New Studio

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We moved to a new house in August and are finally feeling settled in. I worked on getting my studio set up recently and I am so in love with how it turned out. I always envisioned having a space that was bright and clean and inviting. It has so much light from the large window and table space for all of the projects I have going on. There is also have a dedicated area to do the computer/technical side of things. In my old studio I had to cram everything onto one tiny desk and it was always hard to fit it all. I thought it might be fun to show you where I’m working now and post more about the artwork I have in process. Thanks for stopping by :-)

"C" for Crab - Project and Template

We worked on the letter “C” for Crab today, Dash loves any and all creatures that live in the water. We’ve been watching a lot of “Our Planet” on Netflix lately so I thought this would be a great way to incorporate our letter projects.

This crab is very easy to put together and great for younger kids. If you don’t have a paper plate, feel free to use construction paper for the body. You can also decorate the crab’s body like we did if you want to kill some additional time. Or don’t if you want to save yourself the mess lol. Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the buttons to the free printable downloads and links to materials used in this project. Happy crafting!

Click on the buttons below for the printable templates and instructions. **To use the template, either cut out and trace on project paper or hold template and project paper together to cut shapes.

Click on the links below for materials used in this project :

"B" for Butterfly - Project and Template

Last week was like being in the twilight zone, I felt so out of sorts with everything that’s been going on so our schedules have been completely off and we basically laid around in our PJs the whole time lol. But I’ve been thinking that it would probably be helpful to my mental health if I tried to at least somewhat maintain our regular schedule. Dash usually has school three days a week so I’m aiming for our letter projects to fall on those same days, cross your fingers for me lol not sure if it’ll happen as planned. Our second project is focusing on the letter B and the theme Butterfly.

This project has a few more materials listed than the letter A project but please feel free to skip any you’re missing or use something else in place of an item. If you have a plastic spoon hanging around instead of popsicle sticks or just want to cut out a piece of paper in the same shape that works great too! Paint can also be swapped for markers, crayons or even shapes cut out from construction paper if thats what you have on hand. For the free downloadable/printable templates scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the button icon indicated. Also, if you guys are looking for other projects to do here are some other ideas that we’ve done in the past! As always, links to materials we’ve used in the project are linked below.

• Spiders on a web project

• Pinecone turkey project

• Snowman project

• Penguin art project

Click on the buttons below for the printable templates and instructions. **To use the template, either cut out and trace on project paper or hold template and project paper together to cut shapes.

Click on the links below for materials used in this project :

"A" for Alligator - Project and Template

I hope everyone is staying healthy and doing well during this stressful time. I know it has been such a huge shift for all of us to be home away from friends and even family, work, school, etc. As with all schools, Dash’s preschool has been cancelled for the foreseeable future. I am no home school teacher and certainly not an expert in education. I basically know nothing about teaching children lol. BUT, as you have probably figured out, I love art projects. This is something I can do. So, I thought I’d share our alphabet art projects incase anyone wanted to join us!

To make it easy on the both of us we’re starting at the beginning of the alphabet and will be going through each letter with a themed project. I created a fun and easy worksheet for the letter of the day and included some fun facts you can read with your kids about the theme animal. Today we learned about alligators! For older kids there is a space for you to practice writing the theme word, or for younger kids you can practice writing just the letter itself (or skip it if thats too much!). We like to color in our letter also for some added fun. Even if your kids already know the alphabet, these can be great projects just to kill some time and do something fun together. All of the materials listed can be purchased on Amazon from the comfort of your home, or you may already have them at home! Hope you guys have as much fun as we did :-).

Click on the links below for the downloadable templates and instructions for the project.

Click on the links below for the materials used for this project.

AIP/Paleo Shepherd's Pie

It’s officially winter here, we’re gearing up for Christmas and decorated our tree this past weekend and started to decorate the rest of the house. I always feel like I’m forgetting something and there are always stray fall decorations up until the last minute, but hey, we try our best. With the cold weather I start to go into hibernation mode and mostly want to spend my time under a blanket with a good book and my dinner plan usually includes things with lots of carbs. Today I wanted to share my AIP/Paleo Shepherd’s Pie recipe with you guys incase you feel the same way about warm comfort food this time of year.

This recipe can be done very easily in a large, oven proof shallow cast iron or enameled dish on the stove and then baked in the oven. I didn’t do this for the pictures for this post, but typically when I’m making it that’s what I do to cut down on dishes. This recipe is very AIP friendly but doesn’t sacrifice any of the hearty comforting flavor!

