Jessica Merchant's Blog, page 413

Currently Crushing On.

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Happy WEEKEND.

It’s going to be freeeeezing here again (like, snow), so my hopes of spending the weekend outside and quite honestly, trying out Millie’s might be dashed. Well, the first one for sure. The second one? Maybe not so much. The rest is finalizing bits of brunchshop and setting up! And I’m in a maaaajor spring wardrobe shopping mood. Tell me: what should I buy? What’s cool?

Have a fabulous weekend and let me know your plans below!

P.S. If you love talking about (and listening to!) blogging + passion, you can hear my podcast on the topic at the Chopped podcast.

Oh, and I did a 15-month baby update last week. HOW DO I HAVE A TODDLER.

faves this week:

whoa. how absolutely stunning are these painted macarons? mind = blown.

lobster bisque FONDUE. whaaaat!

the quest for the best chocolate chip cookie. this is awesome! and gorgeous.

losing my mind over this DIY faux flower coat. love it.

how to make an ombre cake – it’s the prettiest.

high maintenance egg salad. get into it.

the cutest peanut butter and banana MINI pies. mini means we can have more.

these beautiful roasted carrots with mozzarella are exactly what i want for lunch and i don’t even like carrots.

this 5-minute piña colada fudge is adorable.

someone deliver me a shaved asparagus and prosciutto pizza, thank you very much.

i’ve wanted a coconut oil brownie recipe forever: healthier flourless fudge brownies.

craving some slow cooker pork and black bean stew.

Chocolate Stuffed Oatmeal Bars.

I present to you the exact way I want to eat oatmeal, forever.

Do you see that chew? That chocolate? That perfect little square? Guys: FIVE INGREDIENTS. That’s it.

Thank goodness it’s Friday because after seeing that, I’m just done for the week. DONE. High five emoji.

Oh wait! But it gets better. Not only do we have those chewy oats, but chocolate peanut butter swirl?

Hi, apparently I’m dead because this is my heaven.

That peanut butter chocolate swirl is stuffed INSIDE the chewy oats. YES.

You know those wonderful chewy and delicious granola bars that you found in your lunchbox as a kid? These are those, times ten. They are granola bar dessert. Granola bar treats. Chewy, sweet, buttery and filled with an intense chocolate center.

These bars come from the Cookies and Cups cookbook, which will be released by my friend Shelly next week! You are going to want to eat the entire inside of the book, I swear. It’s a dream come true. And Shelly is the cutest and I adore her. She KNOWS her dessert.

I’ve been waiting with bated breath to tell you about her book, after receiving an early copy to blurb and seriously flipping over the recipes. So many wonderful classics but so many creative recipes – I can’t even tell you. There are savory recipes in the book as well – and I’m losing my brain over garlic bread pasta. Uh huh. GARLIC BREAD PASTA.

You need to order a copy so you can have it first thing next week!

In the meantime, I’ll be over here trying not to stuff my face with oatmeal bars. I made these as part of our meal prep last Sunday (every week needs a treat, right?!) and it’s a legit miracle that there are any left. Eddie doesn’t care for oatmeal cookies and even he couldn’t stop grabbing squares. These might overtake my love for oatmeal in cookies – and think of all the flavors?!

Now, you have weekend plans.

Chocolate Stuffed Oatmeal Bars

Yield: makes 16 squares

Ingredients:

3/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup loosely packed light brown sugar
2 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
1/3 cup peanut butter



Directions:

Line an 8x8-inch baking dish with aluminum foil.

In a saucepan, heat the butter and sugar over medium heat, whisking until the sugar dissolves. Cook until it's bubbling and let it boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the oats until completely moistened. Set aside.

Place the chocolate chips and peanut butter in a bowl. Melt in the microwave (30 seconds at 50% power, stirring after each time) or a double boiler until the chocolate chips are melted.

Press half of the oat mixture into the baking dish. Pour the melted chocolate over top, spreading with a spatula. Gently press the remaining oat mixture over top. Let cool completely or refrigerate (I love these cold!) - let sit for a few hours (3 to 3) before slicing.

[recipe from the cookies and cups cookbook]

And that’s my plan right there.^^^^

How to Prep Make-Ahead Smoothie Packs!

Totally going to tell you about the life hack that’s saving my snacks.

Smoothie packs!

So simple. Embarrassingly easy? I’m annoyed that I didn’t think of them five years ago.

Not that it would have mattered – I had all the time in the world back then. Now! I have a kid and like to remind everyone I see that “I don’t have any TIME.”

