Eating Healthy for Picky Eaters: A Simple Salad

January 30, 2020


If you're trying to get on track with eating healthy, it can be quite difficult if you are not a huge fan of different kinds of foods (picky). So as I am finding my way along this winding path of taking care of my body, I want to share with you some foods that I eat as a picky eater myself, and how I am working towards getting the nutrients that my body needs as well as enjoying eating food (because not everyone wants to force themselves to eat cooked peas or quinoa).

I have always enjoyed simple salads that don't contain a lot of strange vegetables, but I have been expanding my palette and even tried kale at a restaurant recently (it was done well, and it was delicious). I am a raw vegetables kind of person, but I don't enjoy much more than cucumbers, carrots, radishes, and lettuce (pretty much any kind, but recently I've been eating something called a living lettuce). I've been adding dried cranberries and pumpkin seeds (a good fat) for some different textures (like I said...expanding my palette) and extra flavour. I do not use salad dressing.

If you're not a fan of some of these items, swap them out for a vegetable that you do enjoy. Don't make eating healthy something that's painful, because you won't be inspired to continue. If you don't want the pumpkin seeds, but like salad dressing, make yourself a vinaigrette out of a healthy oil so that you're still getting a good fat (the cranberries are just a flavour bonus for me).


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Behind the Art: Tall Bird Loves Small Bird

January 26, 2020


This drawing was originally part of an anniversary card that I drew for my parents several years ago. Originally, I made a drawing of my mom (small bird) and my dad (tall bird) on a small piece of paper that I attached to a card (find the history of shop art here to see how I used to make cards), but before I gave it away, I scanned the art and made it into a little art print for the shop, and eventually into an anniversary card when I started purchasing the higher quality of paper. 

The card is very specific in it's purpose, but I like that the art print can be seen not only as spouses or partners, but as a parent and child relationship as well.


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Child Development: The Importance of Teachable Moments

January 20, 2020


Teachable Moments are key instances throughout the life of your child when important social emotional concepts (see the five categories of social emotional learning) can be taught to your child. The trick is that they must be taught at that very moment, as waiting to talk about it until later loses the connection to the situation. 

It's important to understand that children live in the moment, in the now. If you wait to talk, your child's memory of the moment is less clear, and they aren't able to see how the lecture you're giving them relates to something that happened two hours ago that they've clearly already moved on from.

Let's say your child hits another child while at the park. You don't say anything about it until you get home about an hour later after your child has played in the sand, gone down the slide at least 30 times, you have pushed your child on the swing twice, and splashed in the puddles on the way home. Once home, your child has eaten a snack, and the two of you are now playing a game when you remember and you start talking about that time your child hit someone at the park. Your child has lived through multiple other moments since they hit the child and they are not going to be able to recall the moment  at the park properly.

As awkward as it may feel, use that moment right after your child has hit the other child to sit/squat/kneel at your child's level to talk them through what they have just done and why it's important to act differently next time, or not engage in the behaviour at all. If your child hits another child because a toy was taken away from them, take this opportunity to give them the words ("Hey! Give me back my toy!") to use next time instead of their hands. If your child randomly hits another child, use the moment to talk to them about how our hands are not for hitting, that hitting hurts, and give some examples of what they could do with their hands instead (build a sand castle, throw a ball, etc).

As your child gets older, the teachable moments you may be working with will become more complex. While a two-year-old might hit, bite, or take toys, a five-year-old might be telling another child that they are ugly or that they are going to go to their friend's house and hurt their friend's family. Where your child gets these ideas from is not important in the moment, what is important is that you step in and talk to them about empathy and what it means to be kind and care for others, and consider what it would feel like if someone said those things to them. Take the Teachable Moment by the hand and lead your child in the direction you would like them to go. You an dive into where the comments come from later on, or address it during the Teachable Moment.

If your child's behaviour reaches a point where you feel that you cannot properly help your child through it, do not hesitate to ask someone for support (including a mental health professional). As children get older and the social emotional moments that they encounter get increasingly more complicated, it can be difficult to figure out what to do to support them. There is no shame in asking for help.


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Shop Update: Valentine's Day 2020

January 12, 2020


Valentine's Day is creeping closer (hopefully not like a creeper), and it's time for the shop to start thinking about all those cards and gifts that you'd like to give to the ones you love (because this is totally different from Christmas). While all of your favourites are still available (find them here), there are a couple of new cards in town: one that was inspired by Sharon, Lois and Bram (hello Canadian childhood!), and one that popped into my mind after my husband helped me find something that I was searching for for 10 minutes and he found within a few seconds after I started having a meltdown.


Love You Because interactive card


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