Pomegranates are so worth the work to obtain those little juicy jewels of red seeds inside. I wonder how many Google searches are done during their ripe season of October and November for the best way to cut open a pomegranate? Millions? I wrote that in my best Austin Powers voice with my pinky finger at my mouth. See below, for reference 😂

21 week fetuses are about 10.5 inches long and are beginning to have more controlled movements, now that their arms and legs are proportionate. The amniotic fluid also tastes different each day depending on what mom eats. That’s one way to get your child to eats its’ vegetables, mama needs to eat hers too. No problem.

Pomegranate seeds, with all their antioxidant properties, are amazing just eaten as is, great atop a salad; but also can be cooked down into molasses. Although pomegranate molasses is thick and syrupy, it’s not overly sweet, it adds more of a tanginess. With just a little bit going a long ways. I’m sure you knew the recipe had to be pomegranate molasses because it’s shelf stable. And not only that, but my trusty Google source even says opened pomegranate molasses stays fresh in the pantry, or the USPS mail holding center (weather permitting). Same thing.

While researching what to make this week, I was super stoked to find this recipe because it also calls for dukkah; which I believe you were with me when I bought this herby nut blend at Trader Joe’s. And really, who am I kidding, aren’t you nearly always with me or me with you? Because this is an Australian recipe, the measurements differ from the United States. Not in the way that the UK does, with the good ol’ trusted metric system, using grams instead of cups, which actually makes total sense, by the way. But, did you know the Tablespoon in Australia is different from the Tablespoon in the United States? 20 mL compared to 14.8 mL. Mind blown. So I have done all the #maths (conversions) for you. You’re welcome.🙂 And who knows, it may not even make a noticeable difference- plus you’re so skilled at cooking without measuring anything anyways…. I’m not quite there yet!

www.sbs.com – Vegetarian Kofte with Pomegranate

Ingredients:

• 100 g bulgar
• 400g can lentils, drained and mashed
• 1 lemon, juiced and grated rind
• 2 Tbsp tahini
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1.5 Tbsp pomegranate molasses
• 1.5 Tbsp dukkah
• Salt
• Cooking spray

Method:

Place the bulgar with a large pinch of salt in a bowl and cover with about 3/4 cups of boiling water. Add the lemon zest and juice and stir. Put aside for 15-20 minutes, until the water has been absorbed.

Mix together the tahini, tomato paste and pomegranate molasses in a large bowl. Add the lentils and dukkah and mix well. When ready, add in the bulgar and mix until well combined. Taste and adjust the flavors if needed. Set aside for 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425°. Shape the mixture into 8 equal sized kofte, although I did not learn this shape in elementary school, I made do. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. The original recipe says cook for 7-8 minutes, turning once. You’re looking for a golden color and starting to brown around the edges. Was it because I doubled the recipe or did I make them too big? #bigkoftes Whatever the reason, it took a good 20 minutes of cook time.

These would be an amazing Mediterranean salad addition, eaten plain or as the original recipe suggests- in pita bread.

No surprise, I had it with a salad! Greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, artichokes, pomegranate seeds and homemade taziki!

Half way! Mid term. Half time. Center stage. Midstream. Mid race. This is it! Surprise! The big week of our #fakebabies gender reveal!

Couldn’t have planned it better if I tried. Week 20. Traditional time for the anatomy ultrasound, which generally coincides with finding out the gender. And since they’re the size of a banana…

• Is it a he?
• Is it a she?
• No, it’s a mon-key!!

Congrats baby monkey Mama!

Did you know that the baby’s inner ear is the only sense organ that is fully developed at birth? Time to crank up our 90’s dance music! Not only will they be foodies but music aficionados as well!

So, bananas. Another tricky food to find shelf stable. Thank goodness for Trader Joe’s and their freeze dried fruit selection.

And thank you to Google for allowing me to find this recipe. And I’d like to thank… Geez, I sound like I just won an Oscar.

Bananas are high in potassium helping with leg cramps. They’re also high in carbs, increasing as they ripen. Whereas green bananas are starch resistant with many health benefits, such as providing good bacteria for your gut to feed on. Alas, this recipe calls for regular, ripe, freeze dried yellow bananas. It’s okay, it’s for the #fakebabies

I was stoked to find this recipe, and in keeping with tradition, I did tweak it a bit, and I renamed it, because how could I not name it Monkey Balls? It all ties together so nicely.

www.oatandsesame.com – Monkey Balls

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp honey

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 cup freeze dried bananas

1/4 cup almond flour

2 tsp ground flax seed

1.5 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

Method:

Place the bananas in a Ziploc bag and beat with a rolling pin. You could put them in a food processor, but as the waiter said in NOLA, that takes the heart and soul out of it. And when else can you just beat something with a rolling pin?