False. I do have time. I’m just making time for certain things and not making time for other things. Fact.

One thing I do not want to make time for is dragging out every smoothie ingredient every morning, because life everything else in my life said smoothie must be high maintenance. Or it’s not worth it.

We are making TONS (yes, tons) of smoothies every week in this house. I’ve blabbed on countless times now about how Eddie has started drinking green smoothies every morning before working out.

Sidebar: that happens in the garage, because the Vitamix sounds like a jet engine and it’s 5AM.

A few weeks ago I figured I’d try freezing the ingredients together to make mornings (or snacks) easier and it made my planner-loving, list-making, meal-prepping brain go wild.

Meal planning and prep has changed drastically since I had Max. It used to be that I’d easily plan our dinners and then prep one easy snack (maybe granola, or even just some hard boiled eggs), and make a full meal or two (or even three) to share over lunches and dinners.

These days, I find myself not having as much time (oooops I did it again) to make my favorite healthy breakfasts or lunches and I’m grabbing RIDICULOUS choices. Seriously, I can’t even tell you some of the things.

But! I do have more time to prepare dinner AND I still really enjoy it. Riddle me that.

After a bunch of trial and error, I’ve figured out what works fully in meal prepping for us right now: a few snacks to grab, some options put together for lunch, one make-ahead breakfast (like these overnight oats) and then doing a few tasks that will make dinners easier. Things like chopping up brussels to roast, slicing peppers for fajitas the next night, marinating meat for Monday or Tuesday, etc.

My goal with prepping meals is that it absolutely cannot take longer than one and a half to two hours (and that’s pushing it) – or else I just won’t do it. I don’t want to spend my entire Sunday in the kitchen, especially when I spend most of the week there for my job. I don’t even want to spend two hours, to be honest.

I wish I didn’t have to prep anything at all. But if I don’t, I end up reaching for too much junk when I’m starving or just generally eating things that make me feel like garbage. It makes SUCH a difference. And now that I have Max, it makes snacks super simple. Especially if we have to grab something to take with us.

So I was kind of surprised that the smoothie packs saved so much time. It sounds ridiculous, I know, but when it comes down to it, our smoothies mean getting out multiple bags of frozen fruit (sometimes three to four kinds), some kind of green, a bunch of other bags or jars for things like chia seeds, hemp seeds, flax – all that – and before I know it the kitchen is a disaster again with bags and jars everywhere.

I found myself not even wanting to make the smoothie, which is so simple to begin with(!) because I dreaded getting everything out.

Problem solver right here.

My go-to smoothie ratio is: 1 1/2 cups of fruit + 2 cup of greens + 1 to 1 ½ cups liquid. I find that I can easily add in at least a teaspoon of chia, hemp, flaxseed, maca powder, spirulina – whatever – when blending and it’s a consistency that we love.

I don’t always do green smoothies and I don’t always give them to Max, but we might have them a few times a week. He currently LOVES smoothies, which is what prompted me to start making them daily again in the freezing cold months to begin with.

I freeze all the fruit and greens together. You can use fresh fruit or frozen fruit – I mean, by the time it comes out of the freezer, it’s all going to be frozen anyway. We love to buy the huge bags of frozen organic strawberries and blueberries at Target – first, berries are barely in season here and second, organic ones cost an arm and leg. And the portions are small. So this is more economical, especially since Eddie has at least one smoothie daily.

I also measure out any of my “dry” ingredients for single use and put them containers or bags in the pantry. This is usually 1 tablespoon of hemp seeds, 1 teaspoon of chia seeds, 1 teaspoon of flaxseed, and so on. Maybe coconut or cocoa powder.  You can easily add protein powder too. I also love spirulina in my smoothies, but find that mixing it in the bag with everything else just makes it stick to the bag. I don’t know. It’s weird.

The only things left to add into the blender are the liquid (ours is almost always coconut milk, almond milk, or coconut water. Eddie sometimes uses juice.) and if I’m using it, yogurt. I rarely adding yogurt to a smoothie for myself (I’d rather eat it) but I will add it to one for Max. Eddie adds it sometimes.

And last thing: nut butter, coconut butter, coconut oil, or whatever butter I don’t measure out before if using it. The same could go for dates or figs if you use those, but you can also stick them in your fruit and greens bag.

Super simple, right? So embarrassingly easy that I had to (over)share. As usual.

