Intentional Lying... this is what is has come down to!

I didn't realize that I had been holding my breath...

Holy SH$T!  He went for it!!!  My son, actually ate it.  And liked it.  It felt like a dream come true.  Like I had won the lottery.

*Disclaimer*
You very well might judge me for what you are about to read...

When Chephren was little he would eat everything.  And I mean everything.  He had an insatiable appetite.

Cute little dude, wasn't he?

And then he turned two.  And he discovered that his locus of control didn't lie entirely outside of himself...  And man did he take that realization to heart... and he continues to until this day!

Now there are some wonderful things about raising a child who is so strong-willed... I think.  There must be.  Hmmm... I guess that I will have to get back to you on this one.

The point being, if Chephren sees some way/shape/form that he can exert some control over his environment, he takes it.  Since the age of two, food has become one of his primary targets.

To say that his dietary preferences are extremely limited is an understatement.  Does he eat fruits/veggies?  Sure.  About 4 different varieties of them.  Seriously.

Remember this?  Hiding veggies under the couch.

As you may/may not recall... I am a vegetarian.  I prepare/consume around 10-15 different varieties of fruits/vegetables myself... daily.  To say that this behaviour of my son's pushes my buttons is also a very large understatement.

Playing with the contents of my Organic Box :)

Until now, I would have said that I had tried EVERYTHING to sort this thing out...  I have tried to take him shopping with me and choose which fruits/veggies he will eat.  I have found and read him children's books about the importance of healthy eating.  I have downloaded apps on the iPad that relate to healthy eating.  I have modelled (and continued to model) the behaviour that I desire to see instead.  In times of desperation, I have even tried to bribe and/or punish him to get him to eat his vegetables.

I know, I know.  This is an age-old (and first world) problem.

Quite a while back, I had heard about Jessica Seinfeld's approach (hiding pureed fruits/veggies in your child's favourite dishes, including treats) from a friend of mine.  I had considered it then but decided that I didn't want to deceive Chephren.  I wanted him to develop a taste for healthy food that would set the stage for a lifetime of healthy eating.

On the one hand, I tell myself that maybe I should let it go and not worry so much.  After all, at his last yearly check-up, it was confirmed for me that he continues to do very well in terms of his development.  He is (and always has been) in the 95th percentile for height and weight, and is reaching or exceeding all of his developmental milestones.  On the other hand, he is currently battling his FOURTH illness of this nasty cold/flu season.  I have him on multi-vitamins and yet, I have to question if he would be more resilient to illness if he ate better.

Extremely frustrated with this last bout of illness (and currently sleep deprived, so maybe not thinking clearly), I have decided to try the Jessica Seinfeld plan.

The first recipe I tried was one for carrot-cake cupcakes.  In the batch of 12 there was a full 1.5 cups of pureed veggies (I used carrots and sweet potato).  The rest of the recipe was pretty healthy as well, not a lot of fat or sugar.

And you already know what happened.  He ate it... and loved it.

Maybe you are saying, "So what's the problem?"

Well, in my upcoming book FIERCE Integrity: A Course in Living Your Truth, there is a section on the subject of intentional lying.  And that is exactly what this is.

In the book I suggest that people do a self-check in before consciously telling a lie.  I tell them to ask themselves, honestly and with Integrity:

"What is my intention?  Is it to do no harm?"

Obviously my intention here is to do what I feel is in the best interest of my son.

I will let you know how some of the rest of the "experiments" turn out.  (I have already screwed up the sweet potato pancake recipe - they all came out raw in the middle).

Despite the failed pancake attempt, I am celebrating the cupcakes.  For now, I am calling this one a win.

If you have any insights/ideas on this topic, I would love to hear them!

M.

Ok, one more photo... saw this on Facebook and it was too cute not to share:

Day 25: Jan 2

Being present - surviving (no, thriving) despite the Lulu Lemon insanity

Forgetting that today was still a statutory holiday (since New Years day fell on a Sunday), Jody and I decided to brave the crowds in the city and go shopping (yes, I freely acknowledge that we are crazy!)  Now, it should be said (as if I haven't said it enough) that shopping is NOT my thing, but hey, it is good to push one's limits once in a while right?  As expected, it was very, very busy at the mall. 

Not my image - but you get the idea!

