BabyWearing Review: Sleepy Wrap + 10% Discount

You all know by now that I am a babywearing mama. I love being able to carry Tabi comfortably while working, walking, playing or cooking in the kitchen. You also know I hate using strollers because it can be a pain in the neck (remember, this is my opinion), bulking and can actually stress the baby's spine.

I didn't start wearing Naomi till she was over a year old, but it was too late to start because she wasn't very interested in being all cuddle up and started walking. Tabi, on the other hand... LOVES to be cuddled against my body. I started wearing her on me since she was born and she was a very fussy baby for the first 3 months, but she was always a happy baby when I carried her. I am so grateful that I learned the benefits of wearing Tabi long before she was born. Without them... I would've been struggling with an unhappy baby during the first 3 months and probably loose my mind!

Most of you might be thinking... if you wear your baby, you create a clinging baby. I thought that too because that's what everybody told me, but I decided to look into it further. After reading up on the benefits and learning how toddlers are actually more confident and independent when worn as babies. From my personal experience... this is true.

At first, Tabi wouldn't let anybody but me hold her for the first 3 months. Then she started to let the rest of the family hold her till she was about 9 months and once she started crawling... she became more independent and allowing total strangers (our friends, of course) hold her. Now she is everybody's best friend and a total sweetheart. She loves to entertain everybody with her smirks, goofy faces and great sense of humor.

One of my favorite things about babywearing is being able to nurse while on the go. That was one thing that bothered me for a while when I nursed Naomi. I always had to plan things around her nursing schedule, but not anymore with Tabi! I can nurse her where ever we are and when ever she wants it... its right there and so conveinent.

Now, the sweet couple that created the Sleepy Wrap send me their organic wrap and asked me to do a review. Of course! I was thrilled to finally get the packet (brought down by a sweet gal from Texas, thank you so much Sharon!) and opened it to find a neat little instruction booklet that shows step by step the three most commonly used holds. Plus a carrying pouch that you can store your wrap in when not in use.

I took a moment to examine the cloth and love the soft, light feel. I was a little concern that it would be too stretchy, but after trying it out a few time and finally getting the hang of it... I really enjoy it now. I love how the fabric stretched snugly around Tabi, but I had to make sure to put the wrap on tight. The first time I put it on, she was bouncy around a little and was carried low on my hips. So I re-wrap it on and made sure to get it very snug, but not too tight and that helped. The fabric spread out easily and nicely over my back & shoulders... SO COMFORTABLE! It feels light a soft blanket hugging your body, but not suffocating. I think this is great for newborns as it is so comfy and soft on the body. Great for those who are recovering from the birth and need something without belts, buckles or anything that can pinch.

I even wore this with Naomi for a little while and she enjoyed it, but I have to say that it is a little too stretchy for a big girl like her :o)

I am sorry to say there won't be a giveaway, but you can get a 10% discount off on any order!! The coupon code is ‘MakingNoise’ and is valid from December 8th, 2009-January 12th, 2010. Now, go a pick out your color... they have a beautiful variety!

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December Photo Project - Day Seven & Eight

Day Seven

The Buzzzzy Bee

Day Eight

Tabi finished eating a strawberry and gave me the most adorable smile...

so glad I had my camera to catch that moment!

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The Roundup of Weekend Herb Blogging #212

It has been fun hosting for Weekend Herb Blogging this past week. I learned of two plants/veggies that I've never seen or heard of before... that's what I am loving about this blogging event! Each week I am always learning about one or more new plant, herb, vegetable and/or fruit that is new to me from all around the world.

Anyway, Weekend Herb Blogging is a weekly group blogging event that was founded by Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen. WHB is a creative way to share recipes & learn about herbs, vegetables, fruits and other plant ingredients. WHB is currently managed by Haalo of Cook (Almost) Anything At Least Once, and next week’s host will be Laurie from Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska.

Now, with no further ado I present you the roundup of WBH #212...

