Munchie Monday: Apple Pancake Wontons

One of my favorite blogs of the moment is Emily Bites. It's no wonder that as I've been getting back to healthy eating that a food blog would make my top ten. After I made her lasagna "cupcakes" I was not only thrilled to add this recipe to my regular dinner rotation, but I was also sold on wonton wrappers. How had I never seen their potential?

The morning after the very successful "lasagna" dinner, I was considering how to use the rest of my wonton wrappers while also craving one of my favorite breakfast foods--German apple pancake. I can't express to you how much I LOVE these things! My mom makes four to five of these every year for Christmas breakfast (mostly because my brother and I can take down one a piece if we're hungry enough). The original recipe calls for lots of eggs, butter, and flour. Weight Watchers friendly it isn't. So, I decided to do a little recipe revamp and guess what? I hit the jackpot! Without further adieu, I bring you my latest original (I'm saying this original, but truthfully, it probably exists somewhere out there already) recipe:

Apple Pancake Wontons

Ingredients:
-24 wonton wrappers
-1 large apple
-3/4 c. egg substitute
-1 tsp. vanilla
-Stevia (or your choice of zero calorie sweetener)
-Cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

2. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray and place two wonton wrappers (situated to make a star) into each opening.

3. Cube apple and toss with cinnamon and Stevia to taste (I use 2 packets of Stevia)

4. Spoon apples into wonton wrappers.

5. Mix vanilla, egg substitute and 1-2 packets of Stevia together. Spoon egg mixture into wonton wrappers over apples. Apples should still peek through the mixture

6. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool for 3-5 minutes before carefully running a knife along the edge of each "pancake".

7. Enjoy with a little zero calorie syrup!

These refrigerate well. I haven't tried freezing yet, but if you do, let me know how they are.

WW Points +: 4 "Pancakes" for 5 points

A PSA to my healthier self

There are going to be times on this journey that you're going to want to return to your old habits. You'll think to yourself, "It's a holiday," or "I've been so good, a little splurge can't hurt," or (and this is my favorite) "Other people have lost weight by taking weekends 'off'; you can too!" Here's the thing. Those things may be true, but returning to your old habits for just a day or two can/will probably, most definitely leave you feeling like crap. I'm citing Easter 2013 as proof. Get back on track tomorrow, Healthy Betty. You'll thank me. And the next time you want to go rogue, remember the agony of reliving that second helping of Polish sausage. :/

Weigh In Wednesday: Off to a GOOD Start!

I wish I was the quippy individual who created Weigh In Wednesday--I am not. BUT I will use it here because of aforementioned quip.

One week in on Weight Watchers (No, I'm not paying for it this time. Yes, I once again love my iPhone and its free apps.) and I'm down 2.2 pounds. I'll take it. After all, it's slow but steady right? And, I have a track record of being really good at failing when it comes to weight loss.

I was word vomiting talking to my dear friend Sarah this morning about my most recent weight loss commitment (really only because she saw my current desktop background which says, "The voice that says you can't do it is a lying slut"--except she only saw the "lying slut" part and need explanation) and basically put it this way: I need to grow up. I'm freaking THIRTY YEARS OLD. *sigh & WTF* I've never been a person who can eat whatever the hell I want without consequence, so why any part of me thinks that this awesome metabolism would kick in now is beyond me.

I had started a different blog to document my weight loss, but really, "ain't nobody got time fo dat!", so, you guys are getting it here. It's probably better for me anyway. If I know that all six of you are reading this it might  be the same as going to meetings. (All I could think right then was, "Hi. My name is Betty, and I'm a fatty."--new blog title?)

Maybe someday I'll publicly disclose my start weight, but that day is not today. For now, you may know that I'm down 2.2 leaving me 32.8 lbs away from my goal weight (47.8 lbs away from my DREAM weight).

Well, hello there!

Remember when I used to blog? I'm sure those of you who are a part of my small readership have been happy to have a break from absolutely lost without my random nonsense. I'm hoping you'll graciously accept me back into your reading routines as I'm hoping to be better about blogging at least a couple times a week (as opposed to once every six months).

