A few more shots from the warm botanical gardens on this chilly, rainy Wednesday
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Getting my gluten free world in order and...snow.
Today was the day to put everything in order now that we're back home. We sent the little one off to daycare (he was NOT happy to go back after two weeks of fun with us) and set about laundry, groceries, etc. After spending two weeks feeding my son foods that are naturally gluten free, I saw a difference in his behaviour. He was better behaved generally and in better spirits than usual.
Just to clarify, we're not people who regularly eat a lot of packaged foods, especially since the gluten free ones are so expensive. I post my menu plan each week and prepare his daycare lunches as well, but we do still serve him some prepared foods; waffles, gluten free cookies, fish sticks, etc. I think we're going to cut this out as much as possible. His behaviour while we were away was fantastic, except for the one time he was given a handful of some covered nuts with gluten in the coating by a well meaning relative before we could stop him. For two days my son was a little terror. We always knew that gluten-containing foods changed his moods, because we saw evidence of it when we originally cut it our of his diet. But his change in behaviour when he started eating all natural foods was remarkable as well.
I'm not going to lie and say that I'll never serve my son a frozen fish stick again, or that a prepared gluten free waffle won't occasionally be part of his routine, but I'm going to try and make those foods the exception, rather than the rule. My husband poured himself a bowl of GF cereal this morning, and I laughed because for two weeks our breakfast was fruit, or yogurt (not for the little guy), or eggs, or some other food that we had to prepare from scratch, but the first thing we turned back to was prepared cold cereal when we got home. It opened my eyes a little bit.
So I'm starting with breakfast. Our counter currently has mangoes, bananas, a papaya, a canteloupe and oranges, and our fridge has strawberries and blueberries. He loved his fruit filled breakfasts on vacation, so I'm going to continue with them here. I chopped a bunch of fruit when I brought them home from the store, so in the morning I just have to dump them in a bowl, ready to go.
I'm not superwoman- there will be waffle-filled mornings, I can guarantee it. But instead of cereal, waffles, cereal bars, etc. being the go-to, I'm going to try to make them the last resort.
Baby Steps.
And just in case you were wondering, it snowed today. Yes, that's right, snowed. On April 19th.
Looked lovely against my tan.
Just to clarify, we're not people who regularly eat a lot of packaged foods, especially since the gluten free ones are so expensive. I post my menu plan each week and prepare his daycare lunches as well, but we do still serve him some prepared foods; waffles, gluten free cookies, fish sticks, etc. I think we're going to cut this out as much as possible. His behaviour while we were away was fantastic, except for the one time he was given a handful of some covered nuts with gluten in the coating by a well meaning relative before we could stop him. For two days my son was a little terror. We always knew that gluten-containing foods changed his moods, because we saw evidence of it when we originally cut it our of his diet. But his change in behaviour when he started eating all natural foods was remarkable as well.
I'm not going to lie and say that I'll never serve my son a frozen fish stick again, or that a prepared gluten free waffle won't occasionally be part of his routine, but I'm going to try and make those foods the exception, rather than the rule. My husband poured himself a bowl of GF cereal this morning, and I laughed because for two weeks our breakfast was fruit, or yogurt (not for the little guy), or eggs, or some other food that we had to prepare from scratch, but the first thing we turned back to was prepared cold cereal when we got home. It opened my eyes a little bit.
So I'm starting with breakfast. Our counter currently has mangoes, bananas, a papaya, a canteloupe and oranges, and our fridge has strawberries and blueberries. He loved his fruit filled breakfasts on vacation, so I'm going to continue with them here. I chopped a bunch of fruit when I brought them home from the store, so in the morning I just have to dump them in a bowl, ready to go.
I'm not superwoman- there will be waffle-filled mornings, I can guarantee it. But instead of cereal, waffles, cereal bars, etc. being the go-to, I'm going to try to make them the last resort.
Baby Steps.
And just in case you were wondering, it snowed today. Yes, that's right, snowed. On April 19th.
