for real this time.

I have a new blog, and it's for real this time.  We've started recounting our adventures over at a new space.  It's called Adventures of Jack and Me and you can find us here.  I will be sharing about our life over there from now on.  Thanks so much for reading and supporting me here for all of this time, and I hope you'll follow us over at our new space.  Much love!  lauren 

sick baby.

I don't think this is the first time I've had a post with this title.  We've been through several sicknesses with our babe, but I think that's normal for the first year.  Gotta build that immune system right?  This one is one of the worst.  My heart hurts for our little guy.  We actually took him to the ER on Wednesday night because he was running a fever of 104.5 degrees.  I could have cooked the brownies I was making on his back instead of in the oven.  Bless his heart. 

He never sleeps in my arms anymore.  Guess a fever will do that. 

It's a virus.  Our challenges now are fever management and getting fluids in him.  He doesn't want to drink and will get dehydrated quickly if he doesn't pick it up. 

july 4th recap.

Good Thursday everybody!  Wow, yesterday was so fun and I am EXHAUSTED.  We really packed it all in and had a blast, but seriously, it wore me out.  On top of that, or maybe because of that?, Jack did not sleep well last night.  Also, I'm not sure if this is scientifically or medically backed up, but I'm pretty confident that he had his first nightmare.  It was rough and sad and I really felt like a mama comforting my babe at the ripe ol' hour of 1 am from a nightmare. 

We hit the ground runnin' yesterday going to the Town of Farragut 25th Annual July 4th Parade.  It was so fun!  I really didn't think Jack would last through much of it, but he endured the parade for an hour!  Seriously impressive.  And he beat his Aunt Lindsay who was asking to go before he started getting cranky. 

This represents Jack pre-parade-- makin' friends with everybody. 

Saw his first helicopter and LOVED it 

 

Aunt B! 

Mayberry strolled through the parade.  Apparently Knoxville has an Andy Griffith Show Re-run Watchers Club.  Awesome. 

He got tired and just wanted to chill in his stroller. 

Then we did a little grocery shopping for food to fix, along with the rest of America, and had lunch at Nan and Pops house.  Then it was time for that big afternoon nap [especially since we intentionally skipped the morning one for the first time in history--- I gasp even just typing this].  I made a couple of iffy dishes while Jack napped and then we headed back to Pops and Nan's for some super fun!  We played and ate and played and ate.  We left exhausted.  All 3 of us were in bed before 9, thus missing all fireworks.  We heard them as we tried to fall asleep but couldn't even get out of bed to look at them.  Jack slept through them--- thank the Lord! 

My cute, patriotic boy.  Our old Maryland neighbors gave Jack this outfit for his birthday.  He loves the red, white, and blue! 

Jack and Uncle Bud 

He didn't want to take a picture. 

He really didn't understand why we were making him take a picture. 

We take croquet very seriously.  By the way, I won! 

Hope you and yours had a wonderful 4th!  Fun fact of the day-- the 4th of July is my sister's favorite holiday. 

the good the bad and the dairy.

June is National Dairy Month.  That makes some of us excited!  But lately, I've been feelin' bad for dairy because dairy's gettin' a bad rap.  People are running around saying how dairy is bad for our bodies and we should stay away.  A common question I get as a dietitian-- back when I worked professionally in a hospital and now when people find out that I'm an RD-- is "why is dairy bad?"

I've never been someone who's strong suit is gentleness.  So I manage to bite my tongue long enough to gain some composure, before answering [in a long-winded way] why dairy isn't bad.  Some people think dairy can slow down our bodies and that we weren't intended to eat cow products in the first place.  There are several common diets and "fad" diets out there that recommend avoiding dairy.  They make claims that dairy products pass on hormones, antibiotics, and all kinds of chemicals that our bodies don't need.  We could have a long discussion on this, along with ethics, farming practices, and the works but that's not what I'm getting at today.  Today I want to share that I think dairy is an important part of our diets.  If you don't, that's ok, let's still be friends.  Just know if you ASK my opinion, I will share with you that I think dairy is OK.  That I feed my toddler dairy every day.  Like ANYTHING it needs to be consumed in moderation or else you will quickly fill up on fat.

Here are some of the good things about dairy:  

-  good source of calcium which is important for bone health and our teeth  [dairy is the best source of calcium] 
-  good source of vitamin D which in necessary for the processing of calcium 
-  good source of potassium
-  good source of protein 
-  studies have shown dairy intake is linked to better cardiovascular health as well as improved weight loss


*In all fairness, there are a lot of points that I have left out of this short blog post that are presented well by people on both sides of this issue.  This is my opinion as an individual, mom, and dietitian-- that doesn't mean my opinion is right for everyone. 

drinkin milk, eatin cheese  

the greatest pork i've ever had.