INGREDIENTS :

(Shepherd’s Pie Filling)

• 1 lb of Ground Beef (organic, grass-fed if AIP)

• 2 Large Carrots (diced)

• 2 Large Celery Stalks (diced)

• 1 Large Onion (diced)

• 5 Cloves of Garlic (chopped small)

• 8oz Mushrooms (white or baby bellas work well) (Sliced)

• 2 Parsnips (diced)

• 2 White Sweet Potatoes (diced)

• 3-4 Cups Chicken Broth (bone broth or vegetable works well also)

• 1 Teaspoon Onion Powder

• 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder

• 1 Teaspoon Dried Parsley (Or a bunch of fresh)

• 1/2 Teaspoon Dried Thyme

• 2 Tablespoons Arrowroot or Tapioca Flour

• Sea Salt to taste

• Compliant oil (I used Olive Oil)

(Mashed Cauliflower Topping)

• 1 Head of Cauliflower Steamed

• 1/4 - 1 cup of Chicken or Vegetable Broth (depending on desired consistency)

• 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder

• Sea Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS :

To make Shepherd’s Pie Filling

Preheat oven to 350.

In a pot or oven proof deep skillet/pan, cook the beef until browned and then set aside in a separate dish. In the same skillet heat 2 tablespoons of your choice of compliant oil and add mushrooms (sliced), onions, carrots, celery and parsnips, cook over medium high heat until softened. Add browned beef, garlic and sweet potatoes, cook for about 5 more minutes until garlic is fragrant and potatoes are slightly softened.

Add chicken broth, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, parsley and sea salt to taste. Mix well and let simmer about 5-10 more minutes. Mix 2 tablespoons of water or broth with the tapioca or arrowroot flour to make a slurry, pour into the mixture and let simmer until thickened. This shouldn’t take long at all, a few minutes maybe. Take off heat and add mashed cauliflower over the top and put in the oven to bake until top is slightly golden and the sides are bubbling.

To make Cauliflower Mash:

In a good sized pot steam the entire head of cauliflower (cut into florets first). Add Cauliflower into a food processor, with the garlic powder, salt and 1/4 cup of the broth. Pulse food processor until well blended and combined, it should look very similar to mashed potatoes. There shouldn’t be any large lumps in it (unless you prefer it that way). Feel free to add more broth in small quantities to get your desired consistency.

* Note : If you aren’t sensitive to nightshades like I am, feel free to use regular mashed potatoes on top if you prefer that.

See below for some of our favorite paleo/aip friendly products that we used to create this dish :

Pinecone Turkey Project (Free Template)

Thanksgiving is fast approaching, how is it already the end of November?? Dash has been learning all about Thanksgiving and turkeys in preschool and requested that we make turkeys at home. I thought that was such a great idea! We used cinnamon scented pinecones so that they would give off a nice smell as they sat on display for the coming week. Dash had a great time making these and has already made two!

If you have these kind of pinecones in your backyard feel free to use those! Crafting and outside time - a win win. There aren’t many materials needed for this project and it’s quick and easy to make. As always, if you need any of the materials, there are links at the bottom of the page for everything we used to create these festive turkeys (yay for Amazon Prime! lol). Hope you guys have fun creating these cheerful little birds, Happy Thanksgiving!

@ThisHealingMama

Click on the links below for project materials :

Paleo Friendly Candy Bars

I have been meaning to post this recipe for a while but keep forgetting to take pictures when I make them and then they disappear so quickly in our house that I never get the chance! These Paleo and allergy friendly candy bars are a HUGE hit with my son and husband (and lets be honest I eat about half the pan also).

Unfortunately, these aren’t AIP friendly unless you are at a point where you have reintroduced almonds and chocolate, but if you have reintroduced these then they will work great for you too! My son’s allergies (dairy, peanut and sesame) make it difficult for us to find many chocolatey candy options for him to eat which was a disappointment this past halloween, but having these around gives him a chance to have a chocolate candy bar and not feel left out.

I like to make a big batch of these, wrap them in wax paper and store a bunch in the freezer. They freeze great and defrost quickly, or you can just eat them when they’re still frozen which I have done on occasion LOL. I hope you guys enjoy this sweet treat! I have linked all of the ingredients/brands that we use when making these at the bottom of the page, just scroll past the recipe to find them.

(Note : I do use different chocolate to make these for my son due to his allergies, Hu chocolate does state that it makes allergen cleans prior to production, but is manufactured in the same plant as many possible allergens. For this reason and due to the severity of Dash’s allergies I make sure to use Enjoy Life chocolate for his candy bars which is a dedicated top 8 allergen free factory. Feel free to use whichever brand works best for your family’s dietary needs!)