I have a lot of work to do today while CW is at daycare, but I did want to post a little something. (I think one of the reasons I don't blog more is because I think of each post as an essay--when it's easier and shorter, more like a status update, it's more likely to happen.) For those of you who are close to me (that would be about half of you!), you know that I've been having serious body image issues.  What I've realized through dealing with these feelings of inadequacy is that I need to focus and be committed to being healthier. It's not just about me anymore. CW needs parents who are modeling a healthy lifestyle. So, today is...

NO EXCUSES TUESDAY!

I've been wanting to start running again. A few years ago I was logging 5 miles daily (I think back now and realize that if I had been eating better too, I may have actually reached my goal weight!), and I've missed the runner's high I get and how good I feel. The problem for the past few months is that I've been doing a lot of wanting but not much running. I've rationalized it by whining about not having access to a treadmill in the stupid cold of Chicagoland. This morning though, after I dropped the boy at daycare, I came home, laced up and got my booty out on the road. 

The Chicago Color Run is June 16, and I want to be ready! So, this is my reentry into the blogosphere. Maybe it will be a little bit of accountability? Here's hoping. 

My Next 30 Years...

I'm a country girl at heart. I love visiting the big city (especially now that my best friend, Leslie, has an amazing apartment in Chicago), but if I had to choose where Michael and I would ultimately raise our family, I'd choose the nearby corn fields in a heart beat. It's no surprise then, that with the end of my twenties looming in front of me, I've been listening to Tim McGraw's "My Next Thirty Years" a lot recently. 

I remember when the song came out. I was in high school, and thirty seemed a lifetime away. The lyrics were sweet and sentimental, but they didn't really resonate with me. Now, however, many of the words sing the story of my life. Here are the highlights:

I think I'll take a moment, celebrate my age--Celebrate? I suppose it's worth celebrating that I've made it this far, and while I don't love the number, I'm grateful that I'm not 21 again...seriously.

The ending of an era and the turning of a page--Today I turned thirty. I sent my son to daycare for the first time (he didn't cry; I did), and I began a new career. If that's not the end of an era, I don't know what is. The upside is that the page has been turned and I'm off to write a new chapter.

Now it's time to focus in on where I go from here--If you read this blog with any regularity, you know I've been working on focus. Now seems as good a time as any to really master it. 

Lord have mercy on my next thirty years--Another truth is that God has definitely had mercy on my past thirty years. My marriage, son, friends, family, job, and countless other things are testament to that. I am blessed, plain and simple.

Hey my next thirty years I'm gonna have some fun--This is not the end of my fun. Ladies (specifically: Becky, Chrisanne, Beth, Rachel, Jenn--take notice!)

Try to forget about all the crazy things I've done--I don't feel that this is necessary. Those crazy things got me there. And truthfully, there are quite a few that I'm already a little hazy on the details. ;)


Maybe now I've conquered all my adolescent fears
And I'll do it better in my next thirty years--Not sure this has happened, but I plan on getting over them in the next thirty. 

My next thirty years I'm gonna settle all the scores
Cry a little less, laugh a little more
Find a world of happiness without the hate and fear
Figure out just what I'm doing here
In my next thirty years--This needs to be my mantra. 

Oh my next thirty years, I'm gonna watch my weight
Eat a few more salads and not stay up so late--Time to get that body back(ish) for real! 

Drink a little lemonade and not so many beers
Maybe I'll remember my next thirty years--I should also include "Keep my damn mouth shut and not say stupid shit while I'm drinking" to this.

My next thirty years will be the best years of my life--If this is true, life will be amazing because the past thirty have (overall) been awesome!


Raise a little family and hang out with my wife husband--Ok, this doesn't rhyme, but you get the point. At the end of the day, the time I have with my family is the most important. I look forward to someday seeing the family we will have, the child(ren) we will raise, and the life we will build. I can't imagine loving Michael and Clark more than I do today, and yet somehow, there's never a day that I loved them more the day before.


