Gluten-Free Vegan Meal Plan/Shopping List

 I decided that I would start meal planning again in order to save money and so that Chris doesn't have to venture out to the store every day after work. We are vegan and gluten free. Well my hubs is vegan when at home but does eat cows milk products and eggs out of the home. And I am gluten free because it makes me sick, so the kids and the hubs do eat gluten on occasion. Confused yet? I like to post pictures of our meals on my Instagram (MandeeTheGreat) and occasionally I get a comment from a friend or stranger about how "unhealthy" our meals are. Here is the thing...we don't eat vegan for the "Health Benefits." We eat vegan because of  the we don't believe in animals being murdered and tortured reasons. So yes, some of our choices are not the healthiest options..but they taste great and are convenient  We need convenient because with two toddlers life can be chaotic. And I would rather spend my time playing with the kids than preparing all my meals from scratch for hours and hours!
This is a week of our meals for 2 adults, a 3 1/2 year old and a 1 year old. We practice baby self feeding so our 1 year old Cesilee eats whatever we eat at dinner. Our son Ceaghan can be picky sometimes about eating certain textures. I included my shopping list so you could get some gluten free vegan ideas. Gluten free vegan doesnt have to mean taste free or boring!

Meal Plan:

Dinners
Spicy BBQ Chickpea Burgers w potato wedges
Maitake Fettucchine in Cream Sauce
White Pasta with Asparagus 
Hotdog Chili Tots
Chik'n Fajitas
Thai Tofu Packet w/Brown Rice

Lunches
High Omega Ranch Quinoa Burger/baco Salad
Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches
Quinoa Burger Wrap or Quesadilla
Peanut butter banana dog bites
Deconstructed Corn Dogs

Snacks/Breakfast
Fruit & Yogurt
Waffles/Toast Sticks with Berries
Trail/nut mix
Fresh Fruit
Veggies/Hummus

Treats
Chocolate Banana "Ice Cream"
Raw chocolate coconut macaroons

Shopping List:

Produce:
6 large garlic cloves
2 jalapeno
1 red onion
4 carrots
fresh parsley
1 ginger
8 bell peppers
3 onions
1.5 cups sliced mushrooms
6-8 Pitted Dates
Asparagus
Chives
10 ounces maitake mushrooms (Hen of the Woods)
2 leeks
fresh thyme
Salad greens
Cucumbers
Tomatoes
Lettuce
(4) Bananas
Apples
Mandarins
Strawberries
Avocados

Meat Alternatives: 
4 14 oz. packet extra firm tofu
1 package (about 350g) firm silken tofu, drained
Chik'n Strips
(2) Veggie dogs

Carbs:
GF Tortillas
GF breadcrumbs
1 box (16oz) of GF Shell Pasta
16 ounces, brown rice fettuccine style pasta
GF Chibatta Rolls
Bread (GF and Reg)

Dairy:
Yogurt
Coconut Milk
Sour Cream
Earth Balance vegan margarine
Galaxy foods Mexican "cheese"
Mozarella Daiya

Seasonings/Oils:
Fajita Seasoning
fish sauce
rice vinegar
Sesame oil
Coconut Oil
Olive oil
Vegtable broth

Canned: 
Amy's Chili
Salsa
1 can full fat coconut milk

Dry:
1 cup dry/uncooked chickpeas
4 bags of quick cook rice
3 tbsp sunflower seeds + 1 tbsp pepita seeds, toasted
2 tablespoons superfine brown rice flour

Baking:
1 Cup Shredded Coconut
1 heaping Tbsp  Raw Cacao Powder
Parchment Paper

Frozen:
Frozen Berries
Potato Wedges
Tater Tots
Waffles/French Toast sticks gf/v
Qrunch Burgers

Snacks: 
Trail/nut mix
Glutino breakfast bars
Fritos

Items already here:
Sriracha
High Omega Vegan Ranch
Bac-uns
BBQ sauce
Jelly
Powdered Peanut Butter
Sea Salt
Chia Seeds
Cacao Nibs
Seasonings

