13 Slow Cooker Recipes

Today I bring you another round up of delicious slow cooker recipes for your feasting pleasure!  I recently posted a round up of 20 soup recipes for your crock pot.  So, if you're looking for soups, hop on over to that post.  Today's post is featuring a few sweets and then pastas and sandwiches!

Sweets

Crock Pot Cinnamon Rolls by Penny Pincher Jenny
Slow Cooker Cinnamon Roll Breakfast Casserole by Anne's Entitled Life
Slow Cooker Molten Lava Cake by Money Saving Mom

Pastas & Rice

Crock Pot Baked Ziti by Tammilee Tips
Crock Pot Chicken and Noodles by The Coupon Challenge
Slow Cooker Curried Lentils with Pistachios by Three Different Directions
Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese by Snappy Gourmet
Crock Pot Mac & Cheese by Baking Beauty
Slow Cooker Chicken Jambalaya by Savory Experiments

Sandwiches & Wraps

Caramelized Onions for Burgers by Confessions of an Overworked Mom
North Carolina BBQ Pulled Pork by Two Healthy Kitchens
Korean Beef Soft Tacos by Three Different Directions
Healthy Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches by Two Healthy Kitchens

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14 Paleo Recipes #Whole30

For April, my family and I are challenging ourselves to do the Whole30 and focus on living a Paleo lifestyle.  If you're not sure what Whole30 or Paleo is and you don't feel like googling it, here's a brief description:

Whole30/Paleo focuses on cutting foods and food groups from your diet that may have negative impacts on your health.  It is inspired by the idea that our Paleolithic ancestors (when humans were mostly nomadic and not settled) who ate solely for nutrition were healthier.  Food groups such as dairy and grains are eliminated.

Now, please don't bash me if I'm not 100% right or if I left out some important details.  I am new to this.  Anyway, the idea of reinventing the way we eat (and I cook!) is a little scary.  So, I've rounded up 14 Paleo/Whole30 friendly recipes to get me (and you!) started.

Breakfast

Chocolate Beet Pancakes by Confessions of an Overworked Mom
Paleo Overnight Breakfast Casserole by Just Us Four
Paleo Egg Cups by Confessions of an Overworked Mom

Lunch/Dinner

Easy Paleo Spaghetti by Jenn's Raq
Gluten Free Meatballs by Confessions of an Overworked Mom
Mashed Cauliflower by WholeFoods Market
Wild Mushroom Soup by Confessions of an Overworked Mom
Broccoli Cream Sauce by Primal Palate

Desserts & Snacks

Delicata Squash Brownies by Fearless Dining
11 Paleo Approved Snacks by Confessions of an Overworked Mom
Pear and Cinnamon Muffins by Fearless Dining
Paleo Ice Cream by Three Different Directions
Pumpkin Bars with Coconut Flower by Confessions of an Overworked Mom
Paleo Balls of Fire by Just us Four

Have you tried the Whole30 challenge?  What do you or would you miss most following the Paleo diet?

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20 Slow Cooker Soup Recipes

I am absolutely in love my with my crock pot (or slow cooker, whichever you call it).  Actually, there's barbecue chicken breasts cooking in mine right now!  Some people might argue that soups are only for winter, but I love a good soup, year round!

Plus, soups are pretty low maintenance, regardless, so throw in crock pot friendly soup recipes and you've got a super simple dinner.  So, here's 20 slow cooker soup recipes!

Weight Watchers Vegetable Soup by Just 2 Sisters
Beer Chili by Tammilee Tips
Tomato Tortellini Soup by Tammilee Tips
Cheeseburger Soup by Tammilee Tips

Chicken Corn Chowder by the Country Chic Cottage
Spicy Taco Soup by Tammilee Tips
Beer and Cheese Soup by Tammilee Tips
Beef Bacon Chili by Just Us Four

Stuffed Pepper Soup by Tammilee Tips
Vegan Barley Stew by Mama Likes to Cook
3 Ingedient, Gluten Free Chili by Simply Southern Mom

Rich & Hearty Minestrone Soup by Rural Mom

Bone Broth How To by Our Small Hours

Baked Beans by Baking Beauty
White Bean & Chicken Chili by How to Have It All
Beef Barley Soup by How to Have It All

Easy Chicken Tortellini Soup by Happy Deal - Happy Day
Crazy Pineapple Chili by Two Healthy Kitchens
Vegetarian Chili with Bulgur Wheat by Thrifty Jinxy

Italian Wedding Soup by Two Healthy Kitchens

Share with me your favorite thing to make in the crock pot!

