Mommy Mondays: Shoe Blues

Older children will often sacrifice comfort for style despite parental or medical advice to the contrary.
- AAP Textbook of Pediatric Care

Sound familiar?  Because I know I am terribly guilty of sacrificing comfort for style.  And I'm sure many women are the same.

At the same time, I am oh so concerned with foot health.  My first word of advice for beginning runners is to go get properly fit for running shoes.  I've seen what the wrong shoes can do to your feet, posture, hips, knees - well, your body in general! 

So, in the famous mom-line of "do as a say, not as I do" I've tried to set Thatbaby up for success in the footwear department.  This is especially hard given how adorable baby shoes are.  I'd love nothing more than to scoop him up a pair of baby converse, or penny loafers.  But instead, I've done my best to follow the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Podiatric Medical Association, and the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society.  What are these recommendations?

1) Itty Bitties and Crawlers - No Shoes!  The only reason children need shoes is to protect the feet from trauma and extreme temperatures.  Since these guys' feet don't even touch the ground, all they really need is socks.  The mantra of the AAP, APMA, and AOFA is "barefoot is best" and this especially holds true for the little guys.

2) Walkers up to 2 years - Soft soles.  Again, we're looking at protecting the feet from the ground, and trying to keep with that barefoot philosophy.  Soft soled shoes protect from the elements, but provide the flexibility that allows little toes to grip, and the bottoms of feet to send important information up to the brain. Toddlers have a toe-to-heel gait that is impeded by harder/stiff soled shoes.  "In fact, shoes that are rigid prevent foot motion and may diminish the development of the intrinsic musculature of the feet," according to the AAP.  

3) 2 and up - Shoes should have a stiff heel, flexible toes, and a rigid middle.  Shoes should be re-evaluated for size every few months (kids feets grows fasts!)  And probably, most importantly, shoes should not need to be broken in.  If they're not comfortable right off the bat, then back on the shelf they go.

And our favorite brands:

Pediped -  These are the shoes of choice for the babes in my mom's group.  And rightfully so.  They are beyond adorable, with a great, flexible sole.  The site frequently has sales, as does Amazon and 6pm.com.  And you can also score them through discount sites such as gilt.com.

See Kai Run (Smaller) - These are Thatboy's favorites. I had seen See Kai Runs in several baby boutiques over the years and always thought they were nice looking, so I was overjoyed to see them on sale on zulily.  Bought a pair, and we've been hooked ever since.

Zoo News: Zucchini Spaghetti with Sausage, Sundried Tomatoes and Goat Cheese

I've mentioned that during our holidays, Thatbaby was really working on his animal sounds. He is very into animals lately.  VERY.  At least once a day he grabs his farm animal book and brings it to Thatboy or I to read.

It seemed like a no-brainer to bring him to the Living Desert while we were in Palm Desert.  And he loved practicing his animal noises, even if he wasn't always dead on with what noises went with what animals (you'd be surprised how many animals say "arf arf"). 

One animal he's got down is the pig.  Mostly because our first night in Palm Springs we ate at Jackalope Ranch, which had pigs everywhere.

So he was very excited to see the warthogs at the zoo.  Although, truth be told, he was actually much more impressed by this little fake warthog than he was with the real one. In fact, I thought there was going to be a throwdown when I told him he had to let some other little ones take a turn.

He also very much enjoyed the African village, which had lots of fun play areas for him.

 

And a petting zoo!  It was his first experience with a petting zoo and he did wonderfully.  Of course, it quickly became his goal to PET ALL GOATS!

He was so very gentle with them, moreso than he is with Thatdog.  Although he has gotten a little better with Thatdog since the goat experience.

And by the way, in case you were wondering, goats?  They say "arf arf."

As I said, the theme of this trip was "sitting on animal statutes" and so here's another picture of Thatbaby after he climbed up and started posing.  You'd think he'd figure out these things didn't rock, but he was just as happy to sit on them stationary.

 

In fact, he much preferred the stationary animals to the ones that went around and around on the Merry-Go-Round.  His second experience on the carousel was a little better than the first, but he still was not happy with being strapped on and going around and around.  He still started crying and trying to get off as it went 'round. 

