A Week of Real-Life BLW Meal Ideas
I was a reluctant convert to BLW, or Baby Led Weaning which, for the uninitiated, is a Millennial rebrand of the concept of feeding your baby food that the whole family is eating. It always seemed a bit extra to me, with the precious little silverware and the tiny rod-shaped food cut just so, becuase that was the only way tiny hands could grip it. The rationale is that this a way to cultivate an adventurous eater. After dealing with persistent picky eating with my older kid, for the last ... Read More about A Week of Real-Life BLW Meal Ideas
I Tried the Most Popular Non-Toxic Diapers (So You Don’t Have To)
By popular demand (on Instagram), I tested 5 of the most popular non-toxic diapers on my baby to find out which one performs best. Here are the real life results! I've posted some out-there stuff on this site before but - I'll admit - this one takes the cake. The genesis of this whole thing was definitely a "Me Problem", as they say. I have been using Huggies for my younger son since shortly after he was born but, with every recent box, I have been more and more skeptical of ... Read More about I Tried the Most Popular Non-Toxic Diapers (So You Don’t Have To)
The Best Gluten Free and Dairy Free Snacks
So, I had a baby. And for all the warnings I got about adjusting from one kid to two, the development I was least prepared for was colic and reflux. But here we are, 8 months later, with a baby who is finally more comfortable - but only because I have eliminated dairy and soy from my diet (he's also on medication). While elimination diets are nothing new to me, dairy is the one common allergen I don't have a lot of experience working around. I cut it out very briefly, around the ... Read More about The Best Gluten Free and Dairy Free Snacks
Working from Home With Kids: My Best Tips from Years of Practice
When the pandemic started and my (pre-pandemic) article about what you need to know about working remotely got a second life, the number one response I got was: but how do you do it with kids around? Prior to this brave new world we are living in, my answer was: I don't. You see, although I've worked 100% remotely for the last 4 years, and for the better part of the 3 1/2 years before that, I had childcare 99% of the time until 2020. My 3-year-old son was in excellent hands with ... Read More about Working from Home With Kids: My Best Tips from Years of Practice
My Favorite Picky Eating Hack
As I'm slowly making my way back to blogging, I've been trying to get my (literal) house in order before I am ready to commit to posting regularly here again. One of the issues that I want to make sure I have the creative energy for at home is getting back to addressing picky eating with my 5-year-old son. If you've followed me for awhile, especially on Instagram, you already know that I've been working hard for years to address my son's picky eating and help him expand his palette and ... Read More about My Favorite Picky Eating Hack
An Update
After a prolonged silence here, this probably won’t come as a surprise, but I am taking a break from blogging and social media for the foreseeable future. It’s not you, it’s me (really). I love this community so much, and am so proud of all the cooking and baking we’ve done together. But the truth is that I’m just mentally and physically drained, and have been for awhile. Nearly 365 days without time to rest, recharge, see friends in person, eat at a restaurant, sit at a coffee shop, ... Read More about An Update
Paleo Gluten Free Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
These grain- and gluten-free chocolate crinkle cookies are made from almond flour, coconut sugar, and cocoa powder. They're the perfect chocolatey, chewy-on-the-inside, crispy-on-the-outside holiday cookie. December is here, which means the holiday cookie baking extravaganza has officially begun. Do we know how the holidays of 2020 will go? No. We don't even know how tomorrow will go. Nothing about this year has been predictable — particularly celebrations, holidays, and family ... Read More about Paleo Gluten Free Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Grain Free and Gluten Free Sugar Cookies (Gluten Free Cutout Cookies)
These chewy gluten-free sugar cookies are free from gluten, grains, and refined sugar. Made from a blend of almond and tapioca flour, these gluten-free cutout sugar cookies are a wonderful addition to your holiday table. Have fun cutting them into shapes, serve them frosted with dairy-free icing if you want, and finish with sprinkles to match the season. What an, ahem, memorable year it's been. Thanksgiving was small this year, but I'm proud to say I didn't take a ... Read More about Grain Free and Gluten Free Sugar Cookies (Gluten Free Cutout Cookies)