One of the stops that we had to make was Lulu Lemon -- which is a busy place on an average day so you can just imagine what it was like on a stat.  You could hardly walk in there!  This is normally a situation that would send me running for the hills, but given that Jody lives out of town and it was her only opportunity to get what she wanted there, it was apparent that I needed to keep my cool.  So, I found an inconspicuous spot to stand still and take it all in.  What I found is that by simply being present it allowed me to shift what would have normally been a difficult situation for me into one that was totally manageable... maybe even pleasant. 

Day 26: Jan 3

Chephren pushes our buttons - that's a gift right?

I literally spent most of today wondering where the heck all of my gifts from the Universe were, as a dark cloud descended on the Hasse household.  My son Chephren is a wonderful child, a true gift, but today he woke up with a mission: to make our lives miserable!  Let's just say that our day was pretty much shot when it took us approximately six hours (yes, six) to get him into his pants.  The situation was only made worse for me by the fact that my dear friend Jody's angelic vision of Chephren was shattered into a million pieces before my eyes.  And yet, the situation was entirely perfect... it just took us most of the day to see the gifts that were right in front of us!  You see, I truly believe that when someone pushes your buttons (or stomps on them as the case was for us today), it is an opportunity for healing something within.  By being present and truly aware of what is happening inside of you - and simply identifying why the situation is bothering you so much, you can address whatever 'issue' comes up.  I won't share Jody's healing bits here (we call them onions by the way), but I will say that for me, it fully helped me to address my 'worry what everyone else thinks of my parenting' onion.  By having Chephren act in this way in front of one of my best friends, and to have her still love both of us and want to be around us is a HUGE GIFT!  And that particular onion shrinks down by a few layers...

Day 27: Jan 4

If the weather was like this in Canada all of the time, I would never contemplate moving to a warmer climate!

+ 8 degrees Celsius and sunny, in JANUARY!  ...enough said.

A local media shot from today...

Day 28: Jan 5

Yesterday I drove Jody back to her home in Canmore.  We had a lovely evening poking in the cute little shops and enjoyed a lovely dinner.  I had an amazing sleep last night and after grabbing a quick breakie I started to make the journey home.  The road conditions were unbelievable, making the journey not only safe but enjoyable. 

Day 29: Jan 6

Indian food - Ayurveda

Inspired to cook in my new, beautiful kitchen, I decided to prepare in Indian Feast - Ayurvedic style!  To my surprise, my entire family really appreciated and enjoyed it, despite the fact that there was no meat involved whatsoever :)  I think that they were as surprised by this as I was!

Day 30: Jan 7

Building a yoga community

Now that I am living in town, I feel much more connected to my yoga studio and significantly more willing and able to both teach and attend classes there.  I taught two classes there this morning and have started to really get to know my students and build community.  I feel like building a yoga community is hugely important and I feel grateful at my new-found ability to do so!

Day 31: Jan 8

Best of the Banff Mountain Film Festival

Today my parents, Trent and I attended the 'Best of the Banff: World tour' - something that we have done every January for the past 7 years!  The film festival happens every November in Banff, AB and then they choose the 'Best of the Banff' films, compile them into a 3-4 hour film medley and take it on the road.  It is an absolutely fantastic event that always leaves us humbled and inspired.  This year was no exception - one film in particular touched me deeply - 'Kadoma'.  If you ever have a chance to see this film, I would strongly recommend it!

Day 32: Jan 9

Today is the last day of The Receiving Project (YAY, I actually finished something that I started!) and my gift for today would have to be the project itself.  What an awesome exercise in learning to authentically open myself to receiving -- something that I have always struggled with.  It has had a transformative effect on me -- which I believe will be a lasting change.   Thank you to the creator of this project Jo Anna Rothman - YOU are a gift and an inspiration to many!  May you continue teaching and inspiring others!

The pendulum swings...

People change.  They do.  They DO!  If it seems like I am defending my position on this one it is because I am fully expecting someone to come on here and be all, 'People don't change!', or, 'Once a (blank) always a (blank)'.  Well, I disagree.

