Postpartum Bars

These filling and nutrient-dense bars are a great source of fiber and are rich with vitamins, minerals, and omega 3’s! They’re the perfect snack to have on hand for a new mom, especially for those groggy 3AM nursing sessions where you feel like you want to eat everything in sight but are too tired to get up and make a snack. In those early weeks, I kept a bag of these by my bed next to my huge water bottle so that I could refuel after nursing! These bars aren’t just for nursing moms, though! No matter how you feed your baby or whether you had a vaginal birth or a cesarean-section, the ingredients in these bars give your body nutrients that it needs to help you recover. These bars are also a great nutrient-packed snack for expectant moms! (Or anyone for that matter! I’d gladly hand these over to my kids!)

I was so thankful for my friend who visited me in the hospital after I had my youngest; she brought me a bag of these bars with her recipe attached. I swear I ate half the bag before I was discharged! 🙂 She said that this is a forgiving recipe so to feel free to play around with the ingredients to make your own custom version. She uses apple juice sometimes instead of the applesauce. By the way, the amount of brown sugar in these bars is pretty low, but if you’re avoiding refined sugar, sub for ¼ cup honey or maple syrup. I haven’t tried it yet, but it should work! If you want to make them before your due date and have them ready to go, cool completely but do not cut into individual servings. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then wrap again tightly with foil or freezer paper. Freeze up to 3 months. When ready to serve, thaw at room temperature before cutting into individual servings.

So, why are these bars SO good for new mamas? Check out the ingredient information below!! (Follow the links within the list below for even more info on specific nutrients.)

---

Oats are thought to be a calming food that helps you to release more oxytocin, which boosts milk production. Oats are also a great source of iron; studies have shown that a low iron supply can decrease your lactation greatly. Oats contain saponins, which are sweet, soap-like substances that have immune-stimulating and antibiotic effects. The body can use saponins as precursors to the production of hormones, including the pituitary hormones that stimulate lactation. Oats are also a good source of fiber.

Whole wheat flour is a great source of fiber. Half a cup contains 6.4 grams, while ½ cup of white flour only contains 1.3 grams. Whole wheat flour contains several vitamins, including folate, riboflavin, B-1, B-3, and B-5, at much higher levels than white flour.

Rye flour is rich in dietary fiber and iron. It is also a nutritious source of antioxidants and nutrients including selenium, phosphorous, magnesium, copper, zinc and protein. Rye contains the naturally occurring plant compounds, lignans, which increase the formation of plasma enterolactone by intestinal micro flora. Enterolactone is beneficial in lowering the risk of certain cancers.

Unsweetened applesauce provides about 3 grams of fiber (11% of daily value) per cup. Apples provide high amounts of beneficial phytochemicals, including catechin, chlorogenic acid, phloridzin and quercetin, which act as antioxidants to prevent cell damage. Applesauce can supply as much as 80% of your daily allowance of vitamin C.

Shredded coconut provides fiber, healthy fats, iron, protein, manganese, selenium, copper, and zinc.

Flax seeds are high in Omega-3 fatty acids, plant lignans, and both soluble and insoluble fiber. As mothers breastfeed, their fatty acid stores are depleted within the milk that is being pumped or consumed by baby.

Chia seeds are rich in antioxidants and full of fiber, magnesium, zinc, iron, and calcium. They are an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids.

Blackstrap molasses contains vital vitamins and minerals, such as iron, calcium, magnesium, vitamin B6, potassium, manganese, and selenium. About 5 tablespoons of blackstrap molasses contains 50 percent of the recommended daily allowance of calcium, 95 percent of iron, and 38 percent of magnesium. These nutrients are essential for your recovery from childbirth, no matter your method of delivery.

Nuts contain many vitamins and minerals. Many nuts are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and all nuts provide good fiber. To learn about the health benefits of specific nuts, go here, and click the nut you’re interested in!

Chocolate chips: Try to find dark chocolate chips (like Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips, which you might want to chop up since they’re ginormous) or chop up some good quality dark chocolate bars (70% or more is best), you’ll get the benefits of all those antioxidants!

