Paleo breakfast, er, pudding?

So I made something for breakfast this morning but I really don't know how to classify it. I was going for a porridge type thing, but it has eggs in, is that allowed?

Anyways it's got a porridge-ish consistency and it is very very filling and satisfying and just a little bit sweet (I know, I know, it's bad to break the fast with sweets, but it's only a little bit... That's fine sometimes right?)

Ingredients:
- 2 large eggs
- 2-3 tablespoons of coconut cream
- vanilla essence
- heaped tbsp of nut butter of your choice
- about 1/2 cup of shredded and/or dedicated coconut (I used a combo)

Method:
- whisk the eggs, cream and vanilla together in a small non-stick saucepan
- turn the heat to low/medium, stir in the nut butter and coconut and continue stirring while it cooks
- when it has thickened to a consistency that you like (like maybe when it looks like the eggs are cooked) take it off and put it in a bowl and gobble it

Tip: Drizzling a tiny bit of honey and coconut cream over the top made it super delicious

Oh also, I could barely fit a quarter of this in my belly, it is so filling. But I don't usually eat breakfast at all, so there's that. I'm just saying, it could possibly feed 2-3 people depending on appetites :)

Another also: WildChild loved it! She had some fruit alongside but still ate more than me.

Gravlax Quiche

This quiche is so so good, I could not keep it to myself, I would just feel too selfish.

If you are a fan of salmon, quiche or both, try this!

I apologise in advance for the fights that will happen over the last piece ;)

Ingredients:
- packet of smoked salmon (mine was 315g, which is a bizarre amount if you ask me, but it is what it is)
- dill (I used about 2 tbsp I think, and it was dried not fresh)
- salt and pepper (don't be shy with them either)
- 8 large eggs, whisked
- spring onions (use your own judgement for the amount)
- feta and pine nuts just to sprinkle on the top and make it look pretty (but the feta really does add to the flavour in a delicious way)
- a little sugar (honestly, I don't measure, I just put a little tiny amount...maybe it's not even necessary?)
- pastry for the base (if you're really shit at Paleo eating, or you don't know what Paleo means...)

Method:
Mix it all up and chuck it in a greased-with-olive-oil baking dish, bake at about 180 degrees Celsius for about half an hour-ish

Eat it up!

(Also, would probably be heavenly with lemon juice squeezed on it. I have stuffed myself too full already to try it, but I'm pretty certain it would be great. Let me know if you do)

Dripstone Cliffs

WildChild and I did a little exploring this morning and found some (I think) pretty cool stuff...

The best thing was Dripstone Point, in between two cliff outcrops we found a little alcove area that had tree roots cascading down the sides and water trickling down from who-knows-where, out to the ocean. Shame the magic of it was ruined by some litter, otherwise it felt like being somewhere that fairies might meet. The jogger with a smelly dog didn't help either.

On the outside of our fairy den, there was some beautifully coloured cliffs and rocks. Apparently the Larrakia Nation People use/d for painting themselves for rituals and ceremonies.
...Which I was quite interested to learn because in the sand there were footprints, lots of them all going the same anti-clockwise direction, that formed a rather large oval shape. There was a bit of a nucleus inside the oval where the sand was also disturbed, but the footprints there were all over, and not clear. I'm thinking dancing?
I wish I could find out more. The prints can't have been there very long because the tide comes right up to the cliffs everyday and covers the entire beach.

The last notable thing was big concrete slabs imbedded in the cliffs, I only found two but I wonder if there's more around the other side. They are full of rusting steel and are very clearly man made. I'd guess they were something from WWII, but I couldn't even begin to guess at their function.

I feel that I need to get my Nancy Drew on and get investigating...

Kids Who Clean

WildChild is awesomely helpful. Much more so than I ever would have expected from a not-even-three year old child.

Is it Nature, or is it Nurture? Who knows. But here's some strategies that I've used to (hopefully) instil a belief in the value of work (why is 'housework' different to other work? Because it is thankless?).

I have mostly done housework when WildChild is around. It's a lot easier and faster to get done if she's sleeping or at daycare, but if I do it with her nearby then she SEES it being done, and it is normalised. I can't ask her to do chores in the future if she thinks magical fairies do it while we're out. What children see (and see repeatedly), they internalise.
I'm not so keen that she sees that I'm the only one who ever does the work, while all the males in the house (my father and two brothers) sit on their lazy butts, but hey.

