16 months

16 months, originally uploaded by L'Aubergine Grillée.

Happy Nawruz!!

Sign of spring, originally uploaded by L'Aubergine Grillée.

Even it is late. My soul still celebrating Nawruz!
The colourful flowers are blooming, the trees are showing off their green leaves, sweet smelling parfums of the plants, we never see the blessing so real after the winter season.
Sometimes we take advantage of being in tropical country where everything stay the same. But being in the country with four seasons we appreciate the difference of weather. It tickles our body and senses towards cold, hot, windy and frozen.

We are still enjoying springtime! 21 March is the equinox day where the sun is vertically above equator!

Happy Nawruz!

Eat for Goodness sake!

They say if we have the kids on your own, we will know more about ourselves well. I understand why there are so many Dummies books sold out in the bookstore about the preparation of toddler's life for mommy and daddy. Many mothers or professional chefs and pediatrician write some recipe books for toddler's meal and how it is important to watch what they're eat.

I am not too sure how my mom had raised me when I was a kid. Did I push the food away that my mom had prepared? Those spinaches that I was forced to gulped down the throat, did I throw some tantrums afterwards? Those soft boiled eggs every morning she prepared, how did I start to like it? I remember how I felt I wanted to throw up after she forced me taking a spoonful of cod fish liver oil. But hei, thanks to her I escaped from many sickness like asthma, eczhema, rashes, TBC, earache etc.

These days I am waking up to most mornings thinking " What the hell I am going to cook for her today?" A little latter in the day I text my husband "What are we going to eat for dinner tonight, honey?"I planned the food chart list for the well-balanced diet before she even popped out. I have done some research and still doing it to give the best for kid (who doesn't?). Sometimes I think I should just become kids nutrition if I ever re-born again.

She is beginning to test my patients sometimes with the foods. I need to be freaking creative with the menu. She pushed the foods away or simply looked away not interested with it. I leave her for awhile and offer her the dessert (at least it is fruit she loves) and finish the session without main course. At least she respects the manner to sit on the chair at every meals! No, I can't imagine myself running after her just to spoonfed her bowl. And strictly not in front of TV (why? so she can appreciate the variety of taste and respect the foods. I am an old fashioned one) She now understands to wipe off her mouth after each meals. For the meals she love means she will feed herself, I am just supervised her. I used to let her experimenting to touch her food. It was a messy business, it is her learning! No, there's no violence during mealtimes ( or yet)! I managed to bottled up all the emotions and leave it. It is part of our growth, oh yes physically and mentally.

I don't leave her to decide what to eat. She still needs nutrition from good vegetables and meats which means I am trying not to give additional vitamins. I used to be a little bit frustrated if she doesn't eat much but I understand that she has the right to do it. It will be worse for her physcology to forced her to eat at every meal, for my good sake too. It is okay not to finish her plate (seldom...) because forcing them may cause obesity or bulimia in the later age.

There you go the typical breakfast for our toddler;

• Brekkie 0730 am --> Oatmeal with fruits (banana, kiwi, milk, avocado) or 2 croissants
  (gosh, she's so frenchie!) or toasts with homemade jams or crepe with fruits
• Lunch 0100 pm --> chicken pie or courgette and potato gratin or salmon with spinach and
  potato or le boudin noir with potato (gosh, I am raising a french baby !!) or pasta with brocolli or beef with rice porridge
  Dessert consists of plain fruits like kiwi/yogurts with fruits/vanilla rice milk/strawberries, she no longer like apple and pear puree!
• Snacks 0500pm --> toasts, oatmeal biscuits without sugar ( I am limiting her sugar intakes!), crepes
• Dinner 0730pm --> soups! Potato, leeks, and carrots/ lentils with carrots/ and sometimes
  no idea! Just anything I could get from the stock in the fridge.
  
  I never know how toddler's meal could be so elaborate. I am obliged to change the menu every weeks! How lucky she has the private chef! No creamy sugar, no cheap US cereal (Nestle etc, they are chemicals and contains too much sugar), not so much fruit juice boxes, not so much salty food.
  
  Honey, that's all the budget spent every months!
  
  I should be able to read Zen Parenting next year! Yeah...I should do it while listening Björk.