A lovely, Lazy weekend…

After a couple of busier weeks we have been looking forward to a super chilled weekend together.  Starting with a seven mile run round the city on Friday I then had a relaxed evening with Milne and Andrew and we were all tucked up in bed early.

Saturday morning was, by far, the best moment of the weekend, we took Milne swimming for the first time and she LOVED it!  Super tired from half an hour in the water she slept through all our big food shopping (this month we did five weeks of shopping in one day!)  after a stop in the flat for some homemade soup we headed out with Jilly, David and Daisy for a six mile walk in the forest- the perfect afternoon activity.

 To finish the weekend we had a lovely active Sunday, starting with a workout, family yoga in our new playroom and a two mile run with the pram.  In the afternoon we managed to get round to some jobs I have been putting off all week in the flat and then we headed for a family walk and a trip to Jessie’s kitchen to look at some garden and homeware.

A lovely relaxed weekend is exactly what we needed to reset our batteries for another wonderful and busy week ahead.

Let me know what you go up to over on Instagram.

Falda

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Getting out of a health slump…

If you follow me over on Instagram you will know that I LOVE moving my body and getting outdoors, especially with Andrew and Milne in tow.  However, the past couple of weeks exercising and eating well have become more of a ‘chore’ than an eagerly anticipated activity.

There could be many reasons for this; I reached my pre-pregnancy weight (so what’s the point in keeping up my fitness levels?), we’ve had family visiting and we have been visiting family and with that eating lots of bread and biscuits, all my meals and smoothies taste the same and probably the biggest reason – Milne is so much more active and aware and playing with her all day is a much nicer prospect than forcing down ANOTHER kale smoothie or a sluggish workout.

BUT

None of these are really good reasons for getting bored and fed up of exercise and eating well.  Moving my body is “must do” for a healthy and sustainable lifestyle and nourishing my body is essential both for me and for Milne who is still predominantly breastfed.  So this week I am looking at my current habits and re-thinking how to make them a fun part of my normal day.  Here’s what I am going to try over the next few weeks:

1. Moving my body in a fun and meaningful way: I want to move my body in a way that strengthens my body and aids my running.  To do this I am following workouts from some of my favourite fitness bloggers- you can find plenty of videos on Youtube.  I am also adding music and getting Milne involved in my at home workouts to make them fun and exciting.
2. Enjoying creating new food and smoothie combinations: instead of it being a chore to put together a smoothie I am enjoying choosing and putting together ingredients to make super tasty and nourishing snacks.  This is extra fun just now as Milne is able to discover exciting new flavours every day with me!

1. Running with Milne:  now that she is six months old I am able to make good use of our Thule Urban Glide (running) Pram – discovering new running routes that are easier to take my wee one on is SO much fun.

Thule Urban Glide – Jogging Stroller- Mars

1. Daily Yoga:  I have been doing the Do You Yoga free 30 day trial and I am loving it, Milne can join in too if I adapt some moves and it is a refreshing way to start the day together.
2. Dancing:  watching Milne watch me move has inspired me to move my body because it feels amazing to do so and not just to lose weight or get a six pack.  She loves silly dances to silly songs so I am embracing moving my body to the music and getting big belly laughs from my little monkey.

These are just a few of the ways I am getting out of my health slump for a healthier and happier March.

Falda

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Six months…

This week marked Milne’s six month birthday…we bought a book to celebrate.  The past six months have been wonderful, getting to know and learning to care for our wee one has been the most amazing and rewarding experience.

During my pregnancy the reality of actually having a real, live baby just didn’t hit me and nothing could have prepared me for the most magical time.  

There have been; sleepless nights, hundreds of nappies, lots of shouting about new teeth and a million loads of washing but there has also been; a first smile, so many afternoons cuddled up together, books read and funny faces pulled, yoga mornings, a first roll over, learning to sit up unaided and playing with ALL the toys, meeting great-grandparents, uncles and aunts, coffee dates, first foods and visits from Grandma, Granny, Grandpa and Grandad, cuddling in bed with Auntie Lithy, Grandma changing nappies at the park, falling asleep listening to music with Grandpa and her first day in the office with Granny, Grandad and Uncle Jamie, Playing “wolfie” with Uncle Tomie, countless video calls with Auntie Olive Pin Pen and Uncle Tomie and sleeping through the busiest family breakfast in Kirsty’s arms, baths in the sink, baths with mum and baths with dad,  there has been long car journeys to IKEA singing the soundtrack to Grease, Skype calls with great-granny every Sunday, even getting out her of her first Escape Room with Jilly, Amy and David, the first Halloween, Christmas, New Year and Pancake day and so many more wonderful moments.  

Nothing could have prepared me for a heart so full for Milne.

Here is to the next six months with our little one.

Falda

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Feeding Milne…bananas

At almost six months old Milne has been exclusively breast fed up to now.  NHS  Scotland recommends that babies should be at least half a year old before they are introduced to solids, you can find their reasoning here.

So what to feed her?

We have found some helpful information for weaning a vegan baby onto solids which I will share below.  

Given that Milne is a super curious baby anyway we have been showing her lots of different fruits and veggies so she can feel and smell them.  However we are starting her off nicely with mashed bananas.  On-going I will share with you her weaning journey, what foods work and those that we find don’t – I am guessing there will be various reasons.  

I have just un-boxed my baby Nutribullet and we are looking forward to using it to whip up lots of tastes for our little monkey.

To follow the fun you can find me on youtube here and instagram here..

Falda

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Check this out from the First Steps Nutrition Trust

Check this out for information on your baby’s first solid food. 

Check out this information on Forks over Knifes.

New year…same me.

