Jane Adler makes in her bakery in It's Complicated (the movie)!



A long walk later, we found ourselves at Mac & Murphy, which is exactly where we wanted to be (can you tell yet that we oft-referred to Design*Sponge's Charleston City Guide?!).

This (also tiny) shop on Cannon Street is off the beaten path - in location and otherwise.

We met with one of the owners, Liz, who enchanted us with her tale of two friends who have grown a great idea into an amazing business. One which is punctuated with both restraint and inspired quirkiness.



The light-filled shop, with its spare furnishings, super-friendly and well-informed shopkeeper/owner, white + gray (with a necessary pop of orange! you know we love an ampersand - especially as an accent!) palette and color-saturated and exciting products made me feel like i was walking around in a blog!



Letterpress calendars and clever greeting cards are neatly displayed in the front of their adorable shop (so neat in fact that i went on an unprecedented shopping spree of printed goods. it's really too embarrassing to go into great detail - i will admit this. i cannot stop thinking about the one thing i did not buy: locally printed pow wow invites. they were to die for); a custom print shop is tucked away in the back.

I first saw these and almost ordered them in bulk...



but then i saw this, which promises to obliterate my terrible habit of missing birthdays, thus negating the need for the first cards! (full disclosure: i love the graphics so much that i was going to buy the thing before i even knew that it was a birthday calendar)

A writer friend gave this (precious!) type writer to Liz. She writes her thank you notes on it - could she be in cuter? (no is the answer if you're still pondering this one)


Upon leaving, we popped across the street, per Liz's recommendation, to discover a little piece of confectionary heaven: Sugar. It was so sweet - pun intended - with it's mismatched cake stands and full view of the busy bakers (it's retro feel reminded me of one of my favorite Savannah spots)




We somehow managed to get out of there with only 4 cupcakes. Since we were still on the verge of a diabetic coma (remember the It's Complicated croissant?), they were devoured enjoyed later that evening.

This adorable little chocolate bar is the product of local artisan chocolatier, Sweeteeth (Chucktown is good about keeping it local aren't they?!)

From there, we perused. And when in Charleston, perusing around the town is an event in and of itself.

Age-old cemetaries and bespoke bookstores keep company with the most current of retailers block after block. Let's put it this way, Blue Bicycle Books and Williams-Sonoma were among our stops.













The self-lead city tour led us to one last meal worth mentioning: lunch at Cru Cafe (thanks Karyn for the rec). Again, I cannot adequately describe the deliciousness of this place. You just have to go!

They have culinary chops, too. Chef-owner John Zucker was sous chef for the opening of the James Beard Soctiety nominated "best new restaurant of the year", Canoe when it was granted such recognition. (I am assuming this is the Atlanta-favorite, Canoe, though I cannot confirm that and do know a public forum such as a blog is not the best place to assume...please advise if you know).  Despite such accolades, I am pretty sure he was handling table assignments during lunch hour while we were there - impressive. This guy is actually beyond impressive. He graduated number ONE in his class from Cordon Bleu (in Paris, no less) and studied under Wolfgang Puck. He is currently considered one of the most sought-after restaurant consultants in the Southeast (and does such for the highly recommended Charleston spot (that we sadly didn't have time for), Fish (next time. for sure).

Our (lovely!) experience there included a welcomed bottle glass (actually, it was a bottle) of crisp Pinot Gris, accompaniment to fried green tomatoes and the most decadent cold melon soup (we must recreate this, girls - soon!). It was refreshing with cantaloupe and honeydew but made absolutely sinful with the addition of coconut (and some other ingredients, of course, but I'll save that for once we've figured it all out!).



The atmosphere here is old south, once again. Outdoor seating on the front porch and barstools with a birds-eye view of the kitchen make the whole experience feel like coming home - to a house with a fabulous chef, of course! Take their virtual tour to see what I mean. Or just go - did I already say that? ;)

At the end of the day (and this has literally taken me all day to compose), the show was a wonderful reminder of why we do this: to have fun - and hopefully make enough money to keep doing it ('it' being the business and the fun).

Thanks again, Charleston. We really do *heart* you.


all images taken by Kristen except for the one from Husk that says 'today's menu.' that one is from their website. it was just too delicious looking to not borrow.