---

 

Postpartum Bars

2 cups oats (old-fashioned, quick, or a mix of both)

½ cup whole wheat flour (regular or “white whole wheat”)

1 cup rye flour (OR regular whole wheat or “white whole wheat”)

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)

¼ cup flax meal (ground flax seeds—can be subbed for ground chia seeds or do 50/50 mixture)

1 cup dried fruit (optional—raisins, dried cranberries, dried blueberries, etc.)

1 tsp cinnamon

4 TB brown sugar

2 TB blackstrap molasses

½ cup oil (ideally melted virgin coconut oil)

¼ cup chopped nuts (optional—any nuts—walnuts, pecans, peanuts, almonds, etc.)

½ cup chocolate chips (optional—mini or regular)

Dump all ingredients into a large bowl; mix well. It will be thick and gloppy.

Scrape into a greased or parchment paper-lined 9×13 pan; spread so that it’s an even layer.

Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Cool, and cut into bars or squares.

 

FLOUR NOTE: Are you gluten-free? You may sub both flours with a gluten-free flour blend. You can also do ½ cup oat flour and 1 cup gluten-free flour blend.

ADD-IN NOTE: Use at least one of the sweet add-ins (chocolate chips or dried fruit) to make it a little more fun and add some sweetness.

 

 

>>> DOWNLOAD PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE HERE!

 

Know an expecting or new mom? Use the sharing buttons to share this recipe with her!

Run a healthy kitchen without going bonkers or broke!

No matter your household size or structure, keeping the kitchen running smoothly and stocked with healthy foods without breaking the bank or going nuts can be a challenge. Whether you’re a bachelor, a single parent stumbling in the door at 6:30 after work, or a stay-at-home mom trying to keep the baby from climbing on the table while your homeschooled big kids do their homework before Dad gets home, there’s going to be that question…. “What’s for dinner?” And not just that… Snacks! Lunch! Breakfast! It saves time and takes a lot of stress off if you know that you have quick, healthy options that you can throw together.

My secret weapons are…

1) Bulk/batch cooking

2) My slow cooker

3) Almost never paying full price for meat

4) A kitchen well-stocked with versatile basics

Let’s talk about #1 and #2 since they often go hand-in-hand. It is so helpful to be able to grab already-cooked-and-seasoned ground turkey out of the freezer/fridge and have it on the table in less than 30 minutes as tacos, spaghetti, etc! I pull out a big pot and cook up 3 pounds of lean ground turkey at a time since it doesn’t take much longer or make more of a mess than cooking 1 pound. My family goes through the 3 pounds fast enough that I usually don’t need to freeze any, but it’s easy to divide in 3 and store flat in the freezer in quart bags. When it comes to chicken breasts, winter squash, and sweet potatoes, my slow cooker is the star. I use it so often that it stays on the counter most of the time! I have a big 6-qt slow cooker, so I can make big batches of food at one time. The results are easy to freeze if you can’t eat it fast enough! I adore chicken breasts from the slow cooker–moist and fall-apart tender. YES, you can do batch-cooking if you’re single or don’t have a lot of kids to help you eat all that food. How? Portion out a week’s worth of lunches and have them waiting for you in the fridge, or throw some of it in the freezer!

Hardboiled eggs! This is another thing that you can make a big batch of for meals and snacks. I can do about 21 eggs in my big pot, and they last me all week.

Okay, #3 is huge if you’re watching your budget! Most grocery stores will heavily discount meat when it’s getting close to the “use or freeze by” date. I almost never buy meat unless it’s on clearance like that, which saves me 30-75%! Lately I’ve been getting 3 pound containers of lean ground turkey for $4.79 (regularly almost $11). If I can’t use it fast enough, I cook it up and freeze it! All stores do it a little differently; my Wal-mart puts yellow stickers on the packages, and my grocery store uses pink stickers.

Speaking of budget, ALL of these tips will save you money because a well-stocked healthy kitchen will keep you out of the drive-through line more often, steer you away from getting as much pricey convenience foods, and keep your body healthier!