Ceaghans 3rd Birthday Party! Mickey Mouse & Friends on Safari

I can't believe it has been 3 years since my baby boy was born! That means I have been a mom for 3 years also. Its crazy to think about, to think of how different life was before then. He was born on my 19th birthday. I didn't realize how much would change. I couldn't imagine how I would be  transformed into a different person once he was born. My life was suddenly filled with so much love and purpose that I thought it may burst. There is no one quite like my Ceaghan. He is so full of energy and keeps us laughing and on our toes. You cant keep up with him. It is wonderful. This little man surprises me every single day. He speaks in full sentences and carries on conversations. He dances and sings and plays pretend. I am so proud of the little guy he has become. I love him so much!
  Our birthday fell on a Wednesday this year. We decided to have his birthday party the Saturday following. I searched around then finally decided on the local zoo as our party location. I thought he would love to celebrate and then go see all the animals. I thought immediately that it would be cute to do a zoo or jungle animal theme. But then somewhere I came across a safari themed party that I loved. I decided to go with a safari theme but then got the great idea (because of his current love of mickey mouse to incorporate Mickey Mouse & Friends on Safari! I knew he would love it! It was so much fun planning this party. First I will show the "inspiration board" and then I will post the photos my sister took for me.
  



 From left to right from top to bottom:
Paper Straws (for mason cups), custom animal print wooden cutlery Mickey Mouse on Safari play-set, paper straws, bamboo print table cloths, animal print/bamboo napkins, Binoculars, print cups, place-mats, Children's pith helmets, Safari shirt, rustic cloth ribbon, leaf garland, natural cord, stuffed Mickey mouse on Safari, Safari print mickey head cut outs (confetti), Animal print fans, Animal print paper pack, mickey cuty out, mickey safari head ribbon, leaf decorations, mickey ribbons multi pack, mini cut outs, cupcake stand diy tutorial, Cupcake toppers, adventure stencils, animal print child sunglasses, Child's backpacks, compass/light key-chains.

And here it is all put together on the big day!
First the cake & cupcakes:

And here are the party pictures!

EC and our 7 month old!

  Well it has been a little while since I have updated about how the natural infant hygiene is going. I have been busy planning Ceaghans 3rd Birthday party and coordinating our local Improving Birth Rally For Change. Cesilee is now 7 months old. She can sit up on her own and even propels herself up from sitting on the potty to standing. She is not crawling yet though, she hasn't mastered both the arm and leg movements and ends up doing this very cute inch worm thing. She has been doing so amazing with giving us signs that she needs to eliminate. She urgently babbles, pops on a off the breast while nursing and even cries if its urgent. She is still dry during naps and goes upon waking and then around 15-20 minutes after that sometimes. Something that shocked me was that I randomly put her in her Grovia  diapers going out for a few days in a row and she did better in them than she ever did in trainers! I dont understand why but she would hold it longer and be more persistent about expressing her need. I dont really love having her in diapers, they are bulky and more work to get on and off. I was almost about to just only use them though if she had more success in them. But we started putting her in her trainers again and she is now expressing the need just as much in them!
  Chris is having more success as well. He would often miss her signs and end up with a lap full of pee before. But now she is getting his attention. I think the introduction of the tiny potty has helped as well. I purchased a Baby Bjorn smart potty, a clear tiny potty, and a pottete plus travel potty. I first bought the bjorn and she really was loving being able to sit on it on her own (she could even before being able to actually sit unassisted) and I realized that we were having more success using it. Before the potties I was walking her to the bathroom and holding her over the sink or the toilet to go. This was successful until she started reaching and grabbing things and becoming very distracted. On the little potty she can have a teether or toy to keep her hands busy. I keep the baby bjorn potty in the living room and the tiny clear potty on  the end corner of my bed. The pottete plus travel potty is great for keeping in your bag/vehicle. It has disposable liners but you can just put it on top of prefolds and then throw the soiled ones in a wet bag. I bought it because she had gotten so comfortable with going on the tiny potty at home that she didn't want to go being held over and sink or toilet while we were out. Also it is very convenient when we are at an outdoor location like a park that doesn't have a restroom.  I continue to get surprised how well EC goes while we are out. She will sleep on the way somewhere, wake up going in the carrier, eat, sleep some more and then wake up and get back to the car before going. Its amazing how much control babies have. She really does want to wait until her potty opportunity to go. Just from that you can see that this isn't something parents/caregivers force onto babies, it is what babies prefer and the parents/caregivers learn to help facilitate.
    We are still trying to figure out nighttime. I make an effort but it isn't going amazing. She isn't a loud demanding baby, she fusses lightly and even finds her own way to nurse while I am sleeping if she needs it. I think the issue is that I am not waking up when she is fussing the tiny bit she does before peeing. She can hold it for a while and then when she gets to an uncomfortable point she will fuss and release it all at once. This happens half way through the night and in the morning. I have tried waking up at 1am and sitting her on the potty, but she screams and cries and protests against it. She will not go and I think mostly she just is not awake enough. I am not sure what to do about this. We could try investing in layers of wool for the bed and keeping her nude with prefolds under her. I think that will be our next attempt for night. We will have random nights where I can get her to pee while nursing/still asleep and when she wakes up dry in the morning she releases a large amount in the potty. I wish every night could be like that. I'm sure in time it will get easier.

