Baby Feeding Essentials

When Harper started solids, I read a lot of blogs and scoured product reviews on Amazon to select the best of the tried, tested and true baby feeding items for her. I thought it would be nice to share what's been working for us so far.

A lot of you have asked how we like our Boon Flair highchair, and we absolutely love it, but I'm going to save the full review for another post.  This is going to focus on items we use for feeding.

Munchkin 4 Pack White Hot Safety Spoon 

I love these spoons because they turn white if food is too hot. Since I make all of Harper's purees, we freeze them and microwave to serve them. I always test on my wrist as well, but this is extra reassurance that the food is not too hot. If it is, I briefly stir in an ice cube and it very quickly cools from hot to warm.

Beaba First Stage Spoons

These spoons are awesome and we use them daily. You can even see that the middle one is stained from carrots. They are soft yet firm enough to feed purees perfectly. The size is wonderful and Harper loves to chew on them and hold them. I also love the design. Not that it matters, but it doesn't hurt that they're the cutest baby spoons out there.  I like that the tips are all silicone and not just silicone coated.

OXO Tot Food Storage Containers

These containers are safe for the freezer and microwave and are BPA-free. We use them for Harper's solids at daycare. The lids snap on nice and tight and they come with a little tray to help organize them. 

Vital Baby Feeding Bowls

I'm obesessed with these bowls! They're also BPA-free and microwave-safe. I just pop some frozen puree into them and in less than a minute food is ready. They're easy to hold and just the right depth. Highly recommend them.

Boon Spill Catcher Bowl & Green Sprouts Silicone Bowl

The Green Sprouts silicone bowl is a nice alternative to plastic (even though all of our stuff is BPA-free, some people still prefer to avoid plastic).  It's on the smaller side but it's the perfect size for mashing foods like bananas and blueberries. The Boon bowl we started to use recently and it has a suction at the bottom so it sticks to her highchair tray---it's great now that Harper is learning to feed herself a little bit. I love the "catcher" feature too.

 Boon Edgeless Dish

This is one we haven't used yet---but plan to when she can self-feed more effectively. I like that it is shallow and stays on the tray, making it easier for baby to self-feed.

Bumkins Waterproof Superbib

These bibs are an absolute must-have for feeding solids. They are waterproof, are easily washed and have a little pocket that catches any food that falls. Need I say more? They are absolute perfection---and come in precious designs, to boot!

Born Free Sippy Cup & Nuby Sippy Cup

We are just now really starting to integrate sippy cups---we started by just giving her one to explore and play with. Then, we showed her that water comes out. She doesn't quite have the hang of it yet and I don't want to put breastmilk into a sippy yet.  I'm going to ask our pediatrician at our 9 month appointment if we should offer water, transition to breastmilk in a sippy�etc.  I like that these have the silicone vs. hard nipples. I have also heard some babies prefer straw sippy cups so if you have any you love, please let me know in the comments.

I hope this post was helpful for any soon-to-be moms wondering what to register for or mammas about to start their babies on solids. Thanks for reading!

A Delicious & Quick Dinner Idea

When my husband and I first moved in together before we got married, we were both pretty lacking in our cooking skills. We often ordered-in food and we ate the same things all the time, which included a lot of turkey tacos because they were easy to make.

As we got older, we both got better at cooking and currently my husband does 90% of the cooking in our house. (Score!)  But now that we have a baby, our dinner routine has become a little more challenging because we both want to maximize the time we spend with Harper after work instead of being stuck in the kitchen.  We like to cook things that are quick or than can be thrown into a pan and oven-baked so we can play with the baby and have our dinner practically make itself, save some prep time.

We've been buying Bertolli authentic Italian frozen meals for about five years now. We kind of discovered them randomly in the freezer section of our grocery store. It was one of those "these look good" moments and we picked up a few different meals.

Recently, Bertolli came out with new, restaurant-inspired, multi-serve Rustico Bakes, which promise to deliver oven-baked taste from the microwave in minutes. Already a fan of the stove-top frozen meals, I was excited to try something that would take even less effort (and no clean-up either!).

Nowadays, we cook a Bertolli dinner anytime we don't feel like really cooking or don't have the time to but we still want a tasty dinner that's a real meal (ie: not mac n' cheese or cereal). The new Bertolli multi-serve Rustico Bakes are available in 4 recipes-  Stuffed Shells Bolognese, Ricotta & Mozzarella Ravioli, Ziti Alforno and Manicotti Alla Vodka. You guys, they are SO good. I was amazed at how delicious they were and, confession time---when we made the Ziti Alforno, I took it out of the microwave and divided equal servings into bowls...and then, when my husband wasn't looking, added a little more to my bowl. (Sorry, honey.)

Sometimes we don't have the time or energy to cook or we just want to spend our evening taking a long walk with the baby and reading extra books. Having something quick and easy that we can eat and enjoy as a family is awesome (and lately, Harper likes to watch us eat too!).

All you have to do to make the Rustico Bakes is to pop it into the microwave for about 10 minutes. When it's all done I promise you will love the taste- just like what you'd order dining out, but you can wear sweatpants and don't have to leave your house.

 

Harper hanging out while dinner cooks...

 Here's what it looks like after we've served it up:

so much delicious melted cheesy goodness...mmm...

Bertolli also has a new line of Italian-inspired desserts and as someone who doesn't feel dinner is complete without a sweet treat at the end of a meal, I'm loving the Lemoncello dessert.  

Have you tried Bertolli dinners? What do you cook when you want a great meal that's quick? Leave me a comment below for a chance to win a $100 Visa Gift Card!

