Crunchy Sweet Brussel Sprout Salad

We had this as a side for dinner tonight. YUMMO!!! I was wishing I had brought it for Thanksgiving. It was delish.

Crunchy Sweet Brussel Sprout Salad

1 Pound Fresh Brussel Sprouts
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg
Kosher Salt and Black Pepper
1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts
1/2 Dried Cranberries

Shred Sprouts by removing the core and thinly slicing. Warm oil over med. heat. Add sprouts, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Cook until bright and slightly wilted (2-3 min). Add walnuts and cranberries and toss to combine. Serve!

For original recipe click HERE. Thank you food network! Hope your Thanksgivings were Wonderful!

--Ashlee

Dip

Another Melissa recipe....Dip! You can change this up any way you want. Add or take away. The sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, lemon juice and water is the base...don't change that.

1 cup raw sunflower seed

1/2 sesame seed (or hemp seed..another super food)

juice from two lemons or lime (if you use lime you may need to use 3)

about 1/4 cup water

2 tbsp maca powder (optional. this is a super food)


to taste...about 1 tsp or maybe more.. (use fresh if you can but dried will do the job. i use dried because fresh is expensive).

thyme

chives (a lot)

rosemary

sage

put in food processor or a blender will do the job, until smooth. This is a yummy veggie dip.

I sometimes use garlic, green onion, basil etc. The sky is the limit.

Crisp

Here is something a Melissa recipe. I think it is yummy and will help with those chocolate cravings that we all have.

2/3 flax (I use 1/3 ground up and 1/3 seeds. you can grind it all up is you want. Costco has ground up flax for way cheep).

1/2 tsp sea salt

a few squirts of Agave or Honey

1/4 cup cocoa or cacao

Mix by hand

You want it to be like cookie dough that is a little dry. You can make it more wet if you want. That is up to you.

Cut up an apple or pair, scoop it right out of the bowl with your sliced up fruit and eat. I love this!

Get Well Green Smoothie

Hello friends! We are sick. AGAIN!!! It took me a really long time to get over being sick in Utah and I woke up this morning with a disgusting nose and sore throat! Darn it, darn it, darn it!

I totally know why this has happened though. I have been eating horribly! I am going to partially blame the pregnancy... (yes you all know so I can talk about it) because I have truly only been able to stomach VERY mild things like mashed potatoes, white breads etc. Whole grains, fruits and veggies etc. have been so hard for me to eat. But I decided today that I cannot cater to those things anymore. It is messing with my whole body and I need to get back to eating well. I will make it work! I WILL!

Thank you guys for continuing this blog and our nutritional conversations. It has been a long time since I have done any research and felt motivated to eat healthily, and our recent conversations have really helped. I am feeling more excited again and I am ready to get back on track!

I have started already in fact. I read up on green smoothies and raw foods yesterday. I have decided that we are going to start eating green smoothies frequently for breakfast. I think my goal will be 4-5 times a week for now. We'll see how it goes. Baby steps right? We started today with a smoothie of my own concoction that I am hoping will help us "get well," hence the name.

Get Well Green Smoothie

The "Meat," of one Pineapple, chopped
2 Bananas, peeled and chopped
2 Oranges, peeled but with a generous amount of pith left on (that stuff is good for you!) and chopped
1 bunch of Lacinato Kale, stems removed, chopped
8 ounces of water

Blend, chill and serve. (Warning: If you don't have a large capacity blender I would do it in batches! Also: if you are scared of the Kale I would do a bit less to start out with. We really liked it with that much in, but if you have picky eaters I would start out with a bit less until they warm up to that kind of flavor)

I was so blessed at the store today. I ended up getting my Kale organic and for only a dollar! Can you believe it? Also the pineapple was the already peeled kind in a container also on super-mega sale. I was so thrilled!

To get the boys to agree to drink a green smoothie (they are great about healthy food, but I knew the green would freak 'em out... and I was right.) We had a big exciting talk in the morning about a new drink that would make us healthy and strong like Superheroes! And it's even a crazy color! We are going to have it a lot for breakfast now and if we keep drinking them we will get so strong! Etc. Etc. I don't feel like I was lying. I absolutely believe there is a correlation to how you feel, your health and well being etc. with what you choose to eat. Don't we all? So ANYWAY- we made a big deal about it, went to the store and bought ingredients to last us for the rest of the week, and I even bought some cheap "special superhero glasses," that we will drink them out of. Then I was totally honest with them about what they were eating. They watched me make it. I wanted them to know that Kale could taste delicious. I didn't want to hide it from them. They were worried when they saw how it looked, but once they smelled it they were good to try it. Jack drank his and flexed his muscles and said he felt stronger.

