Love Child Organics

Posted on April 28, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

It’s no secret that Wes likes to eat. At 12 months, he’s just about 24 pounds and growing. We started introducing solids to him just after he turned 5 months and the boy had no problem accepting just about whatever I gave to him.

So he had the easy part- just eat the food. I, on the other hand, was a bit stress-ridden searching for products that were organic and free from crazy amounts of additives. The produce was a no brainer, but snacks and meals on the go were a bit trickier. There’s just so much out there that’s marketed for babies!

On one particular shopping trip, I happened upon the Love Child Organics brand and threw a bunch of food pouches and other snacks into my cart to see how Wes would take to them. The verdict? He was obsessed.

From then on out, I continued to keep his drawer (yep, Wes has his own drawer in the kitchen that is filled with snacks) stocked with Love Child goodies. Whenever I head out the door, I make sure to grab at least a pouch and a granola bar to have handy for those snacks (re: HANGRY) moments.

I lucked out a few months ago and won a giveaway that included this awesome tote!

If you’ve never heard of Love Child Organics, here’s an overview of the company:

Love Child was launched in 2013 by parents Leah and John-Garrod-Cole with the intention of providing children with organic foods that are as nutrient-rich as possible. There are no fillers, additives, preservatives, refined sugars or GMOs in any of their products.

In addition to creating great food, they are also very socially conscious! AND they also struck the largest deal ever on Dragon’s Den (the Canadian version of Shark Tank) allowing them to continue to grow.

While the product line already incorporates a lot of yummy flavor combinations- including a lot of quinoa and green veggies- they recently launched 4 more baby meals which come in the resealable pouches! They include: vegetarian chili, veggie casserole, pumpkin risotto, and ratatouille. YUM.

Love Child recently sent us the four new meals to try in addition to some of Wes’s other favorites: Love Ducks, Chomp Bars, and Teefies. We jumped right into them!

PS: Don’t put a ton of fun snacks in front of a food-driven baby. He was going bonkers wanting to eat everything!

The new baby meals couldn’t have come at a better time because Wes’s appetite has been a bit wishy-washy ever since his 12 month shots last week. I desperately want him to get some good nutrition in, and the vegetarian chili hit the spot! He downed the entire pouch in one sitting.

You can warm the contents either by pouring them in a bowl or dipping the pouch in warm water, but Wes has just started eating directly from the pouch and I wanted him to take part in the novelty of his new ‘trick’ so he ate it at room temp.

I’m so happy to support a Canadian business that provides healthy meal and snack options for my little guy, so we are definitely permanent customers!

**You can get 15% off your order of Love Child Organics products on Amazon.ca using code LCOMOM13.**

Don’t forget! I am giving away a Grapple Toy Tether on my Facebook page this week, too!

Grapple Toy Tether [GIVEAWAY!]

Posted on April 26, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Hi friends and happy Tuesday! I hope you’re all having a great week so far. It’s been pretty boring over here on our end. I’ve been working every day since Friday; I’ve been pretty sick; Tyler has been working on house stuff; and Wes has been a grump grump. The last one I attribute to a wonderful combination of teething and having his 12 month shots.

Remember a while back when I talked about the Grapple? It was an absolute God send for meal time. Wes was having all too much fun tossing his toys from his high chair to the floor and I was constantly picking them up and having to clean the mess of dog hair from them. Annoying!

I just so happened to stumble upon the Grapple when I was browsing in the children’s store and I knew I needed one. It suctioned to the tray and provided tethers for up to three toys. PERFECT.

grapple-it.small_2

As soon as we got home, I stuck the Grapple on Wes’s tray and attached three toys. That was the first meal I didn’t have to spend majority of my time playing fetch! He loved being able to constantly play with his toys without having to wait for mom to pick them up.

