Eating Organic

One of the main goals I have in life is to be fit and healthy. As part of that I have decided that, as a family, we will eat more Organic produce. You may remember I was going to grow my own veggies, but that was a dismal failure (although I haven't given up on the whole idea yet!)

I was excited to find out that The Food Group would deliver Organic food right to my doorstep! We have purchased their Organic fruit and vegetable box for the last three weeks and I must say I am very happy with both the cost and the quality of produce in the box:

What I like most about the fruit and veggie box is that you really don't know what you're going to get (even though you do have the option to exclude certain items when you place your order). I have found that has forced me to be more inventive in my cooking, so that none of the produce is wasted.

The thing that surprised me most about the produce is that it lasts no where near as long as produce bought from the supermarket. I knew it wouldn't have as long a shelf life, but I was surprised at how little shelf life it has. Luckily we eat a lot of vegetables so it hasn't really been a problem.

While there are numerous benefits of eating organically, one of the main drivers for us has been Little Snicker starting on solids. I can't believe he is almost 6 months old! We are going to try and feed him organically for as long as possible to give him the best possible start to life.

As you can see, he really enjoys the Organic produce as well!

Recipe: Dairy and Gluten Free Apple Crumble

Last week I was in need of a treat and since I don't eat dairy (because it doesn't agree with Little Snicker when the cow's milk protein reaches him via my milk) and I try not to eat gluten (because it 'binds' me up) I was a little stuck.

I took a look in the cupboard and found that I had an abundance of apples. So I decided to make my own dairy and gluten free apple crumble.


Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

10 apples (I used medium sized apples) stewed.
1/2 a cup of sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup of gluten free flour
3/4 cup of brown sugar
3/4 cup of gluten free oats
3/4 cup of coconut
2/3 cup of dairy free butter (I used Nuttelex)
A dash of vanilla essence

Method:

1. Place stewed apples into the bottom of a suitable dish.
2. Combine gluten free flour, brown sugar, gluten free rolled oats, coconut and cinnamon in a large bowl and mix.
3. Melt dairy free butter and add vanilla essence. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix well using a fork until it has a crumbly texture.
4. Spread crumble over the top of the stewed apple.
5. Bake the crumble at 180 degrees Celsius for approximately 30-40minutes, or until the topping is slightly browned.

While Matty got to enjoy his with cream, I had to miss out. The crumble was still pretty sensational though, and Matty said it tasted damn good for being dairy and gluten free!

Project #28 - Play Mat

This week I am revisiting my project list and hoping to complete Number 28 ... one of the play mats for Little Snicker.

The idea is to incorporate as many different textured materials as possible to create a tactile learning ground for him. I have chosen to applique the play mat with a robot. Here is how it is looking so far:

Hopefully by this time tomorrow he will have some eyes and hands. Then I'll be adding in some ribbon loops for extra stimulation.

I am hoping that all of these different textures will encourage him to enjoy tummy time a little more - one can hope!

Bandana Bibs

This week I have been madly sewing bandana bibs as the amount of drool coming out of Little Snicker is driving me BONKERS!

If you haven't ever seen a bandana bib, basically it is a triangular bib... kind of like what cowboys wear. They are much more fashionable than your traditional bib, especially for older babies.

Anyway, I figured while I was sewing some for Little Snicker I'd also sew some extras:


Once I have put the snaps on this lot I will be putting them up in the Etsy Store. Make sure you swing by and check them out!

On Strike!

Wow - I can't believe that a whole week has gone by and I haven't posted. I've been meaning too but, well... I've been on strike!

That's right. No cooking or dusting, no scrubbing or washing, no sweeping or mopping - just a whole lot of nothing.

I'd love to tell you that the reason I went on strike for the week was because I was sick and tired of doing everything. That I stood out the front of our house burning my bra, while shouting to my neighbours about women's rights, equality and all that jazz. But it wasn't anything like that.

I went on strike because my milk supply dwindled to practically nothing *sigh*. Little Snicker just couldn't get enough and so would wake every 2.5 hours (if I was lucky) and want to feed for 45 minutes. It was VERY draining. So I did some research and found that taking a holiday from day-to-day tasks may just fix the problem. I was willing to give it a shot and am pleased to report that my milk is well and truly back! Yay!

So, what did I get up to while I was on strike? Well, I spent some time with my boys of course:


Made Little Snicker smile on quite a number of occassions:


And we also spent a bit of time outside blowing bubbles!

I feel very well rested and ready to get back into some craft! I hope your week was just as relaxing.

Shopping for Vintage Items

I often stumble across blog posts where people have been on these amazing "thrift shop" journeys, emerging with the most spectacular of treasures. I have never been that lucky. I search and search for cool stuff at good prices, but I always come up empty handed. So last weekend I decided to change my approach. Rather than going to places like Vinnies and the Salvo's, I decided to try more out of the way places like local church op shops and antique stores.

Here is what I ended up with:

Some vintage material and 'hem facing' for a total cost of $3:

Six silver plated spoons I plan to use in an upcoming craft project which incorporates my ephemera. I got them for a total cost of $5:


This very retro copy of the classic novel Heidi. I picked this one up for $2 :

And lastly, my favourite find. A bracelet from a shop called "Blonde Vintage" in Ballarat, which cost me a whopping $4:


Matty and I have decided to start going to garage sales on the weekends when the weather is fine, so goodness knows what we could find on our travels then!

Tutorial : Afternoon Tea Keeper

Last week I got creative and turned a CD spindle (you know the things your blank CD's or DVD's come on) into an afternoon tea keeper:


Here are the steps to help you make your own:

You will Need:

An empty CD/DVD Spindle
Scrapbooking paper
Mod Podge
Small hacksaw
A file
A pair of pliers
A decorative doorknob
Ribbon
A clamp

Instructions:

Find an empty CD/DVD spindle:


Take the two pieces apart and saw off the 'pole' in the base of the spindle, using a small hacksaw:

File down the rough bits caused by filing off the pole, so it becomes flush with the base:

Next, drill a hole in the top of the lid of the spindle which is large enough to get the screw of your doorknob through. It is important that this hole is drilled (and drilled slowly) as other methods of putting a hole in the lid are likely to result in the lid cracking, like this:

Take all of the pieces of your doorknob and lay them out. I picked up this beauty for a whopping $4:

Attach the knob loosely to the lid of your spindle. You need to do this to see whether the screw for the doorknob is abnormally long. If it is, it is likely to protrude into your afternoon tea so we need to cut the screw down a bit. If the screw you have for your doorknob is short, skip the next step.

Clamp the screw down to a surface that won't move and cut the appropriate amount from your screw using the small hacksaw:

Secure your doorknob to the lid of your spindle using a pair of pliers. You will need to make sure that it is tightened exceptionally well to ensure that it doesn't come undone when you are opening and closing the finished afternoon tea keeper:


Next, trace a circle onto the back of your scrapbooking paer, using the base of the spindle as a guide:


Cut out the circle and trim until it fits inside the base. Apply mod podge to the base of your spindle:


Place your cicle of scrapbooking paper on top of the Mod Podge. Use the edge of a card from your purse to smooth out any air bubbles:


Embellish the lid of the spindle using ribbon, like so:


And you're done!

The afternoon tea keeper is perfect for holding approximately 8 biscuits:


Or perhaps a delicious cupcake:


The coolest part about using a CD/DVD spindle is this:

It tells you how to lock and unlock it, so there is no need to worry that your afternoon tea will fall out while trying to operate it.