#myvegetariantoddler

[livingwithchildren]

New Year

In the world of parenting, at least the one I live in, the New Year doesn't come in January with the bells and whistles, parties and late nights spent throwing one back. In my world, the New Year comes in the middle of August: when my school teacher husband takes off to the classroom and my two kids prepare to go back to preschool and daycare. I must admit, having a husband at home during the summer this year, gave me great piece of mind about the care of my children, knowing I could just run home and see them. Now with the school year starting, they are headed back to their own classrooms. My son takes off toward the playground each morning, while my daughter has only gone two days without crying as I'm leaving (which is the worst feeling in the world). Although I must say the grocery bill has dropped considerably at home :) Happy New Year to all of you educators, mothers and fathers, and kiddos headed back.

[livingwithchildren]

zucchini crop

So I planted two pots of zucchini plants (2 in each) and they grew and grew and turned into two very beautiful pots of zucchini plants; very green and leafy with big yellow blooms. I've watered, added plant food and continued to prune when needed and so far, no zucchini. I had one little one a few inches long come on and turn green and was quite cute. Unfortunately, the little zucchini rotted on the plant before it could grow much over those few inches. I continue to water and continue to use plant food in hopes that we might get some zucchini yet, but for now, I'm buying mine at the farmers market! Wah, wah, wah

[livingwithchildren]

My Vegetarian Toddler turned 1 today, that is, the blog about our extraordinary journey through becoming one of the youngest vegetarians and now our crossover to the carniverous way of life. It's been fun and we plan on continuing to blog. Thanks to the handful of you that follow us!

[livingwithchildren]

Holding our breath

Today is the day we head to the lab to see if a month of protein and no B12 has been the ticket for our little vegetarian toddler. We probably won't hear back until next week but I've got my fingers crossed that the results come back good. She is really growing into her own personality and is a joy every day.

[livingwithchildren]

And here is my picky eater who has decided lately that sitting down for meal time is, in fact, standing in front of his chair while he picks at his food and makes faces at his sister (my vegetarian toddler). He's at least super cute and a St. Louis Cardinals fan! Give him food in a picnic outdoors, and he will eat anything!

[livingwithchildren]

Ready to plant

With my daughter beginning her journey through life as a vegetarian/vegan/protein controlled toddler, we tried a ton of veggies last summer while the produce was fresh! We discovered that the zucchini was the best veggie for our little girl: she loved it; anyway it was cooked, in whatever dish I made! We sampled loads of other veggies and she did enjoy them as well! She loves her veggies and I love that she loves her veggies! So this year, I decided to plant my own zucchini plant and see how it grows - now to buy the soil and pot to plant it in if I can't find some ground space. Wish us luck as we attempt to grow a plant with this very black thumb mother :)

[livingwithchildren]

Hands in

I love that even on a fast and furious evening when we grab a take-and-bake pizza, we can still add a healthy kick with salad. We just love Papa Murphy's and it's on the way home, with a million things to do, it's an easy dinner fix. I'm a big fan of the garlic chicken pizza with tomatoes and green onion; yum yum. Of course, we have to get part of it with pepperoni because my 4-year-old lives for pepperoni pizza. Even though we have chosen pizza for dinner, we still see the importance of sitting down as a family and having a meal together. With the salad bowl in the center of the table, my husband and I both dive in and put salad on our plates. At that point, my formerly vegetarian toddler, grabs the bowl of salad and dives in with her hands; she picks out black olives and shoves those in and then proceeds to eat chunks of lettuce! Gotta love that girl!

[livingwithchildren]

Dear Mr. Fly

Dear Mr. Fly on the Wall, Last night as the winds were whipping through our windows, blowing items off the ledges; whilst a severe thunderstorm was banging at our doors; we decided to carry our children to our basement bedroom. In the glow of candlelight, my two looked from each other back to me, blinking heavily and trying to decide whether to return to their slumber. My daughter, flanked by her brother and myself, rolled over into my arms and was once again sleeping soundly, which, in turn, made her brother snuggle in closer. Add dad, who was glued to the radio and for a few moments, our family of four was snuggled up together. To you Mr. Fly, I hope you got a photo of us even though this mommy is hoping that each of us made a mental photo of what that moment looked and felt like and how in that moment, with the storm raging outside, all was perfect within.

