9 Weeks Already!

I totally dropped the ball on the "Two Month" post, so here's a "9 Weeks" post instead! Sort of. The lazy version. 

I can't believe Chloe is 9 weeks old already. Every week I have to pack up clothes she doesn't fit into anymore; when will it end?! (I already know the answer... waa!)

I love that the weather is finally feeling spring-like. I mean, I still wore a long puffer coat today, but I didn't need gloves or a hat, and I didn't have to put the rain cover over the pram because of the cold. It was actually pretty warm in the sun.

So Steve's been pretty busy with work, and has been pulled in all sorts of directions lately - literally. He's been driving to appointments every other day, and found out last minute that he had to leave for two days in Bath, so it's been just us girls (and Doopy) holding down the fort.

I'm constantly fascinated by how much she learns and does every day - from holding herself up better, to grabbing toys, recognising people and sounds at a distance, and being able to entertain herself. She stays awake a lot longer these days, too. It's about a half mile walk to the high street, and she was alert and awake the whole way there. After a trip to Boots for some necessities, I was going to stop off for a coffee at the Ivy House, but knowing that they don't have soymilk (still dairy free strong over here) I thought I'd try the Sainsbury's cafe, since I had to pop in for some groceries anyway. And she was awake the whole time! I mean, what baby stays awake for like an hour in a pram? My baby. Lol. But you can just see her little brain processing it all and soaking it all in as she looks around. I'm sure the world must be fascinating from her little point of view.

She's also begun to roll onto her side, giggle during bath time, and gets really excited when reading books - sometimes. It seems like every day she's making more sounds and interacting with us more. I swear today when I walked out of the room to go use the bathroom, she yelled something that sounded like, "HEY!"

Grabbing toys is a new game- once she has a grip, she hangs on tight and swings it around like mad. For this reason, I've been trying to give her soft rattles to prevent any head-bashing incidents. Today she pushed her own binkie back in whilst laying down a couple of times, but I'm not sure if that was a fluke or a legitimate accomplishment. She certainly wiggles around enough trying to make it happen when she wants it and when it's in reach, though. 

Here's to hoping we haven't thrown off her sleep schedule! (The post-walk nap was longer than usual, and I have a bad feeling I'm not sleeping until midnight tonight!)

Weekly Menu: Mid-Week Meal Cheats

This week was a yummy one. I'd eventually like to return to some sort of post-baby normalcy which allows me to truly plan our meals for the coming week and stick to it, but alas, that time is not now. My current planning is 2-3 days ahead, which is still pretty manageable, now that the weather allows me to walk into town with the pram instead of relying on Steve to drive me everywhere. We've even been able to get back to a pretty good food budget, because I'm no longer in the manic aftershock of a new baby and I don't have to rely on convenience foods and ordering in anymore.

In light of trying to get my pre-baby-body back (and then some, because I got WAY out of shape in the 8 months we lived with my in-laws), we've been veggie heavy in our meals recently. Someone (ahem, we won't mention any names) found that his suit trousers were a bit snug, so he's on board with the veggie meals. I'll be honest, when we got married two and a half years ago, I never in my wildest dreams thought that Steve would be happy, nay, excited to eat a salad. Say whaaaaat? You heard me. I done converted the boy. Hallelujah. The icing on the cake? While out shopping in Windsor on Thursday, someone I was speaking to made a "you don't look like you just had a baby!" comment. If that's not the best pick-me-up for a new mum, I don't know what is. And it's totally a motivation to keep working toward my goal.  

A few of these recipes would be great for Meatless Monday, or for Fridays (we are in Lent, after all). The one thing they all have in common, is being quick 1/2-hour-or-less meals for any day when you don't have ages to slave over the stove. 

Shrimp Stir-Fry

Loaded with veggies: cabbage, bell peppers, celery (great for crunch if you don't have bean sprouts! Slice it thin on a diagonal), broccoli and egg noodles. And sustainable shrimp, of course. I toss it together with my no-longer-a-secret stir fry sauce (which also doubles as an all-purpose Asian dipping sauce). Recipe below!

