Egg Roll in a Bowl

Oh hey friends! It's been a long while since I've posted a recipe around here. Truthfully, I've really missed writing blog posts, but finding time to do so these days is the trouble. We finally spent some time at home last weekend and it was great! I was extra productive and also made it a point to get in the kitchen. I made not one, but three dishes and it was so therapeutic. I'm no culinary trained chef by any means but being in the kitchen makes me happy.  

A colleague of mine shared this particular recipe with me last week and immediately knew I had to make it. It was simple, delicious and the whole family loved it. Whit and I like to  rate each other on the meals we prepare. I usually get 7's but this dish scored a 9.5! I'll take that as a win!

Several of you asked about the recipe which inspired me to share. The original version which is Whole 30, Keto and Paleo can be found here. I'm not following any of those diets but I did like the fact that it's low carb. I tweaked a few things, like using turkey instead of pork and increased the portion of meat to insure my hungry husband was well fed and had leftovers. 

Hope you guys enjoy it as much as we did!

Oh, and I highly recommend serving it with a side of Trader Joe's Pork Gyoza & Chicken Gyoza Potstickers!

Egg Roll in a Bowl

Ingredients

Sesame seed oil

1 bunch of green onions (chopped, whites separated)

½ cup red onion, diced

6 cloves minced garlic

2 pounds ground turkey (99% fat free)

2 teaspoons ground ginger

2 tablespoons sriracha hot chile sauce

1 16-ounce bag coleslaw mix

3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

6 tablespoons coconut aminos

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

Sesame seeds

Salt and pepper to taste

Sauce:

¼ cup olive oil mayo

3 tablespoons sriracha hot chile sauce

Instructions

1. In a large skillet set over medium heat, add sesame seed oil. Toss in the white parts of the green onion, diced red onion and minced garlic. Cook until the red onion is soft.

2. Add the turkey into the skillet, ground ginger and 2 tablespoons sriracha hot chile sauce. Sauté the turkey until browned and cooked through.

3. Add coleslaw mix, soy sauce, and coconut aminos.

4. Sauté mixture until coleslaw in tender.

5.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

6. Plate the turkey cabbage mixture and top with green onions, sesame seeds and add a few dollops of Sriracha mayo sauce.

*For the Sriracha Mayo Sauce

In a small bowl, mix olive oil mayo with 3 table spoons of sriracha hot chile sauce (more if you want an extra kick).

Recipe adapted from: 40 Aprons

Baby Sawyer: 6 Months Old

This baby boy is six months old! How is it that time goes by this fast? Sawyer keeps us on our toes everyday. He now makes new babbling sounds like goo goo and gaga (Whit swears he’s saying Dada) and he also grunts. He turns his head when you say his name and he’s getting much better at sitting up on his own. He tried his first food last night! He’s still trying to decide if he’s a fan of 🥑, but one thing is for sure, he loves his milk! He sticks out his tongue, blows bubbles and is quite the drooler. He loves to jump and bounce in your lap, and really is such a happy baby. And he still hates getting dressed. We love you sweet boy! Oh, and he shares his half birthday with his dad.

Milestones and changes
I feel like so many new things were introduced at six months, including trying food for the first time! Mashed avocado was first on the menu and it didn't go over so well. The first few bites were okay but then all of the sudden did not like what he tasted. He was also intrigued by the spoon, given it was the first interaction he's ever had with one. Since thee avocado, we've also tried mashed bananas, sweet potatoes and scrambled eggs. He's all about bananas and sweet potatoes, but not so much the eggs. Maybe next time... On another note, he can hold his own bottle now, which makes him look so grown up.

                                               

Favorite things
His new Graco bumper jumper. We could tell he was ready for one of these by the way he was always trying to jump in our laps. We celebrated Christmas a little early with Whit's family and they gave him one. It has been quite the hit. He will sit in there and bounce until he falls asleep.

Things I'm looking forward to
Christmas morning! I know he's unaware of the whole Santa and gifts, but it's just seems so much more exciting when you have a child. We went to Celadon and actually met Santa. Sawyer didn't do the normal freak out that you seem in all the funny photos of kids with Santa. I was kind of hoping for one of those photos to be honest, but instead he was just very serious. I don't think he realized someone else was even holding him.

