Winter Hacks for the Family, ChatGPT Muffins, and Small Joys
Issue #4: Featuring a maternity/baby wearing coat, an initial necklace upgrade, and the benefits of talking to moms in the wild
Welcome to The Motherload, a somewhat regular publication where I share hacks and tips for parenthood, recent recs in basically any category, plus anything else that’s on my mind! Thank you for being here!
Hi friends — surprise! I’m coming to your inbox a week off schedule (earlier than anticipated!) because I just had an overflow of thoughts and things to share, plus I’m still on maternity leave so I thought I better take advantage of the extra time and bank up some issues.
Anywho, January is somehow still trudging along, but we’re leaning into “cozy season” over here with some baking, soup-making, and good TV. I recently listened to a podcast interview with Psychologist Kari Leibowitz on The Next Big Idea who talks about her new book “How to Winter: Harness Your Mindset to Thrive on Cold, Dark, or Difficult Days” and TBH it was pretty inspiring! I’m not someone who naturally likes winter, so I needed a little convincing to see its beauty but I feel like Kari delivered. She spoke about the charm of seasonality and the benefits of living more slowly in order to “harvest” energy for a more active spring and summer, just as plants are barren in the winter in order to conserve energy to bloom in the spring. Kari shares about her travels to some of the coldest and darkest places on the planet and surprisingly found that people did not have the seasonal mood disorders she was expecting, but rather they were happy and actually looked forward to the winter.
I think this perspective on seasonality offers lessons for all of us, especially during the slower months. I might just download the book for my next Audible listen!
Since I’ve been thinking about this topic, I wanted to share some winter hacks that I came across that may help you and your family this season:
Cold weather accessory basket: keep a basket by your front door as a designated spot for gloves, hats, and scarves. While pockets and coat sleeves can work, having a communal spot makes it easier to find everything in one place—especially during those rushed mornings!
Kids’ mittens on a string: this is so simple yet such a good idea! We have the metal clips that keep gloves attached to jackets but it’s still pretty easy for the gloves to fall off and go missing. Running the string through the interior of the jacket keeps mittens secure and saves you the endless search for that one rogue glove!
The “Car Sweater:” Puffy jackets aren’t safe for car seats because they create too much space between the straps and the child. To solve this, I got my toddler a lightweight fleece sweater. It’s warm enough for quick trips to and from the car and light enough that she can layer her actual coat over it if needed. It’s been such a game-changer for winter outings!
Maternity and baby wearing winter coat: I got this 3-in-1 coat during my last pregnancy and it’s great! It’s super versatile — you can wear it as a regular coat, with the extender for a growing bump, or in its babywearing position to accommodate a carrier underneath. It’s perfect for anyone in their mom-era living in a cold climate.
ChatGPT Muffins
Next up, I wanted to share another hack — using ChatGPT as a custom recipe generator. Lately, I’ve been trying to make healthier food choices by cutting back on sugar and increasing fiber and protein (shout out to my nutritionist, Kristen! You’re the best!). At the same time, I loooove the banana chocolate chip combo, so I was looking for something that would satisfy that craving while still checking off my health goals.
That’s where AI came to the rescue.
I asked ChatGPT, “Can you give me a recipe for healthy banana chocolate chip muffins?” and after some back-and-forth tailoring, I landed on a recipe that fits my needs perfectly. It uses whole wheat flour (better for fiber!), and it gave me options for natural sweeteners like maple syrup, honey, or date paste.
I’ve made these muffins twice now, and the second time I used date paste (also a recipe from ChatGPT) as the only sweetener aside from the bananas. They were surprisingly delicious and toddler-approved!
Here’s the recipe I used, but feel free to take this general idea and run with it. ChatGPT can help you customize recipes to fit your family’s specific needs and preferences!
Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Makes: 12 muffins
Ingredients:
3 ripe bananas (the riper, the sweeter!)
1/3 cup melted coconut oil (or unsalted butter)
1/4 cup honey or maple syrup, or 1/2 cup date paste
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (or all-purpose flour)
1/3 cup applesauce (for moisture)
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips (dark chocolate works great)
Optional Add-Ins:
1/4 cup chopped nuts (like walnuts or pecans)
1 teaspoon cinnamon for extra flavor
Instructions:
Preheat and Prep:
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners or lightly grease with cooking spray.
