Category Archives: Friday Food Facts

Why I Feel Like the Worst Dad + Foodie Fun Facts #7: Coconut

08/22/2014 R.C. Liley 1 Comment

Hello and welcome to the end of the work week! Well, for most people anyway. If it’s not the end for you, then welcome to Friday!

Does your kid have a favorite parent they gravitate to more than the other? Are you that favorite parent, or are you seemingly on similar polar fields as your child causing them to repel from you? I feel like the latter as of late and it’s driving me insane!

For the past few mornings, Going Mom will be holding Avery after feeding her and then tried to hand her to me so she can get ready for work. But, Avery grasps onto my wife’s robe and starts crying making her unwillingness to come into my arms obvious….very obvious.

On one hand, sure, I get it, who would want to leave the arms of such a beautiful lady? But on the other hand, what the hell?! I’m Daddy, a pretty nice guy and her only daytime playmate so far.

It even happens without Going Mom picking her up. I’ll be laying inside the playpen with Avery, and Kelley will just walk by and Avery will start crying (real tears and all) as if my presence means nothing. This makes me feel like I’m the worst dad in the world!

I keep telling myself this is just a phase, as we usually do with a baby, but this has been eating away at me since the first occurrence. Please, tell me this ends soon and won’t last for months. She’s fine when it’s just us, but I want her to be happy to come to either of us when we’re both around.

Of course, I also want her to eat all of the veggies we give her, go to sleep without a fuss, and let us know the instant she poops. But for now, I’d be happy with her not crying when being handed to me. Otherwise, I just might become crazier than a coconut!

Speaking of, I have some coconut facts to share with you for today’s Friday Foodie Fun Facts. How do you like my segue? Hmm, maybe it’s my corniness that repels her….

Coconut Fun Facts

Technically the coconut fruit is a drupe not a nut. Typical drupes include peaches, plums, and cherries.
Coconut oil was the world’s leading vegetable oil until soybean oil took over in the 1960′s.
Coconut oil contains MCT’s (medium chain triglycerides) which are easy to digest and a great source of energy that also helps boost metabolism.
Falling coconuts kill 150 people every year – 10 times the number of people killed by sharks.
In Thailand and Malaysia, trained monkeys are used to harvest coconuts. In some of the countries, annual competitions are held to find the fastest harvester.
Coconut water can be a substitute for blood plasma. It was known to be used during World War II in tropical areas for emergency transfusions.
The coconut does not get dispersed like other drupe fruits which spread through consumption by wildlife. Since coconut is very buoyant and highly water resistant, the coconut palm disperses its seed using the ocean.

I’ve been enjoying coconut a lot lately and love it’s health benefits and flavor! I’ll use organic canned coconut milk for smoothies, mixed with beans in a puree, as well as just milk to drink. Shredded coconut is also great added to cereal or sprinkled on baked goods.

Do you like using coconut? Any recipes/tips you care to share?

Any advice on how to get your baby to like you again?

Friday Food Facts, Life

A Weekend Away from Baby + Foodie Fun Facts #6: Avocado

08/15/2014 R.C. Liley 4 Comments

Yes! Going Mom and I will be free for two whole days to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary this weekend! All the places we can go, sights we can see, things we can do…..FREE! Thanks to G-Ma, my awesome mom, for agreeing to stay at our house and watch Avery! I wonder if this will be the first and last time…hmmmm.

So, where are we going? Just the Embassy Suites in Downtown Fort Worth which is only 20 minutes from our home. Okay, so it’s nothing that exciting, but that’s what we want; low key and relaxing. Plus, we need a room with a fridge since Kelley still needs to pump, and a microwave since we’ll bring most of our own food.

I know, we should be going out and living it up, not cooking food in the microwave from our hotel room, but that suits us just fine. Ideally, we’d have a full season of hit TV show to watch back to back just like we used to, but I’m sure we’ll actually get out too. I’d like to go to the movies at least once as well. I’m all for the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie (obviously), but understand if my lovely bride wants to see something else. Any suggestions?

Simply walking over to a nearby coffee shop will be luxury to us, and won’t break the bank. I’ll be sure to fill you in with all of our shenanigans early next week, but I still have some prep-work to tend to, so on to the Friday Foodie Fun Facts!

I dedicate these avocado fun facts to my mom since every time she comes over (usually once a week), she’ll have one or two avocados that are beyond ripe. Seriously, they feel like balloons filled with water since the skin will give so easily. But, I don’t mind as I love have avocado chunks in my giant nightly salad.