Spend precious moments with the ones that I hold dear--This next thirty will consist of genuine relationships. I pray that I remember these words and drink in the moments with the people who are most important to me. 

Make up for lost time here, in my next thirty years
In my next thirty years--In true Betty fashion, I've got a plan and a checklist. It might not be filled with concrete items, but I'm pretty sure it's the greatest checklist I've ever written. 

Absences & Rolling

Remember when I used to blog?

Yeah, me too. Oddly, I feel like I have less time to do things on my computer now that my little guy is getting less and less little. (If anyone has a recommendation for a good Blogger app for the iPad, I'd love to hear it!)

As a bit of a catch up (and an apology) here's a video of my not so little man. He's rolling over now. It makes me thrilled and sad simultaneously. 

Cloth Diapering-One Month Update

Now that Clark is two months old, Michael and I have already encountered our share of unexpected challenges and situations. Not everything has gone as I planned (something that I'm learning is pretty much par for the course in parenting), but one thing that (fortunately) HAS gone mostly as planned is cloth diapering.

Initially I planned to cloth diaper from day one. I even contemplated bring cloth diapers to the hospital for the nurses to use. (Wow--Even I know that's crazy.) However, after doing some research about effects of A & D ointment on cloth diapers, I conceded that we would need to use disposables for the week or so as Clark's circumcision site healed. After that week, I tried our cloth diapers out, but our little guy was too little  for most of our cloth diapers, so we continued with disposables for another few weeks. 

During his first month, Clark gained about two pounds and he was FINALLY big enough to fit in the cloth diapers in our stash. So, here's our update. What I love, what I hate, and what surprised me. 

Our stash (Links to Diaper Junction where most of the stash was purchased)
4-Little Joeys
22-Diaper Rite Prefolds-Small 8-18 lbs.
3-Small Thirsties Diaper covers with velcro
2-Snappies3-Flip diapers with snaps
2-Size One Thirsties Duo Wrap covers (one snap, one velcro)
6-BumGenius 4.0 Pocket diapers with snaps
6-Diaper Rite Pocket diapers1-Thirsties Duo Diaper


Little Joeys
Not much to say about these. They're cute. They work. But for us, building a newborn stash in addition to our regular stash defeated the purpose of cloth diapering to save money. I'll be selling these.

Prefolds & Covers
I love, love, love, love, LOVE our prefolds and Thirsties covers. I was definitely surprised by this. I bought these begrudgingly because I knew that initially creating an entire stash out of pocket diapers would be very pricey. I was able to get prefolds during a great Black Friday sale and decided that since I was very dedicated to cloth diapering, I could be the one to use the prefolds while I was staying home; I wouldn't make Mike use them. 

I got Snappies because that's what most cloth diapering YouTube moms suggested. I never loved using the Snappies. When I looked into different folds, I found that some people simply trifolded their prefolds and stuck them in the cover. I tried this and haven't used a Snappi since. Prefolds are quickly becoming my favorite type of diaper. They're cheap, easy to clean, and take up less space in the diaper bag than pockets.

Flips
My thoughts on Flips are brief. They're essentially expensive/fancy prefolds with covers. For that reason, I don't dislike them, but I probably won't add more to my stash at this point. One final comment about prefolds/Flips--I LOVE them for poopy diapers! (So do a lot of people, including my brother.) The reason is that it's much easier to clean the prefold/liner than a pocket. More on cleaning poop off of diapers in a bit...

BumGenius 4.0
These are my go to pocket diapers. They really are as great as everyone says. Sold separately, they'll cost you about $18. I got mine on a buy five get one free for about $90 on a Black Friday sale. You can also get these used from a variety of places (Ebay, local boutiques, diaperswappers.com, etc.). You won't save too much money buying used because these dipes really retain their value if cared for well (good news for when it's time to be done with diapers), but you should see a bit of a price break. I love these diapers because they are daddy, grandma, and babysitter friendly. The snaps are straight forward and it's easy to size right every time. (Clark is on the smallest rise with three sets of snaps in the middle.) I'm not a fan of cleaning poo off of these. The pocket usually fills with water while I'm cleaning them of off. It's irritating.

