I don't love carrots...

Clickbait! Jk, the program just forces me to choose a title for each newsletter.

But it actually is true (mostly). I have a reputation of being a carrot-lover, and again this week a friend commented that she regularly sees me with a carrot in hand, so I feel the need to set the record straight. While I probably eat more carrots than your average person, and have for the past 20-ish years of my life, it is not because I wake up craving carrots every day. I prefer steamed broccoli, honestly. My history with carrots goes like this:

1. Around the age of 15, something (and I honestly still don’t remember exactly what it was) brainwashed me into needing to consume at least “five fresh” (servings of vegetables and fruit, at a 4:1 or 3:2 ratio) every day.

2. As a teenager in a large family, we had a daily consumption limit on all the fresh produce, except for carrots. (Okay, probably onions and cabbage as well, but I’m not that weird. Or I wasn’t.)

3. I have learned that the easiest way to ensure that I will reach my goal is to include a vegetable or two with breakfast, but it’s got to be convenient.

4. Carrots are fast, cheap, portable, tolerable, and have a decent nutritional profile. (Note: Sometimes they can give me a bit of a stomachache if I eat them alone, but as long as I eat them with some fat or protein, like a cheese stick or some hummus or nuts, I’m good.)

So I eat carrots. How many I consume daily has varied a little over the years, depending on my schedule, finances, and how much I cared that I was looking like an Oompa Loompa.

And this is probably on my mind because we had roasted carrots as part of our dinner last night. The kids are okay with raw carrots, but they are crazy about roasted ones so I tend to make those a lot. And it is so easy! I don’t know why I’ve only really discovered it in the last few years, but it takes pretty much any vegetable from a 4/5 to a 10. Just wash, cut to a similar thickness/size, rub in olive oil, sprinkle with salt and bake at 425 for about 45 minutes. Although it should be noted, carrots on a roasting pan are like kids on a road trip - they really shouldn’t touch each other. Otherwise you get baked vegetables instead of roasted vegetables, and there most certainly is a difference.

Parenting challenges of the week: Loxley shouting “I get to choose what I want!” in opposition to any request we make of her. Whether it’s leaving the park, holding hands when we cross the road, or drawing all over herself with markers - which really aren’t washable, I don’t care what the labels say - she asserts her agency at every (in)opportunity. So now we are working on teaching consequences. Bruce is showing uncharacteristic aggression towards Boyd, and I’m not sure what the root cause is (childhood? Mothers, help!), and Boyd is getting more vocal about what he does and doesn’t like, and less baby-like in his protests (i.e. yelling).

And then there are the beautiful moments, like Boyd waking up early and crawling over to open-mouth kiss my face in the morning (gross but cute), Bruce learning how to float on his back in a swimming pool and laughing his musical little laughter about it the whole time, Loxley’s morning monologues, Stanton and I getting to watch ‘Alone’ (season 9) together…

Just life. 😊 

-K

P.S. I realize that I didn’t update about my earthing sandals (if you missed it last week, I think the newsletter is on the website?) But I’ll be sharing pictures next week! I think they are done…but I might still make some adjustments.