Coconut Chocolates

There's only  one thing I like more than chocolate and that's chocolate that's almost healthy!

A friend of mine made me some chocolates with coconut oil, cocoa and maple syrup. I was sold! The super dark chocolate. The way they melted in my mouth. I was beyond addicted. So naturally I wanted to make them myself.

My first several attempts were total flops. But good chocolate is worth fighting for so I finally perfected my method and have come up with a recipe ready to be shared and loved!

Coconut Chocolates

• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
• 3/4 cup Cocoa Powder
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon Grade B Maple Syrup
  
  Heat oil and syrup on medium low until oil is melted. Remove from heat and add cocoa powder. Whisk until smooth. Put 2 tsp in mini muffin papers or candy liners. Set in the refrigerator or freezer until set. Devour.
  
  Helpful hints:
• Low and slow is key. Don't rush the process!
• The oil and syrup must be the same temperature when you mix them if you decide not to heat them together. I have ruined so many of these by dumping cold syrup in the warm oil. This results in a harder, less smooth and melty chocolate. They still taste good but do not have the irresistable texture I love so much. 
• I have used Hershey's cocoa powder and Trader Joe's. Hershey's seems to been smoother but I know some have concerns with it not being Fair Trade. I am unsure of the status of TJ's but the cocoa is a little bit grainier.
• I have added essential oils to these. Adding peppermint makes them taste just like Andes mints. Yum! Orange oil is also good if you like that flavor combination(Please note that I use Young Living essential oils. I feel these are safe for consumption. Not all essential oils are created equal and should not be ingested.) 
• Because of the coconut oils low melting point these should be kept chilled at all times.
  
  With that, I'm going to sneak one of these out of my freezer and savor the quiet of the wee hours.

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It's been a while!

I can't believe it's been since September since I've written here! I really haven't been keeping up my other blog either. I have been spending more time on FB. We have a love/hate relationship.

I sometimes question if it's worth writing here. I don't get much feedback so I have no idea who is reading this. I'm not soliciting pity feedback, just saying. (I think I'll write a blog sometime about why I think it's important to talk about crunchy topics.)

Regardless, I will write a little bit. I have several thoughts running through my mind. Two are semi-related. One is just plain happy.

I was asked to donate milk to another baby. He makes number 3. Baby A got about 40 oz before it started bothering her tummy. Her mommy returned the rest back to me. I wanted to find it a home. I came in contact with a mommy waiting to adopt. She hadn't been matched yet so I agreed to pump until she was matched. She was matched in October. Baby J was born in November. Would you believe he was born just 2 hours from me? So I was able to meet the new little family for coffee and to give them 80 oz of liquid gold. He gobbled it down in less than a week!

I had kind of decided to quit donating. Since I essentially work full time from home in addition to the mommy stuff I just didn't have the time to devote to it. Plus, C is 17 months and I know our nursing days are winding down so I wanted to treasure them for us. Selfish? Maybe.

Then I came in contact with a momma who was having supply issues but wanted human milk for her special needs baby boy. I couldn't turn a blind eye and not offer my milk. She decided this was a good idea and I am now pumping to donate to Baby K! I'm off to a slow start but am of the belief that every drop helps! It's also fun that another mommy friend is pumping to donate to Baby K too. We're pumping buddies! :-D

The other two thoughts: FB needs to get a clue and quit deleting pages that are for nursing and other mommy stuff. Seriously! I know it has to be trolls reporting pages but FB should find a way to exempt these pages. Ugh. It's so sad that safe havens are being shut down and moms are being robbed of the help and support they need and deserve!

My other thought, breastfeeding is so misunderstood. Breasts have become a single use body part. I could say soooo much about this. Bottom line, God put milk in breasts. He intends for us to use them for that purpose!

I do not advocate moms to expose themselves while nourishing their babes. But I do advocate feeding on demand and modest public nursing. I have to believe if more moms do this it will be normal. Breasts will be seen for more than sexual purposes. Until then, we have to press on and do what is right for babies.

The life of a mother.....

My feeble attempt at writing....

Water has always relaxed me. I take hot baths on a regular basis. Lately, I've had to share bath time with my 13 month old. Aside from the time he fell asleep nursing in the tub, this is not the relaxing event it once was.

