Healthy Fodder for Baby & Baba

I've been meaning to post this for a while, but I just don't think I can do the topic justice. Hopefully this is a start, and I'll follow up with proper tried-and-tested recipes.
--

Subversive broccoli florets

Now that Lustrous-eyed Little is not quite so little, the food that he eats need not be entirely juvenile..simplistic...dull.

It took a while of him glancing enviously towards our meals for me to understand. Reaching...snatching...toppling over plates.
So I started mashing up our meals for him.

However, given that Littlest's father harbours a strong aversion towards nutritious food, I was at un petit conundrum.

 Things need to be greasy, spicy, and entirely devoid of vegetables, in this house.
'Tis not exactly my cuppa, but I've...adjusted. As Julia Sugarbaker remarked, "If everyone stops talking, you can actually hear their arteries clogging."

So how does Wonder Mum make yummy meals which:
1. won't harm baby (as spices can),
2. won't hinder his growth and development (as less than optimal nutrition will), and
3. will keep his daddykins pleased?

Blender. Smoothie maker. The magic bullet. OR good old mortar/pestle.
The idea is to pick a meat-based dish (that Yon Carnivore will approve of) and then...carefully...tinker with it. If it calls for butter, use coconut oil or olive oil, and less of it. If it calls for X amounts of chili pepper, use fresh herbs and ginger/garlic for the flavour. Instead of cream to thicken up the gravy, pureed avocado or coconut milk.

 ETC.

A blender comes in SUPER handy.

One can pick out leafy greens, etc., and chop and blend them to a fine puree, adding it to the dish at whichever stage of cooking is most suitable.
Those irksome carrot slices need not openly present themselves to the picky eater. They remain hidden, and add to the depth of flavour. You can even make burger patties with this stuff.

The best part is, after the Healthy-Without-Knowing-It picky eater remarks upon the excellent meal...well, you can pull out the carpet from under his feet.

 Pop the bubble. Rattle off the extensive list of veggies he has just consumed, as he flinches with each fresh revelation. Flabbergasted, he will stammer: "B-But...but..I didn't SEE any celery! How did you do it?"
"Sorcery, my dear. Black magic that would make even the most jaded of goats shudder with the depravity of it all." (Aim for Bette Davis-esque delivery).

Or...if you have more mercy than I...don't betray his trust.
Don't gloat openly. Simply watch, as his health steadily improves, along with baby's.

"Man I feel so ENERGETIC these days. Wonder why."

Ze BEST reward, n'est-ce pas?

Dawud Wharnsby Ali

Perspektif magazine:
 “A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” says Goethe.
 What are your suggestions that one should do every day, in order to keep the sense for beauty Allah has placed in our souls, alive?
Dawud Wharnsby:
"People should spend time outdoors each day in natural environments ~ observing as many signs of God’s creation as possible. Hear the songs of birds and voices of people…study the sights of dawn or sunset...inhale the fragrant scents of fruits, foliage or flowers…taste the joy of smiling at others…feel the sun, the rain, the snow or the wind. Losing touch with our earth we risk being scattered like dry leaves ~ divided from each other, uprooted in faith and withered in divine balance."

I also want to share this blog post.

Eyebrow Dance

The title is misleading, sorry to disappoint. Meaning that no incriminating video of me performing my critically acclaimed brow dance shall follow. GOMEN.
(Although, unsurprisingly, one exists, recorded in grade 10. Blackmailers, search thee well.)

Littlest of sisters has (hath) pleaded I write something tres amusement, to get her through another day (daye) of university drudgery. And I am not one to refuse a fair damsel's request, nor hers.

Basically I happened upon a natural way to tint one's brows for at least a week, and it's easy, quick, CHEAP CHEAP.

Savage, too. You whack on a load of pungent henna, with a toothpick (Mathias' sword!).

The toothpick lends a touch of delicacy, a nod to refined dining and dental hygiene. That, or Redwall.