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What I've Been Eating & Other Randoms

I had an incredibly busy work week this week so as the weekend starts tomorrow, I'm planning to take naps and just relax and run errands.  Sometimes it's nice to just kick back and do next to nothing.

Here are some of my favorite meals I ate this week:

Berries with Ezekiel cinnamon raisin bread and Justin's chocolate hazelnut butter

Garden salad with grilled chicken and balsamic dressing

Chobani Greek yogurt with berries

Salmon with store-bought mango pico de gailo

A Shipley's strawberry-filled donut (YUM!)

an outfit I didn't post this week (um, look at our messy bed!)

Pretty flowers from the hubs

Flower arrangements my co-worker and I made for a party at work!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Weekend Snaps, What's in My Fridge & A Lost Outfit

Happy Sunday!  H and I went grocery shopping today and I was so proud because I cleaned out my fridge. I love a clean, organized fridge.

I wore a super casual outfit to run errands today:

Top- J.Crew (another cute option, love this, and this)

Shorts- Buckle (similar, similar)

Sandals- Reef (similar)

Necklace- Banana Republic (similar) 

What's in my fridge this week? I'm glad you asked!

Chobani 0% Greek Yogurt, milk, tuna

Arugula, strawberries, blueberries, pickles, basil leaves, mango salsa, 

roasted tomatoes, bread, fingerling potatoes, chicken, squash.

Our pantry is full of the "bad" stuff. Everything in moderation.

Today's lunch- turkey & cheese sandwich with less than 

a handful of Lays' Kettle Cooked chips

This week, my clothing rack came in, c/o The Showroom Project. I'm going to use it to style outfits and I will also use it in my YouTube videos to showcase my favorite and newly purchased pieces. Can't wait!

Speaking of closets, I added my gorgeous new Zara shoes to my shoe shelf after cleaning and re-organizing it.

...and I noticed I have a "thing" for all things pink...and gold chains

...and my poor Steve Madden bow sandals officially passed. May they rest in peace.

Before I go---here is one of the outfits I never ended up posting. It's a little...bright. I like the pieces separately, but together, they're a little overwhelming. I think the blouse is better suited to some dark wash skinny jeans and ballet flats.

You win some, you lose some.

Hope everyone is having a great Sunday!  I am off to finish laundry and to clean some more.

Fitness & Food Updates & How to Wear Your Hair at the Gym

Keeping up with my fitness and eating posts is important because it motivates me to be accountable.

I mentioned on Facebook that a new fitness studio opened less than a mile away from my house, which is awesome because the one thing that always frustrated me was having to drive to go to the gym (I don't mind driving, I just hated driving really far---I was spoiled because at our old house, our gym was also walking distance).

My fitness for the last month or so has been two sessions with my trainer per week and one Bar Method class. Some weeks I only got to do one training session because of scheduling.

I really need to step it up and start doing cardio and just working out more consistently in general.  I have noticed I am not getting as toned as I'd like and I know it's because I am not doing enough cardio and not helping my endurance.  My trainer gave my friends and I some treadmill workouts to do that are 25 minutes but super high intensity so I'm going to try to incorporate those and see how it goes. Now that I'll have a gym nearby, there will be no excuses, even on weekends.

On the eating front, I've been doing well. Eating less sugar (smaller portions) and eating lots of fruits and veggies. H and I have also been focusing on eating salads or veggies as side dishes for dinner instead of carbs (sometimes we have potatoes).  

Here are some of my lunches and dinners lately:

Tortilla soup and a turkey half sandwich for lunch

Garden salad with balsamic dressing and grilled chicken for lunch

Salmon with basil pesto and potatoes for dinner

Chicken breast and green beans for dinner

Omaha Steaks chicken stuffed with broccoli and a side salad 

(the famous peach basil oil salad)

Salad with chicken, red onions, cherry tomatoes, grapes, chick peas 

and tangerines with a raspberry vinaigrette 

From my work cafeteria- chicken with lemon sauce, green beans and corn

Tuna in water with dill, celery and onions

Grilled chicken and steamed veggies

Salad with chicken, onions, chickpeas, grapes, cherry tomatoes, mandarins

Obviously I am just showing my healthiest meals here for ideas---I also still eat Chinese food, pizza and other not so healthy foods---but I try to limit that to weekends.

I also recently purchased Tone it Up's Perfect Fit Protein. I needed more protein in my diet and you can also use this to bake and make pancakes.

My favorite snacks in the last while have been:

• Chobani Greek Yogurt (love the 0% raspberry, strawberry banana and vanilla flavors) 

•  Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin Bread

•  Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter and Justin's Vanilla Almond Butter

•  Cherries, strawberries, peaches, apples

•  Luna Bars- Iced Oatmeal Raisin 

•  Skinny Cow Heavenly Crisp bars- 110 calories for dessert 

•  Weight Watchers chocolate raspberry popsicles (80 calories and delish!)

I get a lot of questions about how I keep my hair fresh when I work out.  I have been sweating more during workouts because of the weather (and because our trainer works us hard!) so I have been sporting a super-high topknot to keep my hair off of my face. I used to wear ponytails most of the time but then the ends would get sweaty from rubbing on my back. Ew. Typing that out feels kind of gross. Anyway, I just put my hair up and wrap the elastic around the topknot three times. Like so:

Some workout outfits:

(outfits are all Lululemon except for green and pink Target tops)

Easy peasy.  When I get home from my workout, I immediately shower and then I take the elastic out and brush my hair and go about my evening wearing it down.

Have a great weekend everyone!