Sweet treats

Still going strong on my Whole 10, other than a few 'modifications' I've allowed myself. I'm allowing honey when it's an ingredient in an otherwise-approved recipe. And I made myself a pudding with unsweetened cocoa powder, which is technically against the rules because it's a dessert, but doesn't violate any food restrictions.  I'm having fun with it this time, because 10 days feels so much more attainable to me.

This afternoon I made another sweet treat that I think my boys will like and it gives me a little indulgence without breaking too many rules. It reminded me that I should share a couple of these easy, quick and reasonably healthy "cookie" recipes that I've been making regularly for my food-allergy-no-cookies-allowed boys.

The first is not Paleo, but it is allergy friendly. We call these "special Tucker cookies" because they're the only cookies he can have.  So very simple and perfect for a little one who wants to help in the kitchen.

http://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/2013/09/2-ingredient-healthy-banana-bread-breakfast-cookies-with-delicious-add-ins/

Two ingredients! Could not be simpler. I usually add in cinnamon, vanilla and chocolate chips. Love that she gives lots of ideas for mix-ins.

The other is Paleo and vegan, which is a must for our milk and egg allergies. I will tell ya - that is the hardest thing about our diet. We don't fit into a nice box. We're Paleo, but we can't have nuts. We're vegan, but we eat meat. Sheesh!

http://empoweredsustenance.com/banana-bread-macaroons/

Anyway, cheers to another day of whole foods with a few rules bent for good measure!

Doing a "Whole 10"

I need to get back on track with my eating. And I want to. But the summer is just so full of events and visits and parties and fun. And I just don't think I'm going to be successful at a Whole 30 right now. So I've decided to do a "Whole 10" and just hope that it is enough to get me back on track - eliminating those sugar cravings, losing a little weight, getting my energy back up. Why 10? Because Rachel is coming in 11 days and there will be wine. And chocolate. 

Day 1 is off to a good start. Pumpkin muffins and homemade sausage for breakfast. Tuck and I will share a green smoothie before heading off to the Y for his first day of summer camp and a good workout for me. Hope I can keep this momentum going!

Bread for my boy

My 3 year old, Tucker, loves to cook with me. Bless his heart, despite all his food allergies, he finds much joy in creating sweet treats (and sampling the ingredients). Finding recipes that will entice him as well as work with our allergy restrictions is always a challenge. (My family will remember the nearly inedible chocolate cupcakes and gummy icing that I created for his first birthday party.) 

Lately, he has been watching a show that must have mentioned eating or baking bread, because he's been asking for it incessantly. "Can we make bread, mama? But not wheat bread. Another kind of bread that I can have." My heart just breaks a little for my munchkin who's never had a slice of bread.

But, man! Bread without wheat, eggs, and (in order to be Sawyer-friendly) dairy and soy? That's a tall order! Then someone reminded me of banana bread. That seemed to be an acceptable option for Tuck. So I searched for a vegan, gluten-free banana bread that wouldn't taste like cardboard. And I found one (here)! And it's actually really yummy!

Love making my little man smile. And I love teaching him that his food allergies don't have to limit him all the time.

Little leaps of faith

It’s been awhile, y’all! And that’s because we made a fairly quick decision to pursue a job opportunity (for John) and relocate to Charlotte, NC. We’ve been here just 3 weeks now, and we’re loving it. The weather is incredible and our boys just love being outside every day. It seems to be a really good fit for our family.

Moving with children is such a different experience. There are so many supports you need to put into place when you arrive, and quickly. Pediatrician, allergist (in our case), childcare, school and/or activities, etc. It has involved meeting a lot of new people and making quick decisions about our kids’ care. As one who has issues with control (and loves to do thorough research), this has been a bit scary for me.

The hardest thing for any allergy parent, I imagine, is leaving their children in someone else’s care. We expend so much energy on a daily basis keeping our children safe, that it is with great trepidation that we hand them over to a “stranger,” no matter how capable. Last summer, when Tucker first started preschool, my anxiety was so great that I had to start taking anti-anxiety medication. Now, instead of panic attacks, I just get run-of-the-mill worry when I leave them.

That’s where I’m at right now. We’re trying out a drop-in childcare center today so that it will be an option when we need it. I am across the parking lot in Starbucks, trying to stay busy. Not thinking about where the nearest emergency room is, in case they happen to pick up another kid’s animal crackers.

It is faith – little leaps of faith – that I must take to live this life. There is no guarantee. In fact, there is the truth that, of the 3 times my children have needed the EpiPen, 2 of them were when they were in childcare. And yet I still must leave them. I must still take a deep breath, and believe that most of the time, everything will be fine. And when it’s not, we all will survive it.

I’ve done this three times this week. I know that it is worth it to have good help, especially now that we are far from home and family. And I also recognize that my boys are making these little leaps with me. I keep leaving them, and they keep trusting that I am choosing good people to leave them with. And that I will return to care for them in that important way that only I can. But I will be relieved when all this is behind us, and I can breathe a little easier.