It’s so crazy to look at these photos now because he looks so tiny and chubby 🙂

Here’s a little backstory on the company–> The Grapple™ was invented, as many baby products are, out of sheer necessity…or desperation. After spending many meal times retrieving toys that their 9 month old son dropped on the floor, David and Amy Oh decided there had to be a better way. When they couldn’t find a solution in stores or on the internet, they decided to make their own. It wasn’t pretty but it worked! After being approached by people in restaurants wanting to know where they could buy one, the Ohs realized there was a true need for this product. They formed Boingy LLC and started off on the adventure of creating a product that was fun, easy to use and safe.

Not only is it made of food grade silicone (so it’s safe for your little ones) but it was also invented by a mom! Us moms sure have a knack for coming up with clever way to keep our babes happy, healthy and safe. Even better, the Grapple is portable so it’s a great accesory to have on hand at a restaurant. No one wants to have to hassle with cleaning tossed toys after they’ve been on a yucky restaurant floor. Ick.

I sent my praises to the company, and Amy Ho (the inventor herself!) kindly offered to giveaway ONE Grapple to a lucky reader!

–>Head on over to my Facebook page to enter :)<–

Thanks again to Amy and even more thanks to the Grapple for keeping this mama from going crazy.

Don’t forget to check out their site here

And be sure to like them on Facebook and Instagram

From The Week

Posted on April 22, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Happy Friday! My weekend is full of work work work, so I guess it’s like…my Monday? Eww I can’t think like that. Just popping in real quick to share stuff from our week 🙂

Monday: After breakfast we headed to the zoo! It was such a gorgeous day out that we needed to take advantage. It also made me secretly happy to see several misbehaved children there because it made me feel better about my own child! We saw just about everything there and Wes has his first taste of Grandma’s froyo before we left.

Here’s the part where I toot my own horn about how I make the best french toast. ever.

Only downside to the day was that Wes fell asleep JUST as we arrived at the zoo so he only had a couple minutes of shut eye the whole day! By the late afternoon he was overtired and it was a 2 person chore (me and my mom) to get him down for a nap. Then when he did go down, the kiddo slept until 5pm when we finally needed to get him up. His schedule has been WHACK ever since my mom got here!

We had fajitas for dinner and somehow got wrangled into watching Dancing with the Stars. That show needs to END because there are no stars left to go on!

Tuesday: The dreaded shots day. Ugh. He screamed for all 3 pokes but quickly mellowed out when he got grandma snuggles. We stopped at the grocery store on the way home and then decided to stay at the house just in case the dreaded side effects should kick in.

He seemed to be fine for a while, but as soon as we tried to hang out on the patio is when he went downhill. He got super whiny and lost his appetite. It’s no fair to him though, it was an incredibly hot day and he has been teething so he was really going through the trifecta.

We had some indoor naked time then mom and grandma decided margaritas needed to happen. PS: The Vitamix does an equally fantastic job at blending as the Margaritaville machine.

True story: at the exact moment I took this picture, Elmo said- AND I QUOTE- “Ok, Elmo’s done being upside down now” BAHAHA.

We had chicken sausages for dinner (so ugly to photo) and they were tasty!

Wes seemed to be hit pretty hard by the shots and he actually woke up in the middle of the night. I had a hard time holding him to get him back to sleep, so after 2 tries, Tyler went in and finally got him back down. So Tyler, if you’re reading this you can totally put Wes to sleep all the time now. You’re obviously better at it.

Wednesday: We had plans to go shopping for some clothes for Wes, but he ended up taking a 2 1/2 hour morning nap. I was able to finish my workouts, shower and get myself ready for orientation at my new job. I felt bad leaving my mom with a really irritable baby, but there was really nothing I could do.

Before I left, I was able to get some somewhat happy baby photos in the backyard. Muscle tees for the win!

My orientation went really well. I’m so excited for this part-time gig, but I’m also pretty darn nervous. Anything new scares me, but it’s in an industry that I love (hint: BEER) so I should be good 😉

For dinner, I made Hoisin Stir Fry Bowls with Spicy Peanut Sauce. It seems like every blogger in Alberta has been making this lately, so I needed to see what the heck the fuss was all about! Plus, we had practically all the ingredients already. The verdict? Delicious!