Left: my stir fry sauce recipe ; Right: a few of the groceries I picked up at Wing Yip!

Chickpea, Sweet Potato and Kale Curry

Technically, it's a Madras curry, and it was a huge hit. I used the Madras curry sauce from Aldi, and I'm a big fan because it has a little container on top of the lid with dry spices in it, so that you can layer the flavours during cooking like a proper curry. It was really spicy (in a good way) and the only real additions I made were a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of honey (the tiny touch of sweetness balanced the spice perfectly). Steve was sceptical of a vegetarian curry, as he'd never had one before, but he actually woke up the next morning and had another bowl for breakfast. I had a bowl cold for lunch yesterday and found that the leftover guacamole I made when we had chicken fajitas (spoiler alert) was a fab alternative to the yogurt I usually love to dab on my curry but currently can't eat due to my dairy-free conundrum. If you want to whip up a bangin semi-homemade vegetarian curry, the recipe is below! 

Dressed Up Ramen

I love Korean ramen (Ramyun, actually), and it's a whole different animal from the Maruchan and Cup Noodles that you might be used to. First of all, the broth flavours aren't just 90% sodium, and they pack a real flavour and spice punch. I like to dress it up with the addition of fresh veggies and maybe a hard boiled (or poached-in-broth) egg for some protein, and garnish with spring onions (scallions), coriander and a tiny drizzle of sesame oil. If I'm lucky enough to have made it to an Asian supermarket recently, I might add extra Kimchi to my kimchi-flavoured ramen, or some fish balls to the seafood flavour ramen. We stopped in at Wing Yip in Croydon earlier this week, where I picked up a massive bag of baby boy choy for under £2, I stocked up on some pantry staples, and I bought a block of my favourite silken tofu. Tesco carries some imported Japanese and Korean ramen in their international foods aisle, so it's worth a look if you have one nearby. My personal favourite is Shin Ramyun, but I tried a new Kimchi one I hadn't had before this time around. 

Chicken Fajitas

I'm actually kind of mad at myself for saying the words "chicken fajitas," because fajita actually means skirt steak. Boom. Sorry to drop that knowledge on you, because everything you ever knew about Tex Mex has just been flipped on its head. But I digress...

We're big fans of Taco Tuesday in this house, but with its red meat, sour cream (I usually use Greek yogurt, but you get where I'm going with this) and cheese, they're not all that healthy. This time I made a bold spice rub and grilled my chicken in a griddle pan, and our condiments included sautéed onions and peppers, homemade 30-second guacamole, tomatoes, lettuce, finely chopped red onion, and coriander (cilantro). That's it. Well, and the tortillas. But I mean, it's a big step up in the health department from your average taco night. I tend to pile mine up into a salad and ditch the tortillas altogether, claiming that I deserve more of the guacamole because it's the "dressing" for my salad. Haters gonna hate.

My First Mother's Day

Yesterday was my first Mother's Day (don't panic US readers, you haven't missed it - the UK has a different Mother's Day! Yet, curiously, Father's Day is the same date. I don't get it, but oh well). I woke up with a cold... well, I'd been waking up all night sneezing with said cold, so my wish for Mother's Day was a quiet day on the sofa, complete with lots of cuddles - but no smooches, and lots of hand sanitizer, so as not to give Chloe said cold (although we all have a slight case of the sniffles at the moment).

Look at that happy face. I melt. I'm one proud mama. 

Anywho, I love daffodils, and Waitrose was giving away free £1 bunches with your MyWaitrose card, so I couldn't resist having fresh flowers in the house. I've always loved flowers... sometimes on the way home from work, I'd hang around Waitrose having a coffee for 15 minutes so that they'd mark some down after 6pm, and then I could take a bunch home for like, 50p. I'm such a sucker for fresh flowers, but I can't afford to buy a new bunch every couple of days to support my habit. Hence the waiting for markdowns. 

Yep, that's a pint glass for a vase. They were too short for any of my real vases, I swear. Don't judge. 

