The Best Laid Plans + Lasang Pinoy
Psst...
bochie has an update but it's Friends-Only so go on and add her if you're curious, and she'll add you back as soon as she can!
Tomorrow (Tuesday) is my husband's birthday, and our original plan was to have a big day out in the city, watch Spider-man 3 (it's been 18.5 months since we've stepped foot inside a movie theater, but who's counting?), maybe go shopping, and have a child-free day until 4pm, when we normally pick up Annika from daycare. I know this does not seem like a big deal to you guys, but believe me, I've been looking forward to this day for weeks... without a yaya or relatives who live nearby, days out without a stroller and a toddler are almost unheard of. BUT since June 6 (Wednesday) is a holiday in Sweden, the daycare will close early on Tuesday. So we have to pick up Annika shortly after lunch. Sorry na lang kami. Looks like our movie-free streak will continue.
I was also supposed to spend most of today (Monday) in meetings and wrapping up things at work so I could take a couple of days off. But as always, things did not go as planned.
Edward left for work around 6:30am, while Annika and I were still snoring in bed ;-) we woke up at 7:50am, and Annika promptly pooped - a very liquidy poop that left me worried that she had diarrhea, especially since she had pooped twice Sunday night and had barely eaten anything at dinner. So I canceled all my appointments and spent my day trying to get the listless Annika to eat solids, and also nursing her every hour or so because she was craving lots of milk and closeness.She seems lively and alert now, and is eating normally. I just hope she will be well enough to go to daycare tomorrow morning, kawawa naman si Edward if we can't even have a child-free morning and lunch on his birthday!
June 6 is National Day - lots of speech-making and flag-waving in the city (although it's a bit funny how Swedes are still deciding how exactly to celebrate their National Day without ostracizing immigrants and citizens of other races and religions, read more about it here). Edward and I are thinking of taking Annika to watch the festivities at Skansen, but maybe it's best that we don't plan anything just yet? Baka lalo pang ma-jinx kung iplano e, hehe.
Speaking of plans that fell through, I fully intended to participate in Lasang Pinoy 18 after getting an email from Toni on May 15 inviting me to join. I had 15 days to write an entry - a recipe, anecdote, anything really - about vegetables, but of course I forgot all about it until today. I hope it isn't too late to contribute a little something.
First, the vegetable story. Most children hate ampalaya, brussels sprouts, and okra but my hatred of veggies extended to talong and kalabasa. I disliked kalabasa most of all. There was just something that turned me off about its texture and smell, and its strange yellow-orange color, yuck!
I clearly remember one Saturday afternoon at my aunt's house, our lunch was... dundundun... the dreaded kalabasa. My yaya was planning to take me to the movie theaters along Recto Avenue then (which wasn't the scary place it is today) to watch the latest Tito, Vic, and Joey film. I refused to take a bite of the kalabasa, and my aunt threatened to make me stand in the corner after lunch and not let me go to the movies. I mulled this over for a while - while I didn't relish the thought of standing in the corner, it was okay compared to the prospect of eating the icky kalabasa. But I loved LOVED Tito, Vic, and Joey and didn't want to miss the movie! (oh stop laughing, I was probably only 6 years old at the time.) In the end, I chose my God-given right to NOT partake of the kalabasa dish over my freedom and movie privileges. That's how much I hated kalabasa.
Which is why I completely understand when my 1 1/2 year old daughter doesn't want to eat her veggies either.... but that doesn't mean I'm giving up without a fight! I try to hide the vegetables in dishes that she does like. Keep your fingers crossed that when she gets a bit older and spots the veggies, I'll be able to convince her that veggies are good for her :-P these are the some of the dishes I prepare for her right now. Remember not to add salt and pepper to your dish until after you've separated baby's portion.
Mashed potatoes - I usually peel and boil 4 medium-sized potatoes and this is enough for 2 adults and 1 toddler. After boiling and draining, add one pat of soft butter for each potato and mash them up with a fork. Add a bit of milk at a time while continuously mashing and stirring, until the mixture reaches the desired consistency. Then add some soft cooked vegetables - (peas, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.) and mash them in as best as you can.
Spaghetti sauce - after the ground beef is browned and the sauce is bubbling, I add torn spinach or finely diced carrots, turn down the heat, and cover the pot for a couple of minutes. This also works well with tomato soup.
Omelettes - just add torn spinach leaves and chopped tomatoes to your standard egg-and-milk mix. Don't forget the grated cheese, to guarantee that your toddler will eat up every bite.
After reading through some of the other contributions, mine seem kind of lame because I'm a bad cook and when offered a shortcut or an easy way out, I will take it. But maybe this will help some parents who are looking for easy ways to get their toddlers to eat more vegetables without having to force it down their throats :-)
bochie has an update but it's Friends-Only so go on and add her if you're curious, and she'll add you back as soon as she can!
