#WhatRobinFavors – August Top Five!

Poppy’s birthday month is coming to an end and I’m feeling pretty good about it. It’s true what they say, the days are long but the years are short. The most important thing that I have learned this last year is to take proper “me time”. Remember that “me time” looks different for everyone! My weekly spin class at Rush Cycle is my “me time”. Spinning makes me feel like myself and reminds me that I am strong no matter what stage of life I’m in. I felt strong in spin class pre pregnancy, while I was pregnant (I took Flywheel classes all throughout my pregnancy and even a class the day before I delivered Poppy!), and even more so postpartum. I’m not saying you need to take up spinning, even though it might change your life. I’m encouraging you to find something that empowers you and makes you feel darn good because you deserve it.

Food: Homemade gluten free blueberry pancakes. These have been a huge hit for the entire family. I make a big batch to freeze and sometimes blend in some kale/spinach for an added veggie boost. These gluten free pancakes are great to dice up and stick in a stasher bag to bring with me for on-the-go snacks for Poppy. I know a lot of mom’s like O’s for their baby but I’m terrified Poppy will choke so these are nutritious and soft. Click here for the recipe!

Drink: PEANUT BUTTER COLD BREW. I talk about this drink on the daily over on @WhatRobinEats but it continues to be my favorite drink ever. I used powder peanut butter but you can totally use regular peanut butter or another nut butter of choice. I’ve been wanting to change it up by adding tahini but I just love the peanut butter flavor so much. Maybe September will bring the tahini to the mix? That’s a big maybe. Click here for the recipe!

Exercise: I recently started back on the stairmaster once every week and I’m really feeling it in my glutes! Besides spin, the stairmaster has always made me feel challenged but good. I like to do intervals and switch up my steps by skipping a step every other minute and stepping sideways and backwards. Be careful and don’t be afraid to hold on! Better safe than sorry until you get the hang of it. My goal is usually 20-30 minutes on the stairs depending on how sweaty I want to get that day.

Item to wear: I have been obsessed with my A New Day Sophia Strappy Slide Sandals from Target. I literally wear them with EVERYTHING. Sporty, dressy, pajamas, they go with my entire wardrobe. I’m not sure if Target still sells them but click here to see if they are in stock. If not, check Poshmark to see if someone is crazy enough to not love these and sell them to you. 

Favorite of Poppy’s: Norah’s Shops bows. I’m always afraid head pieces are cutting off Poppy’s circulation. Am I squeezing her brains out just for fashion?! Norah’s Shop bows have never given me this nervous feeling. These were a gift from the owner and I refuse to put any other bows on her head! Easy to wash and she has yet to rip them off when wearing them. I’ll vouch for Poppy and say they are pretty comfy. Click here for her shop!

And that is it for August! I welcome September with open arms and a belly ready for all things pumpkin spice. 

Deodorant vs Antiperspirant. In collaboration with Secret Deodorant.

Did you know that deodorant and antiperspirant are NOT the same thing and just because a personal care label says “organic” doesn’t mean that it’s safer? This might come as a no brainer to some, but I had no idea. I’ve seen these myths floating around the internet and in collaboration with Secret, I’m digging deeper into both to share the facts.

I never really sweat until I was pregnant. I could wear any product, or no product at all, because even after a hot yoga class I’d come out feeling fresh with no drop of sweat on me. Cue three months pregnant and that all went out the window. I was working up a sweat just walking to my hot yoga class! I couldn’t believe that I was sweating and smelling… like what?! I went through multiple products trying to find something that worked and didn’t understand why I was either sweating or smelling a little “off”. That is when I learned this: deodorant is designed to mask the scent of body odor created by sweat while antiperspirant is designed to prevent you from sweating quite so much.

This was eye opening and made it easier for me to choose certain products for different activities of the day. This works for me, but it might not work for everyone else. Oh, you might be wondering about aluminum. I researched and the FDA, American Cancer Society, Alzheimer’s Association, and National Cancer Institute have all refuted negative health claims. All this to say, do what works best for you and what you plan to get done that day. Having a few options never hurt nobody!

One other thing that has stumped me was the trend of organic health and beauty products. Organic is all the rage these days. I’ve been digging deeper into my organic research to see what being “organic” really means. To my surprise I found that organic rules for personal care products are not as straightforward as those for food. The FDA regulates personal care products, but the agency does not regulate the term “organic” for personal care products. The organic label refers to the conditions under which an ingredient was grown, not whether it is safe for use. In addition, personal care products only need to be 95% organic to bear an official USDA Organic seal. I highly suggest that if organic is important to you that you look deeper than the seal on the front. There are personal care products that are 100% organic but they aren’t the only ones with the USDA Organic seal.

What is your go-to deodorant or antiperspirant? What about organic cosmetics? Something you look for or does that only matter to you when it comes to food? I’d love to know your thoughts on both below. Cheers!

 

Shortbread GF Twix Bars, in collaboration with Skinny Dipped Almonds.

