Tag Archives: eating

What My Toddler Eats In A Day + WIAW

09/02/2015 R.C. Liley 6 Comments

I can’t believe I haven’t shared a day of eats for our toddler yet. For as much as I love food and cooking, you would think I’d do this all the time. Well, thanks to Jen, a fellow reader and blogger over at My Kitchen Musings, who requested a day in the life of my daughter’s food intake, I finally did it!

It’s been a while since my last What I Ate Wednesday post, so what better time than now to join in by sharing what my toddler ate! I always enjoy this link-up, so please make sure to check out and share the host’s post (cool, a rhyme!) if you don’t mind.

Breakfast #1 – We always start the day by reading Hey! Wake UP! by Sandra Boynton followed immediately with a green smoothie. Since I ~~hardly~~ never measure ingredients, some smoothies can be super green and a little bitter, but she usually loves what I blend up. In fact, she gets down right cranky and impatient if I’m not quick enough to hand it to her.

Breakfast #2 – After drinking most of her smoothie (I usually have to help with finishing), I made a super nutritious bowl of oatmeal.

I’m not one for simplicity when it comes to cooking, this bowl consisted of organic rolled oats, organic chia seeds, organic shredded unsweetened coconut (not pictured), organic pumpkin puree, Great Lakes Gelatin, and obviously NuttZo stirred in. Oh yeah, and two packets of Pyure Sweet Stevia along with heaps of cinnamon. The smell of pumpkin with NuttZo and cinnamon had my stomach rumbling for my own bowl!

I made a lot, and that girl ate 90% of it on her own! That’ll be fun to change later…..

For the leftovers, I added organic cacao powder and egg to create a quick microwave cake treat for us to “share” later.

Yeah, I ate it all by myself during nap time. Sorry, Avery, hope you still love me.

Lunch – This girl loves her veggies, so we always have a large bag of organic Normandy Blend frozen veggies from Costco that we steam. Nothing added, just make them bite size, put them on her tray, and she’ll gobble them right up. Along with canned wild-caught salmon, another staple in our house, and a simple, healthy meal is served in no time.

Pretty? Not really, but the importance of good nutrition far outweighs anything else in my mind. Especially when it comes to feeding a beautiful growing body like our sweet little girl. I even gave her a few spoonfuls of avocado that she surprisingly ate without protest.

It might of had something to do with watching Sid the Science Kid, the only 20 minutes of screen time she gets a day, and my promise to give her air-popped popcorn.

We don't wear shirts for lunch! — We don’t wear shirts for lunch!

With nothing added, this Tiny But Mighty Heirloom Popcorn is awesome! If you ever see it, buy it to try. It’s easier to eat than other versions which makes a perfectly healthy toddler (and parent) snack.

Dinner – Using our handy slow-cooker, I made a black bean and quinoa stew with carrots, zucchini from our garden, and crushed tomatoes along with wild antelope round steak my brother gave me from his hunting trip.

I love slow-cooker meals, and luckily, Going Mom and Avery do too! No special kid food here, we all ate and enjoyed a big bowl of our meaty stew. It’s almost too thick to be called stew, but lets just call it thick stew. Deal? Deal.

Pre-bedtime Snack – I tell ya, she can eat. She didn’t seem fully satisfied after dinner (she shared a big bowl with Mommy), so we gave her a few of these Go Raw Pizza Flax Snax to top her off.

We have to remind her to chew (only a million times a day), but she loves these things and I enjoy them too. They really have a good pizza flavor that makes them fun to crumble on a salad or eggs.

And there you have it, a typical day of eats for our 21 month old girl. We are proud that she enjoys fresh, whole foods and doesn’t cry for sweet treats all the time, and hopefully we can keep it that way. Only time will tell.

Do you have special food for your little ones or do they eat what you eat?

When it comes to cooking, do you tend to just throw things in as you please or prefer to measure it all out?

Life, Parenting

Colorado Family Vacation Day 2.1: Vail Farmers’ Market Surprise

08/18/2015 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

After the long first night in Colorado, we were up and at ’em to go to the Vail Farmers’ Market for day 2. We had planned on going before going on our trip since it’s only open on Sunday so it would be our only chance. Knowing this, I reached out to the friendly Executive Director of the unique market to ask about helping me with a little 8th Wedding Anniversary surprise.