Miso Soup

I will start with Nate & Annie from House of Annie. They reside in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia and have a wonderful blog sharing home-style Asian & Hawaiian food from their younger days. Here they are sharing how to make savory Miso Soup entirely from scratch... looks easy and delicious! I LOVE that they are using miso paste made from non-GMO soybeans and its free of MSG. I've been on the lookout for recipes that uses seaweed (high in natural iodine & rich source of minerals) and would love to make this soup, minus the tofu. Thank you, Nate & Annie, for showing us how easy it is!

Coconut Sablés

Now I have Cinzia from Cindystar who whipped up a batch of easy & delicious looking cookies from her kitchen in Lake Garda, Italy. These cookies are very much like butter cookies with coconut added in and only requires 5 ingredients. I LOVE coconuts and these cookies are making me drool!

Thai Mushroom Soup

Rachel from Rachel's Ramplings and she comes from Gloucestershire, UK. This is her first time joining in with us... please stop by her blog and welcome her! From her kitchen she made a Thai Mushroom Soup that sounds like a wonderful change from the standard "cream of mushroom" which I'm not a big fan either. Her soup looks savory and comforting! Thank you, Rachel for joining us and welcome!

Strawberry Curd

Now our wonderful manager of WBH... Haalo from Cook (almost) Anything At Least Once whipped up a beautiful & nourishing Strawberry Curd rich with egg yolks. I can almost smell the delicious flavors from her kitchen in Melbourne, Australia. Make sure you also make her delicious looking sfinci to go along with it! I must try this myself sometime... especially now that strawberries are at their peak time right now.

Cauliflower Terrine

Next we have sweet Mangocheeks from Allotment 2 Kitchen who thinks she has found her favorite way of eating cauliflower. This veggie is available year round in Britain, but is not very popular and on the decline. I wasn't fond of cauliflower as a child, but now love it stir fried or roasted & spiced with Indian or Thai flavors when they are available. From her kitchen in Scotland she made a Cauliflower Terrine which looks like a spiced up veggie-loaf. I think I'll have to try this out too... thank you for sharing Mangocheeks!

Black Bean Pork Rib Soup

Yeoh Cheng Huann from Eat.Read.Live. brought from her kitchen in Singapore a fast & savory soup made with black beans... high in protein, a great source of complex carbs and a great tummy-warming soup! Beans, in general, have been known as "The Poor Man's Meat" but is healthy, frugal and very filling. We love black beans and they are a staple here in Costa Rica. Thank you for sharing a simple, yet nourishing soup Yeoh!

Harvest And Cook the Giant Cardoon

Now here's something new for me... a plant/root called the giant cardoon. Graziana from Erbe in Cucina grew some in her garden and was able to harvest two plants. From her kitchen in Italy... She fried them up in butter, added cheese and topped them on top of crusty bread. I would love to have a bite of it!

Madre Cacao/Kakawate Smoked Fish

Here is another plant that I've never heard of called Madre Cacao or Kakawate. Ela from Everything's Herbed smokes a fish over kakawate branches and covers it with kakawate leaves. What kind of flavor do the branches and leaves give? I would love to visit Ela's place in Laguna, Philippines and try this smoke fish myself. Ela's father is a farmer and this tree is very useful for fencing around property, as a trellis for their vine-growing veggies. They even use the leaves of the kakawate tree to help quicken the ripening of fruits!

Roasted Vegetables w/ Cardamon

Winnie from Healthy Green Kitchen shares a unique Thanksgiving side dish that turned out to be one of her favorites. From her kitchen in New Paltz, NY she spiced up a variety of root vegetables with Cardamon... a strong, but heavenly spice found in Indian, Middle Eastern, Arabian & Scandinavian cooking. Even though Cardamon can be expensive... a little bit goes a long ways. Sounds delicious!

Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Vellutè w/ Rosemary

This is my favorite so far... Brii from Briiblog made what looks like savory pastries using pumpkin & sweet potatoes then spiced up with rosemary. I would love to sit in her kitchen in Valsorda, Italy and watch her make these! Make sure you stop by her blog and admire her lovely photography.