Thursday: My favorite day from the week! It all started with breakfast. Well, I did my workout first (I am slowly getting addicted to early EARLY morning workouts) then threw together a parfait that was out of this world yummy.

I mixed greek yogurt with peanut butter, layered with sliced bananas and some homemade blueberry maple pecan granola (recipe coming soon!) You guys, this is heaven in a jar. I grabbed a spatula to get all of the goodness out.

Once we all had breakfast, we headed out for a day of fun! As soon as we got in the car, I remembered I had a phone meeting so I had to pull over and my mom needed to distract Wes while I chatted for almost 30 minutes. Whoops!

Wes had to do some paperwork before we left.

We finally got on the road and I stopped to get my rings cleaned while Wes napped in the car. (anything to keep a sleeping baby sleeping!) Then we headed over to one of the fabric stores and picked out some adorable prints for a top secret sewing project (HOPEFULLY more on that later 😉 ).

Next, we headed over to the farmer’s market. We had some excellent coffee and perused the aisles for a bit before grabbing some salads to snack on. Wes even got to try some fresh fruit and loved it.

Then……ICE CREAM TIME. I seriously have no idea how I’ve never been to Village Ice Cream yet, but holy wow was it amazing. I sampled a few flavors before deciding on Salted Caramel- by far one of the best ice creams I’ve had. Wes was getting a bit antsy and I’m surprised I successfully managed to eat my cone without dropping it. We headed home shortly after so the little guy could crawl around sans pants.

Per the trend of the week, he fought his nap for a long time. Once he did konk out, I got to take the dogs for a walk/jog/run. Reggie keeps fake pooping so he can take a rest. No bueno, dog. We gotta keep moving!

Again, I had to wake him up just before 5 so that bed time wasn’t absolutely ruined. According to my math, any time I wake this child from slumber, I am in for a world of hurt. He is so irritable and clingy and whiny and pooey. Oh well, it could be worse!

We had been out for a majority of the day, so I didn’t give much of a thought towards dinner. I quickly whipped up some chicken, broccoli and quinoa. Borrrrrrrring, but tasty.

Oh, and today was our 4th wedding anniversary. Well, technically it wasn’t a wedding but it was the day we got married. On top of a mountain. Legally. We had only known each other 290 days and I already moved from Boston to Calgary to be with Tyler. Best day ever. Funny story: we used crappy $10 rings for the ceremony, but later that night he actually ‘officially’ proposed to me with a real ring! Cue all the feels.

I cracked open a bottle of some of our ‘special’ wine. It’s a bottle of Chardonnay we bought while in Napa while we were dating. Because it’s really romantic when he flies from Calgary and I fly from Boston and we meet in San Francisco and drive up to wine country together. Ah, to be dating again.

And for your viewing pleasure, here’s a photo from that day–>

wedding

Which brings us to….Friday! Guess that wasn’t really a quick post, sorry!

Small Shoppin’- Posh Panda

Posted on April 21, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Happy Thursday everyone! The week is almost to a close ALREADY. How does it happen so quickly?

Today I want to share with you an awesome small shop based out of Lethbridge, Alberta. Posh Panda is run by Kayla, a mother of two littles. She creates some of the cutest leather moccs and boots and I have been lusting for a pair ever since I started following her on Instagram. She locally sources all of her leathers and manages to find some of the best quality stuff!

poshpanda

As luck would have it, I was able to get a pair of black moccs just in time for Wes’s first birthday! Not only did I get the pair so last minute, but I was also able to meet Kayla in person to pick up the moccs since she was in town to purchase more leather! Although our meeting was brief, I could tell how much care she put into each pair (poet?). Plus, she had one of her babes with her and she was dressed to the nines! So cute.

