Mommy Eats Colors

There is an age old question: "does life imitate art or does art imitate life?" There are scholars who debate in both directions, but at any rate, children imitate their parents.

Aoife is quickly coming up on five months and naturally the question arises, "are you introducing solids soon?" (FYI: The answer is no, Joshua and I intend to feed Aoife only breastmilk for the for her entire first year. There is too much evidence that introducing solids too soon can be harmful for an infant, not to mention it is infinitely more easy to breastfeed than it is to prepare meals for a baby!). The second popular question we receive makes me laugh, "is she showing interest in food?" My answer is almost always, "of course!"

I love looking at the world through Aoife's eyes and this one is the one that tops the charts. It must be so odd for her to watch me eat. There are colorful objects on my plate: orange carrots, green broccoli, red peppers, brown rice, and pink salmon that I scoop up and put in my mouth and then, it doesn't come back! How bizarre. Aoife is at that stage where absolutely everything ends up in her mouth. She must look at me like I just inhaled one of my toys. She probably wonders how it is that I can consume my colorful toys but she cannot. She watches the process very carefully and I can tell that her little mind is trying so hard to compute where those 'toys' are ultimately ending up and if I can play with them again tomorrow.

I can understand parents thinking their children are showing interest in "food", however, if they have never had an introduction of their own to adult foods, then it will not occur to them that they are missing out on an opportunity. I also know that the flavors of the food I am consuming is passed to my daughter through my breastmilk, so she begins to discern different tastes and preferences of her own. The wonderful part of this process is that I am already giving Aoife a head-start on healthy eating. When I consume healthfully, she develops a desire for those wholesome foods as well and when we do begin solids those foods will be her preference. Unfortunately, the converse is also true, so I better stop eating sweets after church on Sundays or she will become permanently addicted to all things chocolate (of course, as a female, I think she may already be doomed).

As far as the question goes, life does imitate art and for Aoife, I want to make sure what she emulates from me are healthy eating patterns since there will come a day when that she will be eating mommy's "toys" too.

Introduction: CLTD

I am a returning vegan after a three year sabbatical during which I married my Texan husband who turned me from my devout vegetarian ways and tempted me with antelope and strawberry glaze during our engagement dinner. I am an A+ blood type relying heavily on raw vegetables for my protein and much dedicated to the freshest possible produce to sustain my dietary needs.

Running track and playing basketball while maintaining a lacto-ovo free and meatless diet kept me in shape and fit in high school. Early college years were not as rigid in exercise routine and my veganism fell by the wayside after returning to the United States after living in Japan for three years. Fast forward five years and a recent doctor's visit found me over my body mass index (BMI). Aghast and horrified to be classified as "overweight", yet knowing it to be the truth, drove me to reclaim my health and longevity in better dietary standards and a routine exercise regimen. Now swimming twice a week and getting back into running and yoga, I am opening my mind to ideas that have evolved while I was out of the all-natural scene, including the thrive diet, the raw foods detox diet, blood type diet, as well as newer developments in vegetarianism that will help me adapt to a healthier me.

I am about as new as they come for the "green" ideals, but quickly gaining ground for lost time and bad decisions. Our home has recently has switched to all natural, biodegradable cleaners whilst trading out the toxicity that once reigned in our home. Fluoride-free toothpaste and aluminum-free deodorant are the new indicators of our strong dedication to our health as well as talking pieces when we are confronted by our friends. Searching out local co-ops and organic farmers have given us new understanding on sustainability and reducing carbon waste. Each day gives us new resources and new ideas that we are just bursting to share. Stop by our blog often and comment freely... we look forward to hearing from you!