Nom Nom Nom

I spent some time this morning making organic baby food. Anyone whose gone shopping for organic baby food knows that the mark-up on these items is insane. So I decided to go ahead and make my own. It's really quite simple you just steam the veggies and blend them along with some of the steam water.
Then you strain them to get out the fibrous bits like the pea shells. Those get set aside and will go into our compost bin.
Put them into lidded ice-cube trays.
Mine are from Fresh Baby and are BPA and PVC free. After they are frozen you can pop them out and put them in plastic storage bags or whatever container you choose.

Then all you do is take out a cube of this, a cube of that and Voila! You have endless "blends" possibilities. I have a a wonderful book on baby puree recipes by Annabeth Karmel and you can get super creative with them.

After I tackled peas, I moved onto carrots, butternut squash and sweet potatoes.
So far sweet potatoes and carrots are a BIG hits!

Inner Circle

Inner Circle Collection by Vanessa Gade

Glug Glug

(click image for more info)

"A rich red wine with black currant, mocha and chocolate notes."

Yum.

Listening To- Hello Good Morning

Diddy - Dirty Money - Hello Good Morning ft. T.I., Rick Ross

Chop Chop Snip Snip- Locks of Love

Before...

After...(omg! I didn't notice until just now but I'm totally wearing the same shirt as in the photo with the baby. I have others, I swear!)

Now go and make yourself useful...(dollar bill is for perspective only, and is in no way reflective of it's suggested retail value)

I kept talking about it and I've finally done it. I got my mane hacked off and it's on it's way to Lock of Love so it can be used to make a hairpiece for a child suffering from long-term medical hair loss. Most of the children helped by Locks of Love have lost their hair due to a medical condition called alopecia areata, which has no known cause or cure.

I feel so much better. Having all that hair was a pain in the tookus. Washing it, brushing it out, drying it. keeping out the tangles. Way too time consuming. That picture above? No product, no blow-drying, it's wash and go. Well, technically it's wash, brush and go but you know what I'm getting at. No fussing.

Someone a while back in either a comment or email, that I can't for the life of me find, had asked me if I dyed my hair and what product I used to make it shiny. So if you're still out there- I have never dyed my hair and I generally don't put any product in it except for hairspray on occasion. I use cheapo store brand Pantene Shampoo and Conditioner. My only "secret" is that I'd been taking pre-natal vitamins (CitraNatal) for a few years. That helps to keep it strong and healthy and once I got pregnant those hormones made it grow like a weed.

If you have long hair and are thinking of making a big change this may be something you'd want to consider doing. They DO take hair that's been dyed or permed just not bleached. The main requirement is that is be at minimum 10 inches and delivered in a ponytail or braid.

Sunday In The Park

A Giveaway & Review- Yoplait Splitz

Recently I was given the opportunity to review a new yogurt product from Yoplait called Yoplait Splitz and being a big yogurt lover I was excited to give it a try. The product description given by Yoplait sounded very enticing...

"Now you can drive past your local sweet shop without looking back. Yoplait Splitz is the new yogurt that tastes like a sundae. Providing all of the goodness of 100% real yogurt, Yoplait Splitz is a good source of calcium and vitamin D. With no artificial flavors or sweeteners and no high fructose corn syrup, this 90 calorie dessert is the treat your family craves. For an even “cooler” experience, just pop a Yoplait Splitz in the freezer and in a few hours you can enjoy a cool, creamy cup of authentic frozen yogurt. Available in three delicious flavor combinations including Strawberry Sundae, Strawberry Banana Split, and Rainbow Sherbet, Yoplait Splitz is sure to have your family screaming for more."

I received the Rainbow Sherbert which initially had me bummed me out a bit since the thought of Sherbert yogurt didn't sound that appealing but much to my surprize it was really good! It actually tasted almost exactly like Sherbert ice-cream. It also had a really nice custardy texture.

I decided to put it to the test and called in additional test subjects my 7 yr. old and 11 yr. old neighbors. The 7 yr old specifically stated that they hated yogurt and I genuinely had to twist his arm to get him to participate. We tried them frozen and boy they were a big hit! The 7 yr. old said "This isn't yogurt!". When I assured him it was it was indeed yogurt it had just been frozen he then asked his mom why she wasn't given it to him frozen. Yoplait Splitz had won him over.

Me personally, I wouldn't get sherbert again. Not because it wasn't good it's just I'm not a sherbert gal. I am going to give the Strawberry Banana Split a try. A frozen, portion controlled, cup of that would be a nice alternative to gorging myself on a pint of high calorie ice-cream during the summer.

I can't send you any yogurt but what I can do is offer you a chance to win a free prize pack from Yoplait that includes an insulated carry tote and a roll up fleece picnic blanket.

To Enter:

• You must be a follower of my blog via Google Friend Connect.
• Leave a comment on this post. The comment must contain your email address for contact if it is not provided in your profile.
• One entry per person.
• Contest starts today September 7th, 2010 and ends Midnight September 12th, 2010
• Winner chosen at Random

Yoplait provided the free product, information, and gift pack through MyBlogSpark.