Baked Buffalo Cauliflower

1/2 cup flour
1/2 plant milk (like unsweetened almond or cashew)
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt

Coat cauliflower in batter.
Place on parchment paper on baking sheet.
Bake at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.
Remove from oven, coat with a vegan buffalo sauce. Return to oven until it starts to crisp up, about 10 minutes or more.

Then make yourself some vegan ranch with THIS recipe. It's sooo good.

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina

Some Thoughts on Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is hard! I might even go as far as to say that nursing my second baby boy has been harder than my first. That was unexpected. I thought we might have some challenges, but I knew we could get through them. I felt confident that we could survive anything since I had struggled with my first son, Calvin.

With my first, we used a nipple shield for the first seven weeks. He could not, or would not, latch for more than a couple gulps. Although I hated that stupid shield because we were both dependent on it for those seven weeks, I also have so much love for that shield. Without it, I'm unsure we would have been successful at breastfeeding.

Eren, my second, has had a crappy latch from the start. He just wasn't very good at it in the beginning, and he still has moments where he doesn't get it quite right and we have to start over. I asked the pediatrician about tongue or lip ties when he was a newborn and she did not see any issues. My nipples hurt. I mean really, really hurt. I'm pretty sure I told my husband that breastfeeding hurt way worse than any moment of the c-section recovery. It sucked. I truly wonder if I would have continued trying if Eren had been my first son. But because I had been through it with Calvin, my oldest, I was determined to breastfeed again. I knew we would come out on the other side and be so grateful for continuing. We were only able to continue because I knew there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

It does get better! Your poor little nipples will heal eventually. And once you get through that, it is easy peasy smooth sailing, let me tell you! Breastfeeding now at 5 months old is a breeze. I feel sorry for mommas who have to wash bottles day and night. I just whip out the boob and we're good to go. A lot of women say the first couple weeks are the worst. For me, it was the whole first month with my second, then another month of less than great, and only then did it start to be easy!

Even thought it's hard, breastfeeding is perhaps my favorite thing about new parenthood. It's amazing to be able to calm your baby with the boobies. Binkies were made to replace boobies, not the other way around!

With all that being said, I understand why women stop. Even my husband has made those comments, seeing me struggle in pain and overwhelming frustration. I cried a lot with both of my boys. But my husband never once said, "hey, let's just do formula." And he would have gotten an earful if he had! I wanted to breastfeed. I wanted it so much. After the traumatic birth of my first son, I felt I had failed as a mother already (after spending over a month in the hospital with pPROM, then being induced and having pushed for two hours and ending up in a c-section anyway) and if I was not going to be able to nurse that baby, that would have felt like complete and utter failure as a mom in just the first few days of his little life! The lactation consultant and nurses in the hospital were not as helpful as they could have been with my first. But I thank God, literally, for the nurse at our pediatrician's office who told me that using a nipple shield would be okay. I thank God for that nipple shield!

My experience with the lactation consultant with my second son was soo much better than my first! I truly felt like she wanted me to succeed. She didn't just assume I knew what I was doing because I had nursed my first for 15 months. I think everyone deserves to meet with someone like her.

So I guess I write this to say, "keep trying!" Breastfeeding started out crappy with both of my boys, but we have had great nursing relationships! Don't quit on a bad day. Every little drop really does count!

I love you guys.
Love,
Alaina

5 Unexpected Things About Birth and Postpartum with Baby #2

I thought I knew what I was getting myself into. I just did this less than two years ago, after all! But, like they say, every baby is different, so here are some things I did not expect about the birth of my second son.

C-Section Procedure 

In the Operating Room, my first c-section actually went really well. This time around, I felt so terribly gross the whole time. I threw up. And afterwards I still felt so sick to my stomach, I hadn't eaten in way too long, and still couldn't eat immediately afterwards. I couldn't even keep my eyes open, and I literally just passed out as soon as they got me back to my hospital room. It sucked! 

C-Section Recovery

The recovery was surprisingly easier than the first time. Maybe I kept up on my pain meds better once I got home, but overall recovery wasn't too bad, even in the hospital. Maybe I just knew to take it easier this time around. 

