Moving, Vomit, and Smoothies with Feel Better Garlic Broth and Rice

"Sniffle."  "Cough."  "Hack."  "Whimper."

Things no Mommy and Daddy want to hear on the baby monitor in the middle of the night. 

Our baby (okay toddler, but she's always going to be my baby!) woke up sick two days into living in Greenville.  At first, it seemed like just a cold, but with each day, the symptoms just got worse and worse.  The next thing you know, Kyle and I are getting thrown up on like we're at a frat party.  Ugh.

Thank goodness my husband dealt with cleaning up his fraternity basement in college.  He always says that if you can handle cleaning up a fraternity basement (especially after a party), then you can handle just about any grossness a tiny human will throw at you.  Gotta love a man who doesn't so much as flinch (or cringe) when his daughter is coughing and vomiting on him Exorcist style.

Oh, and did I mention that the movers dropped off all 150+ boxes of our stuff the same day she started to get sick, so the apartment was like a death trap and we had to unpack like maniacs during her naps?  It's difficult enough to get unpacked with a toddler running around (ooh!  boxes to climb!  wahoo!!!), but with one who wants to get into everything and snuggle at the same time, that's not easy going.

Thankfully, Kyle is amazing and found us a really nice pediatrician.  He gave Laela some medicine, and she seems to be getting better every day.  Since Laela hasn't had much of an appetite, I've had to get a little creative with some yummy, feel-better food. 

Watermelon Water
Cut up some watermelon. 
Add equal parts watermelon and ice cold water to a cup or sippy cup. 
Serve!

This will keep your little one well hydrated, and doesn't have as much sugar as some other drinks for sick kids.  Plus, it tastes awesome!
*For a twist, you can blend watermelon and ice for a really icy treat!  Or you can make watermelon cubes by blending the watermelon and putting them in freezer trays.  You can save the cubes in freezer bags!

Smoothies 3 Ways
Fruit and Yogurt:

• Add equal parts vanilla or plain yogurt with berries and a banana. 
• You can freeze leftovers and drink them later!  Or pour the leftovers into ice cube trays and you'll have some tasty yogurt pops.  Store in freezer bags and pop out of the freezer when you want some.

Yogurt:

• Laela really likes vanilla yogurt with cinnamon.  I put in a little bit of ice, blend it, and give it to her as a drink.  You can make yogurt pops with the leftovers the same way as described above.

Fruit:

• You can use almost any kind of fruit- watermelon, berries, bananas, peaches, nectarines, etc and blend it with some ice.  You'll have a refreshing, delicious, and super nutritious treat.  You can make ice pops the same way as the other smoothies.

*some people like to add sugar to smoothies.  I don't think it's necessary.  If you taste it and it doesn't taste sweet enough, you can try some honey, or spoonful of sugar, but PLEASE taste it first.  People forget that fruit really is sweet because they have so much sugar added to things.  You might be surprised by how delicious a simple, real fruit drink can be.

Chicken Broth and Rice

I'm a firm believer in the power of a hearty garlic chicken broth to help you feel better.  This is the easiest way to make it (I didn't have any bones to make home made, and let's be real, I just moved.  I didn't have the time to make any stock.)

• (1) quart organic chicken stock.
• (1) bulb garlic, finely chopped.
• (1) handful parsley.
• (1) cup rice (you can use anything on hand.  I used basmati, but I'd have probably used brown rice if that's what I'd had on hand.)
• Salt and pepper
• Onion powder
• Butter

1.  Cook your rice according to package instructions.
2.  Add a dash of onion powder, salt and pepper to the rice (to taste).
3.  Add a little butter (according to taste) to the rice.  Set aside.
4.  Place a medium saucepan on medium heat.
5.  Add a quarter tsp. of butter with the chopped garlic bulb to the pan. 
6.  Cook for two minutes.
7.  Add the parsley, a dash of salt and pepper, and a dash of onion powder.
8.  Simmer for five minutes.

How you serve this is up to you.  Laela drank her broth and ate her rice separately.  You can put some rice in the bowl and pour some broth over it.  You can add vegetables.  You could have cooked your broth with some carrots, onions and celery (til fork tender).  I didn't because I didn't have any one hand, and even if I did, I was looking for something quick and easy.  You could also add some leftover chicken- cut or shredded up.  Do whatever you think you'd like, or if you're feeding a little one, try what you think they'll eat.  I don't know about you, but when Laela's not feeling well, it's the only time she gets fussy about eating.  So I just try to keep it as simple as possible.

Wednesday I'll post what I made for Kyle's birthday dinner!

Banana Toss

Oh brownies. I make the easiest, best brownies ever. So of course, I've decided to reinvent the wheel and try a new recipe. My daughter was sitting in her high chair nibbling on some bananas while I mixed the same old recipe together, when I decided that I'd try to marry my Mom's triple layer brownie recipe with mine. My Mom would shoot me if I shared her recipe, so let's just say that they're triple layer sin. One of the layers involves a pretty serious chunk of oatmeal at the bottom. It gives her brownies this amazing crunch, and helps hold them together when you cut them (instead of getting a chocolately goop like homemade brownies done right tend to do). I got to thinking and decided that brownies with an oatmeal cookie at the bottom would be pretty great.

My daughter decided that they needed a little extra something...bananas. Please keep in mind that Laela is only 6 months old, so her idea of Mommy needing something is throwing it at me. Or flinging, depending on your angle.

I'm not one to mess with my brownies once they've been spread in the pan, so in they went with the bananas..and you know what? They rocked everyone's socks.

Lesson learned. The kid's only 6 months old, and she's already a culinary genius.