I took advantage of his nap time today to take a leisurely soak in the tub. I sunk deep into the water and released the stress that had taken shelter deep in every muscle and bone in my body. Wonderful. Then I picked up my copy of Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. Despite reading it for my doula training I find great pleasure in reading it.

I read several birth stories. I found myself intrigued. Many times holding my breath until I completed each story. I read about women who became empowered through childbirth. I reflected on my own birthing experience. I felt a strong desire to research about The Farm. I longed to experience labor and birth euphoria once again. For various reasons, it will likely be two years before I have another birth story to write. This thought was more than a little discouraging.

With that, I drained the water and got out. Then I caught a glimpse of my body in the mirror. I noticed that my butt was looking pretty good. Then I saw the stretchmarks and my forever changed shape. There hung my breasts, sagging, yes, but completely capable of nourishing another person. Overall, I saw my body as strong, powerful, able to birth a child the way many women had in generations past. Yet, I also saw it's ability to lovingly grow a person.

It was then that I saw the softness in my belly that I had come to despise. I suppose, we women will always have some insecurity about our bodies. Yet, almost at the same time I realized that I had a year to mold my body back to a healthier state before asking another baby to join our family. So with that thought, I promptly did 40 crunches.

The life of a mother.....

Breast milk is the best milk

So I was thinking about this whole breast milk situation. Hopefully I can convey my thoughts adequately! :)

Breast is best. Period. You cannot deny that! Yet, few women nurse their children exclusively and for any period of time.

I could say so much about this topic! But I don't want to get too far away from what I set out to say.

If breast is best why do moms use formula? Because it's big business! It's presented in such a way that it's not "that different" from breast milk.

Am I saying that formula should never be used or that those that use it are bad people? No! But there's a bigger problem here!

For one, moms need support when it comes to nursing. It's a vicious cycle. Moms don't nurse so they can't tell their daughters how who in turn fail to nurse. How will this get better? Someone has to stand up and help these moms! It's not always easy but I can tell you first hand that the reward far outweighs any trial!

Secondly, breast milk needs to be made more available. Of course, this is a touchy subject. For some strange reason breast milk is seen as nasty or gross. It's only made to be consumed by that momma's baby. Wrong! There is no reason this has to be the case!

Does this come from the idea that breasts are sexual? That the human body is gross? I really don't know but it's wrong regardless!

Cow's milk comes from cows boobs. Have you seen a cow? They're not the cleanest of creatures. Yet, we think NOTHING of consuming cow's milk. Yet, my breast milk is dirty?

I was also thinking about milk banks. I know there are moms that would love to donate but milk banks have such strict rules. Moms can't take medication. Their babies have to be a certain age. They are subjected to blood tests. Now, I don't know much about cows but I do know that they are given medication to insure that they continue making milk. Their babies are taken from them and given milk from bottles. As far as I know, no consideration is given regarding her calf's age. I have no idea what if any tests each cow is subjected to. Yet again, we drink it without thinking.

What about formula? Are you fully aware of what is in it? I need to study on that but it's my understanding that much of formula's content is byproducts of food adults won't eat! So we feed it to our most vulnerable? Doesn't take a genius to see that's dumb. What about the fact that formula has been found to contain harmful things that cause major problems? Yet, you're afraid to feed your child HUMAN milk? I doubt I'll ever understand that.

I realize that not all women would make suitable donors for various reasons but I venture to say that my unpasteurized breast milk is safer than any cow's milk! You know, the proof is in the pudding....my healthy, thriving, smart 11 month old has done nothing but THRIVE on my milk. I bet you can't find first hand proof quite like that about any of the other options.

Somehow we need to move past the idea of breast milk being dirty and suitable only for biological children. We need to find a way to make it more available whether that be from the source or from a donor. This needs to be seen as NORMAL. I am not a supermom for feeling C milk that God intended him to eat!

Happy World Breastfeeding Week!

Progress

So I have been pumping to donate for 8 days now. I have about 35 ounces for baby A. That's about 5 days worth (would replace the 4-8 ounces of formula she has been getting).

I have always thought nursing was cool. I mean, my body makes food. What? That's crazy! I loved being the only one that could feed tiny C.

Since C is growing and eating grown up food nursing has become less about feeding hunger (though that's the case sometimes!) and more about comfort. I had taken for granted that I make milk.

Now for the past week I have watched that beautiful white liquid flow from my breasts. Little by little I watched it fill the bottle and now my freezer. I have renewed my amazement of the whole process.

