The Vegan Challenge [Vegan Bluberry Muffins]

[Aloha home!  Until we meet again. <3]

Ok, I admit it.
 I feel a little bit better.  

We're on day three of our experimental vegan cleanse and I feel slightly better.

A little healthier maybe but my face is breaking out more?  Unrelated maybe, but still.

I read somewhere that a vegan diet for two weeks is a good cleanse for your body and after almost three weeks in California and eating a lot more Mexican food than usual I felt all gross and thought coming back home would be a good time to try it.  

We had no food at home because we got rid of almost everything before we left for California.  

We had ketchup and chocolate almond milk in the fridge pretty much.

So the day we got back from California, yes the same day, like after a 6 hour long flight with 4 young kids, I went grocery shopping.  Not a cool move, I felt like dying when we got home but anyways I got all the stuff we needed to start our Vegan diet thing and we began!  I know some Vegans, I know lots of people who have been Vegan at some point in their life and I am amazed by you.  I can't handle it, it makes me want to cry everyday thinking of all the eggs and cheese and crispy prosciutto I could have eaten.  But we're doing ok.  We're on day three and it has been hard everyday!  Haha.  I have no idea what to cook and beans are not in my repertoire.

 [A stop in Santa Cruz, the swings are just so pretty!]

My cousin texted me that she was going to go Vegan for a week too so we could text each other about how hard it is.  She's already a vegetarian so I think it's a head start, but still.  So here we go!  Looking forward to seeing how I feel on day 7.  We decided to go just one week instead of two because we're lazy and miss good food.  For me it's also a test of willpower.  I don't have any.  If I want something I figure out a way to get it but I wanted to test myself to see if I would actually do what I said I'm going to do.  I say random things I'm going to do all the time like: I'm going to join a roller derby team!  I'll take the bus.  I'm just going to Target for a couple things!  But then I never do those things, so I'm kind of forcing myself to do something I say I'm going to do.

[Sunflowers in Avila Beach!]

So here they are, Vegan Blueberry Muffins.  They taste good I'm just kind of weirded out about the avocado in them, hot or cold I couldn't really taste it so.....yum!  Try them out!

Vegan Blueberry Muffins

[adapted from www.averiecooks.com]

Flesh from 1 very ripe medium Hass Avocado, mashed well.  About 3/4 cup.

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed.

1/3 cup Coconut Oil

1/3 cup Blueberry Coconut Yogurt

2 tsp. Vanilla extract

3/4 tsp. Cinnamon

3/4 tsp. Nutmeg

1 cup AP Flour

1 tsb. Baking Powder

1 cup fresh Blueberries, tossed in 2 tsb. Flour.

1.  Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F and line 16 muffin tins with liners.

2.  In a large bowl mash the avocado, the softer the better.  

3.  Stir in the oil, sugars, yogurt, cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg until all combined.

4.  Fold in flour and baking powder until just mixed.  Do not overmix.

5.  Fold in berries tossed in fruit and divide batter evenly in lined pan.

6.  Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, lower to 350 degrees and bake an additional 20 minutes.

Veg on. 

Happy Little Placenta Pills. [Warning: Graphic! I guess?]

Here they are!  My magic little happy placenta pills.  

And now, here's how we made them.

But first, your probably wondering WHY a pretty much normal human being would choose to eat their own organ.  Because, I secretly want to be a cannibal and this is the only semi-socially acceptable way to do it.  Kidding.  

There are a ton of reasons:

* Instead of a synthetic drug they contain my OWN hormones.

* Naturally perfectly made for my baby, by me. 

* Replenishes depleted iron after giving birth.

* Helps increase milk supply.

* Lessens bleeding afterbirth. 

And my biggies....

* Helps with Post Partum Depression.

* Energy! 

After each baby I have struggled with PPD and every time I have gone to my doctor and they prescribe me some kind of pill that basically turns me into a zombie.  No thanks.  So I take them for awhile, feel weird and not myself, sure, not anxious either but....pretty much nothing.  Then I decide I hate feeling like that and stop taking them all together, which I've heard is a no-no.

When I heard about placenta encapsulation it just made sense to me?  Sometimes I struggle with my hippie self vs. my Catholic type self.  I'm a Republican.  I eat my placenta.  They just don't always seem to fit hand in hand.  But every once in awhile, in my mind they do.  In my quest to become a doula/midwife/placenta encapsulator it's always been so reassuring to me that women were created by God to do the job our bodies were made to do.  

My placenta fresh out of the womb!  

My awesome hubby doing all the dirty work, actually pretty much all the work while I sat and watched and cuddled my baby. :)  What he's stretching out is actually my water bag, where baby Tulip chilled for a good 9 months!  My midwife said I had a strong water bag which weirdly made me feel proud of myself.  

Taking off the membranes, their are two layers of them.

The darker spots are calcifications which happen when the placenta is trying to block things like chemicals in cleaners and smoke.  It's a pretty amazing organ! & no more painting houses while pregnant.....sorry placenta.  Things like alcohol pass through the placenta tho and go right to the baby.

Membranes off.  Feeling a little bit like Dexter. 

The family that encapsulates together, stays together!

