Tag Archives: healthy

Food, Going Healthy, Life, NuttZo, Parenting, WIAW

What My Toddler Eats In A Day 2 + WIAW

09/16/2015 R.C. Liley 1 Comment

I enjoyed the first What My Toddler Eats In A Day edition of What I Ate Wednesday so much, I thought I’d do it again. Since we don’t make special “kid menu” food, it’s basically what I ate too.

Not much else to say today, so I’ll get right to it. Hope you enjoy and have a happy hump day! Big thanks to the host for this week’s WIAW!

Breakfast – We started with the usual morning green smoothie, or most of it, followed by a giant bowl of chocolate pumpkin oatmeal with NuttZo mixed in and a big spoonful on top.

If you think that looks like a lot, that’s because it is, but Avery can freakin’ eat! Guess I’ll take it as a compliment to my cooking…..or NuttZo is just that awesome, which it is.

Snack – I had a pear from our CSA delivery that I was going to use for our green smoothie later, but figured I’d give her a few bites. It was her first time to try and she gave the sign for more in sign language, so it won’t be her last.

She also had a whole sardine fillet from Wild Planet with zero fuss!

I expected at least a head shake, but she ate it and followed up with “That’s good!” #ProudParents

Lunch – Black bean and coconut quinoa balls.

Okay, so I’ll put my foot in my mouth since I just said we don’t do kid menu food, but I’m only half guilty. It’s still the same food, but they formed into balls so easily and made it 100 times easier to feed the crazy toddler we call daughter.

After Nap Snack Attack – There was a little oatmeal leftover from the morning, so I saved it (so close to just eating it myself!) knowing she’d want something later.

Extra NuttZo on top and she had an awesome snack to fuel a little outside playtime.

Throwing balls like a boss. Then I “threw” her a few times for fun flipping action.

Only a few, we didn’t want to lose what she just had for a snack!

Dinner – Black bean spaghetti with homemade salmon salad with mustard, zucchini, and tomatoes on top. The black bean pasta may not look all fabulous….

….but I think it makes a great cold “pasta” dish (I love cold noodles!), and it complimented the salmon salad perfectly.

Avery and I both enjoyed the dish, but the black noodles just weren’t doing it for Going Mom. So that one’s off the list for things to make my wife. Good thing it makes our little one happy since the extra I made will be her lunch!

She’s still surprising us with the good food she’ll eat, and we’re still hoping she keeps it up. Then again, it should come as no surprise since we simply keep the junk out. Half the picky eater problems I hear about can easily be solved it they were given fresh, whole foods from the start. But that’s a whole other ~~blog post~~ novel.

Do you love hot or cold noodles the best? Plain or with something mixed in?

Sardine lover or hater?

Food, Going Healthy, Parenting, WIAW

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?

Going Healthy, Going Reviews, Promo

Dr. Mercola Complete Probiotics Review: Happy Gut, Healthy Body

09/01/2015 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

I used to think gut health simply meant not feeling bloated and gassy. But, over the years, I’ve learned a healthy gut plays a vital role in the health of our whole body, including our mind.

Maintaining a healthy diet comprised of whole, minimally processed food is the biggest factor to ensuring a happy and healthy gut microbiome. By feeding yourself, and therefore the symbiotic bacteria/organisms inside your body, with nutritious foods, you’re helping to reinforce yourself with a healthy body.

A common example of the microbiota living inside us are gut bacteria that thrive on probiotics. For me, I make a point to eat various cultured and fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, etc. But, if you tend to be constantly stressed, travel a lot, or exercise, having a good probiotic supplement is essential to help support your immune system.

Even someone who considers their diet to be very healthy, like me, can benefit from supplementing with a high quality probiotic. I’ve been taking Complete Probiotics by Dr. Mercola for almost two weeks and already notice an improvement.

When it comes to taking anything in pill form, I am extremely cautious. Many manufactures have other ingredients like magnesium stearate or artificial colors just to make the capsule look “cool”, but Complete Probiotics has none of that. Click here for a PDF of their complete product label.

After about 2 days, I felt a little better inside and things just moved better, to put it nicely. Not that I had a lot of trouble before, but with my constant need to exercise daily and finding anything to stress over for no reason, a little help was welcome. As a lover and daily consumer of plain Greek yogurt, I always figured I’m getting plenty of beneficial probiotics, but never thought of the effect high heat pasteurization has on reducing the beneficial bacterial.

Most commercial yogurts are not a good source of probiotics. Heat pasteurization significantly reduces most of the “good” bacteria benefits.

Guess that’s one reason I still felt bloated so often. Thanks to Complete Probiotics, I’m feeling better mentally and physically by just taking two capsules first thing in the morning.

Even better, since they do not need refrigeration, they are perfect for travel, when we need them most. I will never advocate a supplement in place of a diet with real, wholesome food, but with the difference I’ve felt after taking Dr. Mercola’s Complete Probiotics, I think they’re worth looking into. Check out their site for extensive information on what makes Complete Probiotics stand out from the rest, and to order your own.

Here’s a snippet for the summary of advantages as listed on Dr. Mercola’s page.

If you find that you’re constantly stressed, exercise vigorously, travel a lot, or just feel rundown, a good probiotic might help you improve. Again, no supplement will ever make up for a poor diet, so I’d always say look to make changes there if needed.

Since I’ve felt the good results from taking Complete Probitics, I’ve become interested in all of the products Dr. Mercola has to offer including things for pets, kids, fitness, household use, and more.

Check out their site and let me know what supplement or other product you’d like to try most.

*The product/s mentioned above have been given to me to review, and without any form of compensation. The opinions in this article are solely my own, and have not been influenced by Mercola.com and/or other parties. I understand that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not evaluated any of the statements mentioned above. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any health condition. Pregnant women, nursing moms, and people who are taking medications or have a medical condition should consult their physician before using this product.