So far it's sitting in my tummy pretty well. Wish me luck!

Last note: This made a LOT of smoothie. More than enough for the 4 of us.

Raw Chocolate Pudding

This is yummy and super healthy. You can eat it just as pudding or for dipping fruit. Enjoy! This recipe is from, "All Recipes.com". I love that site.

Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients

* 1 avocado - peeled, pitted, and cut into chunks
* 1 banana, peeled and cut into chunks
* 1 cup unsweetened soy milk
* 1/4 cup raw cocoa powder
* 2 tablespoons agave nectar
* 1 teaspoon lemon juice
* 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut (optional)

You can even sprinkle a little cinnamon on top (optional)


Directions

1. Place avocado, banana, soy milk, cocoa powder, agave nectar, lemon juice, and coconut into a blender. Cover, and puree until smooth. Divide into small containers, and store in the refrigerator 1 hour until set.

Tomato Soup

I finally found a tomato soup recipe that I like. I have tried... no joke.. 4 recipes before this... all of which were horrible. I think the difference is that in this one there is more than just tomato. If any of you have a recipe for tomato soup I would LOVE to try it. We liked this one a lot, but if you had a good one you use I would want to know about it!

Tomato Soup - Family Fun

1 Tablespoon Butter
1 Onion, Chopped
3 Stalks of Celery, Chopped
1 Carrot, Chopped
3 Cloves Garlic, Chopped
1 28oz Can Tomatoes with Juice
2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
1 Teaspoon Oregano (I used more)
6 Cups Veggie Broth
2 Teaspoons Sugar
Salt and Pepper
Fresh or Dried Basil
1 Cup Milk (optional)

Melt butter in large pot. Saute onion, celery and carrots until soft. Add garlic and cook 1 more min. Add tomatoes, paste, oregano, broth and sugar. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30 min uncovered stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Blend in batches in blender or food processor. Return to pot. Season with Salt, Pepper and Basil. Stir in milk if using.

We used the milk and liked how creamy it was even with just skim.

Sorry to post 2 days in a row! I just made this last night and wanted to share. Katie... Whitney... it's your turn for a recipe I believe!

--Ashlee

An Alternative Snobby Joe

Hey guys! Emily already posted a really yummy snobby joe recipe that uses lentils. I wanted to give you the one we use which uses black beans. I just basically stole Rachel Ray's sauce (and changed a couple of ingredients) and then substituted beans for meat. This is a family favorite at our house:

Ashlee's Snobby Joes

1 tablespoon olive oil
A few slices of onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped (red is best... green will do)
1 tablespoon-ish mustard (I just give it a good squeeze)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons (I like less) steak seasoning blend (we use McCormick Montreal)
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained

Heat oil. Saute onion and pepper. Add all other ingredients and simmer for a few minutes.

Eat on Buns with:

Pickle Slices
Tomato Slices
Barbeque Sauce

Yumm.

Random thought: I recently switched from packaged, pre-chopped garlic to fresh. I am loving my new life. Do any of you have an opinion on that?

Random thought #2: I don't think I'm going to the trouble of adding color etc. on my posts anymore. I'm boring.

Juice, "Morning Sun"

You need a juicer for this one. If you don't have a juicer I highly recommend getting one. It does not need to be fancy. I promise you will love it! I have been juicing for 7 months now. I have one to two juice a day and I LOVE,LOVE, LOVE IT!

My new favorite juice is from a book called, "Living Raw Food", by Sarma Melngailis .

"Morning Sun"

4 medium oranges, peeled
1 Apple
1 Pear
4 Cups pineapple (or one large can seems to do the trick)
one 1inch know of ginger
2 tsp honey

mix honey in after all fruit is juiced.

Enjoy!

