This is certainly not photography related and I wondered whether I should share it here. But, the reality is, if I don't speak my truth as a business owner and community member and human, that's not okay. I wouldn't be a good business owner and person if I didn't stand up for what I believe in. If you don't agree and don't want to have me as your photographer, then I accept that. I send you love anyway. Truly. Resources and Action links at the bottom. Are you sad? Frustrated? Angry? A little sick? Me too. I have been sitting with it, seeing my own part, my passive part in what has been happening for too long. I see so many focused on the riots. Riots happen all the time. We see them when sports teams win OR lose. We see them when people are together and herd mentality takes over. There is SO much energy there at once and it amplifies in every person. Energy is a STRONG thing. Is it right to get violent and be destructive? NO. But, when you feel like you are at the end of your rope, when you have tried peaceful protests and were told to shut up, when NOTHING changes, that frustration and sadness is bound to just boil to the surface. Add in a bunch of people with the same feelings and energy—riots. You didn’t want them to take a knee. You didn’t want to listen to them. They just want to be HEARD and SEEN and they deserve to be. They felt their only choice was to go out and protest this- in the middle of a pandemic when their communities have been some of the hardest hit. They are tired. We are all tired, so they must be. They are at their wit’s end. And we should all see it and start using our voices and our actions to be allies. So, the riots are riots. They aren’t right but they aren’t some type of proof that your racist thoughts are true. They’re not. DON’T start talking about the riots as if they somehow diminish the real issue at hand. A man was killed. It was on video. It was blatant. It was disgusting. THAT IS THE STORY. The riots are becoming a distraction from what we need to really focus on. Don’t get distracted. Two videos of men being brutally murdered were shared, people taking things into their own hands. So many stay silent. Every time something like this happens, I wonder where the good cops are. There are A LOT of great cops. Not all cops are bad, not even close. But, if you see others doing wrong, just admit it. Say you’re outraged too. DO something. Your silence doesn’t help. In fact, I think it hurts. It makes it seem like you condone it. I know it’s hard to speak about “one of your own” but if you disagree, they are not one of your own. The moment they stepped over the line that you wouldn’t, they stopped being one of you. We can’t just stand by and say we’re saddened or outraged. I admit, I haven’t know what to do and so, haven’t done anything concrete. I have done some of the work , but not enough. None of us can sit by and let these things continue to happen. We all have to OWN our part. We all have to dig into our own lives, backgrounds, cultures and see how we’ve contributed. Do you call that racist uncle out when he says something or do you shrug it off to “he’s just like that”? Do you have ANY thoughts in your head when you see a hooded black boy or man in a store or on the street? Do you use ANY language at all that puts POC down or laugh when someone else does? Do you shout “All Lives Matter”? It doesn’t matter if you “have black friends” or “donated to a cause”. That doesn’t automatically make you NOT racist. You may truly feel in your heart that you are not racist, but you can have unconscious racial bias. This comes from generational and systematic imprinting. And it takes very conscious work and action to remove it. I know I am going to jump in to the work. I am going to reflect inward and then use my own voice and actions to help things change. We can’t stand by and just be appalled anymore. POC can’t just be killed like this anymore. POC can’t be treated the way they are. WE MUST ALL BE THE CHANGE. Share this, share other resources, reflect, take action. IF WE AREN'T PART OF THE SOLUTION, WE ARE MOST DEFINITELY PART OF THE PROBLEM. Click the bottom link to sign the petition. They need to be held accountable. Some resources: https://docs.google.com/…/1BRlF2_zhNe86SGgHa6-…/mobilebasic… https://www.amazon.com/Me-White-Supremacy-Comb…/…/B07Y5PHNXB https://www.justiceforbigfloyd.com/
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So, I LOVE to cook and my sister has been amazing being a FT working mom gone 12 hours a day (pre-COVID) to make fresh foods (prepped and frozen for ease) for my nephew since he started eating more than breast milk. We continue that now and he eats a wide range of things. Though, he does also like chocolate chip Cookes and ice cream. I mean, balance.
I was super excited recently, as I'm here living with them since a little before the stay at home was put in place, that we got this Infantino Squeeze Station Baby Food Maker andextra pouches. I spent a few hours one day making 2 months worth of pouches for him! I made 9 different "flavors" because I wanted a lot of variety and used the same mixture of different ingredients. I tasted a bit of each of them as did Lucas to be sure the flavors were balanced. :) We kept three in the fridge and froze the rest and just take a new one out each day to thaw in the fridge. They last 2-3 days in the fridge when you make them fresh (or when taken out of freezer) and 3 months in the freezer.
It seems like a lot to do hours of work on this but it's worth it to have it all ready for two months at a time! I pre-cooked all of the things that needed to be cooked. Some of it, I even cooked days before and froze the pureed veggies. I looked at ideas online for inspiration and then just did my own recipes. All Lucas taste tested and approved. See the video to see how to use it (simple!) and then there are recipes below.
I use the pre-cooked, plain packaged beets in the produce section.
I use frozen berries, pineapple and peaches, fresh pear (once it was a little soft) and apple-try to puree these before adding other ingredients. RECIPE 1 1 Cup Sweet Potato (steamed) 1 Cup Carrot (steamed) 3/4 Cup Broccoli (no stems) 1 Cup Applesauce RECIPE 2 1 Cup Raw Spinach 2 Small Beets 1/2 Apple- cut into small pieces and try to even mash a bit 1 Cup Steamed Zucchini 1/2 Cup Frozen Strawberries, thawed RECIPE 3 1.5 Cup Steamed Squash 3 small Beets 1 cup Steamed Carrots 2 tsp Cinnamon RECIPE 4 2 Cup Steamed Squash 1.5 Cup Peaches 2 tsp Cinnamon 1/2 TBSP ground flax RECIPE 5 1 Cup Cooked Peas 1 Pear 1 Cup Raw Spinach 1/2 TBSP ground flax 3/4 Cup Steamed Broccoli (can also add 1/3 cup edamame) RECIPE 6 1 Cup Plain, low sugar yogurt (Siggys or Maple Hill Creamery) 2/3 Cup Blueberries 2/3 Cup Rasberries 1/2 Cup natural peanut butter with no additives and no added sugar RECIPE 7 1 Cup raw Spinach 1/2 Cup Broccoli 1 Cup Steamed Carrots 1/2 Steamed Zucchini (with as little seeds as possible) 1 Pear RECIPE 8 1 Cup raw Spinach 1 Ripe Avocado 1 Cup Steamed Zucchini 3/4 Cup Strawberries 1 Small banana RECIPE 9 1 Cup Steamed Broccoli 1 Cup Steamed Zucchini 1 Cup Pineapple I'd love to hear if you make any pouches and if you try any other flavors! |
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