All’s Well that Ends Well…

We’re finally settled in.

(Thank you so much to everyone who sent encouraging emails and so forth)

So much has happened, so I’ll just start back blogging by giving you a summary of what we’ve been up to since the 21st October, when I unplugged and went offline.

The removalists came and went almost three weeks ago, leaving a stack of boxes in the garage with half of their labels facing inwards or upside-down.

Finding a clean towel has never been such fun! ~Not.

WonderHubby drilled nicely-spaced holes and fitted the shelves I had cut at Bunnings for the broom closet, which will now be an extra pantry.

It’s his first handy-man job around the home, and I’m very proud of him, as he’s never had much confidence in his home improvement abilities.

The helpful people at Bunnings remained straight-faced at my inane questions, as I went on a pricing-spree for various items we will need in the future.

The fan-lights in the lounge and kitchen have been repaired after they gave out under warranty.

~Mr Bump made a “Best Fixer in the World” prize-ribbon for the electrician to wear, which he still sported as he drove off to his next job.

The plumber came on Monday and we now have a basic laundry in the back of the garage. - Remember, we only had a little space at the end of the kitchen for a front-loader, while our machine is a top-loader.

Vegie plants are growing in the vegie patch. Plus other precious seedlings are emerging in pots near the back door.

The Cat was quite happy to be transplanted and (I’m pleased to report) behaves very well indoors at night.
However, unexpected events have occurred which I will relate to you at a later date.

Linen press, pantry and appliance cupboards have been filled and we are beginning to remember where we’ve put everything.

Phone and internet are connected and at last I am back in contact with the world.

Eat Your Vegetables!

Since I became a parent, I’ve worried a lot about getting Wren & Mr Bump to eat healthy food.

At one stage when Wren was 3, hubby & I were so desperate for her to eat anything that we gave her bread and butter for dinner. ~ It only lasted for a couple of nights, but it gave us all some breathing space and some time to think up some new attack strategies.
I found that a really big struggle we had was vegetables. We’re supposed to be eating 5 ’serves’ per day (whatever that means), and the kids were more more likely to throw 5 serves a day.

After much experimentation, hubby & I came up with a number of methods that have worked really well and I actually have children who enjoy eating vegetables now!

1. In the Raw.

The biggest obstacle I could see was that kids usually leave what they don’t like until last, by which time cooked veges are yuck. So I cut up some raw carrot, tomato and cucumber for dinner ~ it saved time, too. That went down okay, at least it still tasted alright after half an hour!

2. Frozen peas & corn.

Not surprisingly, the kids think it’s fun to eat undefrosted vegetables. When hubby first suggested it 5 years ago, I thought the idea was plain weird. But really, that suits our children perfectly, and what difference does heating them make anyway?

3. Grow your own to pick and eat off the plant.

My mum did this with me, and I loved it. You don’t need to have a huge vege patch, or even a back yard. You can grow your own tomatoes from seed in a pot. There are heaps of things you can grow this way. Mr Bump has gotten a huge kick out of the whole tomato experience ~ and we haven’t even had fruit from then yet.

4. Cut up a selection for a platter.

I’ve found that the best way to get Wren & Mr Bump eating veges regularly is to cut them up raw and put them on a platter on the dinner table. I try to vary what’s on offer a bit and sometimes add some cheeses so we don’t all get bored.
We serve the main part of the meal (lamb chops or whatever), then I put two or three pieces of each vegetable on their plates. This must be eaten, and almost always is.
If they want more of something, they can have it after finishing what I’ve given them. Sometimes, they’ll ask if they can leave one piece of tomato (for example), and we might bargain with them ~ “you can leave the tomato if you have two pieces of cucumber”.

We’ve found that over time the kids have really begun enjoy eating veges and
actually come back for more.

Hope this has given you some new ideas to run with, in the battle for healthy eating!

Sprouting Seeds on Cotton Wool

You might be able to see that we grew our sprouts from fresh peas, in a little plastic food container.

We’re going to have a go at using the seeds from beans too.

They may as well be of some interest to the kids, since they certainly don’t eat them.

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