Make-Ahead Smoothie Packs









Ingredients:

fruit + greens, frozen ahead of time (at least the night before)

1 1/2 cups your favorite (frozen or fresh) fruit
2 cups greens of choice (spinach, kale, etc)

dry ingredients: chia seeds, hemp seeds, coconut, flaxseeds, unsweetened cocoa, protein powder - whatever you'd like!

when adding to the blender: add 1 to 1 1/2 cups liquid of choice (milk, water, juice) along with your fruit+greens pack + dry ingredients. Blend it up!

my go-to favorite frozen fruits to have on hand are bananas, strawberries, blueberries, peaches, pineapple and mango. we truly mix EVERYTHING - any kind of fruit and green together! 

 

Directions:

Favorite smoothie combo? GO.

30 Minute Cajun Salmon with Salted Lime Butter.

I’ve got a super simple, healthy and ridiculously flavorful dinner for you!

Riiiight here. Cue all the exclamation points.

I often wonder if literary scholars, English teachers and excellent writers in general still believe in the you-only-have-one-exclamation-point,-use-it-well rule now that it’s 2016 and the internet rules the world. Self expression in the form of exclamation points is very important, FYI. Also, self experssion in the form of exclamation points is a huge crutch. And also the worst.

But the best. How else would you know that this salmon is i!n!c!r!e!d!i!b!l!e!?

Sorry.

I’d jump through my screen and make it in your kitchen if I could, it’s that easy. I’d deliver it to you with a few beers or a glass of wine or maybe just four cans of your favorite la croix flavor. (< pssst. mine’s passionfruit, what’s yours?)

One of our absolute favorite comfort meals is this cajun chicken pot – we could probably eat it every week and be happy. Eddie could, for sure. It’s one dish that he requests frequently, and that’s huge because usually when I ask him “any ideas for dinner this week?” he responds with “I don’t know. I just ate. I can’t think of ideas when I’m full.”

And for the record, he ALWAYS “just ate.” Always.

It’s very inconvenient when my brain is lazy.

As a huge salmon lover, I’m always trying to find new favorite ways to flavor it. Eddie is not much of a salmon lover these days – I think he used to be, perhaps I served him one too many dried-out filets? Guilty.

It’s that, combined with loving burgers and pizza too much. He isn’t into it. So I was determined to make some spicy, flavorful salmon that he’d love and that chicken pot was my inspiration.

Problem though: I was completely out of cajun seasoning. I threw together a makeshift one of my own that was delish and might keep me from buying the bottled stuff from now on. I also made a boatload of it and Eddie has been sprinkling it on every bite of food he has put into his mouth since last week.

Probably even cookies. Maybe.

This buttery fish is topped with so much delicious spice that your taste buds will straight up lose.it.

And then! It’s topped with even more flavor as you scoop on a touch of salty lime butter while it’s still hot. It melts all over and runs down the sides and is worthy of so much more than one exclamation point, I swear.

Big bonus: it’s probably going to take you way less than 30 minutes – the most time consuming step will be measuring out your spices. Serve it with some rice and/or asparagus or something springlike and lovely. Thumbs up!

30 Minute Cajun Salmon with Salted Lime Butter

Yield: serves 4

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 (2 pound) salmon filet
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dried italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
pinch of cayenne pepper

salted lime butter

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 lime, zest freshly grated
1/8 teaspoon coarse sea salt



Directions:

Preheat the broiler in your oven to high and set the oven rack about 6 inches below it.

Place the salmon on a baking sheet and brush it with the grapeseed oil. In a bowl, stir together the paprika, italian seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic, onion powder, pepper flakes and cayenne. Sprinkle it evenly over the top of the salmon filet and press gently to adhere.

Broil the salmon for 6 to 8 minutes, or until just opaque and flakey with a fork. Remove from the oven and cover with a few teaspoons of the lime butter. Serve with rice and lime wedges for spritzing.

salted lime butter

Stir together the butter, lime zest and salt until combined.

I’m thinking margarita.

Tuesday Things.

1. Fontina pepperoni pizza for Eddie on Sunday, and I was extremely depressed that this one photographed so much better than mine.

2. Guys! This pastel rainbow cake? It’s straight out of my dreams.

3. Inquiring (and boring) minds want to know: do you do your laundry all in one day, or do you do a little bit everyday?

4. Having a strong overnight oat obsession this week, where I just mix equal amounts oats with almond milk and let it sit overnight… then trash the top up like it’s nobody’s business. Except now it’s yours!

