July 2019 Recap

July is the best so while it is sad that it is over, the only good thing is baby C’s birthday is coming right up! We got lots of pool days, a week at the beach, and a lot of outside time. Mr. J and I got a date to a new restaurant in our town square that was nice but maybe not our fav for other options nearby. I love El Centro and would choose Mexican over where we went.

I made a lemonade slaw to go onto crispy fish tacos with lemonade mix and used frozen breaded fish pieces with the slaw and avocado. I heard from a few who made them which was so fun!
The Three Bite Rule - Lemonade Slaw
Truffle and Herb Deviled Eggs were for no particular occasion but were fun along side dinner.
The Three Bite Rule - Truffle & Herb Deviled Eggs
I made a smoothie with frozen dragon fruit puree packs+ coconut almond milk + mango and the change for me was that it wasn’t a breakfast replacement.

Next month I have a salad and an appetizer already lined up. We’ll see what else I get to. I have a few ideas, of course!

The Baby Girl:

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She’s 100% walking now. A month ago (at 10 months) she was walking a bit and then it picked up, big time. She ate a ton on vacation so maybe there’s a growth spurt ahead! She is so happy all the time. She loved the beach sand and the ocean water and watching her toddle around on the beach was fun. She likes riding around in shopping carts or in the real stroller to look all around, instead of being in her carseat. I’m excited for her birthday! My little babe will be 1!?!?!?!

The Little Boy:

He’s going to a new school in our town for preschool before kindergarten next year. We’ve been mentally preparing him. I love him for his thoughtfulness and I try to arm him with info because his go-to is to want to stay home until he can picture where he’s going and what it will be like. He has been zooming on his balance bike and loving ice pops. I grabbed pedialyte ones for how active and sweaty he gets. He got to go bowling and loved it.

2019 goals:

Year of ___ decluttering/minimizing/organizing: I joined a giveaway group on facebook and got rid of a few things immediately! A wire rack and a baby activity seat went like hotcakes!
Feeding Littles: We had Italian subs in salad form so I shared the little one’s version, deconstructed, minus lettuce. 
Work on advanced food prepping: Using what we had was the name of the game before vacay and then we were gone, so that was half the month!
What I’m reading: I read Palisades Park and Rich People Problems.
What I’m watching: We caught a part of a CNN series about Movies.

Dragon Fruit Smoothie

This might be the easiest smoothie I’ve ever made yet it feels the most exotic! It only has 3 ingredients! Unlike many of my other smoothies, this one isn’t a meal, but is a great cool fruit serving as a snack or with something else for breakfast.
The Three Bite Rule - Dragon Fruit Smoothie
I buy these frozen dragon fruit puree packs at the grocery store and I went full on tropical for the flavors here: dragon fruit, mango, and coconut!

Dragon Fruit Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 dragon fruit puree pack
~1 cup frozen mango
1 cup coconut almond milk
1/2 cup water, as needed

Directions:

Add the dragon fruit. mango, and coconut almond milk into the blender.
The Three Bite Rule - Dragon Fruit SmoothieBlend and add water as needed for your desired consistency. (I used ~1/2 cup)
Enjoy!
The Three Bite Rule - Dragon Fruit Smoothie
How pretty is THAT??? Dragon fruit = pitaya. I often see both words on the package. Those frozen packs are beautifully pink and a bit of a splurge but this nicely highlights the sweet flavor. The color is even more radiant without any dairy in there- not that I should call almond milk dairy. I really only use it for the flavor. There’s nowhere near the calcium or protein of regular milk but I don’t loooove milk so I can appreciate almond this with a more watery and coconut flavor.

I should have poured some into my popsicle containers! This would be a good one!

Truffle & Herb Deviled Eggs

This twist on deviled eggs is packed with flavor. There’s truffle oil, dijon, parmesan, and herbs in the filling and brown butter panko topping for a crunch. I made just a few to have with dinner. These would be fun for a party! I tell you, deviled eggs fly off a party table since they’re typically gluten free and dairy free. Mine aren’t this time, but I love the fun flavors into a deviled egg and just add a label for what is in them.

The Three Bite Rule - Truffle & Herb Deviled Eggs

Truffle and Herb Deviled Eggs

Ingredients:

6 eggs
1/2 cup mayo
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons grated parmesan
1 teaspoon truffle oil
1 teaspoon fresh basil, chopped chiffonade
1 teaspoon fresh chives, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons panko breadcrumbs

Directions:

Hard boil the eggs and let them cool in an ice bath.
Slice them in half and pop the yolks into a mixing bowl and add mayo, mustard, garlic, parmesan, truffle oil, and most of the fresh herbs – reserving a little for the topping.
Mix well and spoon into a bottom corner of a ziplock bag. (tip: open the bag into a drinking glass to more easily fill without tipping over!)
The Three Bite Rule - Truffle & Herb Deviled Eggs
Snip the corner off the bag and pipe into the egg halves.
The Three Bite Rule - Truffle & Herb Deviled Eggs
In a small skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and watch it to bubble, foam, and brown.
Stir in the panko and a sprinkle of salt and pepper, mix well, and remove from the heat. Add in the last of the herbs.
The Three Bite Rule - Truffle & Herb Deviled Eggs
Sprinkle over the eggs just before serving.
The Three Bite Rule - Truffle & Herb Deviled Eggs

I love these. A little truffle oil goes a long way so add some taste and add more if necessary. Any fresh herbs would be good – use rosemary, thyme, or oregano. The brown butter breadcrumbs are ahhh-mazing. I had leftovers I put on everything I ate the next day- eggs at breakfast and then on a hot dog with parmesan peppercorn dressing!