This brings us to #4… a well-stocked kitchen. Versatile basics will give you options. I’ve done detailed menu planning before, and I’m sure I’ll do it again at some point. Where I’m at in life right now with 3 little kids, homeschooling, and my other commitments…. my brain and schedule just can’t handle that right now. 🙂 So, I have a working list of basics that I rotate through and then throw in “special” meals and snacks now and then (and think of new ways to use the basics) so we don’t get bored. Click here to download a list of roughly what those basics are for my household. I have plenty of specialty ingredients, too, that get used for certain recipes, like yeast and sesame oil, but this is a pretty comprehensive list of basic things that I almost always have on hand. Everyone’s needs are different, but my list will give you a starting point for figuring out what YOUR list might look like!

So, what do I DO with these basics? Ground turkey gets prepped for things like sloppy joes, spaghetti, chili, and tacos. Lots of ways to “hide” veggies in all of those dishes! Cooked chicken breasts get used as-is, thrown into salads, made into “chicken salad”, put on quesadillas, etc …..  If you have a immediate “But what do I do with A-B-C? How do I pair these things together?” question, let me know….

Otherwise, I’ve got you covered!  I have a Fall Wellness FB group about to start on Monday, October 12 called “Season of Change”, and this is one of the things we’ll be chatting about in the group! 🙂 …Combining these things into healthy whole-food meals and snacks, some of my recipes, some new recipes for us all to try, my cooking methods, etcetera!  The group is also for those who are working on improving their fitness. Get some accountability and encouragement for your goals for fitness and/or healthier eating as you work on healthy changes this fall! Hop over to my FB page, Wellness with Donna, for the link to join the group. 🙂

Now, before you start thinking I’m a perfect always-feeds-healthy-homemade-food kind of a mom… Nope, no perfection going on over here…. 😉 I shoot for at least 80% whole/healthy food, and I keep the dialogue going with my kids about how different food/ingredients impact our health.  That said, I always keep a bag of these in my freezer for the boys, and we usually have some sort of “treat food” in the house, whether it’s Oreos, a bag of Skittles, or ice cream sandwiches. When I do buy “junk food”, I usually try to make the best choice I can if there’s a healthier option that still tastes good, like getting these instead of these. Still a “treat food”, but a little bit less junky…. Except Oreos. No compromising on those. LOL I also try to make, from scratch, the majority of our treats, like cookies and such.

I hope this post was helpful and not too rambling!! Please feel free to share this post and/or my Wellness with Donna page with someone if you think it would be helpful to them!  Thanks for reading!! 🙂

Brave With My Story: Suicide Awareness/Prevention Month

In honor of the last day of Suicide Prevention/Awareness month, here is my story….

I was about 16 when I attempted suicide. I guess looking back now, I realize that I’ve been depressed and anxious pretty much my whole life. I realized a few years ago that in most of the photos of me as a child, I have sad eyes. Depression and mental illness runs in my family. Throw in an unstable, abusive home life and childhood sexual abuse by family friends…. Yeah. I call age 15 the “year of tears”. I was a hot mess when I was 16; that’s when I finally, for the first time, told someone about the sexual abuse. What a blessing my friend was when she hugged me, listened, and let me cry—and cried with me—for hours. Opening that wound, on top of all the normal teen angst and hormones, on top of my home life and depression…. A perfect storm, I suppose. I started drinking almost daily when I was 14, so I’m surprised I didn’t attempt with alcohol. I’d been self-injuring for years, so who knows why I didn’t try to slit my wrists. Instead, I raided the medicine cabinet and took a bunch of pills. I hadn’t been in my room for very long when I passed out. I remember seeing my goofy drawing of a penguin hanging on my closet door as I went down, and as I almost reached the floor, I hit my head on that door. I’m not sure how long I laid there, half-passed-out; it gets fuzzy for awhile after that. Once I got up, I felt “not right” physically for quite awhile. I was angry, too… I’d found yet another thing that I couldn’t do right. Couldn’t even kill myself. I felt like a total failure. A few months later, during an argument with my mother, I confessed about the attempt. She curtly commented, “So that’s where all my pills went!” She also mockingly laughed, asking me, “What’s so bad in your life?!” I shared about the sexual abuse but left out the impact of my home life. No point in mentioning that. I begged to go to counseling, but I was told that I was being selfish. That she’d have to get a job or my father would have to get a second job to pay for that. That she was just fine without counseling so I didn’t need it.