5. I’m sure it’s my 80s-90s heart talking, but I love the off-the-shoulder trend so, so much. Or, let’s just call it the Kelly Kapowski salute. 

6. THE WALKING DEAD!! I was pretty much sick to my stomach watching the entire episode. I was claustrophobic! I wasn’t as devastated by the ending as everyone else was, because I can’t take losing someone I like. Billions: I can’t get over the chemistry between Wendy and Bobby, they work so well together as actors. Also, I was dying for some insight into how they knew each other, and I think we got that? The scene on GIRLS with Hannah watching out the window was perfection, even if I absolutely cannot stand the character. And, how stunning does Jessa look this season? And finally, am I the only one who weirdly wants Meredith and Alex together on Grey’s? Are they going there?

7. Also, shocker, I’m definitely loving the West Wing podcast and therefore, (super) slowly rewatching the series.

8. As a major magazine junkie, tell me: which one is your fave?

9. Challenge yourself to always be a rookie at something – do you do this? Can you do this? I want to make it a life long goal.

Slow Cooker Jerk Pork in Pineapple Rice Bowls.

Just a leeeettle more pineapple.

I can’t help it!

One of the reasons I’m so nuts over pineapple is because of how it can be used in savory dishes. It’s no secret that I’m a wild fruit lover – I always choose fruit over vegetables. ALWAYS and forever, Luther Vandross style. But many of them rarely work in savory dishes for me. You’re certainly not going to find strawberry kiwi chicken over here, even if I have trashed up the most trashed up of all the dishes.

You know?

One thing: don’t flip your lid over the ingredient list.

It’s long. It’s long because we are making our own jerk seasoning blend. You probably have most of the spices on hand if you frequent your kitchen daily. If you don’t, I know that spices cost an arm and a leg (seriously whyyyy), so you can also buy a premade fancy jerk seasoning and go from there. I want it to be fun for you! And me.

These jerk spices though?

WHOA.

We are so in love.

I was on the fence. Well, no, wait. I was not on the fence. I knew what the jerk spice blend included, I was looking forward to it. But I was fearful of what Eddie would think, so I purposely kept the cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg a big old secret from him.

I was just all “hey… there’s some pork in the slow cooker downstairs…”

Was super curious to see where that led him.

Long time readers will know that this is basically how I have to serve him 76% of the meals in our life but WHO CARES. It works. He ends up loving things that he assumed he hated. I win.

And winning is what marriage is all about, duh.

(see also: never take romance advice from me, ever.)

He got home late that night so I watched as he sat at the bar and took bite after bite (NOT served in a pineapple, FYI), sort of waiting for him to ask what the heck was in it. But luckily, instead he was all “wow this pork is amazing!”

Scratch that. He didn’t say amazing. In fact, Eddie gets extremely worked up at my way-too-often use of the word amazing. He tells me countless times per month that I say everything is amazing and that, no, everything is not amazing.

But guess what!

To me, SO MANY THINGS are amazing.

Gift me a thesaurus please.

It IS so delicious though, and when you find yourself with enough pork to feed a family of six and you are a family of three, you can do all sorts of things like make jerk tacos, jerk nachos and jerk quesadillas.

Plus, brown jasmine rice, piled high in pineapple (and cooked in some juice) – makes for the prettiest presentation even if it does scream “I’m eating a pinterest dinner!”

Can we still be friends even though I’m half expecting you to eat your dinner on a Monday night out of a pineapple bowl? While it’s snowing outside?

It’s practically akin to eating your smoothie bowl breakfast everyday that’s super imstagrammable.

Slow Cooker Jerk Pork in Pineapple Rice Bowls

Yield: serves 4 to 6

Total Time: 8 hours

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 to 5 pound pork shoulder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup pineapple juice
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon minced onion
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

rice

2 cups brown jasmine rice
1 cup pineapple juice
1 cup coconut milk
1 3/4 cups water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt

quick pineapple salsa

1 cup pineapple chunks, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 lime, juiced
pinch of salt and pepper



Directions:

Heat a large skillet over medium- high heat and add the vegetable oil. Season the pork all over with the salt and pepper, then add it to the skillet and sear on all sides, until deeply golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Remove the pork with kitchen tongs and transfer it to the slow cooker. Pour the pineapple juice over top.

Stir together garlic powder, sugar, onion, thyme, parsley, cayenne, allspice, paprika, pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon. Sprinkle it over the pork in the slow cooker and toss well. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.

