This month’s Mid-Month Munchies comes to you directly from my kitchen in the form of pie! This is pretty exciting business, folks. Any time there is pie involved, my attention is undivided – at least as much as it can be with a five-month-old.
This pie was born out of my frustration at a lack of decent gluten free pie toppings. Pre-Celiac I was in love with lattice work on top of pie. Gluten-free dough is notoriously fragile and does not lend well to lattice work, or much other pie toppings. Even getting a solid flat crust for topping can be a challenge. It is no fun to top a delicious pie with a mediocre crust. I’m the kind of person that would just rather not do something if it isn’t going to come out well, so I began experimenting with different toppings I could use.
The topping I use here is along the same vein as the toppings used for summertime berry cobblers. Used in pie it is a lovely, crunchy contrast to the fruit filling and sets it apart from other pies in a fun way.
Apple is usually my go-to pie filling as you can easily control how much added sugar goes into the filling and it is so quick to make. I love this pie so much and hope you will too! So easy and quick to make. Let me know how yours turns out!
Apple Oat Crisp Pie
Serves 1-8
Ingredients
For the Filling:
4 or 5 Medium Apples
2 tsp Pie Spice
1 Tbs Cornstarch
1/2 C Sugar
6 tsp Butter, divided
For the Topping:
1 C Gluten Free Rolled Oats
1/2 C Sugar
1 tsp Pie Spice
1/2 C Butter
Method
First... Preheat the oven to 350. Prepare your favorite pie crust as desired. Peel, slice, and core your apples, then place into a large mixing bowl. Coat well with cornstarch, sugar, and pie spice.
Then... Melt the butter over a low heat then add the sugar and pie spice. Stir well, then add the oats and remove from heat.
Finally... Dump the bowl of apples into the pie crust. Dot with the divided butter. Add the oat topping to the apples and spread evenly around. Crumbling with your fingers will help to even things out. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until starting to brown on top. If you edges are burning, cover them with foil.
- Patricia
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When people see that you’re expecting a little one you hear poop stories, food stories, sleep stories, sick baby stories, Mensa baby stories, and all the rest of the gamut. Believe it or not, however, there were a few things that even after five months of living with a baby I have wondered aloud to Thomas, ‘Why didn’t they mention that?!’
Thomas and I are both 110% new to the parenting game so we had absolutely no clue what we were getting into. Neither of us had younger siblings nor did either of us babysit other family members.
Yeah, we were well prepared.
It’s really not as hard as everyone makes it out to be. We are so fortunate to be able to be home with Little M for several months straight and I fully understand this is a luxury that few people can afford.
With the help of our doctor’s office, friends, family, and Dr. Google, we have been able to stumble through the first four months pretty easily. Despite that, here are my top five things I wish someone had bothered to tell me before I brought my baby home and had 1,983,562 heart attacks.
1. Loose Joints
While mamma was thankful for all that relaxin that was coursing through her veins during pregnancy, allowing her hips and pelvis to better accommodate baby, she was also passing some of it on to her little one via the placenta.
Thanks to the relaxin and the newly formed bones and joints that babies are equipped with, loose and hypermobile joints are somewhat common with newborns and very young babies. Picking up your baby, no matter how gingerly, can often result in a shoulder or rib sliding around. It is a terrifying feeling to pick up your lovely little one and feel their shoulder move around oddly or feel their ankle pop when you’re changing a diaper!
At our two week check up, our wonderfully patient pediatrician assured us this was totally normal and would subside within the next several weeks. I think it was around the time Little M was three months or so I finally felt she was not quite wet-paper-sack-fragile.
2. Mom’s Hormones Can Affect Baby
This one can get pretty weird, but stick with me.
Just as mom’s hormones are affecting the newborn’s joints, other hormones are affecting different parts of the body, as well. It is normal for newborns, both male and female, to develop breast buds and lactate, sometimes known as witch’s milk. The little ladies might even have a bit of bloody vaginal discharge as a result of mom’s hormones. All of this is perfectly normal and should subside within a few weeks at most.
Despite how normal this is, it can still be quite shocking to see this from your little baby. While we didn’t have these issues, we actually were told about this one from our pediatrician when we brought up the joint issue. Feel free to call your pediatrician’s office if something seems amiss to you, however, or your baby develops a fever.
3. No Feedback
This was, perhaps, the hardest part for me.
I knew it’d be grueling. I knew it’d be dirty. But I did not know that for weeks on end there would be zero positive feedback from her beyond her simply being alive and well. And even if I did know that, I don’t think I would have been prepared for how utterly miserable it made me feel.
When Madeline was hot off the press, I joked about her going through a systems testing phase. She would make random noises, her arms and legs were jerky and uncoordinated, and emotions would flash across her face for brief moments before falling asleep or crying for us. It was obvious she was getting used to her tiny body and figuring out what she had control over.
It was adorable, but that was all she did. After several weeks of this, my resolve began to be tested.
Soon, however, she was figuring out how to smile and giggle and those smiles made it all worth it. It was a very amazing moment when I realized she liked me!
Patience is bitter.
Victory is sweet.
4. Terrible Skin
Babies have sensitive skin. Everyone knows this.
What everyone doesn’t know is that newborns have ridiculous skin. Bumps, rashes, cradle cap, gooey neck and leg folds, and random splotches are all par for the course in newborns, sometimes all at the same time!