Belly

I didn't think my stomach looked too bad after Calvin, but holy crap, Eren messed it up. The stretchmarks were way worse the second time. And the overall sagginess was worse. And I can totally feel the lack of core strength now too. 

Breastfeeding Struggles

It's not that I thought it would be easy peasy, but I definitely did not expect it to be harder than the first time around.

Brotherly Love
With all the negatives on this list, I thought I'd include one very big positive. I cannot explain how much overwhelming love and fullness I feel when I see my two boys together. When I see Calvin loving on his baby brother, it quite literally melts my heart. I thought it would be cute seeing them together, but cute doesn't even begin to describe it. I never could have imagined this incredible feeling!

Thanks for reading!
I love you guys,
Alaina

Meal Ideas for Vegan Vegetarian + Meat Eating Households

I've been working on this post for a loooong time now and I really hope you enjoy it! Please leave a comment below if you have any dinners to add! I love you guys!

___________________

My husband is a little picky. He's not big on vegetables. And I thought for sure we would have a lot of fights when I decided to transition to a vegan diet. But it's been really great. He's been really great.

I thought this might be helpful for anyone out there wanting to reduce their family's meat consumption. These are different meals we've had and how we adjust them for our family. I really hope it helps.
____________________

Veg chili with vegan red lobster biscuits (recipe HERE). They seriously taste just like regular ones! 

Chili
Just skip the ground beef. My husband doesn't mind it without any meat, but if he really wanted to, he could simply fry some up and add it to his bowl individually. Sometimes I do miss cheddar cheese with this, so I'll add a little nutritional yeast or veg cheddar to my bowl.

Sometimes you're just in the middle of your dinner and realize you forgot to take a pic of it for your blog! :)

Grilled cheese & tomato soup
I use a spicy hummus (I'm going to mention it a lot, so HERE is the recipe, I often use it to replace cheese) with nutritional yeast for my sandwich. If we have some vegan cheddar shreds, I might add a little bit of those. I add some cooked chickpeas to the tomato soup for a boost of protein and that's it. So yummy. My husband and toddler can eat regular grilled cheese like usual.

Can you believe this plate doesn't have any meat or dairy?

Nachos
I make myself a cheesy sauce (there are a lot of recipes out there and I haven't found one I really like enough to share just yet) and use some cheddar shreds and my husband can make his nachos like usual. I make a taco seasoning/black bean/salsa mixture for my "meat" and he fries up his own ground beef.

Mmmmm salad

Salad
There are so many options for salad. Taco salad is a good one. My husband adds his own beef, while I'll add beans for my protein and pureed salsa for a dressing. Plus onion, peppers, tortilla strips, corn, etc. Or buffalo chicken/tofu salad. He can add meat, I can add whatever I want.

This sourdough bread from Aldi is sooo good. Cover it in veg butter and fry it on the skillet a couple minutes. 

Sandwiches 
Sandwiches are great because everyone can choose what they want on theirs. I like to do a BLT without the bacon. I toast some sourdough bread, add Just Mayo, tomato slices, and lettuce and POW, it is so good. And my husband can add cheese and salami or whatever he wants to his own.

Brussels sprouts and zucchini with soybean noodles. 

Pasta 
There are a bunch of different pasta recipes to choose from (haven't tried this one yet, but HERE's an example). My husband picks out the veggies and adds in some chicken if he wants it. He could always add some Parmesan to his bowl if he really misses the cheesy flavor.

Greek marinated tofu kabobs recipe HERE with zucchini, red bell pepper, & onion.

Kabobs
Tofu or meat. Everyone can pick and choose what they want on theirs.

Quesadillas are a family favorite around here. 

Quesadillas 
Quesadilla are another good one where everyone can pick their own ingredients. My husband and toddler will usually have a plain cheese quesadilla. I'll put spicy hummus and zucchini on mine. You could always add beans and salsa too. Mexican style food really is great for veganizing, plus we've discovered our toddler seems to like stuff inside tortillas.

Pancake with peanut butter, maple syrup, and chia seeds.

Breakfast for dinner (pancakes)
HERE's the recipe we use & BAM everyone's happy! I like to add peanut butter along with my syrup.