Paleo and Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie
This paleo and gluten-free pumpkin pie is the perfect finale to Thanksgiving dinner. Dairy-free, refined-sugar-free, and grain-free, it's a pumpkin pie everyone at your table can enjoy. I started baking before I was tall enough to reach the counter. And yet, of all the hundreds (thousands!?) of recipes on this site and in my head, there are still plenty of classic desserts I haven't given the ACB treatment to make it grain free, gluten free, and refined sugar free. With ... Read More about Paleo and Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie
Sky-High Gluten Free Corn Muffins
These gluten-free corn muffins taste just like you remember! This easy cornbread muffin recipe is dairy-free and refined-sugar-free as well. Try them for yourself, and see how they make the perfect side dish for a backyard BBQ, Thanksgiving feast, or regular Sunday Supper. Allow me to tell you something you already know: This year, Thanksgiving may look a bit different. Finding the right balance between traditions, lasting memories, and safety is no easy feat. In a stream of endless ... Read More about Sky-High Gluten Free Corn Muffins
Perfect Crinkly-Top Grain- and Gluten-Free Brownies
These flourless gluten-free brownies are made with dark chocolate, butter, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and vanilla. Sweetened with coconut sugar and topped with a bit of flaky sea salt, they're an easy, fudgy brownie recipe the whole family will enjoy. Here's what separates bakers from the rest of the global population: To a non-baker, a brownie is a brownie. But to a diehard baking snob (*cough* not unlike myself *cough*), a brownie can be categorized under half a dozen ... Read More about Perfect Crinkly-Top Grain- and Gluten-Free Brownies
Grain Free and Gluten Free Pumpkin Spice Waffles
These easy gluten-free waffles are perfect for fall, made with real pumpkin puree and a hint of pumpkin spice. Enjoy them smothered in maple syrup or a dollop of dairy-free whipped cream for a paleo-friendly brunch. When you live in Chicago, you embrace autumn the second it arrives. Or, rather, you begrudgingly accept it, whine about it for awhile to your warmer-climate-dwelling coworkers, and then embrace it. As every Midwesterner understands, the seasons often jump from humid, ... Read More about Grain Free and Gluten Free Pumpkin Spice Waffles
Chocolate Chip Coconut Macaroons
Chocolate chip macaroons are an easy, dairy-free, gluten-free treat the whole family can enjoy. Combining unsweetened coconut flakes, egg whites, maple sugar, vanilla, and chocolate chips, it's an easy cookie recipe that the whole family — even kids! — can get involved in. There are a lot of reasons to love coconut macaroons - the antidote of macarons, the fussy, labor-intensive delicate French sandwich cookies - but how quick and easy they are to make is near the top of the list. ... Read More about Chocolate Chip Coconut Macaroons
Sugar-Free Lemonade
This sugar-free lemonade recipe is the perfect, refreshing drink for a warm summer day. Made with just three ingredients and sweetened with a zero-calorie, zero-sugar sweetener, it's a summertime beverage you can feel good about. Ok, I'll admit it — I'm not much of a drinker. I've been known to dabble in a few spritzers, and I even had a moment where I was obsessed with the Starbucks pink drink. But over the course in one year, the times you'll see me with a cocktail in one hand ... Read More about Sugar-Free Lemonade
17 Healthy Whole30 Snacks
These 17 wholesome Whole30 snacks will keep you on track to finish out your month right! There is something for everyone on this list. If you're one of the warriors completing a September Whole30 despite being knee-deep in e-learning and a seemingly endless quarantine, this one is for you. Also: I admire your strength. Even if you're not following this protocol, these snacks are still for you. A Whole30 focuses on eating real food: No sugar, dairy, grains, or legumes, and ... Read More about 17 Healthy Whole30 Snacks
Grain Free and Gluten Free Zucchini Cake
This gluten-free zucchini cake is moist, dense, and smothered in cream cheese frosting. Sweetened with maple sugar, it's a delicious grain- and gluten-free cake you'll want to stick a fork into. While, on the surface, I have no business continuing to post zucchini recipes when we are clearly entering pumpkin season, I am clinging to three important justifications for my maverick behavior: I'm still getting zucchini in my Imperfect Produce box, and I've seen pretty ... Read More about Grain Free and Gluten Free Zucchini Cake