Life is good.

Dancing on the porch in mommy's shoes!

Things have been going well. Ceaghan is potty trained. I can't believe how quickly it happened. We are working on phasing out his little potty and him using the toilet all the time. He is very interested in using the toilet. He has even had an accident because he didn't time it right to make it to the toilet. We also struggle with him not letting us know that he has to go while we are out. I can tell because he starts grabbing himself and I ask. When I get him on the toilet and he finally goes, I make it a point to talk with him about how it feels so much better to empty your bladder and that he should let me know when he has to go. This kid would hold it for 8 hours! He is also learning a trillion (okay a slight exaggeration) words everyday and he makes me so proud. I can't believe he will be 3 in a few months. This Thursday is the first day of meeting up with a toddler preschool co-op. There are 10 toddlers around his age to learn and play with. I think it is going to be very good for him. I love that this can be an extension of our homeschooling.

This is how I hold her on the potty

  Elimination Communication with Cesilee is going well. We catch some and we miss some. Some days are awesome and we barely have any misses and then others we seem to be missing a lot. We have been going out a lot enjoying the summer weather and it has become a bit tricky. I need some sort of travel potty to take with us. We were at a family picnic the other day at a park. The park had a port-a-potty instead of restrooms. I couldn't take her in there to potty and I was not prepared with a potty bowl or anything. So she reluctantly had to go in a diaper. I changed her often but I can really tell that she has the preference to go on a potty. I am looking into the "Pottete Plus" travel potty/seat. I think I could fit it into my diaper bag and be used in situations like this and on public toilets as well. Cesilee is 5 months old now. Wow did that go fast! I sometimes stare at her in awe that she is so big now. Yet when I look back at photographs and video clips of her premature 5lb self, I am shocked. She has come so far and is such a beautiful blessing! She started babbling as well, which she has been trying to use to communicate the need to eliminate. She makes this certain pitch of sounds and I just know its time. We almost always catch poop but the other day I had set her down in the exersaucer while I tried to hurry and make Ceaghan a sandwich. She was showing sighs but I was just hoping she would hold it for a minute (mistake!!) she couldn't thought and was only wearing Gerber training underwear. It was very full and had leaked out ALL over! What a mess to clean up! But I did learn that she is serious about needing to go and there is no waiting. She has been wearing trainers during the day and diapers at night. She used to wake up during the night and wiggle and cry before letting go of a huge pee. However she has stopped doing this and doesn't make obvious enough signs that wake me up. I think perhaps this is due to deeper sleeping. I have reluctantly been putting her in a stuffed diaper with wool over top to try to make it until morning. (it never does though, shes a super soaker!) I am hoping to figure out a solution soon. I think a wool pad under her would really help as well. The little round wash basin that we were using as a potty bowl cracked. I bought a vintage potty bowl off ebay and it works a lot better. But recently she has decided that she does not like going on anything but the toilet. She will hold it and not go on anything else.  I think this is just her preference right now and I am doing my best to accommodate this desire. The way I hold her on the potty matters as well. She seems to want me to hold her backwards on the potty with her feet pressed against the back inside rim of the seat. She will protest if I try to pee her any other way. But when she has to poop, she wants me sitting on the toilet with her. I am not sure why, but I will do whatever works for her.

EC and Teething: Don't Stress!