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4 Tips to Get Kids to Enjoy Reading

Reading.  We know it's fundamental that children learn how to read.  Children Kindergarten age, and sometimes earlier, are reading or learning to read.  Ready is pushed so hard by schools and parents that it can be very stressful and not fun for children.

Book icon by Freepik

Reading expands vocabulary, improves speaking, logic, and communication skills and has many more benefits!  Here are 4 tips to get your children loving reading!

1. Read to them.

Some parents start reading to their child in the womb!  Whether or not it's necessary to start that early might be debatable, but it is important to start reading to your baby early on in infancy.  Even the youngest infants will enjoy the sound of your voice as you read to them.

As children grow older they can enjoy the colors, shapes, and pictures.  Eventually children will be able to read themselves, but they will still value you taking the time to read to them.  After they can read on their own, you can do shared reading time and take turns reading to each other!

2. Read what they like.

It's important to recognize that children are more likely to read something that interests them!  If you child is into superheroes, Barbie, bugs, horses, etc. then get them books about their topic of interest.  If you're not sure, try simply asking your child or just buying a variety of books.  You might also consider books with familiar characters or themes.

3. Reward them with reading.

Now while rewarding reading is definitely an option, rewarding with reading is a great way to promote that reading is a fun, positive experience.  For example, allowing older children to stay up 15 minutes past their bed time, if they're reading, is a way to reward children with reading.  Don't assign reading as punishment, as that will only reinforce any ideas your child has that reading is not for fun.

4. Lead by example.

Carve out some time in your busy schedule to lead by example, and read for pleasure.  If this is not something you typically do, try following tip #2 for yourself.

Remember that there are a variety of types of reading materials.  These include magazine, poetry, self help books, how to books, fiction novels, and more.  Find what your kids like.  Find what you like.  And read on!

What are you currently reading or hoping to read?  What does your child enjoy reading?

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4 Reasons to Cloth Diaper

I've mentioned before that we are cloth diapering my daughter.  I wanted to cloth diaper my son, but felt intimidated by all the options and chickened out.  Well, I took the leap with baby #3 and am so glad I did!

Here's four basic, legit reasons you should cloth diaper your babe.

1. Better for environment.

Disposable diapers are estimated to take over 500 years to decompose in a landfill, but last year the US threw away over 18 billion diapers.

2. Better for wallet.

You can buy all the cloth diapers your baby will ever need for $200-300 or less.  You can likely even reuse them for your next child!  Granted, cloth is typically an upfront cost, but disposable diapers will cost the average person over $2000 per child.

3. Better for baby.

Cloth diapers contain chemicals.  While major brands claim the amount are so small they're irrelevant, the point still stands that they're there.

4. Super cute!

Cloth diapers come in a plethora of colors, prints, and styles for all sorts of budgets.  After everything else that cloth diapering has to offer, the cuteness is just the cherry on top!

What reason most influenced you to cloth diaper?  Or what is keeping you from cloth diapering?

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4 Nursing Pad Options Compared

Breastfeeding moms everywhere can relate to the need of a good nursing pad!  Later in the nursing journey, some women are able to mostly do without them.  However, early on, at the very least, leaking is pretty common!

Mom icon made by Freepik & licensed under CC BY 3.0

My daughter is 9 months old now and I still wear a nursing pad, religiously.  I have oversupply, and my daughter is a great sleeper; so I still have let down/leakage from time to time.

Here is a quick table comparison of 4 nursing pad options, based on my experience with them.  A more detailed review can be found below!

	Lansinoh Stay Dry	Nuk Ultra Dry	Nuk Reusable	Evenflo
Price	OK	Good	Best	Good
Absorbency/Dryness	Best	Good	Minimal	OK
Comfort/Fit	Best	Good	OK	OK
Overall	Best overall.	Great for price!	Eco & cost friendly.	Cost friendly.

Lansinoh Stay Dry

The Lansinoh Stay Dry Day & Night nursing pads are, in my opinion, the superior of the four.  They do cost a bit more, typically, though.  The little bit of extra money is worth the extra luxury if you can afford it.