I was terrified Maddie would be allergic to our cats (sorry, they were here first, sweetie…) and soon after we got her home, she began to break out in these random rashes all across her body. They would appear and then disappear within a few hours. I knew it couldn’t be allergies the way they would come and go, but it was disturbing none-the-less.
After discussing this with the nurse at Little M’s two day checkup, we were assured this was normal and caused from her immune system getting started and adjusting to our world. The splotches never lasted long, and the bumps decreased as time went on.
After a couple months this calmed down, but we still have issues every once in awhile with acne. Her favorite thing to do these days is to scratch her face ridiculously hard when she’s tired leaving little scratches.
5. The Three Month Hormone Change
At around three or four months, both mothers and babies will go through a bit of a hormone change. For mom this can include hair loss (the most shocking for me), change in menstrual cycle, and swings in milk production if she is still lactating. For baby this can be increased hair growth, hair loss, fussiness, sleep regression, and a variety of other symptoms.
I’m not so convinced of the hormones being the cause of the issues for baby as I am for mom, because holy wow I was not ready for that hormone swing at about three months along. Little M, on the other hand, seems to be cruising right along with normal baby problems. She sure is getting cuter by the day, though.
This list only names the top five that were the most surprising to me, but there certainly were other things that threw me off about the whole thing, but perhaps that is for a different day.
Were there things that were surprising to you during your first few months home with baby that you were totally unprepared for? Let me know below in the comment section, I’d love to hear from you!
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The other day I was at our local grocery store browsing the cereal isle and longing for some good granola. There’s something about autumn that makes me crave granola. Maybe it’s the crunchy leaves or the warm sweaters and blankets that get brought out, but granola and oatmeal are two of my favorite cold weather breakfasts.
But when you’re gluten free, getting granola can be a challenge. Over the years, I’ve tried a few that nearly knocked my teeth out and a few that were permanently stale, but I had not found one that was truly a good granola. The clusters were always so hard and bland. The filling tended to be grainy or gritty. Just not enjoyable.
What gives? Why is it so hard to make gluten free granola?
Well, apparently, this lady named Elizabeth was also wondering that when she set out to make granola that didn’t suck.
When I found this at the store, it wasn’t shelved along with the other bags of granola it was mixed right in with the other boxes of cereal. After reading the ingredients, I was pretty excited to try it out and tossed it in the cart. Despite my negative experiences in the past, I’m always open to trying new products and was happy to see something I didn’t recognize.
The company has been around for about six years now, and while I am just now seeing their product at my local store, they have a widely established distribution across the US.
So I might be a little bit behind on the Purely Elizabeth bandwagon, but this is a good thing! It means it is fairly easy to find around the country at grocers and online at a few different sites.
The packaging is unique for granola - they vacuum seal it in a pouch.
You know what my favorite part about granola is?
The clusters.
Look at this! It’s cluster heaven!
And with delicious pecans, this cereal is after this Texas girl’s heart!
The millet puffs are a little odd to me, but I enjoy the nutty, roasty flavor they impart. They are very similar to corn pops, if you’re familiar with those.
I finished this box in four sittings and enjoyed it immensely. I will be getting these again and I can’t wait to pick up another flavor to try.
If you’ve tried this granola or one of her other products, let me know in the comments below what you thought!
- Patricia
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For most of us mortals, how a morning unfolds can make or break the tone for the rest of the day. Now this isn’t always the case, but most of the time if you have a shitty morning you’re likely to have a shitty day.
Ain't nobody got time for that.
While there isn’t a chance in the world you will have spectacular, energy filled mornings every day, there are a few ways you can help increase your chances of this happening.
1. Do less in the morning.
As my stepfather would always tell me, “Proper prior planning prevents piss poor performance.”
The real secret to good mornings is starting the night before.
Choose the next day’s clothes, or at least think about what you want to wear, prep lunch, check the weather, and put the coffee pot together.
Having less to do in the morning will make you feel less rushed and the bit of extra effort the night before to organize your day will let you feel more put together.
2. Be predictable.
Develop a routine will help the mornings go off without a hitch. There are a few basic tasks I do every morning without fail including brushing my teeth, doing my hair, drinking coffee, getting dressed, and getting my bags ready to leave. Each morning I do them in more or less the same order.
This routine allows me to have something to fall back on. I know that no matter how hectic the morning becomes, these few essential tasks are second nature and will always get done. They fit my routine and my routine fits them.
3. Stay flexible.
Wake up with a yawn, a stretch, and the mindset that anything could happen. The deep breath will help give your blood a good boost of oxygen after a night’s rest, and some quick stretches will give your body a kick of energy for the day.
Staying flexible in your morning routine will also help keep you ready to tackle the unexpected without too much added stress.
4. Look your best.
Take just a moment to do that extra thing that makes you feel good about you. This may be wearing gorgeous lipstick, pants that hug you in all the right places, or rocking some awesome shoes you love. It doesn’t have to be much, but whatever it is be sure to make time for it in your daily routine.
Allowing time for yourself is one of the best gifts you can give yourself. Even if the time is short, making a dedicated effort each day to recognize and do something that makes you feel good about you will drastically improve your outlook on the day ahead.
- Patricia
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