This is how I have been trying to catch

Well we have hit a little bit of a bump in the road; Teething. Cesilee has been teething for a little while now but it has recently in the past few days seemed to really be bothering her. Anything that comes within a couple inches of her mouth will get chewed on (including daddy's clavicle! OUCH!) We have been using a baltic amber necklace and a teething oil to try to ease her pain. She enjoys chewing on a wooden teether and my knuckles. Poor little babe.
  Now let me explain how this has been effecting EC. We were doing great, we were in a great rhythm and were catching a lot more than missing. Then along with the teething, she started only releasing her bowel movements while cradled up on my shoulder in the burp position. And this progressed farther into her also only wanting to urinate in this position as well. I am not sure if its going to last but I have been just taking it as it comes. She seems frustrated and cries out when I have been offering her to sit on the potty. When sitting with me on the potty, instead of going with me like usual, she got very fussy until I put her on my shoulder and then she releases. Baby's happiness is most important to me and I of course am not going to try to force her to eliminate in any way that she does not want to. I have been trying to find ways to catch these up on the shoulder eliminations the best. It almost always ends up getting on my arm or lap. She is not communicating her needs as well right now either and sometimes she cries out of frustration while pottying. I am assuming this is because she is so focused on the teething. I have been either holding a prefold under her bum while on my shoulder or having the bowl on my lap and trying to catch that way. But sometimes I am not seeing her communicate the need and we are having many misses in her trainers. OH YEAH, that reminds me! I have been trying out a few different types of training pants and I will be posting a review on them soon. I wan4 to try them all out for a bit before I can give a good opinion. Anyway we are just taking as it comes right now and trying to keep her as comfortable and happy as we can. If that means more misses than that is okay. I am confident we will get back into our rhythm eventually.

Potty Potty Potty

  Okay let me give updates on everything.

Ceaghan is his undies!

    Ceaghan is doing great with potty training. We introduced these cute little underwear with his favorite characters. We assumed that this would be a good idea and that he would do even better due to not wanting to pee on them. However it slightly backfired. He was holding his urine for a very long time until he uncontrollably leaked some out and then would try and run to the potty. We would ask him if he had to go and he would get really angry and yell "NO!" We had to make him realize that if he took them off to go potty that he COULD put them back on. He doesn't wet while napping or sleeping at night and is getting somewhat used to the underwear. We still have accidents but not often. He really surprised us last night while taking a bath. He asked twice to get out of the tub to go pee on the toilet! I just assumed he would pee in the tub if he had to go, but he really understands now that the toilet/potty is where you go.

Tummy time!

  As far as how EC is going, it's even surprising me how well its going! Last time I was talking about how we were just learning her cues and patterns and that it was barely part time at that point. Well now it is definitely a full time thing. I just cant go back to letting her sit in a diaper. Sure we do have misses sometimes but I am still aware of her needs and making a conscious effort, so I say that is full time. If I was putting her in a diaper part of the day and just ignoring her cues and letting her "fill" it up then I would say that is part time. I have even been changing her out during nighttime. She doesn't usually pee while sleeping. She will wake up to nurse and have a full bladder. She fusses a lot and then releases it. I am trying to figure out the best way to catch it. Right now I will have her in prefolds and a belt and change them out. Its pretty easy because she only wakes up every 4 hours or so and after latching back on, goes right back to sleep. The biggest problem is that I dont usually wake up all the way, so then I forget to change it out. I just switch boob sides and drift back to sleep. I have found that during the day she really has a toilet preference. I have also noticed that usually when I have to go, she has to go. We sit on the toilet together ( I sit in the back of it and have her sitting between my legs) and as soon as I go, it cues her to go. She will go in our little potty bowl but doesn't seem to like it as much as the regular toilet. I think because its not as comfortable. Her potty bowl has a plastic edge that must be bothering her. We seem to have gotten into a rhythm and we dont have many misses now. It is really annoying having to snap on and off her diapers, so I have ordered some trainers and in the mean time I like to have her in a prefold/belt or I use those bloomers that you get with dresses with a cotton doubler inside to catch 1 miss if it happens. My mindset has changed so much that I dont think I could go back to doing diapers full time. This is going so well and its awesome!

Hey you!

  I have been doing the vitamin D regimen for 3 weeks now. I take my pill every morning and I feel alert and normal. I have noticed a few pounds of weight loss but nothing significant yet. At least I am not gaining anymore! The biggest thing I have noticed is that I have a normal appetite now and I actually am satisfied for a duration of time after eating. It wasn't like this at all before, I could eat large amounts, constantly throughout the day and never feel full or satisfied. I always felt hungry and constantly thought about food. I knew this was happening but could not control it. I hope this normal appetite stays after I am done with the supplement regimen.