Easy Paleo and Gluten-Free Pizza Crust
This easy paleo pizza crust recipe is one I spent over a year perfecting. The gluten-free crust makes a perfect base to your favorite pizza, and happens to be yeast-free, dairy-free, grain-free, and paleo diet-friendly. Top it with all your favorite toppings for a dinner your entire family will enjoy. I say this with caution, but I think I finally entered the "radical acceptance" stage of quarantine. While I'm still trying to balance a full-time job, having a toddler home at all ... Read More about Easy Paleo and Gluten-Free Pizza Crust
Easy 5-Ingredient Homemade Pizza Sauce
This homemade pizza sauce is made with ingredients you'll already find in your pantry, including crushed tomatoes and Italian herbs and spices. This pizza sauce is gluten-free, sugar-free, vegan, and paleo-friendly. Enjoy it with a grain-free homemade pizza crust and your favorite toppings for your next family pizza night. Oh hey, remember me? Your friendly neighborhood grain free dessert chef? Yeah, I imagine some of you are squinting and shaking your heads, because it's been... ... Read More about Easy 5-Ingredient Homemade Pizza Sauce
10 Minute Easy Egg Salad
This is the easiest egg salad recipe you will find on the internet. Made with just five ingredients and four simple steps, this recipe is made from items already stocked in your fridge. All you need is eggs, dijon mustard, mayo, scallions, and salt and pepper for an easy snack or lunch option. Does the internet need another egg salad recipe, let alone another fairly basic one? Am I contributing anything to the greater (food) good here? Probably not, but here we are. Where food blogging ... Read More about 10 Minute Easy Egg Salad
How to Press Tofu (Without a Tofu Press)
If you don't think you like tofu, you're probably just not preparing it right! Knowing how to press tofu the right way is key to achieving successful tofu recipes, and this tutorial will teach you how to do it, without a tofu press. Follow these steps before grilling, baking, or stir-frying tofu. While many of my recipes are paleo, keto, or low-carb friendly, I don't pretend to subscribe to any one of these diets. In fact, that is how this site started: I had to eliminate a lot of ... Read More about How to Press Tofu (Without a Tofu Press)
20 Easy Recipes Made with Freezer Ingredients
My freezer is, without question, my favorite large kitchen appliance. The joke in my family is that it's genetic: my grandmother, my mom, my aunts, and I all keep fully stocked second freezers at all time. There's a method to our madness. Freezing perishable ingredients, such as meat, veggies, and fruit, is a great way to reduce food waste. It also allows you to stock up on food when it's on sale, or produce picked at peak the peak of its season (potatoes, broccoli, or kale), without ... Read More about 20 Easy Recipes Made with Freezer Ingredients
20 Easy Recipes You Can Make With Pantry Ingredients
What a whirlwind month this has been. I started writing this when I was packing my apartment in the city, and people were still able to, you know, leave their homes. Now, I live in the suburbs, we're becoming accustomed to our entire life being confined to the four walls of our new house, and I can't barely remember a time when "screen time rules" didn't elicit hysterical laughter from every mom I know. Like many of you, I'm sure, the entire state of Illinois is on lockdown - officially the ... Read More about 20 Easy Recipes You Can Make With Pantry Ingredients
106 Quarantine Activities for Toddlers and Young Kids
Phew. It has been a month hasn't it?! I won't pretend anyone is having it easy right now, and there are different categories of "not alright", but let me tell you: if you're a parent, and you're struggling right now, you are not alone. Whether you work or not, having a kid (or more than one) cooped up at home right now is bordering on agony for everyone. Cabin fever, exhaustion, no breaks, and boredom are starting to reach a critical mass. We are extremely fortunate that ... Read More about 106 Quarantine Activities for Toddlers and Young Kids
How to Freeze Kale
Freezing vegetables is one of the easiest ways to reduce food waste, stretch your grocery bill, and save time. If you’re wondering how to freeze kale (or similar leafy greens like swiss chard, collard greens, or spinach), this post will teach you how, in just a few easy steps. Well, what a year the first two weeks of 2020 have been. If you follow me on Instagram, you know we’ve been dealing with quite a few toddler sleep issues the past several weeks. I’ve gotten dozens of ... Read More about How to Freeze Kale