@thishealingmama

INGREDIENTS :

(Cookie Layer)

• 1 1/2 cup Almond Flour

• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil

• 2 tablespoons Pure Maple Syrup

• 1 teaspoon Vanilla

• Pinch Sea Salt

(Almond Butter Caramel Layer)

• 1/3 heaping cup Smooth Almond Butter

• 2 tablespoons Pure Maple Syrup

• 1 teaspoon Vanilla

• Pinch of Sea Salt

(Chocolate Layer)

• 1/2 cup Chocolate Chips

DIRECTIONS :

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9x6 (or similar size) oven safe baking dish with parchment paper.

In a bowl mix the cookie ingredients until everything is well incorporated, the dough should be wet and formable if you press down on it. Pour out into the lined baking dish and press into the pan in an even layer. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the sides look slightly golden brown. While still warm, press a spoon over the cookie so it packs the cookie layer tightly (It may rise a bit when baking, packing the cookie will help the candy bar to hold together better). Let cookie layer cool before adding caramel layer (I pop the pan into the fridge to speed up cooling time).

In a small pot heat all of the almond butter caramel layer ingredients over medium heat. Mix continuously while heating to incorporate all ingredients together. This shouldn’t take long maybe a few minutes. Take off heat so it doesn’t burn. Pour “caramel” over the cookie layer and spread out evenly, let cool before adding chocolate layer.

Either using a microwave or double boiler heat chocolate slowly until melted (I usually just microwave the chocolate in 20 second intervals and mix until melted). Pour this last layer over the “caramel” layer and let cool.

Once all layers are cool, cut into bars and enjoy!

See the products used to make this recipe below, click on image for further details :

Snowman Project (Free Template and Instructions)

It’s the first snow of the season and I thought it would be fun to have a “winter snow” themed day. We read The Snowy Day, played outside in the snow and did this fun snowman project! It’s been a busy couple weeks at our house between halloween festivities and celebrating Dash’s birthday, it was so nice to have a down day where we just stayed at home and did fun easy stuff around the house.

This project is super easy and doesn’t require a lot of materials. Dash is learning to use scissors at school, so I thought it would be fun to practice at home, he cut out the snowman’s body all by himself! If you don’t have sequins on hand, feel free to cut out pieces of paper for the buttons! For the free template and instructions to this project, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the buttons provided!

Happy crafting! @thishealingmama

See the links below for the materials we used in this project:

Taking Care of Yourself This Winter - Embracing the Power of No

I wanted to write a bit about taking care of yourself this winter. While I absolutely love posting about food, home decor and kids projects, part of why I started this blog was to have a space to talk about wellness. As I’ve posted before, three years ago I began a long, arduous journey of illness and healing. From that I’ve learned a couple of things and have been humbled many times over, but one of the most important takeaways has been - taking care of yourself is crucially important. As a mother and a wife and person with goals of endless productivity, this has been the most difficult thing for me to process and also implement into my daily life.

Until recently, I would find myself running around all day without stopping to take a rest, without stopping to eat sometimes, and certainly without stopping to take time for myself (who has “me time” when they have a small toddler running around and a to do list the size of a mountain??). Of course, the outcome was the same each and every time. I would run run run for a week or maybe two (three if I was very lucky), then my body would come to a complete and utter halt. I would have a flare up and be bedridden (or couch ridden) for a week, slowly and often painfully recovering. The frustration I had during these flares was palpable. And what would I do? I would turn my frustration inwards and say to myself “why is my body so incapable of functioning normally!” or “why can’t I just be like everyone else!”. Then I would feel ok after recovering for a while and I would be back at it, forcing my body to function at a level it clearly was not happy with.

So, at some point it dawned on me - give yourself some grace, give your body what it is asking for, stop forcing yourself to be or do things that are harming you just for the sake of doing things. Whether you are a mom, or working full time, or going to school full time, have a chronic illness or not, whatever your situation is, taking care of your wellbeing is the most important thing. We forget sometimes what taking care of ourselves looks like, I know I certainly have and sometimes still do.

The next couple months, with two major holidays approaching, can be stressful to say the least. Even though I adore Thanksgiving and Christmas, the days leading up to the events and even sometimes the day itself can be ridden with stress, endless to do lists, and activity. As a mother (and lets be real - a perfectionist), I have difficulty putting aside that nagging feeling of wanting everything to be just right and wanting to fill our calendar with endless fun and activity. I do this out of love for my son and the desire to fill his childhood with magical memories of Santa and sparkling trees, and I do it for myself, because I love the decorations and merriment. However, my body doesn’t really comply with this idea and often times I find myself miserable and sick because I’ve over booked.