 

Thatbaby had a wonderful time at the zoo.  And so we had a wonderful time at the zoo.  I love that he's at the age where he actually can take in the sights and get excited.

Because Thatmom just didn't get enough of us in Palm Desert, she came down for dinner last week. I did one of those things where I tried to please both of their tastes, and succeeded!  This is one of Elly's brilliant recipes.  She's my new go-to for pasta dishes.

For Thatboy, it has sausage.  He's a big fan of meats with his pasta.  For Thatmom, zucchini and goat cheese.  One of my favorite mommy and me meals growing up was pasta with goat cheese.  Thatmom would put big dollops of goat cheese in our bowls and spoon the hot pasta over.  The heat from the pasta would melt the goat cheese, and the goat cheese provided the perfect tang to the pasta.  This dish stirs in the goat cheese, but has the same effect.

Zucchini Spaghetti with Sausage, Sundried Tomatoes and Goat Cheese (From Elly Says Opa)

8oz spaghetti
1 Tbsp. oil from sundried tomatoes
2 links spicy Italian sausage, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/4 cup sliced sundried tomatoes, drained
1 medium to large zucchini, sliced thin julienne
2 oz. goat cheese

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid.
2. In a large skillet, heat the oil.  Add the sausage and cook until the sausage is browned.
3. Stir in the garlic and crushed red pepper.  Cook for 30 seconds.
4. Add the sundried tomatoes and zucchini.  Cook for another minute.
5. Add the pasta, goat cheese, and reserved cooking liquid. Toss to combine and serve.

Oh the New Year!

The New Year has been treating us pretty well so far. It started out when I got spoiled opening up my stocking.

See, Thatboy and I have been together for almost 13 years. And I have spent all but one of those years spending Christmas with his family.  And although everyone else has a stocking, I don't.  So Thatboy and I started our own tradition of exchanging stockings when we got home from our Christmas trip.  This year was filled with all sorts of goodies for me, including a not pictured whisk which Thatbaby ran off with.

New Years itself we spent in Palm Desert with Thatmom and her boyfriend.  And I got a chance to cook a nice elaborate feast.  It's been forever since I've done that!

We started with some black bean and pancetta soup, which I didn't get a chance to photograph, but went over well with the whole crowd.

For the main course, Thatboy had requested a roast chicken, since it's been a while since I made one.  I was only too happy to accommodate.

 And since I was already roasting a chicken I thought I should make my life easy and roast some root veggies to go with it.  Especially since Thatmom loves roasted root vegetables.  This was a mix of carrots, sweet potatoes, and regular potatoes.  And a handful of pancetta leftover from making the soup.

I also had the ability to make some homemade bread to go with our meal.  It's been a while since I've made bread - but it's one of my favorite things to make.  Although I prefer to do it at home with a stand mixer.

 As usual, we went overboard with the dessert.  Thatmom picked up a bunch of pastries and a chocolate covered caramel apple.  And I made fruit compote and applesauce cake.  The fruit compote because it's easy - and would have been fantastic over some vanilla ice cream.  And the applesauce cake because Thatboy loves this cake.  Well, to be fair, he probably loves any cake with cream cheese, but he raves about this one every time I make it.

 Fruit Compote

1 can of pears in juice

1 can cherries in juice

1 can halved apricots, in juice

peel of one orange, cut into slivers

1 tsp vanilla

1. Drain all the juices from the fruit into a small saucepan.
2. Add the orange peel and simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Add the fruit and the vanilla and continue cooking until heated through.

 Applesauce Cake

1 stick of butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup applesauce

2 eggs

2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsps cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 cup raisins

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 pan with baking spray.  Cream the butter in an electric mixer.
2. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
3. Add the applesauce and blend.
4. Beat in the eggs.
5. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Add to the wet ingredients and stir just until combined.
6.  Stir in the raisins.  Spread in the pan and bake 40 minutes, or until done.
7. Cool completely and frost with cream cheese frosting.