Separate 2 Tbsp of the crushed bananas and mix with 1 tsp cinnamon and salt in a small bowl. This is for dusting the rolled balls. (Haha, I said “dusting the balls.”)

In another bowl, mix together the remaining crushed bananas, almond flour, flax seed and 1/2 tsp cinnamon.

In a third bowl, mix together the peanut butter, honey and vanilla. Now mix the 2nd bowl of dry ingredients with this bowl of wet ingredients until you get a nice dough.

I used a Tablespoon for consistency and rolled them into balls, then rolled them in the banana/cinnamon coating, you know, “dusted the balls.”

Week 19…. And you’re home! Now it seems extra silly to be doing this while you’re just 1.5 miles away from me. But, since I’m on a streak; can’t stop, won’t stop!

The world wide web says our #fakebabies are the size of a mango, which is 6 inches (that’s 1/2 foot, whoah! #maths) and is already weighing a whopping half a pound! Speaking of mangos… In some ways this just feels like yesterday and in others a million years ago of the mango (well, it actually might have been a papaya…. mango, papaya – similar-ish) we shared in Hawaii, when you stuck your spoon up my nose?!?! 😂

Which, if memory serves correctly, this is kind of a thing… Hello Iceland Air?!?

Okay, back to business…. mangos are also comparable in size to the alien in the claw machine from Toy Story, well, if that isn’t frightening… I don’t know what is. #afaceonlyamothercouldlove

Mangos are high in Vitamins A and C and are great in deserts, salads and savory dishes. Since I’m using the freeze dried mangos from Trader Joe’s, desert it is!

Mango Coconut Whipped Cream

Ingredients:

• 1 bag freeze dried mangos
• 1 can coconut milk

Method:

Place can of coconut milk in the fridge overnight. Then 10 minutes before you start making the whipped cream, place the mixing bowl in there too.

Pulvarize 1/2 bag of mangos in your food processor, although cook’s discretion on how mango-y you want the flavor. I did half.

Scoop out all the solid coconut milk and place in cooled bowl and whip until smooth, then add in the mango dust. And whip again until your desired consistency.

And wal-la! Easy peasy!! Mango Coconut Whipped Cream*!

*tastes better than it looks 😉

I topped coconut muffins with it. And here’s the recipe for that

www.healthyrecipeblogs.com – Coconut Flour Muffins

Stay tuned for Week 20…it’s going to be epic ♥️

The dog days of summer…or opposite would be of Alaskan winters. Yes, this week it’s all about man’s best friend. More specifically your doggies. Changing things up with a fun treat for my fury friends. Coinciding so nicely with Lexi’s birthday.. She was my guinea pig and got to try them first, but isn’t it comforting knowing her brother and sister will be able to share the same treat?

Yawning and hiccuping are two new tricks babies at 18 weeks have mastered. Similar to the length of a sweet potato the #fakebabies are 5.5 inches long and are weighing between 5-6.5 ounces.

Sweet potatoes are high in fiber and beta carotene. They’re a popular and slightly healthier substitute to the regular potato with many cooking applications. Even with all the fancy recipes out there, my favorite way is just simply slicing them to roast with coconut oil. But, oh what fun it was to make these dog treats using canned, pureed sweet potatoes. I think when you know how much someone or some-dog will enjoy it, it adds so much more joy to the cooking process.

Following this recipe for the birthday girl.

www.allrecipes.com – Sweet Potato Dog Treats

Ingredients:

• 1 cup canned sweet potatoes
• 2.5 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup applesauce(unsweetened)

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350°
• Mix all ingredients together, to get a nice dough

• Roll out on floured surface, until about 1/2 inch thick
• I used a bone shaped cookie cutter to cut out, then placed on stone
• Bake for 35-45 minutes
• Let cool for 10 minutes, then move to wire rack

And of course I tried a bite, you know how much I like dog and/or cat food😉

Dog tasted and approved! Happy Birthday Lexi! And happy 18 weeks to the #fakebabies!