You hear it a lot, especially when it’s a teenager who attempts suicide… “They just did it for attention.” Did I just want to be noticed? Did I truly want to die? Looking back, I think it was a complicated mix of reasons, but I truly didn’t want to be living. I wanted to be done with all of it. And even if someone attempts suicide “just for attention”, there is still something seriously wrong. They still need help.

I’ve never attempted again, but I’ve gone through periods where I’ve considered it seriously. Thinking that the world and my family would be better off without me. That I’m a failure so what’s the point… I’ve been on antidepressants for a few years, and I’ve gone to a lot of counseling in the last 12 years. I’ve learned positive coping skills and strive to use them instead of negative ones. I conquer my urge to self-injure when it pops up in times of extreme stress/emotional turmoil/anxiety. I do not allow myself to abuse drugs and alcohol anymore, and I’m working on not using food as a coping mechanism. I’m working on loving and forgiving myself. I choose to not have negative, abusive people in my life. I’m working on seeing and *believing* my value. I’m a work-in-progress, and most of the time, I believe that I’m worth the effort.

I value my life with my family. I am honored to be a mother and bear the gift of that responsibility with the utmost respect. I know that I am not alone in my struggles, and I know that I am loved and try to remember that I’m WORTHY of that love. That is all worth fighting for.

If you’re struggling with suicidal thoughts or depression, you are not alone. You matter. Find someone you can share your story with, and let them walk through this with you as you get professional help. If someone entrusts you with their story, please do your best to react with kindness and respect; do more listening than talking. Don’t minimize their feelings. If you’re not sure what to say, it’s okay. We’d rather you just be present with us than throw platitudes at us. If you have a loved one who’s struggling with suicidal thoughts or serious depression, you aren’t alone, either! I know it can be frustrating, and you may not understand their feelings. Seek out support and help so that you don’t get weighed down.

Thank you for reading my story. If you want to share yours, I’d be honored if you left a comment or messaged me on FB.

I shared some links on my page recently for good lists of helplines and resources. Here’s those post links!

National Alliance on Mental Illness resources

Crisis TEXT Line & a long list of helplines/organizations

Gingerbread Baked Oatmeal (Pumpkin-ized, too!)

My whole family loves baked oatmeal, so I’m always looking for new ones to try! Gingerbread seems like such a cozy autumn flavor to me, so I was excited to try it. And, since it’s the season to….

…I thought I might as well pumpkin-ize it. 🙂 I noticed the original recipe called for 1/2 cup of brown sugar, as well as 1/2 cup of molasses, so I wondered what the sugar grams were per serving. I checked with Calorie Count’s awesome recipe analyzer, finding that the original clocked in at 12.5 grams of sugar per serving. (Note: Some of the sugar in the recipe is naturally-occurring, such as in the milk.) My pumpkin version has 7.6 grams of sugar per serving!! (My version with applesauce has 8.1 grams of sugar.) Five grams of sugar can make a huge difference in your daily total, especially for kids!** (Some of the sugar in the recipe calculations is naturally-occurring, such as in the milk.) 

I thought about halving the brown sugar but decided to be daring and just eliminate it completely. My whole family thought it was sweet enough, but people who aren’t as accustomed to less sugar as we are may feel that it needs more. You could add 1/4 cup brown sugar to the recipe, or simply lightly drizzle each serving with a bit of honey or maple syrup. If you’re feeling decadent, serve fresh whipped cream on top!

I love that this can easily be made dairy-free and gluten-free! You can make it egg-free, too! Flax eggs usually work fine in this sort of recipe. Look at the bottom of my Applesauce Cake post for flax egg info.

