Easy Kid Approved Zucchini Muffins!

Storytime…(or jump to the recipe)

For the longest time, I was the mom who couldn’t trick her kids into eating veggies. I would listen to the stories of moms who would chop, blend and bake veggies into their kids foods, longing for the day that I would be able to experience that.

Not because I needed to LOL but because I wanted to :P

I’m not the biggest fan of cooking (I do it out of necessity). Yet, I still want to be able to make the best chocolate chip cookies for my kids (spoiler alert: they completely prefer the pillsbury eat raw or bake option and I’m not mad about it) or maybe even have a family recipe to pass along.

And I think my day has finally come!

BOTH my kids have FINALLY enjoyed a healthy baked good that I’ve made from scratch. I think because it doesn’t have cinnamon, peanut butter or almond flour makes a real difference. It doesn’t have that heaviness to it and is also school safe!

Best part it’s incredibly easy to make! Moist on the inside with a light crunch on the outside. It has zucchini and no white sugar or flour. And just for balance – a good helping of dark chocolate chips.

My kids loved it (after a highly persuaded first bite)!

Recipe for “Easy Kid-Approved Zucchini Muffins”

Ingredients:
– 2 cups of shredded zucchini
– 2 eggs
– ½ to ¾ cup of maple syrup
– ¼ cup coconut oil (room temperature)
– 2 cups oat flour
– 1 teaspoon baking soda
– 1 teaspoon baking powder
– ½ teaspoon salt
– ½ cup chocolate chips

Instructions:
– Put the wet ingredients in a bowl and stir together
– Put the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and mix together
– Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well
– Fill 12 greased muffins tins evenly and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes

Blogmas | Gift guide for your daughters

Sharing some of the gifts ideas for daughters. These work perfect for kids ages 5-8 and include STEM/STEAM & skill building! Hopefully this provides some ideas or you can click directly on the link to purchase on Amazon.ca!

  1. Dot Lego bracelet making kits: Cute little way to design braclets using lego dots. Perfect way to keep kids entertained as a starter to legos for kids who don’t really like them
  2. Build a robot with Remote Control: funny enough, building a robot like this was my university capstone project, now I’m buying them for my kids christmas presents! Great for the kid who wants to try their hand at building and controlling a robot.
  3. Puffy sticker book: My kiddo loved another version of this book, it’s like playing dolls with thousands of possible outfits and activities.
  4. Dance gear: of any gear to support their extra curriculars: dance shoes, personalized sparring pads, high bar.
  5. Geodes kit: Awesome gift for the kid who’s into rocks and crystals. Adult help required, but you can actually crack the rocks to reveal the magnificent geodes.
  6. Viral Tiktok Bedazzler: no explaination necessary – will be a popular choice for the kids and their moms alike lol!
  7. Gimp: When kids are into making braclets, this is a great way for them to practice fine motor skills and following directions. This kit comes with key chain rings so can also be used to create gifts for grandparents or for school backpack zippers.
  8. Lego friends: A step up from Dots but not as complex as a start wars set with 1000 pieces. Kids can follow the instructions and make the kit in 45 min or less. Then endless hours of fun!

Want more? Follow my Blogmas 2022 journey here!

Fireside chat with a group of working moms

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A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend a fire side chat hosted by a panel of working moms.

I am in a phase of my life where I look for inspiration from other moms, namely other working moms.  I love receiving advice on how to find a complementary lifestyle between career and home, but also other important facets of one’s life like hobbies, fitness and personal growth.

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Being in a technology / software development industry, I mainly hear from women in IT.  But this group of mom’s was different kind of panel: they were a group of working mom’s in health care.

Yep doctors…!   The type of people who give up their lives for the wellness of others.  Surprisingly, what they deal with as mom’s is the same as what every other mom deals with!

Thought I’d share some of the topics that were discussed:

  1. Ask for help: Everyone’s need and type of help is different, but the important thing is to actually be okay with asking and accepting help. For some of us it can be full time paid help (like a nanny / daycare) or it could be having a baby sitter two times a month to help out for date night.  One idea that I hadn’t thought of is befriending other parents.  Invite your child’s friends over for playdates and work on those parent friendships – they could come in handy when you are in a pinch. 
  2. Sacrifice:  Every day is a sacrifice when you are mom who works outside of the home. (Hell when you are a mom period!) You are either a great mom and not giving your career your everything or you are a killing it on the career front and neglecting your duties at home.  One thing to remember is that your kids will be okay and better for it seeing you pursue something that challenges you and makes you feel happy.  Ditch the guilt and quiet the voices.
  3. Time away from your career:  Taking a mat leave will effect your career or business – there is no doubt about that.  Your career and business will struggle during mat leave and afterwards for a bit. That’s inevitable!  Create a plan to figure out how you want to move up and keep your eyes on the prize.
  4. Plan when to have your babies:   There is no right time but having a solid handle on your finances will help.
  5. What motivates you to keep going in your career:  All the mom’s had really interesting reasons so I feel the need to share them all:
    • “I felt a need to do something just for me”
    • “I wanted to provide for my kids, give them the things I couldn’t have in my childhood”
    • my passion became my purpose”

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How to be a good mom? (it’s not what you think)

 

Who agrees with me that we should rename mothers day to Mother Figures day.

We need to be more understanding to the people who don’t have a mom, to the people who’s relationship with their mom is strained at best, to the people who dread this day because it makes them feel inferior, to the people who’s dad’s, grand parent, step parent, foster parent, aunt/uncle are mother figures, to the mom’s who just want a moment of quiet without the feelings of guilt and definitely to the mom’s who don’t think they are doing anything right (when they are actually doing everything right!)

If there is anything I’ve learned in the almost 5 years of being a mom is that it’s a thankless job.  It’s both exhilarating and anxiety inducing.  It’s a job where you have to be flexible and ready to change to keep growing and build something real.  It’s a job where you have to remain calm when everything is chaotic.  A job where transparent communication are critical to success.  A job where you have to lead with love (especially on the days you want to punch a wall or throw your coffee mug at a window).

But with all that said it doesn’t take a certain type of person, certain type of pregnancy, birth experience or even a certain type of upbringing to be a good mom.

To be a good mom you just have be a good human.

So if you are a good human or you know a good human who deserves a treat (mom, mom figure or non mom) hopefully you can find some inspiration below :)Mother Figures Gift Guide

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