Did you miss the drool worthy food I had this weekend? Catch up on the eats and this weeks self-love reflection:

• Recovery Runs & Peanut Butter French Toast
• Peanut Butter Graham Truffles (you NEED to make these!)
• Self-Love Reflection of the Week: Our Worth

I have two vivid memories of school projects that tortured me. One was in sixth grade when we studied the chemical breakdown of food in the digestion process. We had to do a lab where we kept a piece of white bread in our mouths and calculated the time it took for the saliva to dissolve the tiny piece. I ran to the bathroom and threw up because this texture eater couldn’t handle it. To this day I gag even at the thought of the slightest moisture in my bread.

The other traumatic school project? In Sociology class my junior year of high school, we had to mimic one of four disabilities for 24 hours  – paralytic, blind, deaf, or mute. I pulled “mute”. You would think that would be the easiest of the choices, but not for me. I have trouble shutting up. Obviously, seeing as I can spew off on a variety of topics twice a day, every day on this here blog.

This morning, however, I am shutting up. Instead of sharing my weekend fun, divulging the thoughts that incessantly run through my mind, or going through my 10 favorite ab exercises, I am going to beg of you to head over to The Great Fundraising Act. Go and bid your little hearts out all day today (check the bidding closing time for items of interest) to help raise much needed money for Susan as she battles lymphoma and the medical costs it includes.

See a list of all the items (broken down by category since there are 100+ items!!!) and the general rules/guidelines/info HERE.

Some items of interest for bidding:

Lemon Raspberry Muffins and a FFF Shirt of Your Choice from yours truly

Love Grown Foods Granola 5 Pack

The Complete Physique 57 Workout Set (3 DVDs + Exercise Ball)

4all by jofit V Neck Tank and Knit Pant

Of course, there are a plethora of other fabulous items. Literally something for everyone!So…I will shut up now…you stop reading now…and go! BID BID BID!!! Let’s raise some money for Susan! And I promise to share all my rambles, ab exercises, and more later. You can’t shut me up for too long after all. 😉

• What do you have your eyes on?
• Any traumatizing school projects from your memories?

Ever since my peanut butter and jelly combo during my snack in yesterday’s 2147 calories (loving reading all your comments by the way!), I have had PBJ on the brain. it even inspired me to dollop some jelly on my regular bowl of oats alongside my big blob of peanut butter this morning.

If I felt like channeling Rachel Ray, I would say Yum-O! But, I don’t. She kind of annoys me. Then again, all Food Network chefs have something that annoys me slightly. Ironically, I miss Food Network most of all since giving up cable. I miss the EVOO/Yum-O comments, pounds of butter (Paula Dean), orgasming while food-tasting (Giada), crazy hair (Guy Fieri and “female Guy” Anne Burrelli), Mr. I’m-All-That (Bobby Flay), and I’m-a-Barbie-robot (Sandra Lee). And I really miss Chopped and Next Food Network Star!

Okay, that was a tangent. Where was I going with this post again? Oh, that’s right. Part two of WIAW – Baby' B’s version!

Monday afternoon we had Braedon’s six month check up at the doctor office. Our doctor showed a little concern about Braedon’s weight because the kiddo ranked in the 44th percentile for height/length and only the 4th percentile for weight. She drilled me on his eating habits, to which I assured her the kid eats. He eats until his belly looks like it would pop with a pin and I can hear the food sloshing around inside of him. He is my child after all and we all know I don’t fear food.

I know full well the kid eats plenty. I’m the one in the kitchen blending and mashing up food like its my job for the hungry little mouth. I don’t mind, though. Blending and mashing up food like its my job helps us save money and I like being able to feed him some of the same things we eat, just blended. Mmmmm….blended green beans…

It’s really not bad to do! All I do is simply cook whatever foods his body can process at this stage until soft and blend with my trusty immersion blender. Right now that involves green beans and sweet potato mostly. Coming soon = corn, peas, carrots, zucchini, peaches, and more! I add a little extra breast milk or distilled water, if needed, to get the right consistency and voila! Homemade baby food! Some things don’t even require cooking, but just mashing up with a fork – like banana and avocado.

That’s not to say I don’t buy anything pre-made. We do like to have a few baby food containers on hand for quick emergency options. I buy natural applesauce because its much cheaper than trying to make my own with a dozen apples. Canned pumpkin is another good option. If you’re ever looking into making your own baby food, I cannot recommend the site Wholesome Baby Food enough! It has tons of info!

I really believe in putting in the effort to make my children’s food. I want them to get used to eating the things we regularly eat as a family. To see that food comes from a kitchen with real ingredients and not from a package all the time. I believe the tastes a child prefers starts early and I want to expose my children to nutritious foods as much as possible.

Makenzie has grown up loving oatmeal, fruit, non-kiddy-super-sweetened yogurts and cereals, broccoli, zucchini, green smoothies, beans, and so much more. I will always allow my children to enjoy “kid food” like cupcakes or Goldfish, but I want them to appreciate food revolving around wholesome choices for the body. And you can never start too young! So I mash and immersion blend away. Now time to prep B’s half a banana, 1/3 cup mashed sweet potato, and eight ounces of mommy milk. And she says the kid doesn’t eat. HA!

• What were some of the foods and eating habits you remember from your childhood? Do you think what we expose children to at a young age has a big impact on their future eating habits?