Days 4 + 5 + Vegan Banana Protein Mug Cake
Saturday
Arthur’s Saturday started off right at 7:15. We’ve gotten into a kind of routine where I get up between 6 and 6:30, and Arthur gets up between 7 and 7:30. This way, I’m guaranteed a reasonable chunk of toddler-free time to start the day. I’ve taken to keeping some sodas in my room to chug while I wait for my coffee; I daren’t go down the stairs for one, because the creak very often wakes the beast.
The morning passed fairly uneventfully. Arthur discovered a new game that he adored; peering through one end of the plastic tennis ball tube while I look through the other end. So that was pretty cute. He also seems to understand the word ear now, and when I ask him to point to my nose or my ear, generally is able to do so!
As the morning wore on, Arthur, as usual, grew sleepy and tired, but got a second burst of energy right around susu time. Ah well, I wasn’t expecting him to nap then, anyway. During our mid-day walk, it once again took him 15 minutes to doze off, but fall asleep he did! He only slept for about 35 minutes (my bungling about in the kitchen woke him up, I think), and was quite upset when he woke up. I don’t blame him; he hadn’t even gotten in a full sleep cycle. The good news was that when I popped him on my boob after he woke up, he fell right back asleep to complete that cycle, and then some - another half hour of napping! And this time, he was much calmer when he woke up.
Arthur tried a new food at afternoon lunch: rice! I mean, he’s had it in various formats before, but never plain. I can’t say he was impressed though. Not that I blame him - this was instant brown rice, and it was pretty darn dry and crumbly. I suspect freshly cooked rice would go over much better. So I ended up mixing it (along with the salmon I had cooked) with some ready-made baby carrot purée, so it would stick together a bit more. Arthur still seemed somewhat ambivalent, so I added in the magic touch: a lot of peanut butter. Then he was happy to eat it. It’s such a handy trick to make food go down better; I swear, the boy is half peanut at this point. Well, at least it’s healthy, and I don’t have to resort to dousing less appetizing foods in syrup or something.
Arthur was remarkably calm when I took my shower, more so than he’s been during Miklós’s entire trip. I suspect having a proper-length nap had something to do with it. Munching on a toilet paper tube (perhaps his brother Captain Carrot influenced him here) also helped - don’t tell his pops! But his easygoing mood extended for much of the afternoon, and he was perfectly content left to his own devices for well over half an hour; I was so proud of him!
Another way Arthur’s been entertaining himself? Trying to drop all the food (and silverware) he can into the dishwasher when I leave the door (?) to it slightly ajar. I made a nice discovery of all sorts of crumbs and spoons he had managed to stick in there while I wasn’t looking. Good job, Arthur.
It’s getting darker earlier and earlier these days, which makes rocking Arthur to sleep a bit trickier, because it’s harder to see when he starts to fade. Still, about three or four minutes of rocking seemed to do the trick, and he went to sleep without a peep!
Also, it’s been a while since I recorded what Arthur eats in a day, and I want to do it here and there (maybe once a month) to give a snapshot of a typical day for Arthur at a given age. So, here’s what his menu was today:
8:30 ready-made veggie pasta pomodoro with peanut butter mixed in
10:00 toasted whole-wheat naan bread with ghee and a store-bought cashew-beet spread smeared on top
2:00 cooked salmon (from frozen fillet, in toasted sesame oil and olive oil) + brown rice + ready-made carrot purée + more peanut butter
5:00 avocado + store-bought lentil chips (basically seasoned lentil “rice cakes” with oil and spices)
7:00 mascarpone + applesauce (I try to make his dinner something really calorically dense and appetizing, so he’ll eat a lot and not get hungry too early in the morning)
Sunday
Arthur got up just after 7:00 on Sunday. I can't say I like the trend his morning wakups are taking; they seem to be getting earlier and earlier. Still, he was in a great mood throughout the morning, though I can't say I'm a fan of a new game he came up with while I was changing him. After a particularly massive dump (it seems the brown rice went straight through him, by the way), the little dude reached for his poop-covered wiener, and when I batted his hands away, he thought it was hilarious. So the rest of the changing session was spent with him giggling and trying to grab it and me attempting to swat his hand away and distract him with something else to hold (it didn't work). I was glad we were having a bath right afterwards!
Post-bath Arthur had bleary heavy eyes, but, as usual, didn't nap on me. But this time, it only took him 10 minutes to fall asleep when we took our midday walk. As usual, he woke up after pretty much exactly 40 minutes, but, just like on Saturday, he fell right back asleep on me when I nursed him afterwards! And there, he slept for a full 45-minute nap cycle before I actually had to wake him up; clearly, he was catching up on some very much-needed sleep.
Despite the extra-long nap, showering wasn't the most enjoyable experience today. Ah well, at least he was fairly chill for the afternoon afterwards. We had a video chat with Tante Kaila, and while I sat talking to her, Arthur had a blast playing a kind of hide and seek, where he'd stand up behind me, holding onto my back for support, and then crack up when I turned around to look at him behind me. It was pretty cute.
As the evening wore on, Arthur began to grow somewhat tired and fussy. I also feel like he was extra picky with his meals today, grumbling about foods he normally loves. Ah well. I spent about three minutes rocking him to sleep before calling it a day; at least he went down quite readily! And tomorrow, Papa will be back on bedtime duty for the foreseeable future - whoohoo!
Once again, no fancy dinner recipes while it's just the two of us, but I did try an awesome banana mug cake on Saturday! I mostly followed this idea I found on Instagram. It seemed so simple that I didn't have high hopes, to be honest, but it blew me away! Dang it was gooey and sweet and delicious, and will definitely be a repeat recipe. Here's how I made it:
Super Simple Vegan Banana Protein Mug Cake
Ingredients
1 ripe banana (I popped mine in the air fryer for a few minutes to get it extra sweet and gooey)
1 scoop vegan protein powder (I used a vanilla pea and fava protein blend)
pinch baking powder
dash of cinnamon
1 tbsp syrup (I used allulose syrup here)
¼ cup water
dash salt
chopped nuts/chocolate chips of choice, to taste (optional)
Instructions
In a mug, mash the banana until it's full-on mush.
Add in the other ingredients, mixing until fully combined.
Microwave for 90 seconds.
Chow down while warm!
Comments