These crescents have halved grape tomatoes inside.

Crescent rolls 
Pillsbury brand crescent rolls are vegan (but not all other brands are, so check!). And you can put whatever you want inside a crescent roll. My husband and toddler do hotdogs, sausages, pepperoni and cheese, etc. I like spicy hummus, tomatoes, or I just make them plain and put some veg butter and jelly inside (super healthy dinner I know :)). Or fill with veg mozzarella and dip them in marinara. So many options.

I always have my husband roll my wraps because I'm not any good at it. Then he lays them out all fancy-like. 

Buffalo wraps
I use cauliflower or chickpeas, my husband gets chicken. Plus lettuce, onion, cheddar, ranch, buffalo sauce, etc. I cook the chickpeas in the crockpot all day after soaking overnight, then coat them in buffalo sauce and bake at 350 for like 30 min. You don't have to bake them of course, but baked chickpeas are the best, just saying... For the cauliflower I just coat in buffalo sauce and put them in the oven at 350 for 30 min or so too.

This bun is one of those super thin lower carb buns, they were the only wheat ones at Aldi that day! I usually eat regular buns. Also these fries were homemade and my husband said they made him feel healthier. Haha. 

Burgers
This one's easy peasy. My husband has meat. I have a veggie burger. We both have fries. Done and done. Everyone's happy. You can find my homemade recipe HERE.

Red lobster biscuits, one half of a small potato (because I sacrificed the other half to my toddler), some baby carrots, and  a sweet potato.

Crockpot chicken & potatoes 
In the past, we ate this a lot on days I knew we wouldn't have a lot of time for dinner. I just added a chicken breast and a couple potatoes to the crockpot and let it cook all day while I was at work. I add water and half a packet of onion soup mix to it. Now I add a couple extras like carrots and a small sweet potato for myself and my husband can eat the chicken and potatoes like he usually would. He's not a fan of sweet potatoes.

Veggie flatbread pizza. Sooooo yummy, I don't even miss the cheese. 

Personal flatbread pizzas
I make my own flatbread with THIS recipe. I season and fry up veggies like cauliflower, tomatoes, zucchini. My husband uses pepperoni and cheese. We just use marinara for the sauce. It's great without cheese, but you can always add nutritional yeast for a little extra flavor.

This is actually a picture of my husband's leftovers at work the next day because I totally forgot to take a picture of my dinner the night before. :)

Philly cheesesteak
My husband gets meat and cheese like usual. I use onion and bell pepper with veg mozzarella for myself. I need to look into a vegan Worcestershire sauce though...

I love fried rice. I wish I had some fried cauliflower to go with it!

Fried rice
This is super simple. If he wants a side of meat, he can add some orange sauce or teriyaki sauce to some chicken. Sometimes I'll bread and fry some cauliflower for myself.

Trying out the fancy "food" filter on my new phone. :)

Teriyaki tofu and rice
Along the same lines as the fried rice, I will marinate some tofu in teriyaki or orange sauce, fry it up. And my husband can do the same with some chicken. Super easy.

Quinoa with taco seasoning, salsa, black beans, and lettuce in a flour tortilla. You could add some nutritional yeast too.

Quinoa tacos
I was never a big fan of tacos before, but quinoa tacos are awesome. I make some quinoa like usual, then stir in some taco seasoning. I used to puree salsa and mix that in, it's super yummy, but my husband wasn't a fan, so I just add my salsa separately now.

Bean and corn enchilada with a side of roasted tomatoes. Sometimes I do a side of steamed broccoli.  

Bean enchiladas
I cook the beans then mash up part of the mixture so it's in between regular beans and refried beans in texture. Add enchilada sauce. And I definitely add veg cheddar shreds because I really miss cheese with this particular meal. My husband doesn't even alter this one, he eats it just as it is.

Other stuff we've tried that is vegan for us both:

Sweet potato broccoli soup (my husband was not a fan, but I thought it was awesome)

Chickpea & sweet potato curry

Mexican casserole (based on this recipe HERE)

I really hope these gave you some ideas! This has been a much smoother process than I thought it would be. I hope your family members are supportive of your lifestyle change too!

Good luck.
Love,
Alaina