The Three Bite Rule - Truffle & Herb Deviled Eggs
We’re off to the beach soon! I hope I can blog a few things while on vacay! Stay tuned! I live for this week all year for the huge and empty beach, nightly ice cream, walking everywhere, and mini golf!

Tacos with Lemonade Slaw

This slaw screams SUMMER. All caps screaming! At first it was whispering summer, but I tweaked it and then the flavor was really pumped up. I put the slaw onto fish tacos but will make again just as a side slaw. It would be great with pulled pork or burgers- on them or alongside them! It has an ideal mix of creaminess and brightness.
The Three Bite Rule - Lemonade Slaw

Lemonade Slaw

Ingredients:

12 oz (bag) shredded cabbage/broccoli slaw
1/3 cup mayo
1/4 cup lemonade
1 teaspoon lemonade drink powder mix
1 teaspoon lemon juice
zest from 1/2 lemon

Directions:

Mix & enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Lemonade Slaw

I used a single serving lemonade mix, like what to mix into a 16-oz bottle. One teaspoon of the powder went into the slaw then I mixed the rest with ~10 oz of water to make (strong) lemonade to add some into the slaw. The lemon juice served as my acid where I’d normally use vinegar. The lemonade mix sweetened where sugar would normally be.

The Three Bite Rule - Lemonade Slaw
The little guy ate his slaw separately from his taco, but Mr. J and I put it right on it. We don’t make tons of fish at home but frozen breaded fish pieces are super quick and are a crowd-pleaser inside a taco!
The Three Bite Rule - Lemonade Slaw

June 2019 Round Up

I loooove June. It is such great weather in New England with just a hint of summer. I’m not a fan of >80 degrees, so this is my happy place. It is the end of the fiscal year at work so fundraising is at 100 mph. I am le tired. In June we lightly celebrated Mr. J’s birthday, went to Western MA for a 1st birthday, went to the Downton Abbey exhibit, our flag day parade was super fun and we went to Maine. The little ones are in a fantastic rhythm and are such loves.

The Manchego Birthday Burger was my fav this month!
The Three Bite Rule - Manchego Burger
This lightened up lunch combined my love for a hearty grain and a worth-while green. Some fruit in there is a good choice too! Farro/Arugula/Blueberries/Watermelon, what’s not to love?
The Three Bite Rule - Farro & Blueberry Salad
Plus, I made some loaded Buffalo Chicken Nachos with a nacho tip everyone can benefit from {spoiler: you need layers. lay-ers!}. Plus, make these in the toaster oven for a fun meal/snack that won’t heat up your kitchen!
The Three Bite Rule - Buffalo Chicken Nachos
I’m pumped for July. Work will chill down a bit and vacation is coming up!! I missed the annual beach week when I was overdue last year and I look forward to it all year. I have some fun food coming up: tacos, an app, and some summery foods!

The Baby Girl:

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Annnd she’s off! She’s trying to walk and taking lots of consecutive steps. I can’t believe it! She’s so strong. She likes eating everything and I just want a few more teeth to come through! She has the bottom two in the middle- that’s it! She went in the pool and loved it.  She loves everything really. It is so fun to see her expressing herself when somebody takes something away from her – sometimes that’s us for something she shouldn’t have and sometimes that is big brother suddenly wanting his toy. She’s going to do well holding her own. She LOVES her brother and nobody can make her giggle like he can. She can clap and a wave is coming along.

The Little Boy:

He’s so sweet and being super well behaved. I melt when he tells me he loves me “all the way past my ponytail”. He’s allll about the pesto right now and has been into peaches. For lunches he told me he doesn’t always want sandwiches so I’m trying to keep it varied. I cracked up when we picked some basil one night and he said, hey- this smells like pesto! In my attempts to raise open-minded, accepting, and thoughtful kiddos – and after a narrow-minded incident in the Boston media, I got us a bunch of books about different kinds of families. It was great to test out a few. Now I want to add a favorite to our personal collection. Libraries are just the best (there’s a highlight reel on my instagram of kid favs)! He was a trooper in the car to Maine but dang, motion-sickness is awful. The meds help but until then, he’s ghostly pale, quiet, and looks so scared. Library books and a ring pop really helped pass the time (4 hours). He had the time of his life with his cousins (and their trampoline).

2019 goals:

Year of ___ decluttering/minimizing/organizing: I dropped several boxes off to Savers while peeking at sneaks for the ever-growing little guy. I also joined a free/hand me down group in my town on facebook so I want to see if we can hand off a few things asap.
Feeding Littles: I’m not sure I shared many! I shared making pizzas on the tiny naan for some toaster-oven pizza, with tiny pepperoni of course. 
Work on advanced food prepping: Ehh. Meals have been quite minimal and speedy.
What I’m reading: I took forever to read Radium Girls and then sped through The Gown.
What I’m watching: I’m so so into the Bachelorette after having zero expectations- I thought she couldn’t speak! We both love Amazing Race and Great Foodtruck Race. I now want to rewatch all of Downton before the movie comes out in September!