Raw Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies with Raw Cashew Cream Cheese Frosting and Easy bake Banana Cookies

Raw Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies with raw cashew cream cheese

Cookie

1 3/4 c almond meal
...1/2 cup pumpkin
1 dash cayenne pepper ( optional)
1 Tbsp Cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1 cup Raisins
1/4 cup water
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 cup coconut oil
1/8 cup agave nectar of honey
1/4 cup chopped nuts

Put in food processor until dough like. add chocolate chips and more raisins. place in food dehydrator about 108-116 degrees for 2-4 hours, desired texture. I did mine for 2 1/2 hours. I like them a little soft. If desired, put cream cashew cream cheese on top of cookie and eat.

Chocolate chips

Need rolling-pin, pizza cutter, mixing bowl and spoon

1 cup cocoa
4 Tbsp Agave nectar or honey
2 Tbsp cup coconut oil
2 tsp vanilla

Mix chocolate by hand. Place on wax paper, fold wax paper over the chocolate, roll chocolate out
place in freezer for 20 minutes, take out of freezer, peel back wax paper, cut chocolate into bit size pieces.

Cashew cream cheese

Soak cashews in a bowl of water for 4 hours before making cream cheese.

1 C cashews
1/8 cup water
6 Tbsp honey
Juice from one tangerine or half and orange
1 tsp vanilla

Put in food processor until well mixed. NO chunks.
Put in fridge. You can put this on top of cookies. So yummy!



Banana Cookies

2 1/2 cup oats (you can use gluten free. best price i have found is sun flower market $5.99 for two pounds)
3-4 bananas
1/4 cup canola oil, olive oil, coconut oil (the type of oil is up to you and your taste buds)
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt (optional)

Bake 400 8-10 minutes

I like to add chocolate chips and raisins. If using coconut oil I like to add coconut, craisins and chocolate chips. The sky is the limit.

Lots of Love,

Emily

An Indulgent Sunday Breakfast

Hello veggie loving darlings. Our breakfast this morning was good. SO good. Way better than I thought it would be actually. It looks like just another breakfast bar, but we thought it was very special. Try it if you like. I call it indulgent because it has more sugar than we all would like, but there are a lot of great things in it too- and my kids won't eat nuts, but they loved this, so I figure it's worth it. Promise me if you try it that you won't healthify it too much. I know, I know. We all LOVE to do that to recipes- but just don't with this one will ya?

And to give credit where credit is due this recipe is from Ellie Krieger over at the Food Network. I got two of her cookbooks from the library and am absolutely in love. She's their "healthy," chef and for the most part I think she does a truly great job. I got the books "So Easy," and "The Food You Crave," (which is a collection of favorite recipes made healthy. Tonight we are trying her macaroni and cheese which has 20 ounces of pureed winter squash in it, and significantly less cheese than normal recipes... it's baking as we speak and smelling SO good)

Walnut and Dried Cherry Bars

1 cup quick cooking oats
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup toasted wheat germ (I toasted normal wheat germ in a pan over med heat for a few minutes- worth the extra effort in my opinion)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey (okay I didn't put the entire 1/2 cup but it was close)
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg, beaten
1 egg white
3/4 cup chopped dried cherries or cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup fruit only apricot preserves

Preheat to 350. Spray 8x8 pan. Stir dry together. Stir wet together until well combined. Stir walnuts and dried fruit in wet. Stir wet into dry until well combined. Spread in pan. Bake 30-35 min. When bars are nearly done heat preserves in small saucepan until runny. When bars come out immediately spread preserves on top. Cool and cut into bars.

They are very filling so one bar and a piece of fruit is a very satisfying breakfast! Yumm! And for pete's sake do NOT cut the preserves out of the equation. That was a stroke of genius!

Apple Crisp

It has been way to long! I have a recipe and it is not healthy but it is the best apple crisp I have ever eaten in my life. The recipe is similar to others but it is the way you prepare it that make is so dang good. Almost cookie like. You can use apples, peaces, pears etc.. for the fruit.

8-10 Apples- Peeled and sliced
3/4 cup white sugar
1 Tbsp flour
cinnamon (as much as you want)

1 1/2 Cups oatmeal
1 Cup butter (you can use Earth Balance butter (vegan) if you want)
1 Cup brown Sugar
1 1/2 Cup Flour

Put sliced apples in bottom of glass 9x13 pan, mix sugar, cinnamon and tbsp of flour and sprinkle over apples.

In bowl , mix oatmeal, softened/melted butter , brown sugar and flour.

Mixture will get lumpy and sticky (like cookie dough).

Drop clumps of mixture over apples- don't smooth out.

