recipe {milk enhancing granola bars}

oats...they are great for milk production, at least in my case.  i eat oatmeal every morning and i make these a lot.  i got this recipe from a twitter friend...the original recipe is here and i took my friend's amendments and added/changed a few other things...i swear every time i make and eat these, my milk production goes through the roof...i usually don't leak, but when i eat these, i leak all over the place...so much milk! plus they are *delicious*!  patty always tries to eat them and i tell  her "you're taking milk right out of the baby's mouth when you eat one!"...

whenever i have a friend with a new baby, i make her a batch of these...they are really great to have on hand especially during those first few weeks when mama can barely get up to make herself food!  

i've used dried cherries, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, shredded coconut and dates as my "flavoring" for the bars, you can use any combo really, but i usually skip the dates... i think this combo works really well and is really good for you too! {this was the combo my friend leonora suggested to me & i think it's the best!}

molasses has iron, which is important and the coconut oil is *key*...a nursing mama should always have coconut oil on hand...i eat some everyday to help with milk production, i usually just spread it on toast for a snack...it is great for boosting your immunity to stay healthy!  i also use it to massage on my hands when my eczema flares up.

ok...so i don't have a photo of the "finished product" as when i made these, they were pretty crumbly and not so pretty...but so, so good!

mix dry ingredients in one bowl:

1-2/3 cups oats

1/3 cup oat flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 cups dried cherries, chopped walnuts, shredded coconut & pumpkin seeds mixture 

{any combo works, but i usually do 1 cup dried cherries, 1 cup chopped walnuts, 1/2 cup coconut, 1/2 pumpkin seeds, but if you have more or less it doesn't really matter, i usually just use up what i have in the pantry...and i love dates, so sometimes i throw those in too!}

mix wet ingredients in a separate bowl:

1/3 cup almond butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 tablespoons melted coconut oil

1/4 cup molasses

2 tablespoons honey {or maple syrup if vegan}

1 tablespoon water

1/3-2/3 cup agave {i use less as i don't like them as sweet}

preheat oven to 325.  line an 8x8x2 pan in one direction with parchment paper, allowing it to go up the opposing sides.  lightly grease the parchment paper and pan.

toss the wet ingredients in with the dry until the mixture is evenly crumbly.  spread in the prepared pan, pressing firmly to ensure they are molded to the corners of the pan.  i use another piece of parchment paper to lay on top so i can press down on top of it.

bake the bars for 30-40 minutes, until they are brown around the edges.  cool the bars completely in their pan on a cooling rack.  

once cool, use a serrated knife to cut into squares...i usually am not fussy about this...they can get pretty crumbly especially if you cut them before completely cool.

i store in a glass container in the refrigerator and just graze on them all week!

enjoy!

soapwalla keeps me fresh...

ok, so i'm going to blog about deodorant. yes, deodorant. it seems like it's so tough to find an organic, green deodorant that *works*...it's important to me to find something healthy, as skin is our largest organ...what i put on my body is just as important as what i put in my body...why spend extra money on organic blueberries if i'm going to put yucky chemicals on my skin?

i've tried them all...from the fancy ones to the rock you see in the hippie health stores, but i've found the best one by far. i've been using the deodorant cream from soapwalla for almost two years now. it's amazing. yes, i used amazing to describe deodorant. it has great consistency, smells nice and IT WORKS! and remember i live in los angeles, hot los angeles...{confession: when i got home from the hospital with beatrice, i probably didn't shower *every* day, well, it still worked...} i started ordering two at a time because i hate running out...

i love that it's hand-made by the soapwalla chef, it's so decadent...i've tried some of her other yummy products and they are wonderful {i used the pregnancy oil on my belly throughout my pregnancy}...but i'm a huge fan of the deodorant!!

here are the ingredients:

Organic jojoba, sunflower, and rosehip seed oils; shea butter; a combination of all-natural and gluten-free vegetable clays and powders; aluminum-free sodium bicarbonate; organic vegan kosher glycerin; a combination of organic lavender, peppermint, sweet orange, bergamot and tea tree essential oils.

{photo credit: soapwalla}

sweet giveaway...

over at natural mommie, they are doing a great green giveaway. how sweet are these fabric wall stickers from quick brown fox of dulwich? i especially love the twitter for girls...the sweet birds...i would love to have these in little bea's room. i have a bit of a fabric and woodland theme going in there, so they would be perfect! and to top it all of, they are eco-friendly, with eco inks and recycled packaging...right up my alley.

head over and check it out!

natural mommie does all kinds of great green giveaways, i've got my hat in the ring for a few of them!

{photo credit: quick brown fox of dulwich}

baby nursery inspiration...

i don't mean for this to turn into a baby blog, but i got baby on the brain! so my posts have been a bit erratic, as all i can think about is baby, and i don't only want to post baby, baby, baby!!

but...it is a girl! and now i'm working on the nursery. eventually it will be a bit more rock'n'roll like this nursery, but now i just need the basics. plus, i think we'll have her in our bed for the first six months at least, but i feel like i want to have the nursery ready before she comes, as i'm sure i'll be overwhelmed once she's here! so here's some inspiration...

{nursery color palette: black, grey, pale pink, dark pink, green}

we inherited a black jenny lind crib. i wanted a jenny lind crib, but not necessarily in black. so now i'm working with what i have...i'm so grateful to have a hand-me-down...now i just have to buy an organic mattress! the other items i have in the room are a vintage vanity and a vintage chest of drawers, both in an oak wood. i also inherited a wood diaper changer that fits perfectly on top of the chest of drawers...so the overall look is definitely going to be antique eclectic...pretty much my style! as with everything, reduce, reuse, recycle. so i love the hand-me-downs and vintage pieces!

wall color...i'm thinking a very pale, pale pink likebehr (zero VOC of course!) reverie pink. that way, the black crib will look great and since the crib is black we can go pink accessories without going too girly!

so for the basic bedding, i think we're going for a simple grey with pink throw pillows from plover organics. one thing that was really important to me was to find organic bedding. the baby will be spending a lot of time in this bed and it should be free from pesticides. it's pretty hard to find organic crib bedding that i like, so i was pretty excited to find plover organics.

i love this sweet bird mobile from bla bla kids. everything on their site is so sweet. i'm trying to avoid plastics, so i only want knit & wood toys, organics even better!

the lighting in the room right now is not so cute...i'd love to get a cute chandelier like this one from ginger's choice on etsy.

maybe some cute fabric organizer bins like this one from sew gracious on etsy to organize all the eco-friendsly, wooden & knit toys!

so those are the basics of the nursery...we have a small bookcase and rocker that i need to figure out. the rocker is white fabric & i'd love to cover it in something cuter. i also have way more books than will fit on the tiny bookcase, so i'm on the hunt for a cute bookcase...i'll probably troll craigslist to find something that will work with the eclectic decor...

and artwork! there is so much cute artwork out there, i'm going to have to do a separate post...

{photo credits: 1. making it lovely; 2. home depot; 3 & 4. plover organics; 5. bla bla kids; 6. ginger's choice; 7. sew gracious}

plant in the earth, well, ok some pots...

in honor of earth day, i made a seeds purchase for my burgeoning veggie garden.  i found some great organic seeds through the cosa verde blog, which highlights eco and green merchants on etsy.  {another fave green blog i should have added to my list...}

i got the butter crunch lettuce {my favorite} from etsy seller fluffn flowers and okra {yum} from seven acre woods.  i want to plant these in some more pots on the patio, or maybe some cool recycled wine crates...

{photos from here and here.}