I also try to seem happy whenever I'm working. Put on some music, sing and dance, even just smiling at her while I'm working helps. I saw a study once that said children eat more vegetables when they see their parents smile while eating them, so I figure it will work in this context too. I am genuine though, nobody is jumping for joy about getting to mop the floors, but whistling a tune or smiling isn't hard to do.

I bought her her own mini-size equipment. When she would try to imitate me with adult sized brooms etc she would fall over it, knock things off benches and pretty much make everything much more difficult. With her own she seems much more confident and capable, and actually can be pretty handy with a mop. Also she can go and get them whenever she likes and just practise through pretend-play, which is an extremely important learning experience for young children.

Lastly, I keep it age appropriate. I don't demand that she helps, I ask politely if she'd like to and I don't get angry if she says no. She's not even three yet, I'm not going to start expecting real help with anything for a while. If it matters to you though, she mostly does jump up to help as soon as she sees me with a broom. Also, I don't expect her to be good at it. Sometimes I'll explain a better way to do things, but I'm very relaxed about it, and fully expect that where she helps might need a slight touch up from me if I want it perfect.

And that's about it I think. As I said WildChild is usually super keen to help out, whether it's with cleaning windows, doing the laundry, or fixing a bike. I have no idea whether its because I intentionally use these strategies, or whether its just in her nature to be helpful. But if any of these ideas are of any use to anyone then I'll be glad :)

If you have any strategies or ideas you use with your kids, please feel free to share them!

Coconut rough

So I made some chocolate fudgey mini coconut roughs today with WildChild, based off a fudge recipe on Pinterest which was based off a recipe from the book Practical Paleo.
So it is quite possibly nothing at all like the original, but they are still amazingly delicious!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup nut butter (I used a combination, containing macadamia, almond, brazil and cashew)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract

(Everything should be virgin and organic and blessed by the Dalai Lama obviously, but I'm super poor so I paid half the price and didn't get the good stuff unfortunately, sorry if that disappoints you)

Instructions:
1. Mix all the stuff together. Oh melt the oil first if you don't live in the tropics like me.
2. Put in mini cupcake coloured-paper-holdy-shape-thingies
3. Refrigerate

4. Nom them up!


These are what we in the notblessedwithamazingmetabolisms world call "treats", or "sometimes foods".
I really really want to keep eating them and eating them, but I also don't want to completely screw my blood sugar, and insulin, and other hormone stuffs (ya know?) so I stopped at two. But I'm warning you, make these for when there are plenty of other people around!

Trust

What is trust?

Is it beautiful passionate faith or sticking your fingers in your ears and yelling "I can't hear you la la la la la"....?

If someone has deceived you, or broken a promise in the past, should you trust them again? Can you ever truly forgive/forget and really trust, or is there always that niggling fear that nothing has changed?

I try my best to be an open book. I share my passions and thoughts and enthusiasms and joys, and I share my pains and seek comfort from others. I don't have secrets.
(I have a secret folder on my phone with naughty pictures of a special someone. But that is a secret to protect their privacy, not because it would actually hurt anyone to see.)
There is nothing in my life, or even my head, that isn't known by at least one other person (and of course if some rogue thought pops in when no-one is around, there's always social media right?).

But not everyone is the same. Not everyone sees openness as positive. Not everyone can, or even wants to, share their whole life with others.

I struggle with people like that. I don't get it.

I understand that people are different and that some need more personal space, or aren't naturally connect-y with other humans. I know that when they do things like never actually answering a particular direct question, or not replying your messages of emotional turmoil because they're busy watching madmen, it doesn't NECESSARILY mean they don't care. They could just be completely and blissfully oblivious to the effects that certain actions have on other human beings.
I understand this intellectually, but I guess the whole system in their brain is so alien for me that it prevents me from really feeling that I can trust them.



Trust is so important to me. I believe it's one of the foundations of any relationship.
A child trusts their parents to care for them. Parents trust teachers to not throttle their children, and also maybe sneak a fact or two into their brains. Employees and employers trust each other to do their jobs properly. Partners trust each other to keep their pants on when they're apart (or maybe not, I think there's a variety of agreed upon behaviours between couples. That's their business).
The point is: without trust, relationships are just superficial. They don't mean anything and they won't last long. It's important.

