'Want Lolly.'

I know I shouldn't indulge the cheeky you (and I often succeed at not doing so) but today after your nap you raced to the kitchen; begging for rice cakes, biscuits and lollipops. It's nearly been a year since you had your first ever lolly, from this batch of lollies that sit in our kitchen, and you haven't looked back since. Almost every time you spot them, you'll ask for one and often I tell you that lollies are special and you don't get them every time you ask...still you persist to ask ;).

So as I handed you a lolly I decided to sink the sugar ship and give you a biscuit with it, too. We're not a household that has a lot of sugar laden treats so I don't sweat the small treats you do have. I know that when you're an older child, a teen and an adult that you'll make wise food choices because I have complete confidence in our parenting that we'll guide you towards the choices that will lead you to good health. But please, enjoy your food and don't feel like you can't enjoy it. There's a whole world of tastes out there, waiting for you, and lollies? They're just the tip of the iceberg, my son.

Food Love.

Awake from a large nap, a large meal needed to be consumed. This picture is deceptive as he stuffed a few mouthfuls in before declaring he was all done, probably due to the strange new pasta sauce.

"He probably didn't like it because I didn't like it, we have the same tastes," Bryan told me later on when I explained what happened with Roman. Well, it's true. They both love spicy food, which I hate, and they both enjoy meals that I can't even look at never mind eat. And of course, matching appetites ;).

Eating Out with a Toddler.

Today my mum took me and Roman for lunch to a local cafe that offers vegan options - you can't really say no to that, can you? We'd been a few weeks previous with my aunt and had been shocked at the great options they had; plus the fact that they were so understanding and 'got' the vegan thing. A plate of olives, hummus, bread and salad arrived and Roman had settled himself very nicely in front of it; ready to eat when it had been intended for me and him to share two dishes between us...well I could think again if that was happening ;). My dish was generous and lets just say that several hours after consuming it I was still fit to burst so I wasn't too unhappy about Roman having a big person's serving all to himself.

He happily chomped through the bread and helped himself to some 'trees' (salad) before he started on the olives. Well he stuck one in his mouth, started to chew and suddenly he began spitting it back out saying, "ew! BOGGING!" as he did so. I would have been embarrassed if the cafe had been busier but as it wasn't I found myself laughing at his reaction. 

If you don't know already 'bogging' is a Scottish word for something horrible. We've also got; hoaching, tinking and 'yeuch' (it's 'yuck' but it's all in the way you say it, usually with your best Scottish accent.) 

So despite the olive incident, all went well. Roman is easy to please plus he'll do what I tell him to for the most part when we're out. If he wants to jump up and down - plus run from corner to corner - around the place then he'll quickly retreat when I tell him that's not how he should be behaving when we're in public. It helps that the place we chose was child friendly and had plenty of toys to hand to keep him entertained between being unleashed from the buggy and our food arriving, toys help. I'd also packed a few light snacks for before eating our lunch so he wasn't in a food grump. It all helps. However I don't think Roman will ever get a taste for olives, he's tried them several times before and each time he'll spit them back out again and that's fine it means more for me ;).

A {vegan} Food Post.

Lately me and my non-vegan brother have been swapping pictures of our food. We want to see what we eat on a daily basis and an old fashioned food diary might not be the best way to document this - lots of programmes I've watched on food diaries suggest that the people keeping the diaries might not be as honest about what they're eating as you'd think. People usually record that they ate less or even skip out treats they have ;).


I definitely wanted an honest account of the things I eat and what better way than to photograph my food? In just a few short days of doing this I have found myself eating less. Whether this is me becoming more conscious of what I eat or me being too lazy to take a photo, I'm not sure ;). At this point in it's hard to say. We started on Thursday and I have already forgotten a few pics (mainly breakfast because I am not a morning person.)


After my trip the dentist last week - and the shame I felt being told just how much work I need done - I am determined to eat better. For my teeth, my health, for myself and for my family. All my dental work will be complete and up to date by the end of this month - my teeth are happy knowing this - but until then I have to keep sugar at a minimum. It's my choice to do this but it includes avoiding fruit juices and smoothies - something I was quite partial to before my trip to the dentist.


So less words, more photos:

Dinner:

 x4 wholemeal wraps
Lentils with Jambalaya sauce, peppers.
Alpro Yogurt (plain.)

Lunch: 

8 carrot and coriander falafels on the side.

Garlic and lentil vegetable soup (nom nom nom.)

Dinner {with the Sister Missionaries}:

Gnochhi, sun blushed tomatoes.

Grapes (dessert.)

I love food. In Twitter speak I would put: #Ilovefood I love it so much. I hope you do too. Would you ever eat anything I've posted up here? And what do you think of the food photo diary? If you like it, you should join me and my brother (Fraser) in our quest to eat a little better!

Yogurt.

65/366

Hey Roman, you have a little something on your face.

State of Independence.

12/366 

It is such a joy - and a little heart breaking - to watch your toddler become more and more independent. To stand back and observe the lessons they've learned rather than dive in and help them straight away.

He's nearly 2 and has been left alone with a spoon and a bowl several times but needs more practice and that's why I'm happy to stand back and let the learning commence. Even if it is a horribly messy end result*.


P.S: I got a Facebook page up and running for my blog! 


I'm just trying it out over here but I didn't like the idea of spamming friends and other family on my Facebook profile with links to my blog every day - plus a lot more people I know use Facebook than have blogs so it keeps everyone in the loop. 


Feel like joining us over there? Check it out here.


*And may I just add you'll need a lot of restraint, patience, love and baby wipes!

Follow: @MamaChaser
Email: carakirk@hotmail.com
Facebook: Chasing Roman

Peanut Butter and Agave.

10/366


Fresh from an afternoon bath.

There is no secret that Roman loves his food. And I love to watch him eat. There are probably thousands of photos purely of him eating - I can't help it. I love to see a child, especially my child, my son, with a very healthy and happy appetite. 

I think my pleasure stems purely from the fact that there are no hang-ups with Roman and his food. No worries that a moment on the lips means a lifetime on the hips and even though we plan on educating our son about food, about nutrition and calories, I just hope he always loves food and never hates himself for that.

Follow: @MamaChaser

Email: carakirk@hotmail.com