Mash Bananas:
In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas until smooth.
Mix Wet Ingredients:
Add the melted coconut oil, honey or maple syrup, egg, vanilla, and apple sauce to the bananas. Mix until well combined.
Combine Dry Ingredients:
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon (if using).
Combine Wet and Dry:
Gradually fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Stir until just combined—do not overmix.
Add Chocolate Chips:
Gently fold in the mini chocolate chips (and nuts, if using).
Portion Batter:
Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full.
Bake:
Bake for 18–22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean (a little melted chocolate is fine!).
Cool and Enjoy:
Let the muffins cool in the tin for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Making 1/2 Cup of Date Paste
Ingredients:
6–8 large Medjool dates (or about 10–12 smaller dates)
Warm water for soaking
Steps:
Pit the dates and place them in a bowl.
Soak the dates in warm water for 10–15 minutes to soften them.
Drain and blend the dates with 2–3 tablespoons of water (adding more as needed) until you reach a smooth, paste-like consistency.
Small joys (in photo diary form)
A customized necklace update: After I had my first baby 3 years ago (I can’t believe she’s 3!!!), I got this cute necklace from Made by Mary. I customized it with a simple “K” and a heart for my daughter’s initial. When I had my second just a few months ago, I reached out to Made by Mary to see if they could add a new initial to the necklace and they did! I just got this back in the mail and love how it looks — check out the photo to see the added “L”!
Hitting my fitness goal: I’ve been getting back into movement and fitness postpartum and I gave myself the goal to exercise a certain number of days out of the month. Well, I just hit that goal! I’ve been using the Peloton app which is great since you can filter workouts based on instructor, class length, and even music genre. As someone who is motivated to work out literally only if there’s good music involved (I just can’t do the programs with the random techno-beat music), this has been a great option for me! I even did a Broadway treadmill workout which was so much fun - it included songs from Chicago, Wicked, Hairspray, and In the Heights. SO fun!
A solo date!?!? I took advantage of a rare day off for my husband, handed over the babe, and ventured out to a new-to-me coffee shop. It was such a treat to get out, have some creative time, and have a minute to myself in a change of scenery.
Rediscovering analog planning: I’ve been really enjoying my new planner and the feeling of keeping organized. I’ve missed analog planning (I was a type A, color-coded planner gal back in the day!) and it feels so great to get back to it. I’ve been using The Paper Source undated planner and my favorite colored Sharpie felt-tip pens. Would totally recommend both!
A motivational boost from a stranger-mom: I got my car washed one morning recently and instead of scrolling in the waiting area, I chatted with a woman who was waiting as well. She told me about her 6 year old son and she awed over my cute baby who was asleep in the Doona. In literally a 5 minute conversation we bonded over some ups and downs of motherhood and gave each other a quick “you’re doing great!” — these kinds of interactions always give me a pep in my step and it’s a great reminder to get off your phone and to engage in the world around you.
Current audiobook: The Let Them Theory — There’s a reason everyone is talking about this book! Mel Robbins dives into her theory, which empowers you to let go of others’ judgments, opinions, and actions so they no longer affect you. She offers super practical examples of how to apply this mindset in adult friendships, personal relationships, and even at work. It just makes so much sense. I’m listening to it on Audible and highly recommend it—Mel narrates the book herself, and her engaging storytelling style really brings it to life.
For the kids: If you’re cleaning out your closet, pick a few items to gift to your toddler for dress up! My toddler now has a “new” hat, fanny pack, and scarf to add to her collection — and this kind of recycling saves you money on new toys!
A winter appropriate, postpartum-mom-approved destination: I recently met up with a postpartum friend at the American Dream mall in New Jersey and it’s a great spot to get those steps in. We did a few loops of the whole mall and as a huge plus - they have an amazing nursing room! Highly recommend if you’re in the NJ area.
That’s all for today! I’d love to hear what you want to read more about — please drop a comment in Substack or hit reply to this email with any thoughts or ideas!
Oh - and if you liked this issue, please share with a friend!
Stay cozy! ☕️
Love all of this, Rachel 😍 will definitely try those banana choc chip muffins — and the date paste!!
I’m going to try the muffins with gf flour. I’ll let u know how they come out 😉