One of Those Days
The house (and especially the kitchen floor) has gotten so bad that I decided to let the kids play while I work on the house this morning, and do some school this afternoon instead of having their normal quiet time.
Baby E hasn't been napping at the same time as their quiet time very often, and by that time I'm usually having to start dinner anyway. So I thought it might work to try to get some things done earlier in the day and help them do school between working on dinner.
However, it's not working out that way very well.
##################
Baby E is extremely tired but won't take a nap or let me put her down anywhere. I don't know what her problem is, but if I put her down the screaming starts--and screaming--and screaming. She doesn't really act like she's in pain. She just wants me to hold her. It doesn't seem like her normal allergy reaction. I just don't know.
The older kids played in the mud, found some water to splash in, and then came in the house with their shoes on--right across the carpet. They are seemingly incapable of so much as changing their own clothes today, and are having meltdowns at every opportunity.
My big goal of sweeping and mopping the kitchen floor seems less and less likely as the day goes on. I just don't feel up to trying to do that while carrying Baby E, even in the sling. I'm too tired and sore.
And I have no clue what we're going to have for lunch. I really should be chopping vegetables or something right now, but I'm just plain out of ideas for from-scratch allergen-free lunches that don't contain bread (since I haven't made the time to make some hopefully "safe" bread yet this week, and I'm not sure the yeast I have isn't grown on corn), nightshades, soy, corn or dairy.
One day I made my own whole wheat tortillas, which was only moderately labor-intensive, but I couldn't figure out how to keep them from getting too brittle.
Yesterday we had waffles for lunch, but I tried to modify a new recipe and they didn't turn out well. It may have been that I didn't get the proportions of the ingredients right, or just that the waffle irons are old and persnickety, but they didn't rise properly and were tough and poorly-flavored on top of being burnt in some spots and gooey in others. (I also managed to dump almost my entire container of homemade baking powder on the floor, and it's still coating much of the kitchen in a fine white dust that's getting tracked into the rest of the house.)
The day before we just had poached eggs, acorn squash, apples and raw zucchini for lunch. Maybe I'll bake an acorn squash again--the kids did like that. They loved the zucchini and ate up all three I had left.
The basic ingredients I have available at the moment are chicken, brown rice, acorn squash, pumpkin, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, carrots, sweet potatoes and yams (they're not nightshades even though they look like potatoes), celery, and a little bit of broccoli and bok choy. We've been having carrots at almost every meal.
I'm trying to add more vegetables into our diet, because just chicken and brown rice isn't anything like a complete diet day after day. We're eating lots of whole grains and fruit, but not enough vegetables. I've been keeping track of everything I eat this week on mypyramid.gov, so I know that we're not getting enough calcium, folate, or Vitamin E, among other things.
We're certainly not lacking in Vitamin A, but I need to figure out some other options to round things out a bit. How many days in a row can one eat mostly yellow and orange vegetables? It just happens that carrots and squash were what Grandma had growing in her garden, so we've got lots of that. And lots of homegrown apples.
We used to eat a lot of raw spinach, and quite a few peas and green beans, but spinach seems to be impossible at the moment and the other two are legumes, of course--which we're avoiding because of Baby E's allergies. I haven't figured out a way to get my family to eat any cooked green leafy vegetables like kale or spinach yet. Other than that, there just aren't that many options besides cabbage and lettuce in our local grocery stores. We're not that crazy about cabbage, but we end up eating quite a lot of it.
What does everyone else eat vegetable-wise if you leave out peas, beans, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, mushrooms and peppers? I'm running out of ideas besides just plain sauteed or steamed veggies mixed up with meat and rice, and I haven't been very successful yet at getting my family to eat soups or casseroles.
Maybe I'll at least see if DH can stop and pick up some leaf lettuce to have as a salad with dinner (and I have no clue what dinner is going to be, either) tonight, and some more zucchini.
Baby E finally fell asleep while I was writing this, so I'm off to sweep the kitchen floor and find something to feed the kids.
Baby E hasn't been napping at the same time as their quiet time very often, and by that time I'm usually having to start dinner anyway. So I thought it might work to try to get some things done earlier in the day and help them do school between working on dinner.
However, it's not working out that way very well.
##################
Baby E is extremely tired but won't take a nap or let me put her down anywhere. I don't know what her problem is, but if I put her down the screaming starts--and screaming--and screaming. She doesn't really act like she's in pain. She just wants me to hold her. It doesn't seem like her normal allergy reaction. I just don't know.