Cold City: Minestrone Soup

While we were visiting the inlaws, TMIL was adamant about "visiting the city."  This is something we do every time we visit.  Except the term "visiting the city" actually means "go to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art."  I didn't think bringing a crazy 1 year old to the MOMA would lead to an especially pleasant day for any of us.  Which I expressed to the inlaws.  TFIL agreed with me, since he doesn't like art or babies and the two combined?  Not his cup of tea.

Instead, we found an appropriately themed children's museum - The Randall Museum. TFIL still complained the entire time we were there, but at least no one else minded the fact that our child was running around and yelling, because every one else had kids running around and yelling too! 

There was a train room, a lego room, a room where kids were building castles from boxes, and loads of fun animal education.  Like a puppet room filled with animal puppets and surrounded by life-sized depictions of local wildlife. 

The animals made realistic noises, but Thatbaby was more interested in sitting on them.  This would become a recurring theme for our holidays.  I blame it on the rocking horse.  I think he is now convinced that if he sits on something it will rock.

There is a room filled with rescued local animals which Thatbaby loved.  Especially since most of them were birds and he knows what they say.

There was also a room filled with toddler toys.  Which is a brilliant idea for any museum.  Thatbaby had loads of fun playing with toys, just like at home, just like at daycare.

The rest of the day was cold, rainy, and gloomy. We walked around San Francisco in the rain, until TFIL had just about enough and made us head home.  Which was after we had finally got Thatbaby to settle in for a nap in his stroller.  Let's just say, there was lots of screaming during the car-drive home.

Cold, rainy, miserable days make me long to be curled up in my own pajamas in my own home.  With my own bowl of soup.  We've been having some real winter weather here in California, as my 43degree morning runs will attest to.  Growing up, my mom always made minestrone soup with pasta and sausage.  It was a sure-fire way to warm up the winter.  My version uses ground beef, but is still very popular in Thathouse.  Especially with Thatbaby who put away three bowls at dinner, and then another bowl for lunch the next day.

Minestrone Soup

1/2 cup medium uncooked pasta 

1 pound ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onion

5 cups beef broth

2 cups chopped vegetables

1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

4 oz tomato paste

3 teaspoons Italian seasoning

salt and pepper

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. While pasta is cooking, cook beef and onion in a large pot until the meat is browned and onions are translucent.
3. Add the beef broth, vegetables, beans, tomato paste, and Italian seasoning and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Add pasta and simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Boys Boys, Jump For Joy: Spaghetti with Tomatoes, Pancetta and Spinach

Christmas was kind to us.  But it didn't start out that way.  It started out fairly ominously - in fact, it was downright terrifying.  At least for Thatbaby.  TSIL had a Santa costume she convinced Thatboy to wear.  When he made his appearance, Thatbaby was NOT happy.

He clung to me, trembling and crying. And can you blame him?  What is the deal with some creepy stranger who breaks into your house at night?

Don't worry, Thatboy perked right up once that weird bearded guy left.  And then things got really good when he realized there were loads of presents.  It didn't seem to bother him that some weren't for him as he ran off with Thatboy's new sweater and my new apron. 

Some of the presents were for him though.  And his hands down favorite?

His new trampoline! He barely unwrapped it before getting on it and starting to jump.  And at least once a day he pulls it out and asks us to set up so he can bounce bounce bounce.  I think we have a bonafide boy on our hands!

My friend Twofer has more than one bonafide boy on her hands.  She just had her second baby boy right before we left for the inlaws.  So when we got back, I brought them over some treats.

Spaghetti with pancetta, tomatoes, and spinach, along with a bottle of wine for dinner.  And banana bread for dessert.  Or breakfast.  Or snack.  Let's just say that when I had a newborn, there was a lot of banana bread snacking going on, so I knew she'd appreciate it.  By the way, this recipe makes 2 loaves, one for Twofer, and one for us!  We almost inhaled the whole loaf for breakfast the next morning

Spaghetti with Pancetta, Tomatoes, and Spinach

16oz spaghetti
2 Tbsp olive oil

2 oz diced pancetta

4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 red onion, chopped
2 pints cherry tomatoes

salt and pepper

2 cups spinach
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
 

1. Cook spaghetti according to box directions.
2. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Brown pancetta in oil.
3. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and cook just until fragrant (about 30 seconds)
4. Add the onions and cook until transluscent (about 5 minutes)
5. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste.  Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
6. Add the cooked spaghetti to the pan with the spinach and cook until spinach wilts.
7. Toss with the Parmesan and serve.

