I scoured the web for a recipe, but every one that I found called for peanuts, which we didn’t have on hand.  I certainly wasn’t going to run to the store at 9 last night, so I grabbed the peanut butter and hoped for the best.
 
Into my food processor went:

• 10 pitted Medjool dates
• 1/3 cup natural, unsalted chunky peanut butter

I combined them until they came to a nice, thick and crumbly consistency.  I picked up a little piece and rolled a ball to see if it would stick together.  Once it hit that point I added just shy of 1/4 cup chocolate chips.  I spread the mixture into a small loaf pan and put it in the fridge to set.

I haven’t had a chance to try them yet, but Solomon said I hit the nail right on the head with these!  I was surprised how inexpensive and easy it was to  make one of our favorite snacks at home.  Solomon and I are always grabbing Larabars for road trips or snacks when we are going to be out all day.  In fact, I always keep one in my purse and one in my diaper bag.  Now I can just make them myself!

Next comes the fun part…experimenting with different flavors!  I’m going to stock up on dates, dig through my pantry and come up with a whole variety of homemade Larabars! 

What’s your favorite Larabar flavor?
What is your favorite grab and go snack?

WOD:

Row 500-400-300-200-100

Double Unders 50-40-30-20-10

Wall Climbs 5-4-3-2-1

Sounds weird, right?  Here’s how it works:

• Row 500 meters, do 50 doubles unders and 5 wall climbs.
• Row 400 meters, do 40 doubles unders and 4 wall climbs.
• Row 300 meters, do 30 doubles unders and 3 wall climbs.
• Row 200 meters, do 20 doubles unders and 2 wall climbs.
• Row 100 meters, do 10 doubles unders and 1 wall climb.

I screwed up.  I can only do a few double unders, so those of us who aren’t so good at them were supposed to do more single jumps.  Somehow I didn’t hear that and managed to do single jumps.  The wall climbs made me want to cry just a little bit, but someone from the class encouraged me when I didn’t think I could do another and it gave me a second wind.  Those are tough!  I finished this is 15:05.

Then, as if that wasn’t enough, we ran 5 200 meter sprints.  If you’ve ever swam or run with me, you know that I HATE to sprint.  I was always a distance swimmer, and definitely prefer distance running over sprinting.  I would have preferred to be told to do a 10 mile run instead of sprints!  My fastest was a slow 45:09.

After it was all over, we stayed and played for a bit.  I did a handstand push up (with a mat under my head!!)

Well, now Aaron is in bed, Solomon and I have full bellies and glasses of wine  It’s time to play in the kitchen!  Hopefully I’ll have something to share tomorrow from my experiments

For strength today we did this: Strength:  Back Squat 5-5-5-5-5 straight across, rest 2-3 minutes per set

I worked my way up to #85, and they definitely got tougher as I did more sets.  I was encouraged to squat lower, and that made all the difference!

The WOD:

AMRAP 15:

9 Deadlifts #80

12 Hand Release Push-up

15 Box Jumps 20”

We had 15 minutes to do as many rounds as possible.  I tried to focus on form during my deadlifts to protect my back.  I did a few rounds of push ups, then needed to use a band for some extra help.  I also managed to fall off the box twice .  I ended up doing 7+9 (7 rounds, and 9 deadlifts), then I collapsed on the floor.  I’m pretty happy with that!

Fast forward to January, when Solomon decided this was something he really wanted to do.  We ended up finding a box that is less than a mile away from us, and went to check it out.  Solomon signed up right away and I was still on the fence because of the little man.  Solomon’s schedule offers him a lot more flexibility than mine does, and he is able to go to morning or evening classes without problems.  While I ADORE being a stay at home mom, there are definitely challenges, and this was one of them.  By the way, I feel like this post needs a picture to break it up (agree?).  So  here’s a recent one of the little guy:

I digress…

We were determined to make it work.  We talked to family and worked something out that would allow me to go 3 times a week without a problem.  My sister in law takes Aaron in the morning twice a week.  This is perfect because Aaron can play with his cousin who is 15 months older than him.  We all believe that in a few years those two will be thick as thieves and nothing but trouble, so why not start them young, right?  In exchange, we take her boys one Saturday night a month, or we take one boy for an overnight.  Pretty good deal, right?  My mother in law comes over one evening a week so I can head to class, and I try to make other classes if possible.

This honestly has been one of the best arrangements we could have made, and I’m so happy that Solomon and I both found something that we already love, that we can do together or on our own, and which we both enjoy for different reasons.  So far we love the community since it’s always such a great group of people coming to work out.  We love pushing ourselves and trying things we didn’t even know existed (I didn’t know what a handstand push up was before this), and feeling badass when we lift barbells like rockstar Olympians.  I never knew before how much I would enjoy a group aspect to exercising since I have been doing the solo thing for so long.  For the first time in I don’t know how long, I’m excited for my workouts.  I know I’m going to collapse on the floor at the end, but I love pushing myself, and knowing that I’m going to keep getting better.