Hardest Moment
Dealing with the frequent mom guilt that slowly creeps in out of nowhere. The mom guilt for working full time and only having an hour or so with him at night. Oh, and taking him to get his six months shots. Those are never fun!

Sweetest Moment
Saturday morning snuggles! We've gotten into a habit of waking up with Sawyer at 7 a.m. and bringing him into our bed so where I can feed him. After he eats, he falls asleep snuggled in my arms, resting on his boppy. He will sleep there for about two hours, sometimes longer if I let him. It's those little moments that I cherish so deeply, because I know they won't last forever. And it's those reminders of those moments that help get me through a hard work week.

Breast Feeding
I can't believe I've made it this far! Six months was a stretch goal of mine and now that I've gotten here, I figured I would try to continue for as close to a year as possible. Although I would by lying if I said I didn't dream of the freedom of not carrying around a pump. I'm currently trying to slowly introduce formula so I can at least have it as back up if needed. The very first time he had a bottle of it, he drank the whole thing! Since then, he's only had it three other times. We will see where this goes.

Weekend Recap: Holiday Festivities

'Tis the season for holiday parties, festive attire, not counting calories and all the chaos and everything in between that comes with Christmas. I haven't checked in on here in a while but I'm hoping I will find more time in the new year. Most of my spare time is spent with our little one and I wouldn't have it any other way. He was such a trooper this past weekend as we took him along with us every where we went. 

Friday night we celebrated my girlfriends birthday with dinner at Zen Asian Fusion. We were all so busy catching up that we didn't take any photos. Zen is one of my favorite local sushi spots. If you live in Charleston and haven't been, do yourself a favor a pay them a visit. I did manage to snap of pic of my sushi. The West Ashley roll is the way to go!

Saturday mornings are easily my favorite part of the weekend. Whit gets Sawyer out of his crib around 7:30 and brings him in our room. After I feed him we lay in the bed and snuggle. It's so nice to not be in a rush like I am during the week. I slipped out of bed to get some coffee and left these three like this. 

Saturday afternoon we headed to Bluffton to celebrate the engagement of one of my oldest and dearest friends. She's going to make one gorgeous bride! 

 The view was beautiful, especially as the sun started to go down.

Sawyer was along for the ride and did a pretty good job of keeping it together and allowing everyone to pass him around.

The festivities continued on Sunday afternoon with an ornament exchange with the ladies. Sawyer joined in on the fun too. 

Two parties in one afternoon, meant I had to pack several bags to get us through the day. How cute is this plaid canvas tote from Lands' End. It's the perfect size to take to parties and my champagne and appetizers fit perfectly in it. And I love that they can be personalized. 

We headed from one party to the next and joined several friends for more holiday festivities. 

 How sweet is this?! baby Rosie was reaching to hold Sawyer's hand. 

Although there wasn't much downtime this weekend, it was so great to see so many of our friends! Cheers to the holidays!

Baby Sawyer: 5 Months Old

Sweet Sawyer is five months old today and has quite the personality already! I can’t get over how much he has grown since last month and all the new things he does. He has the cutest little baby giggles, brought on my the ridiculous noises we make. He has started to splash in the tub, tries to hold his bottle himself, loves his toy giraffe, wiggles all over the place and likes to bounce. He can roll from his tummy to his back and is still working on rolling from his back to his tummy. He enjoys when we read books to him, he naps well in the car, and he’s really starting to notice his surroundings. So much love for this little one!

Milestones and changes
He started blowing spit bubbles. I'm not sure if it may be a sign of teething in the near future. He has also increased the amount of milk he drinks. I'm pretty sure he's going through a growth spurt. I increased his milk to 7 ounces per bottle. Needless to say, it's a struggle to keep up so I've had to tap into my freezer stash of breast milk.

Favorite Things
His activity table seems to be hit, although he could stand to grown into a little bit more. But it keeps him entertained. We actually took it with us when we traveled for Thanksgiving. He also loves to splash in the bathtub when we talk to him and make silly sounds.

