It's my Blogiversary!

I just realized I've been blogging on Healthy Mommy, Healthy Baby for 1 year.

Well...I didn't just realize. I realized about 2 weeks ago when I remembered having started this blog back in February 2011. Then I tried to come up with a way to celebrate this momentous occasion. Should I host a giveaway? Should I post a special recipe? Should I hold a contest to help me get 100 followers? The latter was my original idea, but then I found out GFC is going away and I knew that would be pointless. How do people normally celebrate such a thing? Seriously, how?

Then I decided I should just thank you- all my readers. All my supporters. All my commenters and fellow healthy foodies. I never thought my blog would come as far as it has and I'm so very grateful. I started doing this just for fun and as an outlet, and those are still the reasons I do it, but it's nice to know that others read it and actually care.

I've won several blog awards from fellow mommy bloggers and have guest posted a couple of times. I've been retweeted and featured and shared and all these other things I knew nothing about when I first started blogging. For me, it's always just been about combining my passions for cooking, food, health, writing and being a mom.

But, I do want to do something special to celebrate. So how about this: a recipe contest! Submit your healthy recipes to me at healthymommyhealthybaby@gmail.com and I will choose a winner by March 18th. The winner will be notified and announced on March 21st, along with their winning recipe on my blog. They will also receive a 1 year subscription to Eating Well Magazine, my favorite health and food magazine! 

So send them in! I can't wait to see what you send! And know that I'm sure every recipe will be awesome and I'm not picking favorites or anything. Each recipe will be judged using the following criteria:

1. How healthy the recipe is
2. How creative the recipe is
3. How family-friendly the recipe is
4. How easy the recipe is

 I will personally prepare the winning recipe myself to be featured on the blog and of course link to the winner's blog as well. I will take lots of pretty pictures and talk about how delicious it is :D

Good luck and thanks again for all the support! I really do appreciate it and I appreciate every comment that's left and every share that's shared. 

Also...I've opened up my blog to ads, as you may have noticed. So far I just got this ugly Adsense thingy on my sidebar. I'd much rather have something pretty and somewhat related to my blog, so if you are interested in advertising on my blog or know someone who would, please email me at healthymommyhealthybaby@gmail.com. I'm new to the advertising thing and am open to working with new advertisers right now, so it would be a good opportunity for you to set the guidelines you'd like before I get wiser ;) I'll advertise your business, your website, your blog, your Etsy shop, your cookbook, whatever as long as it's family-friendly. 


P.S. I tweaked the layout a bit, what do ya think?

Meatless Monday with Green Goddess Pizza!

I have toted the benefits of having my own bread making machine before, but for the first time I recently made pizza dough, and now I can say I have tried one of the best pizzas ever! Yes- I am not shy to say I did an amazing job on this little dish that I can't wait to make for a future dinner party. Who's coming???


This recipe uses whole wheat pizza dough, caramelized onions, and plenty of green goodness. I hope you like :)


Green Goddess Pizza

Ingredients:


Dough: 

• 1 cup room temp water
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 ½ tsp yeast

Topping:

• 2/3 cup tomato sauce (I used from my own recipe) 
• 1 4 oz package mozzarella or 1 cup fresh mozzarella
• 1 cup kale, de-ribbed and chopped
• 1 cup baby spinach
• 1/4 arugula
• 1/2 cup broccoli florets
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 
  

To make the pizza dough, place all dough ingredients into bread maker according to bread machine directions (mine has wet go in first, with yeast on top). Press the button for the "Dough" setting and choose the "1.5 lb" setting. Press start and let the 

machine do the rest!

Meanwhile, it's time to caramelize the onions using these instructions. Since we are only using 1/2 a cup of onions, it will only take about 15-20 minutes until the onions are ready. Just don't let the onions get too burnt and crispy! It's important to stir frequently! Caramelized onions are a really nice touch to this green pizza, so I wouldn't recommend skipping this step even though it can be a bit of a pain to caramelize onions. I have found that it's always worth the wait and effort!