Looked lovely against my tan.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Back Home
Today's flight went pretty smoothly, although my son was obsessed with the tray on the back of the seat. The wonderfully patient young women who endured his kicks for over 4 hours deserves praise. I apologized for his kicking at the end of the flight and my son said "Sorry lady". Other than trying in vain to get him to quit kicking whenever he got bored, things went fairly smoothly. Again, there were no gluten free options for him on the Canjet flight, so we brought along grapes, strawberries, juice boxes, etc. to keep him satisfied and it worked out pretty well.
If I had the choice, I think I will always opt for early morning flights rather than daytime ones, because he was revved up and refused to nap. His little suitcase full of activities worked fairly well, although there's really only so long a two year old can play with any one thing. I am relieved though to know that he takes well to flying, especially in his car seat. He didn't want to be in it the whole time, but it kept him pretty well contained for the most part and it allowed him to see out the window properly.
It's nice to be home again, but I'm already missing my in-laws in El Salvador. I hate that my son can't see that side of his family the way he sees my side. Here are some of the images that made the trip worth it:
If I had the choice, I think I will always opt for early morning flights rather than daytime ones, because he was revved up and refused to nap. His little suitcase full of activities worked fairly well, although there's really only so long a two year old can play with any one thing. I am relieved though to know that he takes well to flying, especially in his car seat. He didn't want to be in it the whole time, but it kept him pretty well contained for the most part and it allowed him to see out the window properly.
It's nice to be home again, but I'm already missing my in-laws in El Salvador. I hate that my son can't see that side of his family the way he sees my side. Here are some of the images that made the trip worth it:
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| My son with my husband and all of his brothers |
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| Etienne with his great-grandparents |
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| My son and his grandmother |
Botanical Gardens on a Sunday
Today was our last day in El Salvador. This afternoon and evening have been a whirlwind of packing, preparing food for the flight tomorrow, visiting relatives, etc. This morning however, we made time for a trip to the botanical gardens, part of a huge swath of protected forest in the heart of the city. Since I don't have time for a great post today, I'll leave you with some of the photos from our visit to the gardens. Tomorrow is a travel day, so wish me the same luck that provided us with such a smooth experience on the way here! I'll let you know how it goes! My menu plans will be back next week.
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| I don't think there are iguanas in any of the botanical gardens where I live |
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| A little slice of paradise |
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| Part of the desert flower display |
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| My brother-in-law Juan amidst the bamboo |
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| Mini Pineapple |
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Cocina para Celíacos, the cookbook
My mother-in-law was worried about cooking for my son when we came to visit, so she borrowed a book from a friend called "Cocina para Celíacos", a Spanish language cookbook called "Cooking for Celiacs." The book was first published in Argentina, and many of the desserts are typical to that country, such as the Alfajora cookies. She offered to photocopy some of the recipes for me from the book, so today I went through it recipe by recipe, looking for those to take home. It turns out that the book has more dessert recipes than anything else, but what I like about it is that many of the recipes seem fairly simple, with only a few ingredients and fairly simple instructions.
It turned out that she didn't use the book the whole time we were here, but I'm looking forward to trying out some of the bread and cookie recipes when I get back. I love trying authentic international recipes. My current goal is to become more adept at preparing gluten and dairy free recipes, and so in addition to some of the recipes from this book I have another cookbook that I'll be testing when I get back home. I'm sure this will be disastrous for my fitness goals, but I'm trying to convince myself that I'll only have a bite and will give away the rest to my "taste-testers". Let's see how that goes!
It turned out that she didn't use the book the whole time we were here, but I'm looking forward to trying out some of the bread and cookie recipes when I get back. I love trying authentic international recipes. My current goal is to become more adept at preparing gluten and dairy free recipes, and so in addition to some of the recipes from this book I have another cookbook that I'll be testing when I get back home. I'm sure this will be disastrous for my fitness goals, but I'm trying to convince myself that I'll only have a bite and will give away the rest to my "taste-testers". Let's see how that goes!
Friday, April 15, 2011
5 Things on a Friday
My trip to visit my in-laws in El Salvador is almost over. On Monday we'll be heading for home, our two weeks in the sun behind us. Reflecting on my trip, I wanted to post my 5 favourite memories of the trip so far:
1- My brother-in-law Juan's surprise arrival from Cancun last night, so he could meet my son for the first time. Writing this post, I'm only just realizing that I still haven't taken a picture of the two of them together!