Been a little more TMI lately on my Instagram stories than usual but I’m glad y’all are interested. It’s not that I don’t want anyone to know what’s going on, I’m just not usually someone to talk about this to more people than Joel. I just think there is more fun stuff to talk about, like these shortbread twix bars by @kalejunkie. I understand now that there are SO many of you with a similar situation going on and this is giving you peace about having a baby of your own some day. I’m happy to share my story and let you know that all things are possible! I learned that even without a period I was still ovulating to get pregnant with Poppy naturally without any complications. I’m still waiting on all my bloodwork and ultrasound results to see if there is anything else going on but for now I’m having a period just like I remembered it three and a half years ago… Joy!

Now onto these shortbread twix bars (recipe by @kalejunkie) that I topped with Skinny Dipped dark chocolate peanut butter almonds. Like what they heck, these were so good I had two instantly!

For the base:

• 1 3/4 cups almond flour
• 1/4 cup coconut flour 
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil

For the caramel:

• 1/2 cup almond butter 
• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil 
• 1/4 cup maple syrup 
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For the chocolate layer:

• 1 dark chocolate bar
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil 
• One small packet Skinny Dipped dark chocolate peanut butter almonds, slightly crushed
• Pinch of pink himalayan sea salt

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. 
• Line 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper. Whisk together ingredients for the base layer in a medium size bowl. Pour into the baking dish and bake for 12 minutes. 
• While the base layer is cooling, whisk together the ingredients for the caramel layer. Pour the mixture on top and use a spatula to make sure it’s even. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
• Remove from fridge and make the chocolate layer by melting the chocolate bar and coconut oil in the microwave. Pour on top and even out with a spatula. Evenly distribute the slightly crushed Skinny Dipped dark chocolate peanut butter almonds. Refrigerate for at least two hours. Remove from fridge and cut into 19 bars. EAT THEM ALL, or share with a friend. Aka share with me because these are already almost gone. 🙃⚡️

How much do you spend grocery shopping?

Grocery shopping is a sport. The first challenge is parking your car and remembering to grab your reusable bags, the second challenge is navigating the store and trying to stick to your list, the third challenge is deciding which checkout line to go to, and the fourth is loading the groceries into your car and then putting them away once you get home. Whew, I’m exhausted just typing it!

So how much does all of this work cost for a household? It’s different for everyone but after my poll last week it seems that the average household for two adults and one child is between $120-$160. I didn’t find out if they bought organic or not (a post coming on that later this month!) but this is the cost to feed most each week. For my family, we spend between $120-$140 a week. We eat all our meals at home unless it’s a special occasion or feel the need to get out. The cost in groceries has gone up since Poppy started eating more solids (I nurse her only twice a day) and I’ve been buying a few more things organic, before Poppy I never bought organic. No food goes to waste in our home (leftover queen!) so spending this much each week works for us and our budget. We never spend beyond our means and we could manage to spend less if we ever needed to save more. Quick note on saving: we both work really hard to be able to save money each month. I know this isn’t easy but it’s so helpful to get to a point where you can start saving money for the future. You never know what could come up! We were able to pay for our wedding and have a baby because of the way we save. Neither of us come from money so saving has changed our quality of life. I grew up on food stamps and that helped me learn the value of saving once I was out on my own at 18 years old.

There are ways to eat a well balanced diet with whatever budget you have. We’ve found that Trader Joe’s gives us the best bang for our buck. Yes, Famer’s Markets are amazing and who doesn’t love Erewhon?! But if this isn’t doable for your family that is perfectly ok! It’s not realistic in our home to shop all organic or go to Whole Foods for everything we need. Groceries are groceries and we all feed ourselves in a way that works best for our family.

Thoughts on grocery shopping? Where do you shop? I know my mother-in-law is the coupon queen.

Peanut Crusted Vegan French Toast, in collaboration with Ripple.

There was a time in my life when I ate french toast for breakfast every morning. Yep, I said it. EVERY MORNING, for over a year and a half, actually. It was after a time in my life that I deprived myself from foods that I always wanted, like french toast, and I couldn’t stop once I allowed myself to eat said foods. Maybe I was afraid to break a new routine or maybe I was afraid that one day I wouldn’t allow myself to have it anymore? Whatever it was, I started @whatrobineats (over three years ago now) as a way to break my eating routine.  I was modeling at the time and had the pressure of staying exactly the same measurements year-round. I was eating food that I enjoyed but like, every day. Mentally that was NOT ok. I took the first seven days of #whatrobineats to eat something different for breakfast. Was I scared? Yes. Does that sound silly now? Double yes. But those emotions were real and Joel was along side me the entire way.  Now I make french toast whenever I want and feel good about the change in direction I made three and a half years ago.

If you’re going through something, or have been through something similar to this. It’s ok!  There is no shame in where you’ve been and you should be proud of how far you’ve come. God is so good and has the BEST plans for your life.  Now onto some darn good vegan french toast made with my favorite Ripple unsweetened pea milk!