One of the most important things that I have learned over the last couple years (and still have to remind myself of on a weekly basis) is that it is OK to say no. I want to say yes to everything, but the reality is I just can’t. Sometimes you need to say no to that party, or no to that play date, or even no to yourself when you come up with a grand idea that seems great at the time but if you take a step back will probably end up causing you a lot of hassle and stress. Sometimes I even end up having to say no after I’ve said yes, which can be uncomfortable, but if your body is telling you it needs to rest, that is what you should be doing. The holidays especially, can be difficult to navigate when trying to put this idea into practice, but during those times it is more crucial than ever. The people in your life will understand and will be glad you are healthy above all else.

@thishealingmama

Living Room - Before and After

We’ve been living in our little ranch now for about 7 years (wow, the time has flown by!). When we first moved into this place as newlyweds, it was a complete dump lol. I mean, EVERYTHING needed to be updated/ripped out/redone. Most of it we’ve either done ourselves or with the assistance of family. It’s been an exhausting 7 years to say the least ha! But now that things have settled in a little, I thought I might try to dig out some of the old pictures from when we first moved in and show you a little before and after. I still have so many things I’d like to change about this house and decor I’d like to update, but alas, if only time and money were unlimited.

Here are some pictures of what it looked like when we moved in. You can see everything was a lovely shade of pink and there was wall to wall carpeting. The hardwood underneath the carpet ended up being in great condition, it just needed to get refinished and re-stained a darker color. We ripped out the bottom half of the windows you can see in the picture here and just drywalled over that spot, the windows were non-functional anyway because siding had been put over it.

If you’re following me on Instagram (@thishealingmama) you might have seen via my stories feed, that we’re in the middle of refinishing our basement. Our house is quite small and while it’s worked great for us the past 6 years, now that Dash is getting older we’re starting to run out of space (and bathrooms!). So we’re creating a large living space downstairs with a hallway and a half bath, you guys I can’t wait until it’s done! Any day now they’ll be finishing up. I’ll post more pictures and my decorating progress on here soon. (thank you Uncle Dave!)

@thishealingmama

Spiders on a Web Project (Free Template and Instructions)

Halloween is fast approaching, I’m not ready at all! Dash still hasn’t quite narrowed down his costume choice (meaning, he changes his mind every single day), so I haven’t even begun to get that started. At least I have some fall decor up this year haha. This past weekend was a long weekend for us, preschool was closed Friday and Monday, which gave us some free time to do an art project or two. Dash requested we make spiders and ghosts! I love letting him pick the theme of our projects because it kind of forces me to get my creativity working.

This project is super simple, doesn’t take that much time and is great for dexterity. Threading the legs through the spider’s body was good for practicing fine motor skills! We chose halloween themed colors for the spiders, but you could use any variety of colors. Dash loved this project and is still playing with those spiders! Although some of the eyeballs have fallen off at this point lol. One of the things I loved most about this project is getting outside to gather the sticks for the spider web, with the weather getting colder its good having an excuse to spend a little time outside for some fresh air.

Click on the buttons below to download the free template and instructions! I hope you guys have as much fun creating these as we did!

@thishealingmama

See the links below for the materials we used in this project:

Paleo/AIP Modified Bibimbap

Bibimbap is one of our favorite foods, Dash requests this on the regular! It’s a delicious way to get a lot of veggies into one meal. I was so sad when I gave up rice for AIP and didn’t make it for the longest time because I figured it being a rice based dish there wasn’t a great way for me to replicate this in a compliant way. Typically bibimbap is made with a base layer of rice and is mixed with lots of meat, veggies and a fried egg with a sweet spicy sauce drizzled (or poured in Aaron’s case) on top. But recently I tried making it with cauliflower rice and was surprised by how delicious it was. For AIP just leave off the egg and sesame oil, and it tastes just as great. I usually use zucchini, carrots, sprouts, green onions and spinach, but feel free to use any veggies you have on hand. I’ve used mushrooms, summer squash, any type of greens, radish and a variety of different meats and fishes and they’ve all turned out great! Some other meats that work great in this are chicken, ground beef, ground pork, tuna and shrimp. Of course, if you aren’t on the AIP or Paleo diet, please feel free to use rice in place of the cauliflower if you prefer that! I hope you like this dish as much as we do :-).

- @thishealingmama

INGREDIENTS :

• 1/2 lb of sirloin sliced in thin strips (or any type of meat/protein you prefer)

• Fresh or frozen cauliflower rice cooked per instructions on label (I usually steam mine)

• 8 oz bean sprouts

• 6 oz package of baby spinach (perfectly fine to use frozen also!)