Gingerbread Baked Oatmeal

Adapted from $5 Dinners

Makes 16 servings

Prep Time: 10 min

Bake Time: 35-50 minutes, depending on prep method

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce or pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup dark molasses
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 cups oats (quick, old-fashioned, or mix of both)
• 1/4 cup flour (whole wheat , regular, or gluten-free) 
• 2 cups milk (dairy or non-dairy)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Use non-stick cooking spray to lightly grease 9×13″ glass baking pan or line pan with parchment paper.
2. In large bowl, whisk together eggs, applesauce/pumpkin, and dark molasses until well-mixed.
3. Whisk in baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt.
4. Stir in oats, flour, and milk.
5. Pour (runny) batter into greased pan. Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, or until center of baked oatmeal feels firm but has some “give”. A toothpick or knife should come out clean in the center.
6. Let cool slightly before serving; cut into serving size pieces. You can serve drizzled with milk, yogurt, whipped cream, maple syrup, molasses, or honey. Some people even like it cold!

• NOTE: You can prep this the night before and have it waiting in the fridge for you to put in the oven in the morning! The oats will soak up some liquid, so baking time will only be 35-40 minutes.

**(Preschoolers should limit added sugar to about 4 teaspoons (16 grams) per day. Children ages 4 to 8 should limit added sugar to about 3 teaspoons (12 grams) a day. [To fit in all the nutritional requirements for this age group, there are fewer calories available for added sugar.] Pre-teen and teens should not have more than 5 to 8 teaspoons (20 to 32 grams) of added sugar per day.)

Want to print a text-only version of this recipe? Download the document here.

Applesauce Cake!

Getting a taste of his birthday cake

We’re working around some food sensitivities/intolerances/allergies, so I knew I couldn’t make a typical cake for my little guy’s first birthday. It seems like most of the “healthy first birthday cake” Google results used bananas, which he’s allergic to, so it took some digging. 🙂 When I found this recipe from Tia’s Kitchen, I knew it was “the one”! I did some tinkering with it, though, with the most drastic change being the amount of sugar (cut in half from original). My version is below, and the original is here! It was delicious! I frosted it with coconut oil “buttercream” frosting with a dash of pumpkin spice added. I’m storing the leftover cake in the fridge to keep the frosting from getting runny since the house is fairly warm.

Applesauce Cake

Prep Time: 20 mins

Bake Time: 35-40 mins

Servings: 12

• 2 Flax Eggs **
• 1 ½ cups Unsweetened Applesauce
• ½  cup Brown Sugar (or ½ cup white sugar, cane sugar, turbinado sugar, or coconut sugar plus 1 heaping tsp molasses)
• ½ cup Oil (melted coconut oil, light olive oil, etc.)
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 2 ½ cups Gluten-Free Flour Blend (store-bought or homemade)
• 2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 tsp Nutmeg
• ½ tsp allspice (OR use cloves and/or ginger… or all 3!)
• 1/8 tsp cloves (optional)
• ¼ tsp ginger (optional)
• ½ tsp Salt

1. Make flax eggs; set aside in the fridge.
2. Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
3. Mix applesauce and sugar.
4. Add flax eggs, oil, and vanilla. Mix.
5. Add dry ingredients; mix until just combined.
6. Bake in square 8″ by 8″ or 9″ by 9″ pan for 35-40 minutes; test with toothpick. Toothpick should come out clean. (You can also use a round 8″ or 9″ cake pan.)

**

Regular Eggs – If you can eat eggs, use 2 regular eggs for the flax eggs

Flax Eggs: To make 2 flax eggs, grind 1 TB of whole flax seeds finely (this gives you 2 TB of ground “flax meal”) and combine with 5 TB water. Let sit in the fridge for 5-15 minutes. The below links tell you more about this easy process! (Some people use 3 TB of water per flax egg. I’ve done it with 2.5 TB and 3TB and got good results with both.)

http://tiaskitchen.com/how-to-make-a-flax-egg/

http://detoxinista.com/how-to-make-flax-eggs-or-chia-eggs/

http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/2011/10/how-to-make-a-flax-egg-for-vegan-baking-the-right-way/

http://minimalistbaker.com/how-to-make-a-flax-egg/

Amazing Applesauce Cake with Coconut Oil “Buttercream” Frosting

Want to print a text-only version of this recipe? Download the document here.