What's Good This Week

The kids started back at school this past week, and Odin lasted three full days before getting sent home with a runny nose. That kid and his dang nose, I tell ya.

two kids in a green bike chariot with an orange bike strapped to the back — The commute to school

At this point I'm convinced that he must be allergic to something in or around his school, since his nose doesn't run at home and usually stops running within a day or two of being at home. He never has any other symptoms of being sick, just a clear runny nose, but since our covid protocols stipulate zero tolerance for any signs of sickness, he gets sent home.

This coming week he'll be transferring to the same school as Niko at long last, and I'm hoping we'll have better luck with the ol' nasal situation over there. At the very least, we'll be down to one drop off and one pick up per day, and we really love Niko's school, so we're all super happy to be making the change.

Normally parents have to attend the first three days of a new preschool, and then on the fourth day we drop and run. They're staggering us out into smaller "inskolning" groups to reduce the number of adults in the building, and I'm hoping that since Odie has already been in school since January, is very familliar with this building, and will have his big brother on hand, it'll be a super smooth transition.

So smooth that we don't have to attend the full three days? Maybe wishful thinking.

Last week was my first week back at work, and it was super strange attempting to shift from vacation mode, without having been on a proper vacation, into work mode, without going into the office. I was sitting at my kitchen table and thinking, what's different about today? And it felt super weird.

On Tuesday my boss asked if I could come into the office the following day to work on a project with a super tight deadline, and said, "But don't worry, everyone at the office this week already has covid antibodies!"

As it happened, I had just taken myself for an antibody test, which are now widely offered to residents of Stockholm. I don't have the results yet (they take about two weeks) and I suspect they will be negative, but who knows. I've been sick a few times since this nonsense started, and definitely got sick immediately after seeing a friend who had been sick and did test positive for antibodies.

They're reporting that of the 80,000 or so tests that were conducted in the first few weeks of July, about 14% have come back positive.

What I think is funny about the whole antibody thing is how people are so stoked if their results are positive, like it's the chicken pox or something and it means that this whole thing is behind them. Is it, though? I don't think we know enough at this point.

a boy sitting at the table staring woefully at a plate of food — This one can't even

I've been on a bit of a bender with trying new meals for my kids lately, the results of which I've been sharing on Instagram Stories. I think a lot of folks are relieved to see that even Nutrition Ladies have struggles when it comes to feeding kids!

I got tired of the routine way we were feeding our kids, and because we ourselves ate in a routine way (salads on Monday and Wednesday, leftovers on Tuesday, etc) it meant that we ate separate meals from the kids and often ended up feeding them "kid food". So now I've been doing some planning each week, and cooking 2-3 new recipes for meals that I sit down and eat together with them.

There have been some hits and some major misses, but I think the important thing is that we're all trying new things. I made this one dinner (that was so easy and so delicious I think I'll have to make it for the blog) that I assumed was going to be a total hit, and it was without question rejected by both kids.

Another, that I suspected would be rejected, was met with skepticism, but a decent amount was eaten by both in the end. And then one night I just didn't have time to make what was on the plan, so I fell back on one of my old faithfuls of spinach and ricotta ravioli (frozen) with broccoli tossed into the cooking water at the last minute, and lots of parmesan cheese on top.

The kids ate a TON of this, and we had broccoli eating contests at the table. However, hands down the most successful meal I've been making lately is what we call "Snack Dinner" which was inspired by a fellow food blogger.

Basically I just put out a big platter of sliced up veggies, cheese, crackers, fruit, and then something for protein like hardboiled eggs or chicken nuggets or whatever I have on hand. The first time I did this I could not believe how many vegetables they ate! I think the presentation is fun, and plus they get to choose from the platter what goes on their own plates, which gives them some ownership over the whole thing.

I've decided to put snack dinner into our weekly rotation since it works so well for everyone, but still keep trying a couple of new recipes each week.

ON HEY NUTRITION LADY THIS WEEK

This week one of my favourite salad recipes got a much needed makeover! This Kale Tabbouleh Salad has got some real heft to it thanks to the addition of chickpeas, and the addition of kale makes it a much more substantial meal than your typical tabbouleh.

Also this week is my favourite riff on a seasonal favourite, Vegan Corn Chowder. This recipe is made with corn cob broth, so be sure to give it a try while the fresh local corn is in season.