 Buttermilk Banana Bread

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs

3 bananas, mashed

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

 

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray 2 loaf pans with baking spray.  Cream butter in an electric mixer.
2. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
3. Stir in eggs, one at a time, beating until each egg is incorporated.
4. Add bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla.  Beat until smooth.
5. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt, just until combined.  Pour into pans and bake for about 1 hour, until cooked through.

Mommy Mondays: 15 months

(Usually Thatbaby has his well-baby appointment before these updates, but this month it's not till next week, so I'll update these then.  These are all still leftover from his 13 month checkup)

Weight: 24lbs 8oz (+ 17 lbs, 1 oz)

Height: 32" (+ 12")
Head: 18.75" (+ 5.45")

Sleep: We hit it!  The elusive sleeping through the night!  Kind of.  Before we went to the inlaws for the holidays, Thatbaby was going to bed between 7:30 and 8, and then sleeping allllll the way to 5:30/6:30.  And on the weekends, I could get him to go back to sleep until 7:30/8 if we didn't need to get up and out.









Things went downhill while we were away.  His schedule got destroyed by people who played drums during naps and when he tried to sleep at night.   And he went back to frequent wakeups.



Eating: Thatbaby has dropped almost all of his breastfeeding now that he's sleeping through the night.  I usually feed him before bed and then at that 5:30/6:30 wakeup.  He's eating a ton of food though, especially at night.  He pretty much wants to eat from the time he gets home from daycare until he's done with dinner.

Best Moment: Watching Thatbaby open presents.  It's fantastic.  He really got the hang of it.  He opened them himself, pulled them out while saying "OOOOOOOOOOO" and then hugged whatever was inside.  Unless it was one of his favorites, which he jumped on immediately to play.

My other favorite?  During the Christmas Nativity Pageant, the kids repeat what the prompter says.  So for the little ones playing sheep, you typically hear:
Prompter: Baa Baa Baa
Sheep: Baa Baa Baa

This year, it went a little something like this:
Prompter: Baa Baa Baa
Sheep: Baa Baa Baa
Thatbaby: Moooooooooooo!

Every. Single. Time.

Monthly Wisdom: Things are back to normal around here! So I guess my monthly wisdom is "hang in there!" His separation anxiety has substantially lessened.  I'm sure it was partly due to the molar that came in.  But even daycare dropoffs have been pretty painless.  Except for the mean-face looks he's become an expert at.  I thought they didn't give you the "Are you kidding me mom?" look until they were teenagers. 

Goals for the Upcoming Month:
- Still the babysitter.  Seriously, when am I going to get my stuff together!

- Clean and organize Thatbaby's room.  I haven't done that basically since he came home from the hospital.  And that includes all of his old baby clothes.

Things Thatbaby is doing:
- Word Explosion over here!  We've really been working on animal noises.  Thatbaby can tell you the noise made by a dog, cat, bird, lion, pig, horse and duck.  And although he's not really an animal, Thatbaby will proudly tell you that Santa says "ho ho ho." 
- Thatbaby got 2 teeth in this past month.  Which explains why he's been such a mess lately.
- Thatbaby has a couple new signs - milk and please.  He actually says both of these words as he signs them.
- Mean mugging.  This kid shoots us the "Seriously?" look ALL the time. I warned daycare, and sure enough he does it there too.  And not just people he knows.  Some little girl came up to him at the zoo and the look he gave her could curdle milk.
- Communicating.  Between the signs, the words, and the pointing, Thatbaby is getting really good at letting us know what he wants.  He'll even take a hand and pull us where he wants us to go.  He also nods feverishly when you understand what he's trying to tell you.

-  Spoon and fork.  Thatbaby is fairly adept at the fork, but he's really starting to get the hang of the spoon.  For some reason when you hand him a loaded spoon it goes straight into his mouth.  When he loads it himself, he turns it over halfway to his mouth and dumps it on his shirt.

- Stacking and knocking down.  Both with his blocks and the stacking cups.  