After 8 to 10 hours, the pork should easily fall apart. There will be a lot of liquid in the slow cooker. You can discard some (I use a ladle) but you can also do what I do: shred the pork, remove the slow cooker lid, turn it on high and cook for 30 minutes or so, tossing often. I find that a lot of the pork soaks of the liquid and the rest sort evaporates. You can always discard some of the liquid if you need to.

To serve, top the rice with the shredded pork and pineapple salsa. To serve in a pineapple bowl, carefully slice the pineapple in half lengthwise. Remove the fruit (I did so using a paring knife and grapefruit spoon, then used it for the salsa) and place the rice and pork inside. Easy peasy.

rice

Note: be sure to double check the cook time and liquid ratio on the rice you buy. If it's quick cooking, you might need less time and/or liquid.

Bring the rice, juice, milk and water to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the salt and butter. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until all liquid is absorbed, 35 to 45 minutes.

quick pineapple salsa

Stir together the pineapple, onion and cilantro. Season with the salt and pepper and squirt in the lime juice - stir well. Serve immediately or keep sealed in a container in the fridge for 1 to 2 todays.

[jerk seasoning adapted from myrecipes]

pineapple optional, obvs.

life with max: 15 months.

How do I have a 15 month old?!

My snugglepuppy. I die over him.

This bug is still so incredibly happy. I have no idea how I got so lucky. SERIOUSLY. I still feel that way and it’s just so different from how I ever assumed I would feel.

He brings me so much happiness throughout the day, even when the days are stressful or sad.

My days are spent listening to him babble and talk and giggle. I love him talking. I love hearing him make conversation, I wish I knew exactly what he was saying all the time.

[He currently runs around the house screaming “purple” – somehow my mom taught him this word and it’s his favorite thing. It cracks us up.]

I still also feel super lucky that he is such a pleasant kid. I don’t always have him at home with me all day while working, but on days that I do, he does fairly well playing on his own for chunks of time. It’s wonderful. I do things to make it easier, like set out some of his favorite toys, let him go wild in the cabinet that holds all the pots and pans, set up a coloring station and what not, taking certain breaks – but he’s just so happy.

Yes, things are certainly more challenging at this age! He wants to run and play everywhere. He doesn’t like to sit still very long, so if we head to a restaurant, it’s usually at breakfast or lunch or the early bird special. Our trick for taking him out (we take him out to eat every weekend, at least once) is one my aunt gave us: don’t put him in the high chair until the food comes.

This works like a CHARM! We hold him on our lap while we order and pre-food, he colors or plays with a toy or reads some books. Occasionally we will walk with him, depending on the location. Once the food comes he goes into the high chair, is hungry by this time, and we all can eat at the same time. Not sure how much longer it will last, but it was great advice that we have gone by since he’s been big enough for the highchair.

With that being said, when he’s done, he’s DONE! When he wants out, he screams and yells and that’s that.

My favorite thing right now is how much Max loves to go outside. Multiple times per day he runs to one of the doors or windows and starts pointing and shouting to go outside. He loves to be in the yard and loves to RUN. It really stinks that right now it’s freezing and snowing again outside, but later this week I’m hoping it starts to warm up permanently because the fresh air does wonders for us both.

I love getting him outside to walk, run and explore at least once a day.

My only concern now is that he wants to walk and run so much that he might not want to sit still in his stroller for a long walk? (aka, my favorite thing.) But my plan is to go early or go around naptime.

Speaking of naptime, nope still doesn’t sleep through the night. But! I said to my mom that I can somewhat sense that he is enjoying sleep more. He can self soothe and settle himself back to sleep (I’ve watched it) and I can tell that we are on the brink of better sleep.

I’m over it and just completely used to not sleeping. The overwhelming exhaustion hits me once every few months and I have a complete and utter meltdown (this happened two weeks ago) – but once I get it out, it’s out. And I can survive again!

I think the (non)sleeping would be taking more of a toll on me if Max was fussy or not as generally pleasant as he is. It would be easier if I could sleep when he sleeps at night, but most of the time I need a good chunk of time (5 to 6 hours) to work at night. It is what it is and as long as I don’t go overboard on caffeine, sugar and crap eating, it’s manageable.

What blows my mind the most is that when I really need that “me” time, when I have to get out or just have a few moments to myself, it’s insane – because within 15 minutes or so I miss him. I want to be back with him. Is this crazy?

I honestly feel pretty crazy sometimes.