This is my Midweek Mum Meal of the week: Bowtie Chicken & Kale Pasta. It can feed 4 from a bag of pasta and 2 chicken breasts, so it's economical, too. I had picked up a bag of Tuscan kale (Cavolo Nero, UK readers) and wanted to think of recipes to incorporate it this week, as well as use up the last bit of white wine that I had in the fridge. It's both dairy free and potentially vegetarian, so it would work for Meatless Monday if you nixed the chicken. Oh, and in the photo, it's not dairy free-  I added some chunks of Mozzarella onto Steve's bowl because I needed to use up what we had left in the fridge. Which, if you're not dairy free, is another great addition to the dish. But on its own, this meal is full of veg and fresh flavour, while still feeling like comfort food. 

PS- I've added the UK "translations" for this recipe in italics, because I know there can be a minor language barrier when it comes to supermarket items. Hope it helps!

8 Weeks

Little miss Chloe is 8 weeks old today, but because I plan on doing a "2 month" post all about her next week, this post is all about little old me. And the photos are just little daily snaps from my phone, so no Pinterest-worthy perfection up in here. I mean, that's just not the reality, is it? But it's still to cute too omit.

"I woke up like this." All of the smiles.

8 weeks of motherhood, and my very first Mother's Day tomorrow. What have I learned? Well, forgiveness, for a start. Forgiving myself for losing my house keys and a binkie cover this week. "Mommy brain" is a real thing, people. Steve has to decipher what I want when I can't think of a word and have to resort to pointing and grunting for communication. Am I losing my mind? Maybe. It's ok though. It's like I'm that kind of nuts that is too far gone to realise it, so I'm fine. It's just the people around me who suffer. 

I've finally gotten into a sort of household routine, which pretty much revolves around a constant supply of dirty laundry. I don't know how one little person can generate so much washing, but alas, this is my life now. I cannot wait until we're out of this flat and I can either have A) a dryer (currently the best we can do is a heated drying rack, which is getting mucho expensive to run 24/7) or B) a home with a garden so I can hang laundry outside. Did I mention that this flat is getting kind of cramped these days? And that's without having an airer set up in the living/dining room all day, errrrrryday. 

Someone wants to go for a ride in the car. 

Doopy (the cat) is such a proud big brother. He loves to watch over Chloe while she sleeps, and he is so gentle and barely bumps her with his nose when he sniffs her, if he touches her at all. Often, if she's laying on her play mat or on our bed, he curls up about a foot away. Just close enough without mummy telling him it's too close. He knows. He's so good with her. I feel like they're going to be bff's someday soon and I'll totally take a back seat. I know how special a kitty can be when you're a little girl, though, so it's a-ok with me. 

Late night YouTube workout time.

In my 6 free minutes each day, I'm doing the very best I can to get some kind of exercise. I am following a few YouTube workout channels and downloaded a couple of apps (everything is semi-Pilates-based, as that is my exercise of choice) and I'm trying a little here and a little there every day. Even if I only get ten reps of a move in, a few times a day, I feel like it's better than nothing. On nice days (when it's not freezing/raining/Narnia outside) I go for a walk with Chloe in the pram, and do a loop from our flat to the centre of town, up the high street, and back around to our flat from the opposite direction. On that route, it's 90% uphill so I get a pretty good leg/bum workout in. I'm happy with my progress, and on the days when I try on pre-pregnancy clothes and they still don't fit, I really have to remind myself that I am 8 weeks into changing something that took 9 months to re-shape. I have a goal in mind: a wedding in May, and I have a specific size of dress I'd like to fit into by then. I don't have a scale, I'm just holding myself accountable each and every day to be the "hot mom" I hope I can be. 

As far as our meals go, Steve and I are both striving for hearty salads and healthier versions of our favourite comfort foods.  I have some epic recipes on the horizon, so stay tuned this week. 

TGIF: Week in Review

Left: Catching a quick workout while Chloe naps.          Right: We finally figured out the sling! She's still not crazy about it, though.