[livingwithchildren]

Dinner ultimatum

So there is an unspoken rule within our household, okay, so it is spoken; the rule is: I cook and the husband cleans. I work full-time and get home at the same time as the rest of the household and go straight to work on dinner for the family so that it can be done by 6 so that my two young children won't get overly cranky. Last night, I made grilled chicken breasts, caesar pasta salad, and sweet corn. YUM! I used three pots and the dishes we used to eat from. Needless to say, I cooked, but no cleaning. So the ultimatum - I don't cook if the kitchen isn't clean! Will there be dinner tonight? Find out after these messages :)

[livingwithchildren]

The great dairy debate

Since my vegetarian toddler has gone non-vegetarian (for her trial run) one of the great debates in our household is milk; or, in fact, non-dairy milk. Since going from breast milk/formula, we have given her almond milk, which she really enjoys. My take on the matter is, why switch her off since she likes it. It's like all the veggies she's gotten used to and loves; why is there any need to change her diet so drastically to more of a "kid" diet when she already enjoys those foods that are better for her. The only difference maybe, in the eyes of her daddy, is the price. The cost of one container of almond milk is equal to the price of a full gallon of regular milk and granted, I'm not trying to keep dairy away from her because she is a cheese-loving lady. I also don't want to take the chance that it will bind her up with a sudden change. So for now, I'll continue the almond milk and give her a little milk here and there to her own liking, because really, kids are going to eat/drink what they like.

[livingwithchildren]

My completely beautiful daughter! Vegetarian for the first 18 months, now we are packing the protein!

[livingwithchildren]

Power in Protein

So my vegetarian toddler has been non-vegetarian for a little over a week. Knowing nothing about the medical profession, I will risk saying that the additional protein in her diet has effected her in good ways. A little girl with super sensitive skin, she was prone to horrible diaper rash; just horrible. I'll take another risk in saying, even though it might make those without diaper-wearing children uncomfortable, that we have not had to apply butt cream in that same time frame. Coincidence? I think not. I believe her body was telling her that it wanted more protein and now that she has it, her digestive track has slowed down a big and her stomach is better equipped to fully digest the foods she eats. Granted, we still load her up on veggies! She likes them and I see no reason to cut back on her intake of foods that are good for her. If only I could get more veggies in my 4-year-old son. Parenting is a constant uphill battle :) Happy Friday!

[livingwithchildren]

Stuffed shells - 1 pkg frozen spinach, thawed and drained; 8oz cottage cheese; 8 oz ricotta cheese; 1 egg; 1 cup mozzarella; and 1/4 cup of Parmesan I cook the shells first and then stuff, bake at 350 for 20 minutes with added tomato sauce on top! A big family hit!

[livingwithchildren]

Room for improvement

So I get a call from our pediatric genetics clinic today because my vegetarain toddler had some labs done last week to check her levels. Well...the are both below the desired mark -- which means, ladies and gentlemen, that (at least for now) we are OFF B12! Just to be certain you get that, we are OFF B12! Her labs are coming back so well that our doc believes that this is in fact something that was caused through momma (unknowingly) being B12 deficient and nursing her angel for 6 months. So on one side I feel bad because, even though breast feeding is best, in this case, I made my baby sick through it. Then, on the other side, she seems to be pulling out of it nicely and may not even need to be restricted in her diet. Awesome news for this momma.

[livingwithchildren]

Up and Walking

So apparently when you learn to walk and use that method to get yourself around you use much more energy and are hungrier than before you were walking. From experience, I have found that a hungry baby is a cranky baby :) and it seems as though I have a cranky baby on my hands about 10 minutes before I can get dinner made. Who knew?!

[livingwithchildren]

Plate-O

You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. -- Plato Our little vegetarian toddler is...active. So, typically, when it's time for her to eat, we place said food onto said high chair tray. She likes to give a little look and proceed to drop items onto the floor just for fun. She is however, a year a half and we thought maybe we should push into the unknown. We gave her a plate! I thought for sure that she would launch the plate and all of it's contents across the kitchen floor, but, she did not. She ate like a little lady, so to speak, and proved to her momma that she is in fact getting too big. *As a side note, her brother, upon his first experience of the plate, picked each item off of his plate and set back on his high chair tray: denied!