Bake 350
30-40 minutes

This is so yummy and perfect for the fall.

Enjoy!

Summer Mango Salad

Make this before summer leaves us till next year!

Mango Summer Salad

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
1/2 tsp minced fresh chile
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 T fresh lime juice
2 tsp brown sugar
2 T unsweetened dried shredded coconut
1 mango, peeled and diced
1 small red bell pepper, minced

fresh cilantro or spearmint leaves

In a large bowl, combine everything but the cilantro. Cover and chill for 15-20 minutes and serve cold or at room temperature. Just before serving, top with cilantro. Serve as a salsa-style dip with chips or as a quesadilla topping on a tortilla with shredded lettuce and beans or cheese.

My friend Linda made this for my family a few sundays ago and we loved it! We had it just as a side dish without chips or on top of anything. It was delish!

Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

I promise you will love this. Plus Quinoa is so good for you. Google it if you don't know about it. Very high in protein etc.

1 1/2 cups quinoa
1 1/2 cups black beans, drained and rinsed (I used 2 cups)
1 1/2 Tbs red wine vinegar
1 1/2 cups corn, fresh, canned, or frozen (I used frozen without cooking them to keep their enzymes intact)
1 red bell pepper
4 scallions, chopped (I used 6)
1 garlic clove, minced (jar of chopped garlic was in my fridge)
1/4 cup fresh coriander leaves, chopped ( i used a tsp of coriander seed powder)
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/3 cup olive oil (I used 2 Tbs)

Rinse* quinoa in a fine sieve under cold running water. Put quinoa into a pot with 2 1/4 cups water. Bring to a boil**, then cover and simmer 20 minutes, or until water is absorbed. Fluff it a bit with a fork now and then to keep it from sticking. While quinoa is cooking, toss the beans, vinegar, corn, bell pepper, scallions, garlic and coriander in a large bowl. In another small bowl, whisk the lime juice, salt and cumin and pour in the oil while whisking. When quinoa is done cooking, toss it with the beans and vegetables. Then, drizzle the lime mixture over quinoa and vegetables and toss well. Serve warm or at room temperature. (I like it better the next day when all the tastes have had a chance to combine and be absorbed.)

I am back!

I have not posted for a while. Man Moving is hard and messes up everything. I will post a yummy recipe soon.

Hope all is well in baby land.

Love,

Emily

Bountiful Baskets

Okay, so I don't know if I'm the last person on the planet to know about this......but in case you guys don't already, I discovered the coolest thing this week. It's the Bountiful Baskets food co-op. How it works: on Monday you visit www.bountifulbaskets.org and place your order. Each basket is $15 with a $3 first time basket fee; occasionally there are add-ons - this week it was bread, granola, tortillas, or an extra order of produce specifically for mexican dishes. You must order at least one basket to get any add-ons, and I think you can order up to three baskets.

Then, on Saturday, you go to your local pickup site, (selected at the time of order) and get your basket. Guys, this is a seriously good deal. For $15 I got a full laundry basket full of produce. There were bananas, peaches, strawberries, canteloupe, grapes and pears, celery, carrots, tomatoes, bell peppers, lettuce, and broccoli. I meant to take a picture of all I got for that steal of a deal, but didn't. Anyway, suffice it to say that it is a great deal. And I thought I'd share it with my veggie lovin' friends in case you didn't already know about it, because this is perfect for us, right? It also runs year round too! One thing to note, the baskets sell out fast, so make sure to get on the site as soon as it opens for the week. I think in Utah it's 8:00 pm on Mondays.

Dear Emily

Would you please post that Chocolate Zucchini Cake for us? I need a good healthyish snack :)

Much Love,

Ashlee

Ratatouille's Ratatouille

Last night we were invited to a friends house for a BBQ and guess what?!? They didn't serve meat. She asked if my kids would eat hot dogs... wherein I was obliged to explain our eating habits... and she was nicer than anyone I have ever had to explain it to. Then when we got there she had prepared all these amazing veggie dishes. They were SO good. We had THIS Ratatouille recipe served on top of couscous and topped with a little sour cream (the recipe called for goat cheese but that stuff is gross so she substitued sour cream. It was really good but I would call it optional... Corey had his without). and I told her I MUST have that recipe. I will never make my recipe of Ratatouille again. This one was SO good. Anyway I wanted to share it with ya'll seein' how I love ya so much! I am wondering if she substituted tomato sauce for crushed tomatoes... but I think it would be delish either way. Also I think she just covered with tin foil instead of doing the paper. Whatever. It was great!

