Parents' Day + High-Protein Marry Me Butter Beans
Saturday
Arthur’s Saturday started at 7:20. As usual, the first order of business was a solid breakfast with Papa. Today it was a cup or so of the same baby food purée from Friday (with carrots, rice, and chicken). After a second breakfast on Mama, Arthur and his dad made the trip to where our car was parked to bestow our new Dutch license plate on it!
Unfortunately the little booger did not want to nap during his second susu breakfast, but he did sleep for half an hour during his 12:00 walk with his dad. I think he could have done with quite a bit more sleep, though.
For his afternoon snack, Arthur ate another mini flatbread - the whole thing, this time! I coated different slices with different spreads: more of the baby food purée from that morning, some of the chia pudding from the previous day, and some cashew butter! The cashew butter was a new food; while he’s had cashews in mixed nut butter in the past, he hadn’t tasted them on their own until today. And they seem to be a hit: the cashew butter slices were by far his favorite. I hear ya buddy - I’m addicted to the stuff as well!
Did Arthur catch up on his sleep during his 3:00 nursing session? No, siree! What about during his 4:00 walk with his dadadada? Still no. Well surely then he must have slept when he nursed at 5:00? The answer, once again, is a resounding NO.
So it was no surprise that Arthur was a bit restless at dinner time, but he still ate well enough! I fed him an omelette I had whipped up earlier that day, made of an egg seasoned with turmeric, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika, and cooked in olive oil. The filling was puréed spinach, rehydrated TVP, some flatbread crumbs, a bit of the same baby food purée from earlier in the day, and nutritional yeast. The little guy seemed to like it!
Arthur didn’t nurse long after dinner; he was very ready for bed. I investigated his tooth situation while his papa was brushing them; it looks like his top left tooth is just beginning to break through the gums! It’s a little behind the top right, but not by much; I suspect they’ll both be coming in right around the same time. Pretty soon we’ll have a four-toothed gopher!
Anyways, Arthur’s Saturday menu was:
baby food purée (carrot, whole-grain rice, chicken, tomato passata, cornstarch, canola oil, spices)
flatbread (wheat flour, wheat gluten, canola oil, yeast, rice flour, vinegar)
chia pudding (homemade low-fat yogurt, chia seeds, flax seeds, shredded coconut)
cashew butter (new food!)
Another Mamalette (olive oil, egg, turmeric, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, spinach, TVP, nutritional yeast, flatbread crumbs, carrot-rice-chicken-tomato baby food purée)
Sunday
Arthur woke up and started wailing a little before 7:00 on Sunday morning. I can't say I like the trend his wakeup times are taking. Miklós desperately fed him the rest of the carrot-chicken-rice baby food purée and a fistful of Cheerios to keep him calm until it was time for his liquid breakfast at 8:00.
After a couple of breakfasts, the boys went for a walk while Mama worked on her booty. Then it time for more susu, and, happily, a nice long nap on Mama! In high spirits, we set off to have a picnic, but were thwarted by the drizzle that picked up pretty much as soon as we got to a grassy spot by the river. So instead, we headed home and boozed up there. We had a lot to celebrate; the finality of our home contract and gathering of all the documents necessary for the mortgage, Arthur's new standing skills and upper teeth, and, it turns out, Sunday was also Parents' Day - our first in that role! So we had some wine at home. And Arthur seemed very interested in the mini wine bottles, I have to say!
Since my breast milk needed a bit of time to de-alcoholfy, I forewent Arthur's usual 1:00 nursing session. Instead, the lucky duck got two solid lunches: one with Papa, and then one with Mama! With his dad, Arthur finished off his omelette from yesterday, as well as the rest of the chia pudding, followed up by a few sweet potato chips. With me, it was a fresh batch of cream of wheat I whipped up, mixed with yellow bell pepper purée, cinnamon, and a lot of peanut butter, along with a new jar of a spinach cheese risotto baby food purée. I was surprised that he still was hungry to eat quite a bit of the cream of wheat, along with half of the jar of baby food purée, but maybe I shouldn't have been -the boy has displayed his massive appetite again and again by now!
No nap for this dude during his 3:00 nursing session; instead he cut his new teeth on Mama's nipples over and over again. I was pretty ready for his dad to take him on a walk after that. He didn't nap during his walk either, but at least he was in pretty good spirits when they returned, so I couldn't completely complain. His reasonable mood continued throughout dinner, which in Arthur's case was the rest of the cream of wheat he started at snack time. Still, I think he was ready to go to sleep at bedtime!
And that means, that on Sunday Arthur consumed:
baby food purée (carrot, whole-grain rice, chicken, tomato passata, cornstarch, canola oil, spices)
Cheerios
The newest Mamalette (olive oil, egg, turmeric, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, spinach, TVP, nutritional yeast, flatbread crumbs, carrot-rice-chicken-tomato baby food purée)
chia pudding (homemade low-fat yogurt, chia seeds, flax seeds, shredded coconut)
sweet potato chips
tasty porridge (cream of wheat, yellow bell pepper purée, cinnamon, peanut butter)
cheese spinach risotto baby food purée (milk, carrot, rice, spinach, celeriac, onion, mozzarella, canola oil, hard cheese, parsley, basil, white pepper)
The parents, meanwhile, celebrated their holiday with Miklós's usual lovely sweet potato quiche. Saturday, however, I tried something new! Silken tofu was on sale, so I decided to try my hand at this high-protein marry me butter bean recipe. I liked all the ingredients; it looked tasty and healthy (and high protein!) and it had great reviews! And the reviews were right; this was awesome, and even my bean-skeptical hubby approved. I think I can happily put this on our dinner rotation. I served them with flatbread this time, but I think they'd go well with pretty much any starch and/or vegetable. I barely changed the original recipe; here's how I made them:
High-Protein Marry Me Butter Beans (serves 2)
Ingredients
1 tsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter/margarine (ghee would probably also work here)
3 garlic cloves (3 tsp minced)
½ broth/stock of choice (I used ½ a mushroom bouillon cube + ½ cup water)
1 block silken tofu (~300g)
¼ cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp chili flakes
1 tsp oregano (I subbed pizza seasoning)
1 tsp thyme
¼ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
2 cans butter beans, drained
1 tbsp fresh herbs of choice, chopped (I used basil)
salt, pepper, MSG (optional), to taste
crusty bread/rice &/or veggies, optional, for serving (I served it with toasted flatbread)
Instructions
Add the contents of half a can of butter beans, the silken tofu, nutritional yeast, and the broth/reconstituted bouillon to a blender. Blend until creamy.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and add the minced garlic. Sauté for a few minutes, until fragrant. Add the blender sauce and stir to combine.
Add the butter beans and bring sauce to a low simmer for a few minutes.
Add the chili flakes, oregano, and thyme. Stir to combine.
Season to taste with salt, pepper, and MSG (if using).
Add the sun-dried tomatoes and butter and stir the mixture as it melts in.
Let the sauce simmer and thicken for a few more minutes.
Garnish with fresh chopped herbs and serve warm, with bread, rice, or veggies if desired!
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