Avocado Chicken Salad

1.5-2 cups cooked shredded chicken

1.5 large avocados

Juice of one lime

1/4 cup plain yogurt

Cilantro

Pepper

Salt

Purple onion (optional)

I slightly adjusted this recipe from my friend, Sharon. Serve on toasted Ezekiel bread, pretzel bun, or as a dip with whole grain crackers, pita chips, even tortilla chips, veggies or spread on a tortilla. Play around with it and add salsa or pico for some kick or roasted corn or black beans for texture.

Sprinkle pepper on chicken. Add remaining ingredients and stir.

No Bake Energy Bites

Thinking about good nutrition for Daxon has made me think more about what I put in my own body, so I have been making an effort to eat clean. I've been replacing unhealthy desserts in my diet with these delicious balls made with more natural ingredients.

1 cup uncooked oatmeal 

1/3 cup chocolate chips (mini or chopped)

1/2 cup nut butter (I used fresh ground almond butter)

1/2 cup ground flaxseed 

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup chia seeds

1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Using your hands, form into balls. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Pineapple Salsa Chicken

1 pound chicken breasts

1 jar salsa

1 can black beans (optional)

Diced zucchini 

1 can pineapple with juice or frozen pineapple chunks

Place chicken in crock pot. Pour salsa on top. Top with beans if using. Cook on high 4-6 hours or low 6-8 hours. One hour before eating add zucchini and pineapple with juice if needed.

Shred chicken and serve on your choice of tortillas (I use Ezekiel sprouted grain tortillas) as tacos or quesadillas with toppings such as avocado, sour cream, cilantro, extra salsa or poco de gallo.

Reese's S'mores

Our good friends Jenna and Jamie and son Kayde came over for a BBQ and to watch the Royals game on our patio. Jenna brought this delicious s'mores dip that Dax and I helped her assemble and bake. It is the perfect summer dessert!

1 bag (12 ounces) mini Reese's peanut butter cups

1 package large marshmallows

1 box graham crackers

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a 9 inch pie plate, unwrap Reese's and line them up in the bottom of the pie plate. They should cover the bottom. Place marshmallows on top, sitting on their ends and touching each other. Bake for eight minutes. Watch them closely - they could burn in a split second.

Use graham crackers to scoop up the melty, chocolatey, peanut buttery goodness.

Baby Food Bananas

I used about 6 bananas which made 1 1/2 ice cube trays. I'm starting to think I'm filling these trays a little full since the serving size says 1 tablespoon. Oops! As you can see I have no clue what I'm doing with baby food yet since my baby hasn't started on it.

I used Kerigold Irish butter which you can get at Costco. It is an all natural butter made from grass fed cows milk. There are a lot of issues with dairy lately which is evident in the high number of dairy allergies or intolerances, especially in infants. The physical therapist that teaches the Baby Massage classes Dax and I go to believes it is due to how ultra pasteurized our dairy is. Not only is the bad stuff being killed but the good as well. It is also better to consume dairy from grass fed cows. She recommended this butter.

1/3 very ripe banana

1 teaspoon butter

Cut up bananas and sauté in butter until soft, about 2 minutes. Mash with a fork. You can add breast milk or formula if it is too thick.

Baby Food Pears

My friend Sara is a working mom of a two year old and a baby two weeks younger than Dax and made all her own baby food. She let me borrow her book, The Best Homemade Baby Food on the Planet by Knight and Ruggiero. I know it is going to be tough for me to balance being a working mom, and I want to give Dax the healthiest start I can. So I decided to start trying out some of the baby food recipes so they'll be ready to go in the freezer when Dax starts solid foods.

I used Derrick's new Ninja blender that his mom got him for his birthday. It worked perfectly! Glad Dax will fill his belly with this fruit loaded with vitamin C, potassium, and fiber.

This recipe is best using sweet (such as Bartlett, Anjou, or Bosc), ripe pears. I used four and it made one ice cube tray.

Wash, peel, and cut up the pears. On a plate, microwave until soft, about 5 minutes on high. Cool and blend until puréed, about 30 seconds.

Chicken Parmesan Bake

This Pinterest recipe turned out delicious. Packed with flavor and so moist! This and some steamed veggies will be a great dinner for us post-baby when I'm working on getting my body back! :)

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/2 fresh Parmesan cheese, plus more for the top

1 1/2 teaspoons seasoning salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray a 9x13 glass pan. (I used 4 chicken breasts and used an 8x8 pan.) Lay the chicken in the pan. Mix the remaining ingredients (I used 3/4 cup yogurt with 4 chicken breasts.) Spread yogurt mixture over the chicken, covering all of it so it doesn't dry out. Sprinkle some extra Parmesan on top.

Bake 45 minutes, uncovered. Reheats well in the microwave.