Hope you're all having a lovely morning!

PS- I think I am going to have to peruse Smitten Kitchen a bit more... her recipes look great!

Veggie Burgers

Ash has an awesome Black Bean burger recipe that is an Ashlee Original, and it is delicious, I just found a new one that we like a lot too, so I wanted to share.

I found it from Allrecipes, and I am never really sure if it is ok to just copy and paste someone else's hard work, so I am going to link over to it and give credit where credit is due and then put the whole thing on here too...just so we don't have to go jumping from one site to the other.

We really liked this burger. It stayed together really well. We most recently had ours with corn on the cob, seasoned oven fries, and strawberry and raspberry salad. Delicious!

I do have to say one more thing. I have a hard time getting my 'veggie burgers' or 'black bean burgers' to be the right consistency. I really liked the idea of the rice in this recipe to help it stay together a bit. Also, it give it a bit more protein, and there is not a ton in there, but it seemed like just enough to keep it together a tad better.

Recipe from Allrecipes.com
Best of Everything Veggie Burger

1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
1 cup water

2 (16 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained (I found if I let mine dry for a bit, it works better too)
1 green bell pepper, halved and seeded (I used an orange pepper, I loved the added color)
1 onion, quartered
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (I used WAY more mushrooms than this :))
(also, I think that really any veggie that you want to add will work, I have had veggie burgers with corn and other things added as well.)
6 cloves garlic, peeled
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (we omitted the cheese, We normally like to have a slice melted on the bun that we are using)
2 eggs
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon hot sauce (Ok, this is where I always use my own seasoning. I didn't follow this at all. I used a BBQ seasoning rub, and it was delicious! Probably more sodium, but we didn't use a ton of it, and it was really good)
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs, or as needed

Bring the brown rice and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender, and the liquid has been absorbed, 45 to 50 minutes.

Mash black beans in a large bowl with a fork until thick and pasty; set aside.
Place the bell pepper, onion, mushrooms, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor, and chop finely. Stir the bell pepper mixture into the mashed black beans.

Place the brown rice into the black beans and mix. (the original recipe says to food process the cheese and the beans, we didn't do this)

(We like ours chunky. I didn't food process anything, I just chopped everything really fine, and added it into the black beans. I added the rice whole as well.)

Whisk together the eggs, chili powder, cumin, garlic salt, and hot sauce. Stir the egg mixture into the black bean mixture. Stir in the bread crumbs, adding additional bread crumbs as needed until the mixture is sticky and holds together.

Divide into 6 large patties.

To bake the patties: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and lightly oil a baking sheet. Place patties on baking sheet, and bake about 10 minutes on each side.

We almost always serve our sandwiches or burgers with sliced red onions, red leaf or romaine lettuce, sliced tomato, avocado, sprouts, and mayo and mustard.

So, after reading over the recipe the original way, and the way we did it, that might be the reason I have a hard time having my burgers stay together or be the right consistency, I change things up too much! ha! Ah well, these ones worked really well for us! :D

Burton Breakfast Hash

Hey guys! It's MEEEEEE blogging from my HOOOOMMMEEE! I wasn't without the internet that long but it sure felt like it. I will not normally be posting during the day, I will save the computer for when the boys go down at night, but I couldn't resist doing one tinsy post before I head off to work, just for the pure joy of POSTING again.

This particular recipe (an Ashlee Original) is dedicated to Katie:

Burton Breakfast Hash - serves all 4 in my family with a little leftover

4 medium russet potatoes
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/3-1/2 cup onion, chopped finely
4 tablespoons minced garlic
1 bell pepper, diced
2 eggs
Kosher Salt and Black Pepper
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained

Wash, dry, and chop potatoes (skins on) into small cubes. Rinse and pat dry with towel. Spread on microwave safe plate and microwave for 8 minutes until they are just fork tender stirring once during cooking to ensure the guys in the middle get cooked as much as the guys on the outside. (they will cook more later so don't get them ALL the way done).

Meanwhile, heat half of the oil in a large nonstick pan on med heat. Add onions and cook till soft. Add garlic and cook 1 min. till fragrant. Add bell pepper and cook 2-3 min more. Break eggs over the veggies and scramble. Remove from pan and set aside.