Kayla had just redesigned the fit to accommodate both skinny and chunky ankles, and my son being on of the latter, was able to perfectly fit into the size 5/6. They were snug- but not tight- around his ankles and had lots of wiggle room to grow into.

I love the new branding on the bottoms! PS: Wes dresses better than I do.

Most important factor: the stay on! He wriggled and crawled all over the house for hours and neither even came close to making their way off his feet. That’s such great reassurance for taking him out of the house because I’m pretty sure it would be the worst feeling ever to lose one while on an outing!

He only cried because Layla wasn’t coming in his room! 😉

Not only does she make these classic moccs, but she also creates the most adorable lace moccs, moccs with bows, and boot moccs! There’s a size chart listed on her brand new website, but if you’re ever unsure, Kayla is super quick to respond to inquiries and could accommodate for special sizing.

If I ever have a girl, I need a pair of these Light Grey Striped Bow Moccs.

I still can’t get over how incredibly soft the leather is for these! Like butter. Now if only my boy would stop growing so darn fast so he could wear these for a long, long time.

Cleaning is super easy- just use wipes!

I think our next purchase will be these Iron Gray Classic Moccs or these Red Moccs (great gender neutral colors and perfect for holiday outfits!)

I can’t stress enough how important it is to shop small- not only are you supporting your local economy, but you are getting a higher quality product! Kayla is no exception- I can tell she works her butt of for her brand. Her new website is gorgeous, the product is on point, and her service makes you feel like you’re not just a customer, but a friend.

Make sure to check her out on Facebook and Instagram too!

American friends, don’t forget! Your dollar goes farther in Canada, so these would be a bargain 🙂

Thanks again to Kayla!!

Winemaker’s Dinner- Pampa Brazilian Steakhouse

Posted on April 20, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Happy Winesday Wednesday! I know it has been a while since I have posted in this series and most of it is due to not really having anything to talk about! If I don’t have any new wines, beers, or experiences to share with you, then I have nothing to post! Luckily, I have a pretty rad topic this week and I’m really excited to share it 🙂

Last week, I was given the opportunity to attend the Grupo Penaflor Winemaker Dinner which took place at Pampa Brazilian Steakhouse in downtown Calgary.

Grupo Penaflor is ‘one of the top 10 wine producers in the world, Grupo Peñaflor is owned by the Bemberg family who pride themselves on their honest, ethical and responsible conduct, and their high quality, award-winning, and also great value, wines.’

I had never been to this restaurant before, and I was excited to check it out! Hey, anything that has steak in the name is a winner in my book! We had a slightly different dinner than the norm of what is served, but it was all to perfectly pair with the wines we were there to taste.

While known for the interactive “Rodizio” dining experience, Pampa chef and owner Joao Dachery also excels in dishes from the different regions of the country. We will be treated to an indulgent plated six-course meal, and hear from Juan Ignacio about the six superb wines that complement it.

I arrived at 6pm and was greeted with a welcome wine. It did NOT disappoint. I tried the white wine that was also being offered, but much more preferred the red as I waited for the dinner to begin.

It was a pretty odd feeling at first for me to be there by myself, but I knew once the wine got flowing it would be a lot more interactive with the other guests in attendance. PS: I didn’t drink the entirety of all my servings because I was driving home. And I managed to drink about 3 liters of water as well over the course of my almost 4 hours there.

The inside of the restaurant is big and open. I would love to come here again to enjoy the ‘normal’ dining experience and sample wines from their menu.

Never-ending meat? Yes please.

Back to the evening’s menu:

We were going to be treated to six courses. SIX.

Cheese bread was being passed around the reception area and although I didn’t want to spoil my dinner, I had to test one out. I could have eaten a plate full of those alone.

Just before 7pm, we were welcomed into the private dining room that was set up beautifully. All of the wine were on display and the large windows along one wall let in a lot of light. (Plus, we were able to make passersby jealous with all the wine and food)

The tables were arranged in a square and each side was a designated team for a variety of wine-related games. Winners were to receive a special treat at the end of the meal, and my team was quick to start on winning!

