Leo Turns One

When you become parent, every other parent tells you that time flies when you have a baby.  And it gets really, really annoying. But they're right.  And then you realize…you are now that parent that says it to your pregnant friends.  ha!  It IS hard to believe that it's been a year since we had our tiny, fragile Leo and now he's such a big, strong, smiling, funny, smart little boy.  He loves to play with toys that make noise and music, eat leaves and tiny pieces of paper off the floor, rock back and forth to Stevie Wonder, make beats on his high chair tray, take dirty bottles out of the recycling bin, empty the office trash can, rip up important documents, unplug power cords, change the channel to CSpan on the TV, chew on straws, make funny noises, play Peek-a-boo, push buttons on Daddy's laptop, say Da Da when he's happy, and Ma Ma when he needs something. 

People that know me…know I LOVE a good theme.  January themes are hard!  Snowmen?  But I found inspiration for this Airplane Themed Birthday Party on Pinterest and loved it.  Then I started pinning away and getting grandiose ideas of remodeling our house.  It's a lot of pressure to try to be Pinterest Perfect.  I had many projects in mind that I was sure I would have time to do (i.e. gluten-free Cloud Sugar Cookies) that either completely bombed or I ran out of time for.  It's just not realistic and I my poor tortured husband convinced me at midnight (after folding 40 paper airplanes) that it was time for bed.  OK.  You win, Stupid Pinterest.

Once I let go of the fact I couldn't pull off a donut tower with Leo's face taped onto toothpicks…I relaxed and had fun.  I loved having our first "kid party"!  We had 4 couples and 8 kiddos come over to play and celebrate with us.  It is so wonderful to have friends in Nashville that feel like family.  Thank you Sullivants, Knowles, Mitchells, and Chaffers for being in our lives!

The thing about Leo's birthday that I toiled over the most was his cake.  I know it's tradition to let kids have their first taste of sugar on their birthday…but I just couldn't do it.  He's never had sugar (other than fruit) or any grains. He also has an egg allergy.  I did a lot of researching on gluten-free, vegan, paleo, sugar-free blogs and still couldn't find a cake that didn't have something in it I wanted to avoid.  So I concocted my own.  It's not pretty…and it's not sweet…but it looked like a cake and did the trick.  ha!  Leo loves bananas and will pretty much eat anything that you put in front of him at this stage in his life...so he enjoyed it.  And mama was happy.  (See recipe and other links below)

Leo's Banana Smash Cake Recipe

grain, gluten, egg, dairy, sugar, and nut free

Preheat oven to 375

Grease cake pan with coconut oil

Cake

1/2 cup organic coconut flour 

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup organic coconut oil 

1 banana

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

4 Tb. potato starch 

1 tsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Melt coconut oil.  Then put coconut oil, banana, applesauce, lemon juice, and vanilla in blender to puree'.  Add to dry ingredients and mix on low speed until smooth.  Bake in small round cake pan (I did 2 thin layers but you could also do one)  for 20-25 minutes until firm on top.  Texture will be more like a muffin, not a fluffy cake.

Icing

11 ounces of Culinary Coconut Milk (aka Coconut Cream)

1 Banana

1 tsp vanilla

1 drizzle of local honey (optional)

Blend until smooth in blender and put in refrigerator for at least 1 hour until thick.  Ice cake within 1-2 hours of serving.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Boy!  We love you to pieces!

Theme Inspiration:  The Vintage Pearl

Paper Airplane Wall:  Printer Paper & Duct Tape

Paper Airplane Onesie:  Dirty Hippie Studios on Etsy
Party Invitation:  Room 1117 on Etsy
Round Helium Balloon:  Shindigs & Celebrations
Instagram Prints:  Printicular iPhone App (prints to Walgreens)

Gluten-Free Chocolate Donuts

Let's be honest.  Donuts are just an excuse to eat wheel-shaped brownies for breakfast and not feel wrong about it.  Ha!  These are a little healthier than your average donut since they are baked, have less refined sugar, and don't contain bleached wheat or GMO oils.  So enjoy one! Or three!


Gluten-Free Chocolate Donuts
(Adapted from Cooking for Isaiah Cookbook)
Makes 12 Donuts
2 Tb coffee (I used Trader Joe's Iced Coffee Concentrate)
3/4 cup water
2 eggs at room temp
6 Tb of organic coconut oil (melt before adding)
1 Tb vanilla
1 1/2 cups of *Gluten-Free Flour Mix 
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. aluminum free baking powder 
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup of organic coconut palm sugar
1/4 cup of granulated sugar (can be left out to make less sweet)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 6-donut baking pan with coconut oil. (Let eggs and coffee come to room temperature before adding.)  In large bowl, lightly beat eggs with a wooden spoon.  Add coffee, melted coconut oil and vanilla. (Don't worry if coconut oil clumps a little. It will melt when baking and be delish).  Then stir in all other ingredients.  No need to even get out your electric mixer.  Easy!  