The sliced placenta getting ready to be dehydrated!  We did the raw method with no extra herbs or spices cause I didn't know how they would react with my body and I just wanted the purest form possible.  After it was all dry we ground it up and put it into pills! I've been taking the pills since 3 days post partum and they have definitely helped with the energy & anxiety.  I'm really happy I got to do this with at least one of my babies and now I hope I get to help other Mamas experience the same thing!

Life is good. People are too.

So we've been trying to adjust, yet again, to our new schedules.  School is starting up again, well kind of.....we do year round schooling but now it's REALLY time to focus.  Plus the school supplies are on sale at Target and a general feeling of school-iness abounds.  Andy has officially been working his new job for over a month now, and we've kind of gotten into the groove of things.  

But in general life is pretty good.  We get to spend time together as a family!  Something that was missing for us for almost 2 years.  The differences are astounding and if I ever questioned moving back to Hawaii I don't anymore.  The first time we lived in Hawaii I had a huge problem with being homesick, I missed the people I had known and I couldn't quite make any connections that felt real here.  This time around I am just so surprised and grateful at the awesome people God is putting into our lives.

I am still struggling with my trust issues, which I've mentioned before, I've been deeply hurt by people I have trusted to never betray me and while that hurt is still there I think God is trying to show me the goodness in people.  It's so easy to see the bad, the negative, the people that use you, the back stabbers, the women that act like life is still high school, and while I know they're still there I hope that maybe I've gotten better at not letting myself be used and praying that God surrounds me with people that make my life better and hopefully I do the same for them. 

Women that I have just met that encourage me instead of compete & compare.

Fellow mothers, breastfeeders, home schoolers.

Fellow Christians, Crunchy Mamas, wives.

All helping to build one another up, congratulate on jobs well done and children well raised.

Maybe it's something in me that's changing or I've just gotten lucky but I am truly so thankful for the women I have been so blessed to be friends with.  From my best friends, an ocean away in California.[ One who I got to see yesterday!] Old friends that send me an encouraging word on Facebook or messages to ask how I'm doing. To new friends that I am just meeting that have an honesty about parenting, the ups & downs but also the joys & rewards.  Those people I can laugh with, enjoy an iced coffee and just talk without feeling like I need to be impressive, that I can just be myself flaws and all without being taken advantage of.

[One of my best friends. <3  Although we are far in miles we have gone through so much together in the short time we have been friends.  She is genuine and such an encouragement to me when times are hard.  She is proof of God's goodness in people and I am forever thankful that she is a part of my life.]

It's just something I have been so thankful for that I can't explain.  As much as I try to fight it, I need people.  I need someone to go on clearance Target runs with.  I need someone to read 50 Shades of Gray with me and then make fun of it.  We we're not meant to be alone and I am so excited for the new relationships God is putting in my life, just to prove to me once again, that I don't know it all, people are not all bad, and sometimes it's ok to trust. <3

[Also many thanks to my dear friend FranQueen from the 6th grade!  She re-did my blog for me and got it looking all spiffy & Chevron-ed up.  I <3 it.]

And since I'm too lazy to type up a recipe I'll just pass on the goods that I've been given lately and tell you to check out www.coastal.com.  

No, I'm not one of those cool blogs where people pay you to write or anything, so there's no gimmick here or anything.  Cause if I'm not cooking, baking, or cleaning I'm looking for ways to save money!

But seriously.  I've gotten 2 FREE pairs of glasses from them & I love them both!

And by free, really the glasses and frames were free and all I paid for was $16 for S&H [to Hawaii!] and insurance on each pair.  Just a good deal people, I'm not gonna lie. 

If you've never ordered from them before just put in the code FIRSTPAIRFREE at checkout.

You have to pick from certain pairs, obviously, but there are tons of styles to pick from.  

I have a horribly bad prescription too, like I'm legally blind without my glasses, and I don't even pay for any of the thinner lenses and my glasses STILL look good.  Damn!

I also friended them on Facebook which is how I got a code for another free pair.

So yeah, I'm basically set for life.

Go enjoy people.  Enjoy life.  Enjoy free things.

I know I do.

[My newest pair!  Nerd glasses. 

 I had almost this exact same pair in high school.  They were not so cool back then.] 

My Breastfeeding Journey......

This year I have signed on to be a host for The Big Latch-On!

The Big Latch-On is a global wide event that brings together breastfeeding mothers and those who support breastfeeding to raise awareness on how great, beneficial, and normal breastfeeding should be and attempts to break last year's record of most women breastfeeding simultaneously. 

This year I was lucky that they are having it on August 3rd & 4th.  I heard about the event and was bummed I wouldn't be able to participate because I already had a midwife appt. scheduled.  

I already missed out on the Big Cloth Diaper Change because of something we had going on, I know lots of BIG things, right?  So when I found out it was pretty easy to host I figured I'd do it on my own!

ttp://www.biglatchon.org/locations/the-big-latch-on-west-oahu-2

[If you are on Oahu & would like to join us either to be latched on, take pictures, or help with registrations we would love your support!]