Mango Mesquite Smoothie

Lastly, I made a smoothie with mesquite powder & frozen mangos that is becoming a favorite in our home in Costa Rica. Mesquite is mildly sweet with a light, carmel flavor and great for baking. This traditional powder is not very well known in the modern age, but it is making a comeback as a health champ!

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December Photo Project - Day Six

I was going through my photography files and came across this shot taken a while back at an organic farm. This old house was the farmer's great-great grandparents home when they first bought the land and build the farm. It was beautiful... I could feel the richness of history surrounding the home. Even more amazing were the furniture that still stood there... decaying in the midst of vines, shrubs & wild flowers.

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December Photo Project - Day Five

Yesterday we went to the park to fly Naomi's kite... a crazy, colorful turtle catching the breeze. It has been windy over that last couple weeks and Ticos (Costa Ricans) here say that is a sign that summer is here & Christmas is coming.

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December Photo Project - Day Four

A little lamb kiss...

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Mango Baked Custard Sweetened w/ Sweet Tree Evaporated Palm Sugar

A few months ago I wrote a post about Coconut Palm Sugar and I am loving this sweetener... love its rich, carmel-like flavor and the fantastic nutritional value!

Shortly after I wrote the post... I received 2 bags of Organic Evaporated Palm Sugar from Sweet Tree (Thanks guys!). Of course, I had to do the "spoon test"... I scoop a spoonful of their coconut sugar right out of the bag, put it in my mouth and let the granulates roll around my mouth. Oh wow...my mouth was bursting with light, sweet flavor and I was hooked...

SweetTree™ Organic Coconut Palm Sugar is the only sweetener on the market today, which truly delivers on all aspects of health, transparent equity and traceability.

SUSTAINABLE HEALTH _ SUSTAINABLE PEOPLE _ SUSTAINABLE PLANET

SUSTAINABLE HEALTH

• SweetTree™ Organic Coconut Palm Sugar is naturally low on the Glycemic Index (GI), which has benefits for weight control and improving glucose and lipid levels in people with diabetes (type 1 and type 2).
• SweetTree™ Organic Coconut Palm Sugars are rated as a GI 35. By comparison, most commercial Agaves are GI 42, Honeys are GI 55 and Cane Sugars are GI 68.
• SweetTree™ Organic Coconut Palm Sugars produce slow release energy which sustains the human body through your daily activities without regular sugar “highs” and “lows”.
• SweetTree™ Organic Coconut Palm Sugar has a nutritional content far richer than all other commercially available sweeteners.
• SweetTree™ Organic Coconut Palm Sugar is especially high in Potassium, Magnesium, Zinc and Iron and is a natural source of the vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6 and C.
• SweeTree™ Organic Coconut Palm Sugar is a 100% Organic, unprocessed, unfiltered, and unbleached natural sweetener. And contains no preservatives.

SUSTAINABLE PEOPLE

• SweetTree Organic Coconut Palm Sugar is 100% produced by smallholder farmers. 100% of the money from growing, harvesting and primary processing of this ingredient stays in the local community.
• SweetTree’s sustainable supply partner, Big Tree Farms™, works directly with international NGO’s in order to maintain transparent, socially equitable supply chains.
• Our sustainable supply chain manages direct producer programs in value addition education and practice, market access and small business/cooperative management.
• Through market access and production training, smallholder sugar-tappers have risen well above the poverty line and are able to earn an increase in personal income of close to 200% while maintaining a competitive market price as a cane sugar alternative!

SUSTAINABLE PLANET

• The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the World Bank has reported that coconut palm sweeteners are the single most sustainable sweetener in the world!
• Organic Coconut Palm Sugars are not produced from the same palm species as is used for the production of Palm Oil.
• Coconut Palms produce an average of 50-75% more sugar per acre than Sugar Cane and use less than 1/5th the nutrients for that production.
• Tropical palms are an ecologically beneficial tree crop that grows in diverse, wild-life supportive agro-ecosystems, restore damaged soils and require very little water.
• Many traditional communities throughout the world consider Coconut Palms the “Tree of Life”, as they provide over 100 smallholders accessible products from which they earn their livelihoods. The production of SweetTree™ Organic Coconut Palm Sugar has the single highest potential for lifting these farmers into a better life while creating a net benefit to their surrounding environment.