Heat remaining oil over med to med-high heat. Turn pan to coat with oil. Add potatoes when they are done in the microwave. Fry potatoes in pan stirring occasionally to brown all sides of the potatoes. Season with Salt and Pepper. When potatoes are done frying add the set aside egg/veggie mixture and black beans. Heat through.

Serve with:
Salsa
Sour Cream
Hot Sauce
Barbeque Sauce

Aly and I do a dollup of SCream and Salsa, Jack does strictly BBQ Sauce, and Corey does HSauce and Salsa.

We love this for breakfast and occasionally have it for dinner. Yumm!

Okay, I'm Not Done Yet.....

See, what did I tell you? I can't stop! I just wanted to let you know, (if anyone is seriously considering the big switch) that I think I've found a new favorite diaper. And it wasn't mentioned at all last post, so it deserves it now.
Ta-da! Isn't that the cutest thing ever?!! Okay, I really struggle with this, because I know in my head, it's going under pants so what does it matter? But I can't help myself anyway. See, the truth is, you only save money on cloth diapers if you can stop buying them. But then they come out with new styles and prints, and they know they've got the suckers like me out there.

Anyway, in all seriousness, this is one of the Thirsties Duo Diapers. This happens to be the Alice Brights print. Let me tell you why these diapers rock. They are the pocket style that I told you before I love so much, but here's the cool parts:

1. The pocket has an opening in the front and the back. This is cool for two reasons. You can stuff from whichever end floats your boat, and......are you ready for this.......you don't have to un-stuff the diaper after it's been used. The inserts agitate out in the wash. (Note: I haven't actually tested that feature out. I'm in the habit of pulling out my inserts anyway, and haven't dared tempt the fates, but I haven't heard one complaint that it's not true. I'm just paranoid.)
2. It comes with two inserts as do most pocket diapers; one is the usual microfiber terry, but the other is hemp! So you get the extra absorbency at no extra cost, (although you can still stuff extra if you wish). This is nice because not only is hemp more absorbent, it's a more "trim" material; making the diaper thinner and a better fit under pants. Again, make sure the hemp insert is furthest away from baby's bum. I forgot that once. Won't do it again. :)
   
3. This is a "two-size" diaper. Meaning, it comes in two different sizes that adjust further for a better fit than your typical one-size diaper.
4. This diaper comes in the absolute cutest colors and prints ever. Really, if this diaper doesn't make you want to switch, nothing will.
5. Price point. This is one of the most reasonably priced diapers I've found. Especially considering all Thirsties products are made right here in the U.S.A. MSRP for these is $18.50 for solid colors and $19.50 for prints, but if you click on the link found above, this store offers them for $17.50 and $18.50 respectively. And again, look for package deals. They're out there. I know, I know, this sounds like a lot for one diaper, especially considering you do have to buy two sizes, (still better than perfect size diapers, which usually have 4-5 sizes). But, I think this is one of the highest quality diapers out there, and (remember the hemp insert that comes standard?) this diaper is comparable in price to the BumGenius 3.0 mentioned in the last post. Way cooler diaper for the same price. (Note: BG 3.0 has been discontinued as of like yesterday. If you had your heart set on those, better act fast. There is a buy 5 get 1 free promotion going on. And watch for something cool to come from BG to replace it. I'm hoping for something to rival the Duo.)
6. I almost forgot! How could I? Leg gussets! Okay, I know that sounds like a silly term. See the photo below? See around the leg openings that extra bit of fabric? That my friends, is a leg gusset, and it is the best thing ever for containing blow-outs. Other diapers have a bit of bunching fabric around the elastic casing and call it a leg gusset in the photo, (see BG image from last post) but it's nothing compared to these babies.
   

In short, if I was a rich lady, I'd buy a whole stash of these in girly colors for my new babe to be and Paige.....and then buy them all over again in boy colors someday, but alas.....I'll have to save up or trade in to get any more. My diaper budget has capped out for the moment.

Thanks for tolerating my diaper posts. ;) It's good for me to get it out here. Brandon's tired of hearing about my uber-enthusiasm. He can only get so excited about a "poop-sack" as he terms them.

And bear with my technologically un-savvyness. And my grammar. I tried changing some font sizes and it changed more than I wanted and I can't figure out how to fix it. And I didn't dare do the color thing, because, well.....you saw what happened last post.