I can’t imagine leaving him overnight yet. I am missing out on things and opportunities and saying no to many things that could further my career (and/or social life – HAHAHAHA) but I just can’t imagine being away from him overnight. Now trust me, I’ve had great full days being apart from him, but there is just something so special about the nights that I love. I know that this time is so fleeting, will be gone in an instant and I just can’t give it up.

This makes me feel really uncool sometimes, but I think that it’s my insecurities coming back to haunt me. I know that pre-baby, I used to privately judge others in my brain when it seemed like they could never leave their child. And now I’m totally that person! I just didn’t understand it until now.

Eeeeeep I just love him so much.

One of the most fun things that is happening right now is that Max is taking swim lessons and I can’t even believe how much he LOVES IT. He has always loved baths, but I wasn’t sure how he’d act in a pool for 30 minutes straight.

Turns out, the big smile never left his face the entire time. He was dunking his face in and giggling and trying to blow bubbles. He loved “jumping” (aka, walking to me) off the side of the pool into the water and kicking and splashing. It is so much fun and I can barely wait until summer when we can swim often.

My little fish! I’m hoping that Eddie can come one of these weeks and get some pictures of us, otherwise it’s basically impossible to snap a picture since I can’t take my phone into the pool. Plus, hello, do I want to be that obnoxious person? (< yes I do.)

Foods!

Max still likes to eat. A bunch of you have asked if he has entered the picky toddler stage or the “surviving on air” (ha) stage. I haven’t seemed to notice a general pickiness yet, but I did start noticing shortly after he turned one that he began eating less at meal time. Nothing else really changed, it’s almost like he started picking at bites that he wanted to eat. That could also be because I was giving him more food or more options, but that’s all I’ve noticed so far.

And yes, he’s pretty great at eating everything, but he also has days where he wants to eat nothing and days where he throws everything on the floor and thinks it’s HILARIOUS.

Spoiler alert: it isn’t! But sometimes it is.

After my last update I started taking some photos of breakfast and lunch to share with you, but the lighting in our kitchen is so awful (and we often eat early before it’s light out) that I couldn’t stomach the photos! Here are some ideas of what he eats for breakfast and lunch. For dinner, he eats what we eat (within reason, i.e. no overly salty food, no spicy food, etc.)

breakfast:

scrambled eggs + cheerios + bananas (or whatever fruit is in season)

oatmeal with blueberries, touch of pure maple syrup

banana + spinach + blueberry + yogurt + almond milk smoothie

spinach + cheddar omelet, berries

bananas spread with peanut/almond butter, full fat greek yogurt

lunch:

AB+J on sprouted grain bread, full-fat greek yogurt, strawberries and blueberries

broccoli and cheese mini quesadilla, peas, cinnamon apples

avocado toast, turkey slices, cucumber rounds, goat cheese

whole wheat pasta, cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks, hummus

grilled cheese on sprouted grain bread, pickles, black beans, dried figs

He absolutely loves chicken and things like meatballs or burgers, so sometimes he will have that as leftovers for lunch. His favorite food is an orange, and he always get that as an afternoon or after dinner snack. He could probably eat TWO whole oranges a night if I let him. He also loves anything bread-like or carby and will eat that at pretty much any time if given to him.

And that’s fifteen months! I can’t even stand that time is going so fast, but at the same time I am so happy I’ve thoroughly lived and enjoyed every moment with this boy. Am I missing anything? Thanks for loving on my little bug! P.S. you can find our 15 month favorites here.

Currently Crushing On.

{via}

Hey hey! So. What are your thoughts on april fools jokes? I am generally no fun and don’t have any interest in it (see also: halloween, I just hate dressing up), but I can imagine that in a few years it will be fun to play a trick on Max, maybe that whole jelly-bean-in-the-ice-maker prank or something. Did you fall for anything?

Weekend things?! I’m hoping to get lots of fresh air, run around outside with Max and maybe grill pizza. Too soon!? We are busy prepping for brunchshop which will be a ton of fun, and I have a few other things up my sleeve. Now if only my toddler will sleep?

Earlier this week I shared my March beauty favorites and over on the pioneer woman, I shared banana donuts with nutella glaze! They are so delicious and I wish I had a dozen to snack on this morning. Don’t miss!

loving on these:

isn’t this rhubarb galette the prettiest?!

four words: carnival themed funfetti cake. oh my gosh.

kitchen spring cleaning and everything you need to know.

excited about these roasted cauliflower tacos with chipotle cream. yes please.

this post on living in excess is fantastic.

this DIY ombre glassware is the cutest.

these photos of cocktails, and tequila + preserved lemon syrup. stunning.

new favorite: breakfast egg salad with bacon.

to make this weekend: vegan chocolate hazelnut cake with whipped ganache.

thai red curry risotto… all over that flavor.

ooooh check out this grapefruit chile spritz. delicious.

salted chocolate malted cupcakes! are exactly what i need in my life.

