Spaghetti For the First Time

 Last night the baby had spaghetti for the first time.  You would think this wouldn't be noteworthy, but for him it is.  He's almost 15 months old.  His allergies make it hard for him to have a lot of things.  Spaghetti was one of those things. 

 Since he can't have wheat, I bought him a quinoa pasta.  He's tried rice noodles and brown rice pasta before and wouldn't eat it.  This from the kid who will eat nearly everything.  I don't know if it was the consistency or the flavor, but he just didn't want any noodles.  He seemed to really like the quinoa pasta though.

 The other problem we've had in the past is that a lot of spaghetti sauces have dairy in them - usually in the form of parmesan or romano cheese added to the sauce.  I found one that doesn't contain anything he's allergic to, so we gave it a try.

 The other reason I hadn't given him spaghetti yet is that it's so messy.  But look at this! He did really well and was hardly a mess at all.  He's pretty good about eating.  Most of his food ends up right where it's supposed to - in his mouth :)  Wouldn't want to waste any, you know. :)

 I was craving spaghetti last night too.  But I can't have it on my diet.  But I can have lean ground beef, and some veggies, so I added zucchini, red pepper, celery, onion, garlic, mushrooms, and a touch of tomato sauce, along with lots of italian seasonings and garlic salt, and came up with a pretty good imitation of my favorite chunky sauce :)  No noodles, but that's okay.  (By the way, the diet continues to go well.  I had it pointed out to me that I hadn't mentioned it in quite awhile, and they were wondering if I was still on the diet.  I am.  I'm up to 72 pounds lost :)  I'm losing a little slower than I had been - about 3 pounds a week now - but that's to be expected.  It's still consistently coming off, and that's what counts.

 I cooked mine separate (I always do to make sure I'm getting my full two cups of veggies, and 8 ounces of meat.  Then I made some for everyone else with sausage for the meat, but all the same veggies.  Of course they got pasta too.  Spaghetti is one of the 3 year old's very favorite meals. :)

He picks out all the good stuff first - zucchini and mushrooms, then noodles.  About the only thing he left behind was a few pieces of meat.  He would do his oldest brother proud in how little meat he will eat.  Our oldest (21) is vegan.  If there was another of my children who could be predicted to turn out that way, the three year old would be it.  He really doesn't care for meat much at all.  He's all about bread and veggies.  He's always begging for fresh peppers, cauliflower, and "pickles" (cucumbers).  If I'm cutting any veggie, he's right there with his hand out and his mouth open :)