To Brie, or Not to Brie

Today, I ate Brie,

A big, honkin’ chunk of it {on crackers}.

And guess what, I ate cold cuts too.

And a few days ago, I ate salami.

And, although I haven’t yet had a glass of wine, if one was offered to me, I would surely take it.

The list of can’t haves during pregnancy is constantly evolving…mostly growing larger.  I mean, really??

Last time, I was able to resist the temptation of most of these taboo foods, except feta, blue cheese, salami, and a glass of wine here and there.  I believe I also had to eat a few bites of my dad’s smoked salmon, in order not to offend him.  I’m pretty sure my parents think “the list” is ridiculous.  What parent of the 80’s didn’t eat cold cuts? I was, however, able to forego the raw milk offered at the Campbell Farmer’s Market, which I sooooo longed to try!

Funny though, once Rowan was born, I raced over to the raw milk station for a taste and told them how I had been waiting so long to try their milk because I was pregnant. They looked at me as if I was crazy.  Then they began to explain to me that, yes, there is potential risk, as with many {almost any} foods, however the risks are not as high as most people are led to believe and there are many benefits to raw milk consumption as well, and as the woman put it, especially for pregnant women.  

By the way, it was delicious!

This time around, I don’t seem to have as much restraint.  I don’t know that I ever really bought into these food No-No’s anyway.  I feel like, sure, there’s a possibility that some bad bacteria could be hanging out in there and result in the unthinkable.  But I think my chances of severe belly trauma, or death, in a car accident are probably higher.  

And what about E. coli in spinach, or listeria in cantaloupe?  How shall I avoid ALL the bugs that could harm me or our little bean sprout?

To me, and this is solely my opinion, based on things I’ve heard, not reputable articles {can you even find a “reputable” source these days?}, the list of foods to avoid seems like a load of crap.  

Just sayin’

image source: realfoodblog.com

Our Kid Only Eats Bananas!

Somewhere between Room #1 and Room #2, our avid eater decided {or learned....} to be VERY picky.  He refuses all food in puree form, and scoffs at soft foods like peaches, nectarines, cooked green beans & carrots, noodles, and cheese.

But one look at that banana and he goes ape!  He'll eat a whole banana at home at 7:45 am, then scarf another half when he gets to school at 8:15 am.  And even if he refuses a bottle, if you peel a banana in front of him, forget being able to eat it yourself.  He's all over it.  And it gets all over him.  Super messy stuff!

Okay, so there are like three other things he'll eat too; crackers/puffs, toast, and yogurt.  WOW, what a balanced diet!

I guess I should be happy that he eats {somewhat} healthy foods, as opposed to mac & cheese or something like that, but sheesh! You'd think he'd get tired of eating the same thing over and over.  I'm bored.

Do you have a picky, or suddenly picky eater? What do your kids like to eat?

Pumpkins & Corn Mazes

I can't tell you how happy we are that summer is finally giving way to fall.  Not that we don't love summer after a long winter, but now we're ready for the super hot days {and nights} to be over...Okay, we've been ready for a while.

Okay, so I admit I didn't bust out the fall decor {I don't have any and don't have the time to decorate anyway}, but we kicked off the harvest season with a trip to Swank Farms, in Hollister, CA for some corn maze fun with a few friends. 

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The farm itself is free to visit.  Then you buy tickets for each of the activities. They've got some farm animals that you can feed, a little tractor ride with cow cabs for the kiddos, pumpkin launching, a corn cabin, go karts, a pumpkin patch, the corn maze, the Haunted Conover Mystery Ranch, food, and a little shop. They've also got a nice picnic area.

 
 This time, we stuck to the corn maze {$10 pp}.  It was a lot of fun, with a little word game to play along the way, and about the right size. Not big enough to get truly lost in!

The Haunted Conover Mystery Ranch looked super creepy, even in the daytime!  YIKES!  You won't catch me visiting at night cuz I'm a scaredy cat! I bet Rogér would love it though!

I wanted soooo bad to get some pumpkins, but it was too early still. I figured they'd rot in the 90 Degree weather we were having in San Jose....bleh.
 

Oh well.  Even sans pumpkins, we had a good time :)