Even though we keep books at Crossfit, I am going to start logging my workouts here.  I think it’s really important for me to know how much I’m capable of, and to see how far I’ve come.  No better way to know that than by writing it down, right?

If you have any questions about how I write a WOD (Workout of the Day), please let me know!

2/20/12:

Power: Power Clean and Push Jerk.  2 reps every minute on the minute for 10 minutes.  I worked up to #60!

Power Clean:

Push Jerk:

For time:

21-15-9

Power Clean

Thruster

This means we did 21 power cleans, followed by 21 thrusters, followed by 15 power cleans, followed by 15 thrusters, followed by 9 power cleans and finishing with 9 thrusters.

This was a killer workout.  The thrusters were so tough, I had to stop between every few just to get it all done.  I did this workout with #55 barbell in 8:46.

By the way, my new box is Charles River Crossfit.  If you are in the area, come check it out!

I thought it would be fun to share some things I do with Aaron.  As a stay at home mom, I’m always looking for ways to stimulate him and keep him entertained.  Thankfully, he is a busy, busy boy and doesn’t get bored easily, but just the same, I like to give him things to do from time to time, even if they don’t hold his interest that long. 

Lately, whenever I’m cooking, Aaron has to join me in the kitchen.  I think it’s wonderful, since I really want him to learn to love and appreciate food,  It can be a bit much to have him always underfoot, and I’m always looking for ways to keep him entertained while he plays in the kitchen (we did order a toy kitchen for him which is coming next week, so that should keep him busy).  He’s getting over playing with Tupperware, and a bowl and spoon isn’t so exciting anymore.  Sometimes I’ll give him a piece of different textures (tin foil, wax paper, parchment paper), but he just likes to rip those up.  I also want to minimize any mess, since he does he (limited) free reign of downstairs, and we do have the dogs, who like to play with Aaron and get messy too.  For example, Aaron loves finger painting.  I could do without the cleanup, so we don’t do it as much as he would like.  Until now.

I don’t know if I saw this idea somewhere and got inspired, or really came up with it on my own. 

I cut a piece of paper to fit into a Ziploc bag, squirted some finger paints in, and sealed it up.  This way, Aaron could finger paint and keep it mess free!  It wasn’t as stimulating for him as actual finger painting would be, as it wasn’t nearly as sensory, but is still gave him the same general idea.  Plus, no mess!

I’m very big on letting Aaron figure out his toys and things himself.  I like to give him something new, and sit back and let him figure it out himself.

In no time at all, he had figured out how to manipulate the paints around, and was laughing and having a ball.  One of the best parts about this project was that he could carry it around with him, and I wasn’t at all worried about a mess!

The finished product had to be thrown out, since it was completely saturated and the bag was ripping, but you can’t keep every little piece of artwork, right?

At least it allowed me to get dinner cooked and kept Aaron happy!

How do you keep your kids entertained while you try to get things done?

Well, I’m proud to report it’s going really well.  We both feel healthier, we’ve tried some great new things, and we are totally jaded by eating out right now.  We’ve even decided to get Aaron a toy kitchen to put in our kitchen so he can pretend to cook since he loves to help out.  So here’s what I’ve learned this past month, a “Meal Plans 101” if you will.

Be Flexible.  Just because we make a plan, doesn’t mean it is set in stone.  Things come up, and things change.  We’ve shifted meals around for time problems and other reasons a few times already.  No big deal!

Try at least one new thing a week.  Or if you aren’t adventurous, try something new every month, even if it’s as simple as a new tomato sauce.  You’ll be surprised what you can learn to love.

Get creative.  Sometimes I’m not quite as on top of my grocery list as I should be.  Like the other day when I ran out of Italian seasoning.  Instead of dashing to the store, I did a quick online search and made my own.  I’m never buying the jarred stuff again.  I also make my own taco seasoning, fajita seasoning and vegan chicken bouillon.  Call me crazy.

Don’t plan lunch.  I find lunch is most likely to change.  Sometimes Solomon will have a lunch meeting, or I’ll meet a friend last minute.  By not including lunch in our meal plan, we can choose to eat leftovers, or throw something together.  It’s never as stressful as not having dinner planned.

Cook big meals early in the week. If you know you are going to have lots of leftovers, cook your meal earlier in the week so that you can eat the leftovers without having to worry about wasting any of it!