Our first time going out while practicing EC

Cesilee wearing a receiving blanket flat and headband belt

   I wanted to write out a little update on how EC is going. We ventured out of the house for the first time since we started and I am still amazed at how it went.  Cesilee and I went to our local ICAN (international cesarean awareness network) chapters April meeting. She was asleep on daddy while I got things ready to leave and then woke up when we needed to leave. I offered her the potty but she did not go. We put a diaper on her and I assumed that she would pee in it on the way to the meeting. She got upset in the car and was fussing and I thought, "Yep, she just went" but when I got to the meeting (late but I got out of the house!) her diaper was dry. I set down my bag, said "Hi" and took her to the restroom. She was doing the pee dance. (its like a wiggle and a certain fuss) so I took her in the stall, removed her dry diaper and put her on the toilet, the opposite direction so her feet were planted towards the back. I cue'd her and she immediately went poop and pee! Then she smiled and I wiped her and put her dry diaper back on and headed into the meeting. She was nursing but then started fussing again after about 20 minutes or so. I took her back to the restroom and she peed again! I was so surprised at how much faster and easier it seemed using the toilet like this. Then we headed back and 30 minutes later she made the poop face and I was in the middle of a conversation and missed it. She loudly pooped in her diaper and everyone laughed. Oops! But despite this miss, I am so happy with how it went being out for our first time. She really does seem to have control and waits for her "potty opportunity" to eliminate. I was completely skeptical before and now that I am experiencing  this for myself, I am amazed!

Ceaghan "reading" Cesilee a story while on the potty!

  This morning I realized that she can sit on the on toilet potty seat if I hold her up. My timing was off though and although we sat there for awhile, she ended up eliminating into a prefold on my lap 2 minutes later. But I will continue to offer it upon waking up. Ceaghan is really interested in her potty time. I think it is helping him with his potty training as well. It was very cute this morning while holding her on the potty, he got a book and insisted on "reading" it to her while she sat there.
  Diapers are getting annoying to take on and off and since she doesn't wet at all while napping during the day I am thinking that switching to just using prefolds/belt and trainers would work for us for most of the time. I will keep the diapers on hand though and for nighttime. I have been using prefolds/ receiving blanket flats with a "headband belt" (using a headband as a prefold belt works great!) and I simply take the front portion out to potty her and then tuck it back in. If we miss, they are really easy to change out. I am selling some diapers right now to fund some tiny training pants for her. These will be good for naps and going out. When I need that waterproof security. I also really need to get her a tiny floor potty, so we can potty easier while in the living room.
  Overall this is going better than I ever expected. My thoughts have changed so much. I view diapering differently now and I feel like this makes more sense, for us. I am still learning all of her cues and timing but that will almost constantly be changing as she grows anyway. I am sure challenges will come along the way but I dont see us going back to our full time cloth diapering days.

Family is lifes greatest blessing

Today is day 4 on the vitamin d regimen. I am feeling pretty good. I take a single 5,000 iu veggie capsule every morning. It gives me a good burst of energy and no bad side effects so far. I also have noticed that it is definitely already helping to control my appetite. I actually get to the point of feeling full. I am excited that this might help me get this weight off. I dont feel like myself and I dont feel healthy at this weight. This is the heaviest I have ever been.
  Okay to completely change the subject now  I want to update on everything else. Ceaghan is doing great still with the potty training. We have started putting him in training pants and are trying to teach him to communicate with us when he needs to go. We are keeping track of when he goes and when he has an accident so we can keep track of his progress. It has been hard the past two days because my parents came to visit from Chicago. We don't get to visit often so the excitement was at peak level. I could tell that it distracted him very much. I do not think it will take him long to get back into a rhythm though. I hope he starts doing better while wearing the trainers as he can't be naked all the time.
  It was great seeing my parents. I miss then so much and it's so important that the kids see them on a regular basis. Its very emotional for me, as my mother has some health problems and it causes her much pain to travel. We plan to visit them as soon as we can. Gas money is what inhibits us from visiting more often. This weekend my mother saw Cesilee for the first time since she was coming home from the hospital 2 days after her birth. It was beautiful to see her reaction to how big she has gotten. She has gained 9lbs since them and its very chunky and beautiful. My sister also came with my nephew who is only 6 months younger than Ceaghan and they have so much fun together.
Here are some photos from our weekend:

Nana and Cesilee

Papa and Cesilee

Papa and Ceaghan

Ceaghan and Cesilee

 

Ceaghan and I