The older kids played in the mud, found some water to splash in, and then came in the house with their shoes on--right across the carpet. They are seemingly incapable of so much as changing their own clothes today, and are having meltdowns at every opportunity.
My big goal of sweeping and mopping the kitchen floor seems less and less likely as the day goes on. I just don't feel up to trying to do that while carrying Baby E, even in the sling. I'm too tired and sore.
And I have no clue what we're going to have for lunch. I really should be chopping vegetables or something right now, but I'm just plain out of ideas for from-scratch allergen-free lunches that don't contain bread (since I haven't made the time to make some hopefully "safe" bread yet this week, and I'm not sure the yeast I have isn't grown on corn), nightshades, soy, corn or dairy.
One day I made my own whole wheat tortillas, which was only moderately labor-intensive, but I couldn't figure out how to keep them from getting too brittle.
Yesterday we had waffles for lunch, but I tried to modify a new recipe and they didn't turn out well. It may have been that I didn't get the proportions of the ingredients right, or just that the waffle irons are old and persnickety, but they didn't rise properly and were tough and poorly-flavored on top of being burnt in some spots and gooey in others. (I also managed to dump almost my entire container of homemade baking powder on the floor, and it's still coating much of the kitchen in a fine white dust that's getting tracked into the rest of the house.)
The day before we just had poached eggs, acorn squash, apples and raw zucchini for lunch. Maybe I'll bake an acorn squash again--the kids did like that. They loved the zucchini and ate up all three I had left.
The basic ingredients I have available at the moment are chicken, brown rice, acorn squash, pumpkin, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, carrots, sweet potatoes and yams (they're not nightshades even though they look like potatoes), celery, and a little bit of broccoli and bok choy. We've been having carrots at almost every meal.
I'm trying to add more vegetables into our diet, because just chicken and brown rice isn't anything like a complete diet day after day. We're eating lots of whole grains and fruit, but not enough vegetables. I've been keeping track of everything I eat this week on mypyramid.gov, so I know that we're not getting enough calcium, folate, or Vitamin E, among other things.
We're certainly not lacking in Vitamin A, but I need to figure out some other options to round things out a bit. How many days in a row can one eat mostly yellow and orange vegetables? It just happens that carrots and squash were what Grandma had growing in her garden, so we've got lots of that. And lots of homegrown apples.
We used to eat a lot of raw spinach, and quite a few peas and green beans, but spinach seems to be impossible at the moment and the other two are legumes, of course--which we're avoiding because of Baby E's allergies. I haven't figured out a way to get my family to eat any cooked green leafy vegetables like kale or spinach yet. Other than that, there just aren't that many options besides cabbage and lettuce in our local grocery stores. We're not that crazy about cabbage, but we end up eating quite a lot of it.
What does everyone else eat vegetable-wise if you leave out peas, beans, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, mushrooms and peppers? I'm running out of ideas besides just plain sauteed or steamed veggies mixed up with meat and rice, and I haven't been very successful yet at getting my family to eat soups or casseroles.
Maybe I'll at least see if DH can stop and pick up some leaf lettuce to have as a salad with dinner (and I have no clue what dinner is going to be, either) tonight, and some more zucchini.
Baby E finally fell asleep while I was writing this, so I'm off to sweep the kitchen floor and find something to feed the kids.
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Posted by purple_kangaroo at 11:36 AM[Permanent link]
11 Comments:
Eggplant? celery (my kids like it raw with dips). Beets, cooked with vinegar and sugar (whichever form is least allergenic - if that's an option?) are usually well received -especially cooked and then chilled, like a sweet pickle. Cucumbers with vinegar and dill, raw - mmmm.
As for the tough day - I think there must be a universal front coming thru - mine are behaving strangely too....
Thanks, mommyham. Eggplant is a nightshade, I believe, and my family detests beets. But they do like cucumbers and will occasionally eat celery . . . thanks for the ideas.
I hope your day improves, too!
Are beans allowed? How about chick peas and tihini (sesame seed paste) made into Hummas? Dip broccoi, cucumber, carrots, celery and whatever into it. Yummmmmmm. Eggplant dip (Babaganush) and zitizki (yogurt and cucumber dip)
Roasted veggies are good. My fav is califlower, but you can do any veggie. I toss the veggie with a little olive oil and whole cloves of garlic if you have it and roast at 450 until carmalized
Lastly, if you can eat pancakes, make them a little thinner and they become round bread. Make your batter even thinner and it becomes a crepe. Inside add cheese (tofu cheese) or fruit or veggies
....hope this helps...Beth
Thanks, Beth. We can't do beans of any kind at this point, and no eggplant (it is definitely a nightshade--I double checked).