Marshmallow Pavlova with Pineapple Curd.

It’s getting real bright up in here.

I haven’t made a REAL pavlova since developing the recipe for one in my cookbook. I haven’t made a fake pavlova either. And that’s completely insane considering my recipe brain revolves around marshmallow half the time. And this is one big marshmallow! With a crunchy outside, obviously. And rich, silky pineapple curd blanketing the top.

And whipped cream! In my case, coconut whipped cream. In your case, whatever kind of whipped cream you’d like.

You + pavlova = faceplant.

But first, would it really be a marshmallow post on a blog if there wasn’t an obligatory shot of meringue coming from your kitchenaid whisk? The answer is probably no.

I know I know I know, I am in complete pineapple overload here on the site. It might be even worse next week, so sorry I’m not sorry. I just am super into it right now. I think I love the flavor even more than the actual fruit at times. Don’t mind cutting up that large fruit and using it to flavor everything in my life one bit.

So.

This pineapple curd is absolutely in.credible.

Seriously.

I had to stop myself from eating it. This was my first time making curd of any kind – the only flavor that ever appealed to me has been grapefruit, but I think it’s the word – CURD – that was a total turnoff.

I mean, what an awful way for your mouth to move when describing something delish?

I wanted to do something super special with it. Something other than spreading it on toast, pouring it over ice cream, sandwiching it between cookies, filling donuts with it or stuffing it in cake layers. All of those things are super special to me, but this time I wanted really special.

Really special and easy. Something quick and fairly light that could be throw together before a party. Something that didn’t need a ton of attention.

Something pretty and something bright – that didn’t include lemon! Now that’s a challenge in April.

I mean, I’m even thinking Mother’s Day dessert! It’s a bit early, but most of you are probably normal and plan things out ahead of time. Instead of waiting until the day before and then having an extreme panic attack at 2AM because you can’t settle on your menu.

No clue what that’s like.

A bunch of you asked how I cut my kiwi into these fancy star things over on instagram. I kept seeing a few pop up on my instagram explore page and knew I wanted to include them in our Easter fruit salad – so I googled it! I came across this video and followed it exactly, just peeling my kiwi before.

It’s really super simple and even if you make a few extra slices or mess up, it still looks fun and cute.

Adorable kiwi FTW.

Any fruit and any flavors will due – I’m dreaming of strawberries with this pineapple curd. The outside is so crunchy, the most lovely meringue. The inside is still pillowy, almost kind of chewy. The curd seeps through the pavlova cracks and disperses throughout the entire dessert. I like to add some of the whipped cream directly on the pavlova, add the curd, and then put more whipped cream on top.

Layers of flavor! But then at a point, it gets so pretty that you don’t even want to eat it.

Until… you do.

Marshmallow Pavlova with Pineapple Curd

Yield: serves 4 to 6

Total Time: 4 hours (for curd chilling)

Ingredients:

pineapple curd

3/4 cup strained pineapple puree
1 cups sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

pavlova

5 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cornstarch
whipped cream or coconut whipped cream for topping
kiwi fruit for serving



Directions:

pineapple curd

In a saucepan, whisk together the pineapple puree, sugar and cornstarch. Heat over medium-low heat, whisking, until the sugar dissolves. Place the egg yolks in a bowl. Whisk in a few tablespoons of the warm pineapple mixture, then reduce the heat and add the eggs to the saucepan, whisking the entire time. Cook over low heat until it thickens, stirring constantly, for about 10 minutes.

Once thick, remove from heat and stir in the butter until it melts. Pour the curd into a bowl and press a piece of plastic wrap directly on top. Let it cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for 4 hours.

note: to make the strained pineapple puree, I pureed about 2 cups pineapple cubes in a blender until smooth, then poured the mixture through a fine mesh sieve. 

pavlova

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Add the egg whites to the bowl of your electric mixture. Beat on medium-high until they just start to get thick, then gradually add in the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until the mixture is glossy and peaks are easily held. Carefully fold in the vanilla extract and cornstarch with a rubber spatula.

Spoon the meringue onto the parchment, using the spatula to form it into a large circle. You can also make a few mini pavlovas instead of 1 large if you'd like. Try to create a small indentation in the center or leave it flat for topping. Bake for 1 hour - the outside should be firm and just starting to crack.