• 1 large carrot sliced in thin strips

• 1 small zucchini sliced in thin strips

• 3-4 green onions

• 2 teaspoons raw honey

• 4 cloves of garlic minced

• 3 teaspoons fish sauce (AIP/Paleo compliant)

• sea salt

• olive oil (or other preferred oil, although i wouldn’t use coconut that might flavor the dish oddly)

• sesame oil (optional, leave out if AIP)

• fried eggs (optional, leave out if AIP)

DIRECTIONS :

Cook cauliflower rice as directed (I usually steam mine, until al dente) and prep all the vegetables. Prepping the vegetables before hand makes cooking it a lot easier.

In a bowl mix the thin strips of meat with 2 teaspoons of honey, salt, 1 teaspoon fish sauce and 2 cloves of minced garlic. Make sure all the meat is coated with this marinade and put in the fridge.

In a pot bring water and good pinch of salt to a boil. Once boiling add bean sprouts and cook for 3-5 minutes until bean sprouts are cooked but still have a slight crunch. Drain and rinse well with water to stop the cooking process. Squeeze out/drain any excess water and mix in a bowl the bean sprouts, remaining cloves of minced garlic (or garlic powder if you kids don’t like raw garlic, I usually do this for Dash), 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon of fish sauce and 1 teaspoon sesame oil (if using). Set aside.

In a good sized pan, heat a drizzle of olive oil and cook sliced carrots, season well with salt. Set aside. In same pan add more olive oil and cook zucchini slices, season well with salt. Set aside. Next cook spinach until wilted, season with a pinch of salt, 1 teaspoon of fish sauce and 1 teaspoon of sesame oil if using. Last sauté’ the beef mixture being very careful not to overcook. The fish sauce and the honey can burn in the pan leaving the meat tasting bitter. The strips should cook quickly because they are thinly sliced.

Finally fry the eggs (I usually fry one egg per person for each plate) if you are using eggs. Assemble all the ingredients, giving a portion of each item per rice bowl or do it family style (this is typically what I do) and mix everything in one giant bowl. Enjoy!

* Notes : If you are using ground meat or longer cooking meat, cook the meat first and then add the marinade ingredients at the end. If you like and can eat hot sauce, this is typically served with a Korean chili sauce mixture, you can find “bibimbap” sauce at Asian food stores in your area or on Amazon, its delicious!

See below for some of our favorite paleo/aip friendly products that we used to create this dish :

Fall Decor Finds 2019

So now that our kitchen is finally almost done and there are only a few very small things to finish (a little painting, adding some trim, etc), I’ve been on the hunt for some understated fall decor items. I don’t love really flashy halloween and fall decor, but at the same time I really wanted to create a festive fall feeling in our home. The past couple of weeks I spent some time hunting down some things that weren’t insanely expensive and wanted to share them with you! A lot of them are on sale!

Click on the link to bring you to the item shown above

A. Simply Autumn Large Felt Pumpkin with Leaves-Gray : These pumpkins were so adorable and on sale!

B. Simply Autumn Medium Felt Pumpkin with Leaves-Orange

C. Simply Autumn Large Sweater Slub Pumpkin-Gray

D. Simply Autumn Wood Wall Decor-Pumpkin & Thankful | This is such a cute sign, it fit perfectly in the hallway leading to Dash’s room

E. Simply Autumn 50''x60'' Throw-Orange Plaid | I love that the oranges in this blanket are really understated

F. 6.5oz Glass Candle Harvest - Hearth & Hand™ with Magnolia | I don’t typically love candles because their scents are usually overpowering, but this has a nice fall scent without that fake plasticy smell

G. Wire Bin Black - Hearth & Hand™ with Magnolia | I know this is just a basket, but I loved the thick sturdy wire it’s made out of, perfect for halloween candy or I use mine for teas

H. 21.2" Dried Sweet Olive Leaves Wreath Orange/Yellow - Smith & Hawken | I love this wreath, it’s doesn’t have that artificial feel because the leaves are dried

I wanted to add the dish towels in the picture above but realized I couldn’t link items from HomeGoods! There were a ton of different designs there and most of them were only $6-8.

Strawberry & Blueberry Crumble (A perfect Paleo summer dessert)

This summer I’ve taken the plunge and finally decided to follow a more restricted AIP/Paleo diet. I’ve slowly cut out inflammatory foods and decided it was time to do a major shift. I know for a lot of people cutting out food groups slowly doesn’t work and they have an easier time just switching all at once, but for me it was much harder to cut out all of the restrictions in the AIP diet at once and I needed to do it slowly.

I have to admit I was skeptical of switching to this diet, but I have found that my stomach pain has improved so much its hard for me to deny the positive effects. We’ll see how it goes in time, I’m going to try this out for the summer and possibly start my reintroduction phase in the fall. For those of you that have never heard of the AIP (Autoimmune protocol diet) and want to learn more check out www.thepaleomom.com where Dr. Sarah Ballantyne explains all of her research and how this diet was created.