Indoor Fun: Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas

Our first day with the inlaws we actually had made plans to meet up with Magski and her family at a Children's Museum.  Being the amazing Aunt and Uncle that we are, we offered to take Thatniece and Thatnephew with us.  As we headed out the door, Thatboy realized we were headed off with three kids - and perhaps we were crazy.

It might have been this realization that made him decide not to continue on in the pouring rain with a car loaded with precious cargo. Instead, Thatboy asked Thatniece and Thatnephew where they wanted to go that wouldn't involve us driving on the freeway. They requested a trip to the arcade. 

There was more to do for the big kids than Thatbaby, but he found a game to amuse himself with.

This spider game involved stepping on the different buttons as they lit up, whack-a-mole style.  His cousins helped.

And he did well enough to win some tickets, which he donated to the big kids.  By the way, being with two tweens trying to decide how to spend their prize tickets?  Torture.  I'm not looking forward to that phase with Thatbaby.

Thatbaby was too young for the arcade and prizes, but you're never too young for a yummy food prize.  This may be a new favorite in our house.  Derived from the ever so popular "Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burrito,"  This takes that classic filling and uses it in enchiladas.  Topped with some of that leftover mole sauce we all know is always in my fridge.  Thatbaby wasn't so fond of the tortilla, but ate all the filling in his, and then asked for more.  What's nice is this recipe makes a lot of extra filling, so Thatbaby could eat his heart out.  Thatboy loved the smokey mole with the sweet potato.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas

2 sweet potatoes

1/2 tsp garlic powder

salt and pepper

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

6 corn tortillas

1 cup mole sauce

1.  Preheat oven to 425.  Bake the sweet potatoes for 1 hour.  Remove from oven and let cool until they are handle-able. (Lower oven temperature to 350)
2.  Peel the sweet potatoes and mash them.
3.  Add garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste.
4.  Heat the tortillas using your favorite method.
5.  Pour just enough mole on the bottom of an 8x8 baking dish to coat.
6.  Place a scoop of the sweet potato, a scoop of the beans and some mole sauce in the center of each tortilla.  Roll up the tortillas and place seam side down in the baking dish.
7.  Pour remaining mole sauce over the enchiladas.  Cover and bake for 30 minutes.

We're HOME!: Cheesecake

I'm celebrating. 

I'm celebrating the fact that we are home for the forseeable future.  No more traveling for a while!  No more trips with schedules thrown off.  No more living out of a suitcase.  No more hours upon hours in the car.

I'm celebrating the fact that I can start getting our home back in order!  Today I started with the kitchen, cleaning out the fridge and stocking it with fresh vegetables and yogurt.

I'm celebrating the New Year and all my resolutions, which yes - do have to do with my health.  Sleeping more, drinking more water, nightly situps and pushups - so stereotypical.

But even with all those healthy resolutions, there would be no celebration without a cake.  And cheesecake freezes so well, that most of this is actually in my freezer right now.  So it's not sitting around being tempting, it's tucked away for a special occasion.  A special occasion like...not having to see the inlaws for 3 months! 

Cheesecake

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

4 Tbsp melted butter

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 1/4 cup sugar

4 eggs, separated

1 cup sour cream

2 Tbsp flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 lb cream cheese, room temperature

1. Combine graham cracker crumbs, nutmeg, cinnamon, 1/4 cup sugar and melted butter in a bowl and mix. 
2. Spray a 9-inch spring form pan with baking spray and pat the crumbs in bottom of pan. Place in the refrigerator until ready to fill.
3. Preheat oven to 325. Beat egg yolks with electric mixer until thick and pale. 
4. Add sour cream, flour, salt, 3/4 cup sugar and vanilla and beat until well blended. 
5. Add cream cheese and beat until smooth.
6. Beat the egg whites until foamy.  
7. Add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and continue to beat the egg whites until they stand in peaks. 
8. Fold the egg whites into the cream cheese mixture. Spoon into the crust. Bake about 70 minutes, until the center of cake doesn't tremble when gently shaken. Cool completely before serving.