A little bit late but happy New Year to everyone.  2017 was, without doubt, the most wonderful year for us.  We welcomed our beautiful little girl, Milne, in August and have had the best few months ever since.

While the New Year is a great opportunity to set yourself new goals and targets I am pleased that I live a sustainable and healthy life all year round and I have had no urge to cut anything out or give up any of my favourite things.

However, this year I am looking forward to upping my running mileage and hoping to take part in a marathon later in the year.  I am definitely re-looking at what we put into our bodies as a family.  Soon Milne is going to start eating solids and it is so important to us to introduce tasty fuel packed nutrition from the start.  We will be following Dr Greger’s “How Not To Die Cookbook” for inspiration.

 

The How Not To Die Cookbook: Over 100 Recipes to Help Prevent and Reverse Disease

I am also going to use the new year as a starting point for setting some blogging goals, so let me know what you would like to hear about.

As always, you can follow the falda_eats fun over on Instagram and Youtube.

Falda

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Milne’s asleep…now what?

When Milne first arrived I felt like I was constantly feeding and changing nappies and as soon as she drifted off for a little nap I was catching up on daily housework.  Now it’s totally different, she is really active in the morning and loves watching me potter around cleaning and working out while talking to her.  Between 10-11 am she sleeps and it gives me around an hour to get on with something else before she’s awake and is full of beans again.  It’s similar in the afternoon although usually she naps in her carrier while I go for a three or four mile walk.

As a result of Milne’s regular sleeping habits I now have a load more time to myself.  It would be so easy to reach straight for my laptop and binge watch series on Netflix or youtube videos but I am keen that I use my time more productively.  This week I have set goals to read more, get all our christmas gifts wrapped and start planning our first family holiday for next summer.  I am also making a more conscious effort to take some time out to just RELAX- something I find really difficult to do.  

After a super busy year with university, work and pregnancy – some time out is exactly what I need.  So this week I am feeling quite content to sit on the sofa with a sleeping baby in my arms taking a moment or two to soak her in.  She’s changing so quickly and I want to remember everything.

And in case you hadn’t  guessed…she’s asleep right now!
Falda

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Getting out of an exercise slump…

Getting back to a normal fitness routine after giving birth was a new challenge, my body has changed a lot and in the last four months I have watched those pregnancy pounds disappear – which is great.  However my routine was becoming really repetitive and I stopped looking forward to workouts and even tried to avoid them.

So over the past three weeks I changed up my workouts and turned them into quick 20 minute blasts which change daily.  Adding in star jumps to keep Milne entertained.  I have not only seen results physically but I am waking up excited to get a sweat on.

These short blasts are perfect when I’m at home with Milne,  she loves watching while I sweat.  I will be posting next week’s workouts over on instagram.

Don’t shoot the messenger!

The results are in and there is no doubt now that type 2 diabetes can be reversed with diet – why not get the job done quicker by following a vegan diet for an extra boost of health and to help stop cruelty to animals and sabotaging the earth!

How I beat type 2 diabetes with a liquid diet

Falda

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Making Milne laugh…

It’s been a good few weeks since Milne burst out her first proper laugh, one which could not be mistaken for wind!  Her laughter is the most wonderful sound we have ever heard – and even after endlessly dancing, making funny faces and playing peek-a-boo – not to mention the mountain of videos we have taken trying to capture it – her laugh just won’t got old!

BUT she is definitely making us work harder to hear it.  I am often spending my mornings trying to entertain our lovely little one and searching for new ways to occupy her fast developing mind, sometimes peek-a-boo just doesn’t cut it.

Our home visitor did give us a book of exercises suitable for different ages throughout her first year, but we need to mix it up and bit to get more of those super big belly laughs. This morning fifty star jumps did the trick!

If you have any fun ways to get your wee ones chuckling let me know over on Instagram.

Falda

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The dress that changed my life…

Three years ago Andrew and I were invited to his colleagues wedding.  We were newly engaged and on cloud nine.  I was so excited to attend the wedding and show off my engagement ring.  It was also a chance to wear the blue lace Zara dress I had snapped up in the summer sales just three months before.  Just before the wedding I was spending a day with mum and I decided to try on the dress to see what she thought of it.  To my horror the dress that had fit so perfectly that summer no longer went over my arms and in some parts my body was actually pressing out of the lace!

That night I went for my first run in about two years with my Mum which led to me to taking part and finishing the Rome marathon just four months later along with my super hero mum and friend Izzy.

I’m not saying that fitting into the dress was the most important thing in the world, what was important was seeing how just a few weeks of stuffing myself with beer, chips and fizzy drinks had affected my body and ultimately my health.  

Not fitting into that dress resulted in me and mum training for and running a marathon together – one the most rewarding experiences of my life and has led me toward my current path of good physical and mental health.

I have since worn the dress on various occasions and felt amazing.  It really did change my life (sort of).

Falda

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Sleeping baby means…Mum snacks….

Hello!

After a wonderful ten days with Mum, I am back to a more normal routine with Milne.  Lots of feeding, walking, decaf coffees and baking.  Milne has started to nap in the morning and in the afternoon for about 90 minutes (most of the time!) which gives me some time to potter around the house, read and cook.  As much as I love my time with awake Milne I also really enjoy a bit of ‘me’ time too while still being close to her.

However, all this extra time is bad for my tendency to snack.  Once I have polished off my smoothie I start raiding the cupboards – eating everything, even things I don’t really like!!!

So this week I am making a conscious effort to snack well during the day.  My go-to snack is smashed avocado with a little bit of vinegar and salt – it keeps me super full and satisfied.  

What are your favourite healthy day time snacks?