These nursing pads are stay in place the absolute best out of all these options, with their two adhesive strips.  They are comfortable and have a literal stay dry feeling, unlike the Nuk Reusable and the Evenflo options.

Nuk Ultra Dry

Nuk Ultra Dry are a great option, too, especially if you're trying to pinch every penny you can but still want a great quality product.  The also leave you feeling dry, like the Lansinoh Stay Dry, and have comparable absorbency; though I think the Lansinoh brand is marginally better.

The comfort and fit are comparable to Lansinoh, also, but they don't stay in place as well.  This is probably because they only have one adhesive strip.  Nuk also has an Ultra Thin option, which is comparable to the Evenflo one evaluated here.  I bought it on accident once.

Nuk Reusable

Many moms are looking to reusable nursing pads because they are cost and environmentally friendly.  Nuk brand, among others, offers a reusable option.  These nursing pads are washable and reusable, but I do feel you sacrifice some other qualities with this option.

The pads were not fast to absorb, so I felt like I was sitting in a puddle of my own breast milk leakage for a bit.  They were also a bit bulky compared to the options and did not stay in place as well, regardless of their no slip fabric.

Evenflo

The Dollar General is my small town started carrying the Evenflo brand, and I was excited to have them local for when I forgot them on my grocery trip that week and ran out.  I keep these as my back up option, because I don't go through the whole box before purchasing some Lansinoh or Nuk disposables.  In fact, I was just wearing these yesterday!

Their absorbency and fit are OK, but not as good as either of the other two disposable options mentioned.  They are affordable and definitely serve their purpose.  These also do not have the sticky adhesive, so they more prone to need readjusting.

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3 Things Killing the Breast is Best Campaign

I am huge supporter of breastfeeding.  You might even call me a breastfeeding advocate.  Then again, after this post...maybe not.  I have always been credited with being a very open minded, understanding person.  I usually do a good job of seeing all sides of things and judging accordingly.  That's why, I'm here to tell you that there are three things killing the breast is best campaign.

Consider the following with an open mind and consider how we could improve, so that we can encourage and support more women in their breastfeeding journey!  If we want to normalize breastfeeding and support of mothers who choose to do it short or long term...we need to address the issues that are preventing this from happening.

1. Nurse ins.

Nurse ins draw a lot of attention to important topics.  For example, it often brings to light the fact that many businesses and their employees are unaware of the basic rights of a breastfeeding mother.  Also, we often become more aware of the lack of support for breastfeeding in communities, because nurse ins typically follow an unpleasant altercation with a business and it's employee(s).

I'm not saying nurse ins are bad or never necessary.  However, sometimes women jump the gun and can even hurt "the cause" more than help...regardless of how good their intentions were.  I think, and many others will agree, that a nurse in can come off as confrontational, and that's usually not the kind of message you want to send when you're trying to get an opposing group to see things your way.

2. Lack of or bad information.

This is the one that irks me the most!  I think a large part of the reason so many women "fail" at breastfeeding is because of the terrible misinformation they are given or the fact that advocates or advocate agencies tend to conveniently forget to mention any of the "bad" or challenging stuff.  They leave out the possible struggles, the things that could go wrong, etc.

Basically, many women are not realistically prepared for the trials of breastfeeding that may await them postpartum.  New moms come into the experience with false pretenses and then feel like a failure if they're not feeling the breastfeeding bliss immediately.  Someone forgot to mention that it's not always lollipops and unicorns right out of the box.

3. Bullying and alienation.

From the outside looking in, the breastfeeding moms club can be intimidating.  After being being preached to about its greatness, many women are eager to be accepted into the "club."  However, moms who are struggling with breastfeeding, quit breastfeeding, or never breastfed to being with can feel alienated or bullied by the VIP breastfeeders group.

An informed mother does not need to be badgered with facts and statistics she already knows.  She does not need to be snubbed, shunned, or insulted for her choices, struggles, or so-called failures.  This kind of behavior reflects badly on the community.  It's not always intentional, but it hurts no less.  Breastfeeding moms need to focus more on being a role model and spreading the information and help in a positive way.

Motherhood is hard.  Let's help each other out.  Let's focus on spreading the love and supporting our cause in a positive way.

Do you think there are other things negatively impacting the normalization and/or support of breastfeeding?  Share in the comments below!

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