why I don't get to read as much as I used to

I have a problem with my bowels. They’re too efficient. For the last couple of years I have been taking a certified organic probiotic food supplement daily, and because of it I am incredibly regular. I have one or more BMs a day, and they happen effortlessly. This is a wonderful thing, as anyone who has ever been constipated would know. But it does have one small down-side. It has cut way back on my reading time.

Like most people, we keep a stash of reading material in the bathroom. My favorite is The Nation, which keeps me up to date on politics, environmental & social justice and the arts from my home country. The problem is that I never get to read it anymore, as I’m only ever in the bathroom for a few seconds. At the moment that has been just enough time to slowly make it through a book about potty training in one week which has taken me over a month to read (and it’s a very little book, as you can see).

While I am spending more time in the bathroom than usual at the moment, it is because we are in the midst of potty training (more on that soon!), not because I am sneaking in there for a bit of pleasure reading. So I’m having to find ways to fit more reading into my daily life, as it is one of my favorite activities… in my ideal life, I would have at least an hour a day for reading pleasure… and not just kids books!

I do love reading to my son, but I must admit, I’m getting tired of reading the same books over and over and over and over and over and over and over (if you have a toddler you know how it is…) which is why I am very grateful for the amazing moms over at my favorite blog at the moment, We Heart Books, which is full of wonderful suggestions for kids books.

Now I just have to decide if I’m ready to brave a trip to the library with a toddler in potty training?

Fun with Fishy Finger Food!

My 2 year old son LOVES the British children's books and dvds "Charlie & Lola". They really are adorable, and I don't mind reading and watching them over and over and over and over... One of the things I like about Charlie & Lola is that they live in a modest apartment, not a McMansion, and they spend lots of time outdoors, in their local park, going to the library, etc... and, unlike my son, they never watch tv!

One of the best things about Charlie & Lola is the first episode, from Charlie and Lola, Vol. 1, where Charlie (Lola's older brother) convinces Lola to eat all of the foods that she doesn't like, such as carrots (orange twiglets from Jupiter), peas (green drops from Greenland), mashed potato (cloud fluff from the top of Mt Fuji) etc. My son will therefore now eat all of these foods happily, because Lola eats them.

Most importantly, Charlie gets Lola to eat fish fingers (ocean nibbles for mermaids). I was lucky for a while because my son would eat fresh and canned fish (the bones are a great source of calcium), but more recently he has stopped eating all fish (he still eats the bones, which are a nice crunchy treat and especially good for a kid that has a dairy-free diet). Since becoming obsessed with Charlie & Lola he has been asking for fish fingers. This is a bit of a problem, since he is also gluten-free, and I haven't, as yet, found gluten-free fish fingers, and especially not organic, sustainably harvested, mercury-free (etc...) fish fingers.... at least not in Australia... maybe in America!

So as with most things, I had to make them from scratch... my first attempt was remarkably successful... I bought some white fish from the supermarket, sliced it into "fingers", crumbed it with a mixture of organic rice flour and some rice bread crumbs, and fried it lightly in rice bran oil until golden brown. They were delicious! My son loved them, and even ate them re-heated for lunch the next day!

Flush with my initial success, I tried again a few days later, but this time I felt bad about having chosen a cheap, farmed in Thailand fish, so I picked a more expensive, wild-caught in Australia, Blue Grenadier. Sadly it didn't hold its form as well as the farmed fish, and it really was more like "ocean nibbles" than fish fingers.

I ended up with a lot of crumbly fish left, so the next night I tried making it into fish patties... first time lucky with these as well, and they passed the "lunch the next day" test too... I made them by mixing the cooked fish with some leftover organic potato and leek soup, some sea salt and organic rice flour (to bind it together). I also lightly fried them in rice bran oil until golden brown...

Again the second time was not as successful... I got cocky from my previous successes and thought I could be clever and slip some brussels sprouts into the fish patties... no such luck! He picked up on it straight away... "No like it". He ended up eating a fair amount, but painstakingly picked out all the green bits...

My next project is to make them really organic. There is some fantastic organic fish available in Australia from Soul Fish. Sadly it is not widely available, and I have to head to the Prahran Markets to get it, frozen, and then transport it quickly home before it thaws, as it comes in packs of 5 filets.

I know there is a lot more organic fish available in North America, and hopefully it will catch on here... I'll let you know how I go with the organic, gluten-free, mercury-free, sustainable fish fingers!

reading and playing with children is soooo important!

Thanks for the beautiful Viraja for forwarding this link to a National Public Radio story about the importance of old-fashioned playtime with our kids, including imaginative play, active play, and reading aloud together. This is something I've been reading lots about lately, so will post more soon.