Nice and brown, but not too crispy

Once the onions are caramel brown and fragrant, put aside in a separate bowl, then in the same pan you used to cook the onions, add the other tbsp of olive to it and heat over low heat for a couple minutes, then add the kale, spinach, and arugula. Saute stirring until greens are well-coated with the oil for about 5 minutes, or until slightly wilted. Add more olive oil as needed. Set aside if the dough is still working.

Preheat oven to 425. Once the dough is ready, take it out and knock it back on a lightly floured chopping board. Next, roll it out with a rolling pin, then place it into whatever shaped pan you're using to bake the pizza in. I used a basic 15.5" x 20" cookie sheet. If you roll it out and have any dough left over, just pop it in the fridge for later or make garlic knots with it!

melty cheese 

Once the dough is flattened out to your liking, spoon the tomato sauce over it until covered until about 1" away from edge of dough as shown in picture above. Next top that with the mozzarella cheese, oregano and basil, then pop in oven for about 7 minutes, or until cheese is just starting to melt. remove from oven then top with the remaining ingredients, along with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper. Put the pizza back in the oven for another 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!

About to go into the oven 

Fresh out of the oven

This pizza is loaded with plenty of good-for-you goodness! Greens, whole wheat, homemade tomato sauce, garlic, olive oil...and it tastes incredible! Seriously, if you have the means and find the time to make this, you won't be sorry. The basic pizza dough recipe can be made with white flour as well if you prefer, and you can just put on whatever toppings you like! So easy! Just a bit time-consuming, but not really when you remember the bread machine does most of the work. If you don't have a bread machine, here is a recipe for making pizza dough with your hands. It's fairly simple either way you make it.


Lily loved this too- what kid doesn't like pizza? Broccoli is one of her favorite veggies, and combining that with gooey cheese and tomato sauce which she also enjoys, this dish may become one of her favorites. I've only made it once, but plan to make it again very soon, possibly using different toppings. Paul said it was the best pizza dough he ever tasted, so that made me feel pretty good too :)


Normally I do a recipe link-up, but like I said in my last post, the free trial for my Linky Tools is used up and I'm saving every bit of cash I can, so hopefully the link-ups will be back soon, but for now just enjoy this extra special Meatless Monday recipe. Have a great week!


P.S. I apologize for the weird spacing in this post, I can't figure out why Blogger is making it do that because I didn't mean for it to be double-spaced and can't figure out how to fix it. If anyone has a clue, please fill me in, thanks!


   

Sweet Saturday with Chocolate Chia Pudding!

Wow. What a week I have had. Seriously. It was pretty bad. Lots of drama, lots of things happening coming directly out of left field. I won't get in to specifics here, since they are mainly personal matters, but I will just say we are all okay and safe and no one has gotten seriously hurt.


And chocolate is now in order.


Whenever I'm stressing or having a rough time, or whenever the crimson tide decides to roll in, chocolate is in order. And now it's Sweet Saturday, so of course chocolate is more than welcome. 


So, just moments ago, I'm in my kitchen rifling around searching for my chocolate fix. There's usually a stash somewhere, and I found it in some chocolate and peanut granola bars. I devoured one of those, but then I still felt the craving. 


I was already getting a batch of chia pudding going, because I just like to have that around ever since I discovered how truly easy it is to make. And then lightbulb! This would taste good with chocolate added to it! I had some packets of hot chocolate mix left over in the cupboard, so I mixed one of those into the bowl of seeds absorbing the new almond coconut milk I recently purchased (one of the best purchases I ever made!), and voila! Healthy chocolate heaven!

So. Good.

Super easy

swirls of powdered chocolate delight

topped with some shredded organic coconut 

This was so easy and I can't wait to let it sit over night because I am sure it will taste even better in the morning. That's right- I'm having chocolate chia seed pudding for breakfast! As I said in my last post for basic chia seed pudding (which contains instructions for making), chia seeds are a super food that pack a lot of omegas and natural energy, perfect for breakfast consumption. Now all I need is some sliced ripe banana to top this off with and it's perfect!

Now, normally it would be the blog hop part, but my Linky Tools free trial subscription just ran out and I am penny-pinching so much right now that I don't have the means to pay for it, so hopefully the hop will be back next weekend. Sorry :(

You can grab my button anyway! Spread the love that way and have a great weekend!