The first few days I was only able to pump about 2 oz. But A's mommy assured me this would be helpful. Finally, on Sunday my body got the idea that the need for more milk could not be ignored. It rewarded my efforts with 5 ounces of beautiful milk. Then 6 oz on Monday and 7 oz on Tuesday! (Of course, today my child decided to be possessive of his milk and has only shared 2 1/2 ounces. Ha!)

Some interesting things are happening:

1. My boobs are full more often. Well, duh, but still cool! I can be caught squeezing them throughout the day to gauge whether or not a pumping session would be successful.

2. I am having some signs of lower estrogen levels. Take that Aunt Flo! (I hope, anyway!)

3. I am hungry all the time! I forgot how much food frequent nursing requires. I mentioned this to a friend and she said, "You're feeding a bebe and a half!" Oooooh yeah duh! Now I just need to revamp my healthy snack options!

I don't say all this to draw attention to myself. I truly and honestly feel honored that A's momma is willing to feed her sweet baby my milk.

True lactivism at work

For as long as I can remember I have been incredibly intrigued with pregnancy. I remember spending hours looking at our medical book and carefully studying the pages on the development of babies in utero. The whole processed seemed almost magical to me. I longed for the day it was my turn.

When I was finally pregnant, I soaked up every bit of information I could get my hands on. I loved being pregnant. I felt better pregnant than I did not pregnant as crazy as that may be. I just knew an easy pregnancy just had to result in a dramatic birth. Much to my relief, I had the birth that I wanted (save a minor complication that was a pure fluke).

It wasn't long after my son's birth that I began to eagerly look forward to doing all over again. Call me crazy but it's the truth.

I often wonder why I was able to get pregnant and birth a perfect son when so many struggle with infertility, repeat losses and traumatic births. I have thought about what it would entail to be a surrogate even. Of course, I wrestle with the morality of this as well as my own emotional well-being. The only way I would do this is if the couple donated both the egg and the sperm as I believe all of my children should be raised by me. Then I found out that being a gestational surrogate would require obscene amounts of hormonal birth control and fertility drugs. This crunchy momma is not going down that road. So this half thought out dream was quickly put to sleep.

My heart still aches for the mommas that want babies and can't have them. It's my hope that if these women are to have children that they will be able to.

Despite not being able to help in this way I decided there was a way I could help other moms. I made the decision to donate breast milk to a mom who was unable to produce this liquid gold.

The next day I came in contact with a momma that needed just 6-8 ounces a day. We spent the weekend thinking and praying about this opportunity and it was agreed that we would give it a trial run.

I pulled out my pump for the first time in months. C refuses to drink milk from anywhere but the source so pumping was of no use to us. I began pumping. I pumped all day and yielded about 1/4 of an ounce. I was disappointed, discouraged and felt guilty for getting the other momma's hopes up since it didn't seem like I would be able to pump any substantial amount.

After some research I learned that I did not have the correct sized breast shields for my pump. My mom stopped and picked me up the correct size. Wow! They made all the difference in the world! I was able to pump an ounce in 10 minutes! The discomfort I had before was also gone. I was excited and renewed that this would work.

By this afternoon I had pumped 2 1/2 ounces of liquid gold to safely tuck away in my freezer to await delivery to baby A.

As with anything, there are ups and downs. Despite my best effort, I have not pumped anything substantial the rest of the evening. But that's okay. Every little bit will help the sweet baby girl that will receive my milk.

I have to remember that. I also have to remember that while pumping and sharing is an amazing opportunity, C must come first. A's momma understands this and encourages this! But still, it's my hope that with time, patience and lots of oatmeal that I will begin to make enough to well supply baby A with enough breast milk that she can come off of formula.

Please pray for me during this. I really want to help someone else because the Lord has always given C enough of mommas milk to grow big and strong. It seems only right to share that blessing with others.

I also want to encourage my fellow nursing mommas. It can be so easy to be a die hard lactivist. It's easy to cast blame on moms that formula feed and while agree that far too many moms resort to this, let us not forget about the moms that genuinely try and still can't give their sweet babies all they need. Instead of constantly bashing formula, do something to help! Make breast milk readily available for those that desire it! That is true lactivism at work!

(Note: I do not share this to receive praise. I simply wish to share my thoughts and encourage others to help. So please to don't feel like I am being showy.)