2- Family: My son has spent the last two weeks with a side of his family he rarely gets to see. He has followed his three uncles around like crazy, played with his aunt, hung out with his grandparents and spent time with his great-grandparents as well. Four generations together is a special thing indeed. And being the only grandchild and great grandchild, he's been treated like a king. Life will be different when we get home!
3- Watching my son discover the ocean for the first time, feeling the sand between his fingers and jumping with excitement every time the water washed over his feet.
4- The food! Some of my favourite foods are found in abundance here- beans, avocados, plantains, salty cheeses, tropical fruit, and it has been so easy to find gluten free options for my son. His health has been great since we've been here, and although there are few specialty gluten free products, most traditional foods are naturally gluten free.
5- Taking Etienne to the Tin Marin kids museum: This place is fantastic- it has something for children as young as preschool to as old as teenagers. My son had fun playing in the pretend supermarket, filling up his cart with fruits and vegetables. Then he checked out the butterfly sanctuary, the bubble room where he made giant bubbles, the pretend hospital, dentist office, bank, etc. Some of the science exhibits were beyond him, but the hands-on exhibits made him very happy.
1- My brother-in-law Juan's surprise arrival from Cancun last night, so he could meet my son for the first time. Writing this post, I'm only just realizing that I still haven't taken a picture of the two of them together!
2- Family: My son has spent the last two weeks with a side of his family he rarely gets to see. He has followed his three uncles around like crazy, played with his aunt, hung out with his grandparents and spent time with his great-grandparents as well. Four generations together is a special thing indeed. And being the only grandchild and great grandchild, he's been treated like a king. Life will be different when we get home!
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| With his great-grandma |
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| With his Tio Carlos |
3- Watching my son discover the ocean for the first time, feeling the sand between his fingers and jumping with excitement every time the water washed over his feet.
4- The food! Some of my favourite foods are found in abundance here- beans, avocados, plantains, salty cheeses, tropical fruit, and it has been so easy to find gluten free options for my son. His health has been great since we've been here, and although there are few specialty gluten free products, most traditional foods are naturally gluten free.
5- Taking Etienne to the Tin Marin kids museum: This place is fantastic- it has something for children as young as preschool to as old as teenagers. My son had fun playing in the pretend supermarket, filling up his cart with fruits and vegetables. Then he checked out the butterfly sanctuary, the bubble room where he made giant bubbles, the pretend hospital, dentist office, bank, etc. Some of the science exhibits were beyond him, but the hands-on exhibits made him very happy.
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| Etienne at one of the bubble tables |
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| Outside of the gravity house |
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| At the "supermarket"in the museum |
Thursday, April 14, 2011
A Wonderful Surprise!
I had a whole big post planned today, but it's all gone out the window and I'll have to post it tomorrow. Tonight, while I was touching base with my family at home, I received a fantastic surprise! My brother-in-law who is studying tourism in Cancun (I know, studying is a relative term when the University is in Cancun) waltzed into the kitchen completely unannounced!
There are four brothers in my husband's family, and two live outside of the country. This is the first time that all four have been together since 2008, and the first time that our son met his youngest uncle. It took about 20 minutes for him to completely warm up to his Tio Juancito.
My brother-in-law Juan decided to make a surprise visit when he heard that we were going to be visiting in April. Unfortunately he could only come at the end of our trip due to exams, but we have a whole long weekend ahead of us to enjoy him! Have a wonderful night.
There are four brothers in my husband's family, and two live outside of the country. This is the first time that all four have been together since 2008, and the first time that our son met his youngest uncle. It took about 20 minutes for him to completely warm up to his Tio Juancito.