But whose responsibility is it to maintain it?

I'm in a position with a particular relationship, where the trust has been broken before. We both want to get trust back in the relationship but I am really struggling to. The other person seems to think that it is my responsibility. To move on from the past and to begin again as before without discussion, and without making any changes. They don't want to reflect on what went wrong, and they don't seem to feel the need to PROVE that they deserve trust.
But my mind works differently. I want to analyse the past and try to make improvements. I need to talk about things. I need this person to show me that they are actually motivated to make this work. I want to get trust back, but I don't want to be the only one trying.
And I don't want to feel like I'm just sticking my fingers in ears and making noise, so I can't hear my fears.

I wonder if I am being unreasonable.
If I am just expecting others to change to fit me.
I wonder who should be the one to change.

I know people can change, but can *anyone* change, or only certain types? People don't change if they don't want to, that's for sure.


Can someone who has broken your trust in the past become trustworthy again? Or does the fear remain even if they do change?

Rise of the Guardians v. Wreck-It Ralph

So I've taken WildChild to three different movies since we moved to Darwin. This is a reflection of my lack of real human friends to hang out with.

Two of the movies are mentioned just above up there and the third was Life of Pi, which was awe-inspiring and thought-provoking and I loved it, but it wasn't a children's movie so I'm not going to write about it today.

So anyway Rise of the Guardians and Wreck-It Ralph. Let's compare. Just in case one time aliens abduct you and say you can watch one movie before they eat your brain and these two are the only choices. Or something.

There are some things that really make me love or hate movies: characters.
(Example: I don't really like Toy Story, even though I love the music and the concept and the visuals. Why? Because Woody is an inconsiderate jerk, Buzz is an egotistical idiot, and the only female toy Bo Peep is a terrible role model for girls. Really. Re-watch it, you'll see)



Rise of the Guardians

I liked:
The quirky twists on the traditional characters. Santa is a giant Eastern European with tattoos and a certain intimidating aspect, the Easter Bunny is an awesomely fierce fighter and also Australian (why? No idea, the bunny thing originally started in Nordic countries. Rabbits are actually a foreign pest in Aus that destroy habitats of native animals) and Jack Frost is a playful young man instead of a crotchety old one.

I didn't like:
The female representations. The tooth fairy starts gushing over Jack the second they meet, and is pretty useless overall in fighting the boogeyman. And the human girl child characters are basically ignored, except for one, whose name I think was Muffin, and is a giant scary bully child.
I also *really* didn't like the way the movie completely ignores anything other than typical western cultural beliefs. Every child in the ENTIRE WORLD believes in Santa, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman, the Easter Bunny and Jack Frost? Um, no. This one aspect of the movie pissed me off so much that I found it difficult to enjoy even the parts I liked. The reasons why it annoyed me so will have to be left for another post.

And now for...



Wreck-It Ralph

I liked:
Basically everything. I love the basic premise, of the "bad guy" in the game wishing he could be a hero for a change. I thought the idea of arcade video game characters meeting, interacting and travelling through power cords was really original and fun.
All of the characters are appealing and relatable and so human in their faults. The main female characters are awesome! One is kick-arse, a save-the-day hero and the other is completely unique, confident and bubbly, and both are extremely determined to achieve their goals.
I loved Ralph, and really sympathised with his quest and challenges. Even Fix-It Felix Jnr is a goody-two-shoes in such a way that he stays likeable and entertaining.
And the actors who did the voices are some of my favourites! I just can't be bothered to look up names, but you'll recognise them by voice I promise.

I didn't like:
The only minor bone I could pick with this movie is the body shape of the Sergeant. She's just a little over the top in that regard, although at least she's still in full body armour....even if it is perfectly, anatomically, form fitting.
And maybe the minimal racial diversity, although I suspect that is reflective of video games in general (anyone know?)



So overall...
If the aliens get you and you have to choose, choose Wreck-It Ralph. It is much more inclusive, much more original and imaginative, and much more fun.
WildChild (emphatically) liked it better, and so did I.

The end.