Anywho, I’ve been trying to enjoy this summer as much as possible and take advantage of my new found energy. Dash and I have been having so much fun visiting playgrounds, libraries, and hanging out in the sunshine. We’re at the tail end of strawberry season and just entering blueberry season, so I thought I’d post a new recipe for this berry crumble we’ve been enjoying. It’s super easy to make, doesn’t have any refined sugars and is great on it’s own or with a little non-dairy yogurt. Dash calls it his “strawberry treat” :-).

Ingredients (filling):

• 1 quart strawberries (sliced)

• 1 heaping cup blueberries (frozen or fresh)

• 1 tablespoon tapioca flour

• 4-5 tablespoons raw honey (use more or less depending on sweetness of berries)

Ingredients (crumble topping):

• 1 cup GF almond flour

• 2 tablespoons tapioca flour

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 tablespoons raw honey

• pinch of salt

Directions :

Preheat oven to 350

Mix all of the filling ingredients in a bowl (berries, tapioca flour, honey). Make sure that everything is well coated in the honey and tapioca flour.

In a separate bowl mix all the dry ingredients together (almond flour, tapioca flour, cinnamon and pinch of salt) until well incorporated. Add olive oil, honey and vanilla and use a fork to mash ingredients together until mixed well and formed into a crumbly texture. If the mixture is too wet feel free to add more almond flour.

Pour the filling mix into a tart or pie pan and spread evenly. Crumble the topping mixture over the top of the filling mixture in an even layer. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes until topping is golden brown and fruit filling is bubbling on the sides. Let cool or eat warm and enjoy!

Penguin Art Project Template (free download)

We spent the day at Papa’s (my Dad) house yesterday to give Aaron some time to work on his grad school stuff and while we were there we did this fun penguin art project! For those of you that don’t know me, I have been a creative person since the day I can remember and being able to do art projects with Dash brings so much joy to my heart. Art and creativity is in my bones and if I don’t have an outlet I go a little nuts.

I realized while doing this project that not only did Dash enjoy doing this, but my Dad did also. Everyone had so much fun I wanted to share this project template (scroll to bottom of post to download) with you guys so you could try it out too. You don’t need a lot of fancy materials, just some construction paper, cotton balls, glue and scissors, and it’s a quick project that doesn’t make a lot of mess or take a lot of time. We all know how short 3 year old attention spans are. You can prep the pieces ahead of time also which will cut down on even more time or if your child isn’t dexterous enough yet to use scissors.

I hope you guys have as much fun as we did :-). If you guys like seeing these types of projects/templates let me know and I’ll post more!

@thishealingmama

My Favorite Granola (GF, Oil Free, Refined Sugar Free)

As promised here is my favorite granola recipe. Back when I first started making this, I was having trouble finding a store bought granola that was allergen friendly for my son Dash and one that didn’t contain bucket loads of refined sugars or canola/vegetable oils. I loved the flavor, but my stomach didn’t tolerate them well. I missed granola! I tried a few different recipes online, but my biggest problem was the amount of oil they called for (not very stomach friendly). After a couple years of tweaking and testing many recipes, here’s what I’ve come up with. It’s lighter than granolas made with oil and it has just enough sweetness. It’s perfect on oatmeal, non-dairy yogurt, or even as a snack by itself. Dash loves this recipe and calls it “ga-nola”. It’s super easy and is very adjustable, so if you prefer different flavors or add-ins please customize it to your preference. I hope you like it as much as we do!

Ingredients :

• 3 cups GF rolled oats

• 1 tablespoon flax seeds

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom

• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt

• 2 heaping tablespoons almond butter (sub any sort of seed or nut butter)

• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

• 1/4 cup raw honey

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• Optional mix-ins : Raisins, other dried fruits, different seeds (chia, hemp, sunflower, etc), chocolate chips

Directions :

Preheat oven to 300

Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl (oats, seeds, cinnamon, cardamom, sea salt) until well combined.

In a separate bowl melt almond butter in the microwave (about 30 seconds - 1 min). Add maple syrup, honey and vanilla to the melted almond butter and stir well. Pour wet mixture over dry ingredients and then mix everything has been coated in almond butter mixture.

Spread evenly on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and mix granola to ensure even baking and put back in the over for another 10 minutes. Remove and stir one more time and bake for a final 5 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!

Notes : Be gentle when mixing the ingredients when it’s in the baking process if you like bigger clumps of granola. If adding in chocolate chips, wait until cool to incorporate. Store in airtight container.