Tomorrow (Tuesday) is my husband's birthday, and our original plan was to have a big day out in the city, watch Spider-man 3 (it's been 18.5 months since we've stepped foot inside a movie theater, but who's counting?), maybe go shopping, and have a child-free day until 4pm, when we normally pick up Annika from daycare. I know this does not seem like a big deal to you guys, but believe me, I've been looking forward to this day for weeks... without a yaya or relatives who live nearby, days out without a stroller and a toddler are almost unheard of. BUT since June 6 (Wednesday) is a holiday in Sweden, the daycare will close early on Tuesday. So we have to pick up Annika shortly after lunch. Sorry na lang kami. Looks like our movie-free streak will continue.
I was also supposed to spend most of today (Monday) in meetings and wrapping up things at work so I could take a couple of days off. But as always, things did not go as planned.
Edward left for work around 6:30am, while Annika and I were still snoring in bed ;-) we woke up at 7:50am, and Annika promptly pooped - a very liquidy poop that left me worried that she had diarrhea, especially since she had pooped twice Sunday night and had barely eaten anything at dinner. So I canceled all my appointments and spent my day trying to get the listless Annika to eat solids, and also nursing her every hour or so because she was craving lots of milk and closeness.She seems lively and alert now, and is eating normally. I just hope she will be well enough to go to daycare tomorrow morning, kawawa naman si Edward if we can't even have a child-free morning and lunch on his birthday!
June 6 is National Day - lots of speech-making and flag-waving in the city (although it's a bit funny how Swedes are still deciding how exactly to celebrate their National Day without ostracizing immigrants and citizens of other races and religions, read more about it here). Edward and I are thinking of taking Annika to watch the festivities at Skansen, but maybe it's best that we don't plan anything just yet? Baka lalo pang ma-jinx kung iplano e, hehe.
Speaking of plans that fell through, I fully intended to participate in Lasang Pinoy 18 after getting an email from Toni on May 15 inviting me to join. I had 15 days to write an entry - a recipe, anecdote, anything really - about vegetables, but of course I forgot all about it until today. I hope it isn't too late to contribute a little something.
First, the vegetable story. Most children hate ampalaya, brussels sprouts, and okra but my hatred of veggies extended to talong and kalabasa. I disliked kalabasa most of all. There was just something that turned me off about its texture and smell, and its strange yellow-orange color, yuck!
I clearly remember one Saturday afternoon at my aunt's house, our lunch was... dundundun... the dreaded kalabasa. My yaya was planning to take me to the movie theaters along Recto Avenue then (which wasn't the scary place it is today) to watch the latest Tito, Vic, and Joey film. I refused to take a bite of the kalabasa, and my aunt threatened to make me stand in the corner after lunch and not let me go to the movies. I mulled this over for a while - while I didn't relish the thought of standing in the corner, it was okay compared to the prospect of eating the icky kalabasa. But I loved LOVED Tito, Vic, and Joey and didn't want to miss the movie! (oh stop laughing, I was probably only 6 years old at the time.) In the end, I chose my God-given right to NOT partake of the kalabasa dish over my freedom and movie privileges. That's how much I hated kalabasa.
Which is why I completely understand when my 1 1/2 year old daughter doesn't want to eat her veggies either.... but that doesn't mean I'm giving up without a fight! I try to hide the vegetables in dishes that she does like. Keep your fingers crossed that when she gets a bit older and spots the veggies, I'll be able to convince her that veggies are good for her :-P these are the some of the dishes I prepare for her right now. Remember not to add salt and pepper to your dish until after you've separated baby's portion.
Mashed potatoes - I usually peel and boil 4 medium-sized potatoes and this is enough for 2 adults and 1 toddler. After boiling and draining, add one pat of soft butter for each potato and mash them up with a fork. Add a bit of milk at a time while continuously mashing and stirring, until the mixture reaches the desired consistency. Then add some soft cooked vegetables - (peas, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.) and mash them in as best as you can.
Spaghetti sauce - after the ground beef is browned and the sauce is bubbling, I add torn spinach or finely diced carrots, turn down the heat, and cover the pot for a couple of minutes. This also works well with tomato soup.
Omelettes - just add torn spinach leaves and chopped tomatoes to your standard egg-and-milk mix. Don't forget the grated cheese, to guarantee that your toddler will eat up every bite.
After reading through some of the other contributions, mine seem kind of lame because I'm a bad cook and when offered a shortcut or an easy way out, I will take it. But maybe this will help some parents who are looking for easy ways to get their toddlers to eat more vegetables without having to force it down their throats :-)