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Also linking up with these fun hops:

Product Review: Clearly Natural Happy Kidz Bubble Bath

I had quite the weekend a few days ago, so I do apologize for not posting a Meatless Monday recipe blog hop. I had a lot going on and simply did not find the time to write anything, so Meatless Monday will return next week. Sorry! Anyway, I know no one will hold it against me, and I promise next week’s post is worth the wait.

So I wasn’t sure what to write about this week and a lot has been on my mind and “to do” list with work, Lily’s birthday party approaching, family matters, and life in general. Then my husband suggested I do a product review on this new bubble bath I recently got for Lily. You see, he’s been hopping around the mommy blogs too to see what all the fuss is about, and he happened to notice that quite a few of you like to do those sort of things. Then I figured, “Well, I do like this bubble bath and so does Lily”, so I gave in, even though I had never wanted this blog to be about that.

But, this is a really great all natural bubble bath that smells AMAZING and I decided that it ties in to health since it is a body product that’s all-natural and eco-friendly, making it even better for your little one’s skin. So, perhaps I can work product reviews into my blog after all…

Clearly Natural Essentials Happy Kidz Bubble Bath is an all-natural glycerine bath soap. It contains natural fragrance derived from orange, vanilla and clove essential oils. The fragrance is by far my favorite part, but the fact that it doesn’t contain any harsh chemicals or artificial anything is great too. Lily likes it because it’s so bubbly. Just look at the pic below!

Yay for bubbles!

It is also sodium lauryl-free, sodium laureth sulfate-free, made from vegetable ingredients, hypo-allergenic, biodegradable, and cruelty-free! These are all the things that I look for when purchasing body products, especially ones I use on Lily. It also has a really cute picture on the front of a dolphin and fish that Lily likes too :)

Yay for bath blocks!

Lily’s skin is nice and soft and not soapy-feeling after she bathes in it, and it doesn’t irritate her eyes. It comes in a good size bottle and a little bit goes a long way! I would definitely recommend this product that I got on vitacost.com which is my favorite place to find all-natural products for the best price.  I was not paid or asked to write this review, I did it by my own accord, but I will let the company know so that they might send me some more bath bubbles or coupons!!!

Do you know a great product I should review, or a product you’re curious about but afraid to try? Let me know in the comments! Just please suggest a natural, organic, eco-friendly, or health or food-related product so it will at least coincide with my blog’s theme, thanks!

Sweet Saturday Blog Hop #3 THIS CHICK IS BANANAS!

Today I'll keep this short and sweet (see what I did there??). Right now I'm watching Lily build with her foamy blocks in a tub full of bubbles, and once she's done and dressed for bed, I'll be getting ready for GIRLS NIGHT OUT! Whoo-hoo! So, I figured I'd better post this early since I made need time to re-cooperate tomorrow and not worry about blogging. Let's consider this hop "Sweet Weekend Blog Hop" :)


Today I'm sharing some cute pics of Lily eating a banana, and our favorite smoothie recipe :D

It was her first time eating a banana with the rind on it

Strawberry-Banana-Peanut Butter Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 banana

1/2 cup strawberries

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/2 cup milk, almond milk, soy milk, or coconut milk

1 big spoonful of peanut butter

Throw it all in your blender and blend away! This makes 2 large servings or 4 small servings, so add ingredients accordingly. Enjoy!

Now it's your turn to share! Link whatever you like as long as it's something sweet. It can be a blog post, an Etsy shop, your lovely website, your FB page, whatever! Link as many as you like, just don't link the same thing more than once, thanks! And please just follow me, your hostess, preferably by Linky Followers since GFC is ending very soon. Or better yet, subscribe! Have a great weekend!

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I won some awards!

In the past 4 weeks, I am proud to say I won not 1, but 2 blog awards! I am quite pleased with this, and decided to pat myself on the back (which I did...literally). I won the "One Lovely Blog Award" which I mentioned in a previous post, and now I have been awarded the "Versatile Blogger Award" now from my friend over at 7 Kids and Counting (7 kids- that's right! She should be receiving all the awards!).

Thus, in keeping in line with how these things are done, I am passing the One Lovely Blog award on today, and I will pass the Versatile Blogger award on in a future post. Thanks again, ladies!