@thishealingmama

Blueberry Pie Oatmeal

So I know this is kind of a silly recipe to post because who doesn’t know how to make oatmeal. But, I figured sometimes we all get a little bored with our usual topping combinations and/or run out of ideas. Plus Dash loved this because it had a dessert-like feel, and I loved feeding it to him because it used the natural sweetness from the blueberries to add that sweet flavor instead of using refined sugars.

Part of dealing with my auto-immune stuff has been figuring out what I can and can’t eat. Some foods just don’t sit well with me anymore and it’s a never ending process of eliminating foods and also reintroducing foods. I have tried just about every “health” diet there could be and I haven’t found one that has been a perfect fit across the board. I mostly try to stick within the parameters of cutting out processed foods, avoiding vegetable oils if possible, cutting down but still including small amounts of meats/eggs and also staying away from gluten, dairy, sesame seeds and peanuts. We try to mix in vegan/vegetarian meals throughout the week and try to eat a large variety of fruits and veggies. I’m excited to start sharing my recipes with you because I’ve spent a lot of time working on them for my own family!

Ingredients :

• 1/4 cup heaping instant or rolled GF oats

• 1/4 cup frozen or fresh blueberries

• pinch of allspice

• favorite granola

• 1 teaspoon of hemp seed hearts (or more based on preference)

• drizzle of maple syrup (optional)

Directions :

Simply cook the oatmeal according to package instructions or preference (I boil water and cover the oats in a bowl and let stand for five minutes). Stir in allspice, then top with remaining ingredients. Microwave the blueberries for 1-2 minutes if frozen.

Notes : Sometimes I don’t even add the maple syrup if the blueberries are sweet enough.

Blueberries are high in vitamin C, K and manganese, plus high levels of antioxidants. Hemp seeds are a great source of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, and B vitamins.

If you are on instagram, I created a new account that focuses just on my wellness journey, recipes, and motherhood. Feel free to follow along if you have any interest! :-) @thishealingmama

My Journey Toward Wellness

As 2018 draws to a close, I want to write a little bit about my health and healing journey over the past two years. It has been a really really tough couple years. I want to share my story with you because I know there are so many other women who are going through similar things, being ignored by their doctors and feeling just as hopeless as I did about feeling ok on a daily basis. It has been such an enormous struggle for me to find things that work and find doctors that listen and advocate for your health. Finally, after years of feeling like garbage every day and thinking I was insane and worrying that I would feel this way forever, I’m finally finding people that are helping me to heal and get better, or at least manage it the best ways possible.

About two years ago around Christmas I caught a nasty stomach virus, it wrecked havoc on my entire system and caused gastritis and IBS symptoms for months following. My son, being in daycare two days a week at the time, brought home a constant stream of viruses and it seemed we were both continually fighting off some sort of illness. During this time between the constant barrage of viruses and debilitating digestive distress I began seeking help from my PCP. I discussed my symptoms and talked about how exhausted I was, how I was catching virus after virus and explained that my digestive tract still hadn’t healed from the stomach bug I had caught months prior. I was constantly either in the bathroom or having crippling stomach pains and cramps, everything and anything I ate caused me major problems, and by 3-4pm every day I was so wiped out I felt like I had been hit by a truck (muscle aches, brain fog, dizziness). I had lost so much weight I was a shell of my former self and my clothes stopped fitting. Essentially, my doctor told me that kids bring home germs and being a mother is stressful and tiring. Without directly saying so, he was telling me to suck it up and deal with it, that there was nothing he could do for me and that there was nothing wrong with me. He told me to make a follow up appointment in six weeks and instructed me to try eating a bland diet of white breads, crackers and bananas, avoiding nuts and fibrous foods (aka veggies, fruits and whole grains).

I left the appointment with my son, tears in my eyes, wondering if I had lost my mind. Asking myself - If this is how it feels to be a mom, why was I struggling so much? Do other moms really feel this crappy all the time? How do they get through the day? Should I start drinking more caffeinated beverages?

I started on the diet my doctor advised me to follow and the couple weeks following my symptoms only got worse. I was so weak from eating such a restrictive diet that I could barely walk around, my stomach was torn to shreds and I felt nauseous all the time. I stopped this absurd diet and called my GP again telling him I wasn’t getting better and that I needed a different solution. He called me back saying he didn’t know what else to do for me and referred me to a gastroenterologist. The year following I visited countless doctors, switched GPs and FINALLY started making some headway. It turned out the viral infection and gastritis following triggered lactose intolerance and gluten intolerance, cutting these out of my diet was HARD. I have a love affair with food and bread and dairy were one of my first loves in life. With the switch though I saw some immediate improvement, that coupled with a daily probiotic helped clear up my IBS symptoms within a few months.

