Super healthy cake

This cake didn't work for me before but I knew I have to try it again. The reason - it's so delicious and good for you! There is no added sugar in it and still it is amazingly sweet. The secret- four bananas! As simple as that! It also contains coconut flour and coconut oil, four eggs, baking powder, cinnamon and raw cocoa. Voila- super easy too!

 What if we could completely stop using sugar?! If I didn't need it here and yet managed to bake this delicious cake that must lead to some other discoveries!

 I'll challenge myself to experiment more in this direction. Because the outcome could be equally tasty!

London (with a) Baby

We had a fantastic long weekend - mostly because of the lovely people we spent it with but also because of the place. We were lucky to travel to England and visit London and our family. It's only an hour away by plane from Dublin, but even such a short flight is a bit of a chalange with a one year old. Once you are well organised and have tons of patience packer nothing can come into your way. More about flying with a baby some other time.

 One of the highlights of our UK trip was a visit at Godstone animal farm in the outskirts of London.

This place has an amazing variety of animals. From pigs, rabbits and chickens you can also see spiders, lams and snakes. There is also a vast play area with picnic tables. This is heaven for any young child but also for a parent. We absolutely loved it and would love to come back at some stage.

 On the other hand London itself is not the most child friendly place on Earth. Busy streets, underground stairs, tiny trains. At the same time it is not impossible to move a round, but definitely hard if you are on your own with a child in a buggy. We stuck to parks and  less popular streets. I'm sure we will come back with an older child to discover different museum and other attractions which are especially designed for kids. 

Why I love flea markets

This Sunday we went to a flea market. I haven't been there in ages and that explains why I was so surprised. It has grown massively since my last visit and I was positively surprised. Even more - I was super excited to see this vibrant gathering of vintage sellers and happy buyers or lookers. It was also a nice sunny day which made it even more delicious to be there. Whole families were there and I was happy to see many 'modern' dads having their babies attached to there bodies in babie carriers. Such a great new movement! I think they now this makes them look cool.

I simply love browsing and poking at flea markets. I love finding original, different and sometimes funny items. I love talking to the sellers, asking them about the history of the items and simply having a nice chat. That's a part of the package I'd say. Flea markets are perfect for home decor - plenty of pictures, sculptures, paintings, plates, furnitures, accessories. That would be my first aim - to pick up something for the house. Then I love looking at vintage clothes too.

So this time I came back with this figurine. It's not small or light. This animal weights a tone but I love this shiny creature! 

Spring views

Finally spring is visible! And that is a truly delicious view. I love looking at beautiful blossoming trees and flowers poping out everywhere. We are lucky to have a gorgeous park near us and lots of blossoming trees around the house. All the bright, rich colours are a delight for eyes. It's a pleasure to go for a walk and admire all those nature gifts. That also means it's time for garden work, but it's completely another story! Weather is getting better too, there are more sunny days now. We could wish for higher temperatures but that's to come anyway and hopefully soon.

Walking

When should a baby start walking? Or crawling? Or smiling? All those developmental stages are very individual but if you start reading books which gives you timeframes it's quite easy to get too concerned if your child is not there yet. Especially for a first time moms. I know a friend who rushed to a doctor to have her baby checked out and see if she's ok despite not turning on her back at a certain age. That little girl is absolutely perfect and chasing butterflies no problem.

Our little Plum has just turned 15 months and not walking yet. While other kids younger than she is already running around. But I know she has time. Child suppose to make attempts to walk between 10 and 18 months - that is the official version of a experienced Public Health Nurse who is looking after us. And I am sticking with that advice.

Over last couple of weeks our girl made huge progress - she can climb sofa and chairs. Two days ago she had a go on this wooden trolly which is now her favourite toy. She is very close to making her first steps on her own. Still she has to get more stable while standing on her own.

But this could be it! She is almost there. And we are delighted! No rush my little girl!

Day trip with a baby

We went away to Belfast to visit the Titanic museum. While the experience was amazing, the same cannot be said for the staff in the museums that was serving us. It was a lunch time for all of us and we went to the museum's little bistro to eat something. 

One of the great advantages of Baby Led  Weaning is the fact that your baby can eat whatever you eat providing its a healthy, nutritional meal with reduced salt. We have ordered a big salad and a burger ( for daddy only). Unfortunately all the pieces of food were landing on the floor. Not even underneath the high chair but in a wide radiance too! Normally we would pick up all the bigger pieces from the floor when we leaving as we don't like to leave a mess behind but this time we were really surprised by the reaction of the café's staff. They couldn't be nicer about the whole situation! We were told to not to worry about the mess and enjoy ourselves! They said it couple of times too! We ended up giving H our packed lunch from home and there was no problem with heating it up either. We appreciated it so much!

At the same time it's always good to apologise for the mess and extra work someone will have to do.

Hopefully this will not last for ever and throwing our food will end. This will be noted for sure!

A month without sugar

...was surprisingly sweet! 

I always knew sugar is bad for you, but we all know it - don't we? I was blissfully ignoring that fact for way too long. Following my uncontrollable binging on sweet things during the festive season the time has come to say stop. I've noticed increased cravings for sweets and realised its just a downward spiral. Also constant tiredness, mood swings and problems with focusing started to become alarming. And the last straw - clothes became suddenly way too tight.

Can't remember the exact day when I stopped eating refined sugar but that doesn't bother me. I know it's not for ever - life is too short to deny yourself creme brûlée (my favourite dessert) from time to time. But at the moment I am using nature's transition from winter to spring as a perfect moment to get rid of old bad habits and to recalibrate.

 First step for me was to cut out sweets. As my cravings for them were quite strong I had to find a replacement. I allowed myself to eat fruits and dried fruits too - but in moderation. I threw in nuts in the mix as well. It wasn't easy but it worked. After more than four weeks I feel cured of my bad habits. I know my taste changed too. I tried banana bread ( wanted to be polite) at a social occasion and it was shockingly sweet to me, way too sweet. 

But what I love most about it is the fact that I got more creative with my desserts. I have made delicious almond, dates and raw cocoa balls and they are just amazingly delicious. As my taste changed any fruit now is a huge treat. 

My clothes started fitting me better too.