This week has been a pretty good one; we're starting to get into a rhythm with Steve's new job; he's pretty much self-employed now, so we had to figure out how to run smoothly on the days when he has to work at home. After all, there's not much room in this 1 bedroom flat for an office, and I don't want to be confined to the bedroom all day with Chloe when he's set up our dining table as his 'desk'. It's a new, exciting chapter for both of us and we're just making it all work as he's getting things rolling. Short term sacrifices = long term goals, or something like that.

I went to Costco and picked up the only decent bagels I can get over here, so it's been bagels for breakfast, bagel sandwiches for lunch, bagel "pizzas" for dinner... almost a bagel a day in one way or another.

Broke my new yoga mat in this week since I got the all-clear to start working out again from the doctor. I actually just downloaded three new pilates/workout apps yesterday, so I'll be trying those out (and probably reviewing them in the next MM Approved post) in the days/weeks to come.

On the Chloe front, she smiles and reacts to things more and more every day, and her babbling skills are developing more as well. I just cannot get enough. We tested the waters with dairy again, at the suggestion of our GP, and poor little angel did not handle it well, so I'm still avoiding the cow. We have discovered, however, that goat/sheeps' milk/cheeses are just fine, so I've found a brilliant soft goat cheese with herbs that I've been using as a cream cheese substitute on my bagels. Happy mummy.

Don't forget to follow me on Instagram, @munchiemummyd!

MM Approved: Nursing Covers and Chocolate (The Necessities)

This week totally covers the basics of motherhood: pretty nursing covers and good dark chocolate. Oh, and a bonk-proof phone cover (we hope).

First up, the nursing covers. As a breastfeeding momma, I've wanted one of these discreet little accessories for practical reasons. I briefly considered making one, then decided that I couldn't be bothered, since the only time I would be able to is during Chloe's nap, and the sound of the sewing machine would probably wake her up, so that idea quickly went out of the window. I've seen nursing covers in baby shops for up to £30 (!) so the idea of paying that much for a glorified apron was not going to fly. So I hopped on over to Amazon to have a look on what they had to offer, and ended up ordering two. I thought I'd return one, but as you'll see below, they both have different pro's so I ended up keeping both!

Pink Mum Udder Breastfeeding Cover

£6.60

This is my favourite of the two covers, because it's large, has a pocket on the front (to pop a binkie, nipple shield, lanolin, my phone, etc into), a toggled back strap to help keep the sides closed for extra modesty, wiring in the top so that it stands out and allows you to look down at baby, and it's just plain pretty with that pink and green paisley print. The fabric is a really nice quality and has a nice handfeel to it and it comes with a little matching bag, so it folds up neat and tidy in my changing bag. The only downside to it, as I mentioned on my Amazon review, is that the fabric doesn't seem to be very breathable so I can imagine it might get hot under there in warm weather. But otherwise, it's brilliant. Click here to buy.

MultiWare Baby Breastfeeding Cover

£3.99

Even though I only gave this cover 3 stars, I still kept it because it's a really no-fuss product, and you can't beat it for the money. Unlike the other cover I ordered, this is a nice lightweight 100% cotton, but thanks to the dark black print (which is pretty, too!) it's not sheer.  It does lack anything fancy, like wiring or boning in the top, a pocket, or anything more than a neck strap. It's not too long, either, so I imagine it might not completely cover a taller person (luckily, I have a really short torso). But it covers what needs to be covered, and is quicker to throw on than the other one, and is nice and lightweight for use in the summer. Plus, free shipping (in the UK at least). I don't think you can really fault it for the price, so I'm pretty happy with it! You can buy it here.

Shockproof 360° Silicone iPhone 6+ Case

£2.99

I finally bit the bullet and upgraded my old iPhone. I mean, I walked into an Apple store and came face to face with a rose gold iPhone 6 plus, and I lost all self control. The last thing I want is for my pretty new [ridiculously expensive] phone to come to any harm, so I wanted to get a really good case. Save splurging on a bulky waterproof one, I really wanted something that covered both the front and the back of the phone. Amazon turned up no luck, so I moved on over to eBay. I'm always a bit hesitant to use eBay because you can't read reviews on specific items, but since this was only a few quid it turned out ok. I'm really happy with this silicone case - it fits perfectly, and the holes over the speaker/camera/buttons are exactly where they're supposed to be (which is not always the case with cheaper cases from China). I like silicone cases because they're shockproof, and this one covers the front screen as well without inhibiting the touch screen or the fingerprint reader on the home button. It's not thick or bulky, either. I really like it, and if you want one, here's the link.

