We've Moved!

Thanks for visiting my blog!

This blog is now being hosted on Wordpress at http://leahvachani.wordpress.com/  I hope to see you there!

Sincerely,
Leah

Gifts For Moms That Keep on Giving

Here's a quick blog post about two great gift ideas for moms and moms-to-be. I'm dying to try them out because each month you get a box in the mail with surprises inside, and each month is different!

Bluum Box

With Bluum, you can start with a plan for $11/month and this gets you started with a monthly delivery of 4-5 samples of new and exciting products for Mom and Baby from top brands like Seventh Generation, YuBe and Plum Organics. Each month has a different theme with different samples so you can be assured that you won't be getting duplicates.

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!

What's for Dinner? Miso Soup

This is a daily million dollar question everyone faces (parent, or not). I hope to revisit this question with future blogs containing seasonally relevant recipe ideas for busy families like ours. Look for this series of blogs starting with the same question..."What's for Dinner?"


Tonight I'm whipping up a quick and easy one-pot meal - Miso Soup. Not only is Miso Soup easy, but it is the best dish for when you are feeling chilled to the bone, have an upset tummy, or feel a cold or flu coming on. 

Homemade Cleaning Supplies: Can They Cut Costs?

Is it worth it to make your own cleaning supplies? Before I embarked on the project of making my own, I needed to look into this a little more. To answer my question, I came up with 4 main criteria.


Does it save money?
Let's compare the prices. Here are some of the cleaning products I usually buy compared to the cost to make the alternative.

Shower Cleaner: Seventh Generation Shower Cleaner-Green Mandarin & Leaf, 32 oz, $3.99.
An alternative recipe: Use an old spray bottle from your commercial cleaner, then add 2 cups white vinegar + 2 Cups water (32oz total), $0.75 (on average) Ummm, yeah. Quite a difference.

Which Resuable Swim Diaper is Going to Contain the Poop?

I'm not a freak about recycling, reusing or saving the environment, but I do what I can. And if it saves me money? Even more motivating!

When I looked into the cost of cloth diapering versus disposable it soon became VERY clear that cloth diapering saves A LOT of money (and the environment). It was then an even more obvious choice to use a reusable swim diaper for my son. The first (and only) swim diaper I bought was Bummis Swimmi Cloth Diaper:

I bought a size Medium (15-22lb) and we have been using it for my son since he was about 5 months old, when he wasn't even 15 pounds yet. He is now 21 months and around 22-23lb and it still seems to fit.

Sippy Cups: should I buy more plastic ones?

I have always been in the camp of plastic = bad when it comes to contact with food and water. So why is it that when I reach for a sippy cup for my son's milk I am reaching for a plastic one, even though we own 3 stainless steel sippy cups??  My current working theory is that they are a pain in the #$% to clean, but upon further inspection, they really are not! There is one extra small step in the cleaning process (I wash all sippy cups by hand because the dishwasher never really gets them as clean as I like...I live in an old rental house with old appliances!) Anyways, I'm at the point where the 3 plastic sippy cups I own have been chewed through to the point where the spout of one leaks 100% of the time. This negates the whole purpose of a sippy cup when your toddler holds it upside down...;on purpose!