I had no idea just what exactly could be arranged, but I told Angela, the kind director, how it would be our anniversary soon and I wanted something to surprise her while there. I love surprises, big or small, and when given the opportunity, I’ll take it!

That opportunity arose when Angela suggested making use of the live jazz band to announce our anniversary and play us a song in the center of the market. I immediately said yes to her suggestion and couldn’t believe how generous she was just talking to a stranger from Texas. She arranged for the announcement and even told me the time to be there, asking nothing in return.

But geez, getting everyone to stick around the area proved to be an arduous task! I should’ve know how hard it is to do anything that involves standing between a woman and shopping, and it almost resulted in a little argument when I became a tad pushy about moving back towards the jazz band. Notice how I’m walking ahead of everyone in the picture above.

With the help of my wonderful in-laws and several covert e-mails with Angela (Kelley kept bugging me about getting off my phone), we made it just in time to hear the band announce us by name and say happy 8th anniversary.

Steve, Kelley’s dad / Papa, works wonders with the camera, and captured our family of three enjoying the song the band played for us.

Make that two of us enjoying the song, Avery just wasn’t excited about the large crowds and wanted to run around more. We asked her to smile for another picture, but she only looked more annoyed.

She did, however, seem interested in sitting down to finish watching/listening to the band play “our” song.

Kelley was surprised, and beautiful smile on her face filled me joy. It might sound corny, but it’s true, and I will never hesitate to announce it through and through! She’s so wonderful and I’m lucky to call her my wife and best friend. I think Avery was feeling far from being either of our best friends, especially when she had to go in the stroller.

Not that it stopped us from taking turns getting a picture with the happy girl.

All of our moods took a turn for the worse when we walked to Sweet Basil, a restaurant within the town square where the farmers’ market is held.

Avery was already hungry and cranky, and the rest of us were turning hangry as well. It took an hour before our food arrived and the unenthusiastic and uninformed waitress hardly knew what her place of employment served and forget about getting anything answered about the menu. Avery had to be taken outside several times when she turned on the vocals to scream in protest. Thankfully Cousin Ashlee was there to help watch Avery as she ran around with an “I do what I want!” attitude.

Normally, it’s just kids being kids, but we all wanted to do the same and couldn’t blame her. She would hardly eat, and would not have it sitting in the high chair. She went back and forth to Kelley’s and Nana’s lap and we felt it was a win after she ate the watermelon and red onion salad I had to piece together from two separate entrees.

Notice the surprised face on my wife after Avery took a bite. It was clear we had an unruly toddler at the table, but waitress even took her Sweet Basil ass time to bring us the tab we asked for. But don’t worry, she had plenty of time to stand and talk to the patrons at a table next to us about her college plans and probably how she sucks at hearing or just life in general.

Sorry for the rant, but we all left the place extremely irritated and unsatisfied. Plus we were all still hungry! In sum, go to the Vail Farmers’ Market (it’s full of unique crafts, fresh food, and local wine and spirits), but DON’T GO to Sweet Basil!

The Vail Farmers’ Market was only half of our day 2 adventures. Once we returned home to Nana and Papa’s Kelley and I took off to the nearby trail I went on the first day to spend time hiking together. I’ll save our hiking story for the next post so as to not drag things on in one post.

Don’t worry, it won’t be long. For a little teaser, I’ll say that at one point, I found myself stuck between a rock and hard place.

Have you ever had a horrendous dining experience? With or or without kids?

Do you enjoy Farmers’ Markets? Any favorite finds?

Food, Life, Parenting

Birthday Brunch at Brewed

08/04/2015 R.C. Liley 6 Comments

My little brother, Uncle Preston, and I took our Mom, G-Ma, out for a birthday brunch at Brewed last weekend. She’s been celebrating the big 6-0 for a couple weeks now, starting when my Aunt Tammy, Uncle Paul, and Grandma came down from PA.

