Travelling with Babies or Toddlers

First rule about travelling with toddlers that anyone will tell you...Don't Do It!!! Ha ha ha...Now that we have had our little laugh at that, we can move on and realize that at some point in time, you may have to, or want to, travel with your toddler. After making 3 international trips (to 3 different continents) with my son, all between the ages of 13-21 months, I feel that I have earned the right to share the wee bits of wisdom I have acquired and to share some helpful links found through hours and hours of internet research. Above all, I would like to share my "travelling with toddler" mantra: This too shall end. 

What's for Dinner? Spring Quinoa Salad

photo courtesy of fullplateplanet.wordpress.com

Are you tired of ordering pizza, subs, or Chipotle (yes, that's me!) as your default meal? Are you looking to eat healthier this spring but don’t want to compromise taste in the process? Are you a novice in the kitchen but want to cook more, starting with “easy” meals? Well, if you answered yes to one or all of these questions than don’t stop reading!

Toddler Approved Healthy Cookies

I was on a mission yesterday to find a cookie that met 2 serious requirements: They had to be healthy, and they had to be something I could make WITH my 22 month old toddler. I found the recipe at shape.com. Yesterday I made the quinoa and stored it in the fridge overnight. Today my little guy and I made the cookies and it was such a great experience! Here is the recipe:

What's for Dinner? Spicy Black Bean Soup

Yeah, ok...so I'm into soups right now. It's February in Michigan. Need I say more?

While planning my meals this week I stumbled upon a picture of black bean soup and I knew I just HAD to make it. Plus, we are trying to reduce our grocery bill a little by adding in at least one vegetarian meal each week and this fits the bill: it's filling, nutritious, has adequate protein, warms the body and it's vegetarian.

In search of a good recipe I came across many online, but nothing quite seemed right (I felt like Goldilocks and the 3 Soup Recipes...one was too bland, one was too labor intensive, etc, etc.) until I found this Black Bean Soup recipe from The Novice Chef blog. The beautiful picture drew me in...

Spicy Black Bean Soup from TheNoviceChefBlog.com

and the recipe seemed totally doable on a weeknight AND sounded like it would taste good...and when she said the soup was "even ass friendly" I KNEW a chef with a sense of humor was worth a try!