As a budding birth doula and hopefully, one day, midwifery student, I figured anywhere I could raise awareness on the beautiful, natural and God given blessings of being a woman and Mother I should.

With Lily & Jonas I had a much harder, shorter breastfeeding journey.  I had little support with both and had an epidural during each labor which made the initial breastfeeding a little harder.

With Lily I had intense pain when I would feed her, knowing now, that it was just a bad latch and something I could have easily fixed.  I also supplemented with formula from the very beginning not quite understanding why breastfeeding is so important and not really giving it as much effort as I could have.   It saddens me to think that I missed out on an incredible bond with her because I just didn't know how to get help. 

With Jonas it was a little easier but I still used formula early on and didn't understand the concept of nipple confusion, etc.  With both I made it to about 7-8 months both breast and formula feeding.  Sometimes it's hard reading things that tell you about how great breastfeeding vs. bottle feeding is when I know I didn't give my first two babies my very best.  I know part of it is Mother's guilt, added to my Catholic guilt I just end up feeling guilty 99% of the time.  But I try to let go of that, to know I as a Mother can only learn and grow.  I am happy for those that "know better" before they even have kids.  To make it a point to research, know facts and have a set parenting path before they even get pregnant. But for us it was more of a learn as we go situation.  We're still learning and nowhere near knowing it all, although I won't tell my kids that.

[One of my favorite BF pictures.  Oliver nursing at the water park while I'm 22 weeks pregnant. :]

Which brings me to Oliver, my breastfeeding pride and joy!  At 29 weeks pregnant [myself] and 19 months old [Oliver] we still have a good nursing relationship.  It was painful for a period, when my milk dried up during pregnancy, and at times it can be cumbersome and annoying, when it feels like 100 degrees already without a 20 pound toddler strapped to my chest.  But the bond I have with him and the pride in myself can't be beat.  I hope we can keep nursing at least long enough to last until the Big Latch-On, less than 3 weeks away!  But I don't have a set time frame, I think we'll both know when the time has come.  And I can tell I've really become "crunchy" when my dreams include being able to tandem nurse my babies.  Something I didn't even think about just 6 years ago.

I've been on both sides of the fence.  I understand it's not that easy for some women, I just hope to be able to give other women the support, care, and knowledge that would have helped me in my early days.  Along with being pregnant & giving birth it is just such an amazing gift God gave to women.
We are nurturers and made so perfectly for our roles it amazes me.

Introducing.....The G Family! Part 1. Mama & Papa.

I'm still new at this Blogger stuff and I'm always so inspired by everyone's super cool personalized blogs where they can put stuff like this right on the front page.  But alas, after an hour or so of looking at tutorials on how to customize my blog, change backgrounds, edit fonts, etc.  I gave up.

Computer stuff is not my forte, along with sewing, crocheting, patience, and hugging people I don't know.  So my blog is what it is, unless someone out there wants to help me? ;)

So our intro will go here.  In a blog, cause I know how to do that without pounding my fists into the keyboard and scaring my children.  Aloha!

The Gutierrez Family

est. November 20, 2004 <4

Our family's Pacific Northwest trip we took this past February. 

At infamous Gasworks Park in Seattle, WA

Introducing Mama G.  aka Hippie Housewife aka Nicole Fury

I'm Nicole Hope.  28 years old.  Pregnant with Baby G #4.

I love my family, faith and children more than anything.

I am VERY pro-life, Republican with less and less liberal leanings everyday.

I play drums for our church, can cook like a beast & slowing getting better at baking.

I like lists, order, organizing, watching Hoarders and Modern Family.

I am what you would consider a Crunchy Mama, I guess?  And some would consider me an Attachment Parent although I'd rather not be put into a mold that I might not fit into.

I cloth diaper, try to eat organic when we can afford it, [not often] & drink iced coffee pretty much 24/7.

I love reading and learning.  Currently working on my birth doula certification through DONA and looking forward to going back to college this Fall after an 8 [!] year hiatus.

This is Papa G.  aka Andy Panda aka Andy Crowder Band [did you like that one babe? ;]

Also 28 years old.  Praise & Worship leader for our church, Risen Lord Community Church

and better at it than he would ever let himself believe.

Never voted in his life, tsk tsk.  Likes to eat everything I cook and also washes all our cloth diapers.  

We met in high school as Juniors and from the minute I saw his thrift store puffy vest and corduroys I knew it was love.  It took him another year or so to agree.

Loves music, playing the guitar & his children.  God gave one of us patience and it wasn't me.

Enjoys road trips, juicing, tapping on EVERYTHING, gardening,

 and being the spiritual leader of our home.

This man can calm my anxiety like no other and I truly believe we were intended for each other by God.  This year we celebrated our 10 year dating anniversary, which he says "doesn't count" and will celebrate our 8 year wedding anniversary this November.

Song of Solomon 4:7 ♥
How beautiful you are, my love; how perfect you are!

So I guess for now I'll start off with us!

The kids will be in the next edition, since I noticed this was getting a bit long.

I think I'm getting a little too excited for this blogging adventure cause I've started a list of "fun topics to blog about" that and I'm always looking for a reason to make a list.

Recipes to come soon as well!