Here are 5 things to think of as you enjoy your hard-as-a-rock or soft-as-a-pillow avocado; it seems you never have them just right, huh? I think this picture says it all…

Avocados mature on the tree, but they only ripen once they are picked. Even more amazing is the fact that avocados can stay on a tree for as long as 18 months. It’s as if the tree preserves them until you’re ready to use them.
They are one of the most inexpensive anti-aging tools for your skin! Rough outer covering aside, the inner smoothness and creaminess has what we need for youthful skin. With all of the nutrients, healthy fat and vitamins, an avocado tree could be the next fountain (tree) of youth!
Avocado trees do not self-pollinate; they need another avocado tree close by to bear fruit. The avocado is an Aztec symbol of love and fertility, and they also grow in pairs on trees
Avocados are a fruit, not a vegetable. They have the highest fiber content of any fruit and contain vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin E, potassium, magnesium, and folate.
The avocado is also called an Alligator Pear because of its pear-like shape and it’s bumpy green skin.

I’m beginning to like avocados more and more, and even add them to sweet things like dessert dips and smoothies. They add a pleasant creaminess, and being a fruit, I think go perfectly with dessert.

Happy Friday!!

Do you like avocados? If so, do you prefer them alone or mashed into something like guacamole?

Have you ever enjoyed a weekend away from your kid or kids? What did you do?

Friday Food Facts, Life, Parenting

My Wife Wins Again, Our Baby Throws Food, and More Banana Fun Facts #5

08/08/2014 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Why must I be so stubborn all the time? Even if I know I’m (probably) wrong, I still end up trying to stand my ground. This part of me seems ingrained deep within, and I’m sorry to those who have to witness my hardheadedness.

Recently, okay, almost everyday, but still, work with me here, Going Mom and I had slight disagreement about something. It’s one of those small things most couples will argue about at least once; the toilet seat.

As the one who stays home all day, takes in a lot of caffeine, and subsequently pees a lot, I always keep the seat up. It makes it easier for me to go in, do my business, and get out back to Avery. Months ago, I even wrote a post defending my “right” to leave the seat up.

In that post, I clearly thought I won this argument fair and square. Turns out, the dispute was still unsettled. During Avery’s bath time, Kelly asked me in a nice tone to please start putting the seat down since Avery is now mobile and can easily make her way to the toilet. I stubbornly said “Just don’t let her.” as if it is always that easy, and thus our small argument began.

We kind of ended the tiff without further discussion, and I resorted to asking other dads on the Dad Blogger Facebook group I am a part of. The responses quickly came one after another with the majority of other dads taking not mine, but my wife’s side. After several of them mentioned crawling/walking kids getting into and possibly drowning plus just having really “pissed” (ha ha, get it?) off spouses, I realized my battle was lost; just like before Going Mom wins again.

So, to my wife who I still haven’t told that I now keep the seats down, I am sorry. Hopefully you’re reading this post today and can find forgiveness; you always do! 🙂

Now that I’ll be putting the seats down after each use, I’m looking into getting toilet seats with the soft/slow close hinges. I live in constant fear about making a loud noise when Avery is sleeping, and slamming the toilet seat is the last thing I want to do, so it only makes sense. Thanks to all of the dad bloggers who pointed this out!

Another “issue” we’ve been having lately is Avery throwing her food on the floor during dinnertime. This is the only time we give her solids since she’s still on breast milk, but she used to actually eat a little before just tossing the food. Before, she’d accidentally drop food on the floor and we’d laugh thinking it’s cute, but now she’s fully aware of what she’s doing.

Going Mom still laughs and does a bad job at hiding it, but it hurts me to see good food go to waste. I realize this is part of raising a baby, and I accept it, but no reason to laugh at her which I think makes her think it’s okay.

What, it's not okay? — What, it’s not okay?

I’m pretty sure discipline at this age is frowned upon, so I just try and tell her that’s not okay to do, and then I’ll take a bite of my own broccoli in hopes that will help. So far, it doesn’t….

Go ahead, laugh at me, you more experienced parents, I know it only gets worse. Oh well, it’s hard to ever stay upset with her for more than a minute; hopefully that never changes!

Maybe we’ll start introducing fruit to see if she likes the sweeter things. We wanted to start with veggies so she wouldn’t get used to sweeter things first, but I know bananas are always a tasty treat! Speaking of, I have some more banana fun facts in continuation from last Friday’s post.

The fastest marathon ever run by a competitor dressed as a fruit was 2 hours, 58 minutes, and 20 seconds—recorded at the Barcelona Marathon on March 6, 2011. The runner was Patrick Wightman from the United Kingdom, who dressed as a banana.
A few varieties of wild bananas include bubblegum pink bananas with fuzzy skins, green-and-white striped bananas with pulp the color of orange sherbet, and bananas that taste like strawberries when they’re cooked.
Banana peels are actually edible if cooked.
A man in India once ate 81 bananas in a half hour.
More songs have been written about bananas than about any other fruit.
The scientific name for banana is musa sapientum, which means “fruit of the wise men.”

I’m off to enjoy the rest of Friday now, hope you do the same! Kelley is having a girl’s night out tonight, so it’ll be just Avery and me for bed time. It shouldn’t be too bad…..as long as she actually eats her veggies!!

Do you have any tips/tricks on how to not let your child throw food? Or should I just give in and accept it?