Of course, I had to try it out in my baking but I really wanted to find something that will allow me to really taste the coconut sugar in such a way that I or anybody will notice it. After looking around, I decided to try the baked custard... a MANGO baked custard. I've never really enjoyed custard before, but thought if I added a fruit to spice up the custard then maybe I would like it. I actually made this several weeks ago when mangos were still in season and now finally posting it! Oh my!

Anyway, this is the first time I've ever made custard and was very pleased with how yummy it turned out. I could taste the coconut sugar very strongly and LOVED how the carmel- like flavor really enchanted the custard. The mango, of course, was a perfect add in.

My hubby loved the flavor but isn't a fan of the texture that is common with custard. Naomi wasn't a big fan either, but Tabi LOVED it and ate the entire portion I gave her. Custard is actually very nourishing and a great dessert for toddlers... full of free-ranged eggs, raw milk, coconut sugar, mangos & so EASY to whip together! Even though it is cooked... it still provides important nutrients and is a great occasional treat. Here's something I read from my Nourishing Traditions book:

Puddings of various sorts are a staple of the English diet. While these rich desserts are traditionally high in sugar, they also contain many ingredients that provide growing children with important nutrients - eggs, whole milk & cream.

Some researchers believe that boiled or cooked milk is actually easier to digest than pasteurized milk. Cooking causes complex proteins to unfold so that peptide bonds become more accessible to digestive enzymes, whereas pasterurization merely denatures large proteins in such a way that they are harder to break down. However, long periods of heat treatment, as in canning and spray drying, result in cross-linking in the protein chain which greatly lowers digestibility.

Both pasteurization and cooking destroy enzymes and lower vitamin availability. Puddings may be fine for an occasional treat but are no substitute for clean, certified, whole, raw milk for growing children. -SWF

Another thing, I made this custard using egg yolks for a richer flavor, but you can make it with whole eggs too. If you decide to go with just yolks... save the egg whites and make some macaroons! If you don't have coconut sugar, you can use raw honey or other sweeteners. I loved the mangos, but if you don't have any of those too or don't like them... simply proceed with the recipe without them and you'll have a traditional custard!

Mango Baked Custard

• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup cream or whole milk
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar
• 5 egg yolks or 3 whole eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup mango, sliced

Warm milk and cream gently over a low flame.

In a medium bowl, beat coconut sugar or choice of sweetener with egg yolks or whole eggs. Slowly add warm milk mixture to the eggs, beating continuously. Blend in vanilla and sea salt. Set aside.

Place sliced mangos into individual custard cups and pour mixture over them.

Place the cups in a pan of hot water and bake at 325 F for about 1 hour or until a knife comes out clean. The mangos make the custard a little wet... so don't overbake!

Chill well before serving.

Now, I saved the best part for last... I love doing that!

Instead of keeping both bags of Sweet Tree Evaporated Palm Sugar... I am going to give one away (Yeah! Another giveaway!). How would you like to try a free bag of Sweet Tree Evaporated Palm Sugar for your Christmas and/or New Year baking?! I'm "hearing" a lot of good response here :o)

To enter... please leave me a "shout" (a.k.a - comment) of what is the first thing you want to make if you win this free bag of Sweet Tree Evaporated Palm Sugar. Also, for a second entry... please follow my blog and/or sign up to receive updates via email.

The giveaway is over on the 16th of December. I will choose the winner via random.org...

Now, if you win... you MUST commit to make that very thing you chose, take pictures and send it to me along with the recipe. If you are not up for that... don't enter AND you don't need to have a blog. If you do have a blog... go ahead a post your yummy treat and email me the link.

Ok? Can you guys do that? I know you can and I'm excited to see what yummy ideas you'll have! Now, chose wisely what you want to make and let the giveaway begin!

Disclaimer: Sweet Tree provided me with free samples of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

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