food is fun until you're one

So this month one of my little girls will be 9 months old, this doesn't seem real to me, it feels like I have slipped into a weird time vortex and popped out the other end with a baby that can crawl and climb up on things. I'm pretty sure the sleep deprivation hasn't helped this feeling, the days turn into a blur, the nights are often long and hard. In coming out and realising that I now have an almost 9 month old I've also realised that I have breastfed exclusively for the whole time.

I am very proud of myself, my healthy baby girl loves breast milk and we've gone by the rule that "food is fun until you're 1" So she occasionally gets a bit of mushy avocado or weetbix but mostly she eats what we eat. Baby led weaning is fun, I love watching her smile as she eats a chunk of tofu or a veggie hotdog. It makes me laugh because she gets so into it and does these big MMMM noises. 

Some of my friends are already planning their childs first birthday party! I feel a bit bad because I don't seem to be as excited about it as I should be. I think I might just do a cake smash photoshoot where we take the pics, depending on the weather maybe a small picnic with a few friends. 

i thought i should also give a mention to this amazing website http://www.disposableincomekid.com/ this guy actually gives away money. All you have to do is write a story and he picks a winner each month, seems like a scam? how could someone just give away money? well it's not a scam, I actually won some money for my husband and yep, it came in the mail. So give it a shot, what have you got to loose?

luh you

Raising girls

I have two beautiful daughters in my family. I have so many wishes for them for when they grow up. I wish for them to be self confidant and smart to have a great sense of self, to respect the environment. So many things run through my head, a lot of them are actually reflected in the people around me and who I don't want them to end up like. I worry about the actions of people around us and how they seem in my daughters eyes. What does my 5 year old think when she catches bit of conversation about the latest boy my friends are seeing or when another woman is being nasty. How is hearing things like that supposed to help her become a self assured woman? As woman we have a lot of responsibility as to how we choose to raise our daughters, do we want them to be just like us? Are you strong enough in your opinion of yourself that you feel your daughter would be perfect of she turned out just like you?. I know I'm not, I have a lot a flaws that I'd rather not pass on. So how do we go about this task? When there is so much negative behavior from women in society?. honestly I don't know, What I do know is that I'm going to be the best role model I can. I'm not going to allow people to be bitchy around her, or towards her (yes this has happened). No one is going to get away with their petty 'female' bullshit around my girls ever again. We need to support each other, be there for each other. We've all got issues & have different stories to tell but that shouldn't reflect on how we treat each other. Stop the bitterness & the jealousy and just except that we are all different and that doesn't mean we can't at the very least show some basic human respect for one another. To show our kids that love and respect are important between woman. Yeah it sounds a bit hippy but that's just a part of who I am. Don't like it? Then fine but don't be a bitch about it :p

Worlds greatest shave

So the last few years have been pretty full on with people getting sick in my family. My step dad had bowel cancer, my sister in law has this rare form of appendix cancer & my Nanna had breast cancer. So I kept thinking about what I could do to help & when a lady in my mums group was telling us about a friend of hers who's little boy has just been diagnosed with leukeamia nd she was shaving her head. So I decides to join her team, the team name you ask? Team spiderman!! Yeah so if I was gunna be on a team it would have to be a name like that heh. I set my goal for $250 and made $400 whoop am pretty happy with that.

http://my.leukaemiafoundation.org.au/Becdungey

But if you feel like giving to a great cause here is the link, support team spidey!

super easy vegan muffin pan pies

So over christmas I went on a pie baking spree and a few people requested the recipe, keep in mind I created this from rummaging through my cupboard and pulling out random things hoping that when combined they would make something delicious, this is often my method of cooking. My husband came up with the idea to use a muffin tray to make pies in after we were looking at pie makers and thought they seemed a little flat and small. So here is the recipe hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 100g of TVP (textured vegetable protein) & boiling water
• 1 medium potato - diced
• 3/4cup of veggies - I use peas, corn and carrot - diced
• 1/2 a jar of your fav pasta sauce - I use dolmio spicy peppers
• 3 sheets of puff pastry
• for flavor I use crushed, dried chilies, garlic and curry powder but you can use whatever you like if you don't like it spicy. 
• cooking paper

Method:

• Put the TVP in a bowl and add the spices, then add the water to re hydrate, by doing this the spices dissolve into the water and absorb into the TVP
• Microwave the potato to soften, this shortens oven time.
• mix in the cooked potato, veggies and pasta sauce

• cut the baking paper into squares and line each individual muffin space on the pan

•  Cut the pastry sheets into 4 squares and place in muffin spaces on top of the baking paper

•  Fill the pastry cups with the mixture

•  fold the corners of the pastry over, making a lid

• bake in 180 degree celsius oven until brown and crispy

There you have it, simple, yummy and healthy pies, I hope this helps for next time you have vegan or vegetarian guests for dinner and you don't know what to cook :) enjoy!

*note* i also put cooked rice into the pie mixture, for some reason my husband really enjoys it!

*note* if you are cooking it for vegan/vegetarian guests ensure the pastry is vegan, you can get it you just need to check the box for things like butter, animal derived emulsifiers, animal fats and so on.

luh you