But there’s nothing like a little quality time with her two grown boys to top off her birthday fun, right? Preston and I planned to meet at Brewed with him bringing mom there and me meeting them without her knowing. I contacted the place earlier and their GM, Chris, kindly responded saying they’d help make our little outing special.

I arrived before mom and Preston, and although there was a long wait, they had a room cut off from all the noise just for us.

This place is small but extremely popular. And for good reason, the serve top notch local fare and, as the name implies, delicious brews in form of both coffee and beer. Being brunch, I could’ve gone either route, but as I’ve stated before, I choose coffee over beer any day. I went with a cold brew that they have kegged from a place in Oregon and it did not disappoint!

The equivalent of 3 cups of coffee and served in a Belgian style beer glass made me a happy diner! I also had to pee a lot. I never thought of coffee being in a keg, but definitely need to look into this for a home setup!

When my mom and Preston arrived, I waved them down and we were immediately waited on by a kind waitress. She even took pictures of us on both of our phones.

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Mom tasted some of my coffee and ordered some for herself. Preston thought about it, hesitated, and then just went with water despite my advice to “just get some!” Plus, he had to go into work right after, so coffee would only help increase his productivity. Well, and bathroom trips.

Our food came without delay and we all enjoyed what we ordered. As usual, I made special requests including not cooking the omelette in oil and giving me raw veggies instead of toast. It took them a while since I guess not many people ask for this, but all was right in the end and not once did the waitstaff act annoyed at my requests.

Excellent service and willingness to accommodate my special requests (usually just to do less than normal) are all I need to place a restaurant on my favorites list. As of now, that’s a short list, but Brewed is one of them!

After our meals, they surprised us by offering some of their espresso ice cream. My mom and I quickly declined the ice cream but said espresso would be wonderful. After our waitress left, Preston said he actually wanted the ice cream. Oops, sorry, bud, I spoke for all of us! But, he did get to try espresso for the first time in his life and……he wasn’t a big fan. It’s an acquired taste for sure, and I’m glad he at least finished it.

The staff at Brewed had something special for my mom, though…..

How cool is that? A cappuccino with a little cream artwork! We all had a sip and Preston definitely liked that much better. Maybe we’ll have birthday brunch at Brewed for your 24th, Preston. 😉

We sat around a talked a while as I downed a couple coffee refills and then they had to get on their way so Uncle P could go to work. I’m extremely grateful to everyone at Brewed for their great service and quality food. They even comped my mom’s meal and coffee for her birthday! Thanks, Brewed!!!

Spending time with just my mom and brother is rare, and hopefully we’ll find a time to do it again soon. I love our little family, and it’s always fun to reminisce back to when we all lived under the same roof. I love you, Mom and Preston!

Feeling good about our dining service and fortunate they took good care of us, I figured I’d try and continue the good vibes in the area. Kelley was making spaghetti that night and she has a special sauce she makes. It’s rich with flavor with a vibrant red that screams “Eat me!” Seriously, I heard it myself!

Part of what makes the sauce so tasty is her use of lots and lots of garlic, and I needed to bring some home. Not wanting to go to the store, I ventured to another local eatery called Spiral Diner. It’s a unique diner that serves all organic vegan food that even meat lovers enjoy, me included. I popped in, said I don’t need to be seated, but asked if they had any garlic I could buy.

The hostess kindly slipped away to the kitchen and came back with 8 cloves! I asked how much and she said not to worry about it. Score, the good vibes were swarming that day!

I proudly returned home where my wife used all of the cloves for this excellent sauce that quickly found its way to all of our bellies a couple hours later.

Fresh basil from our garden really made it pop! Yum!

We’re getting ready to take Avery on her first flight ever this weekend when we go to Colorado to see Nana and Papa. I’m getting more nervous about how the flight will go every day, so any pointers are well-received. Don’t expect a lot of posts for a while as we try and figure out what all to pack. Too bad the house is not an option…..

How do you feel about Brunch? Better than breakfast and/or lunch, or not a fan?

Do you have a special meal you or your significant other makes?

Flying with babies/toddlers/kids…….is it ever easy?