As an aside, I was just about to give you the old 'The cells in the human body replace themselves every seven years' line.  Then, I thought maybe I should actually look this 'fact' up before putting my hand on my hip and waving my finger in the air.  Ha!  It turns out that this is a hotly debated topic on the internets (try it, you'll see) and about an hour later I emerged from that wormhole, my brain a hot, hot mess and needing some leftover chocolate cake to help me re-focus.

Ahhhh, chocolate cake.  The whole reason for this post.

I will leave the '7 years' theory alone for now and gently return to my suggestion (and now humble opinion) that people change (a little bit anyway, can we agree on that at least?)

Case in point (finally!):

About 10 years ago, when I moved into my first 'big girl' apartment (condo actually), it was my very favorite thing in the world to have people over for dinner.  Like a lot of people (sometimes up to 20!), in a 900 sq. foot apartment... I would spend the week before planning (many of the dinners had themes), preparing, shopping, and fighting with Trent.  Then I would spend the ENTIRE day cleaning the condo and slaving away in my tiny, tiny kitchen (while Trent hid from me and/or pretended to be busy with something else).  I must admit that on many occasions, I outdid myself.  So much so in fact, that I think that I wrecked it.  I now live in a humongous house (not to brag or anything, but it really is humongous - much, much too big for three people) with the biggest kitchen that you have ever seen.  The counter space!  The cupboard space!  It is a wanna-be-chef's dream!  And, for the most part, I could absolutely care less about entertaining here. 

It's not that I don't like my friends anymore (I do!  I love you guys, I promise!).  It's just that I think I burnt myself out on the whole dinner party thing.  See?  I changed!  Something that I used to be passionate about now makes me want to crawl into my bed and hide under the covers.  It is just so much WORK and EFFORT!  I would so much rather do something outside with my friends, or go out for a meal... or better yet come over to your house for dinner!  (What? I am being honest here)

Anyway, I am way off topic (and I apparently needed to get that off my chest), but we did have friends over for dinner on Saturday.  And yes, I cooked a meal.  It was... average.  Nothing fancy to be sure.  But it was edible, and even followed up by another thing about dinner parties that I hate - dessert.  I don't eat the stuff (well, rarely anyway), but it seems that there is an expectation that people serve/eat that stuff at dinner parties.  Soooo, I mentioned to Trent that I was going to bake a cake.  Here's how that one played out:

M: 'What should I make for dessert?'
T: 'Nothing, we don't eat dessert.  Don't we have some week old cookies or something?'
M: 'Um, I am not serving those... what about if I make a cake.  I would totally eat a chocalate cake with whipped cream and canned cherries.' (Don't ask me what that was all about, I must've been on my period)
T: 'You are the worst baker in the world.  I would strongly suggest that you DO NOT bake a cake.  Just buy a cake mix.'
M: 'Cake mixes are gross, and full of chemicals.'
T: 'Trust me, a cake mix would be way better than anything you would bake.'
M: Silence as I perused my various cookbooks... and then, 'You are totally right.  I hate that about you.'

So there you have it folks.  From a year of 'Marebare Necessities' making everything from scratch right down to my own SHAMPOO all the way to Duncan Hines.

Um, who says people don't change?

Marebare

Zucchini Update

Thank you to those loyal readers who have taken pity on my zucchini problem and sent me their delicious zucchini recipes.  I have decided that those of you who have submitted recipes are likely gardeners as well and completely understand the urgency of the situation. 

That being said, I spent much of Friday in the kitchen trying to use up the 'schwarzenegger'-sized squashes... (love the visual by the way Rebecca!)  First up was a crustless zucchini quiche, submitted by The Almighty Beckster (aka Rebecca).

 

Next up was a chocolate courgette cake courtesy of Mrs. Green.  Who knew that the Brits use the much-cooler-sounding word 'courgette' rather than zucchini?  Personally, I love it, and the only thing that would make it even better for me would be to hear it pronounced in a British accent!  On the other hand, I am pretty sure that I can't pull it off, so I will continue to call them zucchini...

Both were delicious, we enjoyed the quiche for breakfast on Saturday morning (and my husband even like it, and he hates green stuff of any kind!) and I brought the cake to a party on Friday night...

You will have to wait until the contest is over in order to see who the winner is... Speaking of the contest,

I still have quite a few of the 'green monsters' left, so hop to it!

Thanks again to those who have participated so far... I wait with bated breath for the next round of recipes!

Adios for now!

Marebare