Diaper Rite Pocket 
I got two of these diapers on a whim when I was doing my Black Friday shopping. I believe they're exclusive to Diaper Junction, but don't hold me to that. At $8 a pop, you can't really beat the deal on an above average pocket diaper. I love that these are a bit more trim than my BumGenius diapers. They also have more snaps around the waist. This is great for a more customized fit (but can also be confusing to those who are diapering your kid when you're gone). I don't LOVE the inserts. Some of the full size inserts seem to have shrunk on me and they don't have tags either. (I put the tags of my BumGenius in the back so I have something to grab when I pull them out.) I will say that if I have leaks, it is usually with these (though leaks are few and far between). But they're weird leaks, on the sides toward the top--not around the legs. Maybe I just need to snap the rise up? Regardless, I like these diapers enough that I did order four more of them after Clark arrived. Overall, I'd recommend having a few in your stash if you want more pocket diapers for less money.

Thirsties Duo Diaper
I started out LOVING this diaper. There are openings in the front and back, so it's easier to stuff and the insert agitates out in the wash--no danger of touching a pee soaked insert. It used to be my go-to diaper. However, recently I've had leaks with it. Like, why-did-I-bother-putting-a-diaper-on-my-kid leaks. I haven't cared enough to find out why. I know that I always stuff it with the micro fiber insert up and bamboo down like I'm supposed to, but still, it leaks. So, for now, I wouldn't recommend this diaper especially given it too is $18.

Must Haves
I'll finish up with my "I-wouldn't-cloth-diaper-without-this-stuff" list.

Diaper Pail- I LOVE our diaper pail! It's a dry pail (as far as I know very few people use wet pails anymore--they're gross and a drowning hazard). It's not specifically made for cloth diapering, but it works like a charm! I use my Planet Wise liner and life is good. I usually just throw wet diapers in the top. For poopy diapers, I open the entire lid and pull it near the toilet for easy transfer. We haven't had any smell issues either. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!


Planet Wise liners/bags- I registered for two liners and a wet/dry bag by Planet Wise. (P.S. I HIGHLY recommend registering at Amazon. You can register for cloth diapering necessities and the deals are awesome. My friends and family loved the ease of shopping online too!) My mom got us our diaper pail and all of our liners/bags. Isn't she awesome?! I couldn't be more pleased with the liners. They fit my diaper well, never leak, and wash well. Having two is a MUST. One is in the pail while the other is in the wash. I adore our wet/dry bag as well. Although I don't know that the wet/dry combo is necessary. I think having 2-3 regular wet bags would suffice. I need to purchase a couple more because having the one is a pain.

Our diaper pail with slate colored liner

Diaper Sprayer- This probably should have been the first item of this post. Let me tell you this. IF I DID NOT HAVE A DIAPER SPRAYER I WOULD NOT CLOTH DIAPER! Seriously. This thing is awesome. We have the Bum Genius diaper sprayer. Some people complain about leaks, but we haven't had one problem with ours. My husband and his dad installed in less than 10 minutes. It has a hook that lets it hang off the toilet. It looks nice and is the best thing in the world for spraying out poopy diapers. There are other options for a sprayer. My brother used a kitchen sprayer and attached it to their toilet (I have no idea how, so don't ask) and it works beautifully too. I know because I've sprayed out my share of poopy diapers while at their house. It's pretty awesome to have that luxury while out and about. 

Here's our diaper sprayer attached to the toilet.

Eco Sprout- I use this detergent quite honestly because our local cloth diaper boutique (Cutie Poops & Bottoms) sells it and it's what my sister-in-law, Becky, uses. She's never had issues so, why mess with a good thing. So far I love it. We have no staining, wicking, ammonia, or other issues.


I'd love any recommendations, comments or questions you may have about cloth diapering!