Tag Archives: ergo

Healthy Chocolate Protein Dip Recipe

02/19/2016 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

How about a healthy chocolate dessert dip recipe that’s easy to make and perfect to enjoy this upcoming weekend? Loaded with protein and creamy goodness, it’s good just eating right from a spoon!

I’ll spare you the long talk and get right to it. Our time is precious, so why go on about…..never mind, I’ll do that again soon. 🙂

Topped with Greek yogurt and cocoa nibs, chocolate — Topped with Greek yogurt and cocoa nibs

Chocolate Protein Dip

Ingredients:

1 can of chickpeas or white beans, drained and rinsed

2 medium ripe bananas (the more spots the better to me!)See note below if you don’t have bananas*

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp baking soda

rounded1/8 tsp salt

3 packets of stevia or about 2 tsp; it takes a while get the right amount since so many stevia products are different, so just adjust to taste. If you’re not into stevia, you can use 2/3 cup of brown sugar or honey, but this will detract a little of the “healthy” part.

2 Tbsp raw cacao powder

1/4 cup rolled oats, ground flax seeds, or chia seeds (you can omit this, it just helps to make it really thick)

*If you don’t have or like bananas, try using 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce, pumpkin puree, or Greek yogurt as a substitute. I have tried all of these and still like the outcome. There’s no wrong way, just what you have on hand.

Directions:

Add everything in a blender or food processor and blend until you have a smooth, creamy consistency.

The dip will firm up a little more if you let it cool in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Or make a double batch so you can eat one right away like I do!

This is perfect to treat the whole family, and a wonderful way to get any picky eaters to think they’re getting away with something. Have it alone or smear it on a banana, you’ll be happy either way!

Have you ever made a sweet dip that’s healthy and delicious?

What do you think about using chickpeas as the main ingredient?

Going Reviews

Babywearing With Boba

01/09/2015 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

Babywearing is and always will be one of the best ways to simultaneously bond with your child and also take care of things around the house or running errands. I’ve published many posts declaring my love and support of babywearing and even had an article published on Huffington Post explaining “Why I Wear My Baby”.

I’m so convinced about the benefits of babywearing, I even created workout routines for babywearing parents! And who wouldn’t mow the lawn with their napping baby? Plus, as a dad wearing his baby in public, there’s plenty of laughs to be had each time I need to use the public restroom, here’s 10 I listed.

But enough plugging of past posts, I wanted to quickly share our exciting, kind of late, news. Thanks to Boba providing their 4G Carrier for me to give to Going Mom as a Christmas present, my wife now has her very own baby carrier!

Over the months since we had Avery, I was fortunate to have great companies like Ergo and Onya Baby send me their carriers for review. I am still using them both to this day and love them, but Kelley never had one fitted just for herself and I was always overprotective of the ones we had. Yeah, I’m mean, sorry, dear. 🙂

We are grateful to Boba for sending their organic Verde design carrier and Kelley has already made use of it on several walks.

I had to at least try the Boba before calling it off limits to myself, and used the front and back carry positions. I’ve been mostly carrying Avery on my back in the Onya, so it was different wearing her on the front for a long walk. Different in a good way though, I got to see Avery’s sweet face instead of wondering what she was doing on my back.

That said, I still enjoy the back carry position. The Boba has soft but durable straps that I make it comfortable for carrying your baby for an extended amount of time, and it fit okay when I had it on. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend a Boba to any current or expecting parent, but would say I still like wearing Avery on my back with the Onya better.

For front carrying, the Boba wins my vote over Onya, but I would choose the Ergo Ventus that I reviewed over the two. Granted, I only used the Boba a few times, and Going Mom will be sharing her review with a guest post after extended use. After wearing Avery in her new Boba Carrier on a long, cold walk, I’d say they both kept each other warm and snug….

….there’s even plenty of room for tickling!!

We can’t say thank you enough to Boba, and I love seeing my two favorite girls so close together….literally and figuratively.

Keep an eye out for Going Mom’s Boba 4G review after logging several wonderful hours with our beautiful daughter!

Have you used or do you own a Boba? I know the Boba Wraps are always popular for carrying babies and wish we had one when Avery was smaller.

Disclaimer: Boba provided their 4G Carrier free of charge, but all thoughts and opinions are strictly my own……or my wife’s!

Baby Wearing, Life, Parenting

She’s Already Changed So Much: Babywearing Progression Pictures

10/09/2014 R.C. Liley 4 Comments

With it being International Babywearing Week and all, I decided to take a look back at my babywearing journey thus far. Going Mom and I proudly started wearing Avery just weeks after she was born and haven’t looked back sense. Well, besides figuring out that our first carrier, the Baby Bjorn, was not an ideal option for parent or baby.

Luckily, I had the opportunity to try carriers from Onya Baby and Ergo Baby that they sent to me for review. You can read my review for the Onya Baby Outback here and the Ergo Baby Ventus here.

I still use both carriers with Onya being my go-to choice. I keep the Ergo on the car to use when we are out and about. I’ve mentioned many times on the benefits of wearing your baby, and would urge anyone to wear their baby as much as possible.

What started as a tiny, squishy baby pressed against me in a carrier, has transformed (and still going!) into a lively, albeit heavier, baby that I still wear every day for our afternoon walk. I know the time will come when she becomes too old/heavy to be worn, but that’s still a way’s away.

In celebration of International Babywearing Week, I wanted to post some of my favorite babywearing pictures with Avery. Hope this motivates you to get outside and wear your baby with loving pride!