Remove the sheet and set it on a wire rack until completely cool. To serve the pavlova, top it with whipped cream, the pineapple curd (you might not use ALL of it, it's up to you. it will stay good in the fridge for a week or so!), kiwi and extra whipped cream. Cut into slices (it will be messy) and plate!

[curd adapted from chowhound]

and you always do!

Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie Bowls.

Or, how to eat chocolate peanut butter all day, everyday.

This is my new favorite thing out of all the favorite things.

It’s been a minute since I cared a ton about smoothies. I went through a phase the last two years where I just didn’t want them. The truth is that sometimes I prefer to chew my food. In fact, I always prefer to chew rather than drink my calories.

We’ve shaken thinks up though because Max absolutely LOVES smoothies. If he sees Eddie or me drinking one, he cannot stand it and jumps up and down and points and yells until he gets a sip. I am having so much fun making him different flavor combos and tastes and since it’s difficult to make such a small portion for him in the Vitamix, I just make a big one and we share. Go-to’s are strawberry coconut, blueberry spinach and pineapple.

I’m totally a mom now because sharing a smoothie with my child makes me stupidly happy. I think it’s wonderfully sweet. It might even make my cry. This is horrible. 

Breaking news! This is one of the only times I like cacao nibs.

A few weeks ago in my Tuesday Things I asked if anyone REALLY liked these things. Do they? I mean, I’ve been trying to love on them for years and I’m just like… no. You’re supposed to taste like chocolate and you taste like rocks.

But wait. On top of this smoothie in a bowl? Crunchy and *sort of* (< being the operative word) chocolate-like, I really enjoyed them. I think it’s because there was definitely already enough sweetness, enough chocolate and enough peanut butter. So I was cool with it.

Look at these peanut butter dreams. Ooomph. So delicious. This is Justin’s honey peanut butter and I melted it until super creamy and drippy. The minute it hits the chocolate smoothie, it firms up a bit and reminds me of the inside of a peanut butter cup or even how hot fudge firms up once hitting cold ice cream. The texture is perrrrfect.

Here’s my thing with smoothie bowls. If I’m going to eat it out of a BOWL, I need it to be super thick. Almost like soft serve. Like banana soft serve. This is why I always use bananas – I love them so I don’t mind, but I know a bunch of you aren’t fans. I can sit here and say that oh I can’t really taste the bananas! and I honestly don’t feel like I can – BUT. If you really hate bananas, you can probably taste them. You can thicken this smoothie up more by using extra hemp seeds or freezing your yogurt. Maybe adding in a frozen avocado if you like that.

And you can make this a triple chocolate smoothie by adding some chocolate protein powder! I waaaay overdid the protein powder in my twenties so I’m going to sit that one out. It still makes me shiver with disgust. But I bet it’s just as good, possibly more chocolatey. Someone needs to trick me into drinking a good protein shake and maybe I’ll love it by accident.

After all, that’s how I get Eddie to eat 78% of the food I make.

Weirdly, I also prefer a smaller portion of a smoothie if it’s in a bowl. If I’m eating it by spoon, it needs to stay thick and creamy and therefore be portioned slightly smaller than if it were in a glass. Plus, it’s all about the toppings for me. Like froyo. Or, err, a salad. I’d rather pile a bunch of junk on top and eat that with bites of the smoothie from underneath!

So because of that, this smoothie could serve two OR four. I like to go with four. Then it’s more manageable as a snack and I can add tons of stuff on top. If it’s in a glass, without all the toppings, I’ll go with two.

Really though, when it comes to chocolate peanut butter, I just want to go with one. At least this is better than dipping my chocolate chip covered spoon into the peanut butter jar. But who does that?

Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie Bowls

Yield: serves 2 to 4

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cups chocolate almond milk
1 cup ice
1/2 cup cup plain greek yogurt (I like 2% to 4% best)
3 frozen bananas
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons hemp seeds
1 tablespoon chia seeds
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch of salt

toppings

cacao nibs
chia seeds
flaked, unsweetened coconut
hemp seeds
sliced almonds
sliced banana
creamy peanut butter
cocoa powder sprinkles!



Directions:

Add the milk, ice, yogurt, bananas, cocoa, peanut butter, hemp seeds, chia seeds, vanilla and salt to a high-powered blender. Blend until smooth and thick. Pour the mixture into two or four bowls and cover with your desired toppings!

I do. All the time.