One Lovely Blog Award

This award is personal and only given to a few bloggers,

to encourage each other to keep up the good work!

The three guidelines:

1) Thank the person who nominated you

2) Nominate your favorite blogs and notify them

3) Share a few things about yourself

Thank you so much Tess at In Love by the Beach!

I love your blog and appreciate you thinking of me!

Here are the blogs I'm passing this wonderful award on to:

A Happy Mum

Me As A Mother

Becoming Super Mommy

Quick and Easy, Cheap and Healthy

7 Kids and Counting

It was very difficult to choose just 5, which is why it took me a few weeks to pass it on! I had to reevaluate my reading list and be sure to give this award to the top 5 I felt were most deserving. I truly visit these blogs at least once a week (it would be more, but who has the time?!), and I feel they have a lot to offer and are truly *lovely* But, no worries to the rest of you who did not receive this award! The Versatile Blogger award gets divvied out to 15 different blogs! Now I really have my work cut out!!

OK, now the fun part...

A few things about me you may not already know:

1) When I was younger, I was really into art, and even won several awards for my creations. I wish I had more time now to spend on such things, and hope to find time to pursue it more in the future.

2) I'm known to most of my friends as "the blunt one", meaning you know I will tell you the truth, and I won't sugar-coat it! Come to me whenever you need honest advice!

3) I am a total chocoholic. Yeah, I know...aren't we all? But, seriously, I need to eat chocolate every day like it's a genuine addiction! My dear husband has taken many trips to the local Rite Aid to grab me a Milky Way Midnight bar or bar of Lindt Dark Chocolate.

Now, all this award stuff got me thinking about how I use rewards often to appease my soon-to-be-two toddler, who is becoming increasingly stubborn and willful. I try to use this tactic of "if you do what I'm asking you to do, I will give you a sticker/treat/new book/etc" as little as possible, but I often wonder if I should be doing it at all. Isn't it more important to just raise children to simply obey for their greater good, whether they realize that is the reason or not? And most do not realize that there is a reason why they shouldn't walk into the middle of the street without a parent, or they shouldn't dump all their toys all over the middle of the floor for others (and themself) to trip on, or why it isn't nice to smack Mommy in the face when you're being pissy (No, just me? God, I hope not...). Not that I would reward Lily for NOT smacking me in the face, these are just some examples...

It works for puppies, right?

But, this is how they learn- by their parent(s) or guardian(s) teaching them. But, does it matter how we teach them? After all, animals are trained to do tricks and obey with the anticipation of receiving some kind of treat after they complete the task. Not that I'm comparing children to animals...well, maybe just a little, but what I mean is it works in the animal kingdom, and are we really so separate from them? Or am I just reading too deeply into this as I tend to do?

But I gave you stickers!

I've had plenty of people tell me it's quite alright to use rewards when you want to get your child to do something, as long as you don't over-do it and utilize the tactic at a responsible transgression. It's also ok if you generally reward the child with things that are considered good for them, like a healthy snack, book, or trip to museum. At this time that is how I generally feel about it, but I want to know what you think. Please tell me how you handle teaching your child good behavior and obedience in the comments, or link a blog post you wrote about it. Thanks!

Meatless Monday Blog Hop #3 with Chia Seed Pudding

You probably read the title of this post and thought: "What? Chia seeds?" And then you probably thought of Chia Pets and "ch-ch-ch-Chia!" 


Ah, memories. So glad I could bring that back for you. You're welcome :)

But, I'm not here to talk about "The gift that grows!" I'm here to talk about the amazing health benefits that chia seeds provide, benefits that are largely ignored by this country, as you can see by what we do commonly use them for. Yes, they're good for sprouting, but the way I like to enjoy them is in pudding. Chia seed pudding is sort of like rice pudding, only much easier to make. Easier meaning NO COOKING REQUIRED. That's right! Sooo easy. Instructions for basic chia seed pudding below...