Current schedule
We've been on the same schedule from the Mom's on Call book for a while now. It seems to be working so I figured we wouldn't change it up.

Hardest moment (s)
There were a few of them this month. Leaving him to go to the Clemson/Carolina game was one. He was in great hands with Whit's parents though! We've only left him overnight one other time and it's just not an easy thing to do. Also, having the stomach bug and being quarantined from him for three days was extremely hard. And lastly, he developed a cough that lingered long enough for us to take him to the Dr. where they told us he had a milk case of RSV. Thankfully it was very mild, but hearing that sad little cough at night was just heartbreaking.

Sweetest moment (s)
The way he lays on my shoulder, nestled up near my neck and totally relaxes after he eats. I wouldn't trade those baby snuggles for the world. Also, visiting with my grandfather and seeing his face light up. He just adores Sawyer!

Something fun we did this month
Spending Thanksgiving with family. We thoroughly enjoyed the extra time off from work that we were able to enjoy with him. Our family loved it as well.

Breastfeeding
I'm still going at it! Although the stomach bug really gave me a run for my money. Trying to pump when you can even keep water down is miserable. It took a lot of effort to get my supply back up after I was sick.

Baby Sawyer: 4 Months Old

I’m popping in to share a four month update on baby Sawyer (before he turns 5 months next week). Time is flying by way too fast! His personality just keeps getting better and better. He has the cutest grin and is ticklish under his arms and his neck. He loves bath time and his bear lovie. He has great head control and loves to kick his little legs. He wants to put everything in his mouth, especially his hands and he’s an expert hair puller. He is easily distracted by anything on TV, babbles to himself as he goes to sleep and he still hates getting dressed. He enjoys going on strolls and being outside. Whit and I love watching him grow and learn new things. His smile melts my heart every single time. We are so lucky to be his parents.

4 month stats

Sawyer is 24.5 inches long, which puts him in the 20th percentile for height. And he is currently a whopping 13 lbs 6.5 oz which puts him in the 10th percentile for weight. He may not be the biggest guy but the Dr. was pleased with his consistent growth. His head on the other hand is in the 37th percentile. Here's a photo of him after he got his shots at his fourth month appointment. He was surprisingly in much better spirits than he was after the first round.

Current schedule

We’re still on the 8-16 schedule in the Moms on Call book, or at least for the most part. His naps are getting shorter. I laugh at the daily sheets that are sent home from daycare. Sometimes he only naps for 30 mins, the entire day. It makes for one tired baby when he gets home. The struggle is then to keep him awake for his nighttime feeding. But he still drinks his milk like a champ, taking three bottles at day care and breastfeeding twice a day. He also tries to hold the bottle himself now.

Favorite things
We bought this sit, spin and stand activity table and he is finally starting to love it. I think he could stand to be a little taller in order to fit in it more comfortable, but he’s loving it. He’s also a big fan of Sophie the giraffe, which we’ve recently renamed, Jeremy.

Hardest moment

I was warmed about the constant sickness that would come and go with him in daycare. At our last Dr.’s appointment, we were informed that on average, children that attend daycare are introduced to a new virus every 2 weeks. Lovely! He’s had a stuffy, runny nose multiple times now. 

Sweetest moment

Morning snuggles are the best and I really try to soak them up on the weekend. We’ve been putting him in the bed with us on Saturday mornings and he will just lay there, play with his toys and “talk to us.” I could just lay there with him for hours.

Something fun we did this month (October)

We celebrated Sawyer's first Halloween! He was the most adorable little lobster. We rode around on the golf cart with friends while the toddlers were trick or treating. He wore the costume the whole time and surprisingly didn't get upset. 

Breastfeeding
I’m still going and can't believe I've made it this far. I hope to be able to continue for a few more months. So far Sawyer is still exclusively on breast milk, although we were told at our 4 month check up that we can start to introduce pureed food whenever we would like. I think I’m going to hold out until at least 6 months. 

 This photo pretty much sums things up. :)