NFR: Not Food Related

Today's post is not about little bellies - it's about little people. Particularly 3 year old people. "Threenagers" some people call them. Yeah, they can be that bad.

This past week and a half has been one of the toughest stints of my parenting career thus far. Both of my kids and I came down with a truly miserable illness - sore throats, fevers, lots of goop and hacking coughs. As such, Tucker was out of school ALL week last week. I didn't get anything accomplished. We hardly left the house. And, John was traveling most of the week. By the weekend, we had all had about enough of each other. 

I could feel my patience wearing thin. Tucker was crying and whining at the drop of a hat. He was asking for things he knew I would say 'no' to just so he could explode at me. He was pushing every one of my buttons, for days on end, and there was nothing either of us could do about it. We were trapped, sick of being sick, and sick of each other.

Today - mercifully - he went back to school. Two hours of peace for me, except that Sawyer is still a goopy, whiny mess. But when Tucker came back home, he started acting up again. By now I have no patience left. I was on the verge of screaming at him, but I didn't. I thought to myself, "he can be so sweet and wonderful. I know he's capable of being a joy. So, why doesn't he just do that instead?"

And then I remembered something I read recently in one of the parenting books piled up next to my bed. A parenting mistake is to have unreasonable expectations of your preschooler. For example, to witness their best behavior and then expect (or demand) it all the time. I stood in the kitchen, took a couple deep breaths, and really thought about this. Thought: what if I turned this logic around on myself?

"You can be the best mom -  you're capable of it, I know it. So why don't you just be the best mom all the time? You can be so fun and happy and playful and attentive. Can't you just be like that every minute of every day?"

Well of course not. I would like to be - sure. But that's just not realistic. And it's equally unrealistic to expect a 3 year old to be their best self all the time. It's exhausting being our best. And there's a lot of good excuses - like being sick, tired and worn out - when we're not. Let's try to give our "threenagers" the same grace we expect for ourselves.

Sneaky Sawyer

Little Bellies has been on a bit of a hiatus because, well, I'm exhausted. After the stomach flu knocked us down like dominoes and we surrendered our Whole30 attempt, we have been fighting things off left and right. Tucker came down with another stomach bug a week later, and then this week he has been home from school all week because of a nasty, nasty cold. Did you get that? All. week. And little dude had a fever today so that means no school tomorrow either. So, not a lot of down time for me.

However, I've been composing this post in my head for the last week, so I thought I'd try to get it down. The other day, I was talking to another mom about Sawyer's food allergies and about halfway through my spiel about what he can't have, I noticed she was looking at me like I had two heads. It seems as though avoiding all food containing milk or soy (in addition to his other allergens) was just ... beyond her. It kind of surprised me in an odd way. I thought - hey wait, what if Sawyer is my trickier kid?

To say that Sawyer is an easy baby is a complete understatement. Sawyer was (surprisingly) easy to conceive, easy to birth, and has been a happy, smiley, easy baby since we brought him home from the hospital. In terms of feeding, I thought nothing could be harder than Tucker. I thought I had seen it all and it would all be downhill from there. And I certainly never imagined that Sawyer would be harder than Tucker in any way.

But he is, in one way. His restrictions are very limiting, especially when it comes to toddler food. (Mac and cheese? Nope! P, B & J? Forget it! Fishy crackers? Never heard of them!) And, on top of that, he is a pickier eater than Tucker was. He's a voracious eater, when he's eating what he likes (bananas). But he's much more prone to sit in his highchair and cry and sign "more" while there is a whole tray of food in front of him (beef and veggie stew).

I started feeling frustrated and guilty that I was not getting enough variety into my already very limited child. But then I decided that, for now, I'm still smarter than him. So I chopped up kale very finely. And I put it in everything I made for dinner - meatballs and mashed sweet potatoes. Kid gobbled them up. Victory!

You win some, you lose some

We've had our share of what I would call #fail around here. We've also had a couple #wins. Looking back on this month and our Whole30 attempt, I would say that I thought I was well prepared, but I wasn't. I only planned 3 meals a day. Seems like that would be enough, right? But the thing is....sometimes those meals were not very appetizing (especially to 3 year olds). Sometimes we didn't have the ability to pull dinner together before little people were demanding to be fed. Sometimes I was worried it was neglectful to feed your children SO many bananas in one day. The truth? Hot dogs became my crutch. The boys ate more hot dogs this month than they have in their entire lives. Granted, they were organic, grass-fed, nitrate-free, humanely raised, all-beef hot dogs. But still, man cannot live on bananas and hot dogs alone.

I was feeling kind of guilty about this, and then I put this "snack" on the table for Tucker:

And I'll be darned if that kid didn't eat the whole dang plate of asparagus. As a snack!

Later, after a lackluster chicken dish, I made this:

Tater tots. I made my own tater tots! And now I feel like a badass again...