Basic Chia Seed Pudding


1/2 cup chia seeds, white or black
2 cups almond, soy, or coconut milk (you can use cow's milk, although I highly recommend against it in order to keep it vegan as it is done so traditionally. Use organic milk if you really have a thing against the alternatives to cow's)

Pour chia seeds into a bowl large enough to hold them and the milk. Pour milk on top and mix with a fork until well-coated. Allow to sit for at least 2 hours before consumption. I enjoy them best after they've sat overnight and are extra gooey. While the chia seeds are soaking, they will start to expand and the mixture will take on a gel-like texture. The mixture will turn a purplish color and the seeds will look like they have a clear coating around them. It will not look very pretty, but you can make it look nicer by adding fresh fruit! 

the end result

The taste is almost non-existent, but it's the texture that I really enjoy. It's like a rice pudding with a creamy, light, delicate nutty flavor. I would recommend using vanilla-flavored milk if you want it to be sweeter. You can also mix in a 1/2-1 tsp sweetener, such as agave syrup or stevia extract. 

the brand I used

The main purpose of chia seed pudding is for health purposes. Chia seeds provide an abundance of omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, fiber and calcium. They provide lots of natural energy and help balance blood sugar. They are also quite inexpensive, although not always easy to find. I have a local health food store that carries them and you can find them at places like Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. You can also order them on vitacost.com. Read here for more info on the amazing chia seed.


Here are some delicious add-ins for your chia seed pudding:

• fresh fruit, such as banana, strawberries, and blueberries
• raw nuts, like cashews, almonds, and macadamias
• dried fruit, such as raisins, blueberries, and cherries
• vanilla extract
• raw oats
• cinnamon 

Here is another recipe for a yummy-sounding Chia Porridge from the back of the package I bought:


1 tbsp chia seeds
1 cup water
5 tbsp oats
1/2 banana, sliced
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp agave nectar
2 tbsp chopped walnuts
1 oz coconut milk
Pinch of sea salt


Bring water to boil. Add all ingredients except for the coconut milk to the water and stir for about 5 minutes or until the texture thickens and is to your liking. Serve with the coconut milk poured on top.


SOUNDS GOOD!


This pudding is the perfect alternative to sweet treats. Your family (including yourself) may think it sounds and looks weird, but just give it a try and I think you will be pleasantly surprised. When I first tried this, it was brought to a church function by a close friend and served with banana. Many looked at it with a "WTF?' look on their faces, but everyone enjoyed it! Lily likes it with fruit mixed in and Paul likes it sweetened up. What style will you try?


Now it's time to link-up something yummy and meat-free. Since I shared a snack/treat today, you can link something like that up too. Of course,  you can link whatever you like, just please only link up vegetarian recipes! And please follow your hostess and visit some of the other blogs and leave some love! With the soon-to-be-disappearing Google Friend Connect, I suggest you start following me and others with Linky Followers.


Have a good week!

Sweet Saturday Blog Hop #2

Do you love synchronicities? I do, and I just noticed I've published 70 posts (now it's 71 though) and now have 70 followers. Perhaps I should play the lotto with number 70???

I just thought that was cool and that I would share :) I hope you found it interesting too!

Anyway, I have had the longest week and just want to keep today short and sweet, hence another Sweet Saturday blog hop. Yay! It's almost my baby girl's 2nd birthday and I thought I would share some pics from her 1st birthday just for fun, and because they're sweet! I made a really sweet cake that year, and am trying to decide what to do this year. She really likes chocolate now, so I am thinking a healthy version of a chocolate strawberry shortcake. What do you think?

Getting some love from Auntie

The cake!

The decor!

The fam :)

waiting for her cake...

with her present from Grandma

Thank you, Grandma!

I'm also trying to decide what theme to use. So far these are the choices I've come up with in relation to what she's into these days:

1. Elmo/Sesame Street
2. Animals
3. Mickey Mouse
4. Dancing
5. Cats and dogs

This year we'll be inviting a lot more people than we did last year, so I've already started planning. I just gotta send the invites and pick a theme already (I should probably choose the theme first, right?). 

If you have a sweet birthday party-related story to share from your blog, please link that up! Of course, you can link whatever you like as long as it's something sweet. It can be a blog post, an Etsy shop, your lovely website, your FB page, whatever! Link as many as you like, just don't link the same thing more than once, thanks!

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Have a great weekend!!!!