Friday, July 24, 2015

Carrot Mac & Cheese

carrot mac

This is the easiest Mac & Cheese ever!!  You only need 3 ingredients and it is perfect for babies and toddlers.  It falls apart and is easy for little hands or little forks. 

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You Need:

- Carrots (1 cup pureed – about 6 carrots)

- Pasta (2 cups dry)

- Cheese (I cup grated or cubed)

Seriously, that’s it!

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Peel and steam the carrots then put them in a blender or use an immersion blender to create a carrot puree.

Cook the pasta.

While the pasta is still hot, drain the water out and throw in the carrot puree and the cheese.

Mix it all together and you are done!

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You can serve it right away or put it in individual portions and freeze. 

I used an ice cream scoop (perfect portion for a toddler).  Put down some wax paper on a cookie sheet, make sure the mac & cheese scoops aren’t touching.   

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Put it in the freezer overnight.  Put the frozen portions in a ziplock bag and pull one out at a time for a quick lunch or dinner. 

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Yum!

little hand

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Treadmill desk

Since I have been working from home I have dreamed of having a walking desk or treadmill desk. But, I'm cheap. Too cheap to buy one, until recently.
I started with a cheap stationary bike and jimmied up the handle bars to hold my iPad. This worked ok, but not very well. The toddler kept messing with my high tech jimmied work and since it is an upright bike I move around too much to type. So I could watch a webinar or something, but not really work. Maybe I just move around too much. 
In any event I bit the bullet this summer and purchased a light duty treadmill. I went back and forth on a few models before settling on this one http://www.amazon.com/Confidence-Power-Motorized-Electric-Treadmill/dp/B004TGWUPE/ref=lp_3407831_1_2?s=exercise-and-fitness&ie=UTF8&qid=1436332379&sr=1-2. It gets great reviews for working as a walking treadmill or for a walking desk. It is NOT for running. It is very narrow and a very jostling stop. It also turns off every 30 minutes. But it is affordable, compact and light weight. I would love it more it if folded easily. 
The second step in my master plan was to find a desk or shelf for it. I found a ton of ideas online. But they were either too expensive or too much work. I don't need a full blown desk, I just want a mini desk of sorts. Just for light computer work. This is what I ended up finding. http://www.walmart.com/ip/16503526
My plan was to get some pvc pipe to make legs. But as it worked out, I was able to simply zip tie it to my treadmill. 

Tada! Please ignore the junk on my floor. 
Now, I have not lost 50 lbs or anything but I really enjoy using this. I've been catching up on webinars while getting a few extra steps. Once the kiddo is back to preschool (and not asking to join me on the treadmill every 7.8 seconds) I hope to schedule a morning walk on it while reviewing my emails.