Freeze individual portions. If your leftovers are too much to eat that week, invest in some smaller containers and freeze smaller portions.  These can be grabbed from the freezer the night before and thawed in the fridge for lunch or dinner.  Just be aware of what is in your freezer so things don’t go to waste.

Any other tips or tricks to add to my “Meal Plans 101” list?

I was playing around online looking for some fun dinner ideas that all 3 of us could happily eat.  I came across this amazing recipe for pizza bites and immediately put it on the menu for the first week of the year.  Instead of using pepperoni, I used sautéed vegetables (we keep a kosher home).  These were a huge, huge hit (well, not so much with Aaron), that Solomon and I agreed there were going to make the rotation more often.  While we were eating, we were talking about other ways to make these delicious (yes, we talk about food while eating food).  We brainstormed a whole bunch of ideas, and finally settled on a nacho pizza bite.  I mean, we love pizza, the pizza bites were awesome and we love nachos.  It seemed like a no brainer.  The result was amazing!

Here’s what you need:

• pizza dough (store bought or make your own)
• 1 can vegetarian refried beans
• 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese, plus more for sprinkling
• jarred jalapenos, chopped (as many as you would like)
• one tomato chopped

Preheat the oven to 400* and lightly grease an 8 x 8 pan, bundt pan or whatever you would like to use (this is really versatile).

Combine beans, cheese, jalapenos and tomato in a medium bowl.

Divide the dough into 16-24 pieces (depending on size of dough).  Flatten out the dough and using a small ice cream scoop, scoop a ball of the bean mixture into the middle of the dough.

Pull the edges of the dough around and pinch shut to form a dumpling.  Place dumplings seam side down in baking dish.  Depending how many you make, you can put them side by side, or layer them one on top of the other like a monkey bread.Sprinkle the top with a little oregano.

Cook for 20 minutes, then add a sprinkle of cheese to the top and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Serve with guacamole, salsa, Greek yogurt or whatever you would like for dipping.

Though Aaron is still a little young to really help in the kitchen (though he does like to help stir and pour things in), I think this is the perfect meal for him to help make when he’s a bit older!  It willbbe so much fun to make the dumplings, and to let him and his siblings brainstorm other ideas for pizza bite flavors!

What recipe have you tried lately that became a regular on your meal planning rotation?

I’ve been part of the Featured Blogger program at Wayfair (formerly CSN), and love the chance to try out and review products.  They literally have everything you could think of, so when I was given a voucher and allowed to shop I had a really, really hard time deciding what to get.  Lately, it seems like most of my purchases are Aaron-centric, and that’s OK.  So it’s no surprise that when Solomon and I sat down to pick what we wanted, it was a little bit Aaron focused.  See, we’ve turned the attic into a playroom for him.  We still play downstairs a lot, but there’s a ton of space up in the attic so we were able to put some great hand me down toys up there that take up a lot of space. 

We also got Aaron a ball pit for Hanukkah, and have a little mini puppet theater which he received too.

Plus we have the chalkboard, and the beginnings of a little arts and crafts area, as well as some toys.

    As much fun as it is up there (even Aaron’s older cousins think so), the room was missing something.  It just looked bare.  The only bit of decoration we had were some cute curtains.  Enter WallPops!

We were able to choose 2 different wall decal sets to decorate the walls with.  The curtains have cute animals on them, so we definitely wanted to stick with animals.  We weren’t so into the cutesy cartoon animals, and didn’t really want any lifelike animals either.  We found the WallPops! ZooWallogy line on a different website and were so excited that Wayfair had them.  We liked that they weren’t too realistic or too cartoony, but were bright and not garish.  The fun prints made them funky, but not too childlike or too adult.  They are honestly the perfect blend of kid, fun and funk.

We chose Antoinne the Monkey for one wall,

and Riley the Giraffe for another wall. 

I was actually surprised how easy these were to use.  Even though the stickers are big, they came off of the sheets neatly, in one piece and didn’t stick together too much.  They went on the walls really easily and cleanly, with just a few bubbles underneath that were very easily worked out.  They also come off the walls very nicely and can be repositioned as much as needed (the blue monkey was moved 7 times until he was just right).  I also loved the accessory pieces, like the grass and leaves that came with the animals.

I really, really liked these WallPops! and can’t recommend them enough.  Wall decals are such a fun way to decorate and so easy to use!  Plus, they are really, really cute.  Aaron loves chatting with his monkey and giraffe friends and looking at the bright colors, and Solomon and I feel accomplished that we finally got those walls decorated and did it so easily!

Thank you so much Wayfair for letting us try these out! 