Moser Roth Mint Dark Chocolate (Aldi)

£1.19 (I think)

I lost my receipt so I'm not positive about the price, but I can promise that it was less than £1.50. I've been having major chocolate cravings lately, and my dairy-free-ness has denied me some of my greatest chocolatey pleasures. This is a great milk-free dark chocolate (did you know that some dark chocolates still have milk in them? because until I started reading labels on everything for dairy, I was not aware!). It's super creamy and mellow, not bitter at all for dark chocolate, and if you have 0 self control, they've portioned it out into 5 mini bars for you (but no one will know if you eat 3 in one sitting). My new favorite chocolate, hands down. 

Jamaican Jerk Chicken Salad

A few weeks ago, a friend asked me for a new chicken recipe. She was bored of the same old, same old, and also wanted a refreshing new take on a dinner salad. Have no fear, Dani is here - with a new recipe. I would've posted sooner, but little one decided to get a cold (not my fault at all that I had one first and probably gave it to her) so we had a few sleepless nights last week and naptime had to be mummy's naptime too instead of blogging time.

I found Jamaican Jerk rub in the international foods aisle at Tesco, so have a look in the Caribbean section of your supermarket. When rubbing the chicken, if you don't have rubber gloves in the house (does anyone?) I used a plastic sandwich bag as a makeshift "glove" to rub the chicken - it will leave a lingering burn/tingle if you happen to rub your eyes (or change a diaper!) later, and nobody wants that.

So, start by rubbing the chicken with the Jerk paste, then squeeze the juice of 1 quartered lime over the chicken. I chose to use drumsticks, because we had a big pack of them in the freezer. This would work great with thighs, too. I suppose you could use chicken breasts, but I think that meat on the bone tastes so much better in this kind of recipe. It would be absolutely stellar if you were able to grill the chicken as opposed to baking it, but baking means that it can be made year round (as it's not quite barbecue weather at this time of year). Marinate the chicken in the fridge for at least 3 hours; I prepped the chicken in the morning and baked it off in the evening.

Bake at 350F or 180C until the chicken is fully cooked - this will depend on the size, quantity, and cut of meat you're using. A good telltale sign I've found for chicken drumsticks is to watch for when the meat pulls away from the bone at the 'skinny end' of the drumstick, then cut into one to check that it's fully cooked.

For the salad, I shredded red cabbage, 2 spring onions (scallions), 2 carrots, a cucumber, and a red & a yellow bell pepper. If you have a mandolin, it makes chopping everything quick and easy, and you could add or substitute for other vegetables that you already have in your fridge if you'd like to do so.

Then in the food processor, I combined 2 tbsp chopped red onion, 1/2 clove of garlic, a handful of coriander (cilantro) stems (yes, stems! They have great flavour and it's a great way to keep them from going to waste), juice of 1 lime, and 1 tsp honey. Pulse and slowly add olive oil until the dressing comes together. Give it a taste and add salt & pepper to your liking.

Toss the shredded veggies in the dressing just before serving and put them atop a bed of whatever salad greens you like. I chose a red and green baby lettuce, baby kale, and rocket blend. Add the chicken on top - you can either serve whole, or we tried shredding the chicken off the bone and mixing everything in together and decided that we liked to eat it best that way. Sorry for the dark photos - it was night when we finally ate this, and the photos were taken on my phone. I hope you can still tell how yummy it was!

Here's an ingredient list if you want to go shopping for this recipe:

• Chicken thighs or drumsticks, 6-8
• Jar of Jamaican Jerk paste
• 2 limes
• olive oil
• mixed salad greens
• red cabbage
• carrots
• 1/2 clove garlic
• cucumber
• 2 bell peppers, preferably red and yellow
• coriander / cilantro (fresh)
• honey
• red onion
• spring onions / scallions