FFFF #194 - Fall Fun, Homemade Applesauce, & Reading Bringing Up Bebe

The weather is FINALLY cooling down, and that couldn't happen soon enough. Aside from the blazing heat, our area has been plagued with mosquitos this year. You can't go outside for 10 seconds without 15 bites. It's ridiculous. Nothing seems to work to keep them at bay, and worse, still, apparently, the mosquito population is having a West Nile outbreak. So you know, fun times with a toddler who is happiest outdoors.

Speaking of my toddler, I guess KJ is entering less toddler and more "preschool" age, bridging us to a new era of life, and I'm excited about it. Up until now, KJ was still too little for most kid-centered activities, plus there weren't any anyway, thanks to COVID. This weekend KJ has his fall festival at his school, and next weekend we have one at our church.

Plus, it's KJ's birthday next week, and it may be the first year he understands or slightly comprehends "birthday." I'm excited about all the fall fun, but I'm building him a functional mini kitchen, which meant a purchase from Ikea, so you know, pray I'm not up till 3 in the morning building it.

Posts from this week:

Meal plan subscribers this week's WTE? Meal Plan should be in your inbox!

Favorites

Homemade Applesauce

Mushy apples turned to cinnamon gold -->

Took 5 small apples and 4 large ones, peeled and cored them, and cooked them with ½ teaspoon cinnamon and a half cup of water for 4 hours in the slow cooker. Mash them and you have applesauce! I did not add sugar and it was PLENTY sweet, even slightly caramelized in the end. Unfortunately, despite KJ helping me, he didn't believe that it was applesauce. For him, if it doesn't come in Kirkland pouches, it isn't applesauce. Oh well! More for us!

Grilled Artichokes

I picked up these babies to use on my Mediterranean pizzas this week, and they were delicious! It was all Trader Joe's had for artichokes but, now I think it might be all I want to buy!

Daily Harvest

A restocked freezer is a happy freezer! I love the Daily Harvest - Harvest Bowls!

Bringing Up Bebe

I started Bringing Up Bebe on audible when I was pregnant with KJ but quickly abandoned it for something blog or adult nutrition-related. I wasn't into reading parenting books before the baby got here. But, lately, now that KJ is two going on threenager, I've been more interested in them. I was also intrigued by the French parenting style - authoritative yet respectful. Far less stressful and less guilt for the parents than other styles. It aligns more with my personality and own personal upbringing than many other styles, so it gave me a ton to think about. I liked the whole book so much I ordered a physical copy. However, I forgot until I started this book how much this book how much it had to do with food!

And while we had some good habits already established:

No eating in front of the TV, ever
Must leave everything on the plate even if you don't like it
No substitutions for lunch or dinner are provided
Similar to above, I decide what's for meals
Rarely eat in the car, unless traveling up North

I realized after reading the book we had a few that could be improved:

Limiting snacks to designated times, not enough space between meals and snacks
KJ choosing processed snacks more often than not
Not enough variety being provided
Not tasting everything on the plate
Creating a slow, family-centered atmosphere around the table

So, in response, we've already got KJ on a meal and snack schedule, and his eating has improved tenfold. He's back to eating most protein sources, including salmon, burgers, roast beef, trout, and chicken. He isn't one to touch any veggies or grains, but I've got some ideas on improving that. I'll let y'all know how it goes!

Fitness

After taking all of last week off, I was so ready to get back at this week! I got in 2 runs and week 22/23 of the expecting and empowered guides. Sometimes I do have to cut the guides down if I only have 30 minutes, and it looks like the workout will take 45 -60 minutes, but I figure something is better than nothing!