As I've mentioned before I found this pork recipe that is out of this world good.  I am OBSESSED with this pork for 2 reasons:

1.  It's deliciousness.
2.  It's so stinkin easy to prepare.

I call it my 4 x 2 recipe because it has 4 ingredients besides the pork and the measurements are all 2's.

What you need:

-  1 1/2 pound pork [I usually use a loin but whatever you can find works and trim off the excess fat]
-  2 cups salsa [I use store-bought]
-  2 T dried oregano
-  2 T chili powder
-  2 T cocoa powder [unsweetened]


Combine the ingredients and stir them together in the crockpot.

 

Oh yeah, did I mention it's a crockpot recipe?  Even easier.

 
Then add the pork and flip it to make sure it's coated.  Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 8-9 hours.  Easy peasy.

The recipe suggested pork tacos so we usually do that because who doesn't like a good taco night.  It's also awesome over rice.  Cilantro lime rice.  Really awesome that way. 

*This recipe is approved by all members of the Morgan Family. 

This recipe is from Real Simple and can be found here.

happy wednesday.

hello from down here! 

This is his new favorite trick, and he has captured our hearts with it.  It cracks us up EVERY TIME.  

My little stud is awesome at brushing his teeth. 

waste not want not.

I'm learning a lot these days.  Waste not want not is one of the big things, and I am learning it through food.  I believe God can teach us through anything, and He knows me and He's speaking my love language-- FOOD.  We started this beautiful CSA where we truly have a bounty of the FRESHEST food EVERY week.  I feel spoiled.  How awesome it is that we get to do this.  One of my goals with this adventure was not to be wasteful with what we have.  You see, I'm that person who buys a shopping cart full of produce only to remember it's in my fridge 3 weeks later and to dig the rotting pieces out, having to clean out my fridge of rotten produce juice-- not even knowing which produce item it came from or how long it's been there.  I do love produce, but I think I buy so much I forget about it all.  I hate it.  I hate that I waste that money.  I hate that I waste that food when there are people right here in my city going hungry right now.

So part of the deal when we signed up for this CSA was that we'd get fresh produce-- whatever it is they give us-- and I'll fix it for us.  I knew we wouldn't always like it.  I tried the radishes, really, I don't.like.them.  But we'll try it.  It's taken me awhile [a month] to get the hang of this, but I am getting it.  For the sake of transparency I thought I better share the whole truth here.  I'm doing better with using it all, or giving it to someone who will use it [enter those pesky radishes again, turns out my mother-in-law and sister-in-law love them.  win!]  But the first few weeks I wasted.  Especially week one.

Back here I wrote about week 1 and what I did with the swiss chard.  Glad I used that-- bummed I wasted a lot of it.

Week 1  

The Stats Week 1:

Broccoli -- wasted
Radishes -- wasted
Bok Choy -- wasted
Garlic -- wasted
Lettuce -- ate, delicious!
Swiss Chard -- made it, tried it, bleh.
Strawberries -- a.w.e.s.o.m.e.

Week 2  

The Stats Week 2:

Lettuce -- ate, delicious!
Squash -- ate, delicious!
Garlic -- wasted
Cabbage -- still in fridge, keeps well... I hope
Eight Ball Squash -- ate, delicious!
Spinach -- ate half, delicious!  wasted other half
Strawberries -- a.w.e.s.o.m.e.

Week 3  

The Stats Week 3:

Radishes -- wasted
Turnips -- made it, tried it, not bad!  [turnips get the Most Surprising superlative]
Broccoli -- ate, delicious!
Napa Cabbage -- made it, tried it, delicious!  [awarded Best Dressed superlative... you'll see why when I post this recipe]
Lettuce -- ate, delicious!
Strawberries -- a.w.e.s.o.m.e.  [I had already eaten them before I took this picture]

Week 4 [night picture]

 The Stats Week 4:

Cauliflower -- made it, tried it, bleh.
Potatoes -- in the fridge. excited to make!
Eight Ball Squash -- oh.my.goodness.  greatest veggie dish I've ever made.  recipe soon.
Cucumbers -- so fresh. so delicious.
Squash -- ate, delicious!
Radishes -- tried a bite of one.  gross.  gave to family.  glad they found a good, loving home.
Lettuce -- ate, delicious!
Arugula -- ate some, some still in fridge.
Kale -- still in fridge.  plans to make this soon.



Now that I'm at the end of this post, I think this  must be really boring for people to read.  If anyone has stuck around, do you have problems with wasting food?  Any tips for me?