Peanut Crusted Vegan French Toast:

• 4 slices sourdough bread
• 2 tbsp crushed peanut
• 1/3 peach, slices
• Handful of raspberries
• Peanut butter syrup drizzle (1 tbsp peanut butter + 1/4 cup maple syrup)
• Plant based yogurt

No-egg “egg wash”-

• 1/2 small very ripe banana, mashed
• 1/3 cup Ripple unsweetened original
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 + 1/2 tbsp GF flour
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
• Pinch of nutmeg

 

Directions:

• Blend “egg wash” together and transfer into a shallow bowl. Dip bread in wash, press one side into crushed peanuts, and cook on a flat skillet until desired doneness.
• Cut in half, fill with goodies, and drizzle all that peanut butter syrup over the top! Pair with a peanut butter cold brew, obviously.

Poppy’s First Birthday Party, #MOO.

Poppy is ONE and I could cry all over again thinking about her birthday party last Saturday. I still slightly feel “hungover” from all the anticipation of her party, baking/decorating all 30 cupcakes and a mini cake for Pops, and decorating her big day. Or maybeeeee it was all the cold brew.

Her party theme was “cow” but not so much cowgirl. A lot of prints were red when I was searching for cowgirl party supplies and I had been envisioning more pink with cow print. I did a mixture of cow print straws, pink table settings, wooden forks, cow print cupcake liners,  “ONE” cake topper, the most adorable cupcake toppers on amazon with PINK cowgirls, boots, and horseshoes, and “MOO” cupcake toppers. Poppy enjoyed wearing her cow print Bapron and playing with the cow cake topper from the cowgirl cake topper set. Oh, I don’t want to forget to mention the COLD BREW BAR. This was a last minute decision but I couldn’t imagine a one year old birthday party without cold brew for the adults. I picked up a bunch of random things from Marshall’s and a guest let us borrow her Crate and Barrel drink dispenser for the cold brew. Thanks again Lauren for the demand, I mean request. 😉

A few outfit details:

Poppy’s outfit- White jumpsuit is an oldie from Baby Gap, Cow Bapron (looks sold out but I found some on Etsy), and a white Norahs Shop bow.

My outfit- ASOS petite pink gingham dress (I’m 5’8″ and I really like where this petite size dress hits right below my knees instead of mid calf), Herschel Supply Co. belt bag, target strappy slide sandals, and Maya Brenner letter necklace.

Now for the good part, the EATS. We served Pizza Port pizza (five large Pizza’s served 26 adults and four children), a mixed green salad, watermelon, Siete chips (ranch and nacho to be exact), and cold brew I made with vanilla/mocha syrup on the side and Ripple vanilla plant based half & half. For dessert I made Lemon Poppyseed cupcakes and Chocolate cupcakes (both gluten free by Sweet Laurel) and a Chocolate “Smash Cake” from an Ebook I’m trying to get the name of for ya. For frosting I used Simple Mills Vanilla frosting for all cupcakes and Poppy’s cake. For the chocolate cupcake frosting I mixed in freeze dried blueberries that I crushed into powder. I added a few cutup blueberries to the top of her cake and that’s all she wanted at first. Ha ha! The mini cake stand is from the dollar section in the front of Target and her highchair is STOKKE.

I could go on and on about Poppy’s party but I’mma stop here. Pictures are by my sweet friend, Brenna Weeks! She’s the best and was Poppy’s first visitor in the hospital just four hours after she was born. Comment below what your ideal birthday smash cake flavor would be. Honestly I’d love a double chocolate cake. The more chocolate, the better!

Lemon Ricotta Blueberry Pancake Casserole, in collaboration with Driscoll’s.

No, these are not low FODMAP but I have a lot of things that need to be eaten before I can go that route.

If you follow my stories (if you don’t there’s a lotta Poppy on there) then you saw that yesterday I went to the doctor to finally ask questions that I’ve been needing to ask for six years. Six years ago I started experiencing painful stomach bloat after most meals, stopped having my period, and a list of other things. I’ve put this appointment off for so long because before being pregnant I didn’t have health insurance that would cover any possible blood work or even a visit. Yesterday was successful in scheduling blood work to check for IBS, PCOS, and a few other things like my liver. I don’t have answers yet but I’m a step closer and that’s really important! A low FODMAP diet trial is to be started right after I finish this lemon ricotta blueberry pancake casserole made with @driscollsberry organic blueberries. Fun fact: blueberries are Driscoll’s berry of the month and good thing because Poppy is obsessed!

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes:

• 1 cup almond ricotta cheese
• 1 cup nut milk
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 + 1/2 cu GF flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

Custard:

• 1 cup plant based vanilla kefir
• 3 eggs
• 2 tbsp coconut sugar

Toppings:

• 1/2 cup Driscoll’s organic blueberries
• Grain free granola
• Maple syrup

Instructions:

• Make pancakes by whipping together wet ingredients then mixing in dry. Make the pancakes a flat skillet then cut pancakes in half.
• Spray an 8 x 8 square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and line pancakes up in two rows, flat side down.
• Blend custard ingredients together then pour over lined pancakes. Add organic blueberries on top then bakes at 350F for 45 minutes.
• Once done baking, top with granola and serve with maple syrup.

Tag someone who should make this lemon ricotta blueberry pancake casserole for you this weekend. Cheers!