You can use a thin eyeliner brush or paintbrush too, but it won't get in (between the skin and the brow hairs) as effectively. You could also use a henna cone if you know exactly what's in it (some ingredients can irritate the skin around your eyebrows). Finally, you can make your own henna cone/applicator by rolling up a plastic bag into a tapered cone, and taping the side shut. Good video tutorial for doing so here.

Pluses:

• If you have sparse hairs it blends in the gaps very nicely so you don't need to fill them in. 
• The henna molecule also clings to and physically thickens the brows, instead of just tinting. 
• Because you can custom blend, you can get a range of colours (with the addition of coffee, lemon, cassia, hibiscus tea, etc). You can also add beneficial ingredients (castor/coconut/olive oil) which will strengthen your hair, although it's best not to go overboard with the oil-to-henna ratio (drippity drip drip).
• If, as I do, you ALREADY henna your hair, this will ensure your brows hops onto the wild rollercoaster of colours your hair ride and there is no obvious disparity.

Cautions:

• Patch test to avoid reactions.
• Be careful, very careful, and block out enough time to do it that your needy roommate is not banging on your door urging that you go kite-racing with her THAT MINUTE. Flustered application is disastrous.
• Lemons-->fine for hair, fine for palms, not so much the eye area. (I tried it this time around, and got a reaction).
• Will need to re-do within a week or two.

Steps shall follow along with an ingenious method of storage..and results.

1. Henna-->prep... Mix up a small batch of henna with coffee and yogurt or coconut milk...anything but lemon juice. Let the dye release (4 hours or so). Add a spoon olive oil if you want. MAKE SURE THE MIXTURE IS ON THE THICK SIDE.
             -->Inevitably, the resulting batch will be too much for one application (you barely need half a teaspooon for both brows). Store the rest (see below) for future use.

2. Prep the eye area
              --> Vaseline smoothed on around the brows (where you don't want it to tint). You'll clean up as you go along afterwards, but this is a precautionary measure against a carrot-tinted unibrow.


3. Dip toothpick (or brush) into a glob of henna and smooth it on into the shape that you desire. Repeat for a long time.
                  --> Go back and forth between brows for an even result.
                  -->Always keep in mind the shape/arch that you want. You can sketch this out with a makeup pencil prior.
                  -->Clean up as you go along with a cotton-bud AKA Q-tip
                  -->It will look crazy painted on thickly, but when you wash it off it will be much softer than you anticipated. So don't be sparing, unless you just want a few steps above a Vermeer portrait.

4. Wait for it to dry (about 10-20 minutes) and wash off.
                -->For first application, 10 minutes is best, in case you hate the result. If you don't you can do it again.

Storage:
C'est une grande idee!
 Dollar store supply stores sell watercolour palettes and grocery stores/pharmacies sell pill boxes! You can use either of these, glob in the remaining henna, and freeze. Then, as needed, remove, thaw, and use. Another idea is Zip-loc bags.

I got mine during a crazy shopping spree at the local dollar store's...closing down sale. (20 DOLLARS WERE SPENT...WILD TIMES). The kindly shopkeeper took pity on my wretchedness, and tossed the palette into my bag for free. Bless. 60 cents were spared me, which shall be used towards my 'shiny silver star' fund, to top our Christmas shrub this year.

Anyway...here be the henna storage supplies. (The Garnier olia bottle doth contain henna for head application).

When not sprawled seductively across rippling leopard print, they reside in the freezer. You can take em out to thaw (1-2 hours) and use whenever. Coo.

Okay class. Much was learned. Dismissed. Au revoir.

"But soft!" cry the pupils. "Halt!"
"Miss.." Pompeii Reigns Supreme toddles forth, bashful. "Warn't thee garn show us what it's gon' lookalike?"

Sure thing, PRS.

No threading/plucking/ or other forms of carnage were wreaked on these fluffy brows. (Nor any filling-in makeup magic, though the rest of the face be plastered.)
 Just the henna. Toodles.

"Gaarsh.. Miss sure got spictac'lur brow game goin' on, darnsh't she?"
"Yeah...I like the way her neck and face are different colours too."
"The overdrawn lipstick sure is nice."
"Well, I'm quite enamoured with the split ends, myself."