A Quiet, Lazy, Remarkable Day

Today was a quiet Thursday. It was the second day of the tube strike in London and although I rarely take the tube, the traffic is ridiculous and the buses overcrowded. Siena's also just getting over a nasty cold so a day spent in PJs seemed justified. We generally begin our lazy days in the flat watching Peppa Pig over breakfast (Siena sings along with the theme song), then reading stories (The Tiger Who Came to Tea, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Shh Don't Wake the Royal Baby, and Moo Baa La La La are her favorites at the moment), followed by dancing to the UK top 40, skyping with Grandma, puzzles, blocks, dolls, football (playing not watching) and a long bath, baby massage and teeth brushing before bed. 

I also do a lot of home-cooking on days spent indoors. Today as I was making Siena's dinner I noticed something remarkable but at the same time completely quotidian. The UK has food labeling regulations that require the food to specify its place of origin and as I slipped the chives out of their package I noticed they had come from Ethiopia. They were so fresh and a crisp bright green. In that moment I imagined the crops where they were grown, the farmers cultivating them, the factory packaging them, the trucks hauling them, the planes shipping them, and the distributors delivering them to the local grocery across the street from my flat where I purchased them for under 2 pounds. I started to look at the other ingredients I was using. In that one meal Siena had  tenderstem broccoli spears from Kenya, jacket potatoes from Cornwall, sweetcorn from Senegal, chives from Ethiopia, parsley from Spain, Parmesan from Italy, and raspberries from Morocco. Isn't that incredible? 

A lot goes into planning a well-balanced diet for a toddler. I've struggled with weight and healthy eating my entire life and I want Siena to have an early education in nutrition. Knowing where your food comes from is an important element in building a healthy relationship with food and will set her up to make better nutritious choices, to be less wasteful, more conscientious and appreciative of the source, quality and value of her food. 

Although I knew generally that my food came from all over the world, it takes on a different degree of awareness to see the origin of each ingredient printed in large font. I learned a lesson on this otherwise routine weekday, one that I hope will benefit my family - breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

The remarkable chives

First time I made Jacket Potatoes - verdict: Yum!

Eating healthy corn on the cob at 8 months old