A Post on Winning - Cavatappi with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Cannellini Beans

A couple weeks ago I had a fun email waiting in my inbox.  It was from Sarah, informing me I'd won the Alexia giveaway from her blog.

The month of December found packages on our doorstep on a regular basis, due to the holiday season.  So at first I assumed this box was a gift. 

But it wasn't!  It was my prize package from Alexia!  A reuseable shopping bag, potholder, spatula, 2 cutting boards, and a coupon for a free Alexia product.  I sent Thatboy to the store and told him to pick out whatever product he wanted.  When he came home he said he picked this garlic bread because "everything else they make, I already make really well."  I'm not sure if I should take this as a compliment, or if I should start working on my garlic bread skills!

To go with the garlic bread, I needed a nice pasta dish.  You know, because most people plan their meals around side dishes.  This Cavatappi from Elly's blog was perfect, because I already had cavatappi on hand, AND it featured beans.  Which meant I knew all the boys in my home would go gaga over it.  Normally I'm not a fan of sundried tomatoes, because they're too oily for me.  But Elly figured out a way to really use that oil to the pasta's advantage, using it to create a light and flavorful sauce.

Cavatappi with Sundried Tomatoes and Cannellini Beans (From Elly Says Opa)

8 oz. cavatappi pasta
1 Tbsp oil from oil-packed sundried tomatoes
1 Tbsp olive oil
4 fat cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, drained and sliced into strips
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup pecorino romano or parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
salt and pepper

1. Cook the pasta according to pasta directions. Drain, saving 1 1/4 cups of the pasta water liquid.
2. While pasta is cooking, combine the sundried tomato oil and the olive oil together in a large skillet  over medium-high heat.  
3. Add the garlic and fry it for about a minute before adding the red pepper flakes.  Cook for another 30 seconds.  
4. Add the sundried tomatoes to the skillet and cook for another minute.
5. Add 1/2 cup of the pasta water.  Keep it simmering until it reduces by half.
6. Add the beans, the remaining pasta water, and some salt to taste.  Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer 4-5 minutes.
7. Stir in the pasta, tossing to coat.
8. Remove from heat, then add in the parsley and the cheese.  Season with freshly ground pepper and serve.

Full of Beans

Happy New Year everyone!  It is officially 2013!  Which means we are all full of good intentions.  New Year's resolutions to be kinder, healthier, smarter versions of ourselves.

A lot of people scorn New Year's resolutions, but I love the idea of starting with a clean slate.  Giving myself an end date for the old and a start date for the new.  The chance to be a better me, even if only for a few days before life takes over all my good intentions.

Having a young child is an every day reminder that life is a series of phases.  Phases where we sleep well, and phases where our sleep is disrupted.  Phases where we eat well, and phases where chocolate cake is an appropriate dinner.  Phases where we crave contact with others, phases where we just want to be alone.  And New Years resolutions are just an attempt at entering a new phase.  Hopefully one that will last as long as that chocolate cake phase!

Thatbaby is going through a "Meat?  Meh" phase.  His one time favorite seems to be hit or miss for him now.  Rather than worry and try to force him to eat chicken, steak, or pork, I realize this is just a phase and therefore we're going through a more meatless stage in Thathome right about now.  Instead, we're getting a lot of our protein from one of Thatbaby's current favorite foods - beans.  Thatbaby loves beans in every shape and size.  And this makes it easy to create different and versatile meals.

Bean and cheese burritos are probably familiar to a majority of you.  Bean and cheese tacos offer a similar taste in a baby-friendly bundle (since he likes to eat the filling separately from the tortilla.  And when he's happy, we're all happy.

 Bean and Cheese Tacos

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 red onion, chopped
2 bell peppers, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1chipotle chile in adobo sauce, minced
1/3 cup vegetable broth
2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
6 flour tortillas

1. Heat oil in large non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and peppers to pan and saute for 3-5 minutes, until crisp-tender. 
2. Add garlic, chili powder, cumin and chipotle chile, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. 
3. Add beans and broth, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat until medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes, until mixture has thickened. 
4. Remove from heat and stir in salsa and cheese.  Mash  beans with a fork.
5. Heat tortillas using your favorite method.
6. Serve 1/3 cup filling for each tortilla along with desired toppings.