The pancake/crepe idea is a good one, and I love the roasted veggie idea. I have some cauliflower in the refrigerator and I'll try that tonight! How much garlic do you put in?
How's about "white" pizza (pizza without tomato sauce) or "white" lasagne (ditto). Do a chopped veggie medley or puree (kale or collards would work well here, along with broccoli, cauliflower, etc.) mixed in with the cheese and garlic, pour it on the noodles or pizza crust. You can add chicken to the mix, too. Very yum.
Shepherd's pie? Again with the chopped veggie medley or puree with kale, carrots, etc. stirred in with the ground lamb. Topped with yummy mashed potatoes. We'll often add curry powder to our shepherd's pie for a somewhat Indian flavor.
Frittata? Yet again with the veggies as above, maybe chicken or ham?
Big hugs to you and your whole family.
Thanks, Liz. We can't do cheese or potatoes, or curry powder (because of peppers/paprika). But those are good ideas. I could probably make a shepherd's pie with biscuit topping. I don't know if I could make a pizza work with our dietary restrictions or not.
What's frittatta? I've never heard of it before.
Thanks for the hugs!
I've got a cauliflower head roasting and some broccoli steaming at the moment. I'm excited to try the roasted cauliflower.
we make a lot of green smoothies in an attempt to get something green into the baby's diet. a couple handfuls of spinach along with melon, banana, oranges, apples, mango, or whatever fruit or juice you have on hand. silas really likes sipping it through a straw. you can use swiss chard in it too.
i've also minced cooked kale and combined it with cottage cheese and tossed it with noodels. I know you can't do cheese, and i'm not sure if you have corn free noodles, but you could try it w/o cheese and just toss the spinach/chard/kale/collards with rice.
everytime i see the rice milk yougurt inteh stores here, i think of you and wish i could send you some. then today i thought maybe you could try making it. i know you don't need *another* thing to make from scratch but maybe you could make it a science lesson, discussing how you have to sterilize the milk to kill the bad bacteria and then you add the good bacteria and have to keep it warm so the good bacteria can grow.
we made a dish the other night that silas really liked, chicken hash with squash and kale. I think the little sweetness of the dressing helped, but here is the recipe.
4 cups squash, cut into chunks
4 cups kale, stemmed and chopped
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken thigh
salt and peper
2 T olive oil
1 cup red onion, sliced
1 cup dried cranberries
1 t sage
1/2 c chicken broth
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 T dijon mustard
Blanch squash in boiling water for 3-4 min. Off heat stir in kale and let stand 3 minutes. Drain and set aside. Season chicken with s&p.
Heat oil in pot and saute chicken. Add onion and saute 2 min. Stir in veggies, cranberries, and sage.
Whisk together remaining ingredints. Pour over hash and simmer until liquid reduces, about 2 min.
we subbed sweet potatoes for squash cause that's what was on hand and honey for maple syrup cause i was out, but you could use rice syrup or barley malt instead since i know you are having trouble with maple syrup. oh and we also just made it with leftover roasted chicken instead of raw.
oh one last idea, in the joy of cooking there is a recipe for sweetpotato and banane puffs- like little souffles. They are really easy and very good. i can send you that recipe too if you think it sounds promising.
A frittata is something like a baked omelette. You chop veggies and meats and whisk 'em with one or two eggs per serving, pour into an oven-proof dish and bake until brown on top.
You can use leftovers in this dish, I bet baked cauliflower would work really well.
is hummus an option? how about some sort of granola? Just be glad you don't have a realtor calling you w/ a last minute visit 4 times a day on top of all that... AACK, I'm cleaning constantly!! ;-)
I just purchased soy milk from Costco for the first time and got the 3rd degree from my DH (cost)... this morning he seemed a little more interested! It's actually pretty good and I think Roo may be lactose intolerant (cow's milk makes him constipated). I know soy is off the list for you but it made me think about switching and it looks to be pretty healthy, too.
Take care, Colleen
p.s. we enjoyed a yummy frittata (solid egg mixed w/ sausage, etc) on croissant at a little cafe on the beach - http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1727,148186-250202,00.html
Bridget, I actually bought a yogurt maker recently and am going to try making rice milk yogurt when I get a chance and some safe starter. We bought some kale this week and I'm going to try your pasta idea, I think. That chicken recipe sounds like something I could probably modify to work for us, too.
Liz and Colleen, all these mentions of frittata are making me want to try one. I made a sort of omlette a day or two ago with the leftover cauliflower, broccoli, etc. and it was good, though I did it wrong so the filling didn't stick to the eggs very well.
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