Despite this positive change, I still felt unwell. Yes, I wasn’t in the bathroom ten times a day anymore, but my stomach pain and other symptoms persisted. The achey muscles, extreme exhaustion, dizziness, nausea, lack of appetite, feeling generally unwell all day seemed to signal something else in my mind. I hit another wall with my new GP, she insisted I was depressed and needed anti-depressants. I am quite aware of what depression feels like as I’ve dealt with it since my teenage years, I knew this was something different. My blood work indicated a low white blood count and because I was struggling to find more answers I took the initiative to call a hematologist on my own, months later they referred me to a rheumatologist and an immunologist. Fast forward to just the past two months, and guys a miracle happened, the rheumatologist I was scheduled to see in February (earliest time available) somehow managed to squeeze in a short visit with me during my immunologist appointment and got to work right away.

We are still working on an official diagnosis, but my blood work indicates an autoimmune disease. A lot of scary things have been thrown around but I am trying not to dwell on that until we know for sure and I am crossing my fingers that it’s something that can be managed so that I can get back on track. I’m currently taking steroids and it’s already helped so much with my energy levels and my appetite is back (finally!). I don’t feel like I have the flu 24/7 anymore! It’s been so long that I’ve felt so sick I forgot what it’s like to get through the day and feel normal. I still have days where I feel worse than others, but having good days is something I haven’t experienced in a long time. I am so thankful that I finally found doctors that are willing to listen and that believe me, and so grateful to have family and friends who have supported me through these intense couple years.

I’ve been so hesitant to share what I’ve been going through and to document these things because it’s heavy stuff, but I know there are people out there with doctors who are not listening to them and I know there are those who are feeling crappy every day thinking maybe it will get better on it’s own, doubting their sanity. It is such an isolating and maddening experience being sick, not knowing whats wrong with you and wondering if it’s all in your head. I promise, it’s not in your head! Please don’t ever stop advocating for yourself and listening to your body. You know better than anyone how you’re feeling and if something isn’t right. Push doctors to listen and if they don’t, keep looking until you find ones that will.

Thank you for reading my long winded story and thanks for following along on my journey toward wellness.

Visiting the museum and a radish print

The pictures from this museum trip are from when Dash was one, he’s almost three now. This is such a cliche’ phrase but “I can’t believe how big he’s gotten”! Time really does somehow speed up when you have a little one around. I wanted to share some of these older pictures to incorporate some of my old blog and also because those cheeks are just too cute not to share.

The weather is getting colder and I’m missing the bright summer sun. If you haven’t had a chance to go to the Strong Museum of Play in the summer, it has a beautiful garden out front. That alone is worth the trip (even without kids!), its a great place to take some pictures and sketch an afternoon away.

I also wanted to let you guys know that I’ll be a vendor at a couple upcoming local shows in November. Mayday Underground Holiday Market (Nov 3rd - Nov 4th) and The RMSC Holiday Bazaar (Nov 16th - Nov 18th), I’ll have lots of new things with me, so I hope I see you guys there! If all goes to plan I’ll be posting some pictures of some of the new things I’ll have with me over the next few weeks.

Strawberry Banana "Nice" Cream

My son Dash has some severe food allergies to dairy (casein and whey), peanuts and sesame seeds, so with Dash’s restrictions and my food sensitivities (lactose intolerant and gluten sensitive) its been a challenge finding summer time treats that are quick and easy. I miss ice cream like crazy, before I became lactose intolerant it was one of my favorite foods. If anyone knows of any non-dairy ice creams that are free of gluten, peanuts, sesame and processed in allergen free facilities PLEASE let me know! I have had lots of trouble finding something that meets all of these criteria.

In the mean time, we have been enjoying banana “nice” cream. Surprisingly, the texture and flavor is pretty yummy and if you add goodies on top of it or mixed in, it feels more dessert like. Anyway, my son loves it (honestly he’ll eat anything with chocolate chips) and I’m happy with it too.

ingredients

• 1 frozen pre-sliced banana

• 1-5 tablespoons of non-dairy milk (we used almond milk)

• 4 large frozen strawberries

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

• 1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey

• additional toppings/mix-ins : vegan chocolate chips, freeze dried strawberries, coconut flakes, hemp seeds

instructions

• Add all the ingredients to your blender or food processor except the mix ins and non-dairy milk. Start by adding 1-2 tablespoons of non-dairy milk at a time. Depending on your blender or food processor you may need more, ours is pretty good at blending without much liquid if you move it around a bit. The key is to add as little liquid as possible so the mixture remains extremely thick. It may take a little bit of scraping down the sides but it won’t take long.

• Add the mix-ins or toppings and enjoy!