It should come as no surprise when you see him that he loves to eat.  Loves it.  He gets so excited for mealtime that he jumps up and down.  He begs people for food, and then I feel like I don’t feed him enough, which I think must be impossible.  He loves to look at food, and even be part of the whole cooking process since he always manages to find his way into the kitchen when I’m cooking.  The thing is, he doesn’t just love food, he seems to already have somewhat of an appreciation for it (at least I hope he does).

From Day 1, Solomon and I have always been on the same page with feeding children.  We want our children to enjoy and appreciate food.  We want to be able to feed them real food and take them to real restaurants where they will try and enjoy a variety of food.  We want to avoid kid’s menus whenever possible and have our children enjoy what we enjoy.  We want our children to be exposed to lots of flavor, color and textures.  That’s why we let Aaron enjoy food that’s flavorful and sometimes spicy.  In fact, he tends to prefer spicy food.  He also likes foods that pack  lots of flavor.  I don’t know too many 14 month olds who love grapefruit, sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, polenta, and roasted red peppers, but Aaron loves things that pack a lot of taste!

 
Sometimes I wonder if we’re being a little foolish, since we are much more careful with what Aaron eats than what we do.  That’s not to say that we don’t eat well (I’d say we eat clean 80-90% of the time), but we do eat some things that we wouldn’t be willing to give Aaron (namely some sweets), which is kind of foolish.  Why is it OK for us and not for him?  Of course, there are some things he can’t eat (like nuts), but I do think we are more aware of what we eat because of him.

People always comment that it must be so nice to have a good eater, and I can’t help but think how untrue that is.  Yes, Aaron is a big boy who loves his food, but that doesn’t mean he’s a good eater ALL THE TIME.  There are days when he will eat absolutely anything that is put in front of him-he’ll happily eat his veggies (or drink them since he usually loves green smoothies), and will chow down on everything else.  On the flip side, there are days when it seems all he wants to eat is fruit.  Fruit is always, always the fall back food for Aaron.  When in doubt, fruit. 

Sometimes Aaron will eat 1/4-1/2 an avocado in one meal, then won’t touch it at all the next day.  The thing is, we just never, ever know what to expect.  With a toddler, I think it’s all about being prepared.  Always having options on backup that you know he’ll eat, but are still healthy.  For us, that is Dr. Praeger’s veggie burgers (seriously), cheese and fruit.  I don’t like to have to go to the default food, but sometimes he just won’t eat.  You know what though?  That’s OK!  Sometimes I don’t feel like eating much, or only want to eat the same food repeatedly.  Sometimes I want to eat a million different things, and sometimes I want a few bites and then I’m done.  The bottom line is that Aaron, and all babies, are people, just like us.  Yes, their palates are slightly different, but that’s no reason they can’t have an off day or a day where they barely eat.

For the most part, we feed Aaron what we are eating.  In restaurants, we share our meals with him.  He doesn’t particularly care for typical kid’s food anyway, like mac and cheese (or any kind of pasta for that matter) or fish sticks (with the exception being chicken nuggets.  He loves those).  We just try to feed Aaron the way we would want to be fed if we didn’t have the power to make all of our own choices.  Yes, Aaron can make decisions regarding his food.  He can pick out which foods he prefers from his tray, he can reach for what he likes at a table and he can express his like and dislike for foods.  At the end of the day, we just want him to enjoy food.  Eating it, and the experience.  It’s not the easiest thing, but it’s really a lot of fun watching his tastes and palate develop!

 
See, he even likes to dig through my cookbooks and pick his favorite recipes!

I know it’s so simple, and everyone in blog world seems to be making peppermint bark, but I want to share too!  I didn’t follow a recipe, I just kind of figured it out.  It worked.  Really well.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 10 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips
• 10 oz. white chocolate chips
• 1 tsp. canola oil, divided (optional)
• 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract, divided
• 25 peppermint candies.

First, melt the semi sweet chocolate chips, in whatever manner you like to use (double boiler, microwave).  Stir in 1/2 tsp. canola oil and 1/4 tsp. peppermint extract.

Spread on a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet.  Freeze until hardened.

While in the freezer, use this time to get out your holiday aggression and beat the peppermint candies into pieces.  I use a meat tenderizer and a plastic bag, but any way that breaks the candies works.  Set these aside.

Once the chocolate has hardened, repeat the above melting process with the white chocolate chips.  Spread on top of the semi sweet chocolate, and sprinkle the peppermint pieces on top, lightly pressing them into the chocolate.  Freeze until hardened.

Once the bark has hardened, you can break it into any size pieces you like.  This is so simple, so yummy and everyone seems to love it (even Solomon who isn’t really a mint person)!

Are you in the holiday spirit? 

Are you a peppermint bark fan?  What’s your favorite holiday treat to make?