WIAW #1 – Do All Parents Eat Food Off the Floor?

Before “Going Dad”, I had a healthy food blog called Just Add Cayenne. You can find a link to it at the top with it’s own tab. One of my favorite things to do on the blog was to participate in What I Ate Wednesday (WIAW); a link-up party hosted by Jenn from the blog Peas and Crayons. Note: There is no link party this week, but it will continue next week. Check out Jenn’s post explaining why here.

It’s been a couple years since I joined in, but I’ve missed it and figured I’d try to start back up again. I love food, healthy food, and I enjoy sharing and talking about it with others who have an appreciation for it too. So thank you, Jenn, for still going strong on these link ups, glad to see you’ve kept these going!

The theme for my first WIAW post on Going Dad is something I’ve found myself doing a lot of lately, eating food off the floor. And not just food I dropped, but food my daughter, Avery, drops. Sometimes from her mouth, sometimes just her hands, but I can’t stand to see it go to waste. Hey, if it’s healthy and something you took the time to cook, it’s hard! I know there are other parents out there like this….right?

This is partly my fault for trying to feed her while she’s roaming around my feet in the kitchen (yes, like a cat) and not putting her in the high chair. So I break pieces of my homemade bread like Coconut Carrot Bread and feed it to her. Again, yes, just like a kitty, which I pretend she is as a way to get her to eat.

But sometimes kitties drop their food, and me not wanting to toss it in the trash, I quickly eat it myself before taking time to have a second thought. I have my limits, like if it’s practically fully chewed and regurgitated, but otherwise, I’m a victim of second-hand snacking from my baby.

Now, let’s move on to my eats for the week.

what I ate wednesday, WIAW

A little pre-workout snack of homemade pumpkin bread with a nice layer of NuttZo in the middle.

I downed a green protein smoothie after the workout and played with Avery while cooking lunch. I made a big bowl of edamame spaghetti with my homemade fermented beets and wild salmon. Avery ate from what I had, and I made sure she was in the high chair for this one!

Not long after, it was naptime, so I brought Avery to her room to sleep. Like usual, she fought it, but finally gave in after kicking the crap out of crib. Crazy kid!! Then I snacked on some chocolate chia oatmeal NuttZo balls while checking e-mail.

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As expected, naptime was short, and Avery was up and ready to wreak havoc play all over the house. When my wife, Going Mom, came home from work, more playing ensued and I prepared dinner. Chicken and black bean stew turned out better than I expected, and Avery and Kelley both enjoyed.

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The mushrooms were all for me, Kelley’s not a fan and had tortilla strips instead. Fine with me, I’m not one to share my mushrooms!

After dinner, we went through Avery’s bedtime routine and put her down for the night. For my nightly snack, I enjoyed a steamed kobocha squash with lots of plain Greek yogurt and, you guessed it, a couple spoonfuls of NuttZo.

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I may or may not have gone back for seconds. Okay, thirds.

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A Broken Umbrella + Our First Family Movie Experience

Guess we can’t have wonderful Texas weather all the time! Winter reared its ugly head in our direction on Sunday with a big temperature drop, high wind, and pouring rain. Perfect time for a family movie!

Sunday started off like usual with me making a big bowl of blueberries with a little oatmeal and NuttZo (order yours and save 15% with code liley15)mixed in for Kelley and Avery.

In return, Kelley makes the coffee which is perfectly fair to me. I go through coffee like it’s water. Besides the fact that it pretty much is water…..

After my lovely girls ate and I downed a couple cups of coffee along with a big scoop of NuttZo, I was determined to go for a walk. I have a “need” to get out at least a little every day, but the weather was not too inviting.

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I was cold just looking outside, and watching the rain come down harder as the wind blew the trees was all but motivating! But, my determination stupidity stubbornness held strong and I dressed appropriately for a stroll outside.

Shorts with my ProCompression marathon socks, a 20 pound weight vest held together with safety pins (not kidding, they stick me all the time), and gloves with a headband….because it’s cold. For some odd reason, Going Mom and Avery didn’t want to come along. I’m sure just because of the weather and not because of my attire.

Off I went with an umbrella and my cell phone playing a Ben Greenfield podcast in hopes it would help take my mind off the cold wind and rain in my face. It didn’t. The stupid wind only got worse and ended up breaking my umbrella which made for an even colder (and wetter) walk.

Broken umbrella

Glad the girls were smart and stayed warm and dry inside! After drying off and thawing out, we were ready to pick a movie to watch with Avery. This would be our first time trying to watch a full movie with her, and thanks to one of our neighbors for letting us borrow their giant case of animated hits, we had a great selection to choose from. We settled in our front playroom and got into position.

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The movie of choice of Puss in Boots since we didn’t want anything too great for the first attempt. This proved to be a smart choice; Avery was all over the place doing everything but watching the movie.

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Yeah, eating wooden cars is more entertaining, apparently. We tried sitting her in her personalized chair, better know as the “Pooping Chair” in hopes that would keep her still.

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It worked! For a minute. We turn away and look back to see her somewhere else; again, not watching the movie.

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We finished the movie, but I couldn’t tell you much about it. At least she wasn’t too crazy, and maybe next time she’ll be more into it. Maybe the fact that it was right before nap time helped not a bit too!

The DVD collection we’re borrowing has Frozen, and from what I hear, kids seem to like it just a little. 🙂 Think a 15 month old is ready to watch, or should we stick with something like Curious George for now?

The Dad Network

How did your first movie watching experience go with your kids?

What was the movie of choice?

My Top Picks for a Healthy Lifestyle

Hi there! This will be quick. Just wanted to let you know I have a new page (see above) called My Healthy Food, Cooking, and Fitness Store where I listed my favorite foods, kitchen gadgets, and fitness equipment. If you want to start or maintain a healthy lifestyle, check it out, I’ll be adding more soon.

It’s all through Amazon where you can buy my favorites for your home and start enjoying healthy, delicious food that you can easily cook. Add in fitness equipment and you’re off to a new, healthier and happier you!

If you’re not sure what to do with some of the food, check out my other new page with Healthy Recipes your whole family will enjoy. Yes, even those picky toddlers…..

One for me, none for you, dad.
One for me, none for you, dad.

See? You’ll have them taking healthy food you cooked right out of your hands!

Soon, I’ll create a post where I share actual products I use the most along with ideas on how to get started with them. For now, please check out my list of favorites for a healthy lifestyle and let me know what you think.

What is the biggest thing you want to change most? Being more active, better nutrition, both, or something else?