Fill donut cups about 3/4 full and bake until springy to the touch, about 18 minutes.

Optional - add glaze, caramel, frosting, powdered sugar, or sprinkles.  They are so sweet and good without anything extra in my opinion.


* (the best recipe I've found and tested for an all-purpose flour mixture is here.  But I ran out…so I used Trader Joe's All Purpose G-Free Flour Mix I had for a backup.  It worked great for this recipe!)

Healthy Party Recipes and Thrown-Together craft

Last night we had a few friends over for a little gathering.  I decided to spruce up our porch for Thanksgiving.  To be honest…I don't have a lot of motivation to decorate my house unless someone besides me is going to see it.  I thought about skipping right ahead to Christmas decor…but I decided to jazz up our little pumpkin we picked at Gentry's Farm last month. I also repurposed some cute bunting that my friend Leslie made for Leo's "Sip & See".  Good thing I'm a borderline hoarder and don't throw things like that away.  I took off the letters that spelled "shower" and stuck on some little letters to spell "thankful".  See what I did there?  Added to a clearance wreath from Michaels and voila.  I feel like Martha.

 

For the pumpkin...I used white acrylic paint I had on-hand and a sponge brush.  Then I applied tacky glue all over the stem while the paint was still wet.  I pressed glitter to the stem and then sprinkled glitter on the white paint keeping it heavy at the top and allowing it to fall lightly around the bottom.

I literally did this in a box in the middle of my living room while Leo was uncharacteristally enthralled with a new toy.  Then I dragged the box outside and vacuumed all the leaves and glitter off my rug.  Of course…glitter is now still appearing in random places all over my house…like Leo's head.  But that's the sacrifice you make for art.  I just pretend like Ke$ha and her backup dancers came over for coffee.  Because Ke$ha likes glitter.  Get it? And coffee? Oh never mind.

Roasted Veggie Dip
This dip is packed full of flavor and nutrients.  It's great for a party because it's covers all the bases for high-maintenence people (myself included) with food allergies and dietary preferences these days.   It's Vegan, Vegetarian, Paleo, Gluten-Free, Dairy Free, Nut Free…you name it!

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees
1 red onion
2 red peppers
3-5 garlic cloves
1 eggplant
1/4 cup Olive Oil
3-4 Tbs. Tomato Paste
Sea Salt

Cut veggies into uniform pieces - about 1 inch thick.  Spread on a baking sheet, drizzle with EVOO & salt.  Bake at 400 for 30-40 minutes.

Allow roasted veggies to cool.  Then transfer to food processor and add EVOO and tomato paste.  Add more salt if needed.  That's it!

Enjoy with carrot sticks, or healthy chips like these sprouted sweet potato chips.

Lemon Sparkler
This is a great alternative to soda for a party or just everyday.

Juice:
1 lemon
1-2 apples
1/2 inch ginger
Add juice to a pitcher of Sparkling Water
(If too sour for your taste…add 1 tsp local honey to sweeten)

Enjoy!

A day off...

Today was a day of rest, fun and family time.  Billy decided to take a much needed day off after many days of working and traveling.  

We started the day with some Urban Juicer…just to get some nutrients and our immunity on.  WB = The Well Being.  

Kale, Spinach, Apple, Cucumber, Ginger, Lemon

The Cold Buster = Apple, Lemon, Grapefruit, Ginger.  Heck, yeah.

Then to something not quite as healthy…Barista Parlor in East Nashville.  This place was built for Instagram.  I swear.  Uber hip.  Shoot, even the napkins are hipsters.  But equally as yummy.  

(So...Billy snuck in a few emails…but, hey.)

Let's just be honest.  I have a hankering for biscuits pretty much every day.  Barista does them right…and gluten-free.  My dream come true.  Add locally made PRB sausage, The Peach Trunk preserves, and an iced almond milk mocha…and I'm in lactose-free heaven.

A picnic outside at Sevier Park in 12 South with some g-free goodies from A Matter of Taste.  

Such a warm, awesome day.  No shoes needed.  Tomorrow it's supposed to snow…so we're soaking this up while we can.

I've always wanted to see the view from the Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge.  Today was the perfect day.  We caught it just before sunset.