My brother-in-law Juan decided to make a surprise visit when he heard that we were going to be visiting in April. Unfortunately he could only come at the end of our trip due to exams, but we have a whole long weekend ahead of us to enjoy him! Have a wonderful night.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
San Salvador for Children: El Mundo Feliz
Today we took the munchkin to a play place called El Mundo Feliz. "Happy World." El Mundo Feliz is an indoor play place for kids, and it has something for children from preschool until young adolescence. There's no charge to get in, but everything takes tokens. We paid 25 cents per token, and with $8 dollars we spent about an hour there. From a gluten free perspective, it's a disaster, with virtually no options for someone who can't consume gluten, but we weren't there to eat. As a fun family place to take your kids, it was a hit.
On the right hand side of the building are the video games/arcade portion. Many of the games are imported from the United States and are in English. Some are in Spanish. Many of the games reminded me of the kind of games at a small town fair, where you fish for a treasure, or shoot at targets to win prizes. Others were a bit different, like the air hockey tables. Being a Tuesday afternoon, there weren't too many people there, but there was a healthy number of 13-15 year old kids playing the video games.
We stuck to the central and left hand side, which had a variety of preschool appropriate rides. My son is obsessed by cars, so virtually everything he wanted to ride was a vehicle. There were two areas with go-cart type cars, a small one where parents accompanied their children, and a larger one where older children could ride alone.
Note the "flower power" car from the blurry photo above. My son rode in it three times, and refused all offers to change to a different vehicle. Despite the angry look on his face, he was having a lot of fun. He was upset that my husband insisted on helping him steer, because he wanted to do it himself.
Finally, there was a large section with the types of rides one finds in malls, the ones you put some change into and they move around on their stand for a few minutes.
His favourite ride however was a merry go round of cars. The ride just went in circles, but it lasted about 5 minutes, and he refused to get up when it was over.
Overall, he had a lot of fun. It's difficult to find places that have a lot of variety for someone as young as my son, and this place hit the mark. For an older child of 7 or 8, who could stay and eat in the cafe, this place could provide a few hours' worth of fun. We were there about an hour, and he left happy and tired. Definitely a place I would recommend to anyone looking to spend some time like the locals, and entertain their kids at the same time.
Located on Blvd. de los Heroes. Open 7 days a week. Check their website for more information.
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| The very gluten-filled cafe where one can have pizza.burgers/nachos/etc. |
On the right hand side of the building are the video games/arcade portion. Many of the games are imported from the United States and are in English. Some are in Spanish. Many of the games reminded me of the kind of games at a small town fair, where you fish for a treasure, or shoot at targets to win prizes. Others were a bit different, like the air hockey tables. Being a Tuesday afternoon, there weren't too many people there, but there was a healthy number of 13-15 year old kids playing the video games.
We stuck to the central and left hand side, which had a variety of preschool appropriate rides. My son is obsessed by cars, so virtually everything he wanted to ride was a vehicle. There were two areas with go-cart type cars, a small one where parents accompanied their children, and a larger one where older children could ride alone.
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| The smaller car area |
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| The larger track |
Note the "flower power" car from the blurry photo above. My son rode in it three times, and refused all offers to change to a different vehicle. Despite the angry look on his face, he was having a lot of fun. He was upset that my husband insisted on helping him steer, because he wanted to do it himself.
Finally, there was a large section with the types of rides one finds in malls, the ones you put some change into and they move around on their stand for a few minutes.
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| Etienne in his Pink Panther police truck |
His favourite ride however was a merry go round of cars. The ride just went in circles, but it lasted about 5 minutes, and he refused to get up when it was over.
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| Mommy, on the "Car-go-round" |
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| La Abuelita, in another vehicle, same ride |
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| Whaddya mean I have to get out? |
Overall, he had a lot of fun. It's difficult to find places that have a lot of variety for someone as young as my son, and this place hit the mark. For an older child of 7 or 8, who could stay and eat in the cafe, this place could provide a few hours' worth of fun. We were there about an hour, and he left happy and tired. Definitely a place I would recommend to anyone looking to spend some time like the locals, and entertain their kids at the same time.
Located on Blvd. de los Heroes. Open 7 days a week. Check their website for more information.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
El Salvador: Life's a Beach!
We spent the last two days splitting our time at two different beach houses on the Costa del Sol. It's been a wonderful experience for our son. Here are a few photos of our time in the sun:
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