Getting it together

My kid is 20 months old. Or if you don't speak Parentese he's just over a year and a half. His name is Theo and the little blighter has decided 6 am is a much more civilised time to wake up than say 8 o'clock. 

I'm pregnant-- 17 weeks actually--and very grateful that he's decided to change his wake up time AFTER I'm over the barf-your-guts-out-before-breakfast stage. But I'm still not thrilled. 

First thing I thought when I heard his morning wind-up noise was "Crap" and the second thing I thought was "What are we going to eat today??"

My housekeeping has taking a nose dive the last few months because of my serious inability to decide what sounds like puke-on-a-plate vs. yummier-than-strawberries-and-cream. And worth getting fat on. Also I've been finding my 10 minutes walks to the grocery store worthy of a nap afterwards, making my motivation to prepare meals fairly sub-par. However, the husband's motivation is even less and of it were up to him he'd make lamb every night. And I don't mean he'd prepare a nice set of lamb chops with mint sauce and fancy veg side-dish. I mean he'd stick a leg of lamb in the oven, maybe remember to season it, and then dig out some 3 day-old salad greens and dump them next to it. So I have to cook or I won't want to eat.

I'm mostly over the puke stage though and getting my energy back-- which means I'm getting out of the house and not planning my day so that I have time to cook. But I can't do pasta again and of course I have to worry about getting the right kind of food into my son as well as myself. So today's project is pea soup, peppery maple chicken breast (saw a great recipe in Chatelaine) and bok choi/brussels sprouts. Not much dairy in that arrangement mind you and my son won't drink milk so I'll have to make sure he gets yogurt for desert and cheese at lunch. 

One of the challenges I'm dealing with (besides making food that is actually appetising) is finding recipes that are inexpensive, easy to prepare, don't require too many ingredients, and fit into my weird notion of what is actually good for you. You see, I don't believe that processed food is good for you. And that goes for breakfast cereals, salad dressings, sauces, gravies, pancakes, and other prepared things that most people wouldn't count as processed. I believe that natural fats like lard and butter are better than margarine and canola oil, and I don't think dairy was meant to eaten skimmed and reduced of fat. Everyone has something they like to make from scratch which most people buy processed. But I like to try making everything from scratch. Which I don't think is actually cheaper, just better tasting and healthier. Like pizza dough, or mac and cheese. If I knew how to make homemade pasta and had the time to bake bread I would. These days it's hard to find recipes that don't call for margarine or shortening or require lots of refined flour or sugar. Most people are onto the fact that whole wheat is better for you, but try to find a recipe for whole wheat baked goods that don't expect you to use oil or shortening. Or try to find cheesy recipes that don't call for low fat cheese and skimmed milk.

So I have to try to keep one step ahead and develop a routine for making things from scratch that don't take too much time and attention because I'm pregnant, exhausted, and I have a very demanding toddler who likes to follow me to the bathroom and say "achoo!" as I barf my guts out and then proceeds to shove "Mr. Brown Can Moo" at me for the billionth time.