After a brief introduction by the organizers of the experience and another by the wine representative, we started with the first course: small bites of beef carpaccio, mango chutney prawns on papa toast, and a twist on the classic empanada. I opted out of the prawn.

It was paired with OPI Chardonnay that was so light and tasty I would have never guessed it was a chardonnay! Notes on this wine: The grapes for this are harvested far from the coastline. Typically, vineyards are located along the coast and this particular vineyard is so inland that it does not get the ocean breeze or any other normal factors you’d see in a coastal wine.

At this point, I either wanted a whole plate of this to myself or for the second course to come out immediately because I was HUNGRY. I have the hardest time with patience when it comes to multiple-course meals.

Our second course didn’t sound as appetizing to me from reading the menu, but holy moly was it ever delicious: mini marinated leg of lamb skewers with Pampa mint sauce and coconut milk mashed potato. It was paired with Don David Malbec which ended up being my favorite wine of the evening. Notes on this wine: The presenter talked about how this was from the highest vineyard in the world located in the northernmost part of Argentina. The atmosphere then gives it a completely different tasting profile than other malbecs. SO GOOD.

Also, I am definitely making mashed potatoes with coconut milk from now on. Mind= blown.

The organizer gave us another tidbit on wine with food: chew on herbs to get a completely different taste out of your wine! We all then chewed on the rosemary spring from this dish and agreed the wine came off so different…much more delicious!

Our third course was my favorite from the evening. (hint: because there’s bacon involved): chicken thighs wrapped with bacon and charcoal roasted with arugula, warm red wine vinegar and potato polenta. This was paired with PAZ Cab Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc. It was my second favorite wine of the evening and also complemented the dish well. Notes on the wine: PAZ means ‘peace’ and the winemaker created this with the intention of drinkers enjoying the wine with good company. (Check!) It tasted of blackberries and very herbaceous.

We were treated to 2 oz of each wine for the evening and I found it entertaining to watch the woman go around the table with multiple bottles to pour! Several attendees lucked out with a top up, but I politely declined since I was driving.

The fourth dish was my least favorite, only because I am not a seafood fan. There were some great flavors in the other parts of the serving, but I savored my wine instead. We had: sausage with calamari, chickpeas, and croutons. It was paired with Ciclos which is a 50/50 blend of Malbec and Merlot. It was my least favorite wine but I am attributing that to it being paired with my least favorite dish.

Our fifth course: rump steak with manioc flour and chimichurri. Whoa, this dish was so different to me and I LOVED it. The chimichurri had a good amount of heat to it and the ‘flour’ as explained by the chef, was intended to create texture. I really enjoyed this and the spice made for the corresponding wine to go down pretty easy. Notes on the wine: We were served Unanime which was a bordeaux blend comprised of 3 different varietals. It had lots of tannins which played so well with the steak.

For dessert we had passionfruit mousse with blueberry malbec reduction. Usually, I only want to have a chocolate inspired dessert, but I later discovered that this was the perfect ending to a meal paired with the variety of accompanying Argentinian wines. I appreciated that it was only a small plate, too. I could have eaten my weight in this!

Somewhere between courses 2 and 3, our team managed to complete one of the games and were pleasantly treated with shots of some sort of liqueur. I couldn’t hear exactly what it was, but it had been frozen in a block of ice for 2 days and is expertly poured from 6 feet in the air. I barely touched my lips to this because I didn’t need any more alcohol, and found not only was it of a syrupy consistency, but it tasted like toasted bananas…I think. Either way, it was a fun experience to watch how it was served!

I left the meal happily stuffed. Is there really anything else that needs to be said? The experience was so nice and I am intrigued to return to Pampa another time with Tyler to get the typical dining experience.

Have you been to Pampa? Tried any of the wines mentioned above?

Share me please!

Share me please!

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Share me please!

Share me please!