halloween Archives - Page 4 of 4

Another first is in the books as Halloween has come and passed. We didn’t do anything too elaborate, just bought a pumpkin costume from Costco and we were all set. Of course, Avery wasn’t too impressed with her orange attire…

Sorry, dear, next year we’ll try for more originality. Deal?

I’ll take that as confirmation that she’s okay with this.

For her first trick-or-treating experience, Going Mom, G-Ma, and I took turns holding our winter squash as we walked around a small loop of our neighborhood. We went to the homes of neighbors we knew just to say hi and kindly refused any treats they offered.

It was easy this year since Avery is still too young for candy, but I’m thinking next year will prove more difficult. I get that she’ll inevitably have candy, but hopefully we can keep it limited and I can’t stress enough how some of the sweets have ingredients we should never consume. Hydrogenated oils and basically all chemicals, for instance. Bleh.

Anyway, I’ll spare you my thoughts on ingredients in food……for now.

We have a really great neighborhood filled with fun-loving people and a lot of kids around the same age as Avery. It will be great watching them grow up together and hopefully creating lasting friendships.

Our pseudo-trick-or-treating walk lasted a little too long to Avery’s liking, but she didn’t throw a huge fit. Most of the time she just had a very unimpressed look which I think was partly because there were several little superheroes, animals, and plenty Elsa’s from “Frozen” running around squealing with delight from their bags overflowing with sweet treasures.

The night was calm and the air was cool and crisp from a cold front that just came in making it an ideal night to wander the streets. It was the ideal setting for Halloween and seemed to resemble the scene of kids out on Halloween in the movie E.T.

As usual, we stretched our limits for bedtime and Avery became very fussy as we sat her in her highchair for a late night dinner. She was still happy during bath time and after another bout of fussiness, she was out with Kelley nursing her to sleep.

Our baby is almost one, just two weeks from today, and she makes both Kelley and I extremely happy! I love experiencing firsts together as a family and want to share some of the better pictures of our Halloween on here.

Taking turns posing with our pretty pumpkin princess……who will look anywhere but the camera!

Had to bust out the “tickle bird” to get a few squirmy smiles.

I thought the shoulder time would help amuse her, but even that yielded sub-par, probably out of pity, smiles. She would hardly budge with Kelley trying to entertain her!

Annnnd, the perfect way to end the day with a pissy pumpkin….wine. Oh hey, at least the bottle is amusing!

Hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween!

Did you go out or stay in?

Any favorite costumes you’ve dressed yourself or kids in this year or year’s past?

Happy Halloween, we’re celebrating Avery’s first by trick-or-treating and saying we don’t want anything but to say hi! Although today is Halloween and I should be posting something about how to avoid over-consumption of candy by your little ones as well as yourself, I wanted to share a post from my previous blog.

Ready to roll as a pumpkin! Original, I know.... — Ready to roll as a pumpkin! Original, I know….

Before I was a dad, I had another blog centered on healthy food called “Just Add Cayenne”. Obviously, you can tell I’m a fan of spicy food, but despite the name, I shared a lot of healthy dessert recipes/ideas too. You can check it out by clicking on the “Just Add Cayenne” page tab above and look around for a while.

I’m always interested in the health benefits of food and prefer to use it in place of traditional medicine whenever possible. For instance, I haven’t taken something like ibuprofen or aspirin for aches and pains in years; I use cayenne (hence the blog’s name) or ginger for their anti-inflammatory properties instead. I feel much better in doing so, and know I’m not sabotaging my gut lining or other insides as a result.

As I’ve mentioned many times before, Going Mom knows the importance of breastfeeding, and I’m extremely happy and proud that she’s giving Avery the best nutrition available. I mean, Nature’s pretty damn good at knowing what we need, and no formula or rice cereal will ever replace it! Unless you’re unable to for some reason, I see no good reason why you wouldn’t breastfeed your children.

Lately, Kelley has been concerned about her production and we’ve been looking for natural alternatives to give it a boost. She’s been drinking Traditional Medicinals Mother’s Milk herbal tea for a while now, but doesn’t always have time to brew a cup of tea with her busy work schedule on top of needing to pump. So, now I’m trying to boost things by adding fenugreek to her meals and soon we’ll have a fenugreek supplement to use too.

For the record, I think she’s doing fine and Avery doesn’t seem to complain (besides when she’s just a fussy baby), but either way, as you will see, there are plenty of other benefits to using fenugreek as well. Below is my original post from my old blog which also includes fennel since it’s another healthy addition to you meals. Plus, it made for a lot of “F’s” in my post title!

I have two awesome foods for you to add to your meals to create functional flavors that boost nutrition. One powder from the licorice flavored vegetable, fennel, and the other from an herb, fenugreek. Both of these have very distinguishable flavors that stand out in dishes. For that reason, you have to be careful because too much could ruin a dish.

These are both new functional flavors I’ve started to add to my diet and hope to feel a difference after using for a while. Fennel and fenugreek are known for alleviating annoying digestive issues (what? we all have them!) along with several other ailments.

Here’s a sample of fennel’s multiple health benefits, as listed on Organicfacts.net:

The health benefits of fennel include relief from anemia, indigestion, flatulence, constipation, colic, diarrhea, respiratory disorders, menstrual disorders, eye care, etc. Fennel, bearing the scientific name Foeniculum Vulgare Miller, or its essence, is widely used around the world in mouth fresheners, toothpastes, desserts, antacids and in culinary.

Fennel is a diuretic, i.e. increases amount and frequency of urination, thereby helping removal of toxic substances from the body and helping in rheumatism, swelling etc. It also increases production and secretion of milk in lactating mothers and since this milk contains some properties of fennel, it is anti flatulent for the baby too. It strengthens hair, prevents hair fall, relaxes body, sharpens memory and has a marvelous cooling effect in summer if the pale greenish-yellow water, in which it is soaked, is taken with a bit of sugar and black-salt.

And no, I am not using it for production of milk in my breasts. I’m neither lactating nor a woman; the indigestion and stomach relief is what I’m after. (Edit: And to boost Kelley’s milk supply too!) Read the full benefits of fennel here.

Fenugreek’s health benefits, also listed on Organicfacts.net, are:

The health benefits of fenugreek include relief from anemia, pregnancy pains, increasing lactation, digestion, loss of taste, fever, hair care, dandruff, stomach disorders, biliousness, respiratory disorders, mouth ulcers, sore throat, diabetes, inflammations, wounds and insomnia..

Most of these benefits of fenugreek are due to the presence of saponins and fiber in it. Fenugreek is also used for herbal healing. Its seeds contain a gumming substance called mucilage. Mixed with water, mucilage expands and becomes a gelatinous soother for irritated tissues.

Fenugreek is used to treat wounds, inflammation and gastrointestinal ailments. Fenugreek helps in antioxidation. So, it prevents and repairs damages caused by free radicals. According to ayurvedic and Chinese medicine, fenugreek can be used for inducing labour and aiding digestion. It is also good to improve metabolism and health. Irritated skin condition can be soothed by the external application of fenugreek. Fenugreek is also used for fevers and muscle aches.

Fenugreek is considered to be a safe herbal food. It is also used as a spice and tastes oddly of bitter celery and maple syrup.

Read more of fennel’s health benefits here.

Hopefully I will share a successful outcome with Going Mom’s production, but as you see, there are many other benefits to these foods and I recommend adding them whenever possible.

Have you ever used fennel or fenugreek?

Any moms out there that have tried boosting lactation naturally?

Do you have any new herbs or spices in your diet?